Title
Draft Meeting Minutes - March 27, 2019
Body
DRAFT MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF ALAMEDA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019
Chair Miley convened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
1. ROLL CALL
Present: Chair Miley, Commissioners Soules, Hans, Kohlstrand, Nachtigall, Yuen. Absent: Commissioner Johnson.
2. AGENDA CHANGES
*None*
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT
3-A New Transportation Commission Member Introduction
3-B Earth Day - Washington Park - Sat, April 20
3-C Transportation Commission Special Meeting: Wed, April 24 at 7 p.m.
3-D Bike to Work and School Day: Thurs, May 9
3-E Alameda Bike Festival & Rodeo: Sun, May 19, 12-4pm at Otis School
3-F Transportation Commission Meeting: Wed, May 22 at 7 p.m.
3-G Upcoming Grant-Funded Bicycle Safety Education Classes: <https://bikeeastbay.org/alamedabikeed>
Commissioner Kohlstrand introduced herself to the commission and explained her background in transportation planning.
Commissioner Yuen introduced herself to the commission. She said she has a background in public health and planning. She said she wants to improve transportation safety, access, and mobility for all residents, especially for those who have lacked access to these types of planning conversations in the past.
Kim Arrivee asked for bike lanes to be painted on Harbor Bay Parkway.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
4-A 2019-6713
Draft Meeting Minutes - February 23, 2019
Commissioner Hans made a motion to approve the minutes. Commissioner Soules seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0-2 (Kohlstrand and Yuen abstained.)
5. NEW BUSINESS
5-A 2019-6714
Transportation Commission Approval of Active Transportation Plan Draft Scope of Work
Staff Member Wheeler gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3893581&GUID=9FDCC61C-07E2-4E4B-B287-B1B15A5BFE30&FullText=1>
Commissioner Soules said she was happy to see the outreach plan component for reaching all residents.
Commissioner Nachtigall said the equity focus language in the outreach task could be strengthened. She said task 2.1 language could change from “allow for” to something stronger. She said the language in task 2.2 could also be strengthened. She raised questions about how the proposed website would work and what would happen to it after the plan is complete.
Staff Member Wheeler said that her intent was that the website would be used only for the duration of the project. She said staff did not want to put too much detail into the RFP in hopes of getting some more creative responses rather than a bulleting out of what the RFP lists.
Commissioner Yuen suggested meeting supports like childcare and provision of food in order to achieve broader representation at meetings during the outreach phase. She said she typically considers access to transit as part of the active transportation discussion and asked if that would be part of this plan.
Staff Member Wheeler said first and last mile to transit would be an important part of this plan and that she can call that out more specifically in the RFP.
Commissioner Yuen asked for the collision analysis, and the location analysis of transit facilities, to include consideration of race and income demographics.
Commissioner Kohlstrand said that it is good that the plan includes a phased implementation approach for more expensive projects. She said the plan should focus not only on getting around the island, but getting off the island.
Commissioner Soules said that saying what we want in the RFP regarding creative ideas and how that will be evaluated will help us get what we are looking for from consultants.
Commissioner Nachtigall said she is happy to see the focus on safety.
Commissioner Kohlstrand made a motion to approve the staff recommendation. Commissioner Nachtigall seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
5-B 2019-6715
Transportation Commission Endorsement of Restriping the Miller-Sweeney Bridge and Alameda Approach
Staff Member Wheeler gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3893582&GUID=9A811A3D-0737-4B93-9A32-CD4A90D84FF4&FullText=1>
Chair Miley opened the floor to public comment.
Pat Potter, Bike Walk Alameda and CASA, said that Vision Zero and Climate Action plans should inform this project. She said Alameda will not achieve Vision Zero or encourage people to bike with sharrows. She suggested building out the sidewalks to be able to stripe lanes for bikes and pedestrians. She said we are guilty of going too slow when protecting our kids and our climate.
James Johnston said he often bikes to Fruitvale BART. He told his story of approaching the bridge (from the Alameda side) while biking in the lane when a Safeway delivery van honked at him and passed very aggressively at close distance which knocked him off of his bike. He said the police officer that responded told him he was wrong for being in the center of the lane. He said the officer told him to ride on the sidewalk even though it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk on the bridge. He said sharrows will not make the road safe for bicyclists and suggested better training for the Police.
Bonnie Wehmann said she has heard stories from her students’ parents of Alameda Police officers using their loud speaker to tell kids riding in the center of the lane to move over even though she has taught them to ride there, as that is legal when it is unsafe to ride to the right. She said she takes her bicycle camps to Fruitvale BART and that getting back into Alameda is “insane.” She said there is no place for cyclists to safely navigate the Tilden/Fernside/Blanding intersection. She said she would like to see some sort of bollards protecting the lane and is very concerned anytime a bike lane transitions to sharrows.
David Berman, AC Transit, said AC Transit is supportive of the staff recommendation. He said they carry about 2,000 people per day across the bridge in AC Transit buses. He said they hope long term solutions will include transit as a priority and not only active transportation modes.
Chair Miley closed the public comment period.
Commissioner Kohlstrand said she walks the Tilden Way/Fernside/Blanding intersection 4-5 times per week. She said she fears for her life crossing Tilden at night and in the winter. She said she is most concerned with the bike lane to sharrows transition coming off the bridge into Alameda. She asked for information about the status of the rail right of way.
Staff Member Wheeler said the City has grant funds to purchase, design, and build a multi-use trail in the railroad right of way. She said the City is taking possession of the right of way through eminent domain. She said outreach and planning will begin later this year. She said the Tilden/Blanding/Fernside intersection will have to be redesigned. She said they hope to include evaluating the entire Tilden Way corridor.
Commissioner Kohlstrand said perhaps a temporary asphalt path through the right of way might be an interim solution.
Commissioner Nachtigall said that even some proactive maintenance of the railroad right of way, like cutting back overgrown plants and removing trash, could improve the current situation.
Commissioner Soules asked that staff check with APD regarding the vehicle code questions raised and make sure everyone is on the same page. She said she appreciates that the project is a quick safety improvement. She said it would help to inform the public of the other longer-term phases and where they are in the process, and would like to see good signage at the bike lane to sharrows transition.
Chair Miley said they received an email comment supporting the bike lanes.
Commissioner Yuen said that it sounds like some design options are still being studied. She is concerned about sharrows being used at all. She said she wants to make the right decision and asked if the plan could come back to the commission once there is more clarity.
Chair Miley said he appreciates staff trying to get something done quickly even if this is not the final solution. He said he would not want to wait even longer to get bike lanes striped on the bridge, as this was considered before maybe ten years ago. He said he’d like to see the speed limit on Tilden reduced sooner rather than in a future project phase. He said he would like to see an evaluation of removing the concrete median.
Commissioner Soules made a motion to approve the staff recommendation with the understanding that staff would update the Commissioners on the implementation of the longer-term phases and make sure the community is aware of the near-term project in advance. Commissioner Miley seconded the motion. The motion passed 6-0.
5-C 2019-6716
Presentation on the Pavement Management Program for Alameda including the 3-year paving plan.
Staff Member Wikstrom gave a presentation. The staff report and attachments can be found at: <https://alameda.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3893583&GUID=B47F2C01-A5D9-48B0-A4AC-348E4DB1AC34&FullText=1>
Chair Miley said Commissioner Johnson emailed a question about who is responsible for paving the pathways on Bay Farm Island.
Staff Member Wikstrom said there is a variety of ownerships for the different pathways. He said pathways adjacent to roadways are eligible for these funds for future consideration now that there are more funds available.
Chair Miley said he feels like the inconvenience of closing the road for half a day is a reasonable price to pay to prolong the life of our roads and close the backlog of maintenance work to be done.
Commissioner Nachtigall asked if lane striping is done when the crack sealing occurs. She said the crack sealing can make it hard to see the lane markings.
Staff Member Wikstrom said that they should go together but do not always.
Commissioner Soules thanked staff for hitting the correct level of information to help answer all the most common questions residents have.
Commissioner Yuen asked if we use repaving as an opportunity to consider restriping roads to improve active transportation options and increase safety.
Staff Member Wikstrom said they do take the Bike Plan into consideration when making striping plans. He said occasionally, like with Fernside, staff will reconsider larger changes when they have an opportunity. He said they choose projects primarily based on the goal of managing the pavement condition rather than having something like the Bike Plan dictate which streets to address.
This item was informational and no action was taken.
6. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
6-A Potential Future Meeting Agenda Items
1. Draft Capital Improvement Program
2. Quarterly Report of Transportation Plans and Policies
3. Transportation Management Association Annual Reports
4. Otis Drive Safety Improvement Project Concept Approval
5. Draft Climate Plan Update Strategies
6. Emergency Plan with Transportation Annex
7. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PUBLIC COMMENT
*None*
8. ADJOURNMENT
Chair Miley adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m.