Carriage Square Traffic Calming Educational Component and Solutions Workshop Meeting Notes November 15, 2001

7:00 P.M. Welcome & Project Overview - Dolores Lendrum, Assistant to the City Manager, Community Connection

The evening is the Educational Component and Solutions Workshop, which is one of a series of seven sessions that are designed to include community input and brainstorming, an educational process, and the development of traffic calming priorities and alternative solutions through a community focus group. This is an open process that anyone is welcome to join.

Many of you participated in our first neighborhood meeting on August 29 and provided us with valuable information. Tonight is a follow-up to that meeting and will consist of a series of educational presentations based on the feedback received from the 65 residents who attended that meeting and from the 107 Neighborhood Transportation Management Surveys returned out of the 600 that were mailed out.

Because we have so much material to cover this evening, participants are requested to hold all their questions until the end of the presentations. Cards are available to write questions and suggestions on during the presentations to ensure that all the issues will be addressed at the end.

7:15 P.M. Neighborhood Traffic Data and City Policies -Kathleen Wilkie, Assistant Engineer

The most frequently mentioned issues mentioned by residents include: excessive speed on Dorsch, Gill Port, Carriage, Arkell & Shannon; too much congestion at the intersections of Carriage/Treat & Winton/Treat; the inability to make left turns from Arkell onto Treat; overflow of parking (along with litter) from sporting activities and school events; cut through traffic on Dorsch, Gill Port & Carriage particularly when vehicles are loud late at night; and lack of signal timing coordination on Treat. There are too many specific issues to mention in this presentation that were identified by residents but the comprehensive list has been provided as a handout.

Signal coordination spans the jurisdictions of Contra Costa County, the State of California, the City of Concord and the City of Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek will be taking over control of all the County and State signals from Carriage Drive to North Main Street to insure better signal timing. In addition, the City of Concord and the City of Walnut Creek are purchasing the same new signal masters and intersection controllers that will allow more flexible timing and better coordination along the Treat Boulevard corridor.

The City collected speed and volume data throughout the neighborhood to aid in making better decisions on alternative solutions to the neighborhood concerns. Directional speed and volume counts were taken on Gill Port, Dorsch, Carriage, Arkell, Shannon and Claiborne. The information collected shows that Dorsch carries the highest speeds (37 mph eastbound & 36 mph westbound) with Arkell north of Treat (37 mph northbound & 34 mph southbound) following close behind. Carriage Drive has the highest traffic volume (514 northbound & 519 southbound) and most evenly distributed. Other streets had traffic patterns that were heavy in one direction but light in the other. For example, Claiborne had 636 vehicles going south towards Bancroft Elementary School but only 171 returning in the northbound direction. This can probably be attributed to the difficulty getting from Claiborne to Shannon to Carriage during the peak school drop-off/pick-up times.

At the last neighborhood meeting we were asked about the classification of roadways in the neighborhood. The perception was that Carriage Drive in particular was mis-classified. I checked the City’s general plan so that we would all understand the differences in classifications.

Our general plan has four roadway classifications, Major Arterial, Arterial, Collector & Local. Major artrerials are intended to carry large volumes of traffic at relatively high speeds. Treat Boulevard for example is a major arterial. We limit access on major arterials primarily to intersections. We rarely allow driveways midblock because of the collision potential and the impedance of through traffic when vehicles are pulling into and out of the driveways. This was one of the reasons Carondelet was not allowed to put a driveway on Treat. The other was that if they were allowed to put in a driveway, they would have lost too many parking spaces. Therefore, the Concord Planning Commission would not allow Carondelet to place a new driveway on Treat.

Arterials, such as Bancroft are intended to divert traffic from neighborhood streets by carrying more vehicles at higher speeds and provide a means to divert traffic from neighborhood streets.

Collector streets are designed to provide access for local traffic to certain destinations or between arterial streets. The only collector street in this neighborhood is Minert. All the other streets including Carriage, are classified as local streets. They are intended to provide access to local properties including homes and neighborhood schools.

Radar surveys are required on major arterials, arterials and collector streets to establish speed limits. Speed limits are based on the “critical speed” (the speed at which 85% of the traffic is traveling at or below). Traffic engineers are allowed some discretion and may reduce the posted speed 5 miles per hour below the nearest critical speed if there are unusual circumstances. The “critical speed” is based on the theory that 85% of drivers are reasonable and prudent.

Traffic engineers must also follow traffic engineering guidelines in the installation of traffic control devices. The purpose of following the guidelines is to insure the uniformity of application. The guidelines were based on safety studies that determine when the installation of a particular device would improve safety and when it would decrease safety. There are specific guidelines for the installation of stop signs and traffic signals. Some of the things that are considered are collision history, volume of traffic, sight distance, and the number of pedestrians crossings.

Our experience has shown that stop signs installed to reduce speed are ineffective. Stop signs are intended to establish right-of-way and improve safety at intersections where there are broadside collisions. When they are installed where they do not meet the warrants they may actually cause more collisions. Often times a driver, bicyclist or pedestrian may assume and approaching vehicle will stop because there is a sign. The other driver may not notice the sign, or expect another vehicle and either completely blow the stop sign or roll through it. In that event, the pedestrian or bicyclist is truly at greater risk of sever injuries. We have also observed that when a stop sign is installed to slow traffic, drivers will speed up between signs to make up for the time lost in slowing down or stopping. Although the stop sign at Gill Port and Arkell was warranted due to the sight distance problem with the eucalyptus trees, residents in that area still complain about the speed of traffic and that drivers continually fail to stop.

Speed is not the only concern we heard about from you. As a reminder of some of the top issues that we need to consider, let us not forget, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, recreational activities at the schools, student drop-offs, overflow parking and the cost of installing improvements. We all want our efforts to be a positive venture for this community without “wasting” money. As we move forward with addressing the issues we will look at many alternatives with varying costs. Right now I’d like to show you of a couple of examples of other neighborhoods in Walnut Creek where we have struggled with similar concerns and actually implemented some physical changes to address them.

Traffic calming involves changes in street alignment, installation of barriers, and other physical measures to reduce traffic speeds and/or cut-through volumes, in the interest of street safety, livability, and other public purposes.

Traffic calming is more effective than traffic signs and enforcement because it alters driver behavior by creating a new perspective. Enforcement only works when a police officer is present or when someone thinks they might be. Traffic calming devices are present 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year. Although in theory, it sounds like an inexpensive solution to install something like turn restriction signs, the actual cost of enforcement in order to gain compliance goes on indefinitely.

Our most recent traffic calming installation was a neckdown on Peachwillow Ln where neighbors and parents were concerned about the safety of the school crossing. The average speed was reduced by 5 miles per hour and the critical speed was reduced from 34 to 32 miles per hour by the installation of the neckdown.

Several years ago we installed pavement undulations on Arbolado Drive and Lancaster Road. Just as with our Carriage Drive experience, there was difficulty getting residents to agree on installing the humps in front of their homes. Therefore, most of the undulations are located along stretches of the streets that are either on side yards, or in front of the park. The before & after studies on Arbolado showed a reduction in the critical speed on 6 miles per hour. (From 33 miles per hour to 27 miles per hour).

As a last note about traffic calming for the moment, it is important to note that there are different devices to solve different problems. One of the first things we need to consider is what do we want to accomplish. Is the intent just to slow people down? Or are we trying to stop traffic from cutting through the neighborhood? Later on this evening I’ll provide you with a brief description of some of the methods you might want to consider to accomplish the different objectives.

Other communities such a Pleasanton are now installing traffic circles to reduce speeds. Although not as effective as undulations, they are more aesthetically pleasing and are not directly in front of homes since they are constructed in intersections. As some of you know, we have recently gone through a similar neighborhood traffic calming project in the Northgate High School neighborhood and will soon be installing traffic calming measures in that neighborhood.

7:32 P.M. Enforcement Efforts – Officer Jack Sage, WCPD

In response to neighborhood complaints we have been concentrating on speed enforcement in this neighborhood. We have issued about 60 citations, plus many more warnings. We use radar to check vehicle speeds. Following behind cars to measure speed is too difficult on residential streets. Since we do use radar, the critical speed of traffic on the street is important. The courts will dismiss tickets if the cited speed is not above the critical speed. Most citations we issued are for speeding, but we also issued some for other violations. Forty-five of the citations were given to adults, and only 15 to kids. Fifty-eight were issued to non-residents, and only two to residents.

We also focused our attention on Treat Boulevard – Last year we issued 168 traffic citations, and 2-3 times that in warnings. We do not usually issue a speed citation unless the speed is 15 miles per hour over the posted limit, because if it isn’t, the courts will not uphold the citation. In response to neighborhood requests we increased the level of enforcement on Treat this year. This year to date, 256 citations were issued between Bancroft and Winton. This is a 52% increase over last year. These included 123 citations for speed and red light violations which is a 43% increase over the 86 we issued last year.

Some methods of enforcement are very noticeable. When officers seem to be “clumped” together, we call it saturation enforcement. This is an attempt to be visible, and we are not just chatting. We focus on giving citations in the immediate area. We are only successful in impacting driver behavior for 3-4 weeks at a time. Saturation enforcement moves to different areas. We can’t just stay in one area. Traffic calming is more effective for the long term. Radar trailers are used to educate the public of what the speed limit is and how fast they are going. It is another means to try and keep speeds down. Also citizens may realize cars aren’t going as fast as they thought they were.

There are now books available on how to fight traffic tickets. Critical speed is often mentioned as the first line of defense. We don’t stop many cars because of it. Traffic survey shows critical speed. Judge uses the critical speed instead of speed limit to make the final decision. The Goulet decision is often cited as a defense. The decision says that the critical speed is “reasonable and prudent.” It is hard to write tickets unless the speed is over the critical speed because there is no justification that the judge will accept.

Our future intent for enforcement is to continue saturation. Keep up the complaints, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Radar trailers will continue to be used. We also have the “Citizen Radar” program so that residents can get an idea of what is going on. Residents are trained how to use the radar gun and may check one out to use in their neighborhood. We tell them to try to be discreet. If vehicles are noted exceeding the speed limit we can write letters to them if citizens write down the license plate number.

In response to your concerns about after school activities, (De La Salle evening activities) we have assigned two beat officers, two reserves, two enforcement(ticket officers) and two motorcycle officers to patrol the neighborhood during and after games and special events. It has been helping, especially with the list of events provided by De La Salle. Noise is still a concern, but has been going down.

“Isn’t there an ordinance to prevent Jake brakes?” (Question from an audience member)

We lobbied the state, but were not successful. Every truck driver will do it “just because.” Noise is very hard to enforce.

Code Enforcement was unable to be here tonight but provided answers to previous concerns about local issues – 1400 Arkell is not a business but has been under construction and has had commercial vehicles parking on the street; the day care business on Carriage is legal; they were unable to locate the sofa sales business on Carriage but will investigate it if someone can provide the specific address. Commercial vehicles can park on residential street, only large trucks (10,000 lb. Gross vehicle rating) can’t park there.

7:50 P.M. Mt. Diablo Unified School District Policies - Pete Pedersen, Director of Maintenance, Operations & Facilities

In reference to student capacity, Ygnacio Valley High School was built in 1966, Bancroft Elementary was built in 1968. Both have grown appreciably, and enrollment may increase over the years.

The district policy on student transportation is based on state requirements. The state does not say we have to provide student transportation. Elementary-age students must live outside of a one-mile radius of the school. If inside of that, you must get your own transportation. For high school students the transportation boundary is outside of a 7-mile radius. This is also paid for by parents.

Community relations – Many of you expressed concern over litter on the fields after the weekend events and the amount of traffic and parking problems. The district has a use permit process that must applicants must follow. The first step is a site level review that would be signed by the principal of the school. This is followed by a district level review based on criteria in the policy. The district will revoke use permits based on complaints of litter, noise, dog feces, etc. but we must have documentation, i.e. photos or a call during the problem so that we may come out to verify. We are open 24-hours a day.

Parking policy – The school district policy says that parking is offered as a courtesy only. Meaning no warranties, no guarantees, what is there is there and that is it. 

8:10 P.M. Bancroft Elementary School Ongoing Efforts - Gail Brekke, Principal

The original circulation plan for the school site was that Parish was to continue to Bancroft, but it didn’t happen.

Carpool policies – School Pool (agency) information is sent to parents every September, trying to encourage carpooling at different sites. Safety committees have looked into various concerns, one of which is carpooling. Bancroft has inter-district transfers, i.e. students living outside area that must be driven to school. It used to be that students walked or rode bicycles to school, but now almost everyone must be driven. Safety is a big issue. Carpool has only been informal because we cannot require people to use it. We try to encourage it, but it is not a formal system because many parents have scheduling conflicts.

On-site drop off zones – loitering students? I don’t think we have very many, although some students must wait for parents to pick them up after school, crossing guards help to monitor this. We allow a 15-minute window for student pick-up after school. If any students are still around, they are brought back to the school. We are trying to control drop-off locations. We created a new drop off area when we upgraded the parking lot and moved the trail access to the end of Parish. Parents know the rules, but many times they are in a hurry and don’t follow them. We need to have citizens to be a part of the program to help stop the parents from dropping off in the “wrong” places. Parent “patrol” can be very helpful.

Off campus parking – parking in the front of the school has been increased. The map in the handouts shows improvements in regards to parking and drop offs. The main crosswalk was eliminated at the old trail entrance and relocated where students wouldn’t have to cross in front of traffic coming in and going out. We moved the trail access to make it safer for the students. Some residents have had to change their walking patterns as a result of this change but it has improved safety for the students. The school with the help of Countrywood Shopping Center added a parking lot in 1993. It added 33 spaces in front of school. 

8:35 P.M. Ygnacio Valley High School Campus Security - Mike Kelly, Vice Principal

We currently have a supervision program that includes 5 administrators, 5 campus advisers, 1 full-time Concord police officer, and 1 full-time probation officer. That’s 12 full-time people on the team. There are also 2 security people in the parking lot of the shopping center.

The Savannah Circle gate to the campus is locked from 8:45 to 2:45. There is a campus supervisor there during lunch, brunch and after school. Supervisors will rotate and monitor various sites around campus to ensure that students cannot predict who will be at what location at a particular time.

(Comment from resident living near the gate): “Supervisors aren’t there, especially in the morning times around 7 am. Loiterers are there at length. That’s when I walk my daughter to Bancroft and the high school students are there drinking, smoking, and doing drugs. I don’t feel comfortable calling the police because they would know who did it and might retaliate.”

We also participate in Operation Stay in School with WCPD and Concord PD to pick up truants. Students that are caught off-campus during the school day are returned to the school.

Parking is not a problem at Ygnacio Valley. We have a large parking lot, so most students aren’t parking off campus. We do not play football games on campus. They are usually played at Mt. Diablo or DVC. Most other school events can be contained on-site.

8:42 P.M. De La Salle Ongoing Efforts, Bruce Shoup, President

We currently do not have a policy for carpooling. This is something we need to work on. Our parking policy is to give juniors and seniors first priority, first come - first serve. This year there is a shortage of spaces due to construction. Spaces that are seen to be empty at any given time aren’t really “available.” Spaces are assigned to specific students. The student may be absent, or off-campus with permission. We charge a $20 fee for parking, and sell approximately 350 permits. Students may be parking on the street for various reasons. However, they are informed about the “illegal” parking on the streets repeatedly during class.

In reference to the litter problem after games, we have extra security for every on campus event, in parking lots and outside of the school. Deans out there to watch the parking lot, and have cooperation with Carondelet. Staff tries to help pick up litter after the events. WCPD are now out there as well.

8:47 P.M. Carondelet Ongoing Efforts - Stephanie Majoy, Dean of Students

The parking policy used to be that any junior or senior could get a permit to “fish” for parking. If there was no parking, they parked in the neighborhood. This year we instituted a new policy where parking is by permit ($20), but priority is given to anyone with 3 passengers and a driver. Single driver permits are probably not going to happen. All spaces are assigned, and they are all for carpoolers.

The back-up of traffic onto Treat used to be worse when parents just pulled into the lot and stopped to drop off students. We recently created a drop off lane and flow lane for the school to try to minimize Treat backup. After school we do not allow stop and go pick up. Parents must park in the first available parking spot before letting students into their cars.

The crossing guard on Winton, paid for by Carondelet, helps to control both students crossing the street and the flow of traffic. We tried to put up sound wall fence, especially to prevent noise and block the light that bother neighbors. There were construction problems so it is not yet complete.

Our new parking structure will add approximately 76 parking spaces. Carpool priority will still be enforced. We tell sophomores who get their license later in the year that they are expected to continue to carpool for the remainder of the school year.

The median on Treat was removed by Carondelet, to help alleviate the backup. Buses can now make the left turn onto Treat and no longer have to drive through the neighborhood. We will continue to have traffic but we trying to reduce it. There are still some buses that don’t know they can get out that way yet, but working on notifying everyone.

8:55 P.M. Q&A

Q.	Why don’t we enforce more on Treat & Ygnacio?
A.	These are the most heavily enforced. There are limited resources.
Q.	Can there be excess noise citations issued?
A.	Noise is not a priority. Citations are issued more for speeds, red-light violations. We will look into noise ordinances that can be used in our community.
Q.	What can be done about kids running on the street (cross-country)? – They are not aware of traffic and don’t look for it. They are in the street as a group and it is a safety hazard.
A.	(All of the high schools will address the issues with the track coaches)
Q.	Do we have traffic data surveyed by the time of day?
A.	Yes
Q.	Will a four way stop sign be placed at Winton and Arkell?
A.	Warrants were run, but volume does not meet criteria. Since the volume is low (compared to the warrant volumes) and the approaches are evenly distribute we are not opposed to putting one in. However this is a solution that we will discuss as a group to evaluate the pros and cons.
Q.	Can they use the black top at Bancroft School for parking on weekends?
A.	We used to do that for special events such as the first day of school and open house, but the school district said that shouldn’t be allowed because of liability. Someone backed into a pole on the blacktop area and requested reimbursement for damages to their car. There is parking on Parish and in front of the school, but only some people use that parking on weekends.
Q.	Why does open house always coincide with trash pick-up day?
A.	Do you have a survey of how many students are walking versus being dropped off at the schools? Can we send out a survey to find out where people are going there? Walk throughs, are they really going through? Are the kids really using the walk throughs? There is too much loitering. Trying to keep the kids from hanging out in the neighborhood.
Q.	Why does open house always coincide with trash pick-up day?
Q.	Do you have a survey of how many students are walking versus being dropped off at the schools? Can we send out a survey to find out where people are going there? Walk throughs, are they really going through? Are the kids really using the walk throughs? There is too much loitering. Trying to keep the kids from hanging out in the neighborhood.
A.	We will work on compiling some information on the walk-through usage.
Q.	What can be done about noise at 5:30 a.m. from Countrywood Shopping center (sweepers and deliveries)?
A.	We will contact them to find out what can be done to minimize early morning noise.
Q.	What about noise from the bar in the late night?
A.	WCPD will make sector officers aware and try to do more patrols. People leaving late at night when the bar closes make a lot of noise. Will enforce if it is excess noise or speeding.
Q.	Can the “No right turn on red” sign at Carriage and Treat be changed to limit it to school hours only? It is justifiable when kids are present, but what about the other times? Can we put some hour restrictions there instead of all the time?
A.	Since there is disagreement on this issue, we will discuss it further as a group.
Q.	Can Parish be extended to Bancroft? It seems that there could be an option for one-way flow?
A.	It would probably be cost prohibitive due to the right-of-way acquisition cost. It would also a safety issue for kids who use the trail and cross Parish in front of the school. However, city staff will look at what it would required and bring the information back to the focus group.
Q.	Can the hours for pick-up and drop-off of kids be extended?
A.	This is a supervision issue. It would require more money and contract negotiations. “Maybe get a tutoring program with the high school students to cover that.” (Citizen suggestion)
Q.	Can we get statistics for how many times WCPD has had to respond to complaints about graffiti and loitering at the Savannah Circle access to YVHS? There is a faded drug free zone sign out there, can it be replaced?
A.	Yes to both.
Q.	Can we get a list of phone numbers for Code Enforcement, all the Schools, the Shopping Center, etc.
A.	Yes. We will compile the list and bring it to the next meeting
Q.	Can we get a list of Focus Group members for the rest of the community to contact with issues to consider.
A.	We will provide that information to focus group participants after making sure they do not object to having their name and number published.

9:20 P.M. Wrap Up/Adjournment – Dolores Lendrum, Assistant to the City Manager, Community Connection Thank you for your patience in getting through all the educational material. It is extremely important that everyone have all the information as we move forward to the next phase. The focus group volunteers will be meeting again in two weeks to start prioritizing the problems and developing solutions. Those of you that will be continuing on in this process need to remember that you not only represent your own personal issues but also those of the neighborhood. We will end a few minutes early so you can take this opportunity have some cookies and juice and get to know each other. All the representatives from the various schools and agencies will also still be here to answer more of your questions. Thank you all for coming. We look forward to seeing you again in two weeks.