To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: TED SEMAAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
TITLE
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APPROVE THE INSTALLATION OF LEFT TURN RESTRICTION AND TIME-RESTRICTED LOADING ZONE ON SOUTH SIDE OF RIPLEY AVENUE, EAST OF ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL, BETWEEN FELTON LANE AND HARRIMAN LANE
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since the 2015-16 school year, Staff has been meeting with representatives from the Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) and each individual school’s Principal to discuss traffic issues around the schools. The intent of this effort is to increase motorist compliance with stop signs, increase awareness and safety at school pedestrian crossings, provide improved ADA-compliant access and increase motorist awareness of the school areas.
At the January 27, 2020 Public Works Commission meeting, the Commission approved forwarding the following recommendations for the Council’s consideration: the removal of left-turn movements in to Adams Middle School at the Clark Lane driveway, and installation of a loading zone on the south side of Ripley Avenue, between Felton Lane and Harriman Lane as shown on Attachment 1. The recommendations for Adams Middle School are based on a prior meeting made with City, school and BCHD stakeholders, and field observations and data collection made by staff. The January 27, 2020 Public Works Commission Report and meeting minutes can be found in Attachment 2.
This item was on the April 7, 2020 City Council meeting agenda and was pulled from further consideration at the request of the City Manager. Attachment 3 is the Blue Folder Item, correspondence from residents, from the April 7, 2020 meeting. The title and proposed loading zone location have been modified to reflect the area between Felton Lane and Harriman Lane.
BACKGROUND
School related traffic near Adams Middle School is often problematic for approximately 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon on school days, which may lead to heavy congestion during these periods. As part of the School Area Traffic Safety Program study, staff presented the Adams Middle School Traffic Safety Evaluation in august 2018 with the intent to reduce congestion to the lowest degree possible, provide more orderly loading and unloading activities adjacent to the school and create an environment that increases safety and mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists. As part of the evaluation, The City Council authorized staff to implement several traffic calming and traffic control features which included high-visibility crosswalks and LED-imbedded flashing stop signs.
More recently, additional modifications were considered to potentially enhance traffic safety along Ripley Avenue. Input from the school Principal was critical in the development of the recommendations to ensure that daily observations of issues are addressed and requests are incorporated to the degree possible. At an August 2019 joint meeting, which included the Principal, Council Members Loewenstein and Horvath, Redondo Beach Union School District board representatives and Beach Cities Health District representatives, the Principal emphasized the need to restrict left turning movements from westbound Ripley Avenue onto the Adams Middle School valet parking entrance due to added congestion as vehicles were waiting for appropriate gaps to enter the school site.
Following the August 2019 meeting, staff made several field visits to observe traffic flow, observe behavior during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times, and additional observations to discover any issues related to traffic circulation and operations. Staff’s findings verified the Principal’s initial concerns and confirmed the appropriate recommendation to assist in mitigating concerns.
Staff’s initial recommendation during the January 27, 2020 Public Works Commission meeting was the installation of a left-turn restriction for the westbound ingress movement at the valet parking entrance and an arrival/ dismissal time restricted loading zone adjacent to Adams Middle School between Clark Lane and Felton Lane. The left-turn restriction would help to discourage the observed congestion and erratic driver behavior. With the left -turn restriction, there is a potential need for parents traveling westbound on Ripley Avenue to find an alternative method of picking up/ dropping off their children. The arrival/ dismissal time restricted loading zone on the north side of Ripley Avenue between Clark Lane and Felton Lane would assist in providing appropriate on-street parking availability for the rerouted pick-up/ drop-off activities due to the left-turn restriction.
Following deliberation and input from residents, the Commission’s recommendation to forward to the Council was to maintain the left-turn restriction recommendation but relocate the loading zone so as to reduce impact to the on-street parking. The loading zone is now proposed to be installed further east of the school site, between Felton Lane and Harriman Lane, potentially eliminating the disruption to parking availability for residents adjacent to Adams Middle School.
The motion was carried unanimously by the Commission (7-0). The approved minutes can be found as part of Attachment 2.
COORDINATION
Notification of the City Council meeting and recommendations were sent to the Principals of Washington Elementary and Adams Middle School for their consideration. Additionally, notification letters, Attachment 4, were mailed April 8 and April 17 for the City Council meeting, discussing the left turn restriction and loading zone, were sent to residents within one-block of the proposed loading zone area.
FISCAL IMPACT
Installation and traffic paint associated with the left-turn restriction and proposed loading zone is considered minimal and will be purchased with the CIP’s Traffic Calming budget.
APPROVED BY:
Joe Hoefgen, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Diagram of Proposed Improvements
2. January 27, 2020 Public Works Commission Report and Meeting Minutes
3. Blue Folder Item Received at April 7, 2020 City Council Meeting
4. Adams MS Loading Zone Notification Letter