DATE: 11/20/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
2024-140
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
REQUEST FROM COUNCIL MEMBER STEINER FOR ARTERIAL STREET MEDIAN
ENHANCEMENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report asks the City Council to consider directing staff to undertake work to prepare a plan to improve arterial medians on Green River Road, as well as other major gateway arterial streets in the City.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council provide feedback and direction on whether to prepare a future presentation regarding arterial street median enhancements and proposed projects.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Council Member Steiner submitted a Future Agenda Item Request Form, requesting adding additional landscaped medians to arterial streets where landscaped medians do not exist. There are currently approximately 5.3 miles of landscaped medians currently designed or in the planning stages as part of existing or planned projects.
ANALYSIS:
The Public Works Department, City’s Capital Improvements Projects (CIP) Division is responsible for overseeing the planning, design, and construction of capital improvement projects, some of which currently incorporate landscaped medians. Currently, programmed projects include 6th Street, Ontario Avenue at Lincoln Avenue, and Magnolia Avenue, which are in design incorporating landscaped medians. The CIP team is currently reviewing opportunities to install landscaped medians at another three locations: Hidden Valley Parkway, Promenade Avenue, and Green River Road, for inclusion in the Capital Improvement Program.
There is no current program to install landscaped medians as part of a specific effort, and installation is generally incorporated as part of larger projects or planning efforts such as the Downtown Revitalization. City staff generally review projects to incorporate these elements where possible, as inclusion of landscaped medians has several potential benefits for the City. Potential benefits and challenges of installing landscaped medians are summarized below.
Potential Benefits:
Beautification
Traffic Management
Storm Water Management
Pedestrian, Ornamentation, and Signage Opportunities
Potential Challenges:
Increased Capital and Maintenance Costs
Driveway and Cross Street Access
Emergency Service and Construction Access
Water Use
Overall, approximately 5.3 miles of landscaped medians are currently incorporated in the design or planning stages for inclusion in future CIP projects.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The financial impact of a potential plan with associated projects has yet to be determined.
Researching and preparing options for the council to consider will require approximately 40 hours of staff time, worth $2,848.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action provides an overview of the Public Works Engineering team’s current efforts to enhance arterial medians and landscape. Since there is no possibility that this action will have a significant effect on the environment, no environmental analysis is required. Individual projects will be reviewed for environmental compliance accordingly in the future.
PREPARED BY: KEEGAN OLDS, CIP SUPERVISOR
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 - Future Agenda Item Request