1 OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CULVER CITY MOBILITY, TRAFFIC, AND PARKING SUBCOMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE October 26, 2023 CULVER CITY MOBILITY, 6:00 p.m. TRAFFIC, AND PARKING SUBCOMMITTEE CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Call to Order & Roll Call Council Member Eriksson called the special meeting of the Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee to order at 6:08 p.m. in the Dan Patacchia Meeting Room at City Hall Present: Göran Eriksson, Council Member Freddy Puza, Council Member Staff Present: Andrew Maximous, Mobility and Traffic Engineering Manager Mate Gaspar, Engineering Services Manager Alicia Ide, Management Analyst o0o Pledge of Allegiance Council Member Eriksson led the Pledge of Allegiance. o0o Items from Members/Staff Council Member Puza expressed apologies for being a few minutes late. Council Member Eriksson reported attending the Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Luncheon. Alicia Ide, Management Analyst, discussed Movember; the date for the next meeting; and she encouraged Council Members to Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 2 let her know if they were planning on attending the official ceremony for the Higuera Bridge opening. o0o Public Comment - Items Not on the Agenda Council Member Eriksson invited public comment. The following members of the public addressed the Subcommittee: David Coles thanked Andrew Maximous for ensuring that the leading pedestrian interval was immediately added to the intersection of Culver and Elenda; provided feedback on his experiences as a frequent bus rider on Route 1; felt that two bus stops in a single block was not efficient; he proposed eliminating the stop at Washington and Madison as he felt it redundant; he presented slides of bus stops that were no longer in use and created confusion; and he proposed relocation of the shelters to other stops without benches or shade. Khin Khin Gyi discussed increased difficulty in crossing the Ranch/Kelmore/Overland (RKO) intersection safely; the need for a traffic light to address the six streams of traffic; the traffic island; she reported attending the October 19 General Plan meeting where the two bike paths emanating from Fox Hills were discussed; she asserted that the Overland path was unsafe; discussed student safety; and she requested that the focus be placed on the Sepulveda bike route. Discussion ensued between Ms. Gyi and Subcommittee Members regarding clarification of the Overland route. Melissa Sanders requested an update on when sidewalks throughout the City would be fixed. Alicia Ide, Management Analyst, indicated sidewalk repairs are ongoing and part of multiple current and future projects. Public Works Engineering could provide information about specific locations. o0o Receive and File Correspondence Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 3 MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PUZA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ERIKSSON AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE MOBILITY, TRAFFIC, AND PARKING SUBCOMMITTEE RECEIVE AND FILE CORRESPONDENCE. o0o Consent Calendar Items Item C-1 Approval of Minutes for the Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee Special Meeting of August 24, 2023 MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER PUZA, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ERIKSSON AND UNANIMOUSLY CARRIED, THAT THE MOBILITY, TRAFFIC, AND PARKING SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVE MINUTES FOR THE SPECIAL MEETING OF AUGUST 24, 2023. O0o Action Items Item A-1 (1) Receive and Discuss a Presentation from Culver City Unified School District Green New Deal Team Regarding Proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Around Farragut Elementary School, Culver City Middle School, and Culver City High School Campuses; and (2) Provide Direction to Staff Alicia Ide, Management Analyst, introduced the item. Lila Braggard, Culver City High School Senior, provided a presentation on The Green New Deal Elenda Campus Transportation Infrastructure Plan; discussed the students who worked on the Plan; support for the proposal by the School Board; plan goals; feasibility; environmental benefits; preventing harm to student safety; acknowledgement of overlapping projects and needs across the City; ensuring a comprehensive plan for all student needs; prioritization; ongoing projects; adjusting phases to feedback received; bike signals and crossing signal adjustments; other easy fixes; drop off zones; signage; bike sensors; bike lanes; stop signs; crosswalks; drop off zones; ideas to address congestion; ensuring pedestrian safety; meeting with City staff to determine feasibility and costs of specific goals; and solicitation of community support.
Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 4 Discussion ensued between Ms. Braggard, staff, and Subcommittee Members regarding items under consideration; components of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan; crosswalk installation as part of the Safe Routes to School Project; appreciation for the report and the work done; outreach to the neighbors affected by potential changes; street dimensions; additional research to be done; the inability to install a bike lane on Elenda without giving up something; whether trees would need to be removed to accommodate a bike lane; encouraging middle and high school students to use alternate methods of transportation; the free bus pass program; the work plan; drop offs; coordination with the School Board; presenting to the City Council/School Board Liaison Subcommittee; working to change the culture; changing habits; staff communication with the School District; City choices vs. District choices; lack of action; making sure that action is taken to ensure student safety; concern with lack of action on community suggestions and a request to create a project plan; fitting into projects and plans that are already in process; a long term study of enhancements to Elenda between Culver and the school; Class 2 bike lanes; study level projects and budgets; data collection; public outreach to present options; public support; clarifying the level of support regarding changing the street; proposed improvements in front of the school; resident opposition to the installation of stop signs; concern regarding residents who have blocked improvements for years; and Brown Act issues regarding a deeper discussion of the stop signs. Council Member Eriksson invited public input. The following member of the public addressed the Subcommittee: Melissa Sanders commented on forwarding minutes of a meeting earlier in 2023 that included a discussion of the issue; expressed disappointment that proposed projects were not completed before school started; discussed reassignment of crossing guards; temporary issues getting to school; the Elenda portion of the plan; support for a stop sign at Lindblade; the feeling that no stop sign is needed between Braddock and Farragut; that Elenda is not a street that can accommodate a protected bike lane; support for looking at existing signals on Culver; she felt that kids should not be Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 5 biking on Elenda; discussed taking advantage of the bike path; the opening of the Jackson Gate; the need for the School District to be better partners with the City; placing the focus on getting kids to school; support for a stop sign; traffic created by non-resident kids being driven to school; she asked that the City conduct an audit; agreed that all kids should be able to get to school safely; proposed addressing the issue on multiple levels; and she noted that just because they did not agree with the plan, that did not mean they did not support safety. Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding appreciation for the presentation; support for collaboration with the School Board; and addressing issues in the work plan. o0o Item A-2 (1) Discussion of Options to Pave Unpaved Alleyways Citywide; and (2) Direction to Staff Mate Gaspar, Engineering Services Manager, provided background on the item; referenced previous Subcommittee discussion of the item and the request that staff return with a priority list; prioritizing alleys with the most complaints and those with worst recurring issues; estimated costs; research on European products; and the need for permanent solutions. Council Member Eriksson invited public input. The following member of the public addressed the Subcommittee: Melissa Sanders discussed the easement behind her house; the need to pave all the alleys to increase safety; mobility issues; she wanted to see a more environmentally friendly alternative used rather than concrete; and she expressed support for paving prioritized alleys first. Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding concern with proposed costs; the amount budgeted; sharing costs with residents; creating districts; other Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs); costs to build new roadways; permanent vs. temporary solutions; the need to Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 6 construct a new road; alleys with flooding problems; increased rain projections; concern with committing the City to spend such a large amount of money; use of alternative materials; accommodating the weight of trash trucks; bringing the item before the City Council with a suggestion to create districts; residents who previously requested that the City vacate their alley; options for cost sharing such as incentives; options for addressing flooding issues; regular regrading of alleys by City crews vs. using private contractors; semi-annual regrading; traffic; people who use alleys for short cuts; agreement to make a recommendation to the City Council in January; sidewalks; and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). o0o Item A-3 (1) Receive Presentations on Pass-Through Traffic Data for Various Parts of Culver City and Utilizing Big Data to Inform Deployments of Safety Improvements; and (2) Discuss and Provide Direction to Staff Andrew Maximous, Mobility and Traffic Engineering Manager, provided a presentation on pass-through data recently acquired; discussed benefits of utilizing big traffic data; uncovering patterns or trends; data-driven decision making; driver behavior; use of data company Replica; time frame for analysis; example of trips through the downtown area; destinations; anonymous data; transit; trip purpose; trip distance; taking a reactive vs. proactive approach; qualitative observations; community feedback; cell phone data; active transportation data; example of areas where people travel 10 miles per hour or more above the speed limit; enforcement; countermeasures; and next steps. Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding data collection; use of AI (Artifical Intelligence); prioritization of resources to focus on safety; taking a big picture approach; understanding when bad behavior; the relationship between speed and fatal crashes; the Fox Hills project; use of data by other departments; and implementation. Council Member Eriksson invited public input. The following member of the public addressed the Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 7 Subcommittee: Eric Shabsis requested clarification regarding Culver Boulevard between Main Street and Canfield; he asked about use of data to extrapolate whether driver behavior changed due to changes in the area; discussed auditing data used regarding the MOVE Culver City Project to get data from 2019 to compare with current conditions; use of data for upcoming developments in Fox Hills; community benefit packages; and specific data vs. anecdotal data. Additional discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding data for the downtown area; time frame; filtering data; field data; concern with forming a study based on generalities; and appreciation for the report. o0o Item A-4 (1) Discuss a Safe Routes for Seniors Program; and (2) Provide Direction to Staff Andrew Maximous, Mobility and Traffic Engineering Manager, discussed previous consideration of a Safe Routes for Seniors Program. Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding providing safe access for senior programming whether it is at the Senior Center or not; allowing for active transportation options; identification of areas where seniors experience more accidents in the City; crossing signal length; and budgetary requests. Council Member Eriksson invited public input. The following members of the public addressed the Subcommittee: David Coles expressed support for building infrastructure with the most vulnerable people in mind; discussed that such improvements can benefit everyone; and curb cuts. Council Member Eriksson discussed his experience using a cane and noted the amount of work to be done to fix infrastructure. Eric Shabsis discussed recent City Council direction Mobility, Traffic, and Parking Subcommittee October 26, 2023 8 regarding kiosks and noted the ability to provide transportation information around the Senior Center areas. o0o Public Comment for Items NOT on the Agenda Council Member Eriksson invited public participation. Alicia Ide, Management Analyst, reported no additional requests to speak. o0o Items from Staff/Subcommittee Members Andrew Maximous, Mobility and Traffic Engineering Manager, provided an update on the Overland and Fox Hills projects and discussed interaction and coordination between the projects. Discussion ensued between staff and Subcommittee Members regarding providing community updates. o0o Adjournment