Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: AUGUST 1, 2022
TO: TRANSPORTATION & CIRCULATION COMMISSION
SUBMITTED BY: PUBLIC WORKS/TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION
PREPARED BY: DAVE ROSEMAN, CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEER
SUBJECT: SUNSET LANE SCHOO L NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC
SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
SUMMARY
Consider the City Traffic Engineer ’s recommended implementation and modification of traffic and parking controls in the vicinity of Sunset Lane School as outlined in Exhibit “A” (Attachment 1).
RECOMMENDATION
1. Concur with the City Traffic Engineer’s recommended traffic safety enhancement s and recommend approval of the following new stop controls to City Council:
Installation of additional STOP control s at the following intersections, as outlined in Exhibit “B” (Attachment 2):
a. El Rancho Vista at Sunset Lane (southbound)
b. Sunrise Lane at Sunset Lane (northbound)
c. Loma Verde Drive at Sunrise Lane (eastbound)
d. Conejo Lane at Sunrise Lane (westbound)
e. Sunset Lane at Camino Centroloma (eastbound)
2. Concur with t he City Traffic Engineer’s planned traffic and parking safety enhancement modifications as outlined below:
Installation of red zones at the following intersections, as outlined in Exhibit “C” (Attachment 3):
a. El Rancho Vista at Sunset Lane (northwest & northeast corners) b. Sunrise Lane at Sunset Lane (southwest corner)
c. Conejo Lane at Sunrise Lane (northeast & southeast corners) d. Conejo Lane at Camino Centroloma ( southwest, southeast & northeast corners)
3. Installation of parking “T”s along the south curb of Sunset Lane between El Rancho Vista and Camino Centroloma, as outlined in Exhibit “C” (Attachment 3).
Sunset Lane School Neighborhood Traffic Safety Enhancements August 1, 2022 - Page 2
4. Installation of additional “school crossing” warning signs, as outlined in Exhibit “D” (Attachment 4).
DISCUSSION
The City Engineer rec ently met with the Fullerton School District’s Risk Manager to discuss student s afety a nd traffic operations in the imm ediate area of Sunset Lane Elementary School. At that meeting , the Risk Manager pointed out two primary s afety concerns as outlined below:
• The first co ncern was for student safety at the marked crosswalk at El Ran cho Vista & Sunset Lane. It was reporte d that drivers fre quently encroach into the crosswalk during student drop- off and pick-up potentially limiting motorist visibility of students crossing in the west leg school crosswalk.
Staff has confirm ed that parent s, dropping off and picking up student s during school arrival and dismissal periods , frequently stop their vehicles at the intersection in such a manner as to limit the visibility of students a nd pedestrians legally crossing at the intersection. Although t his is p rimarily a n enforcement matter, the City Traffic Engineer believes that motorist behavior could be improved by the installation of addition al red zones and the painting of parking “T”s to better define appropriate parking areas. The proposed parking modifications are outlined in Exhibit “C” (Attachment 3).
• The second concern is that occ asionally heavy student and pedestrian crossing activity at the Camino Centroloma & Conejo Lane intersection during school arrival and dismissal periods creates congestion and queuing that impacts the flow of traffic to, from, and around the school.
The intersection of Camino Centroloma & Conejo Lane is controlled by all-way stop signs. Staff has confirmed that traffic at the intersection can at times queue up; howe ver, at no time did staff find the motorist wait or the queues to be unreasonably excessive. The all-way stop at this intersection is considered a necessity due to the brisk student and pedestrian activity within all four crosswalks and need to control veh icular tra ffic through positive assignment of right-of-way.
The assignment of an Adult Crossing Guard may improve intersection progression and efficiency; however, observations of traffic operations during this investigation did not reveal an immediate need or jus tification for such a me asure at this time.
Should the School District submit a formal request for an Adult Crossing Guard, staff will con duct a formal investigation into the matter in accordance with guidelines established in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
As a part of the investigation into the two safety concerns, staff also assessed the traffic controls in the neighborhood around the school to determine if they were in good condition and if other measures could be i mplemented to enhance motorist, student, and pedestrian safety. Based on this additional assessment it was determined that the following changes in traffic and parking controls would be prudent:
1. Installation of stop controls at “T” intersections - In observing both th e physical environment and motorist be havior in the vicinity of the school , staff observed that some motorists do not fully yield the right -of-way to through traffic at “T” Sunset Lane School Neighborhood Traffic Safety Enhancements August 1, 2022 - Page 3
intersections. Failure to yield increases the risk of a crash between vehic les, pedestrians, and cyclists. In recent years, the City has begun installing stop controls on the discontinuous approaches at “T” intersections to positively assign right-of-way and enhance intersection safety. The City Traffic Engineer is recommending that the City apply this same “T” in tersection stop control treatment for the streets in the immediate vicinity of the school. This change in traffic controls will also provide for a more pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment for a neighborhood that a lready has significant wa lking and cycling activity occurring.
The proposed stop controls are shown in Exhibit “B” (Attachment 2).
2. Installation of red curb at intersection corners - S taff observed several instances where vehicles w ere parked too close to intersec tion corners, impeding motori st sight distance of conflicting traffic, pedestrians, and bicyclists . Some intersection corners in the vicinity of the school already have red zones installed and at those locations motorists tend to park ap propriately. To better demark where motorists should not park, it has been determined that it would be prudent to complete the installation of red zones at all intersection corners in the vicinity of the school. The corners iden tified for the installation of red zones are shown in Exhibit “C” (Attachment 3).
3. Insta llation and upgrade of s chool crossing warning signs and markings - Each of the unc ontrolled yellow school crosswalks within the vicinity of the school were found to have signs and markings in good c ondition that are visible and installed appropriately. To complement the existing signs and add an extra measure of visibility for the uncontrolled yellow crosswalks, it has been determined that it would be prudent to add a second crosswalk war ning sign to the far-left side of the road in each dir ection since such postings are considerably more vis ible.
Additionally, the c rosswalk war ning and markings will be removed for those crossings being upgr aded with stop controls. Th ese changes should si gnificantly improve visibility and enhance safety for the crosswa lks serving the school. The signage and marking changes are shown in Exhibit “D” (Attachment 4).
It should be noted that the four residential collector streets in the vic inity of the school (Sunset Lane, Sunrise Lane, Conejo Lane and Camino Centroloma) are all 25-mile per hour prima facie streets . A ll four streets a re 3 6-feet wide and have improved curb, gutter, and sidewalks. Unrestricted parking is allowed on both sides of each street with the exception of various segments of either red cur b or tim e-restricted parking. E arly morning parking between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. is prohibited on all four str eets.
Average daily traffi c volumes on the four streets averaged approximately 575 vehicles per day for school days. The exceptions were El Rancho Vista where only 268 vehicles were recorded over a 24-hour period and Camino Centroloma where 905 vehicles were recorded over that same time period.
Staff conducted pedestrian and bicycle counts during the arrival and dismissal periods of the school for each of the intersections in close proximity to the school. The results of those counts are summarized in Exhibit “F” (A ttachment 6). It should be noted that the south leg crosswalk located at the Sunrise Lane and Loma Verde Drive intersection, at the backside of the school, had the highest activity level with over 150 crossings during the morning arr ival period . Additionally, it was interesting to note that no bicycle crossing activity was recorded at any of the five intersections studied.
Sunset Lane School Neighborhood Traffic Safety Enhancements August 1, 2022 - Page 4
A review of co llision records over the past five years did not reveal a pattern or concentration of crashes on the streets in the immediate vicinity of the school that would suggest further investigation or additional traffic control measures are needed.
Staff also conducted automated speed surveys of the streets in the immediate vicinity of the school and found the speeds traveled by the vast majority of motorists on school days to be prudent and reasonable. The results of the surveys revealed that 85% of all the traffic recorded was travelling at or below the prima facie speed limit of 25 miles per hour, see Exhibit “F” (attachment 6).
Attachments
• Attachment 1 - Exhibit “A” Vicinity Map
• Attachment 2 - Exhibit “B” Proposed STOP Control
• Attachment 3 - Exhibit “C” Proposed Red Curb & On-Street Parking “T” Markings • Attachment 4 - Exhibit “D” Proposed School Xing Warning Signs • Attachment 5 - Exhibit “E” Combined Enhancements
• Attachment 6 - Exhibit “F” Speed, Volume & Ped Counts
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Vicinity Map
CONEJO
SUNRISE LANE
LOMA VERDE DRIVE
Sunset Lane
Elementary
School
Exhibit “A” (Attachment 1)
SUNRISE LANE
CONEJO LANE
LEGEND
Existing STOP Sign
Proposed R1 STOP Sign Installation
New w4-4P sign
SAMPLE STOP SIGN INSTALLATION
STOP
R1 “STOP” sign w/ 12”x24” W4-4P
“CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP” sign
R1
W4-4P
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Proposed STOP Control
Exhibit “B” (Attachment 2)
SUNRISE LANE
CONEJO LANE
LEGEND
Existing Red Curb
Proposed Red Curb
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Proposed Red Curb & On-street Parking “T” Markings
Paint “T” markers for
approximately 5-6 vehicles
Exhibit “C” (Attachment 3)
LOMA VERDE DRIVE
SUNRISE LANE
CONEJO LANE
X X X
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Install back to back signs at all
locations (Typical)
Sunset Lane
Elementary
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Proposed School Xing Warning Signs Exhibit “D” (Attachment 4)
SUNRISE LANE
CONEJO LANE
Sunset lane
Elementary
School
X X X
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Remove pavement markings &
adjacent signing
Install back to back signs at all
locations (Typical)
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Combined Improvements Exhibit “E” (Attachment 5)
SUNSET LANE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS
Vehicle Speed, Average Daily Traffic & Pedestrian Counts CONEJO
SUNRISE LANE
LOMA VERDE DRIVE
Exhibit “F” (Attachment 6)
27mph
905 ADT
27mph
593 ADT
25mph
691 ADT
21mph
438 ADT
23mph
268 ADT
North Leg AM 51 peds
South Leg AM 8 peds
East Leg AM 12 peds
West Leg AM 34 peds
North Leg PM 134 peds
South Leg PM 21 peds
East Leg PM 29 peds
West Leg PM 93 peds
North Leg AM 2 peds
South Leg AM 6 peds
East Leg AM 13 peds
West Leg AM 59 peds
North Leg PM 0 peds
South Leg PM 29 peds
East Leg PM 14 peds
West Leg PM 95 peds North Leg AM 24 peds
East Leg AM 3 peds
West Leg AM 144 peds
North Leg PM 13 peds
East Leg PM 7 peds
West Leg PM 73 peds
South Leg AM 28 peds
East Leg AM 22 peds
West Leg AM 5 peds
South Leg PM 15 peds
East Leg PM 11 peds
West Leg PM 2 peds
North Leg AM 15 peds
South Leg AM 154 peds
West Leg AM 66 peds
North Leg PM 1 peds
South Leg PM 131 peds
West Leg PM 62 peds