Agenda Item No. 10
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: March 14, 2022 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Greg Ray, Public Works Director/City Engineer John Peters, Police Chief
Erin Wiggin, CIP Manager
SUBJECT: North Oak Park Boulevard Improvements Review and West Grand Avenue Parkways
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on recent traffic safety improvements on North Oak Park Boulevard near the intersection with West Grand Avenue and provide direction on the continued implementation of these and other traffic safety improvements near the intersection including parkways on West Grand Avenue.
BACKGROUND
The Council identified Street Improvements as a Major City Goal for FY 2021-23 along with Pedestrian, Bicycle and Traffic Safety as an Other Important Council Goal. At the July 1, 2019 Council meeting, the Council provided comments and initial direction regarding improvement options on North Oak Park Boulevard including various changes at the intersection with West Grand Avenue intended to improve traffic, bicycle and pedestrian safety. These improvements at the intersection were based on previous studies to identify ways of improving traffic safety at this major intersection in the city. Staff shared proposed improvements to the Council on April 20, 2020 and January 25, 2021 and based on direction received from the Council implemented a number of improvements including:
1. “No right turn on red” signs at the intersection coupled with signal timing adjustments to provide additional gap time between vehicle and pedestrian crossing movements.
2. Re-striping South Oak Park Boulevard from West Grand Avenue to Long Branch Avenue to relocate the existing transition from two lanes to one lane from just north of Long Branch Avenue nearer to the main Vons driveway where there is better visibility. This also provided room for the southbound bike lane to extend to West Grand Avenue and eliminated the second southbound travel lane until Manhattan Avenue where the current roadway configuration allowed for two southbound lanes again until the recent completion of the South Oak Park Boulevard improvement project which reduced the vehicle lanes to one in each direction to Mentone Avenue.
3. Re-striping North Oak Park Boulevard from Ramona Avenue to the intersection with West Grand Avenue to reconfigure the turn lanes and lane transition and adding flexible poles to reduce vehicle conflicts and illegal left turns crossing the striped center median.
The improvements identified above have been in place since July 2021 and since that time there have been no accidents between Ramona Avenue and West Grand Avenue involving vehicles, bicycles or pedestrians. In contrast, in the five-year period prior to the improvements there were Staff Report: North Oak Park Boulevard Improvements and West Grand Avenue Parkways Page 2 March 14, 2022
13 vehicle accidents in this block related to illegal left-hand turns with no pedestrian or bicycle accidents. Based on this information, it appears that the improvements have resulted in the desired safety enhancements at this busy intersection and staff would recommend the continued use of the restriping and lane configuration along with the flexible poles to reduce vehicle conflicts and illegal left turns across the striped center median.
However, there have been impacts on traffic on North Oak Park Boulevard from the “no right turn on red” prohibition which has resulted in excessive queuing of vehicles that can block the intersection of North Oak Park Boulevard and Ramona Avenue at peak times. Given the relatively low volume of pedestrian traffic crossing the intersection, staff is recommending the Council consider removal of this prohibition and instead consider alternate signal timing modifications that would result in adequate pedestrian safety while reducing the extent of vehicle queuing. As an example, the pedestrian crossing lights could be illuminated a few seconds earlier than the traffic lights to provide more time for pedestrians to cross the street. Staff is also seeking direction on whether to keep the flexible poles in place to reduce illegal left turns or to consider making this change more permanent by installing a raised center median in the same location.
West Grand Avenue Parkways
The current Capital Improvement Program includes a $2.1 million project for a pavement rehabilitation project on West Grand Avenue between 11th Street and Oak Park Boulevard. On October 12, 2021, staff presented the project design to the Council with construction currently scheduled in FY 2024-25 given the timing of other major street projects before then. The current configuration west of the intersection with Oak Park Boulevard includes raised parkways with palm trees that create a landscaped gateway to the city (refer to Attachment 3). These parkways also provide narrow protected bike lanes between the parkways and sidewalks. On the north side of West Grand Avenue, the location of the parkway significantly limits available driveway access to the parking lot of the business at the intersection (Burger King) such that the driveway can only be used to exit onto West Grand Avenue westbound. Coupled with the recent improvements to North Oak Park Boulevard, safe and legal access to Burger King is now limited to southbound traffic on North Oak Park Boulevard.
At that October 12th Council meeting, Council provided direction to staff to explore options to provide two-way access to this business from West Grand Avenue which are shown in the table below. Attachments 1-3 show full removal of the parkways, partial removal, and the intersection as existing.
Option Advantages Disadvantages
1 – Full Removal of
Parkways, relocate palm
trees and landscaping to
areas behind the corner
ramps
-Allows for wider driveway
and ingress/egress from
westbound traffic
-Gateway landscaping
potentially maintained
-Highest cost ($800,000)
-Ingress/egress to Burger
King eastbound on West
Grand Avenue not possible
due to westbound left turn
queuing length
-Relocation of palm trees
could block existing Burger
King sign
-Work required on private
property
Staff Report: North Oak Park Boulevard Improvements and West Grand Avenue Parkways Page 3 March 14, 2022
Option Advantages Disadvantages
2 – Full Removal of
Parkways, do not relocate
palm trees, widen sidewalk to
create bulb-outs and
restricted ingress/egress
-Allows for wider driveway
and ingress/egress from
westbound traffic
-Widened sidewalk and bulbouts improves pedestrian and traffic safety
-No work on private property
or trees blocking sign
-Significant cost ($600,000)
-Ingress/egress to Burger
King eastbound on West
Grand Avenue not possible
due to westbound left turn
queuing length
-Eliminates bike lane at
intersections
3 – Partial Removal of
Parkways to allow space for
eastbound ingress driveway
-Allows for wider driveway
and ingress/egress from
westbound traffic
-Gateway landscaping
partially maintained
-Lower cost
-$300,000
-Additional westbound
bike/vehicle conflicts and
visibility concerns
-Ingress/egress to Burger
King eastbound on West
Grand Avenue not possible
due to westbound left turn
queuing length
-Visibility issues with
eastbound bike lane
4 – No change -Lowest cost
-Gateway improvements
remain in place
-Access to Burger King
limited to southbound Oak
Park Boulevard
-No improvements to
bicycle/vehicle conflicts
The Council is asked to provide direction on the preferred option(s) for staff to return to the Council with further information and refined cost estimates. The timing of this work is proposed to remain in FY 2024-25 as part of the related West Grand Avenue improvement project. As an alternative, parkway modifications could be completed prior to the street project but would delay other projects anticipated to occur prior to FY 2024-25. Pending Council direction, staff can discuss potential impacts to future projects from carrying out parkway modifications sooner as part of the draft FY 2023-2027 Capital Improvement Program that will be reviewed by the Council on March 28.
FISCAL IMPACT
The cost for West Grand Avenue parkway changes will depend on the option that is selected.
The most likely funding source for this work would be the General Fund with Gas Tax funds serving as a potential allocation to reduce the General Fund burden if this work was carried out in future years given additional Gas Tax availability.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Review recently constructed improvements on North Oak Park Boulevard and provide direction; and review options for improving access to the Burger King property and provide direction for further design development; or
2. Provide staff with additional direction.
Staff Report: North Oak Park Boulevard Improvements and West Grand Avenue Parkways Page 4 March 14, 2022
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
Attachments
1. Diagram – Intersection View – Median Elimination
2. Diagram – Intersection View – Partial Removal
3. Diagram – Intersection View - Before