Agenda Item No. 12
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council DATE: December 5, 2022 FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Greg Ray, Public Works Director/City Engineer Erin Wiggin, CIP Manager
SUBJECT: West Grand Avenue Streetscape 4th-8th Street (CIP 2287) Project Update
RECOMMENDATION
Review the proposed concept plans for the West Grand Avenue Streetscape Project (CIP 2287) and provide input and direction to staff
BACKGROUND
The City has placed significant emphasis on improving the West Grand Avenue corridor as part of the Economic Development Major City Goal and West Grand Avenue Master Plan. Previous enhancements to West Grand Avenue included work from Highway 1 west to the beachfront area and from 2nd to 4th Street and 8th to 11th Street. These improvements included landscaped medians, street trees, corner ramps and streetlights consistent with the Master Plan. The Council reviewed the Master Plan on February 9, 2021 and provided direction to focus the next phase of improvements on the section from 4th to 8th Street to include a landscaped center median and street trees and other streetscape improvements along with pavement rehabilitation. The Council reaffirmed this direction on October 21, 2021 to proceed with the West Grand Avenue Streetscape Project (CIP 2287) from 4th to 8th Street in FY 2022-23 given the significant redevelopment opportunities along this section of West Grand Avenue.
On June 27, 2022, the Council awarded a design contract to BKF Engineers to develop the project design and bid documents for this project. In August, the City was awarded a $1.5M Community Betterments Grant from the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) in recognition of the development opportunities related to this project particularly with housing. This grant helped provide funding for the project and allowed for expanding the scope to include the design and construction of storm drains on this section of West Grand Avenue. Staff is working with BKF Engineers to develop the design while using the West Grand Avenue Master Plan as a guide.
The project design scope includes the following items:
• Pedestrian improvements such as curb ramps, bulb outs, pedestrian beacons and sidewalk improvements at select locations
• Class 2 bike lanes including green lanes at intersections • Decorative concrete at crosswalks
• Drought-tolerant landscaped center medians and street trees • Pedestrian level street lights
• Pavement rehabilitation
• Storm drain installation
Staff Report: West Grand Avenue Streetscape (CIP 2287) Page 2 December 5, 2022
The streetscape project is intended to create a sense of place and an enticement for local residents to live, shop and stay within their community along with attracting visitors to the city.
West Grand Avenue is also an emerging hub for new multi-family housing and commercial development in Grover Beach and these improvements will support these developments. As an example, the Council received a pre-application presentation of a four-story mixed-use development project at 402 West Grand Avenue in April 2022 that includes 37 units of housing and ground-level retail space. This project is nearing completion of the development process with final approval expected in early 2023.
Attachment 1 shows the 30% design plans for the West Grand Avenue Streetscape Project.
Based on earlier Council direction, BKF has designed corner bulb outs at 4th Street and 6th Street.
The bulb outs are intended to reduce the pedestrian crossing distance, but that objective must be balanced against a need to provide for appropriate truck turning movements. Part of that balance includes eliminating U-turns at these intersections; however, U-turns will be permitted at 5th and 7th Streets. The design also eliminates the pedestrian crosswalks at the intersections at 5th and 7th Streets to encourage pedestrians to utilize the enhanced safety crosswalks at 4th and 6th Street.
In addition to bulb-outs, enhanced paving and improved striping, the design will include a pedestrian beacon at 6th Street similar to the pedestrian beacon installed earlier at 3rd Street.
Attachments 2 and 3 show renderings of the design at two selected locations: 4th Street and 6th Street. The renderings show the bulb outs, center medians, street trees and lights, green bike lanes, and an example of decorative pavement. It should be noted that sidewalk improvements beyond the corner ramps are not included in the design even though they are shown in the renderings. These renderings show the sidewalk in its completed state which would be constructed separately by the adjacent developer(s) at a later date. Attachment 4 shows a photo of the 800 block of West Grand Avenue where the medians will be similar to the medians from 8th-11th Streets. As identified in the West Grand Avenue Master plan, all of the medians will be planted with Hybrid Washingtonian Palms. Sidewalk planters between 4th and 5th Streets will have the same Palm trees but planters between 5th and 8th Streets will have Brisbane Box Trees consistent with the Master Plan.
Lastly, staff requested that the consultant provide options for the decorative crosswalks. The City currently has Lithocrete crosswalks on West Grand Avenue at 2nd and 3rd Streets and at the train station entrance. Lithocrete is attractive but difficult to maintain as there are only two companies in California that have been able to install Lithocrete and they are unable to provide reasonable repairs given the distance to their headquarters in Southern California. Attachment 5 shows several options for decorative crosswalks which are summarized in Table 1 below. Staff is recommending the Council provide direction on the most appropriate option for decorative crosswalks based on this information with pavers set in concrete as an option that staff would particularly suggest.
Table 1:
Decorative Crosswalk Options
Type Installation
Cost1 Lifecycle2 Resistance to Tire/Oil Marks
Ease of
Patching3
Lithocrete $500,000 30 yr Excellent Poor
Stamped Concrete $200,000 25 yr Poor Poor
Pavers set in Concrete $300,000 30 yr Fair Good
Stamped Thermoplastic
on Asphalt $150,000 15 yr Fair Fair
1. The installation cost is defined as the capital cost for materials and installation of the decorative pavement section.
These are budgetary cost estimates for comparative purposes.
Staff Report: West Grand Avenue Streetscape (CIP 2287) Page 3 December 5, 2022
2. The Lifecyle is the approximate period of time that the pavement will be in good condition and the aesthetic treatment may still be considered as attractive. 3. The ease of patching considers the cost and availability of materials and labor to patch a trench or repair a section, as well as the likelihood of the patch matching the adjacent decorative pavement.
Staff is seeking Council input and direction on the initial design elements for the project including the bulb out locations, the decorative concrete, and the street trees. Pending this direction, staff would work with BKF on the final design for the project which would be brought to the Council for review in spring 2023. This project is anticipated to begin construction in late summer 2023 and last between 6 and 8 months. Staff would carry out a comprehensive communications effort during the construction process to inform affected businesses and property owners about the work and related traffic disruptions. This communication would build on an initial community meeting that staff held in September with affected businesses and property owners.
FISCAL IMPACT
The current cost estimate for the project is approximately $3.9 million with the addition of the storm drain work with this project cost increasing by $150,000-$500,000 depending on the selected crosswalk design. This year’s Capital Improvement Program includes $3 million in funding from the General Fund, Gas Tax, and other funding sources and the $1.5 million Community Betterment Grant received this fiscal year adds additional grant funding to this project.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Review the proposed concept plans for the West Grand Avenue Streetscape project (CIP 2287) and provide direction to staff; or
2. Provide staff with additional direction
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act. A copy of this staff report was provided to individuals who attended the community meeting in September along with other stakeholders and property owners with development projects along this section of West Grand Avenue.
Attachments
1. 30% Design Drawings.
2. Project Rendering at 4th
3. Project Rendering at 6th Street
4. Midblock Photo
5. Decorative crosswalk options
REVISIONS
DATE
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL: APPROVED:
City of Grover Beach
BY DESCRIPTION
CALL UTILITY NOTIFICATION CENTER OF
CALIFORNIA
R PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PLANS
WEST GRAND AVENUE STREETSCAPE PROJECT
4TH STREET TO 8TH STREET
PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN
Attachment 1
REVISIONS
DATE
RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL: APPROVED:
City of Grover Beach
BY DESCRIPTION
CALL UTILITY NOTIFICATION CENTER OF
CALIFORNIAR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT PLANS
WEST GRAND AVENUE STREETSCAPE PROJECT
4TH STREET TO 8TH STREET
PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN
Attachment 2
Attachment 3
Attachment 5