City Council & Transportation and
Circulation Commission Page 1 of 27 April 25, 2022
7 City of Lafayette
City Council
Transportation and Circulation Commission
Meeting Minutes
Teleconference Meeting – Watch on the City of Lafayette’s YouTube Channel at April 25, 2022 http://bit.ly/LoveLafayetteYouTube Submit public comments to [email protected] 7:00 p.m. before or during the meeting.
To protect public health, our residents, officials, and staff, and aligned with the Governor’s recent executive order N-29-20, certain teleconference requirements of the Brown Act have been suspended, including the requirement to provide a physical location for members of the public to participate in the meeting. Here is how to participate in the meeting and provide public comment:
1) Watch or Listen: Meetings are broadcast on the City of Lafayette’s YouTube Channel:
http://bit.ly/LoveLafayetteYouTube. An archived, on-demand video of each meeting is maintained on the channel as part of the public record.
2) Submit Comments Before the Meeting: Members of the public can provide public comment by sending an e-mail to [email protected] (for City Council meetings). Those e-mails will be distributed to the members of the City Council, the City Manager, and the City Attorney, and will be posted as part of the public record.
3) Live Remote Public Comments: Members of the public may submit live public comment via Zoom conferencing. You must download the Zoom app or software. Zoom meetings can be accessed by telephone, computer, or smart device. When the Mayor invites public comment for the item on which you would like to comment, please use the "raise hand" feature (or press *9 if connecting via telephone only) to alert staff you have a public comment to provide. Each speaker is allowed three (3) minutes to speak.
Any graphic a speaker wishes to use as part of public comment must be emailed to [email protected] for City Council meetings by 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. Zoom Webinar joining instructions will be posted on the meeting agenda prior to the start of the scheduled meeting. 4) Join the Meeting Remotely: Use the links below to join the meeting and provide remote live audio public comment.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85736616560?pwd=ajg5MXVPb1JkcUZBZE0ra0I4bmhSUT09 Passcode: 872234 or join by phone: Dial 1 669 900 9128; Webinar ID: 857 3661 6560 Passcode: 872234
City Council & Transportation and
Circulation Commission Page 2 of 27 April 25, 2022
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Gerringer called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. via teleconference.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Mayor Gerringer; Vice Mayor Anduri; Councilmembers Candell, Dawson and Kwok
Absent: None
Present: Transportation and Circulation Commission: Commissioners DiGiorgio, Brown, Carr, Hiden, Serriere and Wotherspoon
Staff Present: Tracy Robinson, Administrative Services Director; Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director; Suzanne Iarla, Communications Analyst; Mala Subramanian, City Attorney; Joanne Robbins, City Clerk
3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Dawson/Candell) to adopt the agenda. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
4. PUBLIC COMMENTS - (for Items Not on the Agenda)
Mayor Gerringer announced that she will allow school children to speak early on Item 7A.
DAVID CLARK reported the Creeks Committee has finished its due diligence with respect to the no net loss provision and has concluded the Government Section does apply. The Committee sent the Council a memo outlining points to consider and thinks time is of the essence. This will allow the City to enact the Downtown Creeks Master Plan as it was adopted by the Council in 2017 more or less intact. The City will have to quantify the no net loss provision and once finally enacted, the statute states it must be done in one meeting.
Mayor Gerringer stated the Council received the email from Will Elder and she asked what is the timeline for this, and Mr. Clark replied there is a quantification which most likely could be done in a week, which involves taking an inventory of all parcels in the downtown that abut a channelized creek and then quantifying them, determining the setback, and trying to come up with what the reduction in intensity of use is. What will drive this is when the upzoning for RHNA will take place.
JESSICA LORDAN reminded everyone that people are all working together to try to make Lafayette a wonderful place. While there may be personal differences, everyone’s goals are the same. She described incidents of people leaving bags of dog feces on porches because of not agreeing with people’s opinions, but everyone’s end goal is for a safe, loving place.
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Circulation Commission Page 3 of 27 April 25, 2022
MARY ANN HOISINGTON, Library Commissioner, said National Library Week was in April and she spoke about the State Library which is on the Mall at the Capitol and their State Librarian is Greg Lucas. He issued his annual report for 2021 and she read a few sentences from it wherein Mr. Lucas welcomed back people to visit the library in person. Regarding the County Library system, it is funded by property taxes, but this is the lowest in the Bay Area, so the library is only able to fund 35 hours a week of service. Lafayette has 56 hours due to the City’s, the Foundation’s and Friend’s funding and she spoke about household contributions and two generous families who are willing to match funds to the Foundation. She encouraged everyone to donate to the Foundation given the Library is the heart of Lafayette.
CLARA MITMAN (speaking on Item 7A) said they are 10 year olds in 4th grade at Burton Valley Elementary, are starting to run around on their own more and visiting playgrounds, walking to friend’s homes, and are excited to get their independence and be able to walk and bike around town even more. Because of where they live, many places they will go are a bit too far to walk but a perfect distance to bike. The more trails, the more comfortable they will feel. They will not need to be driven to as many places and they will feel more independent.
HANNA MITMAN (speaking on Item 7A) said not all of these places are on the trail and there are a few blocks in Burton Valley that are uncomfortable to ride on, and until they get to School Street, it is scary and unpredictable. It is hard to know where they are supposed to be on their bikes. The sidewalks feel crowded and narrow and when on the street, it is difficult to go around the parked cars. When getting to 1 st Street, they are good again. She hopes the Council will think about how so many people in Lafayette could use this bike path on School Street.
5. PRESENTATIONS
A. Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Peter
Wildfire Danger and Fire Hardening
Recommendation: Receive and file.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Peter, gave a PowerPoint presentation and provided an update on the annexation efforts with the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District into Con Fire, stating the annexation will be official on July 1, 2022. All staff have been working hard for the last 6 months towards a smooth transition.
They will be moving some functionality over early mid-June, foresee some immediate improvements to EMS service in the East and County-wide. The opening of Fire Station 55 in Oakley did not yet occur, and response times were analyzed to medical aids and fires and the impact on the eastern portion of the district which are significant of an about 35 second decrease in overall response time.
They are also considering some West County improvements, and with Measure X funds, the City of Pinole should be able to open a second fire station and they are actively talking about providing contracted fire protection services to the City of Pinole. This could occur as early as January 2023.
Assistant Chief Peter then spoke about their local government hand crew, Crew 12 which is a year-round program thanks to Measure X funds. They also have a second crew available as well and they are doing fuel reduction work already. In addition, they continue to buy several new fire apparatus, dozers and water tenders which he described. Fire Station 86 in the Bay Pointe area is due to open in May or June at the latest. They are renovating Fire Station 4 in Southern Walnut Creek which was closed during the budget cuts years ago and this will reduce response times in that area and beefs up their multi-unit responses to structure fires and wildland fires in support of Lafayette and Walnut Creek and other surrounding areas. They hope to have that open in July, given construction has been challenging.
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He said they continue to plan for a new Fire Station 9 co-located on Buchanan Field. There are many hurdles with that project with the FAA and other entities, but they continue to work on that. In addition, there are three new fire stations in the east portion of the county as part of the consolidation, which will be built over the next 3-5 years.
Regarding technology advances, Alert Wildfire is a camera network that is throughout Northern California.
They have high resolution cameras at every vantage point they need so when they receive a report of a possible vegetation or wildfire, their dispatchers and officers can use an app to immediately pull up the correct camera or two that has a good view of the reported fire location. They can quickly tell if they have a legitimate fire already based on the amount of smoke they see or do not see.
They also use Tablet Command which they have used for years which aids Fire Captains in having all of the information when dispatched by the communications center, and it also provides incident commanders a tool to ensure they have full accountability of all resources. The public has access to Pulse Point which scans all three dispatch channels, and then there is new technology in evacuation planning called Zone Haven which continues to be implemented county-wide. Moraga wrote the original grant and he has a map that shows the different grids Zone Haven uses. In each city or local area, there is a naming convention that is consistent between the Fire Department, law enforcement, and public utilities.
Assistant Chief Peter said as everyone knows, the wildfire threat in California continues and remains very high. The latest assessments are that they will have a bit warmer May, with June and July being the same.
They did not have much rain and last week’s rain helps, but it will not really solve their problem. Fire service agencies statewide are ramping up efforts to ensure they are as prepared as possible.
He then displayed a map forecasted to have very high threat versus high threat, versus moderate threat.
Lafayette has some very high threat as well as Orinda and Moraga. They hope citizens are taking defensible space seriously and taking efforts to address their properties with at least 100 feet of defensible space, and that they are staying aware of weather and reports of fire. If and when a decision comes to evacuate, he asked everyone to just evacuate.
He then described vegetation fires, wind-driven fires, the displacement of 50 residents due to fire damage to their structures or homes, and none were in the highest threat zones. The culprits were lack of weed abatement and defensible space which played a role in these fires.
Fire Marshal Chris Bachman then displayed a map showing the proposed fuel break which was presented to Cal Fire for the fire prevention grant which is a 250 acre shaded fuel break that begins in Walnut Creek around Rossmoor, cuts through a portion of EBRPD onto Hunsaker Canyon Road and then across a couple of pastures in Lafayette and then into Moraga which ties into St. Mary’s Road and Bollinger Canyon. MOFD received a grant last year for a 16-mile fuel break that stops at that point and their proposal was to pick up where the grant left off. If successful in their grant this year, they will have a 30-mile continuous shaded fuel break through these areas.
He displayed areas in yellow as grazing areas and described street locations, fire trails protecting homes and areas, open spaces, and noted that the first grant if awarded would address Phase 1 for Walnut Creek and Lafayette and Phase 2 would be for the EBRPD section and Moraga and Orinda.
Councilmember Candell questioned what is occurring at the black borders on the map.
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Circulation Commission Page 5 of 27 April 25, 2022
Fire Marshal Bachman replied that this is identified as a project influence zone. When mapped, these are the areas of Moraga, Lafayette, Walnut Creek and a portion of Alamo that will be the most impacted by the shaded fuel break and a stopping or anchor point should a wildfire should occur on either side of that fuel break. This provides protection to Rossmoor as well during a wind event, which would allow time to provide a protected line before getting into the ridgeline and into EBRPD lands. He confirmed they will hear about award of the grant in the next 30 days and it will take them about 3 months to go through the RFP process to secure a CEQA consultant, meeting all state guidelines to conduct a fuel break, and then go out for an RFP to select contractors that would help create the fuel break. In the off-season they will also utilize Crew 12 to assist in that fuel break work.
Vice Mayor Anduri thanked officials for the presentation and report. He asked if there are any plans for a northern shaded fuel break around northern Lafayette in the Reliez Valley area, noting that the area north of Hwy 24 is a very high fire severity area.
Assistant Chief Peter said they are evaluating multiple areas and their highest priority areas are the very high fire hazard severity zone that will be requesting a shaded fuel break proposal to submit in the next round. This year, they were informed there will be another round of the fire prevention grants available through Cal Fire late fall around November when they will be able to submit another request for fuel breaks or similar proposals. Their goal is if awarded, they will immediately take action on securing CEQA permits and starting work within 2-3 months. When the grant period comes out, they can show they provided due diligence on their part in implementing and immediately pursuing the shaded fuel break.
This is a 3-year grant if awarded and want to show that they took action immediately to show they can manage multiple grants at the same time.
Vice Mayor Anduri thanked Fire Marshal Bachman for making Taylor King available and he would encourage anyone invite him and provide advice on defensible space.
Mayor Gerringer commented that East Bay Regional Park District also received grant monies from the State in last year’s budget to remove dead trees, and she asked if Fire Marshal Bachman knew the status of their work.
Assistant Chief Peter said he did not know the status but he has been in communications with one of their Assistant Chiefs to make it a regional request; where if awarded this grant they would work in conjunction with MOFD and EBRPD which allows them to extend dollars across three jurisdictions.
Councilmember Kwok thanked fire officials and said he is the Council liaison to the Emergency Preparedness Commission and one key goal is to conduct more community outreach to get the community prepared and to take defensible space more seriously, how to evacuate, etc. He wondered what resources and training can be provided to communities for these things to get the message out and to get the community prepared.
Assistant Chief Peter said the end of the presentation has several links that are great resources for residents, which he described. He also participated in a meeting with Police Chiefs from Moraga, Orinda and Chief Alldritt and they talked about the importance of ensuring the public understands how they stay aware, what they need to do, why defensible space is important and why it is important to evacuate early.
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He noted they will add some fire danger situational awareness signs in Lafayette at two locations which say “Very High Fire Hazard” or “Moderate Fire Hazard” or “Low Fire Hazard” on a given day. The Lamorinda team has a group of volunteers that are very helpful, and they keep the signs updated. They will expand the number of signs in the future and the signs should be in place in the coming weeks.
Assistant Chief Peter then spoke about staffing, their 8 week Lateral Firefighter Academy due to graduate with 28 people which brings them more experienced firefighters, a Fire Recruit 20-week Academy which graduated about 7 weeks ago, and they are actively interviewing for the next Fire Recruit Academy. They also are working on the final design of a complete remodeled Fire Communications Center on Geary Road in Pleasant Hill and hope to have this completed in 18 to 24 months.
He then spoke about other steps in saving lives in fire situations such as encouraging the public they have working and tested smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, sleep with bedroom doors closed, have home evacuation plans and drills and a meeting point outside and having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Resident involvement is a key in any fire disaster. He then described Zone Haven which has identified specific grids based on road access, fuel densities and types, populations, and occupancy types and he described how it works.
Councilmember Candell said there is a reference for weed abatement. She asked if this covers dead tree abatement.
Fire Marshal Bachman said the exterior hazard and weed abatement standards do not apply to dead trees.
The one thing they are evaluating currently with the Measure X dollars that were granted for this year is that a portion be allocated for funding to cover a partial cost or match in dead tree removal. They do have $2 million they will divide up into different areas this summer to have both mitigation work and home hardening projects and a lot will be in the form of a grant match to encourage residents to be more proactive in reducing risk.
Councilmember Dawson referred to Slide 11; the Lafayette 2021 fire experience with the 2022 projection.
This depicts incidents in blue and responses in red. She asked for an explanation of how this works.
Assistant Chief Peter said he believes the slide is saying in the blue are the total incidents, but he did not understand the red. Fire Marshal Bachman noted he has not done the 2022 update to some cities, so this is the first time he has seen this group of slides but agreed to follow-up on this.
Councilmember Dawson asked what is the hazardous condition and asked if it means hazardous materials or something else. Assistant Chief Peter said it could be oil, paint, odor, chemical, etc. on the road which haz-mat crews respond to after it is reported.
Councilmember Dawson said she is working on getting reports when transformers are overloaded and go off in neighborhoods during PSPS events. She asked if fire officials work with PG&E to be proactive in this sense. Assistant Chief Peter said the fire agencies meet and train with PG&E. PG&E has a lead fire coordinator who is a retired fire chief and they communicate well with fire during PSPS events and when they have an actual incident, they will join them at the incident command post and will be with them to coordinate efforts to ensure certain grids are shut off. PG&E also works with fire when there is a line or pole down that needs to be re-energized, and this is in coordination with repopulation of residents if they have been evacuated.
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Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
Councilmember Kwok announced there will be an Earth Day celebration this Saturday from 11AM to 2PM at the Library and the Emergency Services Commission and Police Department will be talking about preparing for fire danger and how residents can become a Firewise community.
Mayor Gerringer and Councilmembers thanked Assistant Chief Peter and Fire Marshal Bachman for their presentation.
B. Transportation and Circulation Commission
Update on Goals and Accomplishments
Recommendations: Receive and file.
Chair DiGiorgio asked Commissioners to introduce themselves, and present were: Commissioners Gregory Brown, Bart Carr, Lynn Hiden, Vianney Serriere and Stella Wotherspoon.
Chair DiGiorgio recognized the work of Commissioners, City staff, the Council and residents that have done a lot around transportation and safety. He is pleased that the City added resources for the Commission which allowed them to make progress. He said the challenge this year was to do some quick build solutions to improve safety, primarily around schools. The staff report reflects accomplishments of this past year and goals for next year, which he described as outlined in the report. He thinks it would be helpful if the Council could increase coordination with school districts and other agencies.
He pointed out that in addition to the projects outlined in the report, there has been a subcommittee working on the Pleasant Hill Road/Olympic roundabout improvements which will also be included in their report for this year. He then asked if Commissioners had any comments.
Commissioner Brown echoed gratitude and appreciation to the Council, Commission and the public. One thing that would be helpful for the Commission which he believes will come out when the Local Roadway Safety Plan is completed is additional guidance from the Council as to the types and cost of projects the Council is looking the Commission to forward.
Commissioner Wotherspoon said she greatly appreciates the Council’s support and prioritization of safety around schools as well as road safety everywhere in town with adoption of Vision Zero. They should focus on their most vulnerable users and she looks forward to building upon that in future years. She echoed the need to coordinate with the school district and Council to bring information-sharing down into the schools themselves to the Principal/Assistant Principal level.
There are opportunities also with the new Superintendent coming on board at the Lafayette School District and she looks forward to continuing on the progress made thus far. Additionally, she heard MTC has put together their OBAG 3 round of grant funding and some of it will go to the County. The deadline is soon, and she hoped to be able to pull some projects together to submit for consideration.
Chair DiGiorgio said he is happy Bart Carr joined the Commission and he announced the Commission has one opening and he invited interested persons to apply.
Councilmember Dawson asked how much the City’s consultant work to incorporate feedback from the Commission for the Local Roadway Safety Plan.
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Engineering and Public Works Director Mike Moran stated part of the process is starting up with an LRSP Working Group which will include a Commission member and members of the public. It will take public input and the Commission would be one piece of that input.
Councilmember Dawson suggested reaching out to the school PTAs which is where they should get a lot of support with school safety.
Mayor Gerringer said the Council approved the consultant at the last meeting and the working group was to be formed to include the schools, public safety, stakeholders representing agency partners. She asked about next steps and timeline.
Mr. Moran said he is hoping to hire a staff person who can take this from the beginning to the end and that person has not begun working for the City. He is the backup to that person, so when he is less available there is no second backup. They are actively pursuing hiring a person, but it has not happened yet.
Mayor Gerringer also noted that the schools have worked closely on this but due to another commitment tonight they could not be here.
Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers. She and Councilmembers thanked the Commission for their report, accomplishments, and goals moving forward.
Chair DiGiorgio recognized Mr. Moran for his work, noting the Commission relies on his judgement for many things, and hopefully they will be getting transportation and circulation acceptance on items and a staff person to assist Mr. Moran.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Gerringer asked if there were any requests for removal of items or public comments or requests for removal of items, and there were none.
A. April 11, 2022 Minutes
Recommendation: Approve.
B. 3477 Monroe Avenue – Request for Construction within the Creek Setback Recommendation: Approve request for a creek setback exception and authorize the City Manager to execute the required standard agreement with the property owner.
C. E-mail from Shamekka Marty requesting a proclamation recognizing May 2022 as Lupus Awareness Month in Lafayette
Recommendation: Approve a proclamation recognizing May 2022 as Lupus Awareness Month in Lafayette.
D. Acceptance of Improvements as Complete - Minor Subdivision MS 501-17 Recommendation: Authorize staff to file a Notice of Completion and release bonds in accordance with Contra Costa County Code Sections 94-4.406 and 94-4.408.
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E. E-mail from Steven Kalogeras resigning from the Environmental Task Force effective May 13, 2022
Recommendation: Accept with regret and thank Steven Kalogeras for his three years of voluntary service on the Environmental Task Force.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Kwok) to adopt Consent Calendar Items A, B, C, D and E. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes:
Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
7. OLD BUSINESS
A. Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director
Resolution 2022-25 Remove Parking on North Side of School Street between First Street and the Lafayette- Moraga Trail to Dedicate That Portion of the Public Roadway for Bicyclists; Modify a “No Parking” Zone on the East Side of School Street between the Lafayette-Moraga Trail and Topper Lane to a “No Parking or Stopping” Zone; and Authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption finding the Project Exempt from CEQA.
Recommendation: 1. Adopt Resolution 2022-25 Remove Parking on North Side of School Street between First Street and the Lafayette- Moraga Trail to Dedicate That Portion of the Public Roadway for Bicyclists; Modify a “No Parking” Zone on the East Side of School Street between the Lafayette-Moraga Trail and Topper Lane to a “No Parking or Stopping” Zone. 2. Authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption finding the Project Exempt from CEQA.
Engineering and Public Works Director Mike Moran said at the last Council meeting, there were several recommendations for safety improvements near schools that the Council took action on and gave direction to staff to enter into some designs, authorized funding to implement improvements, but three of the issues on School Street were to require a resolution because they would be changes to existing public parking, which is before the Council.
He displayed a Google map of School Street at Topper, with Stanley Middle School to the left. The three items are SL-14 which deals with parking restrictions that are already in place, a “No Parking” zone, and the issue they found with their school walkabouts and audits were that, although this is shown as “No Parking” they have been informed that a lot of drivers will pull off, wait and queue in the shoulder, not leaving vehicles so they are not considered as “parked”. Therefore, as part of the resolution is a recommendation to change this to “No Parking or Stopping” Zone on both sides of the street on the east end of Topper Lane.
As they head towards the school and Moraga Road, on the right is the Lafayette-Moraga Trail which is conveniently located next to Stanley Middle School. This afternoon at the end of school, 101 students with bikes crossed at this crosswalk to the north side and headed either to the west towards Moraga, but most headed to the east towards the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. There is a sidewalk on this side which is narrow, and they have parking. Temporarily they have placed cones here for the first stretch between the crosswalk and the trail and it has worked better for bicyclists who cross here and then they ride their bikes in the street where cars are parked to the trail. If cars are parked there, they still ride in the street against traffic on the outside of the parked cars to the trail because, in addition to 100 bicyclists, there are about 80 pedestrians walking with them slower and on the sidewalk. So, sharing this sidewalk with bikes and pedestrians is very difficult at the start and let out times of school.
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SL-2 is a proposal to utilize this parking between Paradise Court and the trail, which is about 6 parking spaces being displaced and having no parking.
SL-9 extends that from Paradise Court headed to the west towards Moraga Road. There is a sidewalk but no bike lane and this is very congested during school start and let out times, past Avalon and Avalon Court, all the way to 1st Street. This proposal would add sticks and paint to make a trail that dedicates the whole parking lane for bicycles so they can access from the school all the way to the multi-purpose 10 foot path that connects them up to Golden Gate Way and to the Library, etc. This would be a continuous connection on the north side from one trail to another trail which has been a gap.
Mr. Moran said the Transportation Circulation Commission reviewed these recommendations that came from the Toole report and they looked at recommendations twice at two different meetings and these were broken into short, mid- and long-term projects. SL-2 was a short-term project and there was almost unanimous support to remove the parking places. SL-9 would remove 30 more parking spaces and there were 22 cars parked on this stretch of road this afternoon. The Commission felt strongly they should delineate this with paint and sticks which is a quick build project because it makes a connection and it should not be deferred. It was escalated and approved by the Transportation Circulation Commission and forwarded onto the Council and returned for a resolution and public input.
He also commented that after school by 3:15 p.m. there were 5 cars parked there which then became 6 cars. He emphasized that all parking is utilized but it was obvious to him in past school walkabouts that many of the parking spaces utilized on the north side of school street are utilized by school staff because it is convenient. By 3:30 p.m. many are gone. For those living along the stretch, it is not to say that they never park in front of their homes some cars do utilize those spaces, but many are obviously being used by school staff and there is a cycle where they get there just before school starts and after school ends, many spaces are then opened up. At the same time, there are parking spaces available in the school parking lot, as well.
Through discussions with the school principals and superintendent, this is a known occurrence and he knows the Council was forwarded over 200 pages of public comments that he received this afternoon.
The loss of parking is not popular. There is debate and good points on both sides, but he emphasized that Transportation Circulation Commission thought this stretch was an important enough stretch and highly used to justify recommending a loss of parking here.
Mayor Gerringer asked for questions of staff, noted the Council will then take a break and return for public comments and then deliberation.
Vice Mayor Anduri pointed to the third “Whereas” in the resolution which states, “The Transportation and Circulation Commission recommended that the City Council consider removing parking on the north side.” He asked if it would be more accurate to change “consider” to “to remove”. In two lines below that where it states, “consider modifying…” and he suggested changing this to “modify”. He asked if this is acceptable, and Mr. Moran said yes, it accurately reflects what the Commission did.
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Vice Mayor Anduri asked what will delineate the bike lane. Mr. Moran explained the material is like plastic sticks that are mounted around drain inlets. They have different thicknesses and heights, but they are vertical and not just bumps on the ground. They are a vertical row of plastic delineation. They are quick mount, would have to have gaps at all driveways and that could lead to people driving inside them and parking there, so this would have to be accompanied either by red curb, no parking signs, or small gaps to prevent vehicle entrance. The plastic sticks would be white in color and would be replicating a lane or edge line.
Vice Mayor Anduri said there was a letter from an attorney that was included in materials which stated that this would not meet ADA requirements. He understands this has been reviewed by the City Attorney and he asked for comment.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian said she asked her colleague, Mike Maurer, an ADA expert attorney, to look into that issue when they received the letter. He stated the proposed work does not create or modify a pedestrian access route. The cross loop and grade requirement mentioned only apply to pedestrian access routes and would not apply to what they have here which is a bike lane in a street. Therefore, staff believes there are no ADA concerns about this project.
Councilmember Candell said one of the letters talked about dense hedges on the turn in to Avalon on School Street. She asked if there was any hedge work proposed in the work which would improve the line of sight for vehicles coming in and out of there.
Mr. Moran said it is not out of scope, but it may not have been defined to that specificity at the last meeting. For example, there were some red curbs near corners, and that would be combined with pruning and improving line of sight between drivers, pedestrians and bikers. So, it is not part of this item, but it is part of the School Street Safety Near School improvements and would be reviewed during that time.
Councilmember Kwok said when starting with the SL-14 on the right-hand side with no parking, he asked what is the rationale for changing the “No Parking” to “No parking or stopping”.
Mr. Moran said it is an enforcement issue because the sign was not effective. There were many people idling in cars where the City did not want them to be. The “No Parking” sign was put there to not allow cars there because it adds to a clustered area where many vehicles are trying to drive through and with pedestrians and bicyclists trying to cross sometimes in counter-flows and so forth. So, it is to free up the space. Also, it is not wide enough to fully park off the road so there is choking down the width of the road and also creating a line of sight issue on the corner.
Councilmember Kwok asked if the distance between the street and the trail City property, and Mr. Moran said it is likely, but in general the shoulders are public right-of-way. It also turns into EBMUD property as well when getting closer to the trail because it is their land the EBRPD trail is on at that location.
Councilmember Kwok said obviously parents are waiting to pick up their kids and they cannot stay in the middle of the road. He asked if Toole had recommendations where parents could park and queue up.
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Mr. Moran said honestly, staff does not have an answer for that. It is a valid comment. The best and only response is the opportunity this could create. He mentioned there were 100 bicyclists crossing the road today. If that became 150 there is only room to queue 30 cars on the entire street, and he questioned what would happen if 30 more children rode their bikes to school. Then, they would have remaining vehicles queuing at all other spots where they are queuing now. Maybe they come 10 minutes after school gets out rather than before because it is a problem not just here but at all schools, and 10 minutes after school lets out is pretty calm. Staggering pickup or drop-off times can help and also encouraging others to walk and bike to and from school.
He said parents could also park two streets down and access the trail two or more streets away and do more of a remote drop-off and pickup. And, particularly where there were dedicated locations for pedestrians and bikes, maybe a two-block walk would be nice for a parent and their child.
Vice Mayor Anduri said at the last meeting the Council approved a request for funds and he asked to describe what the long-range plan is for the area from 1st Street to the trail.
Mr. Moran said the long-range plan would be a more formal, grade-separated perhaps landscaped buffered zone between vehicles and a multi-use pathway, similar to what is on 1st Street. The details of that would still need to be worked out and much of the public has been asking and looking for this for years.
Mayor Gerringer asked if the idea of a School Street path from Moraga Road to the trail and 1st Street to the trail has actually been discussed by the City for years and grants have been applied for.
Mr. Moran confirmed and said the last two cycles of ATP funding in Cycle 4 and 5 the City applied for School Street funding for a more formal pathway along this zone.
Mayor Gerringer asked if the Council was looking at doing anything to the direction of Topper Lane and asked if it will continue to be two-way the way it is now.
Mr. Moran said this is correct. This item is not changing the two-way traffic on School or Topper or any surrounding streets like Avalon.
BREAK
Mayor Gerringer called for a break at 8:57 p.m. and thereafter, reconvened the regular meeting at 9:02 p.m.
BILL HOGLAND, said they are across from the Stanley Music Building and he referred to the letter from their attorney, David Bowie, who is representing 4 neighbors. They think it is not just a bike path being proposed but a multi-use path. Any change to the street will require ADA compliance. They had the street surveyed and the elevation out of ADA is 5% and ADA requires 2%, so they think the City may be misinformed on what they are proposing. He also voiced concern with improper notification, which he described.
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He also thinks the neighbors should be aware that the raised buffer will go along all side streets, and if a bike lane is put on School Street, it will further choke it so he thinks what is being promoted will cause more of a problem than solving it. Regarding SB 9 and higher density, they think removal of parking contradicts the State mandate, and they think the Council should pay attention to neighbors rather than those outside of the neighborhood and said they plan to fight this. He lastly commended Hanna and Clara Mitman for their acting abilities.
DAVE CAMPBELL, Advocacy Director with Bike East Bay, said they are a non-profit and are working with staff on many safety issues throughout Lafayette and the East Bay. He does not live in Lafayette, but they have many members who live in Lafayette. He thinks the design on 1St Street is exemplary and hopes it is well-received.
There are many people walking and biking around school hours, and he points to that as other cities are trying to solve similar challenges of getting kids to walk and bike safely to school. He also noted all the kids walking and biking on the trail coming into Stanley, going to school in the neighborhood is one of the most bike-popular schools in the East Bay of all schools, and this is why this project is so needed. He applauded the quick build process, and for some reason it is not working it is sticks and paint and can be easily adjusted. They are doing two-way bikeways with sticks to get kids to school and their attorneys have looked into ADA issues and they are getting answered as they are legal and can share examples. He spoke in support of the staff recommendation and looks forward to the project’s completion.
DR. YASS DASTMALCHI said she is a dentist on School Street and has been there for 27 years. She thanked the Council and appreciates the opportunity to participate. She is speaking to SL-9 and said some people who park there are staff of the school, but some are also staff or patients, and some are residents. If 20- 22 parking spaces are removed, it will affect traffic in her opinion, the lives of people who live there, those who work there, and who come in to go to a business. To eliminate an entire area of parking just because there is 10-15 minutes of major traffic does not make sense to her. If the City must do this, she suggested putting some time limits on those spaces, given the street is very quiet at all other times.
Councilmember Dawson asked if Dr. Dastmalchi has adequate parking for her business during the day.
Dr. Dastmalchi said they have parking in the back. Her personal office has enough but they probably have some patients who park on the street because it is easier for them.
PETIA FARRINGTON, Avalon Court, said referred to SL-9 and sees every day the traffic that occurs when it is busy and not busy. She agrees that during busy times is when there is a lot more congestion. Many cars do illegal U-turns on Avalon Court and she has noticed there are very few elementary school kids that go on the north side of School Street. Usually the bicyclists go on the north side and there are many walkers who cross to go to 1st Street with very few using the north side. When school is out it is much quieter.
She voiced concern about the safety of kids and asked how this is going to help with safety around Stanley School. People park in front of her house, but by removing so many parking spaces and if teachers use the street to park instead of the teacher designated lot they will go into the courts and the other streets.
In the courts is where the bike lane would be, and it will not be like 1st Street so she sees it as a lot of congestion and a problem for people getting in and out of the courts with kids walking and biking.
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JENIFER PAUL expressed her great support for tonight’s item. The action has been studied several times and included in several studies as an important safety improvement such as the 2013 Safe Routes to School report, the 2018 Downtown Congestion Reduction Plan, the 2020 Berkeley Safe Trek Complete Study Safety Assessment, and the 2022 Toole report. All reports were cited being in favor of extending the bike path on School Street which will be utilized not just by students at Stanley and Lafayette Elementary, but all residents.
This has been studied for almost 10 years and for residents, more or less a 10-year notice. The area around School Street is known now to be fatal and with the newly adopted Vision Zero policy, the City should not let the removal of parking stand in their way. The City has removed parking for safety in other areas of the City which she described in her own neighborhood, and the benefits completely outweighs cost.
When removing parking it works itself out and it is the right thing to do. She thanked staff, the Commission and Council for all efforts.
GLENN BRESLIN said he lives across from Stanley Administration Building on the north side of School Street between Paradise and 1st Street. He sees the need for SL-2 where the vast majority of students take the crosswalk and go from Paradise Court to the trail. Regarding SL-9, near his home there are a minimal number of bikes on the north side and are predominantly on the south side walking their bike to go to the Paradise crosswalk or to the crosswalk to 1st Street. He opposed SL-9 to removing parking which impacts the neighborhood, school, businesses, thinks it offers very little safety, said there are a handful of bicyclists with the vast majority going to Paradise to the trail or 1st Street.
ERNIE SEXTON said he lives on the corner of Avalon Court and School Street, said his family has huge concerns about how the bike lane was handled and having only a few days to find out what the City proposes to do in front of their home is mind-blowing. This will seriously impact their lives and the delineators are hideous to look at. The fact there is not a pickup plan, or a parking plan is further testimony that this was not thought through or it was not discussed with any neighbors on the streets affected.
He said Avalon Court is already congested and during pickup and drop off it will be a nightmare and pose huge safety concerns for emergency vehicles going down Avalon Court and Paradise Court because everyone will be parking along those streets. There is already a bike path that goes to the downtown area which is the trail and he thinks bikes can use the road, especially if speed bumps are installed and flashing safety crosswalk lights. A two-way bike lane on the north side does not address safety and he questioned who would allow their child to ride their bike there with all of the pickup and drop-off traffic. He proposed the City re-think the bike lane and consider putting in the raised crosswalks, bumps and crosswalk lights and to use the St. Mary’s side of the road to make it safer for pickup and drop-off.
ERIC LAW voiced support for the project to build a bike path on School Street. He lives on Solana Drive, two blocks from Stanley and they walk down Avalon Street to get their kids to school. When they get to School Street, it is a disaster with them, and bikers crammed onto the sidewalk. Many people walk in the streets with cars weaving in between parked cars. As soon as the drop-off and pickup is over, School Street is empty. This path and the real estate that it is being built on is public infrastructure. These are not private parking spaces being taken away but for everyone to use. If someone wanted to build a bike path on Solana he would support this which would be a huge advantage to those that walk down a twolane street which becomes one lane when parking a car on it.
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This trail enables all residents including children and seniors safe from mobility around Lafayette. Drivers speed and the police department will never have the budget to catch them all. Dedicated infrastructure is needed. Residents have elected City Councilmembers to do what is right and to prioritize infrastructure for all residents and not just those who choose to drive a car. This is a badly needed project and roads should not be dedicated 90% to cars. As highlighted, 180 kids walk and bike across School Street just going to the trail and this does not include 100+ kids that go to Lafayette Elementary on that same School Street where there are 200 kids biking and walking every day and more than cars. He then spoke about real estate values according to Redfin, and he thinks this is a great opportunity to improve Lafayette and asked the Council to move the improvements forward.
GRACE DIXON said she is speaking in support of the projects; said she lives on Monroe and knows this is a complex issue. She cannot imagine the problems trying to get 1st Street improvements to happen and now it is a victory for the entire City. She thinks there is no direct access to downtown for Burton Valley families and if children take the trail and get off on School Street, there is not a wide enough bike path for them to get to downtown.
If they continue on the trail and get off on Moraga Boulevard, there is not a wide enough bike lane. If the trail is fixed and out between Moraga Boulevard and Mt. Diablo, there is not a safe and wide enough bike lane on Mt. Diablo. So ideally, if the path is fixed, smaller children can take the safe bike lane to 1st Street and get to the downtown that way. She and her husband walked Sunday morning around 9AM and witnessed another bike and car accident involving an adult on Second Street and Moraga Boulevard, which she described. She thinks what is needed is more people on bikes and more people walking and fewer people in cars, and this will benefit everybody.
BOB MCCLAIN, said he is impacted by parking and bicyclists and students. He asked what it means when stated this is a temporary path and asked how and when it will be evaluated. The path from 1st Street to Avalon Court and from Paradise Court makes sense given the volume of bicyclists. He asked if there has been a count at the crosswalk at Avalon Court in the middle section because there are not many bicyclists there, so he questioned the necessity of a path in that area. He asked why doesn’t the City uses the full 50-foot right-of-way. A typical driving lane is 12 feet and a common parallel parking space is 8 feet, totaling 40 feet, with 10 feet left over which is plenty for a combination bike path/sidewalk. Where no parking would be lost.
As an alternative in San Francisco, instead of having curb, parking, bike path, they switch it to have the bike path on the curb side and parking further out in the street and this is protected by the parked cars.
The path will be delineated with sticks and paint and this is not protection and an accident will happen.
He lastly noted that all vehicles will park on side streets and those neighbors will want permit parking and this will continue to push the problem out.
GLORIA DIAS said she is the mother of the crossing guard that was killed on School Street and thanked the Council for doing what they can to improve the conditions. She approves the path if it can prevent any tragedy from happening again. It will improve congestion and she thinks it is the way to go.
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MARILYN SIBLEY said her family was home the day Mr. Dias was hit and saw everything. This tragedy was not due to a missing bike connector but due to a reckless driver in an environment of chaotic vehicle maneuvers, illegal turns, and everyone in a hurry to get to their next activity. She encouraged Councilmembers to go out to the site from 3:45 to 3:05 p.m. There are people who double park on each side of Paradise facing out, some going right and some going left, and it is a mess. If parking is taken away, this is where cars will go for pickup. She worries that some staff and volunteers will be parking on those courts during the day and there still will not be room for pickup for those parents, as well as emergency vehicles being able to get down safety if there is an emergency.
She noted that Stanley students are taught to walk across Paradise crosswalk while walking their bikes and walking to the trail. They will not be riding 10 thick on the bike trail from Paradise to the trail so she asked to delay the decision and slow down, bring in the neighborhoods, parents, community stakeholders to come up with a permanent plan and alternate pickup areas, possibly on St. Mary’s and stop politicizing the tragedy for advocate gain. She supports Safe Routes to School but not a painted, two-way bikeway with sticks which is not logical, not permanent, and Mr. Moran stated he is not a fan of delineators which break and get hit. She asked how will the two-way bike lane work between Avalon Court and 1st Street where the street narrows considerably.
TADD SIBLEY, said he also owns a dental building at 3511 School Street, supports Dr. Dastmalchi, Glen Breslin and other speakers who have talked about SL-9 and the importance of it. His observation is that students from Stanley go up the south side of School Street to the crosswalk at Avalon Court, cross the street, come up to 1st Street, and there are very few bicyclists coming down School Street. The other day he observed one bicyclist who was an adult and in the street, so he has not seen kids riding westbound on School Street between Paradise and Avalon.
Secondly, Mr. Moran brought up enforcement which he thinks should be seriously addressed. There are so many illegal U-turns, double parking, people passing stopped cars on the left or right and there will just be continued accidents and not just here. People coming southbound down Second Street cross Moraga Boulevard, go into Monroe and they are entering the school zone. He takes this way to work every morning and inevitably he sees people rolling through the stop sign and often they have kids in the car to be delivered. This all comes back to enforcement, and he thinks the ADA issue does pertain to crosswalks and the bike lane will affect it and it also invites people with wheelchairs or walkers to use the bike walk and there is too much slope.
GABE COHEN said he uses the crosswalk 3-4 times a week right after school and there are many crossing guards there and he feels safe there even with a lot of cars. He sometimes hangs out there for a few minutes and so the congestion is only for about one-half hour or less and he still feels safe. At most, he suggested a 30 minute no parking sign for drop-off and pickup because kids can walk a bit to be picked up elsewhere and it does not have to be at School Street.
ABBY FATEMAN said it is wonderful to see another school safety project being considered, spoke in support of staff’s recommendation for both resolutions, and is a user of the area who would use it more if there was a protected space. Her children rode bikes to Stanley and wished they had this at that time.
As they grew up they got jobs in La Fiesta Square and would take the trail down School Street to get across Moraga and she heard unsafe stories. Kids and adults use the area and she is not comfortable using it now, said the City has been studying this for over a decade, has policies that guide these decisions, recognized this is an emotional issue, and thinks policy should be followed to create safety for all users.
She lastly thinks someone should figure out school drop-off and pickup.
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GARY RISKE said he lives on Topper Lane and understands the vast majority of bikers go across from Paradise Court, walk the 20 to 30 yards to get onto the trail. If what the City is focused on is safety of children, putting in a bike lane, removing parking, creating all additional safety issues of people pulling in and out of their driveways from a safety standpoint does not seem to be a good use of resources of the City. He knows a number of people think this should be done and that civility is needed but he does not think this particular solution is well thought out, particularly the SL-9 and even the SL-2.
Kids are taught to walk their bikes across the crosswalk at Paradise Court and he fully supports putting in speed bumps, additional lighting systems, protective barriers, but the bike path piece of it does not seem to be addressing safety issues and does not seem to fit with the rest of the suggestions that are part of the process. He knows Mr. Moran is not trying to turn Topper Lane into a one-way street, but again, he would love to see traffic surveys to support that process. Finally, there seems to be a lost opportunity of not using St. Mary’s Road and creating more of a pickup, drop-off and parking opportunity on that side of the school which would alleviate traffic and safety concerns on School Street.
THOMAS DWYER said this proposal is like building a Starbuck’s and putting another Starbuck’s next to it.
It is overkill and there is already a bike path. If kids get out of school and take the bike path and walk down towards east, they can get to Foy Avenue and do the pickup there. It is a nice wide street once getting past the trail. All students would have to do is walk down the bike path. The bike path proposed will only be used for one-half hour a day and this is a waste of money. It is also a hardship for people who live on School Street. He asked how people would park when having guests over at their homes if the bike lane is put there, especially during back to school night.
Additionally, Stanley has gotten bigger over the years and have put more classrooms in, fields have gotten smaller, and the teachers are parking on streets because their parking lot is full and they put a sports court in where the tennis courts are instead of parking. To do something like this where it will only be used for one-half hour during the day is a waste of resources and there is already a bike path. He proposed having speed bumps on School Street, just past Avalon Court and another one halfway between the Town Hall Theatre and Avalon Avenue and asked not to move forward with the project.
JAMIE HESSION said she is pleased that the additional stakeholders had a chance to come forward and it was great to hear from residents on the streets affected about how the street conversion would affect them She thinks the Council should recognize individuals who are driving this, as they are mostly elementary school parents who wish Stanley was not in the middle of their home to school commute. The plan to displace Stanley traffic is a hazard to their own kids. They envision traversing from Paradise Court to 1st Street and the Council will not see Stanley parents fighting for this. There will still be 5 driveways on Avalon and Paradise Court will still be full of parents picking up and dropping off their kids. She recently counted 10 cars coming out of Avalon Court that intersected with the students coming from Lafayette Elementary School.
She also thinks it is important to recognize who these key individuals are who are pushing this onto the community. She fears some have been involved with this plan for a long time, are influencing the Toole group’s process, and she questioned if this is a violation of the Brown Act. Furthermore, she asked to explore developing the south side of Stanley Middle School on St. Mary’s Road for a formal designated loading zone for the safety of Stanley Middle School children.
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MICHAL THOMPSON said he has children at Stanley who ride their bike daily and he also frequently rides his bike in that corridor. The traffic issues occur for 30 minutes but otherwise the road is clear of traffic.
It is safe or safer than the abundance of roads in the City. At these times, a bike lane does not create any additional value. The road is mostly open when he rides it in the corridor and for the periods of high school traffic, he agrees that SL-2 is a good improvement. He also suggested the Council focus on enhancing traffic management using crossing guards, which are the only way the City has to manage the overwhelming traffic volumes that are beyond the safe capacity of School Street during pickup and drop-off.
He is against removing parking for many reasons because it will not change the safety profile in this area which already has a functioning sidewalk. It will result in disruptions for homeowners and there is no design to review. Without a design, they cannot measure the impact of this change and impacts of removing parking regarding how parents use parking today to wait for their children exiting school and for other uses to service the neighbors. It is possible the change of putting children closer to moving cars will make this area less safe and less functional during peak traffic periods, so he asked to make this process more thoughtful, more balanced, and more impactful of safety improvements.
STEVE PASCUCCI said he is in support of this item, said the area in question has been studied multiple times by experts and this is a recommended course of action. He realizes while it inconveniences a few, it benefits many people in the community. As this town grows, infrastructure is needed that grows with it to encourage bicyclists and pedestrians to get to schools, downtown, and to keep cars off the street.
LAUREN HERPICH said complex problems need multi-pronged solutions and what is before the Council is a highly studied and recommended solution that she hopes is the first of many to tackle this issue. She agrees the St. Mary’s Road drop-off area is a great idea as well as more traffic enforcement, carpooling, and encouraging areas for pick-up and drop-off that are further away. She also cannot wait to hear the results of the Lamorinda school bus survey and thinks many families responded that they would love to have their kids take the bus to school, but this is not about kids in school. She knows many friends in Burton Valley and neighboring trails area streets who would use the path to get to downtown restaurants, library, shops, etc. This is a great asset for everybody in town and this is another one of the Council priorities and she thinks tonight is the Council’s chance to show its commitment to its stated priorities.
TRACEY FARRELL said she and her husband sent in a letter which had a typo and said the community was not properly noticed about the matter. She appreciates pros and cons and Ms. Herpich’s comments, said their kids ride their bikes back and forth from Topper Court to downtown and has done so successfully and safely for 30 years. She, along with the Gallagher and Mitchell family were instrumental in putting speed bumps at the corner on Topper Court to reduce frantic driving patterns to get down the lane to get to Stanley. They were the ones who put the big stones on the corners to keep people from parking, some of which have disappeared.
She thinks the Council is doing all the right things in its deliberation and she asked to deliberate further because of the importance of the matter. This is about the children’s safety and when they have had dialogue within the community, they included the school district and she is surprised the school district is not part of this dialogue given it impacts their employees. She asked the Council not to rush into making a decision, thinks the SL-2 is something to consider seriously and agrees with the speed bumps, but this is an area that is only congested for a small time period.
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Mayor Gerringer thanked all speakers. She spoke about the school’s involvement in this process and in the previous process of Safe Routes to School, the Downtown Congestion Plan, and the School District had two meetings and could not be here tonight. She saw that the Toole reports are on their agenda on Wednesday and the City will continue to work with them in partnering with schools. She referred to the idea of a temporary path and asked what “temporary” means.
Mr. Moran said it is being built with temporary materials as opposed to a permanent grade separated concrete curb asphalt berm and raised separated pathway. As to how long it stays in place is a different question. The intent of the report is that it would stay in place until the City built something more permanent.
Vice Mayor Anduri asked for input from the Mayor on staff parking.
Mayor Gerringer stated there are over 75+ parking spaces and public comment received talked about empty spaces and parking spaces available on the side. They also received comment from a teacher who said for personal reasons staff and teachers choose to park on School Street. The number of classes and enrollment has not grown by large amounts and so comments made about the school district working with teachers and staff to utilize the parking spaces for them is one of the steps the City has no control over, but there are empty parking spaces in the school lot which have been counted by residents and a school staff member she spoke with.
Vice Mayor Anduri said he did visit the site this afternoon and asked both crossing guards if they considered this a normal day and they did. This morning, there were at least 15 spaces in the parking lot that were empty after the first bell and about 4 cars parked along School Street between Paradise and 1st Street. When he came back in the afternoon, there were 22 cars parked in that same area and 3 of them had drivers sitting in the vehicles waiting for kids. He is hesitant to provide his other observations but said he is impressed by the number of bicyclists coming to Stanley School. They definitely are not on their bikes when crossing School Street, but by the time they cross Paradise Court, 90% are on their bikes and are riding on the sidewalk or in the bike lane.
Mayor Gerringer noted that the majority of the spaces in the parking lot are designated for staff and were increased as part of the improvements that were done several years ago. In terms of encouraging additional drop-off spaces, Mr. Moran touched on dropping further up on Burton Valley. Ms.
Wotherspoon noted a parent drop-off exists at the City’s parking lot by 1st Street and Golden Gate Way, so she was curious what options were for people coming from Burton Valley.
The Council approved putting reflective beacons at the two crosswalks and so there are ways to pickup and drop-off and ways for parents to be able to drop off at the trail and for students to walk down from there and then walk back out. But again, that is a communications circulation education piece the schools would handle. Also, having maps or flyers the schools could give out at the beginning of the year or at assemblies and events are tools and should be done to alleviate congestion.
Councilmember Candell said she would like clarification on the extent of the notifications given to residents.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian said there are no legal parameters in how much notice is required under the vehicle code. It is really a policy decision of how much notice the Council or staff wanted to give, and there is no due process issue.
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Councilmember Candell said she has been at the school a couple of times during pickup and drop-off and the amount of bikes is phenomenal. One of the things she thinks might happen if the bike lane gets approved is that most kids now cross their bikes at Paradise and turn right to the trail. But, all kids going in the other direction have to walk all the way to Avalon and cross there. She asked if many kids would cross their bikes at Paradise now and take a left because they do not have to walk, and it would be quicker for them.
Mr. Moran said it is a possibility and is up to the kid because they will be slightly backtracking based upon where the bike parking is at the middle school right now to go to Paradise, and they would be walking the right direction if they are going to Avalon. It could go either way, but it would work either way if the Council allows for a dedicated bike path on the north side of the street. There is no crosswalk at 1st Street right now and the City is not planning to add one now, but if headed west out of the school, they can take their pick.
Mayor Gerringer referred to comments regarding emergency vehicles and potential impacts and asked for Mr. Moran to comment.
Mr. Moran said he knows there have been comments about the courts being fully parked up, but there are spaces that are public spaces and so they could be fully parked at any time. An emergency vehicle such as a fire engine will still pull into a court which may trap cars but that is not their concern. Their concern is accessing the emergency. If there are less congested streets it is easier, but this will just not happen at school pickup or drop-off times.
Councilmember Dawson asked about the two-way separated bike lane with delineators and she asked if there will be markings or just a path.
Mr. Moran said it depends on the width, but he is envisioning a path. There will not be 4 feet in each direction delineated with an arrow and people will still need to ride on the right side of the path they are on, but the beauty of having a wide path like the regional bike trail is that people know to pass on the left, ride on the right and often it is one way. At a school commute there may be a few bicyclists going contraflow, but most are going together and will use the full width of the path headed in one direction.
Councilmember Kwok referred to recycling and trash day pickups and asked if residents will be able to put their trash out without blocking the pathway or cars and asked how the garbage truck will pick them up if on the sidewalk.
Mr. Moran said it will block one of those things and it does now as well. Residents either put cans on the sidewalk or putting them in the parking lane and not parking on the street. They would have to put them between the posts out there and these would block part of the dedicated bike pathway. There would still be enough room for bicyclists to get by and it will require the arm of a refuse pickup vehicle to work between the posts, which might be a maintenance item, as well.
Mayor Gerringer asked and confirmed that mail, delivery trucks, trash, and recycling have to work around a row of cars that are parked there now. Mr. Moran said just like during street sweeping day, residents will give themselves room but if there are parked cars, the sweeping works around them just as they do now.
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Mayor Gerringer asked for deliberation on the recommendation before the Council.
Vice Mayor Anduri stated he will support the resolution. There is one portion of information of the process that was not raised during this discussion. It was mentioned that the Town Hall Theatre relies on parking down School Street on performance nights, so they would lose that parking from 1st Street down to Paradise. He understands the concerns of residents who live along School Street. They have been listened to even though he comes out with a different result.
He said he would like to take steps now to move towards design of the permanent path along School Street from Moraga Road to the trail, so they have this as a shovel-ready project for grant opportunities.
He thinks it is very important to create very safe paths from neighborhoods to downtown because there is the trail, 1st Street and this linked. He understands when people say it is only 15 minutes other than during pickup and drop-off times when it safe, but he is sure there are parents who would feel much better if there were a safe path the entire distance. Their long-term goal is to create safe bike and pedestrian pathways from each of the areas of the City to the downtown and this can be a model for it, so he supports the resolution.
Councilmember Candell said she is also in agreement and supports the resolution, echoes all concerns he has raised, hopes everyone can learn and said they will definitely be in touch with the school district immediately if the resolution is adopted and ensure coordination is undertaken. She expects all stakeholders will keep the Council informed of things that are happening which need to be addressed.
She believes this is a start and not necessarily the end of looking at this area. She wants this to be a maturation process where they address things if they are not going the way they think they are going, and she thinks it will keep kids safer which is important.
Councilmember Dawson echoed remarks and added that they hear what residents are saying in the school area about safety, but this is all part of Vision Zero. It is the City’s responsibility now that the Council adopted this policy to ensure as best they can to mitigate the possibility of fatalities. It is not just school safety but to ensure safety in the entire community. She agrees that if something is not working they can come back to it, and she would support the resolution.
Councilmember Kwok recognized the diverse views on this topic, and it is challenging for the community.
In these circumstances, he tries to look at guidance in the vision and mission statement and so when thinking about a safe, family-friendly city that supports environmental sustainability, where the City is building and maintaining effective infrastructure for their future, that they are improving safety for all modes of travel.
He would say California is very car-centric much more than Europe and they need to change this and be moving in a direction to make room for bikes and pedestrians who have the same rights if not more so.
The vision is to connect all neighborhoods with the downtown so bikes and pedestrians will have safe travel. So, he does not view this as a 30 minute-a-day issue but as a way of connecting Burton Valley with the downtown. There have been 10 years of surveys and he thinks the time is right to move forward with this first step and is able to vote in favor of the resolution.
Councilmember Dawson said part of Vision Zero is also data driven and she thinks this data needs to be captured to see metrics. They hope to see improvement in bike and pedestrian traffic so it would be good to have a baseline so they can measure it against the success of the safe passages.
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Mayor Gerringer said she is also in support of the resolution, thanked all stakeholders that have communicated throughout this process, thanked the Transportation Circulation Commission and staff for their work, and thinks the Council wants to hear on how this is working from parents, schools and students which will be important. The Council has talked about making this a permanent School Street pathway for a very long time and it comes down to funding. She believes this will help the City make a case for grants, said the incentives to her on Vision Zero is creating safer roadways for everyone which is a big culture shift, but it means the Council is prioritizing and valuing humans over vehicles and conveniences of parking.
She knows this is an emotional issue and some people feel they were not heard but hopes they will still communicate with the Council and staff, but she supports moving this forward, and asked for a motion.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Candell/Anduri) to: 1. Adopted Resolution 2022-25 as amended to remove Parking on North Side of School Street between First Street and the Lafayette- Moraga Trail to Dedicate That Portion of the Public Roadway for Bicyclists; Modify a “No Parking” Zone on the East Side of School Street between the Lafayette-Moraga Trail and Topper Lane to a “No Parking or Stopping” Zone. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes:
Candell, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Dawson) to authorize staff to file a Notice of Exemption finding the project exempt from CEQA. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
EXTEND MEETING
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Dawson) to extend the meeting until 12 midnight. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes:
Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
8. STAFF REPORTS
A. Mike Moran, Engineering and Public Works Director
Request to Install and Fund Speed Humps on and Around North and South Lucille Lanes – Lafayette Valley Estates Neighborhood
Recommendation: 1. Direct staff to install eight speed humps per the location map that is attached to this report and was sent to the Lafayette Valley Estates neighborhood residents. 2.
Fund the speed humps with the budget already allocated to the current surface seal project No. 014-9733. 3. Direct staff to defer any new neighborhood speed hump requests until the City has adopted a Local Roadway Safety Plan.
Engineering and Public Works Director Mike Moran gave the staff report and overview of the two traffic calming requests to install and fund speed humps on and around North and South Lucille Lanes in the Lafayette Valley Estates neighborhood. The item has been to the Transportation Circulation Commission twice to receive public input, noted sandwich board signs were put out twice, mailers were sent to all neighbors affected, painted out on the street the locations of the humps and signs that would go with them. The Transportation Circulation Commission recommended one phase of speed humps and a modified approval of Phase 1-b to allow staff some discretion when the speed humps were laid out. He arrived at 8 speed humps, 7 on the streets planned and one more on Florence to total 3 speed humps for Florence.
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Public input has been received on this topic and in general most people are in favor, but some are not in favor of any (speed humps). The other request is to change some of the locations or to add another one such as on Helen or on South Lucille or an adjustment to the location on Betty. He agrees with this comment for Betty and can make this adjustment before they would install them.
He then shared his screen to show locations of the speed humps, which he described. The cost is about $6,000 each if this is lumped in with the surface seal project that has already been awarded by the Council.
Staff included a line item for speed humps to get an economy of scale for each speed hump and it is better than those prices paid for in Burton Valley as a result. Because part of the Local Roadway Safety Plan will be updating the City’s traffic calming policies and Vision Zero policies, it will identify the criteria for putting speed humps in going forward, but. staff is recommending putting speed humps in this area, that the City pay for them due to safety of pedestrians, bicyclists and kids crossing streets, as there are no sidewalks in these neighborhoods.
Mayor Gerringer confirmed Mr. Moran agrees with the request to move the Betty speed hump closer by an approximate additional 100 feet from Florence.
Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period.
HUDSON ORMAN said he has lived in the neighborhood for 17 years and in the mailing letter it states there are 7 speed humps but driving throughout the neighborhood and according to the map there are clearly 8. He does not think the placement of the speed humps especially on South Lucille are the best.
The speed hump farther on South Lucille further from Florence Drive should be moved closer towards Fredericka Avenue and the one closer towards Florence should be moved closer to Fredericka Avenue.
With South Lucille being a main road in the neighborhood, there is no posted speed limit, and the only one is at the entrance to the neighborhood on Florence Drive coming from the other side of St. Mary’s Road. Also, in reading public comments, many people who are concerned with speeding are concerned with the safety of their children. He has always been taught to drive less than 15 mph and does not drive on North Lucille because the road is too narrow for his vehicle. He constantly experiences people yelling at him for speeding when he does not increase his speed to more than 15 mph which is 10 miles less than the speed limit. Therefore, he questioned the validity of people saying there is speeding. He also suggested no parking on these streets and painting the curbs red to increase visibility and safety. He also thinks speeding in the neighborhood is by delivery drivers and contractors so adding speed humps will stop them, but instead will stop and punish small commuter cars than larger trucks and SUVs.
ABBY FATEMAN said as a Burton Valley resident who was recently a recipient of many speed humps, she thanked the City. She supports seeing more speed humps around neighborhoods in Lafayette because it will help drive home the message not to speed in neighborhoods. They still have people speeding in between speed humps and she thinks if this becomes a pervasive behavior in the region, she thinks speeding will be trained not to speed. She thanked the Council for considering this and voiced support of the recommendations.
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ANNA RADONICH said she is speaking as a resident of Lafayette Valley Estates and not as Planning Commission Chair. She agrees safety in the neighborhood is not limited only to speeding is definitely an issue, but she does not think speed humps should be the first solution when considering other options and looking at safety as a whole. She agrees the road needs to be fixed on South Lucille as part of the condition to add speed humps if approved, agreed the speed limit is not posted anywhere except for on Florence where the new speed hump is being proposed, agrees with public comments that posting the speed would help and should be the first step, is curious how many speeders are actually driving above 25 mph because she also drives 15 mph and although she drives an SUV, the streets are narrow and with cars parked on both sides, speeds can be perceived as faster.
She thinks what the City should do is post a 15-mph speed limit and ask that the police department come and ticket drivers who are speeding. North Lucille at Helen Avenue is very dangerous, and she suggested considering a stop sign there on Helen. She always has treated this as a stop sign and has avoided multiple collisions here.
Also, the corner hedges at this intersection are overgrown and prevent drivers to see cross traffic, and she asked that the City look at this. Where South Lucille crosses with Mildred it is also very dangerous and she asked to add a stop sign there, as there is not a clear line of sight when approaching that intersection.
She agrees with the public comment that North Lucille is extremely narrow. Her suggestion is improving this so that residents use their garage and driveway which would allow visibility down and up the road. If the situation calls for calling out a driver she asked to do it, but parents yelling at drivers should know speed humps do not create automatic safety. She agreed with moving up the hump on Betty, supports Hudson and adjusting the location on South Lucille.
Councilmember Candell referred to Ms. Radonich’s comments about stop signs for North Lucille and Helen. Ms. Radonich said there is a Helen Avenue and a Helen Lane, and she cited the extremely dangerous condition when people do not stop at Helen Avenue.
MAURICE WILLIAMS, , said he has resided on this street for 35 years and has raised 3 children which have thankfully gotten through safety issues here. He is appreciative of what the Transportation Circulation Commission has done thus far. He particularly wanted to give kudos to Mike Moran for taking the time to come out and speak to residents to determine needs and concerns. He has been deeply concerned about excess speeding and has yelled at people as well as many other residents. Neighbors have been lucky there has only been one critical accident in 1995. At that time, he requested speed humps because of speeding and was told there was a moratorium on them throughout the City. He thinks even if a speed limit sign were put up limiting speeds to 15 or 25 mph, there is no police enforcement to monitor the situation.
He asked for an additional speed hump on South Lucille Lane. He is concerned with the width of the street and received valid feedback after circulating a petition and full support, and the majority of neighbors would support this area. He spoke with Mr. Moran about the radius at the top end of South Lucille Lane where it is somewhat blind, and they observe a number of vehicles speeding both northward and southward along this section. He asked the Council to approve the speed humps, given concerns have been in effect for several years, with radar and speed signs posted which did not work.
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RICH HAYGOOD said he lives on Betty Lane by Helen, thanked Mr. Moran for his work and for sending out notice to the neighborhood. He understands the concern about the location of the hump being fairly close to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill there where Betty Lane hits Florence, and recommended caution in how far the City might move that up the hill because the hill starts getting steeper very quickly when traveling further west. His main regret is that he will have to be more careful on his bike now without putting on the brakes.
Mr. Moran said he is aware of the slopes as mentioned and that could be why the first one on Betty was placed where it was placed, but he will look at pushing it up the hill a bit, but when getting to a steeper grade, he would not put it there and will work with the criteria for placement of speed humps, if approved.
Councilmember Dawson asked if Mr. Moran got a lot of feedback from petitioners.
Mr. Moran said he walked with a couple of neighbors on South Lucille, did not walk with the North Lucille neighbors but had a meeting shortly afterwards and received a fair number of speakers at both meetings in favor of both TARs. But, this is a neighborhood of maybe 280 homes, so it is important to get a feel from the whole neighborhood. More people seemed to be in favor than against.
Regarding the comment about what else could be done besides this leading up to it, he thinks every effort they have had in every other neighborhood short of putting in speed humps has failed because years later they get the same requests and it goes in a cycle. So, if the neighborhood really wants to slow down speed, something physical will be needed and speed humps is the most cost effective thing to do that, but he agreed it changes traffic and biking conditions, a tripping hazard at night in a neighborhood that has no street lights, but they will be stiped and marked and signed. It also adds more signs in the neighborhood, but he wanted everyone to be informed. He then spoke about the speed hump mold and forms and in general they are 12 feet wide, 3 ½ inches tall and have certain slope to them.
Vice Mayor Anduri said the first recommendation is to direct staff to install speed humps per the location map attached to this report and sent to residents. They are marked in the street and at least one will be changed. He asked if there is a possibility staff might change others and asked what the direction should be if it is painted out there.
Mr. Moran said he does not believe he has a reason to change any others, but there could be one if there is a good reason for moving something 50 feet. On South Lucille they are not equal distance. Speed humps work in series, but 300 to 600 feet apart is the recommendation and 500 is on the higher end. He laid them out and tried to look at all issues he brought up before. One woman was so happy he was putting the first one he laid out in front of her home, but he would say in general the humps will go where they have been painted out. He apologized for the 7 versus 8. The 8th one is the one on Florence which was an add-in after discussion with Matt Luttropp who is overseeing the project to change out the rumble strip for another speed hump there.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Candell) to: 1. Direct staff to install eight speed humps amending the location map that is attached to this report and was sent to the Lafayette Valley Estates neighborhood residents. 2. Fund the speed humps with the budget already allocated to the current surface seal project No. 014-9733. 3. Direct staff to defer any new neighborhood speed hump requests until the City has adopted a Local Roadway Safety Plan. Vote: 5-0 (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
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9. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None
10. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR – None
11. COUNCIL/COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Councilmembers report on activities and consideration of matters a Councilmember wishes to initiate for placement on a future agenda.
Councilmember Kwok reported receiving a letter from Will Elder, Chair of the Creeks Committee with a request. He and Vice Mayor Anduri are Council liaisons and will be reviewing the request in the weeks ahead and will bring it back accordingly as needed.
He reported this Saturday is Earth Day located behind the Library. Several Councilmembers will also be manning a booth from 11AM to 2PM, and also in attendance will be the Emergency Services Commission to talk about Firewise and the Environmental Task Force, along with good food and booths.
B. City Manager’s Update
Recommendation: Receive and file.
There was no report.
C. Councilmember Kwok and Vice Mayor Anduri
Resolution 2022-26 Appointing one member to the Environmental Task Force.
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2022-26 Appointing one member to the Environmental Task Force effective May 13th.
Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Anduri) to adopt Resolution 2022-26 appointing Ashley Louisiana to the Environmental Task Force effective May 13th. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
D. Councilmembers Kwok and Candell
Resolution 2022-29 Appointing two members to the Crime Prevention Commission Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2022-29 Appointing two members to the Crime Prevention Commission.
Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Kwok/Candell) to adopt Resolution 2022-29 appointing Larry Bellusa and Traci Reilly to the Crime Prevention Commission. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
E. Vice Mayor Anduri and Councilmember Dawson
Resolution 2022-30 Appointing three members to the Public Art Committee Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2022-30 Appointing three members to the Public Art Committee.
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Mayor Gerringer opened the public comment period, and there were no speakers.
ACTION: It was M/S/C (Anduri/Dawson) to adopt Resolution 2022-30 appointing Erling Horn, Sandra Wolfe and Christy Mack to the Public Art Committee. Vote: 5-0- (Ayes: Gerringer, Anduri, Candell, Dawson, and Kwok; Noes: None).
12. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS – None
13. ADJOURNMENT – 11:39 p.m.
APPROVED:
__________________________________
Teresa Gerringer, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Joanne Robbins, City Clerk