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City Council
Supplemental Report
From: Philip Kamhi, Chief Transportation Official
Meeting Date: November 6, 2023
Item Number: 9
Report #:2310-2194
TITLE
Supplemental Memo: Update on Business Stakeholder Engagement and Additional Details on the One-Way Street Configuration Option
RECOMMENDATION
This supplemental memorandum transmits additional information on stakeholder engagement with the business community for Car-Free streets and presents additional considerations for implementing a one-way street with a potential bike lane (Option C in the staff report and proposed by some members of the California Avenue business community).
BACKGROUND
Stakeholder Engagement with the Business Community:
As part of the stakeholder engagement regarding car-free streets, staff convened a meeting with members of the business community on Monday, October 30. The purpose of the meeting was to review:
1) The scope of the discussion the City Council will have on Monday, November 6 regarding Car- Free Streets
2) The opportunity for members of the business community to participate in the continued conversation regarding California Avenue and Ramona Street – both through the City Council discussion as well as the planned consultant study.
The meeting had 46 attendees which included property owners, brokers, retailers, restauranteurs, and merchants operating on or near Ramona Street and in the California Avenue Business District. After discussing the staff report, the recommended action, and opportunities for members of the business community to engage in the discussion – both at City Council on November 6 as well as in the proposed project plan – the conversation turned to a moderated discussion with questions and answers.
Many participants on the call voiced their support for the proposal that was published by business owners in Palo Alto Online on Friday afternoon, calling for opening one lane of traffic with a bike lane along California Avenue. There were also some businesses who advocated for
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keeping the street in its current configuration during the study period with additional improvements (as recommended in the staff report) and some who wanted the full re-opening of the street to vehicular traffic.
Those in favor of either the one-lane “compromise” or the full reopening of the street cited potentially enhanced accessibility for patrons, increased visibility for businesses by motorists, and the need to see if vehicular traffic might ease some of the pain felt by retailers during the street closure. The restaurants in support of a one-way opening acknowledged that their outdoor dining footprint would shrink in such a configuration. Those advocating for the current configuration cited the community benefit of a car-free street and the changing nature of retail as the primary reason that some businesses were slower. Staff notes that no polling of businesses has occurred recently, so it would be difficult to characterize how widely these views are held.
An additional point of feedback received during the meeting was the need to ensure sufficient access to the street for those with disabilities. Staff will be working to increase access by looking at the location of handicap parking stalls, pedestrian circulation, and incorporating improvements into the street configuration.
Considerations for Implementation of a one-way street with bike lane As noted in the initial staff report, the one-way street configuration option requires additional time, evaluation, and consultation. Staff’s preliminary review of the one-way configuration and the steps and timeline involved to implement it are detailed below. This assumes an east-bound one-way vehicle travel lane from El Camino Real to Birch Street, entering on the El Camino Real side heading toward and exiting on Birch Street.
Steps and Timeline
oDefine the scope of the project, including answering:
Is the travel lane center-running, or is there a preference for using one side of the street?
Open the intersection with Ash Street to vehicles too? Add a bicycle lane, and is it one or bi-directional?
Would on-street parking return as part of this one-way proposal? oThe scope of the project will determine the level of environmental review required. oDepending on the scope, a traffic impact study may be needed to better understand and mitigate any potential impacts of a one-way street configuration and provide technical design for the new street layout.
oCoordinate signal timing and signage with Caltrans to allow for vehicles to enter the one-way street from El Camino Real.
oThis work may delay other ongoing Office of Transportation work to implement this interim option as soon as possible.
oApproximately 4-6 months to implement following approval of the scope. Once scoped, most of the work would be on design elements and their impacts The actual work to configure the street, including the striping, would take approximately one month.
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Resource Needs
oDesign one-way street layout and prepare signing and striping plans for proposed modifications to existing striping, signage, barriers, delineators etc. to accommodate vehicular and bicycle traffic through various intersections for the project in accordance with California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and addressing concerns/recommendations of traffic study.
oContractor to install proposed signage and striping plan to implement the one-way street configuration.
Funding would be required for the one-way design and installation. oNeed to develop temporary City guidelines for outdoor dining areas sited near traffic on California Avenue.
Consideration of parklets is possible, but it is complicated by the weekly Sunday farmers’ market as well as the use of non-parking spaces for outdoor dining on Cal Ave.
oHire a contractor to pressure-wash away the ground-plane public art mural at the intersection of Cal Ave. and Ash Street.
oFor temporary closures and special events, such as Third Thursdays, resources to close the street to traffic will need to be identified.
oOngoing maintenance of infrastructure once installed.
Potential Business Impacts
oConfiguring outdoor dining next to traffic is a different context than the current configuration and will require modifications and investment. Businesses would need to align their outdoor dining with new temporary City guidelines for outdoor dining. Businesses would need to upgrade their outdoor dining design and infrastructure to allow for adjacent one-way vehicle traffic, and potentially bicycles too.
This includes the need to install barriers, reflectors, and other features to enhance the safety of all on the street.
oSome businesses will need to reduce or eliminate their outdoor dining footprint. Different footprint implications for each business, based on the direction and location of the one-way street.
A larger footprint required if a one or bi-directional bicycle travel lane is installed.
On-street barriers separating uses also take up space on the street.
Given the interest in this topic and the impacts of Council direction on the street configuration, staff has provided these updates to Council through this supplemental memorandum in advance of the City Council meeting. Staff will also address these topics during the presentation for the item on November 6, 2023.
ATTACHMENTS
NONE
APPROVED BY:
Philip Kamhi, Chief Transportation Official