Date: February 26, 2024
To: Public Works and Sustainability Commission
From: Department of Public Works
Subject: FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION OF PROPOSED
TRAFFIC CONFIGURATION CHANGES ALONG N HELBERTA
AVENUE (500 BLOCK)
SUMMARY:
At the City’s Public Works & Sustainability Commission (PWSC) meeting on January 23, 2023, circulation changes were discussed for the 500 block of N Helberta Avenue based on resident concerns with safety and parking, especially during school pick-up/drop-off times.
Staff proposed alternatives and surveyed the neighborhood, which is summarized in the Administrative Report for this item at the January 23, 2023 PWSC meeting (Attachment 1).
The PWSC unanimously voted in favor of converting this block of Helberta Avenue to be a northbound one-way street and for staff to explore other traffic safety and calming measures prior to City Council consideration.
Since then, City staff have analyzed and investigated the block and propose an interim measure that could alleviate resident concerns while traffic data is collected. At this time, staff recommends prohibiting left and right-turns (all turns) onto N Helberta Avenue from Carnelian Street on weekdays from 7-9 AM and 2-4 PM, which coincides with most RUHS pick-up/drop-off times. Traffic counts would be collected before and after this interim measure and further feedback would be collected prior to consideration of more impactful measures such as a one-way conversion.
After conversations with the Councilmember for District 2, it was decided that this interim measure be returned to the PWSC for discussion prior to deliberation at City Council.
Therefore, staff is seeking input and direction on this matter from the public and Public Works and Sustainability Commission (PWSC) prior to discussion at City Council.
DISCUSSION:
Attachment 1 provides the details and background of this request. Since the PWSC meeting in January 2023, engineering staff visited the street during different times of day, observed traffic patterns, and explored various solutions.
At this time, staff proposes prohibiting turns onto N Helberta Avenue from Carnelian Street during school peak hours (weekdays 7-9 AM; 2-4 PM) as an interim measure. While this measure would solely consist of signage and RBPD enforcement, anecdotal evidence has Administrative Report
found similar time-based turn restrictions to be effective at similar school-area locations like Diamond/Paulina and Inglewood/Ripley. It was observed that enough vehicles obeyed the posted signage to result in noticeably positive outcomes for residents.
Before the interim turn restriction is implemented, staff will collect two-way traffic count data along Helberta Avenue to establish baseline conditions during the school year. After data is collected, time-specific turn prohibition signage would be installed at Helberta/Carnelian.
Note that turn restrictions would affect any member of the driving public wishing to enter Helberta Avenue from Carnelian Street, including residents of the block. Access would still be provided from Diamond Street. The existing yellow dashed center line on the street would be removed as well. This would encourage drivers to utilize more of the available roadway width to minimize collisions with parked vehicles.
After a trial period of 30-60 days, traffic counts would be recollected to determine the efficacy of the posted turn restriction and feedback would be collected along the block. Results would be presented to the City Council. If the turn restriction is deemed successful, no further action would be required for it to remain. If further measures are required, consideration of measures such as a permanent full-time one-way conversion would be brought to the City Council for approval.
Staff does not recommend a permanent conversion of this block to be one-way northbound at this time. This change would require substantial travel behavior changes along the block, which affects residents, delivery drivers, mapping applications, and street sweeping.
Residents would be required to travel along Diamond Street, adjacent to the high school at all times to access Helberta Avenue. Furthermore, one-way northbound operations may encourage speeding along the block due to excessive lane width (14 feet or more). The presence of driveways on the north end of Helberta Avenue near Carnelian Street may encourage wrong-way travel that would be difficult to enforce.
COORDINATION:
Coordination of this report took place within the Public Works Department and with the Councilmember for District 2. Noticing for this item was provided to all residents along the 500 block of N Helberta Avenue.
Prepared by:
Ryan Liu, Transportation Engineer
Submitted by:
Ted Semaan, Public Works Director
ATTACHMENTS:
1 – PWSC Administrative Report and Attachments – January 23, 2023 Administrative
Report
J.2., File # PWC23-5433 Meeting Date: 1/23/2023
To: PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION
From: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
TITLE
CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENTS ON THE 500 BLOCK OF N. HELBERTA AVE.
RECOMMENDATION
Consider results of survey sent to residents in the vicinity of the 500 block of N. Helberta Avenue and make a recommendation for vehicle circulation improvements to that block.
SUMMARY
In response to a request from the council member from District 2, staff reviewed the circulation challenges on the 500 block of N. Helberta Avenue and identified five possible solutions to improve driving conditions on this block. The need for improvements stems from the heavy use of this narrow residential street that is adjacent to Redondo Union High School. Parking is allowed on both sides of the street, which often forces oncoming vehicles into conflicting paths. When use is heavy this creates considerable difficulty navigating the block.
As potential solutions staff proposed three concepts, with two of the three having two secondary alternatives, resulting in five distinct possibilities in the survey. The survey was distributed to 293 addresses that are within 300 feet of the block. Staff received back 43 responses, 37 of which could be identified to an address. One option, converting to one-way travel on the block, was preferred by about 63% of those who returned the survey. Surveys returned from those on the block also favored (10 of 14 or 71%) the one-way conversion.
Staff is bringing the item forward to the Public Works Commission as an opportunity to gather more public input and to seek a recommendation from the Commission regarding taking this forward to the City Council. Residents who were sent the survey were notified by US Mail that this item would be discussed at this meeting. Staff has also sent it to the Council Member for District 2 for further circulation.
BACKGROUND
Staff received am inquiry from Councilmember Lowenstein in October 2022 regarding the possibility of making this block of N. Helberta Avenue a one-way street to help alleviate some of the existing challenges for motorists. Staff developed a simple survey and mailed it to residents within 300 feet of the block, with a request to return the survey by mail, email or hand delivery to City Hall. Surveys were returned as recently as December 2, 2022 but most came within a few weeks of the October 24, 2022 date of mailing. The survey asked for resident’s preferences to address the tight conditions
23 J.2., File # PWC23-5433 Meeting Date: 1/23/2023
on the road. A copy of the survey is attached.
DISCUSSION
The 500 block of N. Helberta Avenue is a residential road way with a primarily north to south alignment. It is part of the original street layout for the City and can be seen in its current alignment in maps dating as far back as 1887. It connects to the lower left side of the “lamp of learning” that was represented in the street layout designed by the City’s local Chautauqua Assembly. As a part of that more artistic than practical street layout, this block of roadway curvature intersects awkwardly with Carnelian Street on the north side. The intersection with Diamond Street on the south side is a little more routine. Diamond Street, which has a functional classification as a collector street, is adjacent to Redondo Union High School and N. Helberta Avenue is heavily impacted at times by both parking and traffic from high school activities.
The 500 block of N Helberta Avenue roadway is narrow, approximately 30 feet wide from curb to curb. Parking is allowed on both sides and there is a traffic lane in each direction separated by a dashed center line. After allowing 7 feet on each side for parking, only 16 feet of roadway width remains available for travel lanes. Since the two-way travel is divided by a centerline, the resulting north and south travel lanes are only at most eight feet in width, which is well below the City’s standard lane width of 10.5 to 12 feet. The substandard street width is the primary reason some engineering modification must be made.
Staff developed three possible concepts. The first would be to remove parking on one side of the street. The second is to convert two-way travel to one way. Each of these have two permutations dealing with which side should parking be eliminated and which direction of travel should remain, respectively. The final concept is to simply remove the centerline and otherwise keep everything the same. This last option does not necessarily eliminate the traffic challenge, it does eliminate the conflict implicit with the centerline.
Staff sent out a single page survey to 293 addresses in the vicinity of the block in October 2022 and collected responses through mid-January 2023. A copy of the survey, the boundaries of the survey area, and the mapped results of the survey are included in an attachment.
Forty-three surveys were returned (14.7% of surveys sent) and preferences were indicated with the following results:
• Option 1 - Eliminate Parking (5, 11.6%)
• Option 2 - Create one-way travel (27, 62.8%)
• Option 3 - Status Quo and remove centerline (11, 25.6%) Among those responding for Option 1, four of five preferred to eliminate parking on the west side.
Among those responding to Option 2, 20 of 27 preferred to retain north bound traffic.
Thirty-seven of the forty-three surveys that were returned could be tied to an address. Preferences for surveys returned with an address are totaled as follows:
• Option 1 - Eliminate Parking (5, 13.5%)
• Option 2 - Create one-way travel (23, 62.2%)
• Option 3 - Status Quo and remove centerline (9, 24.3%)
24 J.2., File # PWC23-5433 Meeting Date: 1/23/2023
Among those responding for Option 1, four of five preferred to eliminate parking on the west side.
Among those responding to Option 2, 17 of 23 preferred to retain north bound traffic.
Fourteen of the forty-three surveys that were returned could be tied to an address on the 500 block of N Helberta Avenue. There are 39 addresses on this block, so the response rate for the block (14/39) is 35.9%. Preferences for surveys returned with an address on this block are totaled as follows:
• Option 1 - Eliminate Parking (1, 7.1%)
• Option 2 - Create one-way travel (10, 71.5%)
• Option 3 - Status Quo and remove centerline (3, 21.4%) The one responding for Option 1 preferred to eliminate parking on the west side. Among those responding to Option 2, all preferred to retain north bound traffic.
Staff recommendations that one of the three identified Options for the 500 block of N. Helberta Avenue be recommended to the City Council so the roadway, as currently marked and operated, is no longer in conflict.
ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE
1. Eliminate parking on one side of the street, please specify, and shift the centerline striping to a minimum of 18 feet from the curb for the side allowing parking
2. Maintain parking on both sides and convert to one-way circulation, please specify direction.
3. Remove centerline and otherwise maintain status quo.
4. Other actions as determined by the Public Works Commission.
COORDINATION
Coordination of the field analysis and this report took place within the Public Works Department.
Prepared by:
Andy Winje, City Engineer
Submitted by:
Ted Semaan, Public Works Director
25 October 24, 2022
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR ONE-WAY STUDY ON 500 BLOCK OF NORTH HELBERTA The Engineering Division has received an inquiry regarding the potential for one-way circulation on the subject block and potential changes to parking. To help evaluate this request we welcome your feedback using this survey. Please return your survey within four weeks of the date of this letter.
Please select your choice (chose only one):
1. Eliminate parking on one side of the street. This will lead to moving the center line accordingly to provide a minimum of 18 feet of roadway on the side allowing parking.
If selected, please choose on which side of the street parking should be eliminated:
WESTERLY (side with odd addresses)
EASTERLY (side with even addresses)
2. Maintain parking on both sides of the street and convert to one-way circulation.
If selected, please choose which direction of traffic should remain:
NORTHBOUND (Diamond to Carnelian)
SOUTHBOUND (Carnelian to Diamond)
3. Maintain status-quo for circulation and parking. Remove the center line striping.
This is a complex issue, as I'm sure you can appreciate. The needs of resident parking must be addressed in conjunction with the need for access and traffic safety, including emergency service access.
This is an issue that affects many areas of Redondo Beach, and is in fact a common issue with several of our neighboring beach cities.
Thank you for your valuable input. We will review the results of this survey to determine preferences for potential modifications. Before any changes are made, I anticipate additional opportunities for public input at meetings of the Public Works Commission and / or City Council.
Carefully review before submitting your selection via email: [email protected]. You are also welcome to hand deliver or mail your completed from to the address above, ATTN: Traffic Engineer, Door
2. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Traffic Engineering team via email at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Andrew S. Winje
City Engineer
cc: Todd Loewenstein, District 2 Council Member
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
Ted Semaan, Director of Public Works
Public Works Department
Engineering Services Division
415 Diamond Street
Redondo Beach, California 90277
www.redondo.org
tel: 310 318-0661
fax: 310 374-4828
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