Good evening
Please see questions submitted and answers received from the City consultant related to the agenda item tomorrow night on the Street Alternatives related to the Caltrans grant.
BCC:Email BCC to City Council and City Attorney
Thank you
Mary Gourley
Interim City Manager
• Do you support the planning commission decision, and why or why not? I support the recommendation of the Planning Commission. Given what we have heard and learn throughout this process, I feel their recommendation and thoughtful reasoning behind it are well aligned with the community goals expressed as part of this study and industry best practices related to safety and placemaking. • Do you have any reservations about their direction? Please explain. No reservations.
The process will take time and energy (and grant funding) but that is likely the case with any of the alternatives.
• Please provide your credentials, ie what qualifies you to do this study and how long you’ve been doing this kind of work. I am a registered civil engineer, traffic engineer, and passed the Roadway Safety Professional certification exam. I have been practicing complete streets planning design and engineering for over 20 years. I am surrounded by professional with more experience in the transportation planning and engineering field, including several colleagues on national boards of safety and complete streets initiatives.
• Will refinements-ie plaza design, sidewalk width etc return for later decision or can we see them now? I think this study seeks to identify a commitment to improvements and enhancements, but does not plan to lock in any particular plaza improvements. Or at least it doesn’t have to. If the council sought to make that part of the final plan adoption, that would be fine, but I wouldn’t suggest that be part of this study other than acknowledging the Plaza itself serves a purpose today and can build on that over time as part of the larger downtown enhancements. • Is there a redesign plan for the plaza? No, just identifying that it can be enhanced based on community-driven planning process.
• How many parking spots will this preferred plan eliminate and where? We haven’t looked at that since the hybrid configuration the PC recommended is new. I would estimate we are talking about 15 to 20 fewer parking spaces on the street that are there today. Our existing conditions assessment identified about 600 parking spaces in the downtown core, in a combination of on- and off-street facilities. So that parking change is about 3 to 4 percent fewer parking spaces in the downtown core. One of our proposed recommendations is to perform a detailed parking and curbside management plan as a future study to evaluate what and how the parking policies, operations, and supply are working, or not working, and come up with strategies to make the most out of potential parking facilities on the street and in private lots under the city control.
• In the meetings and preparations, was the potential Gravenstein Apple trail discussed as an alternate bike path to Petaluma Ave? the Gravenstein Apple Trail has not been advanced as part of this, nor has the Apple Blossom Trail. However, we are looking at additional bikeway connections via off-street paths that can further accommodate safe and comfortable bike use for all ages and abilities. This study builds off of the community engagement, recommendations, and projects identified in the Active Transportation Plan.
• What about left turns? We propose to accommodate access at various intersections. Any proposed left turns at signalized or other major intersections are expected to be protected left turns, not the “permissive” left turns described from the pre-1985 conditions. This is what our analysis has included/assumed as part of this study.
• Can you confirm this effort is aiming to reduce CalTrans liability? I wouldn’t categorize this study as aimed to reduce Caltrans liability. This study is enabling the city to evaluate opportunities to improve Caltrans roadways in the downtown core using Caltrans recent complete streets design standards, to address mobility and access to make the streets through downtown work for the community, to support businesses and a more vibrant downtown.
• Can Cal Trans direct people down Occidental Road to go to Santa Rosa? On Llano for through traffic to Forestville/ River area? This question is a bit complicated to answer via email, but I will say Caltrans is not typically directing motorists off of their facilities, except in emergency or other ways the local agency supports (such as the I-80 ICM corridor in Albany/Berkeley/Oakland). I would say Caltrans’ policy is to safely accommodate users of their facilities and design their facilities according to their own policies and standards, partnering with local agencies such as Sebastopol when their facility is part of their roadway network spine. • If the Council approves two way, and people initiate and get a ballot measure to return to one way- what happens then as far as Cal Trans goes? Based on my understanding, if the Council approves/decides to convert to two-way circulation, the City would have to work with Caltrans to secure approval and implement the change within their right-of-way. Because this is a state highway, neither the Council action nor a ballot measure can change the configuration by itself. If a future ballot measure directed a return to one-way and it required the city to take action, the City would need to formally request Caltrans approval again, and Caltrans would evaluate it based on safety, operations, and state policy before any change could occur.
• How were the four options developed? They were developed based on community feedback of 11 circulation options and community feedback, stakeholder input, and our initial regional circulation assessment effort.
• Was a traffic count completed, and if yes, how was it done? Yes, in November 2024, we collected peak hour traffic counts, hoses on the ground that collected speed volume and vehicle type data, and watched video of the intersections to determine existing queuing of cars through intersections.
• Was there an analysis of the traffic and traffic patterns? Yes, we developed a detailed model of the study area using a software called VISUM and tested the different circulation options and reported out network level metrics. We also performed intersection operations analysis for the signalized intersections for all four alternatives.
• Were the four options based on a study, or public feedback? They were developed in response to community feedback, results from our analysis, and “built” using Caltrans complete streets design standards and modal priority from Caltrans DIB 94, their recently adopted design standards for context-dependent complete streets design standards.
• What are the credentials of your "consultant team”? Our team includes folks from several firms, certifications and licenses include Professional civil engineer (PE), professional traffic engineer (TE). American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Roadway Safety Professional (RSP), as well as licensed architect and registered landscape architect (RLA).