Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout102-Memo from Fehr & Peers.pdf !!!"#$%&"’( MEMORANDUM Date: October 14, 2009 To: John Cherbone, Public Works Director, City of Saratoga From: Franziska Church/Sohrab Rashid Subject: Review of On-Street Parking on Bank Mill Road at Stoneridge Drive Intersection, Saratoga, California 1025-446-1 Fehr & Peers has completed an evaluation of traffic concerns on Bank Mill Road at its intersection with Stoneridge Drive in Saratoga, California. During the September 10, 2009, Saratoga Traffic Safety Commission (TSC) meeting, a resident requested that parking be prohibited on Bank Mill Road near the Stoneridge Drive intersection. After review of the item and input from the resident and Fehr & Peers, the TSC recommended prohibiting parking on both the north and south side of Bank Mill Road for 80 feet west of Stoneridge Drive (i.e. to the first driveway on the north side of Bank Mill Road). This memorandum addresses parking concerns on Bank Mill Road and our recommendation for parking restrictions. Bank Mill Road forms a “T” intersection with Stoneridge Drive, where Bank Mill Road is the west leg of the intersection and Stoneridge Drive represents the north and south legs. Bank Mill Road is an east-west, two-lane local roadway linking Toll Gate Road to Stoneridge Drive. At the Stoneridge Drive intersection, Bank Mill Road is approximately 24 feet wide with one-foot rolled curbs and gutters on each side (for a total of 26 feet of width). Stoneridge Drive is a north-south, two-lane local roadway that forms the western border of the Saratoga Oaks residential community. Currently, no parking restrictions exist on Bank Mill Road. Vehicles can park along the curb on the north and south side of the roadway. The concern raised at the September 2009 TSC meeting is that vehicles park on the north side of Bank Mill Road near the Stoneridge Drive intersection and effectively narrow the traveled way;, this forces vehicles turning from Stoneridge Drive onto Bank Mill Road to encroach into the opposing traveled way and could result in vehicle conflicts. Fehr & Peers conducted field observations at the Bank Mill Road/Stoneridge Drive intersection in September 2009. The field visit showed that with vehicles parked on the north side and occupying up to eight (8) feet of width, only 16 feet of pavement is available for two-way vehicular travel on Bank Mill Road. As shown on Figure 1 on the following page, the remaining 14 feet width on Bank Mill Road is not sufficient to accommodate two-way travel and westbound vehicles travel in the oncoming travel lane. Compounding the issue is that Bank Mill Road is not a straight and flat roadway. Traveling westbound at the Stoneridge Drive intersection, Bank Mill Road has an incline and a slight curvature in the roadway (see Figure 1 on following page). These two elements limit visibility of westbound vehicles to see oncoming traffic when turning from Stoneridge Drive. Based on the filed observations, Fehr & Peers presented three alternative recommendations to prohibit parking on the north and south side of Bank Mill Road for 80 feet from the Stoneridge Drive intersection: John Cherbone October 14, 2009 Page 2 of 2 • Installation of “No Parking” signs • Painting curbs red • Painting a center line on Bank Mill Road at the Stoneridge Drive intersection approach. Each of these recommendations presented above would eliminate on-street parking on Bank Mill Road for the first 80 feet at the Stoneridge Drive intersection. Signage would most clearly prohibit parking, since the signs would be clearly visible. Painting the existing rolled curbs red might not be visible to all drivers, especially as foliage accumulates in the gutters. Painted center lines indirectly prohibits parking, since based on the California Vehicle Code (22500), vehicles are not permitted to park on-street where doing so would force drivers to travel across the painted center line. Not all drivers are necessarily aware of this law and might continue to park on Bank Mill Road without further notification. Figure 1: Parked Vehicles on Bank Mill Road Forcing Westbound Vehicles Into Oncoming Travel Lane (at Stoneridge Drive Looking Westbound) After deliberation and input from the resident and Fehr & Peers, the TSC recommended that the City paint a double yellow centerline on Bank Mill Road for approximately 80 feet (not to exceed the first driveway on the north side) from the Stoneridge Drive intersection and that the City install two “No Parking” sings each on the north and south side of Bank Mill Road.