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Home My WebLink About11-8-2012 Traffic Safety Commission AgendaDATE: November 8, 2012 TIME: 6:30 PM — 9:30 PM LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 Call to Order Roll Call: Biester, Coulter, Guichard, Harris, Kirk, Musselman and Vita Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on November 1, 2012. Accept Agenda Items: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. Oral &t Written Communication Any member of the public may address the Commission about any matter not on the agenda for this meeting for up to three minutes. Commissioners may not comment on the matter but may choose to place the topic on a future agenda. Approval of Draft Minutes Draft Traffic Safety Commission Minutes September 13, 2012 Sheriff's Report to the Commission Old Business 1. Traffic Matrix #289 Issue: Request for Stop sign on Big Basin Way at 4th Street Action: TSC will make recommendation New Business 2. Traffic Matrix #294 Issue: Review speed limit on Saratoga Avenue Action: TSC will make recommendation oq SAAq�Oq CITY OF SARATOGA TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION Draft Action Minutes DATE: September 13, 2012 TIME: 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM LOCATION: Administrative Conference Room 13777 Fruitvale Avenue, Saratoga, CA 95070 Call to Order Roll Call: Biester, Coulter, Guichard, Harris, Kirk, Musselman and Vita Absent: Staff: Traffic Planner Church, PW Director Cherbone and Analyst Borel Report on Posting of the Agenda: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2, the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on September 6, 2012. Borel reports Accept Agenda Items: No additional items may be added pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. No changes Oral & Written Communication Any member of the public may address the Commission about any matter not on the agenda for this meeting for up to three minutes. Commissioners may not comment on the matter but may choose to place the topic on a future agenda. One speaker - Stop sign on private road near Church of Latter Day Saints off Allendale - needs trimming around sign. Approval of Draft Minutes Draft Traffic Safety Commission Minutes July 12, 2012. APPROVED 7-0 Sheriff's Report to the Commission Sgt. Washburn and Lt. Rick Sung report New Business 1. Traffic Matrix #289 (6:38 p.m.) Issue: Request Stop sign on Big Basin Way at 4th Street Action: TSC will make recommendation MOTION: Recommend that the Traffic Engineer evaluate warrants needed for Caltrans approval and provide volume and speed data at the next meeting. APPROVED 6-0-1, Kirk recused. Avenue, Saratoga, California 95070. Any materials distributed by staff after the posting of the agenda are made available for public review at the Public Works office at the time they are distributed to the Traffic Safety Commission. Certificate of Posting of Agenda: I, Kristin Borel, Public Works Analyst for the City of Saratoga, declare that the foregoing agenda for the meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission of the City of Saratoga was posted on September 6, 2012 at the office of the City of Saratoga, 13777 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga, CA 95070 and was available for public review at that location. The agenda is also available on the City's website at www.saratoga.ca.us. Kristin Borel Traffic Matrix #294 From: Lou Kauffeld <loukauffeld@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 1:38 PM To: Kristin Borel Subject: speedlimit on Saratoga Ave. Allow me to raise some questions, regarding your response to my letter. First of all, I appreciate your promptness ingetting back to me. The reason for my request to lower the speed limit from 40mph to 35mph on the section of Saratoga Ave between Hwy 85 and Fruitvale is: To reduce the dangerous condition at the Via Monte and Saratoga Ave intersection and not to create a speed trap to catch speeders. With Hwy 85 feeding Saratoga Ave, traffic volume has increased tremendously, especially during the last 3 to 4 years. The intersection at Via Monte was never a problem untill a few years ago. Now, especially during high density times of the day,when the traffic light at Scotland turns red, traffic starts backing up and often blocks the Via Monte intersection. As I mentioned in my letter, this turns making a left turn onto Saratoga Ave a dangerous affair. Most of the time the slow lane traffic has stopped, but the fast lane is still moving at 40mph past the intersection. With the view of the fast lane traffic being obscured by the stopped traffic in the slow lane, one has to inch ones car onto the slow lane, nose the car onto the fast lane to see if any cars are barreling down at 40mph before being able to make the left turn from Via Monte. The situation is one waiting for an accident to happen and with the speed involved a nasty one. Installing a traffc light at Via Monte would be one solution, but unless synchronized with the Scotland light a complete traffic stopper. The other solution is to request a speed survey be made a.s.a.p on the section in question, based on the fact that public safety is at stake. Reducing the speed limit would make the build-up of traffic slower at the Scotland light and cause fewer back-ups to Via Monte. Also the cars in the fast lane would be going at 35mph. It would not compitely eliminate the danger, but reduce the frequency and severity of any collision. I am convinced that a survey would come to the same conclusion as my proposal. Looking forward to a respose from you and hope the survey date can be moved up. Sincerely, Lou Kauffeld Traffic Matrix #296 Kristin Borel From: Nick Littleton <nickl@altadevices.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 10:54 AM To: Kristin Borel Subject: RE: Traffic Safety Commission Issue Hello Kristin, Thank you for helping on this issue. - Concerning traffic on Bucknall Rd in Saratoga. Bucknall acts as a major traffic route for people trying to get from Quito Rd to Saratoga Rd/85, in this, it is very similar to Cox. During the commute time periods the traffic is very heavy and most drivers do not respect the 25 mph speed limit. Bucknall was recently repaved and is now very flat and smooth which provides drivers even more perceived freedom to speed on this road. Since the repaving, there has not been any lane markings painted on the road and there was once a 25mph free standing sign in the middle of the road that was never replaced. I do notice these signs and speed humps on some of the other streets around Bucknall which do a good job of slowing the speeds. Because of the light at Bucknall and Quito I also regularly observe people accelerating to try and `make the yellow'. Also, because people can turn left at Quito off of Bucknall with the traffic light, it enables a short cut for people that don't want to wait at the light at Saratoga and Quito. I have spoken with several police officers that pass by about enforcement, yet, I have not seen any representation. They told me that I would have to talk to the City, hence this interaction. Of major concern is the use of this road by kids. Several children, including one of mine, attend Baker Elementary and they walk Bucknall every day. I have personally seen cars passing other cars on Bucknall while kids are walking to school. As I mentioned, there are no markings on this street that represent pedestrian paths and the like, hence drivers feel that have the entire width of the road. 7 kids under the age of 10 are within 4 houses and the speeding on Bucknall renders the front yard off limits to all of them, its just not safe. Also, there is the Action Day, daycare facility on Bucknall, I have one child that attends this school as well. There have been several instances where during the child pick up times I have observed people ignoring stop signs and speeding while parents are walking home children. Bucknall also acts as a major route for bikers, they are very frequent over the weekends. Because Bucknall acts as a thoroughfare linking Quito and Saratoga/85 the traffic on this road is significant and with the high amount of pedestrian activity and no observed enforcement of speeding I am convinced we will have some kind of accident. As a home owner and a parent of young children, I ask for help from the City of Saratoga to improve this situation. Kind Regards, Nick Littleton 18549 Bucknall Rd. Kristin Borel Traffic Matrix #295 From: Mike Landgraf <mwlandgraf@gmail. com> Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 10:50 AM To: Kristin Borel Subject: Re: Traffic Safety Commission Meeting Hi Kristen, It was good to talk with you today. Here are my concerns regarding Pierce Road near Pike Road. In recent years Pierce Road has become an increasingly busy road with a increase of residential and Mountain Winery event traffic. My main concern is the straight stretch of Pierce near Pike Road. Drivers come down the hill and speed up on the section from Via Regina to Sara Hills. This is especially true from Via Regina to just past Pike Rd. Entering the road from a driveway can very risky. I have had 3 near accidents, due to drivers speeding down Pierce Road. There is a retired neighbor above us on Pierce who has had similar experiences. On this same stretch one young driver flipped his car, and' another broke the front suspension due to excessive speed. Forcing drivers to slow down to the posted 25 mph on Pierce will help considerably. My recommendation is to install speed bumps on Pierce near Pike as the city did on the lower end of Pierce. This is a road safety issue that the City of Saratoga must address. Pierce is a narrow road with a large increase in traffic and there will be a serious accident if drivers do not slow down and drive the speed limit. Sincerely, Mike Landgraf 408 318 4423 13781 Pierce Rd. Saratoga, CA