AGENDA REPORT TO AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION Meeting Date: August 7, 2014 To: Title: The Traffic and Transportation Commission Review, Discuss, and Recommend Approval to City Council for Three New Two-Way Stop Intersections on Country Club Drive RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Traffic and Transportation Commission review and discuss the proposed new stop locations, and recommend approval to the City Council. DISCUSSION: In February of 2014, Councilwoman Elizabeth Swift sent an e-mail to the Director of Public Works and the Traffic and Transportation Manager regarding her concerns over a number of traffic issues in the Bellhurst area. The Bellhurst area is not an official tract, but typically is recognized as the primarily residential areas north of Malvern Avenue and east of Beach Boulevard. One of the requests made was to review the possibility of installing stop signs on all streets that intersect with Country Club Drive. The traffic division of Public Works has since reviewed the request, and is presenting the findings below. In the Bellhurst area, Country Club Drive serves as a local collector street. This street is one of the primary ways for residents to get from the interior of the tract out to Malvern Avenue, or vice versa. The street itself is approximately 40 feet in width, and it s traffic can sometimes be traveling fairly quickly, despite the current speed limit of 25 miles per hour (MPH). Country Club Drive runs from Malvern Avenue (its southwestern end) to Los Coyotes Drive (its northeastern end). Counting these two intersections, there are a total of 12 streets that intersect Country Club Drive. Of these streets, all of them are controlled by either a traffic signal (at Malvern Avenue) or by existing stop signs, with the exception of three streets. The streets Brae Burn Place, Burlingame Avenue, and Fairview Circle all intersect Country Club Drive and are not controlled by traffic control devices such as stop signs. Per the current California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), one factor that should be considered in the use of stop signs is at a location where there is an intersection of a less important road with a main road where application of the normal right-of-way rule would not be expected to provide reasonable compliance with the law. In the case of the three intersections above, all are intersections of minor streets (Brae Burn, Burlingame, and Fairview) with a local collector street (Country Club Drive). Additionally, per the current CA MUTCD, another factor to consider for the use of stop signs is at locations where the ability to see conflicting traffic on an approach is no sufficient to allow a road user to stop or yield in compliance with the normal right-of-way rule if such stopping or yielding is necessary. As can be seen on the attached sight distance reviews, most of the intersections in question have sight distance issues on the side streets. The sight distance issues due to the curvature of Country Club Drive are considered to be uncorrectable because there is no practical or feasible way to straighten out the street and remove the problem. The S:\ FOLDERS\Traffic Commission Meetings\2014\August\Item 5 - New Stops on Country Club\Agenda Report- New Stops on Country Club.doc
Page 2 of 2 Staff Report to the Traffic and Transportation Commission Meeting Date: August 7, 2014 Subject: Review, Discuss, and Recommend Approval to City Council for Three New Two-Way Stop Intersections on Country Club Drive sight distance issues due to landscaping are theoretically correctable, but may be difficult to correct in practice. This is due to the fact that many of the landscape features that are causing sight distance issues are located on private property, and there is no simple way for the City to force property owners to remove the landscaping. Even corrective measures such as tree trimming are difficult as they need to be carried out frequently to be effective. Given the nature of the intersections and the sight distance issues at each location, staff has concluded that the intersections fall within the CA MUTCD guidelines for establishing stop controlled intersections. In each case, staff is proposing that the minor street be controlled by a stop sign at its intersection with Country Club Drive. There are no new stop signs proposed on Country Club Drive itself with any of the three intersections. Per the Municipal Code of the City of Buena Park, all new stop intersections must be approved by resolution of the City Council. Staff is recommending that the Traffic and Transportation Commission make a favorable recommendation to the City Council to approve the proposed stops as discussed in this report. If the Commission recommends approval, staff will prepare the appropriate agenda items for City Council review. BUDGET IMPACT: If approved, the approximate cost would be approximately $2,500.00, and this amount would be covered by the existing signing and striping budget. Prepared by: Dennis D. Barnes, Traffic and Transportation Manager Approved by: Jim Biery, Director of Public Works Attachments: 1. Maps of the Impacted Intersections (two sheets) 2. Sight Distance Review at Country Club Drive and Brae Burn Place (two sheets) 3. Sight Distance Review at Country Club Drive and Burlingame Avenue 4. Sight Distance Review at Country Club Drive and Fairview Circle (two sheets) S:\ FOLDERS\Traffic Commission Meetings\2014\August\Item 5 - New Stops on Country Club\Agenda Report- New Stops on Country Club.doc
5250 8371 8361 52 BRAE BURN PL 8351 5275 8340 5285 8306 5320 5295
5 5074 8511 8523 8520 879 510 5085 8510 8508 5105 5
BRAE BURN PL BURLINGAME AVE 3. GIVEN THE 25 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON, THE TURN TIME REQUIRED IS 25 4. NORTHBOUND ON BRAE BURN PLACE DOES NOT HAVE ANY UNCORRECTABLE SIGHT DISTANCE ISSUES AT IVE. IVE & BRAE BURN PLACE R E V I S I O N S BY DESCRIPTION APPR. SHEET 1 OF 2
BRAE BURN PL BURLINGAME AVE 3. GIVEN THE 25 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON, THE TURN TIME REQUIRED IS 25 4. SOUTHBOUND ON BRAE BURN PL. HAS SEVERAL UNCORRECTABLE SIGHT DISTANCE ISSUES DUE TO THE CURVATURE OF. IVE& BRAE BURN PLACE R E V I S I O N S BY DESCRIPTION APPR. SHEET 2 OF 2
BRAE BURN PL S O ME R S ET BURLINGAME AVE S T 3. GIVEN THE 25 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON, THE TURN TIME REQUIRED IS 25 4. WESTBOUND ON BURLINGAME AVENUE HAS SOME MINOR SIGHT DISTANCE ISSUES DUE TO LANDSCAPING. IVE & BURLINGAME AVENUE R E V I S I O N S BY DESCRIPTION APPR. SHEET 1 OF 1
R BD U L C Y R T COUN 3. GIVEN THE 25 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON, THE TURN TIME REQUIRED IS 25 4. WESTBOUND ON CLE HAS SEVERAL SIGHT DISTANCE ISSUES DUE TO LANDSCAPING. IVE & CLE R EV I S I O N S BY DESCRIPTION APPR. SHEET 1 OF 2
C N U O Y R T U L C R D B 3. GIVEN THE 25 MPH SPEED LIMIT ON, THE TURN TIME REQUIRED IS 25 4. EASTBOUND ON CLE HAS SEVERAL SIGHT DISTANCE ISSUES DUE TO THE CURVATURE OF IVE AND LANDSCAPING. IVE & CLE R EV I S I O N S BY DESCRIPTION APPR. SHEET 2 OF 2