PC 092513 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mr. Hirst replied that it could have been but that 24 hours is really not a big deal. He noted that H &R Block is open 24 hours during the tax season, and Macy's and the big department stores are now open 24 hours during Thanksgiving. He added that there was a 24 -hour convenience market and gasoline station in Farmington. Sharon Piekarski stated that she has a number of objections but will limit her comments to traffic issues that she sees could happen here. She indicated that she finds it hard to believe there will not be a significant increase in traffic. She noted that when they are trying to sell coffee and $2 slurpees, there should be a lot of foot traffic through there in order to cover their costs and have a profit. She indicated that as was mentioned earlier, there are only three driveways to this property: on Santa Rita Road and one on West Las Positas Blvd. She noted that people entering from the north going southbound through the pumps and through the carwash would logically be exiting from the south end. She continued that exiting from there onto a very busy Santa Rita Road, with 42,000 cars going through this intersection a day, and continuing north to the freeway, vehicles will have to go across three lanes of traffic and get into a left -hand turn lane. She indicated that this is the least of her concerns and that it is doable and similar to other intersections in town. Ms. Piekarski stated that those coming in from the south driveway and going north through the pumps, or those parked for the convenience store, would logically exit on the northern one on Santa Rita Road and the West Las Positas Blvd. exit. She indicated that she measured the northern Santa Rita Road exit, and it is 32 feet from the crosswalk, which is about two car lengths. She noted that there are either traffic going at least 45 miles per hour through a green light or people backed up at the stoplight. She stated that she has observed that people pull out onto the right -hand turn lane, thus blocking the lane for those trying to get into the traffic going north on Santa Rita Road. She indicated that it is her opinion that this exit should be blocked and that cars should exit on West Las Positas Blvd. Ms. Piekarski stated that she is most concerned about those exiting from the Valero station onto West Las Positas Blvd., which is a divided street; cars will have to turn right and make a U -Turn at Fairlands Drive, approximately 300 feet from Santa Rita Road. She noted that this is a very short distance, with two lanes of traffic moving eastbound across Santa Rita Road on West Las Positas Blvd., two left -hand turn lanes on southbound Santa Rita Road going east on West Las Positas Blvd. where cars must start to merge into a single lane Immediately after they clear that intersection. She noted that one of the merge arrows is directly in front of the exit of the Valero station. She continued that in addition to the people exiting the Valero station and the possible future 7- Eleven, there will be people leaving the shopping area. She indicated that she observed for ten minutes a couple of days ago and saw 18 cars leave that driveway, 72 percent of which made a left turn. She added that there is also traffic coming from the neighborhood, a large neighborhood, where West Las Positas Blvd. is a major way to get to other parts of the City. She further added that Fairlands Drive right there is the main exit for all the people living along Fairlands and Churchill Drives and all the cul -de -sacs that enter into those streets, and there are no traffic signals there; the only traffic control is the stop sign at Fairlands Drive. She noted that she avoids this intersection during busy times of the day, and it will become even busier than it already is. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 25, 2013 Page 7 of 45