ORD 2180 - Laserfiche WebLink

Ordinance No 2180 Page 7 of 8 refuge. Medians less than 6 feet (`narrow medians") are not adequate to provide protection for pedestrians and are not suitable for lingering, loitering, or sitting on by individuals. G. Lingering and loitering on narrow medians reduces the safety of the intersection for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists. Pedestrians lingering or loitering on narrow medians endanger themselves by creating continued exposure to moving traffic streams and increase the risk of distracting motorists. H. Distracted driving, while not a primary classification for a cause of a crash, does detract from the orderly movement of vehicles. Distraction is often cited in driver testimony as the reason for many collisions. Motorists attending to people loitering in medians is a distraction. Doing so when a motorist is moving through a green light also causes unnecessary traffic congestion, which can increase the number of rear end collisions. In situations where there are multiple lanes, people who are loitering often run across multiple lanes to receive money or food. This also can increase the risk of collisions. I. Two Interstate freeways serve Pleasanton. Interstate 580 ("1-580") is an eight-lane freeway which runs east-west from Interstate 5 near Tracy to beyond its joining with Intestate 80 in Emeryville. Interstate 680 ("1-680") runs north-south from Interstate 280 in San Jose to Interstate 80 near Fairfield. 1-680 is a six-lane freeway, south of 1-580, and a six-lane freeway with an additional high-occupancy vehicle (`HOV") lanes north of 1-580. J. As explained in the Circulation Element of the City's General Plan, 1-680 and 1-580 are extremely congested in the morning and evening peak hours. This congestion impacts the City's local roadway circulation. As these freeways systems become more congested, motorist search for alternate routes, such as using local roadways to bypass the freeway congestion creating additional peak hour congestion. Several interchange and non-interchange intersections are approaching or are already at capacity. The increase in traffic at these locations is not due solely to regional traffic on the City's street network, but instead is at least partially the result of growth and development within the City. (See Pleasanton General Plan, pages 3-9 through 3-12.) K. The impacts of the congestion that occurs on 1-680 and 1-580 also has significant impacts on the freeway off-ramp interchanges in the City, which impacts usually extend to other downstream intersections. Given the volume of traffic at these interchanges, and the speed at which traffic is traveling, the traffic and safety concerns related to lingering and loitering on medians and corner islands (discussed above) are magnified. L. These high-volume intersections, which have a significant amount of PM peak hour trips. are located primarily along Foothill Road, Hopyard Road. Santa Rita Road, Stoneridge Drive, and Hacienda Drive. M. Obstruction of traffic signs on medians of any size by pedestrians also causes safety hazards by preventing motorists from having a clear view of the roadways. O. For the reasons outlined above, this ordinance is necessary in order to protect the health and safety of both pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike. P. In developing this ordinance, the City Council is mindful of the legal principles relating to regulation of activity on public and private property and in public and nonpublic fora. The City Council does not intend to suppress or infringe upon any expressive activities protected