RES 91023 - Laserfiche WebLink

Asphalt Curb - Example: Bernal Avenue at Fairgrounds, eastbound lane. The darker, asphalt curb blends with the road and looks "unfinished" compared to a concrete curb. It would provide satisfactory protection. If its visibility becomes a problem, a painted line, with reflectors, would delineate the lane edge. Concrete Curb - Concrete curbs (the City standard) offer satisfactory protection to establish large trees in the median and are light enough to be visible. No additional striping would likely be necessary. (Note: Outboard, non-median curbs could be asphalt as well; however, concrete curbs carry storm drainage better and should be used here.) Staff is recommending the asphalt curb as a compromise between satisfactory safety and aesthetics. Staff strongly believes mature trees are the key to softening the effect of the widened roadway, on both the four-lane and three-lane sections, and, accordingly, are recommending an alternative which will allow such tree planting. Another option would use no landscaping at all in the median. As discussed above, staff believes adding landscaping is the only way to soften the effect of the widened street. Interim Alternatives Council members have expressed a desire to see Foothill Road remain two-lanes in the General Plan four-lane segment as long as feasible. This can be done in several ways, depending on the particular segment, in order to utilize existing asphalt and/or miss existing properties. Examples are described below: Inte=~m Option B - Three-Lane ALternative - This would continue the southerly, General Plan Option three-lane segment for the entire route. Drawbacks are two: (1) in the Kliment area (between Highland Oaks Drive and Muirwood Drive north), additional right-of-way would be required; and (2) a landscaped median would place landscaping in a presently paved area which ultimately would need to be paved again (if the street were widened to the four-lane configuration). This is a function of starting the widening from the easterly, improved edge of pavement rather than equally from an established centerline. If the median in this section were left unlandscaped, the road would not be "improved;" instead, it would be marginally widened over its present width, with no "softening" of the street. Interim ODtiOn A - Three-Lane Alternative, Median In Permanent Location - This would establish the median where it ultimately would be situated, where landscaping could be established which would mature. This would leave two paved northbound lanes in several stretches of the road and one, new southbound lane, plus the median turn lane. If the two northbound lanes (generally SR91:52 13