CCMIN062795 - Laserfiche WebLink

Ms. Michelotti stated that she had seen the minutes of the June 5, 1995 Circulation Subcommittee meeting, which followed the Steering Committee's decision to reject the Subcommittee's recommendation. The Subcommittee then came back and looked at the issue. Ms. Michelotti asked if the Subcommittee upheld its initial decision or did it now agree with the Steering Committee recommendation, which is to put restrictions on left turns to and from Mirador? Ms. Kelly said the Subcommittee continued to agree with its initial decision. Mayor Tarver asked if there any minutes of that meeting because he did not have a copy. Mr. Van Gelder said minutes were taken and were combined with the report on all the subcommittees. Mr. Lum presented the staff report. Ms. Dennis stated that she questioned the length of the turn lane from Bernal onto Mirador and asked why it wasn't 500 feet, which seems to be the Cat Trans standard for left hand turn lanes. She said she had been told that Cal Trans standards also provide that in a two lane street with a middle turning lane, a 50 foot storage is needed for one vehicle and a 90 foot tapered lane for storage. If more than one vehicle is to be stored in the left turn lane, 75-100 feet of storage is needed for three vehicles and 150 foot of taper is needed. Moreover, 220 feet -- is needed for one left turn and 440 feet is needed to accommodate two left turns in opposite directions. The turn pocket between Mirador and Independence is 192 feet, too short for the turning action that was suggested. She felt there was only room for one left turn and to stop illegal left turns, Cal Trans places a barrier to prevent the left turn from occurring. Ms. Dennis stated other turn pockets on Bernal had been measured and the 500 foot standard was observed. She stated she had serious concerns with the turn pocket and asked if staff could explain why this turn pocket recommendation did not apply here. Mr. Van Gelder stated that the Cat Trans manual is an accepted manual for geometric design of highways. He stated that the length of the turn pocket, if designed with landscape islands, has storage and there is transition, where a vehicle goes from the through lane into the left turn pocket. He stated that 120 feet may be normal but 60 feet is what Cat Trans shows in the design manual for speeds like those on Bernal; so a lesser transition length is permissible. To determine the length of storage needed at an unsignalized intersection, you figure out what the typical number of arriving cars would be in a two minutes period as specified in the manual. The left turn arrivals were counted onto Independence on several occasions and were counted onto Windmill Lane. He believed the left turns onto Mirador should be less than experienced on Windmill Lane. The peak number of vehicles stored at any time during the day or night was two. The storage needed for two vehicles would be 50 feet, the minimum required by Cal Trans. Given the typical volume and the length of the transition, he felt there was adequate storage. He stated that if things change drastically, there were other options, such as side by side pockets. He felt comfortable that it was a safe design. 06~27/95 -2-