Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, April 04, 2017
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER ELIMINATING PARKING ON THE WEST SIDE OF RECREATION ROAD SOUTH OF CARSON STREET (CITY COUNCIL)
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I. SUMMARY
Recreation Road provides access only to the Car Pros Kia dealership and Go Kart World. As Recreation Road is relatively narrow, it is difficult for vehicles traveling in opposite directions to safely pass when vehicles are parked along both sides of the street, particularly when trucks are involved. If parking were to be eliminated as requested, safety and maneuverability would be greatly improved.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
DIRECT the Public Works Department to eliminate parking on the west side of Recreation Road between Carson Street and the Car Pros Kia property by installing No Parking Any Time signs.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
CHOOSE one of the following actions:
1. DIRECT the Public Works Department to initiate a capital improvement program to widen Recreation Road by four feet. The cost of such a project is estimated at $500,000.
2. DIRECT staff to continue to allow parking on both sides of Recreation Road and to work with Car Pros Kia to provide a remote parking lot for Car Pros Kia employees.
3. TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
1. IV. BACKGROUND
Recreation Road provides access only to the Car Pros Kia dealership and Go Kart World. Recreation Road is 32 feet wide (curb to curb), which is the absolute minimum width for a street to provide two travel lanes with parking on both sides. Vehicles traveling in opposite directions can physically pass, but the margin of error is tight, particularly when a truck is involved.
The street width of 32 feet is below the City’s standard of 36 feet for a local street. According to the national guidelines, a 32-foot street with parking on both sides is suitable for local residential streets and low volume streets.
As the street width is four feet less than the City’s standard, and as trucks including the large car-carrying trucks, routinely travel on this street, it is recommended that measures be taken to improve traffic operations and safety. The preferred action would be to eliminate parking on the west side of the street, which is the opposite side of the street from the Go Kart World property. The removal of parking on one side of the street would provide sufficient width for vehicles to safely travel in both directions without constraints.
The staff recommendation is to eliminate parking on the west side of the street for the entire length. This would provide sufficient space for two 12’ travel lanes and an 8’ parking lane, and would greatly improve safety and maneuverability for trucks and other vehicles.
An alternative to eliminating parking on the entire length of the street would be to eliminate parking at periodic locations along the west side of the street and provide pull-out areas for vehicles to pass. For example, the west side of the street could have allowable parking followed by red curb, with this pattern repeated along the length of the street. This would facilitate the passage of vehicles that are traveling in opposite directions and would improve safety and maneuverability for trucks and other vehicles.
Another alternative would be to widen Recreation Road by four feet. This would provide space for two 10’ travel lanes and two 8’ parking lanes, which is consistent with the City’s standard cross section for a local street. Widening the street would improve safety and maneuverability for trucks and other vehicles, and it would not result in a reduction in the number of on-street parking spaces that are used by Go Kart World and Car Pros Kia. A street widening project would be costly (estimated at $500,000.00), require an easement from Caltrans, and be time consuming to implement.
A final alternative would be to continue to allow parking on both sides of Recreation Road and to work with Car Pros Kia to provide a remote parking lot for Car Pros Kia employees. This would reduce on-street parking demand if the remote parking lot were to be used effectively by the Car Pros Kia employees, but it could potentially require a shuttle service to be provided for their employees. Also, there would be no guarantee of its effectiveness because Car Pros Kia employees might still elect to park on Recreation Road.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of installing No Parking Any Time signs along the west side of Recreation Road would be approximately $2,000.00. Funds for the signs are available in the Public Works Sign Maintenance budget, account no. 01-80-820-083-6009.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Location Map. (pg. 4)
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Prepared by: Richard Garland, Traffic Engineer