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Home My WebLink AboutA003 - Council Action Form dated June 10, 1997 Item # I Date: June 10, 1997 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: REPLACEMENT OF EDWARDS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S TEMPORARY STOP CONTROL AT THE WOODLAND STREET/WESTWOOD DRIVE INTERSECTION. BACKGROUND: During the past several months, staff has been meeting with the Edwards School PTO and Principal, Ron Meals, concerning the replacement of the temporary stop sign on Woodland Street at the Westwood Drive intersection next to the Edwards Elementary School. This stop control has been placed to accommodate a school crossing and is turned to stop traffic during an 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. period during school days. Permanent stop controls do exist on Westwood Drive on both approaches at the intersection. It should be noted that this temporary stop sign is the last remaining one in the City, with over nine others either replaced or removed at intersections during the past several years. The City has been replacing these "temporary" controls since they are no longer recognized as "safe" traffic devices by the Federal Highway Administration. Due to their placement for stopping traffic only during specific periods, motorists have a tendency to drive through them if they are not accustomed to their placement. Also, because they are in place to accommodate school children who are crossing the street, many motorists drive through the signage if children are not in sight. Since motorists may be frequently running these signs, they may provide a false sense of security for children crossing the street. This "temporary" stop control is an unusual placement due to the 75' jog between the Westwood Drive approaches on Woodland Street. With this jog, the temporary stop controls for eastbound and westbound traffic are separated by a 150 feet distance. Although this measure was intended to stop through and turning traffic for children crossing Woodland Street and Westwood Drive, children crossing at any specific point could encounter moving vehicles since these controls are spaced at this distance. After reviewing traffic data for this intersection, staff proposes that the "temporary" stop control devices be replaced with flashing beacons and a 20 mph speed limit during school crossing periods. These devices would be placed on Woodland Street for slowing traffic from the west edge of the school property east to approximately 150 feet east of the Westwood Drive intersection. In addition, beacons would also be placed at the Westwood Drive intersection to alert motorists of the reduced speed. The placement of these devices are shown on the attached sheet as Alternate 1 . Alternatively, a permanent stop control was considered to be placed on Woodland Street, however, it did not meet warrants based on traffic accidents, traffic and pedestrian volumes. These conditions were significantly below thresholds needed to warrant the multi-way stop control. CAF - Edward's School Stop June 10, 1997 Page 2 Edward's School PTO and Principal, Ron Meals, believe that the safest traffic control on Woodland Street at the Westwood Drive intersection is a permanent stop sign. They are primarily concerned about slowing the westbound left-turning traffic at the intersection so that it does not conflict with children crossing Westwood Drive along the south side of Woodland Street. They believe that this is a much safer control, since motorists would be actually stopped at the approach and can easily view and react to children crossing Westwood Drive. They also believe that the 20 mph speed control proposed by staff would be difficult to enforce, and may cause problems due to potential speeding. Though the permanent stop control does not meet warrants, they indicated that this placement has more merit than several multi-way stop controls placed at the Franklin/Woodland and Oakland/Franklin intersections in the area. Though staff does not support placing a multi-way stop control at the intersection, it is believed that if a stop control placement is made it should be only at the west Westwood/Woodland intersection (shown on attached diagram as Alternate 2). With this placement, there would be a lesser distance between stop controls where westbound motorists would be stopped before either turning on Westwood Drive, or proceeding straight through the intersection. This placement would enhance safety since the stop controls would be logically placed at a typical distance from each other. The current placement of the temporary stop signs on Woodland Street leads to confusion, especially for westbound left turning traffic who do not have a stop sign at the west Westwood Drive intersection approach. The PTO and school officials also request that a "15 minute" passenger loading zone be designated along the west side of Westwood Drive from Woodland Street south 400 feet to the south driveway of the parking lot. With the school bus loading zone relocated last year on Woodland Street, this section is exclusively used by parents dropping off and picking up their children. Staff also believes that this curb section should be designated, since children would be dropped off on the same side of the street as the school building. Currently, this curb section is designated as a "no parking" zone. The cost associated with placing the flashing beacons at the three locations is $12,000, or $4,000 each. Currently, funding has been programmed in the 1996/97 CIP for this installation. CAF - Edward's School Stop June 10, 1997 Page 3 ALTERNATIVES: 1 . Approve staff's recommendation to replace the temporary stop controls at the Westwood/Woodland intersection with three flashing devices on Woodland Street, as specified above, with a 20 mile speed limit that will be enforced during school crossing periods. This measure also includes designating a "15 minute" passenger loading zone along the west side of Westwood Drive from Woodland Street south 400 feet to the south driveway of the parking lot. 2. Approve the PTO's and School Administration's request to replace the temporary stop sign at the intersection with a permanent multi-way stop control. This control would be placed on the west Woodland/Westwood intersection approach. Also, this measure would include designating a "15 minute" passenger loading zone along the west side of Westwood Drive from Woodland Street south 400 feet to the south driveway of the parking lot. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: It is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt alternative number No. 1 , thereby directing the City Attorney to draft an ordinance designating a 20 mile per hour speed limit on Woodland Street from the west edge of the school property east to approximately 150 feet east of the Westwood Drive intersection. This also includes designating a "15 minute" passenger loading zone along the west side of Westwood Drive from Woodland Street south 400 feet to the south driveway of the parking lot. COUNCIL ACTION: a =r E ,r aAb UIINUBJ 005 v 4 'S E 6 s r ant/ P ;�'A4$9M r Fri " t�1 805 E o CL -177 AJOMOIH 1 pp j g j w a � t I Ty ' ery Q,4 I �"" � •any UIINUBJ - � Y 77 X T co .F O cu zz 4 � r I q n.. O mod :. CL -110 cvlp c � g . = n A � a. ui PAR UI U� � k cu Pam,. # W qua: cu �r; S �f x H zv z VJ r; t 5 �s 1�� Si 9 r•A � t�� T F � (t �r