SR-9-D
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LUTM:PB:RF:MIDBLOCK Santa Monica, California
Council Meeting, January 21, 1992
To: Mayor and City Council
From: City staff
Subject: Recommendation to Adopt a Midblock Pedestrian Crossing
Safety Program
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends the City Council adopt a midblock
pedestrian crossing safety program and approve the fiscal plan
for implementation.
DISCUSSION
For several months, staff has been evaluating many of the City's
midblock crosswalk locations for the purpose of developing a
pedestrian safety program for these crossings. staff intends to
continue this program on a yearly basis.
For the first phase of this program, staff has reviewed five
locations. These five are high volume traffic and/or pedestrian
areas which the Council had previously asked the staff to review.
The locations include the following midblock crosswalks: the
three midblock crosswalks along 4th street between wilshire
Boulevard and Broadway; the midblock crosswalks on Main Street at
City Hall between Colorado Avenue and pico Boulevard; and the
midblock crosswalk on Ocean Avenue at the Loew's Hotel between
Colorado Avenue and pico Boulevard. r IJ
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In evaluating these locations, staff considered: the number of
pedestrians using the crosswalk; the volume of traffic along the
street; the accident history, if any; the distance to adjacent
signalized crossing locations; the pedestrian crossing patterns
and the physical conditions and features of the roadway.
For the three crossing locations along 4th street, staff
recommends the installation of pedestrian traffic signals. A
pedestrian traffic signal is activated by a pedestrian pushbutton
and stops traffic to allow the pedestrian a safe crossing.
However, it differs from a standard traffic signal in that it
displays a flashing red light to the motorist and once the
pedestrian has cleared the vehicle, the motorist is allowed to
proceed. This minimizes the delay to traffic that would be
encountered at a regular signalized intersection.
For the crossings on Main street, staff recommends modifying
crosswalk and roadway striping to enhance pedestrian safety.
Staff recommends restriping Main street for one lane of traffic
in each direction along with a two-way left-turn median. The two
crosswalks across Main street at the north and south sides of
city Hall will be eliminated and a single crosswalk will be
placed in front of the city Hall entrance. This one location
will make it easier to provide pedestrian warning signs and
minimizes the number of conflict points between pedestrians and
motorists. These changes will enhance pedestrian safety by
concentrating all crossings at one location and only requires the
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pedestrian to cross two lanes of traffic instead of the current
four. Also, the two-way left-turn median provides the pedestrian
with a waiting area if they cannot cross the street in one
maneuver. Finally, the restriping will allow curbside parking
thus increasing the parking availability in the civic Center
area.
For the crosswalk on Ocean Avenue between Colorado Avenue and
pico Boulevard, staff recommends the removal of this crosswalk
until the pedestrian demand and need for this crosswalk grow to a
significant level. Currently, this crosswalk is not needed since
there is very little pedestrian activity at this location. There
is very little commercial development along the east side of
Ocean Avenue near the existing crosswalk, therefore there is
minimal pedestrian demand. The existing developments that do
create pedestrian traffic are located closer to the intersections
of Ocean Avenue and pico Boulevard, and Ocean Avenue and the
Pacific Coast Highway on/off ramps. Both of these intersections
are controlled by traffic signals and pedestrians can cross
safely at these locations. Further, studies have shown that
unprotected (ie: non-signalized) crossings in painted crosswalks
may be more susceptible to accidents than crossings at unpainted
crosswalks.
Study Methodoloov and Crlterla
Traffic and pedestrians counts were taken at each of the five
locations. The counts were taken for 12 hours between 8:00 am
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and 8:00 pm (7:00 am to 7:00 pm on Main street) . Traffic and
pedestrian volumes were recorded every 15 minutes. Additionally,
a review of the accident history for each location was conducted.
Also, staff conducted field observations at each location. The
data was compiled and compared to guidelines for appropriate
measures to be taken.
The guidelines or criteria which assist traffic engineers in
determining what traffic control measures to implement are found
in a variety of sources, including the Federal Manual of Uniform
Traffic Control Devices, the state Traffic Manual and the
Transportation Engineers Handbook. The staff reviewed the
criteria from these sources and found that they were extremely
restrictive (difficult to satisfy) with regard to a local
agency's ability to implement traffic control measures they
believed were appropriate. The primary area which created
difficulties was the high traffic and pedestrian volume criteria
required in these manuals and by these agencies. Therefore,
staff used the state Traffic Manual guidelines in a modified form
to address Santa Monica's needs.
The criteria used for this and future midblock pedestrian studies
includes the following.
For the installation of a pedestrian traffic signal the
location should satisfy the following requirements: for
a minimum of four hours each day, the traffic volume should
exceed 1000 vehicles per hour and the pedestrian volume
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should exceed 100 pedestrians per hour.
For the installation of a flashing yellow beacon the
location should satisfy the following requirements: for a
minimum of four hours each day, the traffic volume should
exceed 500 vehicles per hour and the pedestrian volume
should exceed 50 pedestrians per hour.
These criteria are to be used as guidelines and any determination
shall be based upon these and other factors about the study
location.
Analvsls
The data collected for each study location was compared to the
criteria that were established. After reviewing all of the
factors, staff developed the recommendations in this staff
report.
Along 4th street, the traffic and pedestrian volumes are
generally constant throughout the daytime hours. Traffic volumes
between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm average about 1000 vehicles per hour
and peak pedestrian periods average over 100 pedestrians per
hour. Fortunately, there is no history of a pedestrian accident
problem at any of the crossing locations. These locations
satisfy the criteria for pedestrian traffic signals.
Main street near City Hall has consistent levels of traffic
volume (between 700 and 900 vehicles per hour) throughout the
day, but pedestrian activity is minimal except during the
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lunchtime periods. These locations did not satisfy the
guidelines for either a pedestrian signal nor flashing beacon.
However, based on their observations, staff has determined that
the recommended improvements are necessary. For example, the
combining of the two crosswalks to one crossing location and the
reduction of traffic lanes, significantly reduces the number of
potential conflicts the pedestrian must handle when crossing Main
street. Also, the relocation of the crosswalks away from the
City Hall driveways improves traffic conditions and again
minimizes conflicts faced by the pedestrian and motorists at
these locations. Unfortunately, there have been some pedestrian
accidents in recent months.
The traffic and pedestrian counts on Ocean Avenue show that there
is very little pedestrian usage of the existing crosswalk near
the Loew's Hotel. However, traffic volumes average over 2000
vehicles per hour. with such minimal pedestrian activity,
motorists do not expect pedestrians and with the volume of
traffic, there is a susceptability to pedestrian accidents. This
is evidenced by the unfortunate pedestrian accidents that have
occurred at this location over the past year. Since there is
minimal commercial development on the east side of Ocean Avenue
which would generate or attract pedestrians to this crosswalk,
there is little origin/destination demand for a crosswalk to
exist at this location. Pedestrians should be directed to cross
at the signalized crosswalks at pico Boulevard and the PCH on/off
ramps. Therefore, staff recommends this crosswalk be removed.
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BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
The cost for the design and construction of a pedestrian traffic
signal is approximately $50,000.00 per location. The total cost
to implement the pedestrian traffic signals along 4th street 1n
the downtown area is approximately $150,000.00. There are no
funds currently budgeted for the pedestrian traffic signals or
beacons. However, there are funds in existing ClP accounts that
could be used for the construction of this project.
staff recommends that the pedestrian signals along 4th street be
designed and constructed this year. To fund this year's
installation of the pedestrian traffic signals, staff recommends
transferring $150,000.00 from existing Traffic Engineering ClP
accounts to a newly established capital Improvement Account No.
01-770-415-20092-8900-99343. The funds being transferred will be
from projects that are at or near completion and from proj ects
where staff does not anticipate expending the full budgeted
amount.
The work required at the crosswalks along Main street and Ocean
Avenue can be accommodated within the current Parking and Traffic
Engineering budget.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended the city council:
1. Approve the installation of pedestrian traffic signals at the
three midblock crossing locations on 4th street between Wilshire
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.
Boulevard and Broadway.
2. Approve the restriping of traffic lanes and the relocation of
the crosswalks on Main street adjacent to City Hall.
3. Approve the removal of the crosswalk on Ocean Avenue adjacent
to the Loew's Hotel.
4. Direct staff to establish new elP Account No. 01-770-415-
20092-8900-99343, and authorize staff to transfer $150,000.00
from existing Traffic Engineering elP accounts for the design and
construction of the pedestrian traffic signals along 4th street.
Prepared by: Paul Berlant, Director of Land Use and
Transportation Management
Ron Fuchiwaki, City Parking and Traffic Engineer
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