SR-6K (2)PCD KG DM f ippdtsharelccreportlpsl
COUNCIL MEETING May 12, 1998
TQ Mayor and City Counc~l
FROM City Staff
~ ~~~
~
1~AY ~ ~ ~
Santa Monica, California
SUBJECT Recomme~dation to Autharize the City Ma~ager ta Negotiate and Enter cnto
an Agreement to AI1aw the Constructaor~ af a Pedestrian Bridge O~er #he
Publac Right of Way in the 140a Block of Twelfth Cour~ A11ey
INTR4DUCT14N
This report recommends that the City Councii authorize the City Manager to negot~ate and
enter inta an agreement ta allaw the canstructaan of a pedestrian bridge o~er t~e public
r~ght of way in the 1400 block af ~2th Court Alley The proposed pedestnan bridge would
be used in con~unction w~th the operatior~ of the Plural~stic Schaol #1 {PS#1). an
elementary school which ~s currently undergoing an expansion which will include schoo~
facii~ties ar~ both sides of the alley
BACKGROUND
PS#1 recei~ed an Administrat~ve Approval to allow #he expans~on of the school facil~ties
in Ju1y '~ 997 The expansion, which is currently under construction. incltades a new library,
mu1#r-p~rpose bu~idir~g, classrooms and adm~n~strat~ve offices Wh~le the s~#e of the
existmg school was previously I~mited to t~e narthwest corner of Braadway and Euclid
Stree#, the expanded area af the schoal campus now inc~udes a parce~ fronting on 12"'
1
...
~~-Y f 21~
Street, wh~ch ~s across 12th Court A!!ey €rom the ex~st~ng school s~te ~r~ order to a~oid the
possible safety hazards associated with elementary school children hav~ng to cross the
alley to go from ane sch~ol build~ng to another, PS#~ requests that the Gity allow them to
canstruct a pedestr~an bridge over the aliey, c~nnecting the two portiQns af the schoof
campus
ANALYSIS
The City wauld ha~e ta enter into ar~ aEr rights agreement to allow the structure ta extend
over the publr~ rrght of way, and cor~nect the two schoo! bu~Id~r~gs by way of a second story
bridge As propased, the bridge would be approximatefy 12 feet wide ar~d would provkde
a minimum cl~arance of 14`$" for vehicles tra~e~ing und~r the bridge
The applicant has sta#ed that the br~dge is necessary in order to pro~ide secunty and
safety for the students of the elementary school The sch~ol is Iocated ~n the 1400 blocks
af Twelfth Street and Euclid Street between Santa Monica Boule~ard and BTOadway The
Santa Monica Ford d~alership ts located on Santa Monica Boulevard, betweer~ Twekfth
Street and Eucl~d Street Addit~onal~y, Santa Monrea Ford has two r~ew car park~nglstorage
lots located an the southeast and southwest corners of Broadway and Euclid Streek
Beeause of the proximity of the Santa Monica Ford fac~~~ties #o Twelfth Court Alley, tE~ey
of#en use the a!!ey to mov~ cars from the~r daalership to their storage lots In additian to
the traffic th~t is generat~d by Santa Man~ca Ford, there are se~eral multE-tenant
apartment bu~lcimgs fronting the east side of Twelfth S#reet and the west s~de of Euc1~d
2
Street which ha~e parkmg spaces accessed from Twelfth Court Alley
The type of land uses in the area of the school result in a large number of ve~icles which
use Twelfth Cour~ Alley an a daily basis Accordir~g to anformat~on submktted by the
applicant, between 8 am and 4 pm an weekdays, an average of 35 ~ehicles use the alley
per hour It is estimatEd by the app{~cant that there wifl b~ approx~mately 1~00 ~edestrian
trips across the alley eac~ week day between 8 am and 6 pm Representati~es fram the
school feel that gi~en this amount of traff~c, if the students were reqwred to crass the alley
by way o€ a su~face Ie~el crosswalk, the s~twat~on would pose a safety risk €or the s#udents
As an alternative t~ a~edestrian br~dge, the schoai has explared the poss~bil~ty o~ havmg
a permanent crossmg guard at the alley, but they ha~e concluded that given the 20' width
of the a11ey, there is not adequate room ta provide an area for the cross~ng guard and
students to wait
There are anly two situations in Santa Mornca where the City has allowed the construction
of a pedastrian br~dge or other structure o~er a publ~c nght of way As p~rt of ihe
Development RevGew Permit for the Shutters at the Beach Hot~l, a portion of the hotel was
permitted to crass over Appian Way The only other situation is a pedestrian bndge wh~ch
was constructed by the schaol district over the 2700 bkock Fourth Street to connect a
public elementary school campus Th~s pedestrian averpass was constructed several
years ago, and has been abandoned since the two schooi propert~es are no longer
operated as one campus
3
City staff e~aluates requests far construction of pedestr~an bridges or other structures o~er
public rights of way The City must be cautious about setting a precedent for allowing such
encroachments Fo~ example, staff wauld not recomme~d appra~al of sucl~ a request for
a commercial pro~ect where the bridge is be~ng requested for the con~enience of the office
users or to facilitate the layout af a de~elopment pra~ect ~urthermore, staff would be
refuctant to support khe constructEOn of a bridge over a neighborhood street or commerciaf
boulevard where the br~cfge may obstruct views and affect the charac#er af an area
Howe~er, in this s~#uation where the use of an alley may }~ose a safety nsk to elem~~tary
schaol students, staff feels that the constructian of a pedestrian bridge over the alley ~s
~ustified Twelfth Co~rt alley is a narraw (20' wid~), alley wath two to three story buildmgs
built along its edge Canstruction of the bndge at the second level of #he schval will not
substantially effect the character of the ne~ghborhoad and will have a mmimaf effect on the
views and open space afforded to the ad~acent r~sident~al b~ildings Furthermore, the
des~gn o~ the br~dge wtif be sub~ect to re~~ew and appro~al by the Architecturai Re~iew
Board, to ensure that the br~dge is compatible with the schaal bualdings as wel! as the
surrounding residentia! structures
BUDGETIFINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation presented in this report daes not have any budget or fiscal Empact
4
RECOMMENDATION
It ~s recommended that fhe City Counc~i authorize fhe City Manager to negofiate and enfer
into an agreement ta allow the construction of a pedestrian bridge wh~ch will span o~er the
Twelfth Court Alley public right af way
Prepared by Suzanne Frick, DGrector of PCD
Karen Ginsberg, Planning Manager
Dav~d Ma~tm, Sen~or Planner
A##achmer~ts A Letter fram PS#1 dated April 27, 1998
B Letter from Santa Morr~ca Fard dated Aprrl 23, 'f 9~8
C Draw~ng of propasecE bridge and photos
5
ATTACHMENT A
~. ,, t ~ „
~
~pr'-27-98 03:33P P S# 1 5chool
1
~~~
Elementary Sthool Date: April 27, 1998
310-395-1093
P.Ol
FAX to: David Martin
Santa Monica Planning Dept.
458-3380
From: Della Barrett
P S # 1 Schoal
Per our several phone conversations, the following six pages
are:
p~~es 2-3: Estimate of pedestrian traffic crossing alley during
average day on vur new campus.
p~,g~4~ Summary of traffic counts in alley on two
~~~#erent days. The actual note ~heets with
details are available if you want them.
P~ge 5: P S# 1's Bndge Maintenance p1an.
P~ge 6: Letter of support for bridge frorn Santa Moni~a
Ford.
The traffic count and pedestrian estimates make a very
compP~l~ng case ta provide a bndge for the children: an
av~rage of 35 traffic trips per hour past the bridge
site and average of 1~3 people erossing the alley per
hour.
Thanks for your help. if you have questions or need original
documents, please feel free to call me.
1454 Euc!-d Street
Sonta Monlca, Co
90404-2713
P {310) 394-1313
F (310) 395-~093
DB: Building pmject, Maran fax
~ ~ ~ ~
~~
Apr-27-98 03:33P P 5# 1 5choal
~~~
Elementary School
~454 fudid Street
Santa Manrt~, Ca
94404-1713
P• (310) 394-i313
~ (3J0} 345-~093
310-395-1093
Estimate of Number af Pedestrians Crossing the Alley to get from
one side of the campus to !he other - beginning September 1998
There will be ]25 students and at least ten core teachers whose main
classraam will be on 12th Street - this puts them an the "wrong" side
of the alley when any of them needs to go to the office, stck room,
Iibrary, playgtound, rnotox lab, muXti-purpase xoam, ~Y outstde the
main entrance of the school on Euclid Street.
The school underground park~ng ivt is on Twelfth Street. Th« puts
at least four teachers and eight ofhce personnel on the "wrong" s~de
of the alley when they need to gv to their main place oE work on
Euclid Street.
The following are ihe most aceurate numbers we can gi~e to
est~mate the haur by h~ur use of the pedestna~ bridge:
TIME PURPOSE # o~ TRIPS
8 15 -9 0(}AM 14 teachers and B adm~ntstrators cross t4 28
office ~ retnrn to classrooms to begin B
their work day
4 Qa AM up to 1Z5 morrung care dvldren avss to dassrooms 1?5
915 25 cFuldren & 2 teachers croas to I~brary and return 54
9:30 75 cluldren a~oss to Motor lab ?5
1~ UO 25 c~~~drer return f~csm tnotnr lab Co class 2S
10~0.5 25 (d~Fferent} c~vldren crass to motor 1ab ?5
10 34 25 ctuldren retum from inotrn lab to class 25
10 3a-11.0~ ap to 125 children cross to be at snaclc recess & return 250
11:05 Z5 (different~ ch~]dren tross to motor lab 25
11:3U L5 c~t~ldren return from motor lab ta dass and 5~
anoEher 25 cross to motor lab
11:55 25 c~uldren return fr~m mo#or lab to class Z5
12 Noon up to 1Z5 cluldren eross to lu~rch and playground 125
12 50PM up to 1Z5 c}uldmn av~ ta return to dassmvms 125
2-05 25 (d~fferent) children eross to motor lab 25
2_3U 25 children re#urn fram moEor lab to class ~'s
3 00 45 ctuidren cross #a after care ckuld care program 45
3 Dfl-6.00 30 thiidren cross al[ey to part~cipate tn achvityes 30
back ~n classrooms
4.0{?-6 OD 16 adults cross a11ey to retum to underground 16
park~ng lot
P.02
{continued on next page)
j`s Computer, Build~ng Foldes, bndge - Santa Mauca - 4 J9& ~'~le
~~
Apr-27-98 03:33P P S# 1 5choal 31a-395-1093 P.03
~~ ~
Elementary Scho~l
1454 Eucf~d Street
Sarrta Mon~cQ, Ca
90404-Z713
P (310) 394-i313
F{3 ? 0) 3 95- 7 093
~ In addition, indaviduaI or small groups af children will be
crossing Fxom one side of the alley to anot~er th~oughout the day an
our secure campus. Because of the nature of our program, we
estimate an additional 75 af these round trips by students each day.
(150 trips zn all)
• Every Manday m~rnsng, and at other times thraughout the schoa~
year, the entire student body assembles for school wide assemblies.
This adds on a~erage another 35 round trips ger day. (7U tnps ~n all)
~ Please nate that these are #he regularly scheduled crossmgs_ In
addi#ion, there are unscheduled trips of teachers ta the affice,
"traveling" paetry (poetry teacher in wheel ehair), mus~c teaehers
and other specialrs#s, many parent ~olunteers, school visitors, and
others. Facilitiss are not duplicated on bflth sides of the alley. We
es#imate an add~Eiona175 round tr~ps by aduits each day. (]50 trips in
al~)
• Also, there are e~ening meetings, conferences, and open houses
that ~ccur throug~aut the schoal year that will require extensYVe
pedestrian bridge use. The safety and seceirity issues are always
paramount; when these t;ips are taken in the evenir~g, as indeed
they must be since we are a school for famiiies as well as children,
#he saEety and security needs become even more magnified sxnce aur
carnpus is on two sides of an alley. The number of these crossings is
not incjuded in this estimate; suffice it to say, many schonl activi#~es
wauld be turtailed withovt an alley bndge.
ESTIMATED Tatal daily trips between SAM and bPM I~25
(For many years, we have had our sthoa! campus on two sides of Euclid 5#reet At
t}~~s po~nt, before we rnove to the new campus, every ttme a thild needs ta go fmm one
side oE the street to the ather, an adult must [ea~e the~r assigned task and
responsib~iity and transport the child ln order Eo avoid this, we purchased
cantiguaus lQts with no cr+ass sh~et in between ta allow us to budd our uniFies campus
The pedestnan brzdge ~s a cret~cal element in that plan )
Respec submitt ,
J~. j~
Joel PelcygetV
Head of Schflol
J's Camputer, Suildutg Folder, bridge - Santa Moruca - 4/9S F~le
~'* w " ~ ~
Apr-27-98 03:34P P S# 1 Schoal 310-395-1093 P.04
P S # 1 School
Alley TrafHc Caunt
Counts of the auto/van/truck trips north and south in the alley at the
proposed bridge site ~ei-e conducted as follows:
Qn two different d.ays an observer sat in the existing P S# 1 parking area
(on the alley beh~nd 1454 Euclid ) and recorded on a plain sheet of paper
all traffic that passed through the bridge site.
April 24, 1998: A parent volunteer counted between 11:40 AM and Noon.
Her count was 4U carslvans and one truck, for a total of 41
trlps. Most of the veh.~cles she recorded were conn~cted with Santa
Monica Ford.
April 27, 1998: F S# 1 Business Manager counted between ~~:30 PM and
1:3Q PM. Her couat was 15 cars, 9 trucks and 5 vans, for a to~~l
of 29 trips, Most of the vehic~es she recorded were connected with
Santa Monica Ford.
The average was 35 trips per hour.
Their note sheets are available at the schoo~ office for inspeetion.
D6. Bui~dfng Pro~ect Folder, Alley Traf~ic Counc
~~~ " !U
Apr-27-98 03:34P P S# 1 School 310-395-1093 P_D5
S#7
Elementary Schoo~
March 25, 1998
Huilding and Zoning Departrnent
City of ~anta Monica
1 b8 5 Main St.reet
Sar~ta Monic~, CA 90401
Re Brsdge aver a11ey 1448 Euc~d-1447 i 2th S~.
Maintenance
7o Whom It May Goncern
Our maintenance plan for the al~ey bridge to be conslructed is
~mportant to us ior two reasons
1 Saiety af ch~idren and adults us~ng the br~dge
2 Agpearance as an unportant part of Lhe school's
~magv ~n attract~ng and retatnin~ students
Our plan is as follows
Dai]y Sweeping
Visuat inspection for
grafi~ti removal
reptacing ~ny burned-out li~ht 4~xtures
cheek~ng that all stgfls are in place
Manthiy Visuai u~speclion for wear & repairing as needed
Ar~nually Any praventatave care needed We ~xpect !.v
paint every three years, but may find
th~t annual painting is needed
14s4 fudrd srreet
Santa Monrca, Ca
90404-2713
P (310} 394-13i3
F~~ ~ o~ 39s- r oq3
It you have quest~ons or vrant us to add to our rnaintenance program,
please feet iree to contact me
5incerely,
~QQA ~
De1ia 8arrett
Buslness ~nd Facilitiies Manager
PLURAL.ISTIC SCH00~., INC
b` ` " 1 1
ATTACSMFNrI' B
~- r .~ 12
,Apr-27-95 03:34P P 5# 1 Schaol 310-395-1093 P.06
SANTA MUNICA F~RD
1230 SANTA MONiCA 8L~'D SAIUTA MaNIC'd CA 9040q
TELEpHONE ~3 :i -~~- ~rN FA7S 31J~ ~3-1 tll'7 PAA25 BEP'T F1~1( r3'G~ 3' i,4<:
April 23, ~948
CZTY ~F SANTA MpifICA PIANN~I+iG DEPAR~IT
1685 23a~ Street
Saata Moni.ca, Ca. 9Q401
Att; David Martin
I's vriLing ta let yau ~~r that Santa Honica Fard very mueh
supports P S#1 Schoal's pedestrian bridge over t~e a11ey
betveea Euc~id and 12th Streets. A mixture of chi~dren and
moving cars can on~p be safely han~led by constructing a
pedestrian bri.dge to keep them separaCe.
Ag you kaoir, our s~ain lacation fs at the corner of Santa
~anica Blvd, and ~~cl~d Street, and our car storag~ Iots
~ere oa Suclid jvst sout~ of Sroad~ray.
Hecause the alley provides access for pur sutu repair shap,
our delivery vehicles, sane of our aev car ~ove~ent, and
many other usea aot directly cot~nected vith us, ~t seems
to ae tbat tbe anly riay to keep children safe~.y avay fras
alI alley txaffic is to allaw t~em ta crass via a second
story pedestrian bridge.
Siaeerely,
,~-e~ ~
~ ~~
~
Robert Y.arlin,
Pres~dent
RKfer
. _ -~ 3
ATTAC H M E N T C
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