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SR-031108-3C~~~ City Council Report City of Santa Monica City Council Meeting: March 11, 2008 Agenda Item: To: Mayor and City Council From: Craig Perkins, Director -Environmental and Public Works Management Subject: Concept Design for the 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Street Improvements Project Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council provide direction on the concept design for the 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Street Improvements Project. Executive Summary On December 11, 2007, staff presented a concept design for the 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Street Improvements Project. City Council requested staff to return to another City Council meeting and present additional information on the proposed concept design. This report presents an overview of the proposed concept design elements and discusses issues previously raised by City Council during the concept design presentation. The 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Street Improvements Project is intended to provide various streetscape enhancements on 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard, between the Santa Monica Freeway and Pico Boulevard. Following several community meetings, the attached concept design has been developed to address safety, traffic and aesthetic improvements on these major arterials. The concept design includes planting of new trees and parkway landscaping, installation of pedestrian lighting, installation of colored concrete sidewalk sections, curb extensions on Cloverfield Boulevard, traffic signal modifications and streetlight circuit upgrades. Following Council direction, a community meeting with all stakeholders will be scheduled. Staff anticipates returning to Council for design approval in early summer. Discussion On April 25, 2006, City Council approved a contract with Ahbe Landscape Architects, Contract No. 8581 (CCS), in an amount not to exceed $450,000 for the design of 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Street Improvements Project. Ahbe Landscape Architect's first task was to develop a community involvement program to maximize 1 participation from local stakeholders in the development of the design concepts. Public workshops were conducted to solicit ideas and concerns from the community and to build a consensus on the design concepts. Three public workshops were held at the Virginia Avenue Park on November 16, 2006, January 11, 2007, and August 14, 2007. The first two workshops included both an afternoon youth session and an evening public session. A public notification program was conducted to raise awareness of the project in the adjacent neighborhoods and to encourage participation in the workshops. A total of sixty-four community members attended the meetings. The following media sources were used to inform the residents, businesses, and property owners about the public workshops: ^ Radius Mailer: A bilingual (English/Spanish) meeting flyer was mailed to approximately 1500 residents, businesses and property owners. A special flyer designed to encourage attendance at the youth meeting was also distributed at the Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center. Grassroots canvassing: The project's public relation consultant team canvassed the community on January 5, 2007, largely focusing on the local businesses and storefronts. On January 6, 2007, additional canvassing focused on Virginia Avenue Park users and patrons of the Virginia Avenue Park Farmer's Market. In addition, flyers were handed out at Virginia Avenue Park and notices were posted in storefronts. Phone calls: Phone calls were made to the Pico Improvement Organization, Pico Neighborhood Association, Virginia Avenue Park Advisory Board, and to Edison and Grant Elementary schools. Both the Pico Improvement Organization and Pico Neighborhood Association distributed the flyer via email and at their regular meetings. In addition, both schools posted the flyer on their respective Parent Teacher Association website. 2 Media advisory: A media advisory was developed and sent out by the City to local broadcast and print media including The Ocean Park Gazette, The Mirror, The Argonaut Newspaper, The Lookout, Santa Monica Dailv Press, and KCRW Public Radio Station. Meeting information was also posted on the City's website. Based on community input, a concept design was developed which consists of elements to improve pedestrian accessibility and safety and aesthetics along these thoroughfares (Attachments 1, 2, 3 and 4). The concept design includes planting of new trees and parkway landscaping, installation of pedestrian lighting, installation of colored concrete sidewalk sections, curb extensions on Cloverfield Boulevard, traffic signal modifications, and streetlight circuit upgrades. The following is a description of the design elements: Street Trees: The recommended street trees for Cloverfield Boulevard are Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia ipe) and Chinese Fringe Tree (Chionanthus retusus). The recommended street trees for 20th Street are Sweetshade (Hymenosporum flavum) and Goldenrain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) (Attachment 5). Street trees were selected based on their suitability to the site, performance under the site conditions and nursery availability. The Community Forest Management Plan calls for the Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica) to be the replacement tree for the section of 20th Street between the Santa Monica Freeway and Pico Boulevard. The Community Forest Management Plan does not call out a recommended replacement species for the same section of Cloverfield Boulevard: The proposed species for both streets were selected by Ahbe Landscape Architects and reviewed by the City Arborist for their appropriateness to the existing growing conditions. Both streets have limited grow space with Cloverfield Boulevard having two (2) feet of available grow space and 20th Street having three (3) feet of available grow space to accommodate street trees that won't displace sidewalks curbs or gutters. Consequently, this limits the number of choices to less than ten (10) tree species. After reviewing the potential species that could produce significant canopy 3 cover, those potential species were also evaluated on their performance in a coastal setting with a high volume of traffic and the associated pollutants that are generated in these corridors. This factor further reduced the number of species that would work well in these areas. The availability of potential tree species in local nurseries was confirmed resulting in the recommendation of the street trees for this project. Curb Extensions/Medians: One of the key elements of the concept is the installation of curb extensions along Cloverfield Boulevard. The existing parkway/sidewalk is not wide enough to accommodate the proposed streetscape improvements. The curb extensions are intended to improve the pedestrian experience by providing a buffer area for parkway landscaping between the sidewalk and street. During the concept design, the possibility of installing medians on Cloverfield Boulevard was reviewed. The existing street right-of-way is not wide enough to accommodate both curb extensions and medians while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction. The attached cross section (Attachment 6) of Cloverfield Boulevard shows the existing and proposed conditions. It may be possible to install a landscaped median on Cloverfield Boulevard near the Freeway since the width of the street increases in this area. However, a landscaped median in this location is not recommended since it will be difficult to maintain due to heavy traffic flows. Additionally, this location is partially in Caltrans right-of-way and would require a Caltrans encroachment permit. Curb extensions and medians are not recommended on 20th Street as the existing street right-of-way is not wide enough to accommodate either curb extensions or medians while maintaining two lanes of traffic in each direction, on-street parking and left turn lanes at Delaware Avenue. Additionally, the existing parkway/sidewalk is wide enough to accommodate the proposed streetscape improvements. Circulation and Public Safety: In the past, there was concern with safety in this neighborhood associated with the ability of vehicles to quickly enter and exit the area. The ability to modify circulation or alter turn patterns by using design elements to improve safety was reviewed. On Cloverfield Boulevard, the implementation of curb 4 extension or medians reduces the overall width of the traveled way making it more difficult to quickly reverse directions to exit the neighborhood. The implementation of either of these options will not significantly modify circulation or turn patterns. On 20tH Street, no reduction of the traveled way is recommended; therefore circulation and turning patterns do not change. Staff will seek further input from the Police Department on this issue. Parking: The addition of curb extensions on Cloverfield Boulevard will encroach into the street parking lane since the existing sidewalk is too narrow to accommodate both an accessible walkway and landscaped parkway. There are forty-one (41) existing street parking spaces on Cloverfield Boulevard and the Installation of curb extensions will eliminate nineteen(19). The existing parking spaces on the east side of the street will be reduced from twenty (20) to eleven (11). The existing parking spaces on the west side of the street will be reduced from twenty-one (21) to eleven (11). It may be possible to retain only one or two of the eliminated parking spaces, depending on adjustments to the curb extension specifications that will be made during the preparation of the final design drawings. Sidewalks: The concept design proposes replacing sections of the existing concrete sidewalk with enhanced colored concrete paving bands. The paving bands are proposed on both 20~h Street and Cloverfield Boulevard. The location of the enhanced paving bands coincides with the new street tree locations. Crosswalks: The concept design considered the addition of crosswalks at various locations to improve pedestrian safety. A traffic study was performed evaluating additional crosswalks. Additional crosswalks at unsignalized locations are not recommended since the proposed crosswalks would not improve pedestrian safety. Lighting: During the public workshop, the community expressed concerns about pedestrian lighting and street lighting in the project area. In order to provide enhanced 5 lighting in the project area, an upgrade to the existing series streetlight circuit is needed and will require additional budget authority. The upgrades to the street lighting circuit are not part of the original scope of work contemplated for this project. The selection of the pedestrian lighting fixture was discussed at the public meetings. Community meeting participants requested a light fixture that would be unique for the area, instead of matching the pedestrian lighting on Pico Boulevard. The proposed post-top lighting fixture was supported by the community. The proposed fixture has a top cap to preserve a dark sky and the fixture has been used successfully in other areas of the City. Traffic Signals: Traffic signal equipment in the project area requires upgrades to be consistent with the future Citywide Advanced Traffic Management System. The traffic signals at the intersection of the Santa Monica Freeway off-ramp and 20th Street and the intersection of Pico Boulevard and 20th Street require complete upgrades. Traffic signal modifications are also required due to the proposed street improvements at the intersections of Delaware Avenue and 20th Street, Santa Monica Freeway on-ramp and Cloverfield Boulevard, and Virginia Avenue and Cloverfield Boulevard. The modification to the traffic signals are .not part of the original scope of work contemplated for this project and will require additional budget authority. Bicvcle Lanes: The concept design considered the possibility of adding bicycle lanes to Cloverfield Boulevard and 20th Street. The addition of dedicated bike lanes is not possible due to the width of the existing streets. The attached cross sections (Attachment 6 and 7) of Cloverfield Boulevard and 20t" Street show existing and proposed conditions. Review of the cross sections illustrate both streets are too narrow to accommodate an accessible walkway, landscaped parkway, parking and a designated bike lane. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions The original budget for the project was $5,500,000. The preliminary cost estimate to 6 upgrade the series streetlight circuits is $500,000. The preliminary cost estimate to upgrade the traffic signals is $700,000. These upgrades increase the total estimated project cost to approximately $6,700,000. As part of the next steps, staff will identify funding options that may exist for these upgrades and return with budget recommendations once the design process has been completed. Prepared by: Mark Cuneo, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer Approved: ~~a~ C ig Perkins Director -Environmental and Public Works Management Department Council: P~tamorit Ewell ~ ity Manager Attachment 1. Cloverfield Boulevard, Concept Plan, South Attachment 2. Cloverfield Boulevard, Concept Plan, North Attachment 3. 20th Street, Concept Plan, South Attachment 4. 20th Street, Concept Plan, North Attachment 5. Plant Materials Attachment 6. Cross-Section of Cloverfield Boulevard Attachment 7. Cross-Section of 20th Street 7 Additional attachments available for review at City Clerk's Office.