SR-012709-8cCity Council Meeting: January 27, 2009
Agenda Item: ~'-'~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lee E. Swain, Director of Public Works
Subject: .20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Improvements Project
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. approve the recommended concept for the 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard
,Improvements Project; and
2. authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a modification to Contract
No. 8581 (CCS) with Ahbe Landscape Architects in an amount not to exceed
$175,000, for a total contract amount not to exceed $625,000.
Executive Summary
The 20th Street and Cloverfield Boulevard Improvements Project provides various
streetscape enhancements on 20th Street and Cloverfield. Boulevard, between the Santa
Monica Freeway (I-10) and Pico Boulevard. Following several community meetings, the
attached concept options have been developed to address safety concerns, aesthetic
improvements and accessibility on these thoroughfares. All concept options include
planting of new trees and landscaping, installation of pedestrian lighting and colored
concrete sidewalk sections, traffic signal modifications and streetlight circuit upgrades,
improving access and safety for pedestrians. Several concept options include the
consideration of curb extensions and medians on Cloverfield Boulevard; and medians
and the addition of bicycle lanes on 20th Street. Staff recommends Concept. 1 for 20th
Street and Concept 2 for Cloverfield Boulevard with modifications as explained in detail
in this report.
The recommended concept for 20th Street provides improvements in the existing
sidewalk/parkway area, while maintaining the existing street and parking configuration.
The pedestrian experience will be enhanced with lighting, landscaping and sidewalk
accessibility modifications. The existing street trees will be removed and replaced with
new trees. The recommended concept does not include dedicated bicycle lanes but
does not preclude changes to the traveled way in the future.
The recommended concept for Cloverfield Boulevard maintains the existing street and
parking configuration, while providing a few small areas of landscaping in curb
1
extensions and at the median near the I-10 freeway. The curb extensions occur at
areas currently marked as no parking zones.-The pedestrian experience will be
enhanced with lighting and sidewalk accessibility modifications.
Streetlight circuit upgrades and traffic signal modifications were not part of the original
scope of work for this project. The professional services agreement with Ahbe
Landscape Architects must be modified to add design services for these enhancements.
Funds are available in the project budget for the proposed contract modification.
Background
On December 11, 2007 and March 11, 2008, staff presented a recommended concept
for the project to City Couhcil. At the March 11, 2008 meeting, City Council requested
staff to investigate other options including the installation of landscape medians on both
streets and bicycle lanes on 20th Street. This report presents an overview of four
concept options for 20th Street and three concept options for Clovertield Boulevard.
These concepts incorporate comments provided by the City Council. The various
concepts were presented to the community on April 21, 2008 and October 16, 2008 and
were reviewed with other involved City Departments.
Discussion
Public Outreach
In order to obtain community feedback to the concept alternatives, public workshops
were held at the Virginia Avenue Park on April 21, and October 16, 2008: A total of 47
community members attended the meetings. In addition, City staff received 14 surveys
from a Pico Neighborhood Block Party and 12 surveys through the project's website.
Several media sources were used to inform the residents, businesses, and property
owners about the public workshop including:
Radius Mailer. A bilingual (English/Spanish) meeting postcard was mailed to
approximately 2;350 residents, businesses, and property owners.
• Website posting: The meeting postcard, concept design and survey were posted
on the Civil Engineering Division's website.
2
• Newspaper and City TV: The meeting postcard was advertised in the Santa
Monica Daily Press and on City TV.
• Pico Neighborhood Block Party: City staff displayed the project concept drawings
at a recent Pico Neighborhood Block Party and asked participants to complete a
survey.
Pico Neighborhood Association and Virginia Park Boards: City staff attended the
board meetings and asked for participation in the upcoming community meeting.
• Phone calls and email: Outreach to the community members that participated in
previous community meetings, Pico Neighborhood Association, Recreation &
Parks Commissioners, -Santa Monica College, and Pico Improvement
Organization were contacted via phone calls and email:
A presentation of the various concepts including the pros and cons was discussed with
the community. during the meetings. Minutes from the community meeting conducted
on October 16, 2008 are ihcluded as Attachment 17. The community was asked to
select the concepts that they support by filling out a questionnaire. A total of 49
questionnaires were completed and submitted at the community meeting, Pico
Neighborhood Block party and on-line. For 20th Street: Concept 1 received 37 votes,
Concept 2 received 6 votes, Concept 3 received 1 vote and Concept 4 received 5 votes.
For Cloverfield Boulevard: Concept 1 received 41 votes, Concept 2 received 7 votes
and Concept 3 received 1 vote.
20th Street Concept Options
20th Street, irr the project area, is a major.north-south thoroughfare in the City and is a
point of access to and from I-10. The land use in the project area is residential, and the
width of the existing right-of-way through the. majority of the project area is seventy-six
feet. The width of the right-of-way is slightly wider near Pico Boulevard. The existing
seventy-six foot right-of-way includes:
• 8 foot wide sidewalks (16 feet total)
• 7 foot wide parking lanes (14 feet total)
• 2 traffic lanes in each direction (46 feet total)
3
The average daily traffic on this street is approximately 19,000 vehicles per day. This
street is heavily used by the Fire Department to provide emergency response from Fire
Station No. 3 at 19cn Street and Arizona to the area of the City south of I-10. In addition,
paramedics use this route for access to the hospitals located north of I-10.
There are existing trees along the street spaced approximately every 50 feet. The
predominant .species are the Bottlebrush (Callistemon) and Crape Myrtle
(Lagerstroemia indica 'Muskogee') trees. The four concepts discussed below include:
removal of the existing and planting of new trees and landscaping in the
sidewalk/parkway area; installation of pedestrian lighting; installation of colored concrete
sidewalk sections; and traffic signal modifications: Portions of the existing sidewalks on
both sides of the street do not comply with current pedestrian accessibility guidelines
due to the sloped driveways. These driveways will be reconstructed to comply with
current accessibility guidelines. The recommended trees for 20th Street are Crape
Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica `Muskogee') and Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus)
(Attachment 1). The tree species were selected by the project designer based on their
suitability to the site, performance under the site conditions and nursery availability:
The recommended species were reviewed and accepted by the community and
approved by the City's Community Forester for their appropriateness to the existing
growing conditions.
Concept 1: Concept 1 (Attachments 2 and 3) provides improvements in the existing
sidewalk/parkway. area only and keeps the existing street and parking configuration as
is by maintaining two travel lanes in each direction. This concept improves the
pedestrian experience by creating a landscaped buffer between the sidewalk and traffic
lanes, and will improve accessibility. This concept does not reconfigure the existing
travel or parking lanes as all improvements occur behind the existing curbs. However,
reconfiguration of the traveled way is not precluded in the future by this concept.
4
Implementation of this concept will not affect emergency service access or response
time since the street will operate exactly as it does currently.
Concept 2: Concept 2 (Attachments 4 and 5) provides improvements in the existing
sidewalk parkway area similar to Concept 1. Additionally, this .concept includes curb
extensions at the intersections of 20th Street and Delaware Avenue and 20th Street and
Virginia Avenue. The traveled way is reconfigured by eliminating one travel lane in
each direction and introducing dedicated six-foot wide bicycle lanes in each direction.
One traffic lane in each direction and a turn lane in the center median area of the street
for turning onto cross streets and driveways are provided. The center median is not
raised or landscaped in order to provide access for emergency services. The bicycle
lanes provide north-south access for three blocks in this area of the City. The impact of
this concept on traffic was not analyzed; however, reducing the number of travel lanes
from two lanes to one in each direction has been implemented on several thoroughfares
in the City. A similar change was implemented on Main Street south of Pico Boulevard
several years ago, and more recently on Ocean Park Boulevard east of Lincoln
Boulevard and on San Vicente Boulevard at 7'h Street. Prior to approval of this concept,
a detailed traffic analysis and environmental review would be required to determine the
impact of the reduction of travel lanes. This analysis would delay the implementation of
the project by -six to nine months. Additionally, the approval of the recommended
concept will not preclude the addition of a bicycle lane in the future concurrent with the
implementation of adjacent bike lanes contemplated in the Land Use and Circulation
Element (LUCE) Strategy Frame Work:
Concept 3: Concept 3 (Attachments 6 and 7) provides improvements in the existing
sidewalk/parkway area, travel and bicycle lanes, similar to Concept 2. This concept
also includes curb extensions at the intersections of 20th Street and Delaware Avenue
and 20th Street and Virginia Avenue. Additionally, landscaped median islands are
included at various locations where there are no existing adjacent driveways. The
raised landscaped medians improve aesthetics by reducing the scale of the street. This
5
concept may increase response time for emergency service vehicles because the
center median cannot be utilized as a through lane. The reduction of travel lanes will
require further traffic and environmental analysis as discussed in Concept 2.
Concept 4: .Concept 4 (Attachments 8 and 9) provides improvements to the
sidewalk parkway and bicycle lanes, similar to Concept 2. This concept does not
provide curb extensions of the intersections, center medians, or dedicated left turn
lanes. In contrast to Concept 2, two travel lanes in the. northbound direction are
proposed. This design is based on peak hour traffic needs in that direction. The
reduction of travel lanes from two lanes in each direction to two lanes northbound and
one lane in the southbound direction will require further traffic and environmental
analysis as discussed in Concept 2.
Recommended Concept for 20th Street
Staff recommends that City Council approve Concept 1 (modified) for 20th Street
(Attachment 18). At the last public meeting, the community supported the proposed
improvements to the sidewalk parkway and requested removal and replacement of the
existing 49 bottlebrush trees with a tree species that provides a more substantial
canopy. The Landscape Architect .has recommended, and the City's Community
Forester agrees, that the existing bottlebrush trees can be removed and replaced with
the Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica 'Muskogee') and Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus
Sinuatus). The existing trees will be mulched. after removal. Concept 1 was supported
by the majority of the participants; however, there is also some public support for
concepts that iriclude dedicated bicycle lanes. A citywide bicycle network that features
20th Street as a high priority route is included in the LUCE Strategy framework and the
addition of bicycle lanes is not precluded by the recommended concept. However, the
addition of bicycle lanes at this time will necessitate traffic studies and environmental
analysis delaying the implementation of the project by six to nine months. The majority
of participants in the public process agreed that the implementation of the
parkway/sidewalk improvements should proceed without any changes to the existing
6
travel lane configuration to expedite implementation of improvements. The addition of
the bicycle lanes on 20th Street and the traffic analysis necessary for this change can be
addressed by the LUCE environmental review process. If appropriate, the .
implementation of bicycle lanes in the future can be accomplished by modifying the
pavement marking/striping only and is independent of the proposed improvements.
Cloverfield Boulevard Concept Options
Like 20th S treet, Cloverfield Boulevard, in the project area, i5 a major north-south
thoroughfare in the City and is a key point of access to and from 1-10. The land use in
the. project area is residential and the width of the existing right-of-way through the
majority of the project area is seventy-two feet. The width of the right-of-way is slightly
wider near I-10 and Pico Boulevard. The existing seventy-two foot right-of-way
includes:
• 6 foot wide sidewalks (12 feet total)
7 foot wide parking lanes (14 feet total)
2 traffic lanes in each direction (46 feet total)
The average daily traffic on this street is 39,000 vehicles. There are no existing street
trees or landscaping in the project area except for a landscaped median near Pico
Boulevard adjacent to Virginia Avenue Park. The existing six-foot wide sidewalk on
both sides of the street does not comply with pedestrian accessibility guidelines due to
sloped driveways at several locations. There are 43 on-street parking spaces in the
project area. A development at 1940 Cloverfield Boulevard will remove two parking
spaces due to the construction of a driveway reducing the total to 41: All three concept
options discussed below include: planting of new trees and landscaping; installation of
pedestrian lighting-and colored concrete sidewalk sections; traffic signal modifications
and streetlight circuit upgrades; and improvements to pedestrian accessibility. The
recommended trees for Cloverfield Boulevard are Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia
impetiginosa) and Chinese Fringe Tree (Chionanthus retusus) (Attachment 1). The.tree
species were selected by the project designer based on their suitability to the site,
performance under the site conditions and nursery availability. The recommended
7
species were reviewed and accepted by the community and approved by the City's
Community Forester for their appropriateness to the existing growing cohditions.
Concept 1: Concept 1 (Attachments 10 and 11) incorporates .approximately 11
landscaped curb extensions along Cloverfield Boulevard at driveway locations, areas
currently marked as no parking zones (red curb) and at the intersection of Cloverfield
Boulevard and Virginia Avenue.- The curb extensions improve the pedestrian
experience by creating a landscaped buffer between the sidewalk and traffic lanes. The
existing sidewalk is too narrow to accommodate planting; however, the curb extensions
provide additional space for landscaping and trees. Extending the curbs allows the
existing driveways to be replaced with level sidewalk to comply with pedestrian
accessibility guidelines. The driveway slopes will be reconstructed in the curb extension
area. The curb extensions will encroach into the parking lanes on both sides of the
street and 16 parking spaces will be eliminated, leaving 25 remaining parking spaces.
Concept 2: Concept 2 (Attachments 12 and 13) incorporates approximately 7
landscaped curb extensions along Cloverfield Boulevard at limited locations and a
landscaped median near I-10. The curb extensions occur at areas currently marked as
no parking zones (red curb) and at the intersection of Cloverfield Boulevard and Virginia
Avenue. The curb extensions provide a small area for landscaping and trees between
the sidewalk and traffic lanes. -The driveways must be modified in order for the sidewalk
to meet pedestrian accessibility guidelines. There are two driveway modification
options (Attachment 14):
• Jogged Driveway Crossing
• Parallel Ramped Driveway Crossing
The jogged driveway crossing provides a level sidewalk around the private property side
of the existing driveway. This requires an easement or acquisition of right-of-way from
the adjacent property. The parallel ramped driveway crossing requires the sidewalk
area to be lowered with ramps on each end of the driveway and the slope of the
8
driveway to occur on the adjacent property. This requires an agreement with the
adjacent property owners to modify driveways on private property. Only 2 parking
spaces will be eliminated by this concept, and total of 39 parking spaces will remain.
Concept 3: Concept 3 (Attachments 15 and 16) provides approximately 8 landscaped
curb extensions at the intersection of Cloverfield Boulevard and Virginia Avenue and
some areas currently marked as no parking zones (red curb); a landscaped median
near I-10; and a landscaped median on each side of the- Cloverfield Boulevard and
Virginia Avenue intersection. The curb .extensions at the intersection will provide a
small area for landscaping and trees between the sidewalk and traffic lanes. The center
medians can be landscaped, but their length is restricted by the locations of existing
driveways. The center medians require the traffic lahes to shift towards the parking
lane, which will result in the loss of 12 parking, including the two parking spaces at 1940
Clovertield Boulevard, for a remaining total of 31. The existing driveways must be
modified in order to comply with pedestrian accessibility guidelines as discussed in
Concept 2.
Recommended Concept for Cloverfield Boulevard
Staff recommends that City Council approve Concept 2 (modified) for Cloverfield
Boulevard (Attachment 19). The majority of participants at the last community meeting
supported Concept 2 since this concept maintains almost all of the existing street
parking. They did not support the curb extensions at the intersection of Cloverfield
Boulevard and Virginia Avenue since they limit turn movements at the intersection and
may impact traffic flow. Participants also suggested modifying the median near Pico
Boulevard since traffic regularly backs-up into the through lane causing congestion.
The recommended concept provides limited street trees and landscaping; however, this
concept provides improved accessibility, introduces a landscaped median-near I-10 and
provides some additional landscaping at three curb extensions on the west side of the
street.
9
Modification of Professional Services Agreement
The community. expressed concerns about lighting in the project area. In order to
provide enhanced lighting in the project area, an upgrade to the existing series
streetlight circuit is necessary. Additionally, 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 I-10 off-ramp and 20tH
Street, and the intersection of Pico Boulevard and 20tH Street require complete
upgrades. -Minor traffic signal modifications are also required at the intersections of
Delaware Avenue and 20tH Street, I-10 on-ramp and Clovertteld Boulevard, and Virginia
Avenue and Cloverfield Boulevard. .Streetlight circuit upgrades and traffic signal
modifications were not part of the original scope of work for this. project. The
professional services agreement with Ahbe Landscape Architects must be modified to
include additional design services for these enhancements. Staff recommends
modifying the professional services agreement with Ahbe Landscape Architects, in an
amount not to exceed $175,000, for additional design services.
Environmental Analysis
Each of the recommended concepts is considered to be a minor alteration of ari existing
street in a three block area that will not result in any expansion of the existing use.
Therefore, the improvements recommended for 20tH Street and Cloverfield Boulevard
are categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 [Existing Facilities], Class 1(c) of the CEQA
Guidelines.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Funds in the amount of _$175,000 are available. in account number 0010522.589000
(Feasibility & Prelim Design 20th) for additional services associated with the design of
street light. conversions and traffic signal modifications for the project. The original
budget for the project was $5,500,000. The preliminary cost estimate to upgrade the
series streetlight circuits is $500,000, and $700,000 to upgrade the traffic signals.
10
These upgrades increase the total estimated project cost to approximately $6,700,000.
The next step is to develop the final design plans and prepare bid documents. During
this phase, staff will identify funding options for the additional streetlight and traffic
signal upgrades and evaluate potential increased maintenance costs associated with
the improvements.
Prepared by:
Mark Cuneo, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer
Approved:
Lee E. Swain, Director
Department of Public Works
Forwarded to Council:
city Manager
Attachments:
1. 20th Street/CloverField Boulevard -Site Amenities
2. 20th Street -Concept 1 Plan View
3. 20th Street- Concept 1 Cross Section
4. 20th Street -Concept 2 Plan View
5. 20th Street -Concept 2 Cross Section
6. 20th Street -Concept 3 Plan View
7. 20th Street -Concept 3 Cross Section
8: 20th Street -Concept 4 Plan View
9. 20th Street -Concept 4 Cross Section
10. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 1 Plan View
11. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 1 Cross Section
12. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 2 Plan View
13. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 2 Cross Section
14. Driveway Modification Options
15. Clovefield Boulevard -Concept 3 Plan View
16. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 3 Cross Section
17. Community Meeting Minutes
18. 20th Street -Concept 1(Modified) Plan View
19. Cloverfield Boulevard -Concept 2(Modified) Plan View
11
Additional documentation
available for review in the
City Clerk's Office.