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sr-032266-6d1i CITY OF SANTA MONICA ~ INTER®EPTET MEMO ~y ~~5~~,,8 DATE: March 17, 1866 ~„- TO: Perry Scott, City Manager PJIAR~i9cb FROM: Bartlett L. Kennedy, City Engineem THIS `; r ;' RETL. 4 J 'i i `~ CITY C',,iiti`S l rTGE SUBJECT: Bus Stop Location, Pico Boulevard at 20th Street rOR i~;.iivi;. In compliance with your request, the following information is furnished relative to the relocation of the subject bus stop from its previous near-side location to its present location on the east side of 20th Street. URZen Pico Boulevard was scheduled for resurfacing, it was determined that bus pads should be placed to minimize future maintenance. In locating these pads, the Traffic Engineer personally discussed each proposed location with Mr. Prior and Mr. Cooper of the Transportation Department. At the intersection of Pico Boulevard and 20th Street, the bus stop for the eastbound bus was moved from a near-side location, in front of a service station, to afar-side location, in front of a drive-in restaurant, the "Taco Tio. The decision to make this move was based on the following factors The driveway to the service station nearest the intersection is a relatively narrow drive, approximately 18 to 20 feet wide, and is located with the top of the "X" within inches of the pedestrian crosswalk crossing Pico Boulevard. With these conditions, all of the inherent features of the near- side bus zone were present, i.e., parked bus obstructing intersection visibility of approaching drivers; obstructing view of eastbound drivers to primary signal indication; and interfering with and posing a hazard to drivers making an eastbound to southbound right turn. Also, due to narrow drives to .the service station, the bus zone was so short that the back end of the bus usually was blocking the number two traffic lane. On the far-side of the intersection, all of these disadvantages-are overcome and both the bus-riding and the motoring public enjoy a minimum of hazard and/or inconvenience. The probable effect of this move upon the adjacent business was also considered. At that time the only adjacent business was the "Taco Tio," although a similar type of business, "Rembrant's," has since opened immediately adjacent to the March 17, 1966 Page 2 Subject: Bus Stop Location, Pico Boulevard at 20th Street "'Taco Tio." It was felt that persons waiting to board a bus would avail themselves of some of the services of "Taco Tio," i.e., ice cream, soft drinks, coffee, etc., and that for this reason the location of the stop at this point should cause no great harm. This was based on observation of activities at other bus stops located under similar condi- tions in other areas, though not in Santa Monica. The operator of the "Taco Tio" has complained to Mr. Spurgin that since the bus stop was placed in front of his place of business, he has experienced a severe loss in trade. He readily admits, however, that not all of this loss is due to this one factor alone. He, the operator, makes the point that by moving the bus across 20th Street we have added to the hazard of Santa Monica City College students by requiring them to cross 20th Street to get to an eastbound bus. Actually, this is not the case, since the bus also stops on Pico at 18th Street, immediately in front of Santa Monica Gity College. All of the factors which influenced the decision to place the bus zone in front of the "Taco Tio," as outlined above, have been reviewed in the light. of the complaint by the owner of that business and by Mr. Spurgin. On the basis of our review, Mr. Prior and I both feel that the original decision was well founded and in the best public interest. We do not recommend that any change be made. $. BARTLETT L. Y City Engineer I N T E R- D E P A R T M E N T M E M O DATE: March 21, 1966 T0: Perry Scott, City Manager FROM; T. 0. Prior, Director of Transportation SUBJECT: BUS ZONES This memo will supplement my verbal report pertaining to bus zones, and particularly the eastbound zone on Pico Boulevard at 20th Street. It is my firm opinion that all bus zones should be located on the farside of the intersection, where it is practical to do so. My opinion is based on the following facts. At a nearside zone, it is impossible to stop a bus parallel to the curbing, unless there is at least 80 feet of red curbing immediately prior to the zone. Without sufficient space to stop parallel to the curbing, the left rear corner of the bus blocks the number two traffic lane, thus causing a stoppage of traffic. This also creates a hazard to the passen- ger alighting via the rear door. The nearside zone can create an obstruc- tion of the traffic signal. It often obstructs. the view of a pedestrian crosswalk. The nearside zone creates a traffic hazard for automobile traffic while making a right turn in front of the bus. This type of acci- dent usually happens just as the bus starts to move forward. If contact with the vehicle making the turn is avoided, it very frequently causes a passenger that has just boarded, to be thrown down. In either case, acci- dents of this type are costly. The farside zones eliminates all of the described hazards. The present location of the eastbound zone on Pico at 20th Street, has eliminated all of the described hazards, If this zone were to be relocated to the nearside, we would be renewing all of the hazards thaC have been eliminated by moving it to the present location, farside of the intersection. It is the intention of the Transportation Department to relocate all bus zones to the farside of the intersection throughout the City oahere specific hazards exist, or pedestrian traffic is heavy. There are some nearside locations on Pico Boulevard that should be moved as soon as possible. The Traffic Engineer has surveyed these various locations and is scheduling their relocation into his work program. This also applies to other streets, such as Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard, Montana Avenue, and many other areas. As a matter of information, the National Safety Council has studied bus zones and strongly recommends farside locations. March 21, 1966 To: Perry Scott, Gity Manager Re: Bus Zones Page Two- Based on these facts, it is my recommendation that the zone on Pico Boulevard at 24th Street remain where it is. At the time the bus zone on Pico Boulevard at 24th Street was moved from nearside to farside, the business on the corner, known as Rembrandt's, was not in operation. The parking area surrounding this location was being used by the Taco Tia. After the present owner opened the location known as Rembrandt's, a fence has been built restricting the use of the parking lot to his customers only. „~ ~ ~~ T. 4. PRIOR Director of Transportation TOP/dag