Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Ordinance to Add Chapter 6-10 to Title 6 of the San Leandro Municipal Code Relating to Standing or Sitting on Traffic Medians or near Curbs
StaffReport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce for first reading an ordinance to add Chapter 6-10 to Title 6 of the San Leandro Municipal Code Relating to Standing or Sitting on Traffic Medians or near Curbs.
BACKGROUND and DISCUSSION
Traffic and pedestrian safety remain an ongoing concern in San Leandro and cities around California. The California Office of Traffic Safety has reported that pedestrian deaths have been increasing across the state. Other studies have also shown that traffic accidents not involving pedestrians have also increased in recent years. The City has taken a number of steps to increase safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles on City streets and sidewalks. For example, in 2018 the City Council adopted the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that established a blueprint for bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the City in order to enhance bicycle and walking as safe transportation choices.
Ensuring pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety remains an ongoing goal of the City. However, every year traffic collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles continue to occur in San Leandro. The purpose of the proposed ordinance is to ensure the efficient movement of vehicular and bicycle traffic and to improve the safety of pedestrians in the City. To accomplish this goal, the proposed ordinance would prohibit individuals from standing or sitting on medians or along the curb in certain locations. This prohibition would not apply to individuals waiting to cross the street at a cross walk.
The City Council Rules Committee reviewed the proposed ordinance at its July 22, 2020 meeting and recommended the ordinance be forwarded to the full City Council for consideration.
ANALYSIS
Individuals standing or sitting on traffic medians can disrupt the flow of traffic, distract drivers, and cause unnecessary delays. These individuals are also at an increased risk of being hit by a vehicle. When individuals sit or stand on medians or curbs, drivers or bicyclists often attempt to avoid the area for fear of potentially hitting the individual or the possibility that the individual may enter the street without warning which can cause drivers or bicyclists to swerve or otherwise change lanes suddenly. These circumstances increase the risk of a collision. These same concerns do not exist when individuals are standing or otherwise waiting to cross the street at corners where their presence is expected by drivers.
The proposed ordinance does not apply citywide, but rather only in those areas where the risk of traffic collisions is greatest. The City’s Engineering and Transportation Department identified the fifteen (15) busiest intersections in San Leandro based on traffic volume. These intersections are frequently subject to traffic delays and backups, and the combination of high traffic and pedestrian volumes makes them especially prone to collisions and accidents. In addition, the three other locations were identified as susceptible to delays and other traffic problems due to unique factors, such as multiple intersections in close proximity to each other and the presence of vehicles entering the roadway from shopping centers. Based on this information, the proposed ordinance would apply in the following locations:
1. Intersection of Davis Street and Doolittle Drive
2. Intersection of Davis Street and Phillips Lane
3. Intersection of Davis Street and Warden Avenue/Timothy Drive
4. Intersection of Davis Street and Interstate-880 Southbound Off-Ramp
5. Intersection of Davis Street and Interstate-880 Northbound Off-Ramp
6. Intersection of Davis Street and San Leandro Blvd.
7. Intersection of Davis Street and East 14th Street
8. Intersection of Hesperian Blvd. and Fairmont Drive/Halcyon Drive
9. Intersection of Marina Blvd. and Merced Avenue
10. Intersection of Marina Blvd. and Garfield Way
11. Intersection of Marina Blvd. and Interstate-880 Northbound Off-Ramp
12. Intersection of Marina Blvd. and Interstate-880 Southbound Off-Ramp
13. Intersection of Marina Blvd. and Teagarden Street/Wayne Avenue
14. Intersection of Washington Avenue and Floresta Blvd./Halcyon Drive
15. Intersection of Washington Avenue and Lewelling Blvd.
16. Intersection of Doolittle Drive and Fairway Drive
17. Hesperian Blvd. between College Street and Lewelling Blvd.
18. East 14th Street between San Leandro Blvd. and 138th Avenue.
Locations 1-15 on the above list represent the 15 busiest intersections in San Leandro, while locations 16-18 are locations that have been identified as especially susceptible to delays and other traffic problems due to unique factors.
The City may consider installing signs on the medians covered by the ordinance to further warn pedestrians of the ordinance’s prohibitions. However, the ordinance will be enforceable regardless of whether or not signs are installed. Any signs that are installed must comply with CalTrans regulations.
The proposed ordinance will compliment other existing sections of the Municipal Code that are designed to ensure the efficient movement of vehicular and bicycle traffic and to ensure the safety of pedestrians in the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed ordinances are exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
LEGAL ANALYSIS
The City Attorney’s Office drafted the proposed ordinance.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Ordinance to Add Chapter 6-10 to Title 6 of the San Leandro Municipal Code Relating to Standing or Sitting on Traffic Medians or near Curbs
PREPARED BY: Jeff Kay, City Manager
Keith Cooke, Engineering and Transportation Director