05-21-2015-meeting-notes by Oakland Planning and Development Corporation

OAKLAND GREEN TEAM The Oakland Green Team works to improve trail connections and create attractive public spaces. The team will identify, advocate, and implement greening and cyclist/pedestrian activities throughout Oakland.

AGENDA May 21, 2015 – 6:00pm In attendance: Julien Comte, Michael Medwed, Therese VanArsdale, Margaret Schmitt, Clyde Colledge, Mark Oleniacz, Robert Harper, Erika Strassburger, Barbara Brewton, David Zwier A.

Public Spaces (20 minutes) i. Public Art  MLK Murals expressed interest in doing a project in Oakland this summer.  Potential locations? 1. South Bouquet Street: multiple buildings with low walls that frequently have graffiti 2. Building on the corner of Ward Street/Edith Place owner interested often gets graffiti 3. Building on the corner of Centre Avenue/Dollar Way 4. Old Laundromat on Centre Avenue between N Craig Street and Melwood Avenue, beside gas station. ii. “Lots to Love” tool: vacant lot tool  http://www.lotstolove.org/

Oakland Livable Streets (40 minutes) i. Pittsburgh Bike Share st  Station infrastructure installed. Program up and running May 31 . ii. Oakland complete streets capital budget priorities See feedback and comments on page two. Erika Strassburger, Chief of Staff for Councilman Dan Gilman City Council District 8. Kevin Kerr, Chief of Staff for Councilman Bruce Kraus, City Council District 3, was unable to come to the Green Team but provided written responses to the list of capital budget priorities.

Next meeting: volunteer work event, Thursday, June 18, at 5:30pm at the Bates Street hillside restoration site. Volunteer Opportunities Date Monday, June 1 8:00 am, & 5:30 pm William Pitt Union – Dining room A

Event OBID+OTMA public meeting: Oakland complete streets infrastructure improvements

Contact David Zwier greenteam@opdc.org

Thursday, June, 18 5:30 pm Intersection of Bates and Blvd

WPC Bates Street planting

David Zwier greenteam@opdc.org

Green Team Capital Budget Requests for Oakland: Erika Strassburger responses and Green Team discussion

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Bellefield Avenue crosswalk at Filmore Street: safety improvements, people driving rarely yield to those waiting to cross Bellefield Avenue. Green Team suggestions included marking the crosswalk with diagonal or longitudinal lines, or installing a flashing light signal to alert vehicles of people waiting to cross. a. Repainting existing lines is simple, changes in the type of lines etc… requires a study of the site by the City’s traffic engineer. Add Crosswalks on the northeast side of the intersection of Bellefield and Fifth Avenue. a. Likely an intentional decision by the City to not put a crosswalk on that side of the intersection due to traffic patterns. b. Is that a good enough answer though? There is clearly demand for it since people illegally walk across that side of the intersection on a daily basis. Speed limit enforcement, especially along the Fifth and Forbes Avenue corridors. a. Request the Department of Public Safety’s mobile radar unit. This would be a temporary installation to help reduce traffic speed. b. When could the mobile radar have the greatest effect? Could it be deployed in Oakland at a few key points throughout the year to help influence behavior? c. Signage on traffic signals indicating that the signals are timed to 25mph could help reduce speeds Measures to reduce vehicle speed in key areas by installing a radar speed sign. a. See request #3 as a more immediate/affordable solution. Fifth Avenue and Craig Street intersection: when heading east, Port Authority busses routinely make left turns during the crosswalk signal. Enforcement is needed. Including a green left turn arrow in the traffic signal cycle could potentially help as well. a. Study needed. Will the City take into account more than just motor vehicles when they study the intersection? b. This is a safety issue for people walking and biking in North Oakland. Traffic study should take into account complete streets priorities. Citywide consistency between pedestrian signals is needed. Currently many intersections have different and poorly signalized instructions about when and how to cross. a. Additional signage could help, or it could add further visual clutter to the intersection. Central Oakland: across the board, cars park too close to intersections and often block crosswalks and sidewalk access ramps. Enforcement by the parking authority requested. The Green Team also requests that the City install traffic calming “bump outs” at intersections to reduce vehicle speed, and increase visibility at intersections. Paint and bollard “bump outs” could be used to test the effectiveness. Furthermore, the City should consider doing an inventory of parking permits per address in relation to legal property occupancy to help reduce the unsafe conditions caused by the lack parking Central Oakland.

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Start by having increased enforcement from the Parking Authority and see what effect that has on the issue. Fifth and Forbes Avenue Corridors in Oakland. a. Pedestrian crosswalks that span Fifth Avenue are dangerous for pedestrians because vehicles turning onto Fifth Avenue from cross-streets fail to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. b. Study the possibility for a road diet. i. These items may change as the City plans for Bus Rapid Transit. ii. In the immediate future could the pedestrian crosswalks have an extra ‘head start’ on the green lights for cross-streets? McKee Place and Bates Street: safety improvements to crosswalk, better signage and more visible crosswalk. Cars rarely stop for pedestrians. a. City Council District 3 wants to look at safety improvements for these crosswalks. b. What is the City’s ‘menu’ of options? Flashing lights, thermos-plastic crosswalk markings, etc… Intersection of Coltart Avenue, Bates Street, and Zulema Street: pedestrian safety improvements. a. See question 9 Lengthen pedestrian crosswalk signals: Blvd of the Allies and Zulema Street, Fifth Avenue and Bellefield Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Craig Street. a. PennDOT and the City of Pittsburgh would be involved depending upon the street. b. What would the impacts of doing this be? Safety improvements for people walking and biking along Neville Street between Forbes Avenue and Joncaire Street. This is a critical connection to the Eliza Furnace Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage. a. City Council District 8: CMU looking at improving the area along their proposed parking lot? Specifics needed. b. What is the project coordination between CMU and Central Catholic? Install signal for pedestrians on Bigelow Blvd crosswalk between Fifth and Forbes Avenues. During peak hours the flow of pedestrians doesn’t allow vehicles to pass. th a. 4 Ward Democratic Committee has suggested traffic crossing guards could be a solution for managing pedestrian and vehicular traffic. b. A signalized pedestrian crosswalk could be a potential option as well. c. People crossing outside of the established crosswalks is also an issue. Study complete streets improvements from Fifth and Craig to Fifth and Neville. a. Traffic calming measures are also needed on South Craig Street Install thermo-plastic crosswalks at the intersection of Robinson and Terrace Streets; this type of crosswalk is more visible and durable. a. Response needed from City Council District 6

Responses from Kevin Kerr, Chief of Staff, City Council District 3 1.

Add Crosswalks on the northeast side of the intersection of Bellefield and Fifth Avenue. Also in District 8, but a traffic study there should not be too difficult to complete and assess what can be done to improve safety.

Speed limit enforcement, especially along the Fifth and Forbes Avenue corridors. We can absolutely request an increase in enforcement with regard to speed on the 5th Forbes Corridor. Our office/Councilman Gilman's Office can speak with Zone 4.

Measures to reduce vehicle speed in key areas by installing a radar speed sign. Radar signs can be used as very temporary measures upon request. We've found them to be nominally helpful (but well-received by the community) when using them in a few other instances in District 3. Give me some addresses you have in mind and we will see what we can do- again, these can only be used as temporary measures, not long term.

Fifth Avenue and Craig Street intersection: when heading east, Port Authority busses routinely make left turns during the crosswalk signal. Enforcement is needed. Including a green left turn arrow in the traffic signal cycle could potentially help as well. In District 8, traffic study could be done here.

Citywide consistency between pedestrian signals is needed. Currently many intersections have different and poorly signalized instructions about when and how to cross. I can work on this for sure; just give me some specific intersections if possible. We're working on something similar in the South Side.. It’s not a terribly quick or cheap process, but I agree that we should give it a look to see where we can make improvements. Again, specifics are very helpful.

Central Oakland: across the board, cars park too close to intersections and often block crosswalks and sidewalk access ramps. Enforcement by the parking authority requested. The Green Team also requests that the City install traffic calming “bump outs” at intersections to reduce vehicle speed, and increase visibility at intersections. Paint and bollard “bump outs” could be used to test the effectiveness. Furthermore, the City should consider doing an inventory of parking permits per address in relation to legal property occupancy to help reduce the unsafe conditions caused by the lack parking Central Oakland. There is definitely a plan for increased enforcement in these key areas. A large part of the desire to use license plate reading technology with RPP is to make our enforcement significantly more efficient. This will free up a great deal of time to follow up on exactly the issues you mentioned. We will follow up as this progresses. Additionally- the RPPP Office keeps meticulous records of who is registered in neighborhoods and they do not issue more than 3 permits per property. They are very good on this issue; no more than 3 people are ever being permitted to the same property.

Fifth and Forbes Avenue Corridors in Oakland. a. Pedestrian crosswalks that span Fifth Avenue are dangerous for pedestrians because vehicles turning onto Fifth Avenue from cross-streets fail to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. b. Study the possibility for a road diet. Much is in District 8, but I generally agree. We can take looks at how this will be impacted with BRT, new construction, etc., but there is a very strong desire to make this stretch as pedestrian friendly as possible.

McKee Place and Bates Street: safety improvements to crosswalk, better signage and more visible crosswalk. Cars rarely stop for pedestrians. Totally agreed- we've had the crosswalks repainted several times, but I think bolder painting and measures are warranted here. We have similar issues in several locations in the South Side and are exploring better ways to slow people down. I'm very interested in further discussions on this one.

10. Intersection of Coltart Avenue, Bates Street, and Zulema Street: pedestrian safety improvements. Same comments as above. 11. Lengthen pedestrian crosswalk signals: Blvd of the Allies and Zulema Street, Fifth Avenue and Bellefield Avenue, Fifth Avenue and Craig Street. Not sure if/how this can be done. Will have to touch base with necessary authorities in PennDOT and DPW. 12. Safety improvements for people walking and biking along Neville Street between Forbes Avenue and Joncaire Street. This is a critical connection to the Eliza Furnace Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage. Mostly in District 8, but what exactly can we do here- lighting? Potholes? Lines? Happy to help however possible! 13. Install signal for pedestrians on Bigelow Blvd crosswalk between Fifth and Forbes Avenues. During peak hours the flow of pedestrians doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow vehicles to pass. Very interesting question- I'd like to consult with Pitt on this as well but I do see your concern. 14. Study complete streets improvements from Fifth and Craig to Fifth and Neville. In District 8; but happy to help if possible. 15. Install thermo-plastic crosswalks at the intersection of Robinson and Terrace Streets; this type of crosswalk is more visible and durable. In District 6; but happy to help if possible.