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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06221993 - 1.24 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on June 22, 1993 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Powers, Smith, Bishop, McPeak and Torlakson NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: Granting Permission to Completely Close (a portion of) Miranda Avenue in the Alamo Area. IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that permission is granted to Independent Construction to completely close Miranda Avenue between Livorna Road and Miranda Place for the period of June 23, 1993, through September 6, 1993, for the purpose of reconstructing a portion of the road required by Subdivision 7601 subject to the following conditions: 1. Traffic will be detoured via the east-west portion of Easy Street. 2. All signing to be in accordance with the State of California Manual of Traffic Controls. 3. The Independent Construction Company shall comply with the requirements of the Ordinance Code of Contra Costa County. 4. Have on file with the County a Certificate of Insurance in the amount of $500,000 for Comprehensive General Public Liability which names the County as an additional insured. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Public Works Director monitor_ clo ely the traffic conditions in that area during the road closure period. I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an ;action taken and entered on the minutes of tde Board of Supe date shown, ATTESTED: 1993 PHIL BATCHELOR,Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator By %Ja��s,dn_ �L� r .08pultY Contact: Rich Lierly - 313-2348 Originator: Public Works (ES) cc: CHP, c/o Al Sheriff-Patrol Div. Commander Independent Construction Company (Via PW) 1641 Challenge Drive Concord, CA 94520 RCL:cl BO:22.t6 Gail Bishop ` Supervisor District 3 Board of Supervisors From: John Kinney, 96 Easy St. , Alamo (formerly 821 Livorna Rd) Lot no. 23, Stone Valley Homes Subject: Possible closure of Miranda Rd between Miranda PI and Livorna Rd and -alternatives. Closure of this segment of road is proposed to facilitate transfer of soil from south side across Miranda to the low areas north of the road. As well as lowering and changing this section of Miranda. The representative of the developers, Whitecliff Homes, has stated that the closure of Miranda would require the opening of the now blocked off segment between Livorna and Easy Bt. No written notice was provided to residents of Easy Street by either the developer or the County. I learned of this proposal from Bruce Kittess, Project Manager for the developer. When other residents of Easy St. were informed of the pending opening of Easy St. to traffic that now flows on Miranda, a petition objecting to the opening was circulated. More than 8O% signed this petition. When the developers became aware of this petition a proposal was made to barricade Easy Bt at the north end where it joins Easy St (Old Livorna Rd) . This is a short segment of road with a steep blind hill that curves south as it rises from Miranda, then at the top of the hill the road moves north about 15 feet as it drops sharply to the junction of the north -south run of Easy Bt. First I object to the opening of Easy 8t and have signed the petition to that effect. If this petition is denied and the decision is made to open Easy Gt. , then I would strongly protest the barricading of the north south segment of Easy St. If this were to happen the entire traffic load would be trapped on thi�� small steep hill with a stop sign at Miranda going east and a stop sign on Livorna when going west, that looks into a blind curve from the north. The traffic congestion will be unbearable. If the barricade was not erected traffic going to Round Hill Dr. and Miranda north would use the east west segment of easy Bt. , and the traffic going to Stone Valley school and the area of Miranda south would use the north south segment of Easy St. that connects to Miranda. This was the original road configuration until approximately seven years ago. The developers have depicted the closing of this short segment of Miranda and the opening of Easy St as the only available option. I would like to state there are three options: 1 . If the bypass roads were not available the developers would use flagmen to control traffic for the earth movers as they meed to cross the road (Miranda) . For the road rework a temporary road would be used during this time. 2. Another option would be to open old Miranda north which is now Miranda Ct and Miranda Place. This road was closed at the same time as the closure of east west travel on old Livorna Rd. ( now Easy St. ) On the north only four posts and black top burms are the barriers. Their are 12 home owners that would be incensed if Miranda were re-opened. 3. This option is to open Easy St which would require removing three posts and rebuilding the road over a culvert for the drainage of the hill area of Livorna Rd. , and it would incense 71 home owners. DATE: REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) I4 ) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. ' _ NAME: �- -� PHONE: ` ADDRESS: ( � CITY: ���,��,• I am speaking formyself OR organization: �,� �a �� (NAME OF ORGAN IZATION) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # r: Cl My comments will be: general for v"' against I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. r DATE: WJffW41,J REQUEST To SPEAK FORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board.Oft A_ • NAME: J 4;.s keetPHONE: / .r 09-47 ADDRESS: Vt.J IC-L• Com: a 010 ---- I am speaking formyself _ OR organization: (NAME OF ORGANIZNTION) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # My comments will be: general for against . I wish to speak on the subject of I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. DATE: REQITEST TO SPEAKFORM ORM (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT { � Complete this form and. place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the /Board. NAME: b f� /11�1� PHONE: A y j J 7 ADDRESS: C� �`l�` i Crry: X—X&47 I am speaking formyse f X OR organization: (NAME OF QRC.ANi7NTtOti) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # My comments will be: ge eral for against . I wish to speak on the subject of ' Zg�c I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. DATE: iC"=� REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM Of - (THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT Complete this form and place it in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. NAME: PHONE: 92 ADDRESS: �' C! Sli SIC" CITY. /dLd �► I am speaking formyself OR organization: (NAME OF ORGAN17-NTION) Check one: I wish to speak on Agenda Item # My comments will be: general for against ✓ I wish to speak on the subject of F-A49VS7- WWR I do not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider. Summary Presentation of P. D. Abbott before the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors Tuesday, June 22, 1993. Topic: Proposal to open Easy Street temporarily while Miranda Street is rebuilt. Arguments Against: 1. Easy Street is the only pedestrian access to Stone Valley School from the north and is used by school children, cyclists, joggers, resident families and other pedestrians who are accustomed to absolutely minimal traffic. Stone Valley school maintains a summer program of academics and sports, ensuring continued use by school children during the proposed construction period. 2. Easy Street is unsuitable for combined pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic because it is narrow, has steep ditches on either side, has limited visibility because of indigenous vegetation, hills and curves, and has a very poor road surface, recently damaged by the installation of storm drains. The surface is broken , uneven and with large amounts of loose gravel. An emergency stop would be completely ineffective and dangerous. There are no curbs, sidewalks or bike paths. 3. The plan for an Easy Street detour put forward by the Public Works Department in their letter of June 16, 1993 is completely deficient with respect to safety considerations and the mitigation of the greatly increased potential for an accident on Easy Street because of the above mentioned factors. The barricade proposed on the North/South section of the street allows the passage of vehicles and is intended to be in place for only three weeks while the construction period is estimated to bee two months. This barrier is completely unacceptable. Additionally, the proposed access to Easy Street from Miranda lies on a curve at the bottom of a depression. This severely limits visibility in both directions on a very heavily used street. 4. Three superior alternatives exist to the proposed Easy Street detour. Two of these are significant improvements over the existing proposal: a. The first alternative would be to open Miranda East. The road is straight, flat and with excellent visibilty and the road surface is superior to Easy Street. b. The second proposal is for the developer of the Post Property to constuct a temporary bypass of Miranda which parallels Miranda on the north side. The grades are minimal, no resident houses are involved and the intersection with Livorna would be on a straight section with excellent visibility in both directions. This bypass would eliminate the safety problems of combined pedestrian and motor vehicle experienced on Easy Street. c. The third alternative is very likely the most acceptable and that is to use the existing alternate routes provided by Stone Valley Road and Livorna Road to the freeway or Danville Boulevard. The maximum increase in trip time for this route would be between 8 and 12 minutes depending on whether Danville Boulevard or the freeway is used. This route is over existing roads which are used regularity and are designed to cope with the traffic. The�only inconvenience is to a motorist and the sole inconvenience is a small increase in travel time (8 to 12 minutes!) with no increase in risk or threat of accident to residents, pedestrians, school children and others. 4. The road surface is in terrible condition following a recent attempt to spread tar and gravel over the entire surface. This sealer has eroded in a very uneven fashion and has resulted in a rough surface with a lot of loose gravel over the entire length. This poor surface offers minimal traction to bicycles or automobiles, particularly in the event of an emergency stop or sudden maneuver. We have notified the county on a number of occasions about this poor work and unsafe surface. 5. Prior to having Easy Street closed to through traffic it saw exceptionally heavy use by motorists before and after normal school hours. The speed with which motorists drove down Easy Street was always terrifying. None of us wish to experience this again because of the constant threat motorists present and the limited ability to get off the street to safety. Even a simple evening walk with children required an extraordinary degree of caution. 6. The opening of Easy Street would require the removal of indigenous trees at the Livorna, Easy, Acacia intersection. Scruffy as these trees may be they should not be:jeopardized by a temporary and dangerous road. Easy Street is a very rustic, quiet and scenic street. It is completely inadequate as an alternate route for any degree of non-residential motorized traffic. It is narrow, not designed for combined automobile, pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the pedestrians and bicycles have no alternate, safe path, the predominant users are children between the ages of 2 and 14, vision is limited and the driving surface is deficient. The high anticipated use by motorists as a detour creates a significant risk of accident. This risk is completely avoidable. Motorists have the option of driving, with minimal comparative effort, to Stone Valley Road and then Miranda to Stone Valley School. It may be inconvenient but in no way creates the same risk of accident that the Easy Street opening would. This'travel would also be along roads with separate sidewalks or paths for pedestrians and bicycles To use Easy Street as a detour, in view of the prior information, would have to be considered negligent. We therefore would like you to rescind the decision to open Easy Street as a detour. Yours truly, The Residents of Easy Street Petition Attached. cc Contra Costa Board of Directors Summary Presentation of P. D. Abbott before the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors Tuesday, June 22, 1993. Topic: Proposal to open Easy Street temporarily while Miranda Street is rebuilt. Arguments Against: 1. Easy Street is the only pedestrian access to Stone Valley School from the north and is used by school children,. cyclists, joggers, resident families and other pedestrians who are accustomed to absolutely minimal traffic. Stone Valley school maintains a summer program of academics and sports, ensuring continued use by school children during the proposed construction period. 2. Easy Street is unsuitable for combined pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic because it is narrow, has steep ditches on either side, has limited visibility because of indigenous vegetation, hills and curves, and has a very poor road surface, recently damaged by the installation of storm drains. The surface is broken , uneven and with large amounts of loose gravel. An emergency stop would be completely ineffective and dangerous. There are no curbs, sidewalks or bike paths. 3. The plan for an Easy Street detour put forward by the Public Works Department in their letter of June 16, 1993 is completely deficient with respect to safety considerations and the mitigation of the greatly increased potential for an accident on Easy Street because of the above mentioned factors. The barricade proposed on the North/South section of the street allows the passage of vehicles and is intended to be in place for only three weeks while the construction period is estimated to bee two months. This barrier is completely unacceptable. Additionally, the proposed access to Easy Street from Miranda lies on a curve at the bottom of a depression. This severely limits visibility in both directions on a very heavily used street. 4. Three superior alternatives exist to the proposed Easy Street detour. Two of these are significant improvements over the existing proposal: a. The first alternative would be to open Miranda East. The road is straight, flat and with excellent visibilty and the road surface is superior to Easy Street. b. The second proposal is for the developer of the Post Property to constuct a temporary bypass of Miranda which parallels Miranda on the north side. The grades are minimal, no resident houses are involved and the intersection with Livorna would be on a straight section with excellent visibility in both directions. This bypass would eliminate the safety problems of combined pedestrian and motor vehicle experienced on Easy Street. c. The third alternative is very likely the most acceptable and that is to use the existing alternate routes provided by Stone Valley Road and Livorna Road to the freeway or Danville Boulevard. The maximum increase in trip time for this route would be between 8 and 12 minutes depending on whether Danville Boulevard or the freeway is used. This route is over existing roads which are used regularily and are designed to cope with the traffic. The only inconvenience is to a motorist and the sole inconvenience is a small increase in travel time (8 to 12 minutes!) with no increase in risk or threat of accident to residents, pedestrians, school children and others. 5. Summary: The risk of a serious accident on Easy Street cannot be understated. No proposal to date has even begun to deal with the safety issues involved and, in fact, the existing proposal to use Easy Street as a detour is unequivocably negligent in this regard. Superior alternatives exist. The last mentioned above places the greatest perspective on the decision at hand. A motorist would experience a maximum trip time increase of 8 to 12 minutes using existing roads instead of the Easy Street detour. Opening Easy Street to a detour significantly increases the potential for a serious accident to residents, their families or school children. It is a risk which is completely avoidable. The safety of these people is certainly more valuable than 8 to 12 minutes of a motorist's time! The residents of Easy Street (19 homes) are unanimous, as the attached letter shows, in their desire to avoid having Easy Street used as a detour. By presenting the attached letter to the County and the Public Works Department and by presenting ourselves in front of the Board of Supervisors today we have exercised our civic responsibilities in informing the Board of the completely avoidable dangers involved. We trust that the Board will act in the greater interests of the safety of the residents most affected by this decision and recognize that we have done our utmost to inform the Board of the liability involved in opening Easy Street as detour when alternatives exist. ours truly, v bb T--- �5Y 4. The road surface is in terrible condition following a recent attempt to spread tar and gravel over the entire surface. This sealer has eroded in a very uneven fashion and has resulted in a rough surface with a lot of loose gravel over the entire length. This poor surface offers minimal traction to bicycles or automobiles, particularly in the event of an emergency stop or sudden maneuver. We have notified the county on a number of occasions about this poor work and unsafe surface. 5. Prior to having Easy Street closed to through traffic it saw exceptionally heavy use by motorists before and after normal school hours. The speed with which motorists drove down Easy Street was always terrifying. None of us wish to experience this again because of the constant threat motorists present and the limited ability to get off the street to safety. Even a simple evening walk with children required an extraordinary degree of caution. 6. The opening of Easy Street would require the removal of indigenous trees at the Livorna, Easy, Acacia intersection. Scruffy as these trees may be they should not be jeopardized by a temporary and dangerous road. Easy Street is a very rustic, quiet and scenic street. It is completely inadequate as an alternate route for any degree of non-residential motorized traffic. It is narrow, not designed for combined automobile, pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the pedestrians and bicycles have no alternate, safe path, the predominant users are children between the ages of 2 and 14, vision is limited and the driving surface is deficient. The high anticipated use by motorists as a detour creates a significant risk of accident. This risk is completely avoidable. Motorists have the option of driving, with minimal comparative effort, to Stone Valley Road and then Miranda to Stone Valley School. It may be inconvenient but in no way creates the same risk of accident that the Easy Street opening would. This,travel would also be along roads with separate sidewalks or paths for pedestrians and bicycles To use Easy Street as a detour, in view of the prior information, would have to be considered negligent. We therefore would like you to rescind the decision to open Easy Street as a detour. Yours truly, The Residents of Easy Street Petition Attached. cc Contra Costa Board of Directors TO: CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AND WHITECLIFF DEVELOPERS FROM: RESIDENTS OF EASY STREET PURPOSE : PETITION TO KEEP EASY STREET CLOSED OFF FROM THROUGH TRAFFIC ON LIVORNA ROAD FOR ANY TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT REASON. I©(s Ll a t 2 . yjj 4 . i C s 44 f � _ AZI �A-s J t 1 ate. 1a 0 12 . 13 . 14 . � � G�L q. 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