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02-20-2024 MinutesItem # 1 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CYPRESS TRAFFIC COMMISSION February 20, 2024 3 p.m. A regular in-person meeting of the Cypress Traffic Commission was held at the Senior Center, Conference Room, 9031 Grindlay Street, Cypress, California. CALL TO ORDER Chair Ajello called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commission Chair Ajello Commission Vice Chair Summers Commissioner Bestian Commissioner Shakespeare Commissioner Youngerman STAFF PRESENT: City Engineer, Nick Mangkalakiri Traffic Engineer, David Roseman Cypress Police Sergeant, Michael McBain Engineering Aide, Eric Dong — ABSENT Commission Secretary, Norma Vera PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The pledge was led by Commission Chair Ajello ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (Limited to 30 minutes — three minutes per speaker, unless extended by the Traffic Commission) MINUTES It was moved by Commissioner Bestian and seconded by Commission Vice Chair Summers to approve the minutes of November 2, 2023. The motion unanimously carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: 5 COMMISSIONERS: Ajello, Bestian, Shakespeare, Summers, and Youngerman NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None 1 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes February 20, 2024 NEW BUSINESS 2. Commissioners Reception, March 27, 2024 The City Engineer announced the Cypress Commissioners Appreciation Reception is being held in their honor on Wednesday, March 27 from 5:30 — 7:00 p.m. at the Cypress Community Center, 5700 Orange Avenue. He encouraged all Commissioners to attend and RSVP by Friday, March 8 to Sara Salazar in the City Manager's office. 3. Accessible Pedestrian Signals The Traffic Engineer provided a verbal report on this matter. The City currently has 390 pedestrian push buttons of various types at its traffic signals citywide. Recent changes to the United States Access Board's Public Right -of -Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) include a mandatory requirement that all new or altered pedestrian signals at crosswalks must include "accessible pedestrian signals" (APS), which have audible and vibrotactile features indicating the walk interval so that a pedestrian who is blind or vision impaired will know when to cross the street. Although the new federal guidelines do not require the replacement of existing pushbutton systems that are still operational, it is possible that the State of California will require that cities replace all obsolete non-compliant pedestrian push buttons with APS systems at some future date. Earlier this year the City acquired a set of eight touchless APS push buttons for deployment as a pilot project at the Ball Road and Denni Street intersection. The new touchless push buttons work well, are easily understood by pedestrians, and are a significant improvement in overall efficiency and accessibility. Based on the new PROWAG mandate for APS system deployment, success of the touchless pedestrian push buttons installed at the Ball Road and Denni Street intersection, and similar positive reports on touchless button operations from other cities across Southern California, the Traffic Engineer recommends that touchless pedestrian push buttons become the preferred button technology used in the City. Furthermore, since touchless push buttons provide enhanced hygiene and accessibility for all residents and are compliant with the new PROWAG requirements, it is suggested that the Commission recommend to City Council that they consider funding future capital improvement projects to upgrade all pedestrian push buttons citywide with the touchless button technology. The installation of touchless push buttons, control unit, wiring, and programing is approximately $10,000 per intersection. Establishment of a capital improvement project to install touchless push buttons at all signalized intersections citywide would cost approximately $500,000. It is suggested that such a project be completed over a two-year period with expenditures of approximately $250,000 each fiscal year. Commissioner Shakespeare asked what are the new accessible pedestrian signals going to do for the blind? Traffic Engineer explained that the buttons will have a locator tone and they will both speak and vibrate to let blind pedestrians know when it is time to cross the street. Commission Vice Chair Summers asked if the Traffic Commission recommends to City Council that these buttons be installed across the City, will they determine if sufficient money is available to fund such a project? The Traffic Engineer confirmed that staff would make a project recommendation through the CIP program based on available funds. Vice Chair 2 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes February 20, 2024 Summers also asked if it would be worth our while for Cypress to check with other cities like the City of Irvine or Santa Monica to ask about pilot programs? The Traffic Engineer responded that he was at an OCTA countywide meeting on the subject where many cities expressed their opinions on the two leading manufacturers of APS buttons. It was clear from that discussion that the Polara units the City of Cypress has acquired recently are the most reliable units with the most features and best detection technology. Therefore, the Traffic Engineer believes the technology and equipment is sound and thus it is ready for citywide deployment at this time rather than a limited pilot deployment. Commissioner Bestian asked if eight buttons have already been installed? The Traffic Engineer confirmed that eight buttons had been installed and tested at the Ball Road and Denni Avenue traffic signal. Commissioner Bestian also asked if the City Council approves $250,000 for each of two years, how is inflation figured in? The Traffic Engineer explained that the estimated project cost provided is a budgetary estimate sufficient to account for inflation and unforeseen installation issues. It was moved by Commissioner Bestian and seconded by Commission Vice Chair Summers to concur with the Traffic Engineer's findings and approve the recommendations in relation to accessible pedestrian signals as set forth below: 1. Concur with the Traffic Engineer's recommendation that touchless pedestrian push buttons become the preferred button technology deployed in the City; and 2. Recommend to City Council that they consider funding future capital improvement projects to upgrade all traffic signals citywide with touchless push button technology. The motion was unanimously carried by the following roll call vote: YES: 5 COMMISSIONERS: Ajello, Bestian, Shakespeare, Summers, and Youngerman NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (Five minutes per speaker, unless extended by the Commission) Ms. Aurora Safreed addressed the Commission and asked that they consider adding a crosswalk joining the two parks — Maple Grove South and Maple Grove North. She also turned in a petition to staff signed by her neighbors in the area showing their support for a crosswalk. Ms. Louella Murillo was present with her husband Mr. Leonardo Murillo and their daughter; they live on Orange Avenue near Via Entrada. Ms. Murillo addressed the Commission regarding street aggressive driving and street takeovers at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Via Entrada. They feel the activity is unsafe and they would like to see the City take some action to stop the activity. Ms. Murillo shared a video with Commissioners that was captured by her home security 3 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes February 20, 2024 camera. Ms. Murillo also mentioned illegal U-turns made by Lexington Jr. High School parents at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Via Entrada as another safety concern. Police Sergeant, Michael McBain, addressed the Commission and provided some background information on street takeovers and the difficulty the Police Department has addressing such illegal activity. Commissioner Bestian asked staff if they have made contact with Lexington Junior High School to disseminate instructions to parents about illegal U-turns and illegal traffic movements in general. Sergeant Michal McBain responded indicating that the Police Department dedicates a significant amount of resources at the school both during the first week of school and periodically during the year working traffic enforcement and they've done the best they can to be out there as much as possible. STAFF REPORTS (NO ACTION OR DISCUSSION REQUIRED): 1. Sergeant McBain provided the Commission with the traffic collision report update covering the period beginning January 1 to February 20. The Sergeant provided information on total crashes, crash times, and other factors. He also discussed a recent motorcycle accident on Valley View Street and the difficulty with Ebike enforcement since there are only limited State laws in place that pertain to Ebikes that can be actively enforced. 2. Commissioner Bestian indicated that a resident brought to his attention that the roadway and sidewalk floods on Canterbury near Grindlay whenever there is heavy rain. Commissioner Bestian also shared that he reviewed the area and noticed that there are no drains in that area and asked what could be done for the residents of the area. The City Engineer responded indicating that the matter isn't a Traffic Commission issue; however, Public Works Engineering is aware of the matter. He also explained how streets are designed to convey stormwater to the nearest catch basin, and some areas may flood during period of heavy rain, similar to an open channel. He also provided his business card and asked Commissioner Bestian to ask the resident to give him a call. 3. Commissioner Shakespeare asked about the status of painting yellow "SCHOOL" markings on Orange on the approach to Oxford Academy to be consistent with other schools on Orange Avenue and to heighten motorist awareness of the presence of the school. He indicated that he hasn't seen a change since he brought the matter at up the last meeting. The Traffic Engineer responded saying that he will follow up on the matter. 4. Commissioner Shakespeare talked about Arnold Cypress Park — he asked about how crosswalks are coordinated when encountering borderline/city limits. The City Engineer responded by saying that staff coordinates with the City of La Palma regularly and that La Palma generally pays their fair share to Cypress to operate and maintain this section of road and the traffic signal at the park. 4 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes February 20, 2024 5. Commissioner Shakespeare also asked about the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) on Orange Avenue across from the Community Center. He asked if there had been any consideration to install a similar thing on Moody Street and Newman Avenue (Evergreen Park). The Traffic Engineer responded indicating that the Commission had already endorsed and the City Council funded the installation of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) at the crosswalk serving Evergreen Park and that staff is in the process of acquiring the equipment and selecting a contractor to complete the work. COMMISSION MEMBERS REPORTS AND REMARKS None ADJOURNMENT Commission Chair Ajello adjourned the meeting at 4:14 p.m. 5