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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-2026 MinutesMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CYPRESS T FFIC COMMISSION Item # April 21, 2026 3 p.m. A regular in -person meeting of the Cypress Traffic Commission was held at City Hall Executive Board Room, 5275 Orange Avenue, Cypress, California. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commission Chair Ajello Commission Vice Chair Summers Commissioner Bestian Commissioner Bhence Commissioner Harper Commissioner Shakespeare Commissioner Youngerman STAFF PRESENT: City Manager, Shannon DeLong Director of Public Works, Nick Mangkalakiri City Engineer, Daniel Co Assistant City Engineer, Tony An Traffic Engineer, David Roseman Engineering Aide, Eric Dong Commission Secretary, Norma Vera PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The pledge of allegiance was led by Commission Chair Ajello. INTRODUCTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER ' • CHEL STRONG CARNAHAN Council Member Strong Carnahan introduced herself to the Commission and provided information on her background. She also shared information on District 5. City Manager Shannon DeLong also introduced herself to the Commission. She indicated that Commissioners can bring her any concerns, complaints, or problems to her attention and she will look into the matter. She also shared that she is supportive of staff and if the Commissioners have any questions to feel free to let her know. 1 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes April 21, 2026 O L COMMUNICATIONS (Limited to 30 minutes — three minutes per speaker, unless extended by the Traffic Commission) Ms. Jo McClary, a Cypress resident, spoke to the Commission about visibility obstruction and safety concerns she has related to overgrown shrubs and parked cars at the alley on Peach Street just north of Orange Avenue. Discussion ensued between staff and the Commissioners regarding the matter, which is agendized as New Business Item 2. The Director of Public Works did indicate during the discussion that the overgrown shrubs in the parkway are the responsibility of the property owners and that the matter has been previously referred to Code Enforcement for their review and possible action. Mr. Samuel McClary (son), also spoke to the Commission about vehicles parked too close to the driveway obstructing visibility of oncoming traffic. The Traffic Engineer indicated that the parking matter will be addressed under New Business Item 2. NEW BUSINESS 1. Approve Minutes — Meeting of February 17, 2026 It was moved by Commissioner Bestian and seconded by Commissioner Bhence to approve the minutes of February 17, 2026, as presented. Motion was carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: 7 COMMISSIONERS: Ajello, Bestian, Bhence, Harper, Shakespeare, Summers, and Youngerman NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None 2. Request for Red Zones at Alley The Traffic Engineer shared that he received a request from Jo McClary advocating for the prohibition of parking on Peach Street in the vicinity of the alley north of Orange Avenue for safety reasons. Ms. McClary indicated in her request that when vehicles park on Peach Street, it is difficult for motorists exiting the alley to see cross traffic; therefore, the parked cars constitute a safety concern. The Traffic Engineer indicated that AB413 prohibits parking within 20 feet of most intersections; however, the law does not apply to alley driveways. Therefore, it is not illegal for a motorist to park up to the edge of an alley. Since alleys are narrow, it can be difficult for motorists to enter or exit an alley when a vehicle parks on the street close to an alley. Furthermore, it can be difficult for a motorist exiting an alley to see cross -traffic when a vehicle is parked close to an alley. 2 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes April 21, 2026 Based on the parking safety concerns outlined, it is the Traffic Engineer's recommendation that the Public Works Department adopt a practice of installing red zones of four to ten feet in length, on a case -by -case basis, to address motorists parking too close to alleys. The intention of this new practice would be to keep alley access clear to facilitate motorists' access into and out of alleys and enhance cross traffic visibility. If the Traffic Engineer was to apply this new practice to the two alleys on Peach Street north of Orange Avenue, he would direct the installation of eight feet, or half a car length, of red zone on each side of the two alleys. The two alleys provide access to the garages of about 40 homes each and thus they are used frequently by residents. Additionally, since there is limited street parking on Orange Avenue it is commonplace to find cars parked on Peach Street on school days and when there are events occurring at the Cypress Community Center. The provision of the new red zones under the proposed new Department of Public Works practice would serve to enhance both alley access and traffic safety for residents without unduly limiting on street parking in the area. After some discussion, it was moved by Commissioner Youngerman and seconded by Commissioner Summers to concur with the Traffic Engineer's proposed practice to install red zones at alleys on a case -by -case basis to facilitate turning movements into and out of alleys and to provide enhanced cross traffic visibility. Motion was carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: 7 COMMISSIONERS: Ajello, Bestian, Bhence, Harper, Shakespeare, Summers, and Youngerman NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None 3. Enhancing Pedestrian Safety in School Zones — AB 382 The Traffic Engineer presented a report about a new law, AB 382, which became effective in January of 2026. The primary purpose of AB 382 is to enhance pedestrian safety in school zones by changing speed limits and related regulations. Key provisions of the bill include: ✓ Reduced Speed Limits: The bill reduces the standard prima facie speed limit in a school zone from 25 miles per hour (mph) to 20 mph. ✓ Local Authority Discretion (until 2031): Until January 1, 2031, local authorities are authorized to use an ordinance or resolution to establish a 20 mph speed limit in school zones. ✓ Automatic 20 mph Limit (from 2031): Beginning January 1, 2031, a 20 mph speed limit will automatically be established in school zones under specific conditions (e.g., when "children are present" signs are active or specific hours are posted). ✓ Definition of "School Zone": A "school zone" is defined as an area of a highway within 500 feet of school grounds in any direction. 3 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes April 21, 2026 ✓ Definition of "Children are Present": "Children are present" is defined as one or more children being on a roadway, sidewalk, pathway, or road shoulder within the marked school zone, provided they are not separated by a physical barrier like a fence. ✓ Enforcement Updates: The bill makes conforming changes to the Vehicle Code regarding "speed traps" to ensure the new speed limits can be enforced, exempting school zones from certain engineering and traffic survey requirements for radar enforcement. The City of Cypress has a total of eight schools within its municipal borders. In addition, there are other public schools that are outside of the City; however, the streets providing access to those schools are located within the City's border. Furthermore, the provisions of the new law don't just apply to public schools, but private schools as well. AB 382 essentially establishes a mandate that the City must update all school zone traffic controls to be compliant with the new law by January 1, 2031. Such changes include modified school zone signing and markings and new and relocated speed zone signage. Rather than wait until late 2030 to implement the changes, the Traffic Engineer recommends that City engineers begin the work of assessing the roadways around each of the schools and implementing traffic control changes over the next couple of years. Discussion ensued between staff and the Commission, and ultimately it was moved by Commissioner Youngerman and seconded by Commissioner Summers to concur with the Traffic Engineer's recommendation to begin assessing school zone traffic controls in the 2026-27 school year and to request capital improvement funds from the City Council for the implementation of the provisions of AB 382 as implementation costs become more defined. Motion was carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: 7 COMMISSIONERS: Ajello, Bestian, Bhence, Harper, Shakespeare, Summers, and Youngerman NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None STAFF REPORTS (NO ACTION OR DISCUSSION REQUIRED) The Director of Public Works announced that Commissioner Bestian had requested an update on E -bikes. Sergeant Michael McBain was introduced and provided background information on current E -bike laws, E -bike types, and the difficulty enforcing undesirable E -bike behaviors. Discussion ensued between staff and the Commission. The Traffic Engineer updated the Commission on two outstanding matters brought before the Commission. First, he has not heard back from Sunny, one of the speakers at the last meeting, who had complaints regarding parking and speeding in the neighborhood east of Cypress High School. Second, he has had multiple email correspondences between residents and other agencies with regard to traffic calming possibilities for the Holder/Springdale corridor, any issue 4 Cypress Traffic Commission Minutes April 21, 2026 that was brought forward by a resident of Garden Grove at the last meeting. At this point the Traffic Engineer is of the opinion that the City of Garden Grove, which controls the majority of the corridor and has multiple schools in the vicinity, should lead any such multi -agency traffic calming study/project efforts. Unfortunately, the City of Garden Grove has not been responsive to the residents requests so it appears that nothing will be forthcoming on this matter. The Traffic Engineer announced that the traffic signal sequencing and timing has been modified at the Orange Avenue and Valley View intersection to address traffic congestion issues reported by a resident. The traffic signal has been reconfigured to have leading and lagging east/west left - turn arrows, which has resulted in a significant traffic flow improvement during peak periods. The crossing guard stationed at the intersection concurs that traffic operations are much improved. The Director of Public Works reminded the Commission of the Commissioners' Appreciation Reception on April 30, 2026. He also reminded them about the two mandatory trainings each year (Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence Prevention Training) and he encouraged the Commissioners to complete their trainings as soon as possible. Sergeant Michael McBain provided a brief report on citywide traffic crash data. There have been a total of 95 traffic crashes year to date, which is a 17% decrease from this same time last year. He was glad to report that there have been no fatal traffic collisions since January 16, 2025. The Sergeant also provided additional information on the most prevalent types of crashes and potential collision factors. COMMISSION MEMBERS REPORTS AND REMARKS Commissioner Bestian brought forward a traffic operational concern related to St. Irenaeus School traffic accessing Moody Street. He witnessed vehicles lining up on Evergreen Street attempting to make left turns onto Moody Street and questioned if the City should consider posting a right -turn only sign to keep traffic moving. The Traffic Engineer responded that sometimes forcing traffic to go a different way could result in high violation rates or other undesirable behaviors. The Traffic Engineer indicated that he would look into the matter and gather some traffic data for the Commission to review at a future meeting. ADJOURNMENT Chair Ajello adjourned the meeting of April 21, 2026, at 4:11 p.m. to the regular meeting of May 19, 2026, at City Hall Executive Board Room at 3 p.m. SECRETARY TO THE TRAFFIC COMMISSION 5