Staff Report - Cut Through Traffic FINAL 62916PREPARED BY: MATT MORLEY
Director of Parks and Public Works
Reviewed by: Assistant Town Manager Town Attorney Finance
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2016\06-29-16\Traffic Staff Report FINAL.docx 6/28/2016 3:16 PM
MEETING DATE: 06/29/16
ITEM NO: 2
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
DATE: JUNE 27, 2016
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: REPORT ON PILOT CLOSURE OF SOUTH SANTA CRUZ AVENUE TO ADDRESS
CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC
RECOMMENDATION:
Accept the report on the pilot closure of South Santa Cruz Avenue to address cut through traffic.
BACKGROUND:
At the June 7, 2016 Town Council meeting, staff provided a report on cut through traffic (Attachment 1)
and the Council provided specific direction to implement a pilot partial closure of South Santa Cruz
Avenue for three consecutive weekends beginning June 25, 2016.
DISCUSSION:
As noted in previous reports on this topic, warm weather significantly impacts the amount of traffic
heading to Santa Cruz from the Bay Area. Leading up to the first closure, the weather was very warm
with inland temperatures in the mid 90’s and higher on Saturday. Traffic reflected these hot
temperatures with a significant number of vehicles heading over the hill. By 10:30 a.m. on Saturday,
June 25, 2016, southbound Highway 17 traffic was backed up to Camden Avenue. Highway 9 also
experienced heavy backups early in the day. This heavy traffic spilled onto local streets throughout the
day with a particularly heavy impact beginning at 11:30 a.m. and lasting until approximately 2:00 p.m.
when traffic volumes on local streets began to decrease. Traffic on Saturday was significantly heavier
than on Sunday.
During the peak traffic time, heavy traffic continued to attempt to use the freeway entrance on South
Santa Cruz Avenue and was rerouted through the temporary traffic circle back towards Highway 9. This
resulted in heavy traffic in both directions on Santa Cruz Avenue and to some extent northbound on
University Avenue and on Main Street.
PAGE 2
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: REPORT ON PILOT CLOSURE OF SOUTH SANTA CRUZ AVENUE TO ADDRESS
CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC
JUNE 27, 2016
DISCUSSION (cont’d):
In preparation for the traffic, staff had implemented several actions to help forewarn travelers of the
issue. These actions fell into the following areas, with lessons learned included within each topic.
Mapping Technology
The road closure was programmed into Waze ahead of the weekend closure. Drivers utilizing Waze to
identify the quickest way to the coast were not directed to the closure. In spite of this, a large number of
drivers continued to attempt to use the South Santa Cruz ramp. Many who were turned around at the
traffic circle asked for directions on how to access Highway 17. Because some traffic software is not
interactive (so closures are not added into the system), these drivers may have been following directions
from these systems. Future closures may be subject to these same limitations.
Because the software does not update to show the closure, this may negate the learning curve that would
otherwise occur from multiple weekends of closures. Each weekend could be a case on its own.
Community Outreach and Feedback
Reviews from the community in the field were equally mixed, with both positive and negative feedback.
Community input has been provided in Attachment 2. Many were appreciative of the closure and happy
that the Town was trying the closure. Others, especially residents in the mountains, were frustrated with
having to sit in traffic through Town to get back to Highway 17.
Community outreach was broad to local residents, including through social media and news articles.
Additional outreach of some type for future closures may be warranted to help residents in Town and
outside of Town to plan for the closures. For future pilots that may involve a road closure, additional
approaches may be appropriate, such as coordinated communication with outside jurisdictions, mailers,
published ads, and signs at the post office. Some of these methods have a cost and funding would need
to be identified and allocated for this purpose.
Signage
Staff identified signage locations ahead of the closure and added additional locations mid-day on
Saturday and on Sunday to provide increased advance notice. In spite of this signage, many drivers
seemed to choose to proceed through downtown anyway. Signage that seemed to work particularly well
was the changeable message sign on southbound University prior to Highway 9 directing traffic to turn
left to the freeway. University south of Highway 9 appeared fairly light most of the day. Signage on
Highway 9 seemed to have a lesser impact. Traffic from Highway 9 coming from Saratoga may have
been one of the biggest contributors to traffic reaching the traffic circle on Saturday.
Convincing drivers to not try to use the South Santa Cruz Avenue ramp was a major identified key to
success. Based on the amount of traffic reaching the traffic circle on Saturday, drivers did not see, heed,
or understand the signage.
PAGE 3
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: REPORT ON PILOT CLOSURE OF SOUTH SANTA CRUZ AVENUE TO ADDRESS
CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC
JUNE 27, 2016
DISCUSSION (cont’d):
Traffic Circle Function
Overall, the traffic circle design functioned very well. Vehicles were able to enter the traffic circle and
make their way around and back the other direction. The circle integrated vehicles from Wood Road
and the freeway off-ramp into the flow with only a few exceptions where queues stacked up along the
off-ramp. At these times, managed traffic control held the traffic at the circle to allow for relief from the
off-ramp. Additionally, a number of vehicles attempted to utilize Wood Road as an outlet. Future
closures will need to include “No Outlet” or “No Right Turn Local Traffic Only” signage at Wood
Road.
Broader Impacts
The premise behind the partial closing South Santa Cruz Avenue was to to gather traffic data and public
input to help implement the Town’s Transportation Element by encouraging vehicles to remain on the
freeway or to enter the freeway at Highway 9. The result of this effort shifts all of the vehicles that
would have utilized the South Santa Cruz ramp to other locations. If fully implemented, this will likely
shift the traffic impact from the downtown area south of Highway 9 to the part of downtown north of
Highway 9. This may not provide better access to businesses due to the result being a shift in the impact
and location of the congestion and not a reduction in vehicles travelling on local streets.
Public Safety
One way traffic congestion (southbound Santa Cruz Avenue) provides some manageable potential delay
in response times for public safety services such as Police and Fire. Generally emergency vehicles can
utilize the opposite (counter flow) lane to navigate traffic. This option may not exist as readily where
traffic is returned along the same roadway. In other words, if because of the traffic circle, both
northbound and southbound lanes of Santa Cruz Avenue are congested, the ability for public safety to
respond to emergencies may be hampered.
Planned Upcoming Closures
Staff anticipates that with the continued warm weather and a holiday weekend that at least one day (and
likely two or three days) next weekend will match or exceed the amount of traffic experienced on
Saturday. Given the anticipation that traffic will overwhelm the capacity of the freeway and highway
and spill onto local streets, staff is expecting the same scenario as experienced Saturday of last weekend.
Staff will be implementing the lessons learned as appropriate.
Legality
The Town maintains that the temporary, pilot partial closures are within the authority of the Town to
implement. Additional closures beyond those already approved by Council for defined for a set period
of time require significant studies, including environmental analysis and permits from other affected
agencies.
PAGE 4
MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
SUBJECT: REPORT ON PILOT CLOSURE OF SOUTH SANTA CRUZ AVENUE TO ADDRESS
CUT THROUGH TRAFFIC
JUNE 27, 2016
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Due to the limited amount of time for data analysis since the weekend, staff is working with the Town’s
consultants to obtain additional information and observations that are expected to be verbally presented
at the Council meeting.
Staff recommends that the Council accept the report on the pilot closure of South Santa Cruz Avenue to
address cut through traffic. The Council is welcome to provide additional direction on the continuation
of the closures for the next two weekends and on additional steps staff should take for future cut through
traffic measures.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
COORDINATION:
This report has been coordinated with the Police Department and the Town Attorney.
FISCAL IMPACT:
On June 21, 2016, the Council appropriated the early funding for cut through traffic to accommodate the
pilot closure that spans two fiscal years. Of the total $215,000 appropriation, the estimated costs for the
implementation of the closures for all three weekends include the following:
Data Collection - $ 25,013
Traffic Control - $ 28,935
Traffic Patterns - $ 7,275
In addition, salaried staff from Parks and Public Works and the Police Department spent many hours
preparing for the closure and were present onsite all weekend. Staff costs are not included in the
expenses outlined above, however, they are important to acknowledge as this effort takes away from the
capacity to deliver on other priorities.
Attachments:
1. Cut Through Traffic Council Report from June 7, 2016
2. Public Comment received through 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 28, 2016