Cut Through Traffic Council Presentation
Town Traffic
Town Council Meeting
October 23, 2017
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Traffic Discussion - outcomes
What form does the closure at South Santa Cruz take next summer?
Should staff continue to pursue a permanent roundabout?
What other long term capital improvements should staff prioritize?
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traffic
Regional Considerations
Caltrans & VTA Coordination
Highway 17
Highway 85
Regional challenge needs regional focus
Hwy 17 reaches its capacity on weekends
Hwy 85 reaches its capacity on weekdays (esp. A.M.)
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Capacity Challenges
overview
This is actual data from Caltrans for July 1 of this year – a heavy cut through day.
Red line and arrow shows the flow of vehicles per hour on Hwy 17.
Consistent peak where the freeway capacity is reached.
Results in decreased speeds – the green arrow – and corresponding decreases in thru-put of vehicles.
This causes drivers to seek alternative routes
Hwy 85 experiences similar dynamics in the a.m., resulting in cut through. Not always people coming down Highway 17 – may be cut through from Almaden Valley along Blossom Hill to Santa
Cruz Ave.
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Data Highlights
traffic
On average, Sundays have
lighter traffic.
We provided access to significant data in the memo, addendum, and website.
I thought I would summarize some of it here specific to cut thru traffic.
This table shows counts approaching Hwy 17 on Hwy 9 from the West (Monte Sereno) and from the East (Los Gatos Blvd).
This may help in some of the discussion we have had in the past about Saturday vs. Sunday closures brought up by Cmbr. Rennie.
Sundays are less impacted – on average. Numerous factors play into this, including weather, holidays, etc.
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Data Highlights
traffic
Mixed Results
This table takes a look at this year’s closure to pre-closure info.
If you remember, the pre-closure weekend was very warm and had significant traffic impacts.
For Saturdays, the closure appears to have a big impact on vehicles travelling along Hwy 9 through Town.
For Sundays, keep in mind that the traffic levels are significantly less overall. However, here it shows an increase over what could be expected.
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Data Highlights
traffic
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traffic
Projects
Roundabout @ Wood Road
Hwy 9 Corridor Study
Hwy 9 @ Hwy 17 Interchange
Ramp Metering
In the staff report we identify a number of projects.
I’d like to go through each briefly. Those that are already in progress are highlighted in red. This should help define the actions that Council has provided in the past to address
the traffic issues.
For Wood Rd, switch to next slide.
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traffic
Projects - Roundabout
This is what the permanent roundabout starts to look in concept.
The final will include a mechanism for closing the road. It will be open by default and closed when directed.
We need to know what you want to do this year…temp closure or not. And confirmation that we stay on the same path for the permanent roundabout.
Switch to next slide after Wood Road disucussion.
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traffic
Projects
Roundabout @ Wood Road
Hwy 9 Corridor Study
Hwy 9 @ Hwy 17 Interchange
Ramp Metering
Hwy 17 Interchange – Measure B Eligible. Needs regional cooperation. Needs additional funding.
Ramp Metering – Has been an MTC and VTA priority and interest continues in metering Los Gatos ramps. May be a two stage project considering interchange upgrade. Has positives and negatives.
May create local congestion. May deter cut through as drivers tend to avoid getting off of their routes if it means sitting at metering lights.
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traffic
Projects
Downtown One Way Streets
Highway 17 Widening
Freeway CMS
Reclassify Local Collectors
Downtown One Way Streets – This could include such changes as switching Santa Cruz to one way going northbound and University southbound. Creates an opportunity for changes to parking
and sidewalk/ pedestrian infrastructure.
Not as effective for traffic as there is still a route to that cut through would use. Needs much more discussion and review. If council is interested, staff would put this forward
during the priority setting session in December.
Highway 17 widening – this is a major project that would require significant buy in from Caltrans and VTA.
The Town’s General Plan identifies this as something the Town does not support.
The project is not in the Measure B or Envision SV list of projects, making advancing it more difficult.
Also stacked against this are environmental needs, right of way, funding.
Freeway CMS – Changeable Message Signs use for travel time is something that Caltrans can get behind.
Info would need to be data driven.
Risk if posting high travel times of encouraging cut through.
Reclassify local collectors- Something we discussed September 5th and is in progress. This aligns with staff’s focus on protecting neighborhood streets.
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traffic
Projects
Mapping Companies
Intersection Markings
Weekend Events
Traffic Signal Upgrade
Mapping Companies – Staff continues to engage with mapping companies to gain a foothold. The approach has been insistent collaboration
vs. heavy handedness.
Intersection Markings – There is a potential for adding markings and monitoring to intersections. Explain. This would be a capital improvement project pending research on viability
and policies and code changes for cameras, citations, etc.
Weekend Events – Numerous trials this summer. Need the closure on beach traffic weekends.
Traffic Signal Upgrade – have a grant for $500k. Working towards additional grants to continue the smart technology goal of the Town.
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traffic
Projects
School Busing
Auto Trip Reduction Initiative
School Busing – A congestion management effort. Kicking off this week with outreach to school partners. Soon to be in contract with a consultant to support the feasibility study.
Auto Trip Reduction Initiative – building on the success of SR2S, staff has applied for a grant to reduce congestion through public will building, and infrastructure trials. This is
an effort to change the culture over time. If residents begin even to think about using alternative modes, the landscape can change.
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traffic
Legal
Litigation
Closing Streets
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Discussion
To facilitate note taking, ranking, and discussion, staff has provided the attached matrix of the projects I reviewed.
Timeframe is what it will take to notice implementation.
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