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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 03/27/1989A pprcJed aS su.bM.~++ed ~1- 3 - 89 March 27, 1989 Vol. 25, Page 17 MINUTES OF A 1tEG1JLAR ADJ®17RNED. MEETING PETALLTMA CITX~COLTNCIL 1VIONIDAI',1VIAItC~I 27,1989 ROLL CALL: 7:00 p.m. PRESENT Councilmembers Cavanagh, Tencer, Sobel, Balshaw, Mayor Hilligoss ABSENT Woolsey, Vice Mayor Davis The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Public Comments -There were none. Council Comments -Mayor Hilligoss :displayed a statue depicting a pair of Olympic runners carrying the Olympic Flame to the Council. This was presented to the City by representatives of the Special Olympics Torch .Run Committee during a ceremony as part of a Law Enforcement Torch Run through Petaluma preceding the Special Olympics. STUDY SESSION The Council recessed to a study session to discuss the LT. S. I~ighway 101 Corridor and Sonoma County Transportation. Committee referrals with the Council's Liaison members of these groups, Larry Tencer (Highway 101) and Brian Sobel (Sonoma County Transportation Committee). Larry Tencer read the originally stated goals for the U. S. Highway 101 Corridor Study. They are: (1) Preventtraffi'c congestion from getting worse on Highway 101 from the Golden Gate Bridge to Healdsburg over the next twenty years, and (2) Achieve and maintain 35 to 40 miles per hour level of service "D" travel speed on Highway 101 during morning and evening commute hours. The results of the committee's feasibility analysis indicate that with extensive increases in transit. service less`than 5% of the suburban commuters in the North Bay in the year 2005 will be utilizing transit and 75 - 85% of these suburban commuters will be driving alone to work. _ The 101 Committee consensus at this time includes the following: . ~ ~ -WidenTTi~hway 101 from 4 to 6 mixed flow lanes from Petaluma to Windsor -Widen. Highway 101 through Central. San Rafael to close the gap in the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and achieve a continuous HOV lane . ~ system from Richardson Bay to Novato .-Implement High Speed is Catamaran Ferry service to :San Francisco from Larkspur and Sausalito Construct, widen and extend local streets and parallel arterials in Marin and Sonoma .counties Leave peak hour highway capacity on the Golden Gate Bridge and Doyle Drive unchanged The issues that remain are: (1) the appropriate transit use of the Northwest Pacific Railroad right-of-way [what the short-range and long-range uses of the right-of-way should be and how the implementation of these short-range and long-range uses should be phased or staged between the years 1990 and 2005), and Page 18, Vol. 25 March 27, 1989 (2) the :configuration of Highway 10.1 between, Novato and Petaluma [whether Highway .101. should tae. upg"raged fiom an expressway to a freeway, whether additional lanes should .be added, ..and whether the new lanes should be mixed flow or HOV Panes]. Other issues. that need resolution include; -What existing or new agency should be the owner/operator of transit service on the No"rtliwe""st Pacific Rail"road right-of-way? -What role, if any, should be taken by the existing transit operators in future ..inter-,county transit services,? -Should' the HOV lanes be~ reserve for 2+ or 3 + person carpools -Which Transportation Systems Management programs would be most effective, if at all', in reducing the need for new transportation facilities .and services through such programs as :increased. transit use, rdesharng, or other means of reducing the amount of low occupancy-vehicle use. It was noted there are several. places where both freight and commute rail co- exist. Consensus -The Council concurred that in the. stretch of U. S. 101 Highway between Novato and•'Petaluma, .the proposed third. lane should 'be utilized for .High .Occupancy ~lehicles during commute hours. I;arry Tenter recommended that an HOV lane be implemerited between Petaluma and Windsor during commute hours. Second.District Supervisor Jim Harberson's ggals for the committee are: 1 Growth management concept tied to the General Plans, _ 2 Highway 101 improvements,. • - 3 Some sort of transit operating. subsidies,, and :.: 4 ~ A certain amount of money set aside for 'individual .communities iii apse-set- _ . • `ratio. - He asked the City Council what concepts they wish to have: included in tlie' document. creating the. 'transit authority', .the duties of the 'authority'' - ~ :. • 'Council. Comments: ., , Council comments were th'e 'authority' should have wide latitude; there should be a county-wide body that the industrial, commercial. and public; representatives `buy into to co-ordinate transit throughout. the County: Another point of view was the :emphasis is on solving thewrong -problem. This is a land' `use problem. :Sonoma County 'is being asked to do things for-the benefit of persons in other places. There should. be some growth rate constraints. Before the sales tax measure goes to_ a rote, every community ~in the 10,1 Corridor have highway on-ramp metering to spacc_ the vehicles entering. the freeway (rather than allowing- vehicles to enter as asteady-stream of traffic).: March 27, 1989 Vol. 25, Page 19 Suggested disincentives for single occupancy vehicles were tolls, increase parking costs, and -.paying persons to carpool, A freeway mitigation fee for both commercial and residential construction was suggested. Flex-time, controlling the number of cars at plants, and company incentives for ride-sharing were also mentioned. Bringing the jobs to the work pool in Sonoma County was suggested as another viable alternative. Year 2005 It was noted that all the proposed improvements will result in traffic flow which is no worse than is currently the case. The. proposal includes the addition of 500 busses in addition to the 250 that travel the 101 Corridor today. Authority Supervisor Harberson .again requested Council input on the duties and make-up of the proposed transit authority. Since the Council does- not take actions at Study Sessions,. the subject was continued to the April. 3 meeting for specific direction to Supervisor Harberson and to the Council liaison Councilmembers Sobel and Tencer. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Adjourn M. Yatrrcia riilligoss, Mayp~r' ATTEST: ,. ~~_ . atncia ernar , ~ er .