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102-A. Study by Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc..pdfAttachment A h" HEXA60N TPANSPOPTATION CONSULTANTS, INC. Memorandum Date: April 26, 2010 To: Glen Evans, Fremont Union High School District From: Brett Walinski P.E. Ralph Garcia Subject: Access Review of Monta Vista_ High School Per your request, Hexagon has completed this analysis of the site access and circulation at Manta Vista High School on McClellan Road in Cupertino, California. Our findings, which are summarized below, are based on traffic counts, field observations, and a meeting with school staff. Please note that the focus of this analysis was on improving operations for traffic at Monta Vista High School. However, to the extent that school operations were influenced by problems related to ambient street traffic or traffic from nearby schools, those issues were also investigated. Findings and Observations Student loading and parking primarily occurs in the main parking lot on McClellan Road, the designated loading area on McClellan Road, and on Fort Baker Drive. General findings are described below and observed congestion is shown on Figure 1. • The approximate origins of vehicle traffic to and from Monta Vista High School were estimated as: 20% from McClellan Road in the west, 25% from Bubb Road in the south, and 55% from McClellan Road in the east. Thus, the predominate route of travel is to and from locations east of the site. • The primary student parking area onsite appeared less than half full during all observation periods. Some student loading occurred in this parking lot, but loading activity appears to be much less than in the school's primary loading area. Queues of up to 10 vehicles were observed trying to exit the lot after school. These queues were impeded by traffic congestion on McClellan Road. • In addition to the designated loading areas, there was some student loading in the residential areas to the north and south of the high school. In the areas north of the school, the student loading creates higher pedestrian demand for crossing McClellan Road. During the peak hour of the afternoon drop-off/pick-up, there was significant congestion on McClellan Road. The congestion was caused by four primary factors: 1. There is insufficient queuing space at Monta Vista High School onsite for vehicle pick up. This caused vehicles to queue in the street while waiting to pick up students. These vehicles queue in the two-way center left turn pocket (a queue of 30 vehicles 40 South Market Street, Suite 600 • San Jose, California 95113 phone 408.971.6100 9 fax 408,971.6102 • www.hextrans.com Mr. Glen Evans April 26, 2010 Page 2 of 6 was observed) and also along the shoulder eastbound on McClellan Road (a queue of 17 vehicles was observed). The queues on the shoulder blocked the bike lane. 2. Crossing pedestrians in the marked crosswalks on McClellan Road at Orange Avenue and at Lincoln Elementary School. The pedestrians at Orange Avenue are primarily high school students. The crossing was not controlled by a crossing guard. The intermittent flow of pedestrians at this location caused queues of up to 32 vehicles on McClellan Road. The pedestrians at Lincoln Elementary School were primarily elementary school students. The crossing was controlled by a crossing guard and in -pavement flashing amber lights. However, the crossing guard did not accumulate students before allowing them to cross. This resulted in 1 student crossing and created queues of up to 20 vehicles on McClellan Road. 3. There is insufficient queuing space at Lincoln Elementary School for vehicle pick up. This caused vehicles to queue in the street while waiting to pick up students. These vehicles queue in the two-way center left turn pocket (a queue of 25 vehicles was observed) and also along the shoulder eastbound on McClellan Road (a queue of 6 vehicles was observed). The right turn queues on the shoulder blocked the bike lane. The left turn queues spilled back to the intersection of Bubb Road and McClellan Road during peak periods. 4. There is insufficient capacity at the intersection of Bubb Road and McClellan Road to accommodate traffic from all three nearby schools. The vehicle queues at the intersection extend several hundred feet on both the west approach and south approach. The vehicle queues take several traffic signal cycles to clear. Based on field observation and a review of prior traffic engineering studies, the traffic signal timing appears reasonably efficient (there is no wasted green time) and there is no opportunity for widening without major right of way acquisition. The student pick up at the designated loading area at Monta Vista High School is slow during the after school period. Drivers who are awaiting students do not pull forward once in the loading area. This forces vehicles that are behind them who have not yet entered the loading area to pull around the stopped vehicles, which creates more conflicts between vehicles entering and exiting the loading area. As a result, the loading area available is not well utilized. Faster loading would shorten the queues on McClellan Road to get into the loading area. • Some student loading also occurs on Fort Baker Drive. Vehicles queue in the shoulder area during the PM peak hour despite that the area is signed for no parking during school hours. Drivers probably prefer this loading area because it is less congested than the loading areas on McClellan Road. It is estimated that approximately 100 loadings occur here from Monta Vista High School after school. The intersection of Fort Baker Drive and Hyannisport Drive experiences congestion from pedestrians and vehicles at Monta Vista High School and Kennedy Middle School. This intersection has an all -way stop control, There is no crossing guard at this location. A traffic count and a peak hour traffic signal warrant analysis was conducted at this location (see appendix). The analysis was conducted in accordance with the 2010 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The warrant showed that a traffic signal would not be warranted at this location. Mr. Glen Evans April26, 2010 Page 3 of 6 The intersection of Hyannisport Drive and Bubb Road experiences congestion from vehicles from Monta Vista High School and Kennedy Middle School, as well as pedestrians from Kennedy Middle School. This intersection has an all -way stop control. There is a crossing guard at this location during peak periods. However, the crossing guard does not pool pedestrians before allowing them to cross. This results in a small number of crossing pedestrians to delay a large number of queued vehicles at the intersection. In addition, the all -way stop control forces each vehicle to stop in advance of the intersection. The combination of these two factors results in very long delays. A traffic count and a peak hour traffic signal warrant analysis was conducted at this location (see appendix). The analysis was conducted in accordance with the 2010 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The warrant showed that when bikes and pedestrians were included in the analysis, a traffic signal was warranted during the after school period between 2:45 PM and 3:45 PM. In addition, the warrant check was nearly satisfied for the AM peak hour when bikes and pedestrians were included in the analysis. The three schools (Monts Vista High School, Kennedy Middle School, and Lincoln Elementary School) appear to have staggered bell schedules during the AM peak hours. Monta Vista High School begins classes approximately 7:35 AM, Kenney Middle School at 8:20 AM, and Lincoln Elementary at 8:55 AM. However, on Wednesdays, the AM bell schedules are closer together, which results in much greater traffic congestion on all streets surrounding the schools. The PM bell schedules (which vary slightly by day of the week) all occur between 2:50 PM and 3:10 PM. The only exception is that Lincoln Elementary School has a staggered bell schedule. Kindergarten through third grade end at 2:55 PM and 4th and 5th grade end at 3:25 PM. Accident data was obtained from the City of Cupertino for McClellan Road for the last three years. The data showed 26 total accidents. The vast majority of accidents occurred in times that coincided with the before and after school periods. The most common accident type was rear end collisions. There were 10 of these over the past three years. Rear end collisions are common where traffic congestion is high. In addition, there were six injury accidents — two of which involved school age children (ages 14 and 16). Both of these involved school age children crossing McClellan Road in front of Lincoln Elementary School during between 7:10 AM and 7:35 AM. Based on the accident history, we conclude that the congestion on McCellan Road is most likely a contributing factor to the significant number of accidents. Possible Improvements Generally, the before and after school congestion at Manta Vista High School is typical of high school operations. There are short periods of traffic congestion before and after school followed by almost no traffic generation. These short periods are generally best managed by (1) spreading traffic over longer time periods, (2) spreading traffic over a larger number of loading areas, (3) reducing trip generation from the site, or (4) providing temporary traffic control during congested periods. Based on the information stated above, the recommendations for site circulation are described below (also see Figure 2). Please note that these recommendations are designed to improve operations without inadvertently creating problems in other areas. For example, prohibiting high school student loading on Fort Baker Drive through additional enforcement would result in fewer vehicle trips through the intersection of Fort Baker Mr. Glen Evans April26, 2010 Page 4 of 6 Drive/Hyannisport Drive. However, this would shift more traffic to McClellan Road, where there is also insufficient capacity and considerable congestion. The result would likely be more congestion on McClellan Road and possible encouragement of student loading in alternate residential areas. Stagger of school end times. The short period of time between the PM bell schedules of all three schools results in significant additional congestion. Ideally, it would be beneficial to street traffic for Monta Vista High School to let out students in two stages, as opposed to all at once. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays half the students could end school after 6th period, and the other half end school after 7tn period. On Monday's and Wednesdays, the schedule could be reversed. However, for high schools, this option tends to be difficult to execute for a variety of reasons. Another option, to the extent feasible, would be for all three schools to utilize some form of the Tuesday bell schedule, when each school lets out approximately 20 minutes apart. In the absence of bussing or other measures to reduce vehicle trips to and from the schools, controlling the timing of school traffic is the single most important factor to reduce traffic congestion because of the fixed capacity at the intersection of Bubb Road and McClellan Road. Any efforts to make traffic flow more efficiently around the school site would be obstructed by the bottlenecks at this location. We recommend a conference between administrators of all three to schools to determine whether bell schedules could be coordinated more efficiently. Ideally, all three schools should be 25 minutes apart. • New school crossing guard at Orange Avenue and McClellan Road. A crossing guard is needed here because the intermittent flow of students results in very long vehicle queues on McClellan Road before and after school. Ideally, this crossing guard would coordinate with the crossing guard at the Lincoln Elementary school to hold and release pedestrians every 60 seconds. • Train Crossing Guard on McClellan Road at Lincoln Elementary. The crossing guard at this location should pool students for 60 seconds before letting them cross before and after school. The intermittent crossing of pedestrians results in very long vehicle queues on McClellan Road. Hire temporary public safety officers to direct traffic at Hyannisport Drive/Bubb Road and Fort Baker Drive/Hyannisport Drive. These are all way stop control intersections. The all way stops result in high delays because each vehicle must come to a complete stop at the intersection. This creates what is known as lost time. Traffic signals and traffic safety officers allow vehicle platoons to move through the intersection together, thereby minimizing lost time and increasing efficiency. In addition, a traffic safety officer would pool pedestrians at the intersection before letting them cross, which would also reduce vehicle wait times at the intersections. In the City of San .lose, the Police Department has public safety officers available to direct traffic for special events at a cost of $48 per hour for a minimum of three hours. If the officer needs to direct traffic before and after classes, the total cost for the day would be $288. In addition, the school would need to pay a $35 annual processing fee and for officer liability insurance. For a typical school year of 190 school days, the cost for officer time without the annual processing fee and insurance would be approximately $54,000 per location. It is assumed this cost would be comparable in the City of Cupertino. Mr. Glen Evans April 26, 2010 Page 5 of 6 Of the two locations, the Hyannisport Drive/Bubb Road intersection should be the higher priority because it currently warrants a traffic signal. While a public safety officer at this location could not improve the long queues northbound on Bubb Road as a result of the traffic signal at McClellan Road, he could allow vehicles attempting other movements to clear the intersection when Bubb Road is congested. For this reason, we believe a public safety officer would be more effective than a traffic signal in reducing traffic congestion. If school times could be staggered more effectively between Kennedy Middle School and Monta Vista High School, a public safety officer would not be needed at Fort Baker Drive/Hyannisport Drive. At the intersection of Fort Baker Drive and Hyannisport Drive, a school crossing guard could be considered instead of a public safety officer. A trained crossing guard could pool pedestrians and limit the crossing conflicts with queued traffic. This would improve operations at the intersection, but not as much as a public safety officer because an officer could also dissipate the long vehicle queues on the subject streets. The crossing guard could only manage pedestrians. Promote additional loading in the school student parking area. The parking lot was never more than 50% occupied during all site visits and additional queuing space is needed for vehicles during the AM and PM peak hours. Providing an additional loading area would allow vehicles to queue off street. Reducing this congestion would also allow vehicles at all school driveways on McClellan Road to enter the traffic flow more easily. Moreover, the additional loading area would allow students to load faster, thereby reducing the overall time spent for each vehicle associated with loading activity. The signage in the student parking lot, the poor pavement condition of the lot, and the numerous speed humps in this lot discourage student loading. The lot could be improved by resurfacing, reconstructing the speed humps with more conventional profiles (such as the speed humps in the faculty lot), spacing the speed humps 150 feet apart, and signing the lot for additional student loading. According to school staff, the parking lot has planned improvements that will be installed as part of the stadium lights project. • Direct traffic in onsite loading areas. The loading in the PM peak hour is slow in Monta Vista High School's primary designated loading area. Directing vehicles to pull forward in the loading zone as far as possible would reduce the weaving of vehicles in and out of the loading areas. More efficient loading would reduce the time spent onsite and the time spent on the public streets, which reduces overall congestion. Carpooling. Most schools were designed for bussing that no longer exists. Bus service, while expensive, is an effective way to reduce congestion. Given limited school resources, a more manageable trip reduction plan is to organize car pools. A carpool plan involves voluntary participation between students and parents through a carpool administrator. The administrator matches up students by address and provides the data to students and parents. This could be accomplished by school representatives or by carpool matching services. • Bike Incentive Programs. Monta Vista High School currently has a significant number of students that bike to school. This could be further encouraged by providing a program to encourage students to bike to school. The program could consist of a raffle for prizes at the end of each quarter. A faculty member stationed at the bike rack provides a raffle Mr. Glen Evans April 26, 2010 Page 6 of 6 ticket each day to students. The more days a student rides a bike into school, the greater the odds of winning. Conclusion Monta Vista High School and the surrounding schools experience very high levels of congestion before and after schools. Reducing congestion around the schools should be the primary goal of improvements. This would not only decrease travel times, but also improve school safety because congestion causes (1) queued vehicles and creates sight distance problems of driveways and crosswalks, (2) blocked bike lanes, (3) loading in non -designated areas, and (4) an increase in the probability of unsafe u-turns /other undesirable driver movements. Some of the school congestion could be alleviated by implementing the measures described above. We recommend the highest priority should be to attempt to coordinate the bell schedules of the schools so that they do not overlap on any days of the week during the before or after school periods. This is a low cost way to minimize congestion around the schools while also improving the operations at the intersection of McClellan Road and Bubb Road. In the near term, it. appears there is no possibility for significant improvement at the intersection of McClellan Road and Bubb Road without additional right of way. This intersection has been studied extensively by two consulting firms and City staff. Aside from staggered school schedules, we believe that the other recommended measures would improve loading efficiency and help minimize congestion levels on the streets directly adjacent to the schools, further reducing congestion and improving safety. - � § Herr, . AREAS OF AM & PM CONGESTION FOR � Transportation c ads %� . Qonb 7s y m F—q Hexagon u Transportation Consultants, Inc. Add Crossing Guard s to Pool Pedestrians x s z �; Train Existing Crossing ,Supervise Student ? -� Guard to Pool Pedestrians. Loading OR apt C L� ME# Ii� r PT gr.e x 4Q(-:.r 11 ICIJOL A� x Modify Main Parking Lot to Better ` Accommodate Drop-offs/Pick-ups W t m iy �r, a4� �rt ar ej 'did''%^0.fx"`h" z- YrKW mg I Add Public Safety Ofl Signal at Stop-Controlle rs ' to Improve Operation Add Public Safety Officer (2nd Priority) or �� l Crossing Guard. Crossing Guard not as a" Effective due to Large Vehicle Queues klf RECOMMENDED IN Monto Vs