09. Kim Street Traffic Barrier
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PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
CUPEIQ1NO
SUMMARY
AGENDA ITEM
9
AGENDA DATE October 4. 2005
SUBJECT AND ISSUE
Adoption of Resolution No. 05- I (¡¡ 1 , authorizing the Director of Public Works to remove
the inoperable traffic barrier from Kim Street, extending the current turning restrictions from
Bollinger Road onto Kim Street to include the hours of3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, and denying the petition to permanently close Kim Street north of Bollinger Road.
BACKGROUND
On September 6, 2005, Council received a status report on the traffic study in the neighborhood
affected by the traffic and traffic restrictions on Kim Street north of Bollinger Road, and set a
public hearing for October 4, 2005 to consider recommendations and an existing petition for
permanent closure of Kim Street north of Bollinger Road.
History of Kim Street
Beginning in the mid 1980's, after the Kim Street Neighborhood was annexed to the City of
Cupertino, residents of this neighborhood bounded by Bollinger Road, Stelling Road, McClellan
Road, and De Anza Boulevard expressed to the City considerable concern over cut-through
traffic coming north into the neighborhood from Bollinger Road via Kim Street. In April of
1984, the City received the first petition from the Kim Neighborhood requesting closure of Kim
Street. In May of 1984 the City agreed to include Kim Neighborhood in the traffic analysis of
Jollyman area surrounding what is now Jollyman Park.
Following this evaluation, in August of 1984 the City Council approved turning restrictions from
Bollinger Road onto Kim Street during the weekday morning peak traffic hours of 6:00 to 9:00
a.m., Monday through Friday and, with a diverter, restricted traffic movements into the
neighborhood at Erin Way and Stelling Road (see attached diagram).
In addition to installing signs on Bollinger Road warning motorists of the morning turning
restriction onto Kim Street, an automatic steel barrier gate (similar to the one recently removed
on Pacifica Drive) was installed on Kim Street between Bollinger Road and Kirwin Lane to close
the street during the weekday morning peak hours. That gate remained in operation until
damaged in April 2002, due to being forced open on several occasions. Subsequently, the
Sheriff s Department has been enforcing the turning movement restrictions on a spot basis.
Lastly, there are currently two road bumps on Kim Street between Kirwin Lane and McClellan
Road, placed in 1998 and 1999.
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Printed on Recycled Paper
In light of many traffic improvements that have occurred in the intervening years and a 2002
opinion ITom the City Attorney (copy attached) that traffic gates are not legal under state law, the
Council requested that Staff reevaluate the current traffic circulation in the Kim Street
Neighborhood and report back with appropriate recommendations. This report responds to that
request
Results of the 2005 Traffic Studv
The data collection and evaluation, which began in the spring of 2005, measured the current
volumes of traffic entering the Kim Street Neighborhood ITom Bollinger Road via Kim Street
and ITom Stelling Road via Erin Way. There were several considerations that arose from the
completion of the study as follows:
· The average daily traffic (ADT, which is the total number of trips in either direction on a
street in a 24 hour period) is approximately 800 vehicle trips per day through the
neighborhood originating at Kim Street and Bollinger Road.
· The 800 trips ADT is fewer than half the vehicle trips in this location which occurred in
1984 before the controls at KimIBollinger and StellinglErin were implemented.
· Peak hour traffic in the morning, when the restrictions are in force, is less than three per
cent of the ofthe average daily count or an average of22 trips per hour over a three hour
period, 6 AM to 9:00 AM.
· Peak hour traffic in the evening, when the restrictions are not in force, is over 25 per cent
of the of the average daily count or an average of215 trips per hour over a three hour
period, 3 PM to 6:00 PM.
· The traffic counts (per hour over the same three hour periods) at the periphery of the
neighborhood, KimlMcClellan and Kirwin/Stelling, are minimal in the afternoon (61 and
118 respectively) and insignificant in the morning (3 and 13 respectively).
· Current speeds in the neighborhood do not indicate the need for additional road bumps.
Speeds measured along Kim Street between Kirwin Lane and McClellan Road were 33
mph northbound and 30 mph southbound and on Kirwin Lane between Kim Street and
De Anza Boulevard were 32 mph eastbound and 30 mph westbound
There are several additional considerations beyond those noted in the traffic report as follows:
· Since the barrier on Kim Street was installed, State Route 85, the West Valley Freeway,
opened in 1994, an advanced traffic management system (ATMS) was installed in 2003
for the De Anza Boulevard corridor, both of which effectively diverted a substantial
number of through trips off of City streets, although the opening of the Home Depot store
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in the vacated Kmart building in 2000 (in the City of San Jose) generated additional
traffic concerns at that time.
. In 2002, the City Attorney concluded that traffic gates are not traffic control devices
recognized by the state, and the existing gates that were taken out of service could not
therefore be legitimately placed back in service. This resulted in the removal of the gate
on Pacifica, and leaving the Kim gate in its open and inoperable status.
. In reviewing the petition for the permanent closure of Kim Street, the Sheriff s Office has
indicated to staff that permanent closure of the street would negatively impact law
enforcement response times.
Conclusions
I. Although the 2005 traffic study shows that the overall daily traffic volumes through the
Kim Street Neighborhood, are much reduced from what they were in 1984, the afternoon
peak traffic, while not great over a three hour period is still higher than the restricted
hours in the morning, especially at Bollinger and Kim, and was not addressed in the
original turning restriction actions
2. The continuing traffic uses on Kim Street including those with destinations within the
Kim Street Neighborhood, together with the response time concerns of the Sheriffs
Office, make permanent closure of Kim Street to access from Bollinger Road inadvisable.
3. Instituting turning restrictions from Bollinger Road onto Kim Street during the afternoon
weekday commute peak should reduce the traffic volumes accessing the Kim Street
Neighborhood from Bollinger Road via Kim Street.
Staff Recommendations
Based on the above considerations and the above conclusions, staff is recommending that the
following actions be taken:
1. Removal of the Kim Street barrier gate.
2. Extension of the turning restriction onto Kim Street from Bollinger Road to include
weekday afternoon commute peak hours of3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
3. Denial of the petition requesting permanent closure of Kim Street to northbound traffic
from Bollinger Road.
4. Request that the Sheriffs Department perform spot enforcement of the afternoon turning
restriction, once the restriction is implemented.
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FISCAL IMPACT
There should be no fiscal impact outside of the minor costs to update and add signage on
Bollinger Road and remove the Kim Street barrier gate.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Adoption of Resolution No. 05- I bq , authorizing the Director of Public Works to remove
the inoperable traffic barrier from Kim Street, extending the current turning restrictions from
Bollinger Road onto Kim Street to include the hours of 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, and denying the petition to permanently close Kim Street north of Bollinger Road.
Submitted by:
Approved for submission:
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Ralph A. Qualls, Jr.
Director of Public Works
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David W. Knapp
City Manager
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DRAFT
RESOLUTION NO. 05-169
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CUPERTINO
AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS TO REMOVE THE
INOPERABLE TRAFFIC BARRIER FROM KIM STREET, AND EXTENDING
THE CURRENT TURNING RESTRICTIONS FROM BOLLINGER ROAD ONTO
KIM STREET TO INCLUDE THE HOURS OF 3 :00 P.M. TO 6:00 P .M., MONDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY, AND DENYING THE PETITION TO PERMANENTLY
CLOSE KIM STREET NORTH OF BOLLINGER ROAD
WHEREAS, many traffic improvements, including installation of signs, road bumps, and
an advanced traffic management system (ATMS), have occurred in the intervening years since
the City Council took action in 1984 to divert traffic in the Kim Street Neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, due to traffic improvements and the City Attorney's opinion in 2002 that
traffic gates are not traffic control devices recognized by the state, Council requested that Staff
reevaluate the current traffic circulation in the Kim Street Neighborhood and report back with
appropriate recommendations; and
WHEREAS, after data collection and evaluation, which began in the spring of 2005, it
was determined that the continuing traffic uses on Kim Street including those with destinations
within the Kim Street Neighborhood and response time concerns of the Sheriff's Office, make
permanent closure of Kim Street to access from Bollinger Road inadvisable.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Cupertino
hereby authorizes the following actions:
1. Removal ofthe Kim Street barrier gate.
2. Extension of the turning restriction onto Kim Street from Bollinger Road to include
weekday afternoon commute peak hours of3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday.
3. Denial of the petition requesting permanent closure of Kim Street to northbound traffic
from Bollinger Road.
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Resolution No. 05-169
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council requests that the Sheriffs Depart-
ment perform spot enforcement of the afternoon turning restriction, once the restriction is
implemented.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Cupertino this 4th day of October 2005, by the following vote:
Vote Members of the City Council
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST:
APPROVED:
Mayor, City of Cupertino
City Clerk
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CUPERTINO PUBLIC HEARING - OCTOBER 4. 2005
10 POINTS FOR KEEPING KIM STREET OPEN - 24/7
EXHIBIT
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1. Introduction - The petition to close Kim Street is outdated. The 2005 petition
clearly shows that 703 people, 582 households want Kim Street kept open
between Bollinger Road and Kirwin Lane to allow for 24/7 passage.
Speaker - Cecil Coe
2. Permanently closing Kim Street would block the ability of emergency vehicles to
get in and out of the neighborhood. In addition, permanently blocking Kim Street
would block off a critical evacuation route for this neighborhood.
Speaker - Martin Jeffries
3. The Sheriff s department has no record of any accidents on Kim Street.
Speaker - Bernie Kalvelage '
4. The neighbors on the North Side of Kim street would like it kept open; 53% of the
neighbors in the Kim Street North area signed the petition to keep it open.
Speaker - Deb Banerjee
5. Rerouting the traffic off of Kim Street causes "traffic dumping" onto already
overcrowded streets such as on McClellan. If the traffic can't go on one street it
will have to go on another.
Speaker-Janet Ward
6. The original traffic patterns that existed when the Kim Street restrictions were put
in place are no longer present.
Speaker - Charlie Hanson
7. The Kim Street closure is an additional burden on students trying to get to school
in the morning. It takes an extra five to ten minutes for students to get to school
each morning due to the current Kim Street restrictions.
Speaker - Emily Wu
8. The most recent traffic study done on Kim Street has flaws in the logic.
Speaker - Paul Cheng
9. We see no valid reason why the city should close or further restrict Kim Street in
the afternoon hours from 3-6 PM, and there is no valid evidence as to why Kim
Street should be restricted in the morning hours from 6-9 AM.
Speaker - Alan Zapala
10. Conclusion - We need to look at overall picture and determine what is in the best
interest of the community as a whole. Keeping Kim Street open 24/7 with NO
RESTRICTIONS is clearly in the best interest of the community.
Speaker - Leslie Jeffries