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Published February 12th, 2014
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Will TSAC Rise from the Ashes?
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| By Sophie Braccini |
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Right after the Town Council had an initial discussion about the possibility of sunsetting the Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee due to lack of activity during 2013, a flurry of issues were brought to the committee's January meeting. For Moraga residents concerned about traffic and safety problems they want resolved, TSAC is a sounding board where they can express themselves, be acknowledged, and in some cases achieve resolution without further ado. But the viability of TSAC remains in question, because only one of the current members has re-applied for next year, current chair John Valentine, and no candidates have stepped forward to fill the four remaining seats.
"Based on the meeting we had in January it would be tragic to lose TSAC, because people need to have some type of public hearing and the Town Council cannot handle everything," said Valentine. TSAC meets quarterly; volunteers need not have traffic experience to serve on the committee.
At the Jan. 15 meeting about a dozen residents came to share issues they've had with traffic in town, mostly around the schools.
The most complex cases involved residents of the Corliss Drive neighborhood, from all along Rimer Drive and in the Deerfield/Tharp area.
Jesse Gustafson, who lives on Corliss Drive, contacted the town in July over concerns about vehicle speeding along that street, especially during peak hours, when children are present. Residents asked for the installation of speed bumps along Corliss Drive to slow down vehicles. The town engineer, Edric Kwan, presented figures from a traffic and speed study he obtained from the police. "We concluded that the speed is within acceptable limits," said Kwan, who advised against the speed bump, recommending instead targeted police survey of the area, especially around school time.
A resident from the Rimer neighborhood, Shirley DeFrancisci, challenged the result of the speed survey. "You use speed tubes that are very visible, so drivers will slow down when they see one," she said. DeFrancisci had come to present a request that additional, more visible, speed signs be installed in the Rimer-Whitethorn-Cedarwood loop, where a similar apparatus had been used to conduct a speed survey.
That loop, formed by three neighborhood streets, is used daily by parents dropping their children at the back entrance of Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School off Rimer Drive. Neighbors claim that parents speed on the streets and pay little attention to pedestrians and cyclists. There again, the measured traffic and speed did not warrant special treatment - but TSAC members still wanted some action taken. In addition to the targeted police enforcement proposed by staff, TSAC asked that the school community receive educational information about speeding. They also asked that the neighborhood around the back entrance of JM be made an official "Safe Route to School," which will qualify the area for possible grant money for street improvements.
The last topic on TSAC's agenda also had to do with parents anxious about the safety of their children in the same general area of town. Resident Trent Watkins and neighbors expressed concerns over speeds along Tharp Drive, from Camino Pablo to Rimer Drive. They asked for the installation of additional stop signs at the upper intersection of Deerfield Drive and Tharp Drive to reduce speeds. Kwan explained that stop signs are installed to control traffic, not reduce speed, and that the data collected did not warrant additional stop signs.
Residents indicated that the measurements had not been done where the highest traffic is observed. Parents expressed distress over the speeding of neighbors who do not show any concern for the lives of others; they say that they have to drive their children to school because there is no sidewalk and they don't think it is safe for the kids to walk or bike.
TSAC asked that additional measurements be made and the issue be brought back at the next meeting.
The question is, will there be a next meeting? The Town Council will consider the committee's fate again in March. According to the town's police chief, Bob Priebe, if there is no TSAC then the town will revert to its previous process - when a problem arises, residents can contact the police department that will work with public works to analyze the problem and find a solution. If the solution offered does not satisfy the neighbors, they can appeal staff's decision to the Town Council. Priebe cited the example of the former police chief, Mark Ruppenthal, who conducted a traffic study along Corliss Drive years ago that led to the construction of sidewalks.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA