Downtown traffic study to be studied

Barbara Diamond

City officials went down a different road Tuesday in their quest to

cure traffic snarls Downtown.

“Where did we go wrong?” Councilwoman Toni Iseman asked.

The City Council voted unanimously to reroute the focus of the

Downtown Specific Plan Area Traffic and Parking Study to include how

long it takes to get through an intersection.

Council members were dissatisfied with the consultant’s traffic

analysis based on vehicle volume presented to them and the Planning

Commission on June 8. They asked for modifications in the existing

contract with RBF Consulting to develop a more Laguna-specific,

delay-based traffic model. The California Coastal Commission required

the study as a condition of the specific-plan certification.

“The main criticism was whether the count was accurate,” said City

Manager Ken Frank. “It probably was accurate, but the question is

whether the methodology was appropriate for Laguna. A different

measure is what is now proposed.”

Community Development Department Director John Montgomery said the

consultant used the same measure as Orange County. Iseman described

it as one-size-fits-all.

The consultant subsequently proposed to use the Highway Capacity

Manual methodology.

“HCM measures how long it takes to get through an intersection,

which is what residents want,” Montgomery said.

The proposed change in data collection will not increase the cost

of the study, which has about $50,000 left of the $127,000 approved by the council for the study. Two other recommended changes in the

consultant’s scope of work would have increased the cost by about

$17,000.

Those changes were parked until the Planning Commission and the

Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee can review them.

“This has been bungled badly,” said Councilman Wayne Baglin. “We

are spending $147,000 and not getting one more parking space. We are

doing it to satisfy the Coastal Commission.”

Montgomery said the analysis will provide a description of the

problem, a forecast of what can be expected in 2030, and a list of

recommended actions.

“At least it will start the debate,” Montgomery said. “The change

order admits there is no silver bullet.”

The consultants were authorized Tuesday to collect pedestrian

counts at 20 Downtown intersections and the Laguna Canyon crosswalk

to Irvine Bowl Park, matching the time frames used to collect

vehicular traffic at each intersection.

In a separate action, the council voted 3 to 2 to pay RBF

Consulting up to $12,000 to complete a traffic study on the

relocation of the corporation yard and city employee parking.

The Coastal Commission requested the study at the July meeting

when the city presented the relocation project.

Iseman said the cost estimate of about $5 million was undoubtedly

out of date and no new estimate was available.

She also asked Frank if ingress and egress would stay the same for

the facilities and functions that would remain at the existing

maintenance yard.

“I am going to give a speech because every one else has,” Frank

responded. “We have a project before the Coastal Commission. They

asked for 190 public parking spaces (Downtown). We showed them we

could do it.

“I have a sketch. Has the council seen it? No.”

Frank said the council would see a proposal when the commission

approves a project, which will have a long list of conditions that

could be approved or denied by the council.

He said the 190 spaces could be provided if every building now in

the maintenance yard stayed.

The last cost estimate, Frank said, was made when the city thought

the project was going forward with the approval of the county (before

an appeal of the approval was submitted by Iseman to the Coastal

Commission on which she sits).

Then, with a sheepish grin, he said, “I apologize. I have

forgotten your question.”

When prompted, he continued that ingress and egress will remain

the same at the existing yard.