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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />November 7, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Farm Hill Boulevard Pilot Improvement Project <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Receive report, hold public hearing on the Farm Hill Boulevard Pilot Improvement <br />Project and, by motion, direct staff to: <br />· Prepare and put out to bid a construction package to make the Farm Hill <br />Boulevard Pilot Improvement Project permanent, <br />· Adjust specific design elements to improve traffic operations, <br />· Continue to monitor conditions along the corridor, and <br />· Confirm the determination that the Project is exempt from the provisions of <br />CEQA <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />The “Farm Hill Boulevard Pilot Improvement Project” is focused on the stretch of <br />Jefferson Avenue and Farm Hill Boulevard between Alameda de las Pulgas and <br />Woodhill Drive. Figure 1 depicts this stretch of roadway, which serves both local and <br />regional trips for all roadway users (people driving, walking, and riding bicycles and <br />transit). Prior to the pilot, this stretch of Jefferson Avenue and Farm Hill Boulevard had <br />two lanes of traffic in each direction. The hilly, curvy terrain and the original design of <br />the street makes it easy for drivers to speed and it has a history of speed-related <br />collisions. These speed-related collisions resulted in severe injuries, as well as damage <br />to nearby property. <br />With a resurfacing project planned for the corridor and ongoing safety concerns from <br />neighborhood residents, staff collaborated with residents to design a pilot project. The <br />City Council first considered the pilot improvements in 2012, and at that time opted to <br />first make minor safety improvements. As part of the street resurfacing project in 2013, <br />the following modifications were added to increase safety: <br />· Yield markings at unsignalized, high-visibility crosswalks to increase driver <br />awareness of people walking across the street, <br />· Shared roadway markings (“sharrows”) along the corridor to indicate where <br />bicyclists should ride outside of the “door zone” of parked vehicles, <br />8.A. - Page 1