HomeMy WebLinkAbout92-53 - Bicycle Path on Seashore DriveRESOLUTION NO. 92- 53
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NEWPORT BEACH REVISING AND REDESIGNATING
THE BICYCLE PATH ON SEASHORE DRIVE BETWEEN
ORANGE AVENUE AND 33RD STREET.
• WHEREAS, the City Council finds and declares as follows:
1. On April 23, 1979, the City Council of the City of
Newport Beach adopted Resolution No. 9540 which designated Seashore
Drive as a one -way street for eastbound traffic from 46th Street to
33rd Street, a one -way street for westbound traffic from 46th
Street to Orange, and created a two -way, 8 foot wide bicycle path
on Seashore Drive between 33rd Street and Orange Avenue.
2. The Seashore bicycle route connects at one end to the
Huntington Beach bicycle trail (a Class 1 facility) and Oceanfront
walk, which is a sidewalk bikeway. The Huntington Beach bicycle
Trail and the Oceanfront Walk bikeway are heavily used by cyclists,
with peak volumes exceeding 600 bicycles per hour during the
Summer.
3. Bicyclists will continue to use Seashore Drive as the
preferred route of travel since there are no feasible alternatives.
The Huntington Beach bike trail, Oceanfront Walk bikeway and
Seashore Drive are primarily used by recreational cyclists (those
using bicycles as a means of transportation, not exercise, and
traveling generally ten miles per hour (10 m.p.h.) or less) .
Alternatives available to these cyclists, and the principal reasons
why they are not the route of choice can be summarized as follows:
• (a) Coast Highway (northside): heavy volumes of fast -
flowing traffic, large number of motor vehicles
exiting and entering driveways and parking areas of
businesses adjacent to the street, doesn't connect
to Huntington Beach bicycle trail, lack of scenic
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or visual qualities;
(b) Coast Highway (southside): heavy volumes of fast -
moving traffic, no connection to Huntington Beach
bicycle trail, lack of scenic or aesthetic
• qualities;
(c) Coast Highway sidewalk (southside is designated for
bicycle use): potential conflict with pedestrians,
no connection to Huntington Beach bicycle trail,
takes cyclists away from ocean, lack of scenic or
visual qualities.
4. Seashore Drive is the only public street providing
vehicular access for residents who live along Seashore, is the
principal means of access for residents who live on Oceanfront, and
is the sole means of access to public parking lots and spaces along
the northside of Seashore between 54th Street and Prospect Street.
Seashore is the principal means of access for members of the
general public seeking beach access in West Newport. Accordingly,
Seashore Drive experiences relatively high traffic volumes and is
frequently used by pedestrians. Bicycle traffic along Seashore
tends to be highest when vehicular and pedestrian usage is the
highest.
5. The following are the only potential alternatives to the
use of Seashore Drive as a bikeway. Each alternative has been
determined infeasible for the reasons specified:
(a) Seashore Drive Widening. The Seashore right -of -way
• is generally 40 feet wide. Seashore Drive could
not be widened on the southside without acquiring
numerous homes at a cost of many millions of
dollars. Seashore Drive could not be widened on
the north side without removing all public parking
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and a significant portion of public improvements
recently constructed by the City. Accordingly,
expansion of Seashore Drive is infeasible.
(b) Beach Bicycle Trail. Construction of a separate
• bicycle trail oceanward of residential properties
in West Newport would require amendments to the
Newport Beach General Plan and the Land Use Plan of
the Newport Beach Local Coastal Program, the
preparation of an EIR, the appropriation of funds,
and a substantial period of time for actual
construction. Many oceanfront residents, as well
as members of the California Coastal Commission,
have expressed opposition to a beach bicycle trail
in conjunction with hearings on oceanfront
encroachments.
(c) Coast Highway Bicycle Lane (Northside). CalTrans
has recently completed improvements to the north
side of Coast Highway between Superior and the
Santa Ana River and additional construction to
facilitate bicycle travel would not be funded in
the near future. A bicycle lane has been
designated along the north side of Pacific Coast
Highway but use by recreational cyclists will put
relatively slow moving bicycles adjacent to
vehicles traveling in excess of 50 m.p.h. This
bike lane does not connect directly to the
Huntington Beach bike trail, nor does it provide
for eastbound bicycle travel. Recreational
• bicyclists would continue to use Seashore Drive.
(d) Coast Highway Bicycle Lane (Southside). Coast
Highway between Superior and the Santa Ana River
has been improved to its ultimate right -of -way and
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no new funds are available for additional
construction to facilitate bicycle travel. The
bicycle lane in this area is used by high speed
cyclists but its use by recreational cyclists would
put relatively slow moving bicyclists adjacent to
• vehicles traveling in excess of 50 m.p.h. This
bicycle lane does not connect to the Huntington
Beach bike trail or provide for westbound travel.
Recreational cyclists would continue to use
Seashore Drive.
6. The Seashore Drive bikeway meets the CalTrans Highway
Design Manual criteria for a Class 3 bikeway in that:
(a) The Seashore bikeway provides for through and
direct travel in a high bicycle demand corridor;
(b) The Seashore bikeway connects discontinuous
segments of the Huntington Beach Bicycle Trail and
the Oceanfront Walk sidewalk bikeway;
(c) An effort has been made by the City to adjust and
install traffic control devices to give greater
priority to bicyclists as compared with alternative
streets such as signs advising motorists of the
presences of bicycles.
(d) The City Council, by this Resolution, has expanded
the width of the bikeway from 8 feet to
approximately 12 feet to enable the City to remove
• vehicles parked on the south side of Seashore,
thereby improving safety. The width of the bikeway
exceeds right 8 foot minimum required for two way
bikeways as specified in the CalTrans Design
Manual;
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(e) Surface imperfections or irregularities have or
will be corrected more frequently than comparable
residential streets. In addition to the annual
sector inspection by the pavement maintenance crew,
the beach maintenance crew inspects Seashore Drive
six days a week during the Summer and five days a
week during the remainder of the year. The beach
maintenance crew is supervised by the same employee
that supervises the pavement maintenance crew so
that repairs to the street surface can be made
within twenty -four (24) hours;
(f) Maintenance of the Seashore Drive bicycle path is
conducted at a higher standard than other
residential streets in that it is swept six days a
week during the Summer, and five days a week during
the remainder of the year. The City purchased a
specialized smaller area sweeper at a cost of
approximately $26,000 just to facilitate
maintenance of the Seashore Drive bicycle path.
7. The Seashore bicycle path accommodates approximately
300,000 cyclists each year. During the past three years, there
have been relatively few accidents involving cyclists. Of those
accidents involving cyclists, only 12 (14 %) have involved cyclists
and automobiles, and only 13 (15 %) have been bicycle versus bicycle
accidents. The vast majority of injuries resulting from these
accidents have been minor. The accident history along the Seashore
bicycle path suggests that the route is not a dangerous condition
as presently configured. The City Council action to widen the
• bikeway from right (8) to approximately twelve (12) feet and the
ability of the Staff to remove vehicles encroaching into the south
side of the bikeway will further protect the safety of all users.
8. The City Council has evaluated the continued designation
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of Seashore as a bikeway in terms of the probability and gravity of
potential injuries to persons using Seashore Drive, as well as the
feasibility, practicability, costs, and risks associated with the
alternatives to the Seashore bicycle path as specified in Sections
3 and 5 and has determined that:
• (a) The designation of Seashore Drive as a Class 3 bicycle
way represents the best way to accommodate bicycle travel
demand in West Newport in terms of reduced risk of the
number and severity of injuries to bicyclists and is the
most desirable route from the standpoint of aesthetics
and visual quality.
(b) The alternatives such as Coast Highway bicycle lane or a
beach bicycle trail either present a greater risk of
injury than the Seashore bicycle path and /or cannot be
implemented within a reasonable period of time due to
environmental, economic and political considerations.
(c) The Seashore Drive bikeway will be widened so that the
south edge of the bicycle path is generally coincident
with the right -of -way line, and the wider bicycle path
will ensure that the risk of injury to bicyclists or
others using the Seashore bicycle path is insignificant
if and when used with due care and in a manner which is
reasonably foreseeable.
9. The Plan and design of the Seashore bikeway as specified
in this Resolution and shown on Exhibit "A" is consistent with
design criteria for Class 3 Bikeways as specified in Chapter 1000
• of the CalTrans Highway Design Manual. The width of, and direction
of bicycle and vehicle travel on the Seashore bikeway as proposed
in Exhibit "A" are reasonable given relatively low bicycle speeds
(10 m.p.h. or less), relatively low vehicle speeds (25 m.p.h. or
less), and good sight distance especially for those traveling on
R
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the north side of the bikeway.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City
of Newport Beach as follows:
1. That the most southerly 12 feet (approximate width) of
the southside of Seashore Drive between 33rd Street and orange
Avenue is hereby designated a Class 3 bikeway;
2. That the northerly boundary of the bikeway shall be
designated by a solid white line approximately 12 feet north of the
curb /concrete apron on the southside of Seashore Drive;
3. That the southerly boundary of the bikeway shall be the
curb /concrete apron on the southside of Seashore Drive and shall be
designated by a solid white line;
4. That the centerline of the bikeway shall be designated by
a broken yellow line;
5. That the bikeway shall be constructed and installed in
accordance with the plan /specifications depicted and described in
Exhibit "A"
ADOPTED, this 26th day of May , 1992.
ATTEST: ,o
City Clerk
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