Highway 1 Safety and Mobility Improvement Study San Mateo County Midcoast Communities: Princeton, El Granada and Miramar, CA
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Highway 1 Safety and Mobility Improvement Study San Mateo County Midcoast Communities: Princeton, El Granada and Miramar, CA April 2010 Prepared By Local Government Commission Glatting Jackson/Walkable Communities Opticos Design, Inc. Kittelson and Associates, Inc. Highway 1 Safety and Mobility Improvement Study San Mateo County Midcoast: Princeton, El Granada and Miramar Acknowledgements San Mateo County Parks San Mateo County Supervisors Midcoast Community Council Midcoast Parks and Recreation Department Richard Gordon, Vice President, Deborah Lardie, Chair Committee David Holland, Director District 3 Neil Merrilees, Vice Chair Len Erickson, Project Coordinator Samuel Herzberg, Senior Planner Mark Church, President, District 1 Kathryn Slater-Carter, Secretary Carole Groom, District 2 Gael Erickson, Treasurer Rose Jacobs, District 4 Leonard Woren Adrienne Tissier, District 5 Sabrina Brennan Design Team Local Government Commission Glatting Jackson/Walkable Opticos Design, Inc. Kittelson and Associates, Inc. Paul Zykofsky, Program Director Communities Stefan Pellegrini, Principal Brian Ray, Principal Engineer Josh Meyer, Project Manager Dan Burden, Senior Urban Designer Dan Parolek, Principal 610 SW Alder St., Suite 700 Laura Podolsky, Project Assistant 120 N. Orange Avenue James Stanton Portland, Oregon 97205 1303 J Street, Suite 250 Orlando, FL 1285 Gillman Street 503.228.5230 Sacramento, CA 95814 407.843.6552 Berkeley, CA 94706 916.448.1198 510.558.6957 Funding provided through San Mateo County’s California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Community-Based Planning Grant. Views and opinions presented in this report do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Caltrans or the California Business Transportation and Housing Agency. i Local Government Commission Highway 1 on San Mateo Midcoast Table of Contents Introduction and Study Process Mirada Road Intersection ...............................................................42 Study Area and Purpose .................................................................... 1 Nurserymen’s Exchange ..................................................................43 Public Process ................................................................................... 4 Frenchmans Creek Road Intersection ..............................................44 Corridor Overview and Strategies Appendix Highway 1 Profile .............................................................................6 Implementation: Action Plan ....................................................... A-2 Highway 1 Context Zones ................................................................9 Public Process Notes and Design Table Responses ........................ A-4 Recommended Strategies ................................................................11 Charrette Participants .................................................................. A-7 Public Comments ......................................................................... A-8 Connectivity and Mobility Framework Study Area Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Network ............24 Conceptual Upland Trail Network ..................................................27 Summary of Potential Key Trail Links ............................................28 Design Concepts Airport Intersection to Capistrano Road North ..............................31 Capistrano Road North Intersection ...............................................31 Capistrano North to Capistrano South Intersection ........................32 Short and Long-term Concepts, Capistrano to Coronado: Concept A: No Realignment ....................................................33 Concept B: Center Alignment ..................................................38 Concept C: Center/Obispo Alignment .....................................39 Concept D: Avenue Alhambra/Obispo Alignement ..................40 Coronado Street to Frenchmans Creek Road ..................................42 Local Government Commission ii Highway 1 on San Mateo Midcoast between the villages and neighborhoods. cars north of Frenchmans Creek Road, and Introduction then drops to 18,900 cars by Capistrano Multiple agencies have jurisdictional authority Road, and then to 16,300 north of Capistrano This report describes the background, process, in the study area. The unincorporated villages Road. During the busiest seasonal peak and outcomes of the planning effort conducted of El Granada and Princeton are governed by month, volumes increase by 2,500 north of in El Granada in June, 2009. The study focused San Mateo County. City of Half Moon Bay Frenchmans Creek Road, and then drops to on Highway 1 and adjacent communities boundaries include the beach and coastline 1,300 by Capistrano Road. Posted speed limits between Frenchman’s Creek in the City of Half along El Granada, and a portion of Miramar. vary between 45 and 50 miles per hour. Moon Bay, and the intersection of the Half Pillar Point Harbor, adjacent to El Granada and Moon Bay Airport in unincorporated San Mateo Princeton, is under San Mateo County Harbor The Devil’s Slide highway improvement County. District’s jurisdiction. Caltrans maintains and project north of the study area, just south of operates Highway 1, and the City of Half Pacifica, has the potential to attract more use. This document is the result of an intensive Moon Bay and San Mateo County maintain and In addition, a proposed office park and wellness community-based planning process. The operate other roadways. The entire study area is center west of the highway between Princeton California Department of Transportation within the jurisdiction of the California Coastal and Moss Beach (if approved and constructed provided a Community Based Transportation Commission. The study area has about 11,000 as proposed) will also add more users to the Planning Grant to San Mateo County, in residents. highway. partnership with the Local Government Commission (LGC). LGC is a Sacramento- Transportation along this segment of coast Visitors park on Highway 1 shoulders in several based nonprofit organization that works with was once provided by rail and dirt roads. Later, locations, crossing the highway on foot, carrying local leaders and agencies to build livable the County provided a roadway, some of picnic and surfing supplies. Through bicyclists communities. LGC assembled a professional which eventually eroded into the ocean or was make their way along the coast using road multi-disciplinary consultant team to develop integrated into Route 1 (also known as Cabrillo shoulders, and some ride on completed portions plan components. Highway in this section). of the Coast Trail. Mass transit, originally provided by the railroad, is now limited to a few Traffic flow on the highway ranges from rural bus trips each day. Study Area conditions, where movement is typically free, to congested conditions during commute The study includes two unincorporated coastal times with level of service issues at certain villages, Princeton and El Granada, and the intersections, to unavoidable gridlock on Study Purpose village of Miramar, which is partially within weekends with good weather. The study purpose is developing a plan for the City of Half Moon Bay. State Route 1, a Highway 1 to better serve all users. Planning regionally significant roadway serving through 2008 Caltrans data indicate that the average efforts by San Mateo County and other and local traffic, provides the only access daily traffic volume on the highway is 27,000 agencies are shaping development, recreation, 1 Local Government Commission Highway 1 on San Mateo Midcoast Study Area 1 1 1 1 Local Government Commission 2 Highway 1 on San Mateo Midcoast infrastructure, and environmental policies within cannot, or choose not to use cars for local the study area. The community-based planning trips and commuting, reducing congestion AB 32 and SB 375 process engaged citizens in developing short- and maintaining road capacity. and long-term transportation improvement The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 strategies consistent with established regional • A network of secondary alternatives for (Assembly Bill 32) set carbon emission policies. pedestrian and bicycle circulation, built reduction requirements in California. upon existing and planned trails and other Passenger vehicles are the largest single One of the biggest challenges is that the opportunity sites, such as El Granada’s source of greenhouse gas emissions in the corridor must provide for commuters and historic medians. state. Senate Bill 375 will set new reduction high volume vehicle traffic on weekends, while targets and require jurisdictions to adopt maintaining safety and comfort for residents. • A consistent highway corridor that strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled. It must also provide for pedestrians, people supports the character and vitality of with mobility impairments, and bicyclists who adjoining villages, recreation and natural are using the highway right of way or trying to surroundings. cross. • A long term vision for the corridor that The primary goals of this project are: addresses the challenge of shoreline erosion and is sensitive to the dynamic coastal • Increased pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle environment. safety along Highway 1. • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions through • More transportation options for those that the reduction of vehicle miles traveled. 3 Local Government Commission Highway 1 on San Mateo Midcoast Many envisioned a trail network linking Coast- side communities.