Traffic consultant recommends 22 stalls, crosswalk and signage; residents warn overflow could clog Beach Drive

Kirk Harris, a traffic and transportation engineer with Transportation Solutions, testified that his firm's traffic-impact analysis (TIA) found the local road network meets accepted level-of-service standards today and when forecast to 2027, and that the park's projected trip generation is modest when measured using locally applicable datasets. Harris explained why he used a Western-region park study (San Luis Obispo / Santa Rosa student study) rather than the ITE national park average for trip generation: national ITE rates are driven by much larger parks and understate trips for small, waterfront parks.

Using regional trip rates and peak-hour counts, Harris said the projected incremental traffic at the park driveway is small (single-digit vehicles in the study peak hour), and that adding the forecasted park trips to the 2027 baseline kept all six studied intersections within city/state acceptable level-of-service ranges. On safety, he reviewed five-year crash data (2019'023) for the study intersections and said only the immediate park-driveway location carried a crash rate metric above the standard threshold but with a low absolute number of incidents.

On parking, Harris walked the hearing through comparative benchmarks: ITE-derived stalls-per-acre, the Santa Rosa study, and nearby Bellevue waterfront parks and Log Boom Park. Those comparators produced a wide range of suggested stalls for the new park; Harris recommended a practical compromise: 22 total stalls (including three existing form-factor stalls already associated with the preserve: the ADA stall and two signed off-site stalls at City Hall). The 70% design submitted to the city shows 10 on-site stalls (including ADA and one reserved for city/emergency use) with the balance to be made available at City Hall under an off-site arrangement.

"The number of parking stalls that we recommended was 22 for the park," Harris said, adding that the design includes a one-way access lane of sufficient width for emergency access, short-term drop-off stalls, fire-lane striping and a marked crosswalk connecting the park sidewalk to the Ballinger/522 intersection. He testified left-turn-only signage at the park egress would help reduce neighborhood shortcutting and that standard MUTCD signs and pavement markings should be used to regulate parking and fire access.

Residents testified the neighborhood's one-lane, dead-end Beach Drive (about 27 houses) already experiences drivers ignoring signs and getting stuck; they urged more conservative parking and circulation planning and questioned whether off-site City Hall stalls could be relied upon year-round. In response, Harris said weekend counts and summer fieldwork were included in the TIA and that signs, designated drop-off, and an organized on-site layout reduce the likelihood of widespread curbside overflow; he also said three-point turn maneuvers at the two access points would allow vehicles to exit if all stalls were occupied.

Harris's design exhibits include a proposed on-site 10-stall layout, ADA markings, a short paved walkway connection to the proposed crosswalk on Beach Drive, and a single city/reserved stall for emergency or staff use. The hearing will continue with additional testimony and scheduling for follow-up evidence and potential written closings.