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Brisbane committee advances Visitation Avenue safety package; staff to propose measures to council in March
Summary
City staff presented a survey-driven package of pedestrian and parking measures for Visitation Avenue — from raised crosswalks and curb extensions to red curbs and automated parking enforcement — and heard extensive public comment about chronic parking, enforcement and business impacts; staff will bring recommendations to City Council in March and pursue a Safe Routes to School grant-funded design process.
BRISBANE — The Complete Streets Safety Committee reviewed a year-long survey and a menu of physical and programmatic changes to improve safety and parking on Visitation Avenue at its Feb. 12 meeting, endorsing a staged approach that pairs low-cost enforcement and striping with longer-term capital options if and when the City Council approves funding.
Staff engineer Mosinia Links presented results from a community survey with about 130 responses and laid out four priority buckets: pedestrian safety, traffic flow, enforcement and parking demand. "We organized these into pedestrian safety, traffic flow, enforcement and parking," she said, summarizing the outreach. For near-term pedestrian improvements, staff proposed high-visibility striping and "raised" crosswalks, estimating about $15,000–$20,000 per raised crosswalk and noting potential drainage and utility work that can increase cost and schedule. Staff also estimated curb/curve extensions at roughly $60,000 per intersection and pedestrian-activated hybrid beacons at $150,000–$250,000, depending on site configuration.
Staff cited federal research on safety benefits: "The Federal Highway Administration found that they reduce pedestrian crashes by about 45%," Links said when describing raised crosswalks, and recommended matching treatments to specific intersection geometry and traffic volumes.
The presentation also included lower-cost deployments: ladder-style high-visibility crosswalks (about $2,000 per location) and button-activated flashing beacons (roughly $40,000) as intermediate options. For delivery and loading issues, staff proposed designated loading zones and limited-hours curb markings; striping and signage per location were estimated in the $2,500–$3,000 range, with the city citing a New York DOT study showing large reductions in double-parking when flexible loading was used.
On enforcement, police and staff discussed both programmatic and technology options. Commander Garcia described the staffing limits that make a continuous, non-complaint-driven parking patrol difficult: "To run a non-complaint driven parking program, you need a parking program," he said, noting the department has limited sworn personnel for that continuous function. He and staff discussed third-party options and automated systems that photograph parked vehicles. Garcia said vendors can provide a "force multiplier" but cautioned there are legal and administrative steps to complete before issuing citations from cameras.
Local business owners and residents voiced frustration at what they described as years of lax enforcement. One longtime business operator said the 24-minute and two-hour time limits are not being enforced often enough and warned that lack of reliable turnover harms downtown businesses. "You have to enforce it often enough so people get the idea that they shouldn't be parking there and leave their car there all day," the owner said.
City staff said some low-cost items are already moving forward. Public-works staff committed to painting prioritized red curbs downtown (about $500 per 20-foot segment) and to coordinating volunteer help; the city invited residents to sign up to help paint curbs starting in April. Staff also said they will perform or contract for stop-sign warrant studies (per the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) and traffic counts — a process they estimated would take about two months to collect and analyze data — and that they can present the committee’s recommendations and supporting analyses to the City Council in March.
In new business, staff announced the city was awarded a county Office of Education grant for a Safe Routes fellowship to study and fund safety improvements near Brisbane Elementary School; the process will create a stakeholder group of staff, school-district representatives and committee members and will include consultant design support and some implementation funding.
No binding policy decisions or budget appropriations were made at the meeting. The committee approved the meeting agenda and minutes by voice motions during the session; staff said larger capital items would require City Council approval as part of the city’s two-year budget cycle. Committee members and staff set March as the target to present a consolidated package to the City Council for consideration. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2026.
