Hillery Drive Direct Access Ramp
Hillery Drive Direct Access Ramp - Mira Mesa Community Planning Group
Caltrans plans to build a Direct Access Ramp along Hillery Drive near Westview Pkwy/Miramar Community College, connecting Hillery Drive to the Managed Lanes under construction along I-15. This ramp will allow busses, motorcycles, carpools, vehicles with FasTrack tags, and clean air vehicles with special decals, to directly enter the I-15 Managed Lanes and avoid the traffic congestion along Mira Mesa Blvd. The ramp will pass through the Legacy Apartments, and reach ground level near Westview Parkway in the vicinity of the future Transit Center and Park-and-Ride facilities currently under construction on the Miramar Community College campus.
The Mira Mesa Community Planning Group's Hillery DAR Subcommittee has been meeting monthly to identify areas of concern and work in partnership with Caltrans and the City of San Diego to develop mitigation plans for each. The DAR subcommittee has made its final recommendations which will be presented at the next MMCPG meeting. The recommendations are listed below:
Hillery DAR
Mitigation
Strategy Recommendations:
1) Traffic
Study of Mira Mesa, with synchronization of
traffic signals
It is
recommended that
Traffic Engineering,
in conjunction with the
Mira Mesa Community Planning Group,
study the existing
traffic flow in
Mira Mesa to identify areas where changes to existing
traffic control strategies may improve traffic
flow. It is of great importance that this traffic study be
undertaken as soon as possible, and the results incorporated in the
recently-announced SANDAG
traffic signal
synchronization project;
Black Mountain Road
is specifically listed as one of the roadways included in the SANDAG
project.
2) Changes to
student drop-off/pick-up at Walker Elementary
It has been
noted frequently in this process that
traffic congestion
along Hillery Dr at Black Mountain Road is exacerbated by parent
drop-off and pick-up at Walker Elementary. The current design of
the parking area and traffic flow through the campus encourage parents
to park along Hillery Dr and surrounding streets to walk students to
school. Additionally, a
school bus
stop is located directly across from Walker School, less than half a
block from Black Mountain Road. It is possible for a school bus to
stop at this location to pick up students, while being invisible to cars
turning onto Hillery Drive from southbound Black Mountain Road. It
is the recommendation of the subcommittee that SDUSD, Traffic
Engineering, Caltrans, parents and nearby residents, form a task force
to explore options to improve traffic flow at the school.
3) Lane
adjustments on eastbound Hillery at Black Mountain Road
Traffic
engineering is already studying changes to the signalization on Hillery
Drive at Black Mountain Road, in an attempt to reduce the traffic backup
that forms every weekday evening. The backup seems to stem from a
change in traffic flow since the intersection was designed: originally,
more traffic flowed straight through the intersection or turned north
(left); now, the majority of the traffic turns south (right). In
addition to the signalization changes already being investigated, the
subcommittee recommends that Traffic Engineering explore possible
changes to the lane design at this intersection to improve traffic flow.
4) "Do Not
Block" striping
The
subcommittee recommends that "Do Not Block" striping be placed on
Hillery Drive west of Black Mountain Road, in front of each of the
cross streets
between Black Mountain Road and Greenford Dr. This would include
Rickert, Marbury, Caminito Derecho, Caminito Duro, and Caminito Chueco.
While not foolproof, this could assist residents attempting to enter
Hillery Drive from one of these streets. Additionally, we
recommend that the "Do Not Block" striping on Black Mountain Road at the
entrance to the Woods and Village Green mobile home parks be repainted
due to wear.
5) Raised
crosswalk on Hillery Dr for Walker School
This
subcommittee recommends that a raised crosswalk with illumination be
installed adjacent to Walker School, crossing Hillery Drive.
Currently, there exists only a painted crosswalk that is staffed by the
student "safety patrol" in the morning; we have seen numerous instances
where cars speed past these students, creating a safety hazard.
6)
Traffic Circles
This
subcommittee recommends that traffic circles be installed on Hillery
Drive at the following intersections: Westonhill, Greenford, and
Marbury. It is recommended that these traffic circles include
landscaping of a sufficient height as to be easily seen by drivers, as
lower profile traffic circles can become a traffic hazard if struck by
inattentive drivers. There is a question as to which entity (City,
MMMAD, etc.) would accept the responsibility of maintaining the
landscaping; however, this is an issue that can be worked out and should
not prevent the landscaping from being included in the mitigation plan.
7) Chicanes
It is
recommended that chicanes be installed on Rickert and Marbury streets,
to discourage speeding by drivers using these streets to access or exit
Hillery Drive. It is possible that a crosswalk designation
(striping) could be included in the chicane design on Rickert to assist
parents parking along the street to walk students to school at Walker.
8) Extend
right-turn lane on eastbound
Mira Mesa Blvd at Black Mountain Road
While the
existing turn lane is quite short, drivers create a de facto turn lane
by stacking up along the curb. Drivers who attempt to access the
turn lane at the legally designated entrance often cannot do so due to
the traffic that artificially extends the lane. We recommend
re-striping the turn lane so that it extends to Rickert Road. It
is anticipated that this reconfiguration will assist in improving the
flow of traffic turning right at this intersection.
9) Dual
left-turn lanes on Black Mountain Road at Hillery Dr.
The current
traffic level at this intersection is sufficient to support only one
left-turn lane at Hillery Drive traveling southbound on Black Mountain
Road. The proposed mitigation strategy is designed discourage
traffic from using Hillery Drive west of Black Mountain Road as a
shortcut to the DAR. If this strategy succeeds, then the traffic
level at this intersection will increase dramatically once the DAR is
open; the anticipated increase should be sufficient to meet the
requirements for a dual turn lane at this intersection.
10) Adjust lane
configuration on Hillery Dr east of Black Mountain Road, to accommodate
dual turn lanes.
11) Post-DAR
traffic study and "Fail Safe" plan
At a time
interval agreed upon between the City and the
Mira Mesa
Community Planning Group (tentatively one year
after DAR opening), a traffic study will be conducted by Traffic
Engineering on the effects of the DAR on traffic in the nearby
neighborhood. This study will be presented to the MMCPG, and input
from nearby residents will be accepted. The MMCPG will then make a
determination as to whether the strategies implemented have sufficiently
mitigated the additional traffic produced by the Hillery DAR. If
the mitigation strategies have been unsuccessful, then a "Fail Safe"
plan will be implemented. The fail safe would include the
installation of turn restrictions that would eliminate the flow of
traffic across Black Mountain Road at Hillery Drive.
PUBLIC COMMENT: At the August 11 Hillery DAR Subcommittee Meeting, it was requested that we develop a blog or other online repository for questions, comments, and suggestions related to the Hillery DAR. After reviewing the Brown Act, which governs the MMCPG public meetings, it was determined that all input should be directed to the Hillery DAR Chairman, who could then post the contents on the Hillery DAR web page. Please direct all e-mails for publication to: BariVaz@sbcglobal.net. Please include the phrase "Hillery DAR" on the Subject line if you wish to have your question/comment/suggestion posted to the Hillery DAR web page.
Documents relating to the Hillery DAR Subcommittee:
Hillery DAR Final Environmental Impact Report
City of San Diego Traffic Calming Handbook
Traffic Calming Suggested Measures
Transit Map showing DAR location.
Comments/Questions/Suggestions regarding the Hillery Direct Access Ramp:
| 3) |
Forrest and Alberta Simmons – 8/31/09 PROBLEM Traffic congestion and gridlock on Hillery Drive between Black Mountain Rd and Rickert. PROPOSED SOLUTION
Three way stop at Hillery and Rickert and Hillery and Marbury (already proposed) BENEFITS Would greatly reduce traffic congestion on this stretch of Hillery Drive. Would reduce illegal u-turns on this stretch of Hillery Drive.
Would reduce individuals walking in front of traffic (jay walking) to get to their vehicles parked on Hillery. Would eliminate car doors being opened into traffic on Hillery. |
| 2) |
Jack Eiermann – 08/31 From what I could decipher the DAR is a done deal but just how to get the traffic back to the arterial streets is the "bone of contention". I'm guessing that routing the traffic to Westview Parkway is also frowned upon. Hmm, don't understand that concept since it is a 4 to 5 lane road. Given that I don't agree with diminishing the traffic on Mira Mesa Blvd I feel I have to voice this next one. One glaring solution comes to me almost immediately. That is by directing the traffic that is between Westview Parkway and the I-15 to the north on Westview Parkway from Hillery. Westview Parkway is a commercial street with enough room to handle the traffic. One of the suggestions I heard Tuesday night was to control the traffic at peak hours by restricting turns at peak hours. Seems to me that would cause the traffic to use Mira Mesa Blvd anyhow. I don't know if that option is still viable but I like that one. I also like idea of making Hillery west of Black Mountain Road a one way street eastbound along with restricting turns off of Mira Mesa Blvd at peak hours as far back as at least half way to Camino Ruiz thereby reducing the temptation to use Hillery as an access to the DAR and also to eliminate that part of Hillery for egress from the area by getting the traffic on to larger streets quickly. Or what about a round about at that intersection? That would slow traffic down and probably cause a lot of people to turn right anyhow. If they were to put in a round about there I for one would access the shopping areas from Mira Mesa Blvd instead. Another brain spasm!!!. Why not use the extreme right hand lanes on I-15 to access the DAR? One of the selling points Tuesday night is that we would have transit station right in the neighborhood within walking distance. So there is no need for the use of Hillery in this case. By the way we already have multiple bus stops on Black Mountain Road and Mira Mesa Blvd. within a similar walking distance. I take the bus to work every morning because they are so convenient. |
| 1) | Erik Basil – 8/31
The location of the DAR on
Hillery at the I-15 is resolved and set in stone. As part of the approval of the project, it was acknowledged that the DAR (when constructed and open) will have traffic impacts upon local streets -- beyond the already predicted increases in traffic for these same streets over the next ten years. The Mira Mesa Community Planning Board's sub-committee is working to identify methods to address or minimize the *additional traffic* on residential streets that is above and beyond what was predicted to occur if there had been no DAR project. If we do not suggest
mitigation measures, there will likely be none installed and the traffic impacts will be severe at several locations. |