We also created a separate Special Event Permit process for events that affect streets or traffic. Lower-impact temporary uses will remain under the existing Temporary Use Permit process. The changes are mainly intended to make the code clearer and better reflect how the City operates today.
- We discussed traffic safety on Mitchell Canyon Rd. near Mt. Diablo Elementary. Current municipal code restricts commercial motor vehicles exceeding GVW of five tons to operate only between the hours of 7am and 10pm each day. This has been an issue that I was interested in for several years, however it has taken time to do the research necessary to determine what options were available to the City. There are many things that can be done, but most of those require agreement or cooperation from outside entities whose interests may not be aligned with the City, or may be cost prohibitive, or both.
Given the high volume of commercial vehicle traffic on this road during school drop off areas, I suggested the Council discuss various ways we could enahnce pedestrian and vehicle safety. Some ideas that were mentioned included the addition of sidewalks (this is already in flight for a small section), street widening, speed limit reduction, additional crosswalks, or actually restricting commerical vehicles.The City has discretion on what operating hours are allowed, and through ordinance, can modify the existing operating hours. The Council formed an ad hoc committee to discuss the matter, and Councilmember Tillman and Vice Mayor Enea volunteered to serve on the ad hoc committee.
While a large influx of vehicles during a short window will always increase safety risk, there are definitely things the City could do to incrementally mitigate that risk. One of those is restricting the time of operation of large commercial vehicles so as not to overlap with morning drop off in front of the elementary school. I hope future Councils pursue this as it would be a quality of life improvement for our residents.
