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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.3 St. Patrick's Day Location CITY CLERK File # DBJ[5]~-ffi[Ol AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: September 19,2006 SUBJECT: Location of St. Patrick's Day Events Report by Paul McCreary, Parks and Community Services Manager and Lorri Polon, Recreation Coordinator ATTACHMENTS: 1. Conceptual Layout of Festival at Civic Plaza 2. Parade Route - Alternative A 3. Parade Route - Alternative B 4. Proposed Fun Run Route RECOMMENDATION: \1Jv~ -. 1. Receive Report 2. Determine if the Festival will remain on Amador Valley Boulevard or be relocated to Civic Plaza, or direct Staff to evaluate other specific locations for Council consideration. 3. If the Festival will be at Civic Plaza, select Alternative A as the preferred parade route or provide alternate direction. 4. If the Festival will be at Civic Plaza, approve the proposed Fun Run route or provide alternate direction. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION: Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Festival has been a community tradition for the past 24 years. During this time as the event grew and the community changed, the event was relocated on several occasions. Prior to the current location on Amador Valley Boulevard the Festival had been held at the former Albertson's parking lot, Shannon Park and Community Center, Dublin High School, the former strip mall between Target and Montgomery Wards (currently Expo Design), Shamrock Village, and Regional Street. The size of the 2006 St. Patrick's Day Festival was reduced due to construction at Shamrock Village which eliminated all use of the entire parking lot for the Festival; a small area was available for the Fun Run. Staff worked with other neighboring property owners to obtain a limited amount of space in the parking areas adjacent to the Senior Center at Anderson's and Fast Signs. This reduced the number of COpy TO: Parks & Community Services Commission/Dublin Lions Club Chamber of Commerce Page 1 of 6 ITEM NO. 8~ G:\COUNCIL \Agenda Statements\2006\9-19 St Pats Location.doc booths, restaurants and carnival rides at the 2006 festival. The weekend of the Festival there was spring- like weather, which followed weeks of heavy rain. This pushed attendance to over 60,000 visitors. The large number of people in the reduced festival site was crowded and posed safety concerns. Staff has been in contact with the private property owners along Amador Valley Boulevard that have provided space for the events in the past. The owner of Shamrock Village indicated that due to the increased number of merchants the Festival and Fun Run will not be able to return to the shopping center. In addition, the owner of the parking lot in front of Fast Signs has also indicated the Festival can not continue on that piece of property due to the impact on the emergency veterinary clinic. Staff has also been in contact with representatives of the shopping center where Ralph's was formerly located and they indicated that events such as festivals and carnivals are prohibited. Based on these factors, if the Festival continues on Amador Valley Boulevard, the number of attractions will have to be reduced. In the Anderson's parking lot, Staff recommends reducing the number of carnival rides to improve the flow of pedestrian traffic and provide ample space to exit the area in case of emergency. On Amador Valley Boulevard, Staff recommends reducing the number of Artist and Non- Profit booths to improve pedestrian traffic flow. For the Non-Profit booths, Staff recommends that only Dublin based organizations be accepted, of which there were ten at the 2006 festival. Staff recommends continuing to provide the same amount of spaces for sponsors and commercial vendors to maximize the revenue generated by the event. Table 1 below compares the number of booths and attractions during the past two years, to what could be accommodated safely in 2007 on Amador Valley Boulevard (including the Senior Center parking lot and the Anderson's parking lot). T ABEIlIII,.cOMP T e of Booth/Attraction Carnival Attractions Restaurant Booths Arts & Crafts Booths Commercial Booths Non-Profit Booths Sponsor Booths Total The City could continue to hold the event on Amador Valley Boulevard. However, as noted this would reduce the size of the Festival, reduce event revenue and increase the net cost to the General Fund. In addition, the site would not allow for future growth. Following is an analysis of the pros and cons of keeping the Festival in the same location. 2- Pros of Remainin in Same Location · Continuity - festival visitors are familiar with location, parking, road closures and detours. · Proximity to the Senior Center provides indoor venue & restrooms. · Parade Route remains the same. · Fun Run Route remains the same (but pre and post race activities would be moved to . the Senior Center). LOCATION . Will have to "scale down" the Festival and the number of vendors. . Carnival rides will have to be limited to half as many as in 2006. . Food booths will have to be placed in the Senior Center parking lot, which reduces the number of food choices. No room for future growth. Page 2 of6 There are many tangible and intangible benefits of sponsoring a premier St. Patrick's Day Festival in Dublin. Due to the Irish ties to the City's name, it is a natural event for the City to continue to expand and has the potential to be a significant regional draw. This will increase the number of new visitors to the community who may become retail customers, residents or new business owners. Therefore, Staff recommends pursuing an option that will not reduce the size of the Festival. One option would be to expand the Festival site without using private property by holding the Festival on Amador Valley Boulevard and Regional Street. Staff did not evaluate this option because in 2000 the event was relocated from Regional Street due to complaints from the merchants in Almond Plaza. In addition to expanding onto Regional Street, Staff reviewed other alternative locations for the Festival including Amador Plaza Road, Civic Plaza and Arnold Road. Amador Plaza Road would provide more space for vendors than the current location. In order to provide a safe layout for the carnival rides, a parking lot adjacent to the street would need to be secured. This may not be popular with the retailers in the adjacent properties. Also, this site may only be a temporary fix due to the addition of more retailers and restaurants on the west side of the street, and possible changes to the Dublin Honda property in the future. Arnold Road would provide ample space for vendors as well as carnival rides. Additionally there are numerous parking lots in the area that may be available for event parking on the weekends (similar to Day on the Glen). The location is near the BART station and Transit Center which could boost attendance. However, Staff did not pursue this option because ofthe difficulty of finding new routes in the area for the Parade and Fun Run. FEASBILITY OF RELOCATING FESTIVAL TO CIVIC PLAZA Civic Plaza is a feasible location for the St. Patrick's Day Festival. It is centrally located in the community and would provide outstanding exposure for the event from Dublin Boulevard and Interstate 580. The site would allow the City to continue to expand the Festival in the future. Attachment 1 is an aerial map showing the conceptual layout of the Festival and the parking plan at Civic Plaza. The Main Stage of entertainment would be located in the plaza, near the fountain, similar to the staging for the Summer Concert Series. A tent would be set up in the plaza to provide covered seating for the entertainment. Food vendors would line Civic Plaza. Other vendors would be located in the parking stalls between the Civic Center and Library. The carnival would be located in the Library parking lot adjacent to the freeway. The area is large enough to expand the number and size of the carnival rides. The Library Community Room would be used as the location for the second stage for quieter entertainment. After an initial review it is estimated that the Civic Plaza location could accommodate at least 250 vendors. If the event continues to grow the Sports Grounds parking lot could be used to further expand the Festival in the future. Festival Parking Staff conducted a review of available parking at the current Festival location and the alternative site at Civic Plaza. When combining on-street and off-street parking, the two sites generally have the same amount of parking available. The current site has more off-street parking that is in close proximity to the Festival site. However, none of these spaces have been designated as official event parking. The property owners adjacent to ,the Festival site are not willing to provide official event parking due to the retail nature of the business in those shopping centers. The Civic Plaza site has more on-street parking available, but the off-street parking is not as centralized as the current site. However one advantage is most of the private parking lots within walking distance of Civic Plaza are primarily leased by tenants that operate Monday through Friday, which would minimize Page 3 of6 the impacts on the business community and provide more designated off-street Festival parking. Staff has been in contact with some of the largest property owners on Sierra Court to discuss the use of parking lots for event parking. Based on these initial conversations, it seems it would be more feasible to obtain owner approval for designated festival parking at the Civic Plaza site. ALTERNATIVE PARADE ROUTES If the Festival is moved to Civic Plaza, then new routes would need to be established for the Parade and Fun Run. Attachments 2 and 3 show the alternative routes for the Parade. For either alternative, the staging area for the Parade would remain on Amador Plaza Road between Amador Valley and Dublin Boulevard. For Alternative A, the Parade would start at Dublin Boulevard, with entrants heading east in the eastbound lanes to the Civic Center. Walking entries would turn right onto Civic Plaza and disperse into the Festival. Riding entries would pass Civic Plaza and disperse into the Sports Grounds parking lot at the driveway on Dublin Boulevard. This route is approximately .77 miles in length. Alternative A was developed by Staff, reviewed with the Lion's Club Parade Chairperson and presented to the Commission. The Commission asked Staff to investigate another alternative that would keep a portion of the Parade route on Village Parkway. The Commissioners expressed that Village Parkway has good viewing areas and the public is used to viewing the Parade from that area. Therefore Staff developed Alternative B. For Alternative B, the Parade would start at Amador Valley Boulevard, with entrants heading east in the eastbound lanes to Village Parkway. The route would head south on Village Parkway, and then east on Dublin Boulevard (in the westbound lanes) to Sierra Court. The Parade would head north on Sierra Court in the southbound lanes and disperse before Sierra Lane. This route is approximately .96 miles in length. Table 3 below is an analysis of proposed parade routes. TABLE 3 Parade Route Alternative A Cons . Parade does not start and end in same location. . Route is 1/1 0 of a mile shorter than existing route. . Pancake Breakfast may be relocated from the . Firehouse since the Parade would not be in as close proximity to the facility. Pros . Ends at the Festival. Walking entries able to walk onto festival site without crossing Dublin Blvd. . The number of commercial parcels that are land- locked would be reduced from 21 for the current route, to 14 for the new route. Businesses would be landlocked from 9:00 to 11 :30 A.M. E ROUllillA.LTlll~:Nl\TIV Parade Route Alternative B Cons . Does not start and end at same place. . Increases the number of land locked commercial parcels to 39. Restricts traffic on north & southbound Village Pkwy. Post Office is land-locked. . Parade finishes on Sierra Court so Parade participants have to cross Dublin Boulevard to get to festival. Could lead to congestion at intersection. Pros . Route is 1/1 O-mile longer than existing route, and liS-mile longer than Alternative A. . Longer route will allow for growth in . the future. Could expand staging area onto westbound Dublin Boulevard, between Amador Plaza and Village Parkway. . Pancake Breakfast could continue at Firehouse due to closer proximity to the Parade route. Page 4 of 6 If the Council chooses to relocate the Festival to Civic Plaza, Staff would recommend selecting Parade Route A Due to the increased number of parcels that are affected by Parade Route B, Staff does not recommend that route. PROPOSED FUN RUN ROUTE Attachment 4 shows the proposed route for the Fun Run, which finishes on the Alamo Canal Trail behind the Library, which was the preference of the Commission. At the Commission meeting, Staff presented a different option for the Fun Run Route which had the last leg of the race on southbound Dougherty Road and then finishing on Sierra Lane. Staff has since learned that Dougherty Road at Sierra Lane will most likely be under construction in March so that route was not included for the Council's consideration. As proposed, the pre and post-race activities would be held in the plaza area adjacent to the Civic Center. In order to have enough distance for a 5K course that ends on the trail, runners would line up in the southbound lanes of Sierra Court, about a lI4 of mile from Civic Plaza. The start would be at the entrance to the Auto Auction parcel. Runners would head south on Sierra Court, west on Dublin Boulevard, north on Village Parkway, east on Amador Valley Boulevard, south on York Drive to Penn Drive, east on Amador Valley, then south on the Iron Horse Trail to the Alamo Canal Trail, and finish behind the Dublin Library. In order to use the trail for the event, the City would need to obtain a permit from the East Bay Regional Park District. The trail is 12-feet wide and an acceptable course for the finish. Access to some parcels on Sierra Court would be limited on Sunday morning from about 7:00 AM. to 8: 15 AM. Businesses and tenants with limited ingress or egress would be notified in advance of the limited access. There are two churches in the area. Crosswinds Church is located on Sierra Court near the Fun Run starting line. However the first service on Sundays is at 9:00 AM. Staff would start the race at 8:00 AM., rather than the normal 8:30 AM. start, to minimize the impact on the church. It is anticipated there would be full access to Crosswinds by 8:15 AM. The second church in the vicinity is The Well, which is located on Sierra Lane, closer to Dougherty Road. The Well's first service is at 8:00 AM. However, the church is a distance from the starting line and has full access from Dougherty Road. Therefore the anticipated impact on The Well would be minimal. SUMMARY Staff has considered many options for the future location of the Festival. Staff from the Parks and Community Services Department has met with representatives from Police, Fire, Public Works and the City's Traffic Committee to review the road closures and traffic plans necessary to relocate the event to Civic Plaza. All Departments have indicated the proposed site for the Festival and the new routes for the Parade and Fun Run are feasible, and in many instances favorable to the existing site and routes. Staff has also ascertained from Dublin Little League that they can forgo use of the Dublin Sports Grounds for the weekend. Table 4 below summarizes the pros and cons of relocating the event to Civic Plaza. TABLE & CONS TING THE FESTIVAL TO CIVIC PLAZA Pros of Civic Center Cons of Civic Center · Would create excitement & new interest in . Additional Staff time to develop new the event. Allows for marketing festival layouts, maps, traffic plans, as well as learn as "expanded" in a "new location". the logistics ofthe new routes for the · Enough space to accommodate all event Parade and Fun Run. components and allow for growth. . Would need to book drop and handicapped . Highly visible to motorists on the freeway, parking for Library patrons at the Sports which may increase attendance. Grounds. A golf cart would shuttle those with special needs to the Library. Page 5 of6 TABLE 4 - PROs 8i<::ONS OF :RELOCATIN TO Pros of Civic Center Cons of Civic Center . Minimizes road closures and disruption to . Foot traffic crossing Dublin Boulevard will businesses. have to be controlled and monitored both . Central location in the community. days. Snow fencing would be installed in . Accessible by public transit including the median on Dublin Boulevard to funnel BART, Wheels and County Connection. pedestrian traffic to the crosswalk at the . Set-up and take-down would not have the intersection. Traffic signals would be same limited access and time constraints programmed to provide additional as a street festival. pedestrian crossing time. . Library staff is in favor of the opportunity · Would need to coordinate road closures to expose more people to Dublin's during Fun Run and Parade with public outstanding library programs and services. transit agencies. . With access to electricity fewer generators · Additional publicity and notification needed would need to be rented. to educate public of new road closures and . Ample space for a larger carnival area detours. which may allow for the inclusion of · Dublin Little League would have to move larger rides for adults and teens. Picture Day to Emerald Glen Park. . Brings people to Civic Center/Library. · Alternative parade routes do not start and . Ample parking at the Sports Grounds and end in the same location. on Sierra Court and Lane. This would minimize inconvenience to homeowners and retailers as very few businesses on Sierra are open on weekends. . New parade route offers more viewing space for spectators and possible grandstands in the future. On August 21, the Parks and Community Services Commission discussed the plans for the St. Patrick's Day events. The Commission unanimously recommended that the Council move the Festival to Civic Plaza, and as indicated earlier, asked Staffto investigate alternate routes for the Parade and Fun Run. On September 8, Staff mailed over 540 notices to businesses and property owners that may be affected by potential changes to the Festival location and event routes. The letter provided notification that the items would be discussed at the Council meeting. Staff included descriptions of the potential road closures and aerial maps showing the routes and affected parcels. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report and take the following action: 1. Determine if the Festival will remain on Amador Valley and be down-sized or be relocated to Civic Plaza, or direct Staff to evaluate other specific locations for Council consideration. 2. If the Festival will be at Civic Plaza, select Alternative A as the preferred parade route or provide alternate direction. 3. If the Festival will be at Civic Plaza, approve the proposed Fun Run route or provide alternate direction. 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