City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
August 2, 2004 Agenda
MEMBERS: Caroljean Brune, Chair, John Ziegelmeyer Jr., Vice-Chair, Carol Bowen, Danny Drungilas, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, David Hamby, Matt Jordan, and Caleb Morse.
STAFF: David Woosley, Public Works Department; Mike Monroe, Police Department.
ITEM NO. 1: Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, June 7, 2004.
ACTION: Approve minutes if appropriate.
ITEM NO. 2: Consider request from New York Elementary School to extend the 20MPH REDUCED SPEED ZONE on New York Street adjacent to 10th Street.
Report:
1. A reduced speed zone with flashing beacons protects the crosswalk crossing New York Street on the north side of 10th Street.
2. The purpose of a reduced speed zone is to slow vehicles only at the point where there is a crosswalk and children are crossing the street without the protection of an adult guard, a stop sign or a traffic signal.
3. The City’s School Crossing Control Policy states “the reduced speed zone shall begin approximately 150-200 feet in advance of the crosswalk and end approximately 50-100 feet beyond the crosswalk.” All official school crosswalks in the city are signed in this manner.
4. At the location in question, there is a flashing beacon for northbound traffic approximately 580 feet south of the crosswalk and there is a flashing beacon for southbound traffic approximately 590 feet north of the intersection. These beacons were installed several years before the city’s policy was adopted. They could be relocated to comply with the policy, but that would cost several thousand dollars. In addition there are signs terminating the reduced speed zone approximately 60 feet north of the crosswalk and 160 feet south of the crosswalk. The sign to the north complies with the city’s policy; however, the sign to the south does not, but can be relocated to comply.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 3: Consider request from Sara Gillman, 1828 Atherton Court, to establish NO PARKING along one side of Atherton Court.
Report:
1. Atherton Court is classified as a “local” street and is paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of the street.
3. In similar situations, the city has permitted adjacent residents to determine if they want parking restricted along the street.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 4: Consider request from Dana Lomshek, 1300 Sunchase Drive, to establish NO PARKING along one side of Sunchase Drive.
Report:
1. Sunchase Drive is classified as a “local” street and is paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of the street.
3. In similar situations, the city has permitted adjacent residents to determine if they want parking restricted along the street.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 5: Consider request from area residents to construct SPEED HUMPS along Carmel Drive and Wimbledon Drive between 18th Street and Inverness Drive.
Report:
1. Carmel Drive and Wimbledon Drive are classified as “local” streets and are paved 26 feet wide.
2. The speed limit along both streets is 30mph in accordance with state law.
3. Speed studies obtained in August 2003 found 85th percentile speeds ranging from 34.2mph to 38.1mph.
4. The city’s SPEED HUMP POLICY provides that speed humps may be permitted on local streets if the 85th percentile speed of traffic is 5mph or greater over the speed limit. Both Carmel Drive and Wimbledon Drive meet this criterion.
5. Petitions with signatures representing 41 households adjacent to these streets have been submitted requesting construction of speed humps.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 6: Consider adopting a TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY.
Report:
1. Last fall, the City Commission requested that a traffic calming policy be developed.
2. The proposed policy is similar to the SPEED HUMP/SPEED CUSHION POLCY that was adopted last summer.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 7: Public Comment.
ITEM NO. 8: Commission Items.
ITEM NO. 9: Miscellaneous.
1. Receive attendance summary for the period August 2003 to July 2004.
2. Select date for September Traffic Safety Commission meeting.
City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
August 2, 2004 minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: Caroljean Brune, Chair, John Ziegelmeyer, Jr. Vice-Chair, Carol Bowen, Danny Drungilas, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, David Hamby, Matt Jordan, and Caleb Morse.
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department and Officer Tracy Russell, Police Department
Chair Caroljean Brune called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room in City Hall and welcomed the newest member of the Commission, Carol Bowen.
Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, June 7, 2004.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE MAY 3, 2004, TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING. THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0-1 (Hagen).
Consider request from New York Elementary School to extend the 20MPH REDUCED SPEED ZONE on New York Street adjacent to 10th Street.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
No members of the public present spoke on this item.
Commissioner Morse: Extending the speed zone to the north would create a 2-block reduced speed zone that drivers would likely ignore with greater frequency.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER JORDAN, TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REQUEST TO EXTEND THE 20MPH REDUCED SPEED ZONE ON NEW YORK STREET ADJACENT TO 10TH STREET. THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and referenced two emails (attached) received concerning the request.
Commissioner Hamby: Have there been any complaints from emergency vehicles accessing the road? Woosley advised that he had not received any.
Jean Khatib, 1317 Sunchase Drive: I do not live on Atherton but I know what cul-de-sacs are like and I support having parking only on one side of the street, especially if there is no sidewalk and the roads are narrow.
Commissioner Jordan: I would rather us not take action at this time until we get more input from the neighborhood; restricting parking would have a negative impact on the neighborhood.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER JORDAN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAVES, TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REQUEST TO ESTABLISH NO PARKING ALONG ONE SIDE OF ATHERTON COURT. THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
Consider request from Dana Lomshek, 1300 Sunchase Drive, to establish NO PARKING along one side of Sunchase Drive.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and referenced a letter received concerning the request.
Dana Lomshek, 1300 Sunchase Drive: We have several people here in support of this from the neighborhood. This has been a serious issue the last several months; it would be very difficult for a fire truck or ambulance to get through, and when mailboxes are blocked the post office is not required to deliver the mail (see attached photo). With vehicles parked on the curve, you can’t see if traffic is approaching.
Commissioner Hagen asked if the preference was to restrict parking on the northerly side of the street. Lomshek advised that it was.
Commissioner Bowen: The visibility around the curve is extremely poor.
Commissioner Morse: This complies with the criteria we have adhered to in the past and restricting parking along the north side seems to be the best solution.
Commissioner Bowen: We've had inside curves in neighborhoods for over 50 years and we're still doing them; it seems that we ought to change the designs that are acceptable.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING ALONG THE NORTHERLY SIDE OF SUNCHASE DRIVE. THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
Consider request from area residents to construct SPEED HUMPS along Carmel Drive and Wimbledon Drive between 18th Street and Inverness Drive.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer asked how many humps would be necessary. Woosley advised that they would need to be spaced approximately 350-400 feet apart to be effective and should be placed at property lines if possible.
Commissioner Hamby asked that each speaker indicate whether they would be willing to have a hump in front of their house when speaking.
Chris Davis, 2008 Carmel Drive: There is a group here prepared to speak if you like. We presented 41 signatures previously; I now have 51 signatures to give to you and letters from individuals unable to be here tonight (attached). The number one concern is the speed of traffic and the number of children in the area. Carmel is a wide-open street. Put the first hump right in front of my house.
Pete Peterson, 4712 Wimbledon Drive: I would suggest that the driveway coming out of the apartments on the south side of Wimbledon behind the Lutheran church should have no left turn on it. Most of the traffic coming by our house at high speed is coming from the apartments. Parking is another problem on the south side by the apartments.
Russell Hilton, 1917 Carmel Drive: I see people of all ages exceeding the speed limit. I’ve seen cars pass in excess of 50 mph; they would not be able to stop if a child ran out into the street. I’m in favor of it and I would be willing to have one in front of my house.
Commissioner Brune: I received a letter from one resident concerned that speed bumps are particularly hard for arthritic bones.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: I do believe that this location meets our policy.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, TO RECOMMEND CONSTRUCTION OF SPEED HUMPS ALONG CARMEL DRIVE AND WIMBLEDON DRIVE BETWEEN 18TH STREET AND INVERNESS DRIVE AT APPROPRIATE INTERVALS. THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
Consider adopting a TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Commissioner Bowen: I’m not comfortable abiding by engineering statistics because they reflect the past, not the present or future. We need to add pedestrian safety and visibility and reclassifications.
Commissioner Morse: How would this policy affect the traffic calming plan implemented on Louisiana Street, a minor arterial? Woosley advised that the pedestrian refuge islands would not have been permitted under this policy.
Alan Cowles, 1121 Stoneridge Drive, President of the West Lawrence Neighborhood Association: The policy may make it too easy to dispose of traffic calming requests; perhaps there should be another criteria under No. 3 and No. 4 that would incorporate a combination of lesser speed and volumes that don’t quite meet either of the criteria.
Paula Pepin, 1109 Stoneridge Drive: The policy should take into account streets that may have traffic problems in the future such as Stoneridge Drive after it is connected to 6th Street.
Chris Davis, 2008 Carmel Drive: This policy gives the residents a checklist of what is necessary to get devices installed.
Gwen Klingenberg, 4900 Colonial Way: The 70% approval requirement of property owners within 300 feet of a device should be changed to 70% of the neighborhood affected in case the area is rental and the landlord is opposed. In addition, I would like to see a step-by-step policy on how to approach the city for traffic calming.
After considerable discussion about how detailed the policy should be, the commission concluded that this was a good start, but it should be a living document and should be amended as needed in the future. However, the following changes are recommended at this time:
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY AS PRESENTED.
COMMISSIONER MORSE, PROPOSED AN AMENDMENT TO ELIMINATE NO. 2 AND INCLUDE ARTERIALS WITH COLLECTORS IN NO. 4. THE AMENDMENT WAS ACCEPTED AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
COMMISSIONER HAGEN, PROPOSED AN AMENDMENT TO CHANGE “50%” IN NO. 9 TO “70%.” THE AMENDMENT WAS ACCEPTED AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
COMMISSIONER JORDAN, PROPOSED AN AMENDMENT TO CHANGE “PROPERTY OWNERS” IN NO. 8 AND NO. 9 TO “PROPERTY OWNERS AND RESIDENTS.” THE AMENDMENT WAS ACCEPTED AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT.
THE ORIGINAL MOTION, AS AMENDED, CARRIED 9-0.
ITEM NO. 7:
Public Comment.
None.
ITEM NO. 8:
Commission Items.
None.
ITEM NO. 9:
Miscellaneous.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the attendance summary for the period August 2003 to July 2004.
The Commission decided to hold the September 2004 meeting on the second Monday of the month in order to avoid Labor Day.
The meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m.
The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is Monday, September 13, 2004.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley, P.E.
Transportation/Traffic Engineer