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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/08/2014 TSC Minutes (Draft)Ik Mount Prospe Director Sean P. Dorsey Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056-2229 MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY COMMISSION DRAFT CALL TO ORDER Deputy Director Jason H. Leib The regular meeting of the Mount Prospect Transportation Safety Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2014. ROLL CALL Present upon roll call: John Keane Chairman Chuck Bencic Commissioner Robert Fisher Commissioner Justin Kuehlthau Commissioner Carol Tortorello Commissioner Bob Smith Police Department Representative Paul Bures Public Works Department Representative Matt Lawrie Traffic Engineer —Staff Liaison Absent: Aaron Grandgeorge Fire Department Representative Others in Attendance: see attached attendance sheet APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Bencic, seconded by Commissioner Tortorello, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Transportation Safety Commission held on October 13, 2014. The minutes were approved by a vote of 5-0. Commissioner Fisher and Mr. Bures abstained. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD There was no one in attendance that spoke on an issue not on the agenda. TSC Meeting Page 1 of 5 December 8, 2014 OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A. MILLERS LANE & CENTRAL ROAD TRAFFIC STUDY 1) Background Information The Millers Station Subdivision (Millers Lane and north end of Cathy Lane) was built in 1993. At the time, the now Central Community Center was an industrial building. Millers Lane was originally designed by the developer to permit right turns into the subdivision and right turns out of the subdivision. IDOT and the Village Engineering Division supported the design. Left turns in and left turns out of the neighborhood would be prohibited due to the limited visibility caused by the rise in Central Road west of Millers Lane. Motorists would have full access to and from the neighborhood at Cathy Lane. The Planning & Zoning Commission approved the design at their 1993 hearing. However, residents to the west of the proposed development voiced their concerns to the Village Board and the trustees voted to only allow right turns into the subdivision at Millers Lane. Residents to the west were concerned that it would be difficult to access Central Road due to vehicles turning right from Millers Lane onto Central Road. In the late 1990's the Mount Prospect Park District renovated the industrial building at the northwest corner of Cathy Lane and Central Road to what is now the Central Community Center (CCC). The Park District petitioned IDOT to install a traffic signal system at the intersection but was denied because warrants were not met based on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). During peak usage times at the CCC, the intersection can become congested with visitors as well as Millers Station Subdivision residents. In 2015, Millers Lane is scheduled to be resurfaced as part of the Village's annual resurfacing program. The Engineering Division has received requests over the years to increase access at the Millers Lane and Central Road intersection but there has never been a formal petition submitted to the Village. Knowing that improvements to the intersection could be included in the resurfacing program, it was the Engineering Division's decision to raise the issue and seek the input of affected residents. IDOT was notified and the Village was told they would not object to constructing the intersection to its original design as long as all permitting requirements were met. Today, all residents of the Millers Station Subdivision must exit onto Central Road at Cathy Lane. Allowing right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road should alleviate some of the congestion near the CCC. There would be an adequate sight line for motorists turning right from Millers Lane onto Central Road. Southbound traffic volume on Millers Lane will most likely increase but is expected to continue to be within a typical range for a residential street. As part of the study, surveys were sent to the residents on Millers Lane, Cathy Lane, and the two properties on Central Road immediately west of Millers Lane. A survey was also sent to the CCC. 23 of the 68 mailed surveys were returned (34%). 15 surveys support the proposal to allow right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road. 7 surveys oppose the proposal and 1 survey was indifferent. TSC Meeting Page 2 of 5 December 8, 2014 The Engineering Division continues to support the original 1993 design that would permit right turns in and out of the Millers Station Subdivision at Millers Lane. While traffic volume on Millers Lane would slightly increase, it would alleviate some of the congestion seen at Cathy Lane and Central Road during peak usage at the CCC. In addition, the Engineering Division does not believe allowing right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road will diminish safety for those properties to the west that directly front Central Road or for the neighborhood to the west. The Village has numerous similar situations of a mix of residential driveways and full access local streets along Central Road and other arterial streets that, while challenging, has not shown to be unsafe. Finally, from the resident survey, a majority of those that responded support the proposal to allow right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road. Recommendation: Modify access at the intersection of Millers Lane and Central Road to permit right turns from southbound Millers Lane onto westbound Central Road, and continue to permit right turns from westbound Central Road onto northbound Millers Lane. 2) Discussion Chairman Keane introduced the item and asked Traffic Engineer Lawrie to present the Engineering Division's report. Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided the Commission with background information and summarized the recommendation. Commissioner Bencic asked how many vehicles travel on Cathy Lane in front of the Central Community Center (CCC) each day. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said traffic counts were gathered a few years ago and there were approximately 400 vehicles per day. Commissioner Bencic asked how many of those motorists were residents of the subdivision and how many were associated with the CCC. Traffic Engineer Lawrie did not have that information. Commissioner Bencic raised the potential concern of motorists leaving the CCC and traveling around to Millers Lane to exit onto Central Road. Commissioner Fisher asked if a 34% response rate was typical for traffic surveys. Traffic Engineer Lawrie responded the Village typically receives 25% to 40% of mailed traffic surveys. Commissioner Fisher asked if the Police Department was aware of the accident history in the area. Commander Smith responded there have been five recorded accidents in the past two years at the intersections of Central Road with nearby local streets. One was a single vehicle accident involving a drunk driver at 2:OOAM. The other four accidents involved turning vehicles from the local street. Overall, this stretch of Central Road is not considered a high accident area in the Village. With no further questions from the Commission, Chairman Keane opened the discussion to the public. Judy Kirman, 1042 W. Central Road, read a prepared statement of her concerns with the proposal to allow right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road. Her driveway is directly on Central Road, approximately 200' west of Millers Lane. Ms. Kirman believes the request has been generated by the Park District with the intention of expanding their facility in the future. She is disappointed the residents of Centralwood Subdivision (west of Millers Lane) were not notified of the meeting. She believes they will be directly impacted as their only access out of the subdivision is via Central Road. Further, Ms. Kirman contends there have been numerous accidents during the past year at Lancaster Street and Central Road. She also expressed concern with speeders along Central Road and the many motorists who violate the signs on Millers Lane and exit onto Central Road. Finally, Ms. Kirman expressed her disappointment with the limited space to provide comments on the traffic survey and the Village's exclusion of comments if TSC Meeting Page 3 of 5 December 8, 2014 received after the deadline. Commissioner Fisher responded the traffic survey does not state that comments are to be limited to the lines provided and often residents provide lengthier comments. He said comments are compiled in the report and given to the Commission a week to 10 days before the meeting. Traffic Engineer Lawrie responded the proposal was not generated by the Park District but by the Engineering Division. Staff has received requests over the years to increase access at the intersection. And with the street slated to be resurfaced in 2015, it was the Engineering Division that has sought input from the neighborhood to see if there is support for the proposal. John and Pat McGlynn, 7 N. Lancaster Street, expressed concern with the number of motorists that routinely disobey the signs on Millers Lane and exit onto Central Road. They believe allowing right turns will make it more difficult for them to turn onto Central Road from Lancaster Street. Ms. Bonovich, 6 Millers Lane, asked the accident history at Central Road and Cathy Lane. Commander Smith's review did not cover that intersection. She asked if the directional median or "pork chop" would be a raised concrete median. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said IDOT would most likely require it and the Village would design it as so. Ms. Bonovich would like to see less congestion at Central Road and Cathy Lane but understands the concerns from those that live on Central Road. Finally, she asked if the directional median would be designed to accommodate fire trucks. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said it would. Ron Fack, 4 Millers Lane, shared how the narrowing of Millers Lane near Central Road has negatively affected snow plowing operations. He also shared how many motorists routinely disobey the signs on Millers Lane and exit onto Central Road. Others will turn around in his driveway and he is concerned for his parked vehicles. He also has witnessed large service trucks back down the street and sees it as a safety issue. Finally, Mr. Fack also acknowledged the congestion at Cathy Lane and Central Road, particularly on Saturdays. Lee Gleba, 1040 W. Central Road, has difficulty backing out of her driveway onto Central Road at all times of the day. She believes allowing right turns from Millers Lane onto Central Road will make it more difficult. Ms. Kirman reiterated her concern with motorists disobeying the signs on Millers Lane and exiting onto Central Road. There is not a STOP sign on Millers Lane at Central Road since it is one-way northbound. She would like to see motorists stop before turning onto Central Road. Commissioner Bencic asked if there would be a STOP sign installed on Millers Lane at Central. Road with this proposal. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said yes. Commissioner Bencic pointed out that, theoretically, motorists would then be turning onto Central Road at a slow speed. He also said the same number of vehicles would still be turning right onto Central Road from the subdivision. More vehicles would turn from Millers Lane and less from Cathy Lane. Commissioner Bencic expressed again his original concern that visitors of the CCC may leave the parking lot and travel around to Millers Lane before turning right onto Central Road. He asked if the proposal can include signs in the Park District parking lot requiring motorists to turn right onto Cathy Lane. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said the Park District lot is not Village property and cannot require such signs. The Village can request the signs be installed by the Park District but cannot require it. The Village, however, can install a No Thru Traffic sign north of the parking lot TSC Meeting Page 4 of 5 December 8, 2014 to discourage traffic leaving the CCC from using Millers Lane. There was a brief discussion on the possibility of installing a traffic signal at Central Road and Cathy Lane. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained the Park District explored this idea when they built the CCC but was denied by IDOT because it did not meet the warrants. In addition, Cathy Lane on the north and south sides of Central Road are offset which presents many challenges. Mr. McGlynn asked if a speed hump could be installed on Millers Lane at the proposed STOP sign at Central Road to slow traffic. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said no. Ms. Kirman expressed concern that her driveway is only 200' from Millers Lane and right turning vehicles from Millers Lane onto Central Road would make it more difficult for her to back out of her driveway. Commander Smith pointed out there are many driveways on Central Road close to Lancaster Street, Waverly Place, and Kenilworth Avenue today and there is not an accident history. He also stated that all three of these streets have full access to and from Central Road while the Millers Station Subdivision currently only has one street (Cathy Lane) to exit onto Central Road. Commissioner Tortorello mentioned that the Commission has reviewed many traffic issues in the Village concerning access. She reminded the Commission and the audience that Millers Lane is a public street and access should be provided to the safest extent as possible. Mr. Bures summarized and agreed with the thoughts of the Commission. He supports the proposal but sees the benefit in limiting traffic on Millers Lane as much possible. Commissioner Bencic made a recommendation to support the Engineering Division's proposal to modify access at the intersection of Millers Lane and Central Road to permit right turns from southbound Millers Lane onto westbound Central Road, and continue to permit right turns from westbound Central Road onto northbound Millers Lane. He further recommended the Village request the Park District to install signs prohibiting left turns from the CCC parking lot onto Cathy Lane and the Village install a No Thru Traffic sign north of the CCC. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tortorello. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0. COMMISSION ISSUES Traffic Engineer Lawrie thanked the Commission members for their commitment to the Village's efforts over the past year and on behalf of the Village Board of Trustees he presented a small gift to each of the members. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Transportation Safety Commission voted 7-0 to adjourn at 8:34 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Bencic. Mr. Bures seconded the motion. Respectfully submit d, Matthew P. Lawrie, P.E. Traffic Engineer h:\enginee ring\traffic\safety_commission\recs&mins\TSC-dec14min. docx TSC Meeting Page 5 of 5 December 8, 2014