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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/2000 SC Minutes Gten R. Andler Roderick "E D'Donovan ~i,,age Engin eer ~~~ Forestry/Grounds Su perin.n den~ Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Oenteal Phone 847/870-5640 Fax 847/253-9377 TOD 847/382-1 ~5 ~S D~FT C~L TO O~ER ~e ~cgular Meeting of thc Mount ~ospcct SafcW Commission was called to order a~ 7:30 P.M. on Monday, September 11, 2000. ~OLL C~L ~es~ upon roll call: Lec Beening Chuck Bcncic Co~issioncr 1oan Bjork Commissioner ~dy Mitchell Co~issionar Nancy Bobikewicz Commissioner ~o~ Dahlberg Police Dcpa~ant Buz Li~ngston Fire Dep~cnt Paul B~es Public Wor~ Ma~ La~c Public Works~ng~ecfing Division Absent: Phyllis Mollie Commissioner O~crs in A~cnd~cc: Sec A~ached A~endance Sheet. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Beening made a comment that after observing the parking situation at Lions Park Elementary School, he no longer believed use of the Park District parking lot was a possible solution to relieving some of the parking issues around the school. The Park District parking lot is too far from the school. Commissioner Mitchell asked that his comment about the red light at Rand Road and Ccmtral Road being out for five weeks be included in the August minutes. Commissioner Mitchell, seconded by Chairman Beening, then moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Safety Commission held on August 14, 2000. The minutes were approved by a vote of 8-0. 1 Recycled Paper - Printed with Soy Ink CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Carol Inserra, 215 S. Albert Street, expressed a concem with the traffic along Albert Street between Central Road end Northwest Highway. Vehicles are moving quickly and use the street as a cut through. Many children also live in the area. She would like to know the process of getting Yield or Stop signs in the area. She thanked the Police Department for their presence out there in the last month. Chairman Beening suggested she work with her neighbors to get support and start a petition to begin to identify end address the concerns. Traffic Engineer Lawrie could meet with a few representatives to provide written materials to help in the petition process. Officer Dahlberg provided a summary of the effort the Police Department has made to slow motorists who travel on Albert Street. 3'anet Roy, 409 S. Albert Street, asked the possibility of turn restrictions along Mount Prospect Road to reduce cut through traffic. Traffic Engineer Lawrie stated Staff could look into the possibility. One of the negatives, however, is the problem could be simply moved to another street and by placing turn restrictions at every intersection, residents cannot access their own streets. Traffic Engineer Lawrie mentioned the Village is working with IDOT on reducing the congestion at the Rand / Central / Mt. Prospect intersection which should have an effect on reducing the amount of cut through traffic in the neighborhood. Ms. Roy mentioned a parking problem on Albert Street near Northwest Highway by the commercial business. The Village previously proposed to the residents widening the street to provide parking spaces. A majority of the residents, however, were not in favor of the work at the time. She asked that this issue be revisited. .OLD BUSINESS A) STATUS REPORT OF THE PROPOSED TRAFFIC CALMING IMPROVEMENTS ALONG COUNCIL TRAIL 1) Background Information At the August 14t~ Safety Commission meeting, it was approved to move forward on implementing curb extensions on a trial basis at two intersections near Lions Park Elementary School. During the month of September, Staff would solicit comments from nearby residents, school administration and parents. The results of the study would be communicated to the Safety Commission and Village Board in October. Since the meeting, Staff has met With the Village Manager and received approval to install the temporary curb extensions. Parking bumpers, asphalt and signs will be included in the design. At this point, the use of wood chips and landscaping has been omitted. Since the temporary curb extensions may be left in place until next summer, for maintenance reasons these amenities have been left out. Staff will consider wood chips and landscaping in the final design should we construct permanent curb extensions. 2 Staff has spoken with the Principal of the school, Kristine Cn-itzmacher, and also received her support. Finally, Staff spoke with the Superintendent of School District 57, Maureen Hager, on this subject. She expressed a concern with possibly creating traffic flow problems around the school since parking problems currently exist. Information on curb extensions and a layout of the proposal was provided to her. Staff has requested a meeting with her, the school and Staff including the Police and Fire Departments on-site to resolve her concerns. 2) Discussion Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided an update on this issue. Staff is still in the process of trying to set up a meeting with the Superintendent to resolve all of her concerns. Until the Superintendent is in support of the proposal, the Village will not proceed. No further discussion took place on this issue. NEW BUSINESS. A) · KEQUEST FOR YIELD SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF HI-LUSI AVENUE AND BUSSE AVENUE 1) Background Information Kesident Observations: Ms. O'Toole says that motorists on Busse Avenue do not slow down through the intersection assuming Hi-Lusi Avenue has Yield signs. Most of the other intersections in the neighborhood have Stop or Yield signs. She has seen accidcmts and near accidents. She's not sure how many motorists actually know the rules of the road at an unmarked intersection and, therefore, is requesting Yield signs be installed on Hi-Lusi Avenue at Busse Avenue. Staff Observations: The Engineering Staffperformed a traffic study. The findings are as follows: a) Accidents A search of the accident reports indicated: Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 (Aug) Number of Accidents 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 b) Speed Study Representative speed surveys were performed on Hi-Lusi Avenue south of Busse Avenue and on Busse Avenue west of Hi-Lusi Avenue between August 7th and August 9~. The average and 85~ percentile speeds are as follows: average ~5~ % Northbound Hi-Lusi 22 mph 27 mph Southbound Hi-Lusi 23 mph .27 mph Eastbound Busse 25 mph 30 mph Westbound Busse 24 mph 29 mph The speed limit on Hi-Lusi Avenue is 20 mph and on Busse Avenue is 25 mph. Based on the results, there doesn't appear to be a significant speeding problem. c) Traffic Volume Traffic volume data was gathered in August. Based on the results, there are approximately 1360 vehicles per day that enter the intersection. 240 vehicles travel on Hi-Lusi Avenue and 1120 vehicles on Busse Avenue. The maximum total vehicular volume entering the intersection from all approaches for the peak eight hours during a recorded day was 800. d) Survey Results A total of 20 surveys were sent out in August 2000 to collect the residents' comments on this request. 12 surveys (60%) were returned to the Village. Most of them indicated that vehicles drive in excess of the speed limit on Busse Avenue. e) Existing Traffic Control Signs Traffic control signs adjacent to the intersection are as follows: Prospect & Hi-Lusi (north) - 1-way Stop sign on Hi-Lusi Evergreen & Hi-Lusi (south) - 2-way Stop signs on Hi-Lusi Busse & I-Oka (east) - 2-way Yield signs on Busse Busse & Wa-Pella (west) - 4-way Stop signs f) Site Obstructions Drivers approaching an uncontrolled intersection should have an unobstructed view great enough to enable them, after perceiving a vehicle on the crossroad, to stop prior to reaching the path of the other vehicle. This is called the stopping sight distance. The speed used to calculate the stopping sight distance is the 85~ percentile speed. Based on field measurements and the recorded speeds, sight obstructions exist at all four corners of the intersection. 4 Stop Signs Though it wasn't requested, we felt it appropriate to determine whether Stop signs would be warranted at the intersection. Stop signs are warranted when there are five or more reported accidents of a type susceptible of correction by Stop sign installation in a 12-month period. Over the past five years, there has been a total of two reported accidents. Also, Stop signs are warranted when the minimum traffic volume entering the intersection from all approaches is 500 vehicles/hour for an eight hour period ($00 x 8 = 4000 vehicles/8 hrs). The traffic volume at this intersection (800 vehicles/8 hfs) is approximately 20% of the Stop sign warrant. When the 85-percentile approach speed of the major street traffic exceeds 40 mph, the minimum vehicle volume warrant is 70% of the above requirements. The 85-percentile approach speed for all directions do not exceed 40 mph. Stop signs are not warranted based on the accident history, traffic volume and speed study at the intersection. Yield Signs The study has shown Stop signs are not warranted at the intersection. However, it would be appropriate to install Yield signs on the less-traveled street (Hi-Lusi Avenue) in order to clarify the right-of-way. Also, and more importantly, because of the possible difficulty of seeing opposing traffic based on the sight obstructions near the intersection, Yield signs should assist in reducing the potential for an ~ccident. Recommendation: Yield Sign Request To clarify the right-of-way at this intersection, The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: 2-way Yield signs on lti-Lnsi Avenne at Bnsse Avenne be installed. 2) Discussion Diane O'Toole, 106 S. Hi-Lusi Avenue, came as the neighborhood representative requesting Yield signs for the intersection. Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided an overview of the traffic study including volume and speed data. The study also included reviewing accident history and inspecting the intersection for sight obstructions. Chairman Beening asked that letters be sent to the home owners requesting trimming of their trees and shrubs to eliminate the sight obstructions. He recognized the Village cannot require the trees and shrubs to be trimmed since they are on private property. Commissioner Bencic, seconded by Commissioner Nlitchell, moved to approve installing Yield signs on Hi-Lusi Avenue at Busse Avenue, The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. OTHER ISSUES Chairman Beening asked that the Safety Commission discuss appointing a Vice Chairman. This person's responsibility would be to take Over for the Chairman when he cannot attend a meeting. Commissioner Mitchell nominated Commissioner Bencic because of his experience working for the Village and the number of years living in Mount Prospect. Commissioner Bencic accepted the nomination. Commissioner Mitchell, seconded by Commissioner Bjork, moved to nominate Commissioner Bencic as Vice Chairman of the Safety Commission. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Safety Commission voted 8-0 to adjourn at 8:25 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Mitchell. Commissioner Bencic seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, Traffic Engineer x:~il e s\engineer~a feco mm\~'affi cXr ecs&min~aug00min.doc 6