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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/10/2001 SC minutesGlen R. Andler Phone 84-7/870-5640 R0derick ~ O'O0n0van Mount Prospect Public Works Department 17(2)0 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056-2229 Fax 84-7/253-9377 Paul C. 8ures TOD 847/392-1235 MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of the Mount Prospect Safety Commission was called to order at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, September 10, 2001. ROLL CALL Present upon roll call: Chuck Bencic Lee Beening Joan Bjork Nancy Bobikewicz John Keane Rich Eddington Buz Livingston Paul Bures Matt Lawrie Chairman Commissioner Comnfissioner · Commissioner Comnf~ssioner Police Department Fire Department Public Works Public Works/Engineering Division Absent: Andy Mitchell Commissioner Others in Attendance: See Attached Attendance Sheet. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Keane, seconded by Commissioner Beening, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Safety Commission held on June I 1, 2001. The minutes were approved by a vote of 8-0. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD Mr. Howard Bychowski, 120 S. We-go Trail, requested a traffic study be done along We-go Trail near Milburn Avenue. He is concerned with the amount of cut through traffic and speeding along the street. Traffic Engineer La~vrie said that he would contact Mr. Bychowski and set up a ! Recycled Paper - Printed with Soy Ink schedule to gather speed and volume data. He said that in the meantime he would request the Police Department to provide additional speed enforcement and use of the radar trailer. Mr. Mike Dziadus, 50l N. Forest Avenue, requested Stop signs on Forest Avenue at Memory Lane because the east and west legs of the intersection are offset. Traffic Engineer Lawrie said that he would contact Mr. Dziadus to explain the process to have such a request heard at a furore Safety Commission Meeting. No other citizens came forth to discuss any topics that were not on the current agenda. NEW BUSINESS A) REQUEST FOR PARKING RESTRICTIONS ALONG DOUGLAS AVENUE 1) Background Information Douglas Avenue is an asphalt road with curb and gutter. The width is 25' between White Oak Street and Lincoln Street. This portion of Douglas Avenue was recently constructed to accommodate access for two new homes. The width of the road had to be reduced from the normal width of 31' due to right-of-way issues. The park, which fronts the west side of the road, is in the Village of Arlington Heights. The developer was not able to secure additional right-of- way from the Arlington Heights Park District. The road is~currently closed to thru traffic because of construction of the homes. Also, the surface course of the road has not been laid. It is anticipated the road will open to traffic sometime later this year. 2) Staff Study While a parking problem has not been observed, it is apparent that t~vo-way traffic will not be able to be maintained with vehicles parked on both sides of the street. In addition, it may even be difficult for an emergency vehicle or other large vehicle to maneuver down the street with vehicles parked on both sides because of the street's narrow width. With soccer fields in the park, there is a potential for Douglas Avenue to become congested with vehicles. Restricting parking on one side of the street will help alleviate some of the congestion. Most of the time throughout the year the park will not experience a heavy amount of activity. Therefore, it is appropriate to restrict parking on the west side of the street so that the homeowners can park directly in front of their homes and not be inconvenienced. 2 surveys were distributed to the residents that live adjacent to the proposed parking restrictions. In addition, a survey was sent to the Arlington Heights Park District. One survey from a resident was returned and indicated he had no objection to the parking restrictions. While not mentioned in the request, a Stop sign should be installed for southbound Douglas Avenue traffic at Lincoln Street. A Stop sign already exists for northbound traffic. Lincoln Street is considered a collector street and Village Code says that a Stop sign is warranted for a local street with its intersection to a collector street. 2 3) 4) B) 2) Recommendation Based on the study performed by Staff: The Village Traffic Engineer recommends approval of No Parking Any Time signs along the west side of Douglas Avenue between White Oak Street and Lincoln Street and approval of a Stop sign for southbound Douglas Avenue at Lincoln Street. Discussion Traffic Engineer Lawrie made a brief presentation on this issue. Chairman Bencic opened up the discussion to the public. Mr. Donald Craig, developer of the two homes under construction along Douglas Avenue, supports the parking restrictions and asked the Safety Commission approve the request. Commissioner Keane questioned why Douglas Avenue could not have been constructed to a standard width. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained that the park along the west side of the street is owned by the Arlington Heights Park District. The developer made every effort to obtain additional right-of-way but the park district was unwilling to dedicate any land for the purpose of a street. 'Commissioner Keane, sec(i'nded by Commissioner Bobikewicz, moved to approve No Parking Any Time signs along the west side of Douglas Avenue betwveen White Oak Street and Lincoln Street, and approve a Stop sign for southbound Douglas Avenue at Lincoln Street. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. REQUEST FOR STOP SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF ASH DRIVE & CYPRESS DRIVE Background Information The petition from the neighborhood stated that many careless drivers speed through this intersection. They are concerned for the many young children who cross the street when going to the elementary school two blocks away. They also believe there is cut through traffic avoiding nearby traffic signals. Staff Study No accidents have been reported at the intersection of Ash Drive and Cypress Drive over the past five years. Average speeds for the streets varied between 22-24mph according the data gathered in August. The speed limit for both streets is 30mph. 3) Traffic volume data was gathered in August. Based on the results, there are approximately 520 vehicles per day that enter the intersection. 300 vehicles travel on Ash Drive and 220 vehicles on Cypress Drive. The Engineering Staff sent out surveys per the Notification Policy to the affected residents to collect their opinions and notify them of the September Safety Commission Meeting. A total of 17 surveys were sent out to collect and analyze the resident's opinion of this request. 9 residents returned the survey to the Village. Most of the responses expressed a concern with the speed along the streets and the unique configuration of the intersection. There are no sight obstructions at this intersection per the guidelines of the Village Code. However, an evergreen tree does exist near the southeast comer of the intersection that may make it difficult to see opposing traffic. Also, Cypress Drive south of Ash Drive curves which may make it difficult for eastbound traffic to clearly see northbound traffic. Stop signs are normally warranted at intersections where there is a condition of high speed, restricted view, accidents or a significant amount of vehicles and pedestrians. Based on the data, Stop signs are not warranted at this intersection. However, the east leg of Ash Drive is offset by 26' from the west leg. This leads to the potential for vehicles traveling east and west to enter the opposing traffic's Iane when crossing Cypress Drive. By stopping vehicles at the intersection, the driver has more time to react to the significant change in road geometrics and adjust accordingly. Recommendation To account for the offset condition of Ash Drive and to clarify the right-of-way at this intersection: The Village Traffic Engineer recommends approval of 2-way Stop signs on Ash Drive at Cypress Drive. Discussion Traffic Engineer Lawrie made a brief presentation on this issue. Chairman Bencic opened up the discussion to the public. Mr. Wilhelm Follmer, 1008 Ash Drive, expressed a concern with speeding along Cypress Drive between Golf Road and Ash Drive. He also stated that many children who attend Robert Frost South Elementary School cross the street and believes Stop signs will make the intersection safer. Mr. Mike Collins, 1103 Ash Drive, is also concerned with speeding along Cypress Drive. He believes there was very light traffic during the time of the study and believes many more vehicles drive through the intersection now. He is in favor ora 4-way stop rather than a 2-way stop. Traffic Engineer La,,vrie stated that normally specific volume and speed criteria are to be met to warrant multi-way Stop signs. Redoing the study would still not meet the warrants. He explained the Stop signs on only Ash Drive is recommended in order to clarify the right-of-way and account for the offset street configuration. Additional Stop signs may lead to a false sense of security as vehicles may become accustomed to seeing very little traffic that leads to drivers not obeying the Stop signs. Traffic Engineer Lawrie mentioned that Stop signs are not typically used to control a speeding problem. Commissioner Beeing pointed out that additional Stop signs may also lead to an increase in speeds as drivers feel the need to make op for "lost time". He requested that the Police Department use the radar trailer to help in reducing any speeding along Cypress Drive. Commissioner Keane wondered why Lancaster Avenue at Ash Drive has a Stop sign and whether or not it should be removed. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained that Lancaster Drive is a north- south street unlike Cypress Drive (one-way north at Golf Road) and probably has more traffic than the other north-south streets. He was not in favor of removing the Stop sign. Mr. Bures was in favor of Stop signs on only Ash Drive to allow children to more safely cross the street to get to school. He too believes Stop signs are not an effective measure for controlling speeding and suggested speed enforcement by the Police Department. Commissioner Bjork, seconded by Mr. Bures, moved to approve Stop signs on Ash Drive at Cypress Drive. Commissioner Beening asked that the motion be amended to include crosswalks at the intersection. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. c) l) REQUEST FOR PARKING RESTRICTIONS AROUND PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL Background Information Residents have noticed a significant increase in students parking their vehicles along Fairview Avenue since the start of school. Vehicles are blocking driveways and fire hydrants. Students are littering and cutting through backyards to get to school. The street sweeper cannot clean the entire street because of the amount of vehicles. Garbage pick-up is difficult and buses are having a hard time traveling down the street. At the end of the previous school year, the Village received a phone call from a resident concerned with the amount of students parking along Fairview Avenue. Based on Staff's observations, approximately 10 vehicles were parking on the street. This really didn't pose a problem that affected emergency vehicle access but rather was a problem of student behavior. The Village wrote a letter to the school and also called requesting a meeting prior to the start of school to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, the school did not respond until a week ago. The Village of Arlington Heights passed an ordinance during the summer that restricted parking on two additional streets on school days. No Parking lO-llam & 1-2pm School Days signs were installed prior to the start of school. As a result, the Village of Mount Prospect streets have experienced additional traffic particularly along Fairview Avenue. It should be noted that Arlington Heights has been successful in addressing the parking problem on those two streets but still experiences some parking problems along their streets as well based on Staff's observations. 5 2) Staff Study Over the past ~veek, Staff has observed 30-45 vehicles parked along both sides of the 500 to 700 blocks of Fairview Avenue during the school day. The Police Department has ticketed those vehicles not obeying current laws such as vehicles parked in front of fire hydrants. Staff has received numerous calls from residents about student parking along Fairview Avenue. Many of the complaints are still about student behavior. However, with many more vehicles present, access by emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, leaf pick-up vehicles and snow removal trucks becomes more of an issue. The Village met with the school this past week to discuss this issue. Ultimately, the solution to the problem is to have the students park on school property. Otherwise, parking restrictions may simply shift the problem to other streets. The school, unforUmately, will not be able to provide any immediate relief. About 140 spaces in the parking lot are not in use due to band practice. These spaces will become available at the end of October. Even with these spaces available, more students may choose to drive than there are available spaces in the lot. The school does plan on building a new parking lot to accommodate the demand but it appears this won't be done until 2004 or 2005. Even with a new lot, however, some students will still not park on school property. Students must pay $80 per year to park in the lot and some choose to not pay the fee. Also, some students have lost their privilege of parking in the lot. Based on our discussion with the school, it appears the new lot is the best long-term solution to get a vast majority of the students to park on school property. With most issues dealing with parking problems due to a school, restrictions are usually 8am- 4pm on school days and on one side of the street. This is because the issue is a large amount of traffic at concentrated times of the day (i.e., parents dropping-off and picking-up their child). This particular parking restriction ensures two-way traffic can be maintained during critical times of the day and also allows parents to easily drop-off/pick-up their child on one side of the street. Residents and parents know not to park on the other side of the street during the day. The negative to this situation is that residents are affected for the entire day. Staff recognizes the current situation is different. Students are parking their vehicles on both sides of the street for the entire day. There is not a critical time of day with concentrated activity. By restricting parking on both sides of the street for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, students will not park their vehicles on the street for the entire day and the inconvenience to residents is limited. This solution addresses both the Village's and residents' concerns. As the Village had been receiving numerous complaints, Staff decided to act quickly and put this issue on the soonest Safety Commission agenda. Staff was only recently able to understand the school's position and realized it would take some time for a petition to be circulated and returned to Village in time for the September meeting. Therefore, Staff decided to send out surveys this ~veek and have a return deadline of September 7th. This week 139 surveys were sent to those residents who would be directly affected by the proposed parking restrictions. Results of the survey will be shared at the Safety Commission Meeting. Staff chose the limits of the parking restrictions based on the locations of those residents who complained and also Staff observations. Prospect Manor Avenue has not experienced parking problems but was included in the survey in anticipation of students finding alternative parking locations. On the other hand, Staff decided to limit the extent of the parking restrictions to Prospect Manor Avenue as to not inconvenience too 6 3) 4) many residents in the neighborhood. However, should the proposed parking restrictions be passed and new problem areas develop, Staff will consider extending the parking restrictions to other areas. In addition to expediting this issue for the Safety Commission and Village Board to review, the Village Manager decided to enact immediate parking restrictions at his discretion. Beginning the week of September 4t~', parking restriction signs similar to what is being proposed will be installed along Fairview Avenue, Prospect Manor Avenue, Highland Street and Memory Lane. The Police Department will have the authority and be enforcing the new parking restrictions by issuing citations. Both the school administration and students will be made aware of the new parking restrictions prior to installation Of the signs. Staff will be able to monitor the effectiveness of this decision and share the results at the Safety Commission Meeting. Residents will also be able to provide feedback of the new parking restrictions through the survey or at the meeting. Based on residents' feedback and Staff's observations, modifications to the new parking restrictions may be made during the Safety Commission Meeting. So that this issue has the opportunity to be reviewed and discussed, Safety Commission and Village Board approval is necessary. Staff recognizes parking restrictions are a short-term solution until a parking lot can be built. While some students will find other locations ~:o park, it is our hope some students will find driving inconvenient and choose to take the bus and also that we will not see large amounts of vehicles in one particular area. Staff will continue to monitor the neighborhood and be willing to extend the parking restrictions if new problems arise. Also, Staff will work with the school to see to it that a new parldng lot is eyentually built and every effort is made to eliminate student parking on Village streets. If and' when, this happens, Staff will conside..r ?emoving the parking restrictions in the neighborhood. ' Recommendation Based on the current student parking problems experienced around Prospect High School: The Village Traffic Engineer recommends approval of No Parking lOam-llam & lpm-2pm School Days signs for Fairview Avenue between Memory Lane and Kensington Road, Prospect Manor Avenue between Memory Lane and Kensington Road, Memory Lane between Forest Avenue and Prospect Manor Avenue, and Highland Street between Fairview Avenue and Eastwood Avenue. Discussion Traffic Engineer Lawrie made a presentation on this issue. Chairman Bencic opened up the discussion to the public. Jim Meilinger, 607 Fairview Avenue, was concerned with parking on both sides of the street before the parking restriction signs were installed. Chris Young, 509 Fairview Avenue. recommends holding the school accountable to build a new parking lot. He believes the Village Board of Trustees should attend a School Board Meeting and represent the residents to see to it that a new parking lot is built. 7 Shirley Melissa, 608 Fairview Avenue, complained about the rude behaxsor of the students and the speeding along the street. Ed Wojdyla, 515 Fairview Avenue. said that the Village's elected officials need to go before the School Board so that they quickly resolve the parking problem. Martha Ruetsche, 610 Fairview Avenue, was appreciative of the new signs and was in favor of leaving them in place. Jerry Elatkin, 700 Prospect Manor Avenue, is not satisfied with the limited parking restrictions. He believes students who have early lunch can easily move their vehicles before 10am so that they don't get a ticket. Others in attendance voiced their opinion that the time restrictions are effective and they shouldn't be changed. Dale Lynn, 505 Forest Avenue, expressed his frustration that residents cannot park on the street. Brenda Taggert, 705 Prospect Manor Avenue, was in favor of a sticker system that residents could receive so that they could park on the street. Chuck Peterson, 606 Prospect Manor Avenue, welcomed the parking restrictions but expressed a concern of speeding by students a!ong the street. Marge Wood, 619 Forest Avenue~ has had parking restrictions on her block for a few years. She said they have been very effective in criminating parking problems on her street and wouldn,t change anything. Sherrie Fuhl, 706 Prospect Manor Avenue, is also in favor of a sticker system as the parking restrictions are a burden on the residents~ Chairman Bencic explained that a sticker system has been discussed in the past but presents a number of issues including setting a precedent for other areas in the Village. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained other communities have tried a sticker system but some residents have sold their stickers to students which defeats the purpose of the parking restrictions. Vern Sarasin, 706 Fairview Avenue, approves of the new parking restriction signs. Michael Anczyk, 1406 W. Busse Avenue, is a student at Prospect High School and understands the concerns raised by the residents. He too would like to see more parking spaces on school property and would possibly like to see the band practice at another location rather than the current parking lot. Martha Lockard, 204 MacArthur Boulevard, stated that students are now parking in front of her house because of the new parking restrictions. She would like to see pressure put on the school to address the parking problem. General comments from the residents continued for a while and then Comrmssioner Bencic brought the discussion back to the Safety Commission. 8 Commissioner Bobikewicz recommends that residents voice their opinion at a School Board Meeting. She questioned whether the 10am-llam parking restriction was really effective as some students might have lunch during that time. Commissioner Bjork also recommended to the residents to attend a future School Board Meeting and voice the need for a new parking lot. Commissioner Keane sees this issue as a real safety concern. He questioned whether the parking restrictions should be extended to streets south of Memory Lane as they may now be new problem areas. Captain Livingston wanted to assure the residents that whether vehicles are parked on the street or not, the Fire Department will still be able to get to an emergency location. By having clear streets, though, he said delays would be minimized. Mr. Bures said that he sees the parking restrictions as a short-term solution. Ultimately, the long- term solution is to have enough parking spaces on school property. Commissioner Beening doesn't believe the Safety Commission should extend the parking restrictions at this time. He recommended that Staff monitor the neighborhood and bring this issue back at a furore date. Mr. Bures suggested that this issue be brought to the Safety Commission at the October meeting for additional review and discussion. Additional discussion took place about the timeframe of the parking restrictions and the streets included as part of the parking restrictions. Mr. Bures, seconded by Commissioner Keane, moved to approve No Parking lOam-llam & lpm-2pm School Days signs for Fairview Avenue bet~veen Memory Lane and Kensington Road, Prospect Manor Avenue between Memory Lane and Kensington Road, Memory Lane between Forest Avenue and Prospect Manor Avenue, and Highland Street between Fairview Avenue and Eastwood Avenue. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. OTHER COMMISSION ISSUES No other Safety Commission items were brought forth at this time. DJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Safety Commission voted 8~0 to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Bjork. Commissioner Beening seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, Matthew P. Lawrie, P.E. Traffic Engineer x:\files\engineerksa fecomm\tra ffi ckrecs&min~ept01 min.doc 10