Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/11/1999 SC MinutesDirector Glen R. Andler Deputy Director Sean P. Dorsey Village Engineer Jeffrey A. Wulbecker Administrative Assistant Dawn L. Wucki Solid Waste Coordinator M. Lisa Angell Water/Sewer Superintendent Roderick T O'Donovan Streets/Buildings Superintendent Paul C. Bures Forestry/Grounds Superintendent Sandra M. Clark Vehicle/Equipment Superintendent James E. Guenther Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois B005B-2229 Phone B47/B70-5B40 Fax 847/253-9377 TDD B47/392-1235 MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION DRAFT CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of the Mount Prospect Safety Commission was called to order at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, October 11, 1999. ROLL CALL Present upon roll call: Absent: Lee Beening Chuck Bencic Joan Bjork Nancy Bobikewicz Andy Mitchell Mark Bonner Buz Livingston Paul Bures Matt Lawrie Phyllis Moliere Others in Attendance: See Attached List. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Police Department Fire Department Public Works Public Works/Engineering Division Commissioner Commissioner Mitchell, seconded by Commissioner Bencic, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Safety Commission held on July 12, 1999. The minutes were approved by a vote of 8-0. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No citizens came forth at this time to discuss any topics that were not on the current agenda. OLD BUSINESS No old business was discussed. 1 0--l-4 Donor - 0,;-r—q —;d k C", 1,1. NEW BUSINESS A) Request for No Parking Along the West Side of the 200 Block of I -Oka Avenue 1) Background Information Mr. and Mrs. Jacobus, 216 S. I -Oka Avenue, have lived on the block for the past 10 years. In this time, they believe the parking problem has increased tremendously. The problem occurs during the day and evening, weekdays and weekends. St. Raymond's is near their house and people park on both sides of the street causing tie-ups. The church parking makes it difficult for them to back out of their driveway and adds noise to the neighborhood. The 300 and 400 blocks of I -Oka have No Parking Any Time signs on the west side of the street and they feel it should be extended to their block. Staff Observations: a) I -Oka Avenue is a typical residential street. It is a 26' wide asphalt street with curb and gutter. Sidewalk exists on both sides of the street. The 200 block currently has "No Parking Sundays 6:30am — 1:30pm" on the west side of the street. The attached map shows the existing parking restrictions in the neighborhood. These parking restrictions appear to help control street parking due to St. Raymond activities, specifically Sunday mornings, and commuter parking near the train station. b) St. Raymond's is one block south of the 200 block of I -Oka. Both a school and church exists on the property. During the week, the peak traffic times are around 9am and 2:30pm which are the drop-off and pick-up times for the school. On Sunday mornings, the church has a lot of traffic. In addition to daytime traffic, there are occasional evening activities at both the school and church which causes traffic in the neighborhood. A parking lot exists south of the school. Based on observations, the parking lot doesn't seem to be over crowded with vehicles during the daytime or evening. C) Site visits were conducted during the weeks of September 13'b and September 20th. Visits were done during the morning, afternoon and evening hours on weekdays and weekends. Based on our observations, there was never more than six vehicles parked on the street (200 block of I -Oka) at a given time. The evenings did appear to have more vehicles parked on the street than the mornings or afternoons. Vehicles tended to be parked more on the south half of the block closer to St. Raymond's than the north half. There did not seem to be more vehicles parked on one side of the street than the other. Parents were observed to park their vehicle for a short time on the street while picking - up their child. Also, we did not observe a problem with congestion because of vehicles parked on both sides of the street. d) 24 surveys were distributed to those residents that live adjacent to the requested parking restrictions. 19 surveys were returned to the Village. The question that was asked in the survey was, What insight can you provide or experiences can you share that would support or oppose installing "No Parking Any Time" signs? 12 surveys opposed the requested parking restrictions. 6 surveys supported the additional parking restrictions. The remaining 1 survey had no comment. Most of the responses said there was not enough traffic to warrant additional restrictions. No parking would have a greater effect on the residents not being able to park on the street. Those residents who supported the 2 parking restrictions felt it necessary to eliminate the cars who park on the street and attend St. Raymond activities. Attached is a copy of the survey form as well as selective comments from the survey received from the residents. Comments are provided in this study which are relevant and not duplicates of other comments. e) The current parking restrictions on the 200 block of I -Oka appears to address the peak traffic concern, Sunday morning church parking. During the study period, there didn't appear to be another time of the day where parking should be restricted to improve traffic flow. Many cars seen parked on the street were not associated with activities at St. Raymond's. During most site visits, the street parking reflected most residential streets not near a school or church. Restricting parking at all times would seem to only hinder residents from using the street for parking while not greatly improving the traffic flow or safety. f) Staff's observations and the majority of comments received don't support the requested parking restrictions. The two repeated complaints were a difficulty in accessing driveways and an underutilized parking lot at St. Raymond's. It would be appropriate to write a letter to St. Raymond's asking that they encourage the parishoners and parents to use the parking lot to alleviate some of the minor congestion along the 200 block of I - Oka. This should address the complaints received from those who supported the requested parking restrictions while still allowing parking on both sides of the street during most times of the week. Staff Recommendation: Based on Staff observations and comments received from residents: The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: No Parking Any Tinre signs not be installed along the west side of the 200 block of I -Oka Avenue. 2) Discussion The owner at 206 I -Oka stated that he would like to see no change to the current parking restrictions along the block. There were no other residents in attendance to discuss this topic. Project Engineer Lawrie said that all homes along the 200 block of I -Oka Avenue received notification of the meeting. He then provided an overview of the study performed on this subject. He discussed both the site observations and results of the survey sent to the residents. Project Engineer Lawrie said that a letter has been sent to St. Raymond's asking them to limit the need to park along the 200 block of I -Oka. The parking lot is usually never full and can be better utilized. Commissioner Bencic asked Officer Bonner if there is a law which says how close a vehicle can park to a driveway. Officer Bonner responded there is not. 3 Commissioner Bjork commented that restricting parking all the time would hurt the residents and their guests because it would eliminate half the parking on the street. Commissioner Bencic, seconded by Mr. Bures, moved to deny installation of No Parking Any Time signs along the west side of the 200 block of I -Oka Avenue. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. B) Request for Stop Signs at the Intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court 1) Background Information Resident Comments: Per a discussion at a Coffee with Council, Ms. Corcoran has petitioned the Village with signatures from the neighbors in the area to consider installing Stop signs at the intersection. She is concerned for the safety of the children in the neighborhood. Staff Observations: The Engineering Staff performed a traffic study. The findings are as follows: a) Accidents A search of the accident reports at the intersection indicated: Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 (Sept) Number of Accidents 0 0 0 0 0 0 b) Speed Study Representative speed surveys were performed on Hill east of Eastman between September 14`h and September 16'b (see attached data sheets). The average speeds are follows: Eastbound Hill 22 mph Westbound Hill 21 mph The speed limits on Hill Street and Eastman Court are 30 mph. Based on the results, there doesn't appear to be a speeding problem. C) Traffic Volume Traffic volume data was gathered in September. Based on the results, there are approximately 200 vehicles per day that enter the intersection. 100 vehicles travel on Hill Street and 100 vehicles on Eastman Court. The maximum total vehicular volume entering the intersection from all approaches for any eight hours during a recorded day was 112. The speed study and traffic volume statistics are attached. d) Survey Results A total of 20 surveys were sent out in September to collect the residents' comments on this request. 8 surveys were returned to the Village. Attached is a copy of the survey form as well as selective comments from the survey received from the residents. Comments are provided in this study which are relevant and not duplicates of other comments. e) Existing Traffic Control Signs Traffic control signs adjacent to the intersection are as follows: North: Cul-de-sac — no signs South: This is a T -intersection, the road doesn't continue south — no signs East: Road ends approximately 200' to the east — no signs West: Rand & Hill — stop sign on Hill Existing traffic control signs in the area are shown on the attached map. f) Site Obstructions Based on a field inspection, there appears to be no sight obstructions at the intersection. Stop Signs: 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 have been no reported accidents. Multiway Stop signs are warranted when the minimum traffic volume entering the intersection from all approaches is 500 vehicles/hour for an eight hour period (500 x 8 = 4000 vehicles/8 hrs). The traffic volume at this intersection (112 vehicles/8 hrs) is approximately 3% 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 on Hill Street is 24 mph. Stop signs are not warranted based on the accident history, traffic volume and speed study at the intersection. S Yield Signs: The study has shown Stop signs are not warranted at the intersection. In order for Yield signs to be warranted, a special problem needs to be identified from a traffic study that would be susceptible to correction by use of the Yield sign. The Engineering Staff typically considers a minimum average of one accident per year over the past three years a criterion for Yield sign installation. There have been zero accidents over the past three years at the intersection. The characteristics of the intersection are unique. It is a T -intersection and is traveled by local traffic. Hill Street is a dead end road which prevents cut through traffic. Therefore, the potential for an accident at the intersection is minimal. Many of the comments received from the residents did not support any signs because of the small amount of traffic that enters the intersection. Staff Recommendation: Stop Sign Request Because the intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court does not meet any of the Stop Sign Warrants, The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: Stop signs at the intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court not be installed. Yield Sign Request Because there doesn't appear to exist a special problem that would be correctable by installing Yield signs, The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: Yield signs at the intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court not be installed. 2) Discussion Sarah Corcoran, 524 Hill Street, addressed the Commission by requesting Stop signs in order to improve the safety in the neighborhood. People of all ages including many children live in the area and Stop signs would slow down motorists and help them to pay attention. Project Engineer Lawrie presented the findings of the traffic study to the Commission. No further discussion to place on this issue. red Commissioner Bjork, seconded by Officer Bonner, moved to deny installation of Stop signs at the intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. Commissioner Mitchell, seconded by Commissioner Bobikewicz, moved to deny installation of Yield signs at the intersection of Hill Street and Eastman Court. The motion was approved by a vote of 8-0. FURTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Mitchell expressed a concern with the lack of maintenance to the Village traffic signals by the contractor, Aldridge Electric. Project Engineer Lawrie did inspect the, signals last week and found a number of deficiencies with the signals. Aldridge Electric has been put on notice to correct these problems. All invoices will not be paid until the deficiencies are corrected. Also, the Village will now require the contractor to submit a biweekly report of the maintenance to the signals. Commissioner Bobikewicz is concerned with the traffic around Steak N' Shake at Randhurst Mall. Motorists are not following the pavement markings and signs. Officer Bonner said he would have the Police Department look into it. Commissioner Beening noticed the County and State have begun to change the yellow school crossing signs with the new florescent green signs. Mr. Bares provided a cost analysis of the different grades of signs. The new signs are more than double the cost of the current yellow signs. Commissioner Beening would like to see the Village convert over to the new signs and hopes the Village Board would approve the additional money to install the signs. Project Engineer Lawrie read a letter from a resident at 616 Albion who wanted to thank the Commission on listening to the concerns of the residents of the Prospect Meadows Subdivision at July's Safety Commission. She appreciates the new signs and hopes they help. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Safety Commission voted 8-0 to adjourn at 8:15 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Bencic. Commissioner Mitchell seconded the motion. x: \files\en gineer\safecomm\traffic\recs&min\october99min.doc Respectfully submitted, Matthew PtLawrie, Project Engineer 7 VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING ATTENDANCE SHEET October 11, 1999 7:30 P.M. NAME ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER