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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/01/1997 SC MinutesJ Director Glen R. Andler Deputy Director Sean P. Dorsey Village Engineer Jeffrey A. Wulbecker Administrative Aide 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 60056-2229 Phone 647/670-5640 Fax 647/253-9377 TDD B47/392-1235 MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION I. CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of the Mount Prospect Safety Commission was called to order at 10:03 A.M. on Saturday, November 1, 1997 at the Christian Life Church at 400 East Gregory Street. 11. ROLL CALL Upon roll call, each Safety Commission Member introduced themselves to the audience. Present upon roll call: Lee Beening Chairman Andy Mitchell Commissioner Chuck Bencic Commissioner Nancy Bobikewicz Commissioner Joan Bjork Commissioner Paul Bures Public Works Buz Livingston Fire Department Absent: Tom Daley Police Department Phyllis Moliere Commissioner Staff Present Glen Andler Public Works Ron Pavlock Police Department Jeff Wulbecker Public Works, Engineering Division Sean Won Public Works, Engineering Division Others in Attendance: See Attached List. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Paul Bures, seconded by Commissioner Bencic, moved to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Safety Commission held on September 8, 1997. The Minutes were approved by a vote of 7-0. IV. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No citizens came forth at this time to discuss any topics that were not on the current agenda. Recycled Paper - Printed with Soy Ink V. OLD BUSINESS TURN RESTRICTIONS AT RAND/ISABELLA, RAND/LOUIS AND RAND/HENRY INTERSECTIONS a) Background Information This item was discussed at the April 1997 Safety Commission Meeting. Mr. Jerry Boldt, 300 N. School Street along with 164 residents requested tum restrictions in order to reduce the heavy volume of cut -through traffic generated by the Kensington Business Center. At the meeting, the Safety Commission recommended tum restrictions at the Rand/Isabella, Rand/Louis, and Rand/Henry intersections. The Village Board of Trustees approved the tum restrictions based on the Safety Commission's recommendation and comments from school districts. At the May 20, 1997 Village Board meeting, the Village Board instructed staff to review the traffic data for the next six months and bring the issue back to the Safety Commission and the Village Board. Traffic Data The Engineering Staff completed the following three traffic counts after the turn restriction signs were installed on June 16, 1997. Week of June 16 Week of August 12 Week of October 6 The results of the above three traffic counts and the traffic count before the turn restriction are shown on the attached map. The effects of turn restrictions on the cut through traffic are discussed as follows: 1. Isabella Street between Rand Road and William Street Before Tum Restriction (February, 1996): 3666 vehicles/day (vpd) After Tum Restriction: Average of three counts 2333 vpd (Reduction of 1333 vpd) The traffic volume on Isabella Street has been reduced by approximately 36%. The turn restriction signs resulted in a significant reduction of the cut through traffic on Isabella Street 2 2. Henry Street between Rand Road and Edward Street Before Turn Restriction (February, 1996): 811 vpd After Turn Restriction: Average of three counts 912 vpd (Increase of 101 vpd) The traffic volume has increased by approximately 12%. This was expected as it was anticipated that motorists would look for other routes once the restrictions were imposed at Isabella. This, however, does not represent a significant increase. 3. Louis Street South of Rand Road Before Turn Restriction (February, 1996): 398 vpd After Turn Restriction: Average three counts 322 vpd (Reduction of 76 vpd) The traffic volume has been reduced by approximately 19%. This represents a modest decrease in traffic. 4. Gregory Street West of Owen Street Before Turn Restriction (February, 1996): 810 vpd After Turn Restriction: Average of three counts 796 vpd (Reduction of 14 vpd) The traffic volume has been reduced by approximately 2%. This represents a positive but insignificant change in traffic volume. 5. Isabella Street West of Owen Street Before Tum Restriction (February, 1996): 1423 vpd After Tum Restriction: Average of three counts 1317 vpd (Reduction of 106 vpd) The traffic volume has been reduced by approximately 7%. This represents a modest decrease in traffic. 3 t 6. Owen Street South of Isabella Street Before Turn Restriction (February, 1996): 1401 vpd After Turn Restriction: Average of three counts 1262 vpd (Reduction of 139 vpd) The traffic volume has been reduced by approximately 10%. This represents a modest decrease in traffic. In summary, the traffic volumes were changed as follows: Five out of six locations experienced a reduction in traffic volume. Isabella West of Rand (36%,1336 cars) Louis South of Rand (19%, 76 cars) Isabella West of Owen (7%,106 cars) Owen South of Isabella (10%, 139 cars) Gregory West of Owen (2%,14 cars) One location experienced an increase in traffic volume. Henry West of Rand (12%, 101 cars) Therefore, it is concluded that the implementation of the turn restrictions accomplished the desired effect. The tum restriction signs significantly reduced the traffic on Isabella west of Rand and generally reduced the traffic in the neighborhood. Staff Recommendation The tum restriction signs at Rand/Isabella, Rand/Louis, and Rand/Henry intersections did reduce the traffic volumes in the neighborhood. One of the major complaints was the high volume of cut through traffic on Isabella St west of Rand Rd. The traffic volume on this portion of Isabella St was reduced significantly (36%) without significantly increasing the traffic volume on the other streets in the neighborhood. Therefore, Staff recommends that the following tum restrictions remain in force permanently: 1. No Right Turn from Southbound Rand Road onto Isabella Street 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 2. No Right Turn from Southbound Rand Road onto Henry Street 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 3. No Left Tum from Eastbound Isabella Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 4. No Left Turn from Northbound Louis Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 5. No Left Turn from Eastbound Henry Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM All from Monday through Friday 4 b) Discussion Chairman Beening asked Village Engineer Wulbecker to present the results of traffic counts taken after the tum restriction signs were installed. Mr. Wulbecker said that the tum restriction signs were installed at Isabella/Rand, Louis/Rand, and Henry/Rand intersections on June 16, 1997 after the Village Board approved the tum restrictions in May 1997. Three traffic counts, one in every two months, were taken to evaluate the effectiveness of tum restrictions. The traffic volume on Isabella Street between Rand and William has been reduced by approximately 36% (1333 vpd), from 3666 vpd to 2333 vpd, that is a significant reduction of the cut through traffic. The traffic volume on Henry Street between Rand and Edward has increased from 811 vpd to 912 vpd by approximately 12%. While the traffic volume has increased, the volume of 912 vpd is still lower than the traffic volumes of other streets except Gregory/L-ouis Streets. The traffic volume on Louis Street south of Rand Road has decreased from 398 vpd to 322 vpd that is a reduction of 19%. This is a modest decrease in traffic. The traffic volume on Gregory Street west of Owen Street has been reduced by approximately 2% from 810 vpd to 796 vpd. This represents a positive but insignificant change in traffic. The traffic volume on Isabella Street west of Owen Street has decreased from 1423 vpd to 1317 vpd that is a reduction of 7%. Again this represents a modest decrease in traffic. The traffic volume on Owen Street south of Isabella Street has decreased from 1401 vpd to 1262 vpd that is a reduction of 10%. Mr. Wulbecker summarized that the implementation of the tum restrictions reduced the traffic volumes in all streets except Henry Street. Village Engineer Wulbecker noted that there is a private driveway, Serafine Drive, just south of Henry Street on Rand Road. Serafine Drive is located between the old Color Tile Building and the Sunrise Restaurant. The police observed that approximately 25 cars turned from Rand Road onto Serafine Drive to avoid tum restrictions at Henry/Rand during the traffic count study. Then they proceeded to Albert Street where they tumed north to Henry Street and made left turns to head westbound Henry Street. Village Engineer Wulbecker recommended that tum restrictions at Rand/Isabella, Rand/Louis, and Rand/Henry be permanent because these tum restrictions did reduce the traffic volume significantly on Isabella St between Rand and William without significantly increasing the traffic volumes on the other streets in the neighborhood. Village Engineer Wulbecker introduced Police Chief Pavlock for his presentation. Police Chief Pavlock said that the police issued several hundred tickets to enforce the turn restrictions. Chief Pavlock also recommended that the turn restrictions be permanent because the turn restrictions reduced the traffic volume significantly. The police did use unmarked cars to observe the compliance of the turn restrictions. The traffic counts and tickets issued during this period are summarized in the attached memo dated on 10/27/97. Based on the traffic counts done by Engineering and tickets issued by the Police, approximately 2% of the motorists that use these intersections got tickets. Approximately 60% of the motorists that got tickets are residents of the Mount Prospect. As mentioned by Village Engineer Wulbecker, some drivers were trying to avoid turn restrictions at Henry/Rand by using Serafine Drive. Chief Pavlock said that the police would continue to enforce the turn restrictions. Village Engineer Wulbecker added that he talked to Paul Halverson from the School District 57. Village Engineer Wulbecker said that Paul Halverson could not attend the meeting but he wanted the following information passed on to the Safety Commission. 1) School District 57 has no objection to the tum restrictions remaining, 2) the tum restrictions did not cause any problems to school bus operations, and 3) since, they can not predict the redistribution of the student population and the school bus routes in the future, they reserve the right to discuss this issue in the future. Following Chief Pavlock's and Village Engineer Wulbecker's presentations, Chairman Beening offered everyone an opportunity to speak regarding the tum restrictions. Louis Goodman, 310 N. School St., said that he has no problem with the tum restrictions and voiced his support for them to remain permanently. One resident asked that if the traffic counts on Henry included the traffic using Serafine Drive. Village Engineer Wulbecker responded that the traffic counts were taken between Albert and Edward and, therefore, included the traffic using Serafine Drive. Commissioner Mitchell asked that if there are any street signs for Serafine Drive. Mr. Wulbecker stated that the Village sometime ago vacated Serafine Drive and there are no public street signs. Public Works Director Andler added that the Village could install curb on the Albert Street side when Albert Street is scheduled for repair within the next nine years. Trustee Wilks asked when Serafine Drive was vacated. Village Engineer Wulbecker said that he doesn't know the year but that Serafine Drive was vacated a long time ago. Trustee Wilks also asked why Serafine Drive was vacated. Village Engineer Wulbecker responded that Serafine Drive was not serving as a public roadway and was not needed. The property owners agreed to accept the property. Public Works Director Andler added that Serafine Drive is not a full width street. Trustee Wilks questioned if motorists are breaking the law by using Serafine Drive. Village Engineer Wulbecker responded that it is legal to make right turns from Rand to Serafine. Police Chief Pavlock said, however, that these cut through movements are similar to using a corner gas station to avoid congestion at an intersection. Chief Pavlock also said that the police issued several tickets for drivers' reckless conduct for this. Chief Pavlock added that there is a law on the books but it is questionable how to enforce the law for this case. Trustee Hoefert asked where most of the traffic is heading to after they entered the neighborhood. Village Engineer Wulbecker said that the traffic split almost equally onto the westbound Owen and the southbound Isabella. Owen and Isabella experienced a reduction of approximately 100 to 150 cars. One resident asked what was the impact of the tum restrictions to major intersections in the area. Village Engineer Wulbecker said that we have not observed any additional traffic and have not received any complaints due to additional traffic. Village Engineer Wulbecker stated that traffic increase of this magnitude might not have a significant impact to major intersections. Another resident asked whether or not there is a left -tum arrow from eastbound Central onto Mt. Prospect Road. He stated that this portion of Mt. Prospect Road is short. 6 Village Engineer Wulbecker said that there is a left -turn arrow at the intersection and the left -turning cars are blocking westbound Central Road. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) controls the traffic signals at the intersection. Currently, there is no traffic control equipment sophisticated enough to solve the problem. Therefore, the Village discussed with IDOT how to solve the problem. IDOT will review our suggestions with their traffic signal consultants to find out whether this will solve the problem. The left -tum from Central Road to Mt. Prospect Road starts the gridlock. Therefore, we are trying to create longer green time for northbound Mt. Prospect Road traffic at Rand Road to clear the intersection. Because there are three intersections, we need to set priorities based on traffic volume. The first priority is Rand Road. The second priority is Central Road and the last is Mt. Prospect Road. That is the reason why northbound green time on Mt. Prospect Road is not sufficient. Chairman Beening stated that the problem at Mt. Prospect/Rand/Central intersections existed before the tum restrictions. Trustee Hoefert added that drivers turning left from Central to Mt. Prospect Road are aware of the problem. Police Chief Pavlock said that voluntary compliance is the only way to solve the problem. Village Engineer Wulbecker felt that we identified the problem and we hope to solve the problem in the near future. Mr. Jerry Boldt, 300 N. School St, expressed thanks to all personnel involved in the implementation of tum restrictions. He said that the restrictions are a tremendous success even though the restrictions create inconvenience for some of us. He stated that the tum restrictions reduced traffic significantly during the rush hours. The streets are safer for children and senior citizens. He added that deterioration of roadway would be reduced. He recommended that the tum restrictions be permanent. Chairman Beening explained the following tum restrictions: 1. No Right Turn from Southbound Rand Road onto Isabella Street 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 2. No Right Turn from Southbound Rand Road onto Henry Street 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 3. No Left Turn from Eastbound Isabella Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 4. No Left Turn from Northbound Louis Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM 5. No Left Turn from Eastbound Henry Street onto Rand Road 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM & 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM All from Monday through Friday Commissioner Mitchell, seconded by Commissioner Bjork, moved to recommend that the tum restrictions remain in force permanently. The motion was approved by a vote of 7-0. Commissioners Bobikewicz, Bjork, Bures, and Livingston said that the tum restrictions reduced the cut -through traffic and, therefore, they support the turn restrictions. 7 Chairman Beening said that he could not decide at the April Safety Commission Meeting because residents were split 50-50. That was the reason the turn restrictions were installed as a temporary measure. The result of the traffic counts showed that the cut - through traffic has been reduced significantly and most of the audience favored the tum restrictions. Therefore, Chairman Beening said that he supports the tum restrictions. Commissioner Mitchell said that at the time Gregory Street was closed, the traffic report did not address cut through traffic in this neighborhood. The traffic report only addressed how to move cars out of the Kensington Business Center. These turn restrictions help to solve the cut -through traffic problem. Vl. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Safety Commission voted 7-0 to adjourn at 10:43 A.M., upon the motion of Commissioner Bencic. Buz Livingston seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, Sean Won Project Engineer VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING ATTENDANCE SHEET NOVEMBER 1, 1997 NAME Peter Schuster S. Schuster Raymond Lundin H. Lundin Louis Goodman Jerry Boldt Mona Haslap Doleres Hellertz Bud Hellertz K. Richards John Nichols Dan Lett C. Kozat Richard Kozat Joyce Usery Joe Usery Carol Tortorello Jim Hoyer Skip Farley Tim Corcoran Paul Hoefert Dan Nocchi Irvana Wilks ADDRESS 303 N. William 303 N. William 200 N. William 200 N. William 310 N. School 300 N. School 323 N. Maple 6 N. Edward 6 N. Edward 304 N. School 300 N. Owen 204 N. Owen 227 N. William 227 N. William 222 N. Louis 222 N. Louis 223 S. Elmhurst Ave. 302 N. School Mayor Trustee Trustee Trustee Trustee X:\files\engineer\safety_c\min97nov 9