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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2005 SC minutes Director Glen R. Andler Mount Prospect Deputy Director Sean P. Dorsey Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056-2229 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 7:25 p.m. on Monday, July 11, 2005. ROLL CALL Present upon roll call: Chuck Bencic John Keane Carol Tortorello Jeff Schmitz Henry Dawson Joe Castro Matt Lawrie Absent: Susan Arndt Kevin Grouwinkel Mark Miller Others in Attendance: See attached list. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chairman Vice Chairman Commissioner Police Department Representative Fire Department Representative Public Works Representative Traffic Engineer - Staff Liaison Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Chairman Bencic deferred approval of the minutes of the Safety Commission Meeting held on May 9, 2005 since the regular Village representatives were not in attendance. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD There was no one in attendance that spoke on an issue not on the agenda. Phone 847/870-5640 Fa)( 847/253..93T1 WVI^N. mou ntprospecLorg OLD BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS A) MAPLE STREET PARKING STUDY 1) Background Information The petitioner's request is to address the parking problem along the 500 block of S. Maple Street during baseball season. Vehicles park on both sides of the street making access difficult for residents and raising a safety concern as children often walk between cars. Residents have also complained about the baseball visitors littering on the lawns and the potential for emergency vehicles unable to travel on the street. The 500 block of S. Maple Street is a north-south local street near Lions Park. It is an asphalt street that is 26.5' wide (back-of-curb to back-of-curb). The block is only 300' long with a cul- de-sac at the north end. It has six properties that front the street. There are currently No Stopping, Standing, Parking 8am-4pm School Days signs posted along the east side of the block. These signs were posted in 200 I to address on-street parking issues associated with drop-off and pick-up at Lions Park Elementary School. Moehling Drive, an east- west dead end street connected to Maple Street has No Parking Any Time signs posted on both sides of the street because of the limited right-of-way and narrow pavement. According to the Mount Prospect Park District, the baseball season runs from April to July. There are two fields at the park. The west field is near Maple Street and the east field is near School Street. Practices and games are scheduled for every evening during the week and throughout the day on Saturdays and Sundays. The number of teams this year has almost doubled which has increased the number of practices and games at Lions Park. The fact that the residents must now contend with visitor parking each night of the week may have contributed to them bringing their concerns to the Village now. During the evenings and weekends, most of the available on-street parking is occupied by baseball visitors. There are typically 6-8 vehicles parked on each side of Maple Street. This leaves approximately 10' for thru traffic, enough for only one lane of traffic. This situation also makes it difficult for residents to back out and pull in their driveways. From an emergency response standpoint, the Village's fire trucks are 8' wide. There would be adequate room (while tight) to access a home in the event of an emergency even with cars parked on both sides of the street. Beyond the 500 block of S. Maple Street, a few cars associated with the baseball games at the west field have been seen parked along the 400 block of S. Maple Street, Council Trail and within the school lot. The park district did pass out leaflets to parents asking them to be more courteous when parking in the neighborhood and making them aware of available parking in the school lot. A recent visit, however, still showed cars parked on both sides of Maple Street. Some of the residents affected by this study attended a recent park district meeting and voiced their concerns. The committee members appeared to by sympathetic to their concerns and agreed to take steps to change parents' behavior. F.Jhon- . Staff sent out surveys to the eight properties along Maple Street and Moehling Drive to get their opinions on this issue. Five surveys were returned. All five expressed concern with the current situation. Issues over emergency response, children safety, access, blocking hydrants, noise, littering and trespassing were all expressed to the Village. 2) Recommendation Since this is a public street, any change in the current parking restriction must affect all potential users, including the residents. A No Baseball Parking sign would be unenforceable. Attempting to restrict parking during baseball season along with the parking restrictions already in place for the school may lead to confusion and would be more difficult to manage. To be consistent and simplistic, a parking restriction for one side of the street at all times would be Staffs preference. This would also address any future changes by the park district such as a softball league, fall baseball or other events. However, since baseball season is almost over, a more restrictive parking ordinance is only going to affect the residents for the next nine months. Until next April, making no change will seem to benefit the residents. And before the next season begins, distributing leaflets to the parents and coaches encouraging them to park in the lot (rather than simply saying it's available) may help the situation. It may also help to have a portable sign displayed at the corner of Maple Street and Council Trail directing baseball visitors to the lot to reduce on-street parking in the neighborhood. This would have to be coordinated with the park district. If, after these steps are taken and the parking problem continues, changing the parking restrictions would then be recommended as a final solution. Based on the Engineering Staffs review of this issue, the Village Traffic Engineer recommends to: . Make no change to the parking restrictions along Maple Street at this time . Work with the park district to be more pro-active in getting baseball visitors to park in the school lot once baseball season begins in April 2006 . Monitor the parking situation at the beginning of the next baseball season . If the problem continues, prohibit stopping, standing and parking on the east side of Maple Street between Moehling Drive and Council Trail at all times. 3) Discussion Jim Bergeron, 516 S. Maple Street, described the parking problem to the Commission. He said that the situation has made it difficult for residents to get in and out of their driveways. Water Radtke, 205 E. Moehling Drive, expressed a concern with children safety because of kids darting between the cars during baseball games. He also was concerned an emergency vehicle may be delayed because ofthe parking situation. Imre Soos, 201 E. Moehling Drive, has noticed an increase in games and traffic this season. It has become inconvenient to access his driveway and to have guests park near his house. Sally Cohon, 201 E. Moehling Drive, shared some pictures with the Commission showing the parking problems during baseball games. She shared her experience at a recent baseball association meeting. Unfortunately, she said the parking problems have continued. Alfred Voight, 510 S. Maple Street, supported the observations made by his neighbors. Phone 847f8Tr: Frank Pantell, 508 S. Maple Street, explained that it is difficult to access his driveway because of the parking congestion along the street. Chairman Bencic asked Traffic Engineer Lawrie to present the report to the Safety Commission. Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided an overview of Staff s study of the issue. Chairman Bencic noted that he visited the site and saw how narrow the street can become with cars parked on both sides of the street. He supported the parking restriction change but wanted the residents' input on whether to implement the changes now or next year. Sally Cohon responded that she would like to see the signs installed immediately. Others said the same. Commissioner Keane questioned whether the signs could restrict parking between April 1 and August I only. Since there are already restrictions associated with the school, Chairman Bencic commented that it could be lead to confusion and would be difficult to enforce for the Police Department. There was some general discussion about the need to enforce the signs and issue tickets rather than finding the owners and asking them to move their car. Sally Cohon said that some parents park along Moehling Drive where there are No Parking Any Time signs and wait in their car. She suggested that parents not be allowed to do that so that residents can access their driveways. Traffic Engineer Lawrie mentioned to the Commission that if they were to address the parking issue on Moehling Drive, a new ordinance would be needed to change the No Parking Any Time signs to No Stopping, Standing, Parking Any Time signs. Commissioner Keane, seconded by Commissioner Tortorello, moved to approve installing No Stopping, Standing, Parking Any Time signs along the east side of Maple Street between Council Trail and Moehling Drive and along both sides of Moehling Drive between Maple Street and its terminus. The motion was approved by a vote of 6-0. COMMISSION ISSUES There were no issues brought up for discussion. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Safety Commission voted 6-0 to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Tortorello. Commissioner Keane seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, L---1 A A)/J ~ -~~ Matthew P. Lawrie, P.E. Traffic Engineer x:\engineering\traffic\safecomm\recs&min\july05min.doc Phone hfd I VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING ATTENDANCE SHEET .JULY 1 1, 2005 7:00 P.M. NAME ADDRESS W~k.. TtR (t" 1J D 11<.E ~ (J)' 13 /VI (J E 1+ /... I iJ Cr ~m ~"-6~ 3aLlu Co kon \ .9" s. 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