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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/09/2007 SC Minutes (special) MINUTES VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT W A-PELLA TRAFFIC MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2007 6:30 PM Lincoln Junior High School Meeting convened at 6:30 PM. Those present were: Mayor lrvana Wilks, Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager Dave Strahl, Police Chief Richard Eddington, Director of Public Works Glen Andler, Deputy Director of Public Works Sean Dorsey, Village Engineer JeffWulbecker, Traffic Engineer Matt Lawrie, and KLOA, Inc. Michael Werthmann. Residents in Attendance: William Walters Neil Ave. Carol Kelly Wa-Pella Ave. Agnes Knott Wa-Pella Ave. Mirella Scully Wa-Pella Ave. Larry & Jessica Lettow Wa-Pella Ave. Roland Ulbricht Wa-Pella Ave. Laurie Myers Wa-PellaAve. Laura & Brad Traviolia Wa-Pella Ave. Lara Kowalski Wa-Pella Ave. Jim & Dawn Byrne Wa-Pella Ave. Patrick Preising Wa-Pella Ave. Paul Snead Wa-Pella Ave. Arlene Juracek South Lancaster St. Patti Craven West Shahonee Trl. Tina Bellows Wa-Pella Ave. MarHynn Streit See Gwun Ave. Mr. & Mrs. Steve O'Mara Wa-Pella Ave. Steve Fleming Wa-Pella Ave. Julie Johnson Wa-Pella Ave. Christy & Mark WatychowiczWa-Pella Ave. Victor LaPorte Wa-Pella Ave. Mayor Wilks convened the meeting at 6:30 PM, welcomed the audience, and introduced the Village Trustees in attendance: Trustee Timothy Corcoran, Trustee Paul Hoefert, Trustee John Kom, Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer, Trustee Michaele Skowron, and Trustee Michael Zadel. Safety Commission Chairman Charles Bencic introduced the Commissioners in attendance: Carol Tortorello, Marshall Petersen, John Keane, Fire Chief Mike Figalah, and Streets/Building Superintendent Paul Bures. Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker next went over the agenda for the evening and presented the ground rules. Traffic Engineer Matt Lawrie then presented background information on the program, the work in other neighborhoods, and the latest traffic study and recommendations for Wa-Pella Avenue. Village Engineer JeffWulbecker then opened the meeting to questions and comments from the residents. Dawn Byrne asked when & who promoted the study. Mr. Lawrie explained that for years, when a request was made for a new sign, stop sign, yield sign, etc., the staff would do a study, make a presentation to the Board, and have them act upon that sole intersection. A couple of years ago, the Board wanted to shift their focus and rather than looking at an intersection from a reactive position, instead, wanted to look at how the decision would impact the greater part of a neighborhood. The Board then asked the staff to come up with a program to review every intersection using a uniform set of guidelines. Dawn Byrne asked how the Consultant, KLOA, was chosen. Mr. Lawrie explained a request for proposals was sent out to 4 or 5 different consultants. Staff reviewed their credentials and experience page 2 of 4 Wa-Pella Avenue Traffic Meeting January 9, 2007 with similar projects, and then they went through an interview process. KLOA was recommended to the Village Board and then approved. Steve O'Mara commented that we have stated the purpose or goal of the study is to improve safety for a driver at an intersection by not giving him a false sense of security with a stop sign that everyone rolls through. We should be considering the safety of the pedestrians and other drivers that are not violating the law. Mr. Lawrie clarified the focus to eliminate the false sense of security at an intersection was geared to pedestrians as well as drivers. We have heard from many people that cars are rolling through, or not even stopping, at the stop signs. The stop sign gives a pedestrian a false sense of security in that he/she expects the cars to stop when they are in the crosswalk. Mr. Werthmann added that we are trying to protect those drivers and pedestrians that are obeying the law. Laura Traviolia asked, since there have been no accidents at the intersections, what is the problem and what is the goal of the study? It seems that things are working right now. Are we trying to get traffic off of Can-Dota and on to Wa-Pella because Can-Dota has a higher number (of cars)? Mr. Lawrie explained we are trying to achieve standardization at every single intersection. The guidelines we have to follow show the 4-way stop signs are not warranted at the locations on Wa-Pella. Mr. Janonis emphasized the idea of the program is to bring uniformity throughout the Village and modify driver behavior. Mr. Werthmanl1 further explained that we don't expect safety to go down at a 2-way stop sign intersection. Case in point, Wa-Pella has had 1 accident at a 4-way, while Can-Dota, which has no stop signs and carries more traffic, had 0 accidents. Studies show 4-ways can be less safe when they aren't warranted. Julie Johnson asked what is a 'collector' street and what is Wa-Pella considered? Mr. Lawrie explained a collector street is a primary residential street which carries more volume than a typical, residential street. A collector links residential streets with aJ1erials. The collectors in this neighborhood are; We-Go, Elmhurst Ave., Prospect, and Lincoln. Also, a collector street tends to have less traffic control devices. If Wa-Pella was considered a collector street then all the traffic control devices would probably be recommended for removaL Wa-Pella is a residential street. Mr. Werthmann stated the collector street's purpose is to move traffic with a minimum number of stops. Resident wanted to know how much data in the study is science and how much is supposition. Mr. Wulbecker stated the study includes data collected for a standard traffic control program and typical of what any community or traffic engineer would use. Mr. Werthmann stated the study is based on guidelines using state and national standards. Larry Lettow wanted to know if a child is safer at a 4-way stop sign intersection or 2-way along Wa- Pella. Mr. Wullbecker stated the 2-way stop is expected to be just as safe if not safer. Safety is based on motorist's and pedestrian's expectations at an intersection and whether or not those expectations are met. If the expectations are not met and they (driver or pedestrian) are surprised, safety is jeopardized. If a pedestrian crosses at an intersection with stop signs, but the cars don't stop, safety is compromised. If a pedestrian crosses at an intersection with no stop signs, they wait for a gap before crossing. Resident questioned the safety of the crossing if cars are going faster through the intersection because there is no stop sign. Mr. Wulbecker stated again, the pedestrian will wait for a safe gap before crossing, regardless of how fast the car is going. Resident questioned the difference between the ages of kids crossing streets in our neighborhood and kids by the high school in Zone 8. Mr. Wulbecker pointed out there is an elementary school, Fairview Elementary, in Zone 8 with younger children than at Lincoln Jr. High. Mayor Wilks interjected at this point to explain that since she has been on the Board, starting in 1991, there has been an increase in requests to do something about the traffic in "our" neighborhood. As a result of those requests, the Board prevailed upon the engineers to seek professional help to come up with page 3 of 4 Wa-Pella Avenue Traflie Meeting January 9, 2007 a solution. As evident that we are not the only village dealing with traffic issues, other communities such as Naperville are dealing with the same traffic concerns. Resident asked if we have data that says intersections with 4-way stop signs are not safe. Mr. Werthmann stated that experience says that 4-way stop signs that are not warranted can cause safety concerns. They are unwarranted for various reasons. Stops signs which were not warranted in Zone 8 were removed and things are working safely and efficiently. Patty Craven asked if there had been more police activity in Zone 8 since changes were implemented. Mr. Wulbecker responded with a "No". Christy Watychowicz asked what does "85th percentile speed" mean? Mr. Lawrie explained it is an engineering term. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at which 85% of the cars are driving at or below. Studies have shown setting the speed limit closest to this speed results in the lowest accident rate. Resident commented that if people speed up between stop signs to make up for time loss, then slow down at the stop sign, i.e., slow down...speed up...slowdown, wouldn't they just continue to speed if there were no stop signs to slow them down? Mr. Lawrie explained that people will drive at the speed they feel most comfortable at. KLOA collected speed data on every street as part of the study. We did not see a spike in speeds on those streets that did not have stop signs versus those that did. Resident wanted to know why pedestrian counts were done between 2 PM and 4 PM and questioned their validity because a lot of kids stay after school. Mr. Lawrie said the best times to count the most number of students walking was when school was letting in and letting out and that there wouldn't be a significant spike in numbers after 5 PM. Mr. Wulbecker further explained that the best time to count the number of students walking to school was in the morning, going to school, and the study reflected those numbers. Those walking in the afternoon are spread over a longer period of time so the "students per hour" volume is less. Resident expressed concern about kids getting off the bus and crossing the street and getting hit because there is no stop sign to stop the cars. There are 30 or 40 children on Wa-PelIa. Did we take that into consideration when we did the study? Mr. Lawrie answered "Yes", most bus stops in the Village have less traffic control than 4-way stops. In Zone 8 by Fairview Elementary, changes were made at locations with a similar situation. Mr. Lawrie emphasized that the staff takes the decision making process very seriously. Every decision will be followed up and restudied. We are trying to make the best recommendation for your street, as well as, the neighborhood. Resident wanted to know if we were relying on "standards" too much and if there were certain situations where standards don't fit, i.e. intersections with bus stops. Mr. Werthmann used Zone 8 as an example and explained that at most of the intersections where the busses stop, there are only 2-way stop signs and there haven't been any problems. Agnes Knott ask€<d what the benefits were to replacing a 4-way stop sign intersection with a 2-way. Mr. Wulbecker explained this would provide consistency throughout the Village that leads to known expectations at an intersection. Resident noticed that police cars were at the corners to catch drivers rolling through stop signs but thought they were too conspicuous and a waste oftime. Mr. Eddington explained that,marked cars were put in place first, and then, replaced with unmarked cars to get a comparison of how many drivers actually stop without being watched. Resident (speaking to the Police Chief) offered to video taped the intersection as a way to show what happens on a daily basis and wondered if this would change the outcome of the study. Mr. Eddington page 4 of 4 Wa-Pella Avenue Traffic Meeting January 9, 2007 responded by saying the overall study has two components, an engineering component and an enforcement component. He couldn't answer for the engineering component of the study, but could talk about the enforcement component. Rather than making a video tape, Mr. Eddington urged the resident to just call the office and make a report. If more violations are reported, cars (police) can be reassigned to the area. However, unwarranted stop signs lead to more complaints. In Zone 8 there were an extremely high numbers of traffic complaints with the proximity to the high school and a lot of new drivers in the area. Since changes were made as a result of the report, traffic complaints have gone way down. Resident commented that drivers would drive faster on longer stretches of road with no stops signs. Mr. Eddington responded by saying the "85th percentile speed" will determine the speed limit, along with, the width of the street. Residential streets are not as wide as collectors so drivers go slower. Resident was concerned that after the signs are removed the only other option to slow cars down would be to install speed humps like on See Gwun. This will cause even more noise and air pollution than a 4- way stop sign intersection as stated in the study. Also, property values would decrease because the speed humps would discourage prospective buyers. Steve O'Mara commented that removing the signs would attract more cars to Wa-Pella and make it a bypass through town. He, himself, uses Can-Dota because he doesn't like the signs on Wa-Pella. He asked if we had any indication as to how much the volume of traffic would increase once the signs are removed. Mr. Werthmann explained the reason a significant increase of traffic volume was not expected was its close proximity to the railroad tracks and the difficulty getting out to Central Road because traffic backs up past Wa-Pella. Cut-through traffic is more apparent on We-Go Trail and Cathy Lane because they don't have the back-up issue on Central. Resident commented that cars will use Cathy Lane to Busse Avenue to Wa-Pella and traffic will double. By the time a re-study is done, a year from now, it will be too late. Resident questioned if the goal of the study was to make Wa-Pella a "collector" street. Mr. Wulbecker said "No", to identifY it as a collector would require it to be called out by our Village Code. Resident questioned if an increase in volume would occur naturally (on Wa-Pella) once it's opened up by removing the stops and what would be done if, in fact, there is an increase in traffic volume. Mr. Werthmann did not think there would be a significant increase. Mr.Wulbecker further stated that after a year, any changes made as a result of the study would be analyzed and brought back to the Board for another review. Carol Kelly commented that the stop signs were speed deterrents and saw success nine years ago when they first asked for the signs. Furthermore, she felt Wa-Pella has been the model to which other residents look at and want to copy. Mr. Janonis ended the meeting by informing the residents the proposed ordinance to implement changes to the intersections by either adding or removing stop signs will be brought before the Village Board for a "first reading" on Tuesday, February 6th, at a regular Village Board Meeting. At this meeting, a final vote would most likely not occur. A "second reading" would take place on Tuesday, February 20th, at which time the Board will vote. Public comments will be allowed at both meetings. Mayor Wilks thanked the residents for attending and adjourned the meeting at 8:20 PM. ~ ~~ '\],1. '\$Ll>LJ\-- Respectfully submitted, Donna M. Brown Project Engineer