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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.3 Motion to waive the rule requiring two readings of an ordinance and adopt an ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18, “TRAFFIC” IN THE VILLAGE CODE OF MOUNT PROSPECT. This ordinance will require stop signs on eastbound and westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple StrItem Cover Page Subject, Mlotion to waive the rule requiring two readings of an ordinance and adopt an ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18, "TRAFFI'C" IN THE VILLAGE CODE OF MIOUNT PROSPECT. This ordinance will require stop signs on eastbound and westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple Street. Meeting September 5, 2023 - REGULAR MEETING OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT VILLAGE BOARD Fiscal Impact "X/N) Dollar Amount Budget Source Category Type 1nfnrm.qfinn N The Transportation Safety Commission transmits their recommendation to linstall stop signs on eastbound and westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple Street. The T -intersection currently has a single stop sign on, the terminating street, Maple Street. IRecenit construction developments along and near Prospect Avenue in downtown, Mount Prospect have brought increased pedestrian traffic to the area. The developments have made up for reduced use of commuter parking in recent years and, as a result, vehicle counts have steadily increased. With the opening of Caputo's, many pedestrians are now crossing Prospect Avenue outside of designated crosswalks to access on, -street parking. Additionally, the on -street parking on the south side of Prospect Avenue east of Maple Street gets much more use with the new development. As a result, the Village has been monitoring the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians at the intersection. An intersection traffic study was conducted by the Engineering staff that gathered pedestrian, volume data before and after Caputo's opened and gathered traffic volume data after Caputo's opened for business. The Village then used the data to complete an, all -way stop warrant analysis. The vehicle volumes alone did not warrant an, all -way stop at this intersection per the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). However, alternative criteria from the MUTCD did meet the warrant: • The need to control vehicle/pedestrian conflicts near locations that generate high pedestrian volumes; • Locations where a road user, after stopping, cannot see conflicting traffic and is not able to negotiate the intersection, unless conflicting cross traffic is also required to stop. The intersection traffic study showed over a 200% increase in pedestrian traffic across Maple Street at the intersection after Caputo's opened for business. The train, station, grocery store (Caputo's), and the large apartment buildings (Maple Street Lofts and The Dawson) are considered locations that generate high pedestrian, volumes. The unrestricted turn movements from, Prospect Avenue onto Maple Street are veh,icle/pedestrian, conflicts that should be controlled; therefore, the all -way stop warrant is met for pedestrian, conflicts. In, addition, traffic stopped on northbound Maple Street waiting to turn, onto Prospect Avenue may have difficulty seeing vehicles approaching on, Prospect Avenue from the east due to vehicles parked in the new parallel parking stalls in front of Caputo's. Engineering staff reviewed the required and existing sight triangles at the intersection, per Chapter 9 of the Village Code and found them to be deficient. With an unobstructed sight line, a motorist can safely turn onto the street without impacting through traffic. With a car parked in the most western parallel parking spot, there is an insufficient sight distance per Village Code. This situation, satisfies the second criteria above; therefore the all -way stop warrant is met for insufficient sight distance. The issue was presented to the Transportation Safety Commission at their August 141 2023 meeting. There was no one in the audience to speak on the issue. The Commission supported the stop sign installation on Prospect Avenue at its intersection with Maple Street. The stop sign, on Maple Street is to remain, creating an all -way stop controlled intersection. By a vote of 5-1, the Transportation Safety Commission recommends approving the following: 1. Enact an, ordinance requiring stop signs on eastbound and westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple Street (Section, 18.2004). Alternatives 1. Enact an, ordinance requiring stop signs on eastbOUnd and', westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple Street (Section 18,.2004)1. 2. Action at the discretion of the Village Board. Staff Recommendation Staff concurs with the recommendation of the Transportation Safety Commission. The Transportation Safety Commission recommends the Village Board enact an ordinance that requires stop signs on eastbound and westbound Prospect Avenue at Maple Street. Attachments 1. TSC August 2023 draft minutes 2. Prospect -Maple Location Map 3. Prospect -Maple Ordinance MAYOR m11rospect MR VILLAGE ANAGE r�ount Paul Vern. Hoefert Michael J. Cassady TRUSTEES DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS Agostino S. Filippone Sean Dorsey Terri Gens VVFax: Jlohin J. Matuszak Michael A. Zadel Phone: 847/870-51640 Richard F. Rogers 847/253-9377 Colleen, E. Saccotelli www.nnountprospect.org Village of Mount Prospect Public Works 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 (MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY COMMISSION DRAFT The meeting of the Mount Prospect Transportation Safety Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 14, 2023. Present upon roll call 15-40iff4m, F-492*007POW912al M01111 Justin Kuehlthau Christopher Prosperi Joseph Kanupke Todd Novak Scott Moe Luke Foresman Tina, DeAragon Jeffrey Nejffl Chairman Vice Chairman Police Department Representative Fire Department Representative Public Works Department Representative Civil Engineer -Staff Liaison Chairman KueNthau, seconded by Vice Chairman Prosperi, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Transportation Safety Commission held on July 12, 2023. The minutes were approved by a vote of 5-0. TSC Meeting Page 1 of 9 AUgUSt 14, 2023 141NO1011611 No old business. NEW BUSINESS Prospect Avenue and Maple Street Intersection Study Civil Eng,ineer Foresman presented the following to the Commission for consideration. Commissioner Jeffrey Nejdl joined the meeting at 7:10 PIVI and was present for aillmost all of the discussion of the Prospect Avenue and Maple Street Intersection Study. Summar y:, Recent construction developments along and near Prospect Avenue in downtown Mount Prospect have brought increased pedestrian traffic to the area. The developments have made up for reduced use of commuter parking, in recent years so vehicle counts have remained steady. With the opening, of Caiputo's, many pedestrians are now crossing Prospect Avenue outside of designated crosswalks to access on street parking. Additionally, the on street parking on the south side of Prospect Avenue east of Maple Street gets much more use with the new development. As a result, the Village has been monitoring the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians at the intersection. Existin The area around the Prospect Avenue and Maple Street intersection has Conditions: undergone many changes in recent years. Prior to 2018, east of Maple Street was occupied by a commuter parking lot and industrial buildings. Since then, these facilities have been replaced with townhomes, a large apartment building with a Caiputo's Grocery store on the ground level (Maple Street Lofts), and a, parking structure for use by commuters and the public. An additional apartment building is under construction and is set to open in 2024 (The Dawson). In 2019, the Village constructed a, curb bump out on the north side of the intersection to reduce crossing distances for pedestrians as the intersection provides a connection from, the previous commuter parking lot and current commuter parking deck to the train platform. The Maple Street Lofts development replaced on street parallell parking with angled parking along the south side of Prospect Avenue east of Maple Street. The Development also added perpendicular parking and angled parking on the east side of Maple Street. The speed limit on Prospect Avenue and Maple Street is 2S MPH. Prospect Avenue hays an 11' northwest bound through lane, a 4.S' wide painted median and a 14.S' wide southeast bound through lane at Maple Street. Maple Street is unstriped with a 28' pavement width. Current Traffic 1. 18.2004: Schedule IV — Stop Signs Regulations Maple St. Northbound at Prospect Ave. 2. Two hour parking, is allowed on the north and south side of Prospect Avenue. TSC Meeting Page 2 of 9 AUgUSt 14, 2023 3. No Parking, is allowed within 30' of the stop sign on Maple Street south of Prospect Avenue. 4. Two hour parking is allowed on Maple Street outside of the stop sign restrictions. S. Prospect Avenue is a Village signed bike route with sharrow s. 6. The Speed Limit is 2S IVIP on Prospect Avenue and Maple Street. Existing Traffic The developments at the southeast corner of Maple Street and Prospect Avenue Conditions: have resulting in an increase of pedestrians in the area and a higher utilization of short term on street parking,. Additionally, Caputo's customers park on both sides of Prospect Avenue in front of the store, requiring them to cross Prospect Avenue outside of designated crosswalks to access their vehicles. The Village conducted an intersection study to determine if changes are needed to better serve vehicles and pedestrians in the area. With the opening, of The Dawson next year, we expect pedestrian and vehicle volumes to further increase from their current levels. Intersection Study The Village conducted vehicle counts on the three legs of the intersection of Results — Vehicle Prospect Avenue and Maple Street to evaluate whether the recent developments Volumes: had changed the traffic volumes at the intersection. The vehicle counts were conducted from Tuesday June 6, to Sunday June 11, 2023. The counts showed similar volurnes to traffic prior to the CO ID pandemic. This shows that, whine volume from commuter perking has decreased, the new, developments have made up for the lost traffic volume. These counts were also used to evaluate stop sign warrants at the intersection. This is discussed in a later section. A table of the volume counts is included in the attachments. Intersection Study Pedestrian counts occurred on April 27, 2023, prior to Caputo's opening,, and on Results— June 8, 2023, after Caputo's had been open for a, month. These counts both Pedestrian occurred on Thursdays from 4:15 PM to 6:00 PIVI with pleasant weather. Volumes: The counts showed the same number of pedestrians crossing Prospect Avenue to access the train station, but over 200% increase in pedestrians and bikes crossing Maple Street at the intersection. Additionally, we observed 2S pedestrians crossing Prospect Avenue outside of the marked crosswalk to access vehicles parked on the north side of the road. This reflects comments and informal) observations on the increase in pedestrian traffic since Caputo's has been open. A table of the pedestrian counts is included in the attachments. Intersection Study Traffic stopped on northbound Maple Street waiting to turn onto Prospect Avenue Results — Sight may have difficulty seeing vehicles approaching, on Prospect Avenue from the east Distance: due to vehicles parked in the new parallel parking, stalls in front of Caiputo's. Engineering staff reviewed sight triangles at the intersection per Chapter 9 of the Village Code and found them to be deficient. An intersection sight distance of 300' is required based on the streets speed limit. With an unobstructed sight line, a motorist can safely turn onto the street without imipaicting thru traffic. If a car is parked in the western most parallell parking spot, there is an intersection sight distance of only 12S'. TSC Meeting Page 3 of 9 August 14, 2023 An excerpt of the relevant sections of the Village, Code and an exhibit showing the sight triangles are included in the attachments. Survey: A mailing, was sent out to residents and businesses along, Prospect Avenue between Emerson Street and School Street. Additionally, the manag,emient company at Maple Street Lofts sent an ermaill to all of the tenants informing, them of the intersection study. We received five comments back from residents all in favor of converting, the intersection to an all way stop. Additionally, many of the comments referenced sight issues when stopped on northbound Maiplle Street waiting to turn onto Prospect Avenue looking east. A copy of the public outreach and responses are attached to this memo. Stop Sign Warrant The Village reviewed the previous intersection study conducted in 2007 that Analysis recommended the current traffic control configuration and compared thea to recent traffic counts and current MUTCD stop sign warrant analysis guidance. Both that study and an excerpt from the current MUITCD are included as attachments. The previous study recommended stop control on Maple Street only due to low volume of pedestrians, Ilow number of accidents and the traffic volumes at the time. The traffic volume counts we collected this year do not meet the warrants for all way stop control. The MUITCD does however have other criteria thea should be considered when reviewing intersection traffic control, including: A. The need to control left turn conflicts; B. The need to controll vehicle/pedestrian conflicts near locations that generate high pedestrian volumes; C. Locations where a road user, after stopping,, cannot see conflicting traffic and is not able to negotiate the intersection unless conflicting cross traffic is also required to stop; and D. An intersection of two residential neighborhood collector (through) streets of similar design and operating characteristics where multi -way stop control would improve traffic operational characteristics of the intersection. From this "'other criteria", we determined an ally -way stop sign is warranted based on items B and C. For item, B; the train station entrance and now the new developments with the grocery store and large apartment buildings are considered "locations that generate high volumes of pedestrian traffic". The unrestricted turning movernents from cars turning off Prospect Avenue onto Maple Street creates conflicts with pedestrians crossing, Maple Street. These conflicts present a safety issue that would be addressed by alll-way stop control at this intersection. For item C; we conducted a sight distance anallysis as outlined above. This confirmed that the sight triangles are substandard, requiring vehicles on northbound Maple Street to enter the intersection to see vehicles approaching, on r restbound Prospect Avenue. These sight issues present a, safety issue that would be addressed by ailll-way stop control at this intersection. There was only one crash at this intersection in the past five years, a turning crash where a vehicle turning left from, Prospect Avenue onto Maple Street turned in TSC Meeting Page 4 of 9 AUgUSt 14, 2023 front of a vehicle traveling eastbound on Prospect Avenue through the intersection. The MUITCD criteria dictates S crashes in a I year period warrants an alll way stop, so the crash history at this intersection does not warrant all way stop control. It should be noted that an all way stop at this intersection woulld likely reduce the chances of a, crash like this happening, again. While all way stop control is not warranted by the intersection traffic volume, it is warranted based on options B and C to address pedestrian conflicts and sight issues. Additional Traffic Due to the change in use of Prospect Avenue between Maple Street and Elm Calming Street, Staff also recommends changes to Prospect Avenue for this block. Prior to Caputo's opening,, the parking on the north side of Prospect Avenue at this (location was for commuters. The commuters would park on the north side then walk along the cars to access the train station at the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Maple Street. There would be no need for them to cross Prospect Avenue. With Caputo's opening, the parking spots on the north side of Prospect Avenue were converted to 2 hour parking with the intention that they be used by customers of the store. This has led to many pedestrians crossing Prospect Avenue outside of the marked crosswwralk at Maple Street. The cross section of Prospect Avenue aipproa,ching Maple Street from, the east does not change until the bump out at Maple Street. West of Elm Street, Prospect Avenue is a relatively wide road with underutilized street parking which can promote speeding,. Once drivers on westbound Prospect Avenue travel past Elm Street, they shoulld understand the use of the road is different by a physical change in infrastructure. To do this we propose extending the 43' wide painted median the entire length of the block from Maple Street to Elm, Street and installing plastic yellow bollards on the eastern end with appropriate signage. This will have the effect of visually narrowing the road and alerting, drivers that they need to pay attention as the use of the road has changed. They have entered downtown Mount Prospect with higher levells of pedestrian activity. There will be no loss of parking with these improvements. If traffic calming measures are installed, the Village wiH monitor their performance and make adjustments as needed. At the discretion of the Public Works Streets Division, the plastic bollards may need to be removed from, the street for snow removal) operations during the wwrinter. The increase in turn over in parking on Prospect Avenue also creates more conflict opportunities asvehiclles try to enter and exit the on street parking. Traffic calming measures willl help to slow drivers and give them more time to react to parking maneuvers. Recommendation: With recent developments along Prospect Avenue the Village believes the traffic control at the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Maple Street is not functioning to best match the current vehicle and pedestrian use in the area. An intersection study showwrs a large increase in pedestrian activity and substandard sight lines at the intersection. Therefore, the Village recommends converting the intersection to an all way stop. This change hays been supported by residents who responded to a s u rvey. TSC Meeting Page 5 of 9 August 14, 2023 Additionally, the change in parking use along, Prospect Avenue between Maple Street and Elm, Street has increased pedestrian use of the street outside of marked crosswalks. The Village believes traffic caillming measures are necessary to slow traffic on Prospect Avenue to increase safety for pedestrians as well as vehicles accessing the on street parking. Recommendation: • Install stop signs in both directions on Prospect Avenue at the intersection of Maple Street converting the intersection from, one way stop control to an all way stop control. • Install traffic calming measures as proposed on Prospect Avenue. Options: Leave the intersection as one-way stop controlled on Maple Street. Leave Prospect Avenue as it currently is with no traffic calming improvements. Changes to the traffic calming plans on Prospect Avenue as directed by the Transportation Safety Commission. Discussion: There was general discussion on the issues presented with the following questions raised or points noted: • There were questions on the type of bollards being, proposed and how they would stand up to traffic. Staff Liaison Foresman indicated we wound start with flexible plastic bollards that are designed bend over when hit by traffic, but acknowledged ongoing maintenance woulld be required to replace the bollards periodically. • A question was raised on how bikes would be accommodated. Staff Liaison Foresman indicated there would be no change to the existing bike accommodations along Prospect Avenue. It currently has sparrow s installed, but in the future, may be changed as the Village is looking, at ways to imipllemient the NWM�Cs Northwest Bikeway aillong, the UIP railroad tracks and may utilize Prospect Avenue. • A comment w,as made to make sure the bollards are installed so as not to restrict school bus or fire truck movements. Staff Liaison Foresmian indicated the Village will confirm school bus routes prior to installing the bollards. Vice Chairman Prosperi motioned to approve both recommendations of converting the intersection to all way stop control and implementing traffic calming measures as presented by staff. Commissioner Nejdl seconded. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-1 with Officer Kanupke opposing the recommendation. Central Avenue and Cathy Lane Crosswalk Project Civil Engineer Foresman presented the following to the Commission for consideration. S,u,m,m,a,r, The Village is set to modernize the existing crosswalk at Central Road and Cathy Laine, adding rectangular rapid flashing beacons and widening Centra] Road to add a pedestrian refuge island. As part of this improvement, dedicated left turn lanes will be constructed on Central Road facilitating, safer left turns onto Cathy Lane. TSC Meeting Page 6 of 9 AUgUSt 14, 2023 Existing Central Road is a, major east -west minor arterial I DOT route with over 17,000mail) Conditions: vehicles. North of Central Road is a residential neighborhood, the Central Community Center and a, pedestrian connection to Melas Park. South of Central Road are residential neighborhoods. Cathy Lane is the only full access entrance for the residents located on Millers Lane and Cathy Laine north of Centra] Road as well as the Central Community Center, a, Mount Prospect Park District facility that has offices, meeting, rooms, an indoor turf field, an indoor basketballl court and a fitness center. Play Ball USA, a baseball training, facility, is also, located on the north side of Central Road east of the project (location. Cathy Lane south of Central Road is the eastern most access to the adjacent residential neighborhood. At this location, Central Road has a, four lane cross section with two 12' (lanes in each direction. A striped crosswalk is present and there are advanced pedestrian actuated beacons to warn drivers of the upcoming, crosswalk, but they are not built to current design standards. The speed (limit on Central Road is 3S MPH. The intersection of Central Road and Cathy Lane is two-way stop controlled on Cathy Laine only. Current Traffic 1. 18.2004: Schedule 1V — Stop and Yield Signs Regulations Cathy Ln. Northbound and Southbound at Central Rd. 2. No Parking is allowed on Central Road. 3. No Parking is allowed on Cathy Lane immediately north of Central Road. 4. No Parking is allowed on within 30' of the stop sign on Cathy Lane South of Centra] Road. S. Cathy Lane south of Central Road is a, Village signed bike route. S. The Speed Limit is 35 MPH on Central Road. Project History In 2017 the Village conducted a study to determine pedestrian crossing, needs along Central Road within the Village. This study determined that the crossing, at Central Road and Cathy Lane should be upgraded to include a pedestrian refuge island and possible rectangular rapid flashing beacons. Through the permitting process with IDOT, turn lames were added to the project. Below is a timelline of the project: • September 2017 — Centra] Road Pedestrian Study Complete • March 2019 — Consultant Selected for Design • January 2.020 — Initial I DOT Review Received • June 2023 — IDOT Approval of Project • July 2023 — Contractor Selected • August 2023 — Construction Begins • November 2023 — Project Substantially Complete • January 2024 — Final Completion (Mast Arms and Electronics Installed) Existing Traif f ic Central Road is a, major east -west thoroughfare through the Village with a, high Conditions: number of vehicles. The Central Community Center on the north side of Central Road is a, major pedestrian generator with programing and facilities open to residents throughout the year. The existing crossing is signed at the intersection of Central Road and Cathy Lane with advanced signage including, a, pedestrian activated flashing beacon. Crossing, Central Road as a pedestrian can be difficult because the fllashing, beacons are not located at the crossing. This reduces their effectiveness because while drivers may notice the beacons activated, they may TSC Meeting Page 7 of 9 August 14, 2023 not know where the crossing, is or can see right away if pedestrians are waiting to cross. For vehicular traffic, currently vehicles are required to queue within the travel Innes for left turns from, Central Read onto Cathy Lane. This can head to long queues within the travel lanes of Central Road and an increase of vehicles switching, lanes trying, to avoid the queue. Visibility issues are also caused by this situation w�rith cars waiting to turn left and blocking the view of drivers in the opposite direction or the view of pedestrians waiting, to cross. Proposed The project will widen Central Road to include a pedestrian refuge island and left Conditions: turn lanes. The pedestrian crossingwill be shifted to the west to line up with the entrance walk to the Central Community Center and to avoid conflicts with left turning vehicles at the intersection of Central Road and Cathy Lane. Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons will be installed at the pedestrian crossing, including overhead mast arm, mounted Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons and illuminated pedestrian crossing signs. The project will also include static signs and pavement mairking,s to provide information to both motorists and pedestrians. As mentioned above, Central Road is under the jurisdiction of IDOT. Plans and specifications have been approved by IDOT after multiple reviews and revisions in order to meet their strict design requirements. Detours w�rill be required for pedestrians and vehicles during, construction. Northbound traffic will be maintained at all times on Cathy Lane while southbound traffic will not be allowed during roadway widening on the north side of Central Road. A pedestrian detour w�rill be in place during construction of the sidewalk and crosswalk. Recommendation: There is no recommendation for this topic, the project has been approved by the Village Board and construction tentatively is scheduled to begin on August 21, 2023. Discussion There wais general discussion on other crosswalks throughout the Village and Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFB) in general. Civil Engineer Foresman indicated the Village hays reached out to IDOT about adding, RRFBs to the crosswalk at Central Road and Emerson Street and is waiting to hear back. There was general consensus that thiswill be a good project and there should be a positive traffic benefit with the added turn lanes. COMMISSION ISSUES No Commission Issues. With no further business to discuss, the Transportation Safety Commission voted 6-0 to adjourn at 7:50 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner NejdL Vice Chairman Prosperi seconded the motion. TSC Meeting Page 8 of 9 AUgUSt 14, 2023 Respectfully submitted, Luke Foresman, P.E. Civil Engineer Ha+inewng\:ff�c\safety_comimon\_MINUTE S\2023\08.gust TSC Prosect and Map@ & Central and Cathy\TSC-08 August 2023 Min,utes.docx TSC Meeting Page 9&n August14,2023 101:1911 LIF -Al 01'[41210 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18, `TRAFFIC'OF THE VILLAGE CODE OF MOUNT PROSPECT WE IT *?kDA+nE# BTTME MA-T-4?k All# B*'AMP *F TM1STEES *F TM�E TILLAGE -01F M10111T AROSPECT, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS ACTING IN THE EXERCISE OF THEIR HOME RULE *OWERS: SECTION ONE,: That Section 18.2 04, "SCHEDULE IV — "STOP AND YIELD SIGNS::" of Chapter 18, "Traffic,"' of the Village Code, as amended, is further amended by inserting the following:: "Name of Street Direction of Traffic Movement At Intersection With Prospect Ave. Eastbound and westbound Maple St." SECTION TWO,: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication in the manner provided by law. AYES: NAYS:: Paul 'w, m. Hloefert, Mayor ATTEST: