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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/2007 SC Minutes Traffic WorkshopMINUTES OF THE VILLAGE OF MOUNT PROSPECT TRAFFIC WORKSHOP September 11, 2007 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:22 p.m. in the Village Board Room of the Village Hall, 50 S. Emerson Street, by Mayor Irvana Wilks. Village Board Trustees present at the meeting included: Paul Hoefert, Arlene Juracek, John Korn, and Richard Lohrstorfer. Safety Commission members present at the meeting included: Chuck Bencic, John Keane, Marshall Petersen, Carol Tortorello and Fred Pampel. Staff members present at the meeting included: Village Manager Mike Janonis, Assistant Village Manager Dave Strahl, Police Chief John Dahlberg, Fire Chief Mike Figolah, Deputy Director of Public Works Sean Dorsey, Streets/Buildings Superintendent Paul Bures, Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker, and Traffic Engineer Matt Lawrie. Representative from the consulting firm KLOA Inc. present at the meeting included: Michael Werthmann. TRAFFIC WORKSHOP See -Gwun Avenue Speed Hump Project Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided a comparison of the data collected at three different time periods: pre - study in April 2006, post -study in September 2006, and another post -study in April 2007. This data included volume /speed data as well as resident survey results. He also provided recommendations for next steps to be taken as part of this project. They included hosting a Neighborhood Meeting allowing residents to share their opinions directly to the Village Board of Trustees. At the meeting, Staff would reiterate both the positive and negative impact of the speed humps. The expected outcome of the meeting would be a decision on the permanency of the speed humps and the direction of traffic calming in Mount Prospect. During the discussion there were concerns that even though traffic volumes had decreased on See -Gwun Avenue, volumes had increased on adjacent streets, thus showing traffic moving off of the "collector" street and onto the "local" streets. Aesthetics were also a concern as some thought the pavement marking pattern was very bold and the signs needed as warnings for the motorists were one more maintenance item. Traffic Engineer Lawrie clarified that the signage and pavement marking design were in accordance with the MUTCD. The Fire Chief discussed the negative impact of the speed humps to their operations. Since See -Gwun Avenue provides the only access over the creek in the neighborhood, emergency vehicles must go over the speed humps resulting in a slower response time. Also, more maintenance work is required on the vehicles' suspension systems from the impact of the speed humps. It was suggested that other traffic calming methods such as islands may be better for the Fire Department to maneuver around without affecting response time. The Village Board was in favor of the recommended next steps. For public discussion, they were in favor of providing residents the results of the post -study including comments from the Fire and Police Departments via regular mail and on the Village website. All were in favor of having a Neighborhood Meeting and setting a policy for determining the use of speed humps and other traffic calming measures. They agreed that it would be beneficial to have a written program so that traffic calming measures were installed only at problematic locations supported by traffic data rather than seeing them on every street. The Village Board also suggested performing additional trial projects using other traffic calming measures to determine what should be included in a written program. Neighborhood Traffic Study — Zone 8 Post -Study Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided a general overview of the program along with the results of the traffic data collected for the first post - study. This study was performed approximately six months after sign changes were made in the neighborhood. A second post -study will be scheduled at the twelve month mark. He recommended to the Village Board and Safety Commission that a summary of the results be sent to the neighborhood via regular mail. A link on the Village website would be provided in the mailing allowing residents to view the results in detail should they desire. It was also recommended that a Neighborhood Meeting would be scheduled only after the second post - study. The meeting would allow residents to share their opinions and the Village Board to make any changes should they be necessary. Public discussion would not take place after the first post -study unless Staff recommended a change based on an analysis of the data. The Village Board agreed the overall report was positive with the exception of the long north -south streets between Highland Street and Kensington Road. They understood that intersection control and speed limit signs may not address cut through and speed concerns. Other solutions such as improvements to Kensington Road or traffic calming measures may need to be considered. The Village Board supported putting the results on the Village website so that they are available to a wider audience, not just the neighborhood. It was suggested that should the results from other neighborhood post - studies be positive and similar in nature, only one post -study (after the twelve month mark) would be necessary. It was agreed a Neighborhood Meeting should be held only after the final post -study is completed. As an additional resource to address speeding concerns, the Police Department discussed the use of "yard" signs to promote safe driving. These are portable signs telling motorists to slow down and can be purchased by residents to put in their front yards. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, Mayor Wilks adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Donna Brown Project Engineer h:\ engineering\ traffic \summit \9.11.07minutes.doc