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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/14/2003 SC minutes len R. A~d~er Depu~ D~ector Scan R Oorsey Phone 847/8?0-5640 Sandra M. Clark Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central F~oad Mount Pro~peoc, Illinois 8005E~-~229 Fax 847/253-8377 TDD 847/392-1235 MINUTES OF TIlE MOUNT PROSPECT SAFETY COMbHSSION DRAFT CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of the Mount Prospect Safety Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m, on Monday, July 14, 2003. ROLL CALL Present upon roll call: Chuck Bencic John Keane Carol Tortorello John Dahlberg Chris Truty Jeff Wulbecker Chairman ............. Vice Chairman Comm~s~igLn ..er. Police Department Fire Department Public Works Absent: Joan Bjork Matt Lawrie Commissioner Public Works/Engineering Division Others in Attendance: See gttach,ed shee.! .............. APPROVAL OF MINUTES commissioner Keane, seconded by Commissioner Tortorell0, moved to approve the minutes of khe regular meeting of the Safety commission held on June 9, 2003. The minutes were approved · by a vote of 4-0. Deputy ChiefDahlberg and Lieufenant Truty abstained as they were not present at 'the previous meeting. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No citizens came forth to discuss any topics that were not on the current agenda. Recycled Paper - Printed with Soy Ink QLD BUSn',IESS No old items were discussed by the' Commission. NEW BUSINESS ^) REQUEST FOR PARKING RESTRICTIONS AROUND PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL BackgroUnd Information In September 2001, the Village enacted parking restrictions on the 500-700 blocks of Fairview Avenue and Prospect Manor Avende in an effort m address concerns rai~ed.by residents due to student parking. Services including mail delivery, garbage pick-up, street sweeping, leaf pick-up and snow plowing were affected because of the significant amotmt of students parking on these streets. Other issues such as rude behayior by students, cars blocking driveways and fire hydrants, and littering were also cited by residents. In response, the Village installed No Parking ]Oam-llam & lpm-2pm School Days signs to discourage students from parking on these streets. The parking restrictions enacted in 2001 addressed the problem for those streets. However, students began to look for other locations around campus to park. Since 2001, the Village of Arlington Heights has enacted parking restrictions that have forced students to 9on. sidg.r, pi. her . alternatives including parking on Mount Prospect streets. A total of approximately 50 student cars are now parking on Village streets on school days. Most of the cars are seen on the 400 blocks of Dale Avenue, MacArthur Boulevard, Oak Street and Forest Ayenue. Similar problems as experienced on Fairviexv Avenue are n0w.~e_e,n !n.t:h!P_n_eighborhood. In March 2002 Village Staff met with gchoo1.0ffic_i.al.s.,t2 4is~VSS. Ways of getting students to park in the school 'lot rather than on Village streets. At the time, a school renovation project had just gotten underway which included constructing a new 100-space parking lot. This parking lot is expected to be open in September 2003. Even with this new parking lot, it is Staff's concern that parking problems may still be evident on Village streets this Fall. Band practice in the lot, high parking permit fees, a lottery that doesn't guarantee permits to everyone and rescinded permits for bad behavior will all COntribute to off- campus parking. Staff has brought this issue for discussion now in hopes that With the support of the Safety Commission and Village Board, parking restriction signs will be in place before school resumes. Staff recognizes that some of the streets i3w01yed .may not be experiencing parking problems now. However, we anticipate that some students will attempt to find other streets to park on. By extending tkb parking restrictions to adjacent streets, it is our hope students will find it inconvenient to park on Mount Prospect streets and choose other alternatives. When school does begin, Staff will monitor the effectiveness of the signs and evaluate other Village streets to determine if additional parking restrictions are necessary. If so, Staff will act quickly to address ' any new problems. The Village Manager may authorize Staff to install parking restriction signs on additional streets prior to Safety. Commission and Village Board approval if necessary. " Should this occur, the Safety Commission would be notified. 2 3) As a bit of clar/fication, the request is for No Parking !Oam-llam & lpm-2pm School Days except for the east side of Fairview Avenue from Memory Lane to Gregory Street. The east side of this block from Gregory Street to a point 300' north currently is posted No Stopping, Standing, Parking 8am-4pm School Days to address traffic congestion around Fairview Elementary School. In order to be consistent, S~aff prefers to have the east side of the street along the entire length of the block identical parking restrictions. Enacting No Parking JOain-Ilam & lpm-2pm School Days would not be as restrictive and'not address 'the traffic issues evident around the elementary school. Therefore, it would be recommended that the parking restrictions stating No Stopping, Standing, Parking 8arn-4pm School Days be extended to Memory Lane. StaffStudy During the prevmus school year, Staff observed approximately 50 student vehicles parked on those Village streets included in the proposed parking restrictions on any given school day. The Village received complaints from residents throughout the school year about services being affected such as garbage pick-up, leaf pick-up and mail delivery as well as rude behavior by students. Each of those homes affected by the proposed parking restrictions were notified this issue would be discussed at the July Safety Commission Meeting. Recommendations Based on the latest student parking problems experienced around Prospect High School, The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: approval of No Parkhtg l Oam-l lam & lpm-2pn, Schoot Days signs for: · East side of Dal~ A~enue fr0m"Memory Lane to Gregory street · MacArthur Boul~v:~iFd froTM Mem0'ry Lane to Gregory Street · Oak Street from Memory Lane to Gregory Street · Forest Avenue from Memory Lane tO Gregory Street · west side of Fairview Avenue from Memory Lane to Gregory Street · Prospect Manor Avenue from M~m0ry Lane tO Gregory str/(et · Gregory Street from Dale Avenug to Forest Avenue · South side of Gregory Street from Forest Avenue to Prospect Manor Avenue · Gregory Street from Prospect Manor Avenue to Eastwood Avenue · Memory Lane from Prospect Manor Avenue to Eastwo0d Avenue approval of No Stoppfitg, Standing, Parking 8atn-4pm School Days signs for: · Eastside of Fairview Avenue from Memory Lane to Gregory Street The Village Traffic Engineer also requests that the Safety Commission support action by the Village with authorization from the Village Manager of enacting additional parking restrictions on surrounding streets should immediate action be necessary after school resumes this Fall. ) Discussion Village Engineer Wulbecker provided an overview of the report to the Commission. Chairman Bencic opened up the discussion to the commission members and audience.. Jean Kiner, 516 S. Dale Avenue of Arlington Heights, is in favor of the parking restrictions. Bernice Elia, 4t0 Prospect Manor Avenue, questioned what allowances there .~voul.d be. for visitors. ' Deputy ChiefDahlberg stated that the police officers are aware the parking restrictions are meant to deter student parking. Officers will check license plates to determine whe'~her any action is necessary. No parking tickets to visitors have been issued on.~he [¢n'ot~r~d.i~g streets that currently have parking resirictions in the past two years. Zoe Mather, 409' MacArthur Boulevard, provided written comments to the Commission..~he said that she worries about congested streets and supports the parking restrictions but Would like relief from the restrictions for re~ideBt~.. Deputy Chief Dahlberg explained that the Village does not provide a sticker system for residents ': but that the officers will be professional about reviewing each situation before iss¢ing a ticket Nancy Fritz, 103 MacArthur Boulevard, has attempted to work with District 21~ t9 gd~re,s. 5 ~he ........ :.¢~ parking problem and is bothered by their response. She is appreciative of the Village's efforts. ::: Commissioner Keane drove the streets on Salsa[day and vehicles were parked on both sides of the street near the high school. Commissioner Tortore!lo mentioned· thg'~ one, of !h.e [~s. id,egt .letter5 !ii showed concern about evening and weekend soccer parking. Nancy Fritz said that the soccer i. league does ask that parents park in the loJ[ adjacent to the school. There was ~ome additional comme:a~s and disg~s.~jp~,gn...~h~, is.5~er. Commissioner !~g..n.,e, seconded by Commissioner Tortorello, moved to approve the recommendations of the Village Traffic Engineer. The motion was ·approved by a vote of 5-6 2~ REQUEST FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MEMORy'· LANE AND PINE STREET Back~ound Information Ms. Kristina Blatt, 50! N] Pine Street, lives at the northers~ comer 9f the intersection and is concerned for .the safety of motorists and residents in the neighborhood si·nee this is tt~e only uncontrolled intersection in the area. She contacted· th~ ¥i!l~ge after an accident occm'red on June 19, 2003. Ms. Blatt claims two previous petitions for Yield/Stop signs were denied, however, Staffhas no record of such a request for this intersection Ali residents within 200 feet of ~his in~e.rse~fi0g i~ac!gOing Ms. Blatt w~re informed that this would be discussed at 7:00 .p.m., on Monday, July I4, 2003, at. the public Works Department. Staff Study a) Accidents A search of the accident reports indicated: . . Year 1998 1999' 2000 2001 2002 . 2003 (July) Number of Accidents 0 0 0 0 0 1 b) c) Speed Study Representative speed surve'ys were performed at the intersection bet~veen June 23fd and 27~'. The average and 85~' percentile speeds are as follows: Northbound Pine Street Southbound Pine Street Eastbound Memory Lane Westbound Memory Lane Average 85~h % 25 mph 31 mph 25 mph 31 mph 24 mph 29 mph '2'5 mph 30 mph The speed limit on Pine Street and Memory Lane is 25mph: Based on tt~e results, there doesn't appear to be an overall speeding problem. However, the data ~lid show some motorists did drive above the speed'limit ~s' is evident on.most residential streets. Traffic Volume Traffic volume data was gathered in June Based on the results, there are approximately 1050 vehicles per day that enter the intei'section. 550 vehicles travel on pine Street and 500 vehicles on Memory Lane. The ..peak hour of the day (typically 5pm-Gpm) experiences approximately I05 vehicles that enter the intersection. '·5 d) Survey Results · 0 A total of 20 surveys were sent out on June 30'~ to collect the residents1 .q.om~e.ms pn this request. 13 responses were received. Many comments cited speeding a concern and all supported either stop or yield signs to improve safety at the intersection. e) Existing Traffic Control Sign~ Traffic control signs adjacent to the intersection are as follows: Pine street & Highland Street (north) - 4~way Stop signs Pine Street & Gregory Street (south) - 2-way Stop signs on Pine Street Memory Lane & Wille Street (east) - 2-~vay Yield signs on Wille Street Memory Lane & Russel Street (west) - 4-way Stop signs Sight Obstructions Based on an inspection of the intersection, there is landscaping (bush and an evergreen tree) at the northwest comer that appears to be a sight obstruction for motorists. Since this is an uncontrolled intersection, there is to be sufficient stopping sight distance for all four legs of the intersection. Stopping sight distance is the distance a vehicle travels from the point when a motorist sees an approaching vehicle on the cross street, reacts and comes to a full stop. A motorist should have enough clear vision to be able to stop, if · necessary, before reaching the intersection. Landscaping near the homes and even the homes themselves at the intersection do not provide sufficient stopping sight distance for motorists. Therefore, Stop or Yield signs. would assist in clarifying the right-of-way and possibly reduce the potential for an accident. Recommendations 4-Way Stop Si.~ns_ 4-way Stop signs are normally warranted at intersections where there is' a condition of severely restricted view, accidents or a significant amount of vehicles and pedestrians. There has been I accident over the past 5 years. In order to meet the criterion for a multiway stop sign installation, there isto be 5 accidents in a 12-month period. Finally, the peak hour of the day experiences approximately 105 vehicles entering the intersection. In order to meet the criterion,.the volume entering the intersection from the major street approaches (total of both approaches) is to average 300 vehicles per hour for any 8 hours of..the day and 200 vehicles per hour for the same 8 hours f'om the minor street approaches. Based on the data, 4-way Stop signs are not warranted at this intersection. 2-Way Stop Si~..5 2-way Stop signs are nom~ally warranied at intersections where the criteria for a 4-way Stop sign installation is not met but where a full stop is necessary at all times on one street in order to clarify the right-of-way. As stated above, there is a private properly bvsh located at the northwest comer of the intersection. Should the homegwne? trim Or remove the !¢u~h, this will 41 ~mprove the s~ght distance for motorists. Also, there is not a significant amount of traffic on either street during the day. A routine motorist may become accustomed to not seeing any traffic on the cross street when approaching the intersection. This; in turn, may result in disobedience of a fult stop by motorists creating a potential safety concern for other motorists and pedestrians. Finally, the accident history at this intersection shows that there doesn~,t.appear to be a stgnificant problem and a fuli stop may not be necessary. Based on the existing conditions, 2-way Stop signs are not recommended at this intersection. Yield Signs At intersections where a full Stop is not necessary at all times, consideration should be g~ven to using less restrictive measures such ps. Yield Signs. Yield signs assign right-of-way to traffic when the normal right-of-way rule appears to not be effective. I accident in the past 5 years reveals an uncontrolled intersection may be acceptable. However, the speed data. shows that because of the proximity of the homes and iandscaping to the intersection, motorists.may nor have enough nme to see other vehicles on the cross street, react and stop before reaching the intersection. Motorists controlled by Yield signs would need to slow down before reaching the intersection resulting in a shorter distance to come to a full stop if necessary. Since the traffic volume is similar on both streets, Staff reviewed the traffic control signs on adjacent intersections and the recorded.speeds on both streets to.4etermine tl~e,appropriate street to be given the right-of-way. Based on this information, Yield signs on Pine Street are recommended at this intersection. The Village Traffic Engineer recommends: approval of Yield signs on Pine Street at_ Memory Lane. Discussion Village Engineer Wulbecker provided an overview of the report to the Commission. Chai?man B~nqic opened up the discussion to the commission members and.audience Mark Martgrano, 505 N. Pine Street, said there have been 5 or 6near miss accidents at this. intersection. He mentioned that .speedingand cut through traffic is worse.during the school year because of the number of student drivers.' He supports yield signs. Theresa McKenna, 418 N. Pine Street, supports yield signs but would prefer Stop signs. She complimented the Police Department on their efforts. Deputy Chief Dahlberg stated that warrants need to be met for stop signs and that the~e Can be a high level of disobedience at intersections..wh.e, re stop signs are not warranted.. He further explained the importance of speed"e'nforcement to address speeding concerns. Commissioner KCane questioned why yield signs were recommended on Pine Street rather than on Memory Lane. Village Engineer Wulbecker said that..~a..ffi.q.~.o.!.~e. ~a~..gpproximately equal on both streets and given the tong blocks on Pine Street and the existing traffic control at tl~e djacent intersections along Memory Lane, Staff believes it appropriate to install the signs on Pine Street. There was some additional comments and discussion on this issue. Commissioner Tort0re!lo, seconded by Commissioner Keane, moved to approve the recommendations of the Village Traffic Engineer, The motion ~vas approved by a vote of 5-0. COMMISSION ISSUES No other Safety Commission items were brought forth at this time. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the'Safety Commission voted 5-0 to adjourn at 8:15 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Keane. commissioner T0rtgre!!0 .s~.p,0~,d.~th~. ,m.p~i~B.~ ,~, Respectfully submitted, JefTfrey A. Wulbecker, P.E. Village Engineer