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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9. TSC Minutes 07/08/2013It Mount Prospc Director Sean P. Dorsey Mount Prospect Public Works Department 1700 W. Central Road, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 -2229 MINUTES OF THE MOUNT PROSPECT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY COMMISSION DRAFT CALL TO ORDER Deputy Director Jason H. Leib The regular meeting of the Mount Prospect Transportation Safety Commission was called to order at 7:01 p.m. on Monday, July 8, 2013. ROl I rAl I Present upon roll call: John Keane Chuck Bencic Angel Campos Robert Fisher Justin Kuehlthau Carol Tortorello Bob Smith Brian Lambel Jeff Wulbecker Matt Lawrie Chairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Police Department Representative Fire Department Representative Public Works Representative Traffic Engineer —Staff Liaison Absent: None Others in Attendance: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Campos, moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Transportation Safety Commission held on June 10, 2013. The minutes were approved by a vote of 9 -0. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD There was no one in attendance that spoke on an issue not on the agenda. TSC Meeting Page 1 of 6 July 8, 2013 OLD BUSINESS Commander Smith informed the Commission that the Police Department attempted multiple times to contact the resident who attended last month's meeting and raised the issue of a parking ticket he received on Cottonwood Lane. The resident has not returned the Police Department's phone calls. NEW BUSINESS A. BURNING BUSH LANE PARKING REGULATIONS NEAR INDIAN GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 1) Background Information At the end of this past school year, St. Thomas Becket Church contacted the Village with concerns of cut through traffic in their parking lot by school related vehicles. They also said it is difficult for their parishioners to exit their driveway with vehicles parked on the east side of Burning Bush Lane during the school day. The Engineering Division observed traffic during multiple school days and noted other traffic related issues in addition to those expressed by the church. The Engineering Division and Police Department met with the principal of Indian Grove Elementary School and discussed all of the issues. Both the school and church are supportive of addressing the various vehicle and pedestrian issues prior to the start of the upcoming school year. Current Traffic Regulations 1. Drop -off and pick -up is allowed along the west side of Burning Bush Lane in front of the school but long -term parking is prohibited during school hours. 2. Signs are in place prohibiting parking at all times on both sides of Burr Oak Drive near Burning Bush Lane (within 30' of intersection). 3. The school prohibits left turns from their parking lot onto Burning Bush Lane during the morning drop -off and afternoon pick -up periods. 4. The intersection of Burning Bush Lane & Cree Lane is regulated with STOP signs in all directions. 5. The intersection of Burning Bush Lane & Burr Oak Drive is regulated with a STOP sign on Burr Oak Drive. 6. The speed limit on the neighborhood streets is 25 mph. There is a 20 mph school speed limit zone on Burning Bush Lane in front of the school. 7. Parking is prohibited between 2:OOAM and 6:OOAM on all Village streets. Current Layout 1. Burning Bush Lane is approximately 38' wide (back -of -curb to back -of- curb). 2. Burr Oak Drive is approximately 31' wide (back -of -curb to back -of- curb). 3. Cree Lane is approximately 27' wide (back -of -curb to back -of- curb). 4. Indian Grove Elementary School is on the west side of Burning Bush Lane between Burr Oak Drive and Cree Lane. 5. The driveway in front of the school is used exclusively by buses. 6. The school creates two drop -off and pick -up lanes in the parking lot for parents. 7. Burning Bush Lane is narrowed at Burr Oak Drive and has pedestrian crossing signs and crosswalks. 8. The intersection of Burning Bush Lane and Cree Lane has pedestrian crossing signs and crosswalks. TSC Meeting Page 2 of 6 July 8, 2013 Current Traffic Conditions 1. The school parking lot is not large enough to accommodate all long -term parking. Some teachers and staff park on Burning Bush Lane during the school day. 2. Most parents drop -off and pick -up their child in the school parking lot. Other parents park on Burning Bush Lane near Burr Oak Drive and on Burr Oak Drive. 3. Once the waiting queue of parents in the parking lot reaches Burning Bush Lane during the afternoon pick -up, some parents choose to wait on the roadway blocking thru traffic. 4. A school staff member directs traffic at the parking lot entrance. She helps to facilitate traffic in and out of the lot and assists pedestrians along the sidewalk. 5. A volunteer serves as a crossing guard at Burning Bush Lane and Burr Oak Drive. 6. A change in school district policy has eliminated free busing for students. As a result, more parents are choosing to drive students to school compared to years past. r'nnrarnc 1. With vehicles parked on the east side of Burning Bush Lane and other vehicles waiting to turn into the parking lot, thru traffic cannot proceed past the school. Some motorists choose to cut through St. Thomas Becket while others cross the double yellow line and travel in the oncoming traffic lane. 2. Some parents park on the east side of Burning Bush Lane and students cross the street not at a marked crosswalk. Seeing students cross mid -block can be unexpected for motorists. 3. Vehicles entering the parking lot during the afternoon pick -up often are stopped on the sidewalk once the queue reaches Burning Bush Lane. 4. The school staff member directing traffic at the parking lot entrance is often positioned on Burning Bush Lane in conflict with vehicles. 2) Observations 1. The Engineering Division observed school traffic on multiple occasions at the end of this past school year. 2. During the morning drop -off period the queue of vehicles in the parking lot never reached Burning Bush Lane. This allowed for efficient turning into the parking lot and for thru traffic to continue on Burning Bush Lane. 3. During the morning drop -off period students were observed walking across Burning Bush Lane at unmarked locations after being dropped -off by a parent on the east side of the street. 4. After dropping off a child in the morning some motorists (4 -6) turned right out of the school parking lot then cut through the church parking lot in order to head north on Burning Bush Lane. 5. Greater congestion on Burning Bush Lane was observed during the afternoon pick -up period. In the northbound direction on Burning Bush Lane, vehicles were queuing to Cree Lane. To avoid the back -up some motorists cut through the church parking lot and others drove around in the southbound lane. 6. There were approximately 8 vehicles parked along the east side of Burning Bush Lane that would be displaced by parking regulations. Most of the vehicles appeared to belong to staff or teachers. 7. Open parking near the school was available on the west side of Burning Bush Lane between the school parking lot and Cree Lane. Parking was also available on Cree Lane, Burr Oak Drive and in front of Burning Bush Trails Park. 8. During dismissal time some students crossed Burning Bush Lane at unmarked locations. Other students had a difficult time walking along the public sidewalk with vehicles stopped on it waiting to get into the school parking lot. TSC Meeting Page 3 of 6 July 8, 2013 9. The school staff member appeared to have a difficult time both directing traffic in and out of the school parking lot as well as assisting students along the sidewalk. The Police Department and Engineering Division has since spoken with the principal and asked that the staff member no longer stand in the street and direct traffic. It raises liability concerns and can be dangerous for the staff member. She has been instructed to only assist students walking along the sidewalk in front of the lot driveway. 3) Resident Survey As part of the study, a survey was sent to St. Thomas Becket Church soliciting their input on this issue. They did not return a completed survey. However, in a recent phone conversation with the church's secretary, the church is supportive of any action to reduce the amount of cut through traffic in their parking lot. In her opinion, prohibiting parking on the east side of Burning Bush Lane during school hours will also improve the sight lines for parishioners exiting onto the street. They have a positive relationship with the school and will continue to work with them. 4) Recommendations Prohibiting parking on the east side of Burning Bush Lane during school hours can have several positive impacts on traffic and pedestrian safety. First, it will reduce the potential for students to cross the street at unmarked locations. Without waiting parents in their vehicles on the east side of Burning Bush Lane, the goal is to have the marked crosswalks at Burr Oak Drive and Cree Lane exclusively used for crossing the street. Second, thru traffic will be able to pass on the right (along the curb) rather than move into the oncoming traffic lane. Third, the church should experience less cut through traffic since thru traffic will be able to more easily pass by vehicles waiting to turn into the school parking lot. It is recommended parking be prohibited from Cree Lane to the north driveway of the church on the east side of Burning Bush Lane. On- street parking is recommended to remain further north in order to minimize the loss of parking. Approximately 8 vehicles will be displaced but there are other available on- street locations to park. The school can also consider asking permission from the church to park in their lot during the day to free up on- street parking and parking spaces in the school lot. To clarify, it is recommended that both long -term parking and drop- off /pick -up be prohibited along the east side of Burning Bush Lane. Simply prohibiting parking (per Village Code) would still give the opportunity to a motorist to stop and wait without exiting the vehicle. Therefore, it would be important that the signs and Village Code prohibit stopping, standing and parking. This is similar to other streets in the Village adjacent to elementary schools. If approved by the Transportation Safety Commission and Village Board of Trustees, the Engineering Division would have the appropriate signs in place before the start of the new school year in August. The school would notify parents of the change in their newsletter and the Police Department would be present to educate parents of the new parking regulations during the first week of school. 5) Discussion Chairman Keane introduced the item and asked Traffic Engineer Lawrie to present the Engineering Division's report and recommendations. TSC Meeting Page 4 of 6 July 8, 2013 Traffic Engineer Lawrie provided the Commission with background, observations and recommendations. There was no one in the audience to speak on the issue. Chairman Keane questioned why the Engineering Division did not recommend eliminating narkina flirthar north to Burr flak Drive on the east side of Burning Bush Lane. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained in working with the school there was a balance in eliminating the necessary parking spaces to alleviate the congestion on Burning Bush Lane while preserving spaces so as to not push vehicles to other streets. He said the school desired to keep the parking spaces between the north driveway of the church and Burr Oak Drive, and the Engineering Division did not object. He reiterated that the crossing guard does a good job in making sure students cross at the crosswalk at Burr Oak Drive and not at other locations. Commissioner Bencic expressed concern that by eliminating parking on the east of the street there may be the potential of vehicles travelling northbound side by side (two lanes). He would prefer to see the parking spaces north of the driveway also eliminated to give motorists time to maneuver back into a single travel lane. Commander Smith understood the concern but said it would be illegal for motorists to drive side by side without the marking of two lanes. Commissioners Fisher and Campos also said they would prefer to see parking eliminated to Burr Oak Drive on Burning Bush Lane. Commissioner Fisher said it would be easier for buses to turn into the bus driveway without vehicles parked near Burr Oak Drive. Traffic Engineer Lawrie explained that those that park in the four spaces between the church driveway and Burr Oak Drive are often parent volunteers that are there for the entire day. Eliminating these parking spaces will force them to other streets where residents may not want to see on- street parking. He also said he believes there is sufficient maneuvering distance ("'150') to go around a queue of vehicles waiting to turn into the school parking lot and shifting to the travel lane to avoid parked vehicles north of the church driveway. Commissioner Kuehlthau felt that motorists need to take responsibility to drive safe near the school. He thought the four parking spaces near Burr Oak Drive could be kept without creating any safety issues. Commissioner Tortorello questioned why the school isn't required to provide adequate parking spaces on their property. Village Engineer Wulbecker responded the school recently did expand to provide additional parking but the school district is not governed by Village requirements. There was some discussion as to whether the school could expand the parking lot further but there is currently a barrier at the west end of the school that would prevent an easy expansion of the lot. Commissioner Bencic made a motion to prohibit stopping, standing, parking on school days from B:OOAM — 4:OOPM along the east side of Burning Bush Lane from Cree Lane to Burr Oak Drive. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Tortorello. Village Engineer Wulbecker preferred to allow on- street parking to continue on Burning Bush Lane between the church's north driveway and Burr Oak Drive. He said the parked vehicles forces thru traffic to get into the travel lane before reaching the crosswalk at Burr Oak Drive. He and Commander Smith expressed concern that motorists could drive along the curb and unexpectedly move into the travel lane right before Burr Oak Drive if the four additional parking spaces were removed. TSC Meeting Page 5 of 6 July 8, 2013 Chairman Keane countered and said he is concerned that students could still cross the street not at the crosswalk if the four parking spaces remain. Battalion Chief Lambel said the Fire Department supports eliminating on- street parking near the school parking lot. It would allow emergency vehicles to more easily travel Burning Bush Lane. However, he supports leaving the four parking spaces near Burr Oak Drive as the school needs on- street parking and eliminating them %A/MIId simply move vehicles to other ctreetc Ha commented the original recommendation addresses the issue at hand and believes there is not a need to eliminate more parking spaces than necessary. Commander Smith and Commissioner Kuehlthau suggested keeping the four parking spaces near Burr Oak Drive and revisiting the issue in the future if a problem arose. Chairman Keane asked if there were any more comments from the Commission. Hearing none, he asked for each member to vote individually. Those in favor of the motion were Chairman Keane, Commissioner Bencic, Commissioner Tortorello, Commissioner Fisher and Commissioner Campos. Those opposed were Commissioner Kuehlthau, Village Engineer Wulbecker, Commander Smith and Battalion Chief Lambel. The motion was approved by a vote of 5 -4. COMMISSION ISSUES Commissioner Fisher said he was approached by a couple of residents concerned about the sidewalk on Prospect Avenue between Main Street and Emerson Street. He was told the brick pavers were uneven in places and needed attention. Village Engineer Wulbecker said there is an annual maintenance program to restore the downtown streetscape. He said he would pass along the information to the Streets Division at Public Works. i Commissioner Fisher asked if there is a requirement for solicitors to obtain a permit before going to houses in the Village. Commander Smith said there is not a requirement but would review the issue with Police Department staff. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to discuss, the Transportation Safety Commission voted 9 -0 to adjourn at 8:06 p.m. upon the motion of Commissioner Bencic. Commissioner Campos seconded the motion. Respectfully submitted, Matthew P. Lawrie, P.E. Traffic Engineer h:\ engineering\ traffic\ safety_ commission \recs &mins \TSC- julyl3min.docx TSC Meeting Page 6 of 6 July 8, 2013