MINUTES OF THE
TRAFFIC COMMISSION
City Hall Room 310
7:00 pm
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson
Judy Kuiper, Cmdr. Jim Arts, Ald. Gary Kriescher,
and Matt Kuepers
MEMBERS ABSENT: Vice-Chairperson
Carol Macaux, Brad Hopp (excused),
and one (1) vacant position
OTHERS PRESENT: Recording
Secretary and Traffic Engineer Dave Hansen; Operations Director Chris Pirlot
1. Approval of the January
23, 2006 Traffic Commission minutes.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Cmdr. Arts and carried, to
approve the minutes of the January 23, 2006 Traffic Commission meeting.
2. Request by Ald. Arnoldi
to remove the 2-HOUR PARKING 7AM TO 7PM MONDAY THRU FRIDAY zone on east side of
Chestnut Avenue from a point 110 feet north of Dousman Street to a point 170
feet north of Dousman Street.
Mr. Hansen informed the Traffic Commission that Items 2 and 3 were submitted
together by Ald. Arnoldi. Field review
of the existing parking zones indicated the change of surrounding land use
accommodated the proposed change of parking zones.
A motion was made by Ald.
Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that on a 90-day trial, the
2-HOUR PARKING 7AM TO 7PM MONDAY THRU FRIDAY zone on the east side of Chestnut
Avenue from a point 110 feet north of Dousman Street to a point 170 feet north
of Dousman Street be removed.
3. Request by Ald. Arnoldi
to create a NO PARKING zone on east side of Chestnut Avenue from Dousman Street
to a point 140 feet north of Dousman Street.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that
on a 90-day trial, a NO PARKING zone on the east side of Chestnut Avenue from
Dousman Street to a point 140 feet north of Dousman Street be established.
4.
Request
by Police Department to establish a NO U-TURN restriction on East Mason Street
east of Bader Street.
Mr. Hansen informed the Traffic Commission that the Police Department requests
this NO U-TURN restriction because eastbound Mason Street motorists intending
to perform a left-turn movement at the Bader Street intersection, located west
of the subject median opening location, are instead traveling to the median
opening, making a U-TURN, and then making a right-turn at Bader Street during
peak periods. Mr. Hansen stated the
median opening is intended only for westbound Mason Street motorists to make a
left-turn into a business located on the south side of Mason Street. A NO-LEFT TURN sign exists for motorists
exiting the driveway, making it a right-turn only. Given the proximity of the median opening to the highly traveled
Bader Street and Main Street intersections, the available sight distance, and
the prevailing speeds, Mr. Hansen stated that such a U-TURN movement could
produce unsafe motorist decisions, and recommended that the NO U-TURN signs be
installed.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Cmdr. Arts and carried that on
a 90-day trial, establish a NO U-TURN restriction for eastbound traffic on East
Mason Street east of Bader Street.
5. Request by Ald. Wery to
review and modify the parking zone on Nicolet Avenue just south of West Mason
Street.
Mr. Hansen informed the Traffic Commission that he was unaware of the reason of
the request to modify the parking zone, and offered to contact Ald. Wery to
determine the intention of the request.
A motion was made by Cmdr. Arts, seconded by Ald. Kriescher and carried to
postpone the request by Ald. Wery to review and modify the parking zone on
Nicolet Avenue just south of West Mason Street until the February 27th Traffic
Commission meeting.
6. Request by Ald. Van Den
Heuvel to establish a STOP condition at the intersection of Fayette and
Creekside Lanes.
Mr. Pirlot informed the Traffic Commission that the request could have been
made due to the change of traffic patterns on Spartan Road. Recently, the DOT constructed a new
interchange at Huron Road, and thereby closing the at-grade intersection of
Spartan Road and Hwys 54/57. Local
residents could be traveling through the Bay Highlands Subdivision to access
the subdivision east of Spartan Road.
Mr. Hansen indicated a field review revealed good intersection sight
distance and adequate intersection control.
The Department of Public Works is unaware of any operational and safety
concerns at this intersection.
A motion was made by Mr. Kuepers, seconded by Cmdr. Arts and carried to deny
the request by Ald. Van Den Heuvel to establish a STOP condition at the
intersection of Fayette and Creekside Lanes.
7. Request by Ald. Theisen
for flashing beacons on Monroe Avenue adjacent to Aldo Leopold Elementary School.
Mr. Hansen stated that Ald. Theisen stated that the school crossing guard
assigned to the intersection of Quincy and Eliza Streets has, on occasion,
assisted pedestrians to cross Monroe Avenue at Eliza Street. Cmdr. Arts indicated that there is high
volume of traffic on Monroe Avenue but a low pedestrian volume crossing Monroe
Avenue. For this reason, there is no
designated crossing guard at this location.
Cmdr. Arts offered to obtain more information from the crossing guard
regarding their function and activities.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Keepers and carried to
postpone the request by Ald. Theisen for flashing beacons on Monroe Avenue
adjacent to Aldo Leopold Elementary School until the February 27th Traffic
Commission meeting.
8. Request by Ald. Theisen
to establish on-street public parking on Washington and Adams Streets, adjacent
to Fire Station 1.
Mr. Hansen informed the Traffic Commission that the Traffic Division had met
with the Fire Chief and had obtained his approval of the parking zone
proposal. It was agreed that the
Parking Division would honor a special parking permit for Fire Department vehicles,
allowing Fire Department personnel to park their personal vehicles in the 2
HOUR zones for extended periods of time.
A motion was made by Cmdr. Arts, seconded by Mr. Keepers and carried that on a
90 day
trial:
A. Remove the TWO-HOUR 7:00 A.M. -
7:00 P.M. MONDAY - FRIDAY zone on the
west side of Washington Street from a point 180 feet south of Crooks Street to
Adams Street.
B. Establish a TWO-HOUR 7:00 A.M.
- 7:00 P.M. MONDAY - FRIDAY zone on the west side of Washington Street from a
point 180 feet south of Crooks Street to a point 150 north of Adams Street.
C. Establish a NO PARKING zone on
the east side of Washington Street from Adams Street to a point 150 feet north
of Adams Street.
9.
That,
on a 90-day trial basis, remove the 2-HOUR PARKING MONDAY THRU FRIDAY zone on
the north side of Lawe Street from Jefferson Street to a point 198 feet west of
Madison Street.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that
the removal of the 2-HOUR PARKING MONDAY THRU FRIDAY zone on the north side of
Lawe Street from Jefferson Street to a point 198 feet west of Madison Street be
adopted by ordinance.
There being no other items
of discussion, a motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mrs. Kuiper and
carried to adjourn from the regular orders of business. The meeting ended at 7:25 P.M. The next regularly scheduled Traffic
Commission meeting will take place on Monday, February 27, 2006.