MINUTES OF THE
City Hall, Room 310
7:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson
Judy Kuiper, Brad Hopp, Ald. Gary Kriescher, and Matt Kuepers
MEMBERS ABSENT: Vice-chairperson
Carol Macaux, Cmdr. Jim Arts, and One (1) vacant position
OTHERS PRESENT: Recording
Secretary and Traffic Engineer Dave Hansen, Ald. Theisen, and Ald. Wery
1. Approval of the March 13, 2006 Traffic Commission
minutes.
A motion was made by Mr. Hopp, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried, to
approve the minutes of the March 13, 2006 Traffic Commission meeting.
2.
Request by Ald. Weber
for speed control on Hazelwood Lane, east of Packerland Drive during morning
hours, 7-9 a.m. and evening hours 3-5 p.m.
Mr.
Hansen stated that the road is currently striped by the County as a visually
narrowed roadway, or in other words, striped as a two-lane road. The County plans to stripe the road as a four-lane
road. The Police Department would
consider placing recordable speed boards.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Hopp and carried that the
request by Ald. Weber for speed control on Hazelwood Lane, east of Packerland
Drive during morning hours 7-9 a.m. and evening hours 3-5 p.m. be received and
placed on file and that the Department of Public Works continue to monitor the
corridor.
3.
Request by Ald. Theisen
to install NO PARKING ON TERRACE signs on the east side of Bellevue Street just
south of Cass Street.
Mr.
Hansen stated that the east side of Bellevue Street just south of Cass Street
is currently posted NO PARKING THIS SIDE OF STREET. The City ordinance restricts parking on a sidewalk or terrace
area located within the public right-of-way.
Mr. Hansen recommended the placement of NO PARKING ON TERRACE signs,
with signs placed on both sides of each post.
Ald.
Theisen suggested installing signs just south of the driveway apron. He has seen other locations with the similar
signing work effectively.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried NO
PARKING ON TERRACE signs on the east side of Bellevue Street just south of Cass
Street be installed.
4.
Request by Ald. VanderLeest
to install a YIELD sign on Janice Avenue at Florence Avenue, and to install a
pedestrian walk sign and speed limit sign in the parking lot that accesses
Florence Avenue at Janice Avenue.
Mr.
Hansen stated that no intersection control signs currently exist at the
intersection, meaning that as multiple vehicles approach the intersection yield
to vehicle on the right rule would apply.
Installing a YIELD sign on Janice Avenue would provide northbound Florence
Avenue traffic the free flow movement.
Southbound traffic out of the access drive would still have to yield at
entry. An existing 5 MPH sign exists
for northbound traffic entering the driveway.
No pedestrian crossing sign exists.
Ald.
Kriescher stated that the Traffic Commission is not authorized to erect roadway
signs on private property.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that the
request by Ald. VanderLeest to install a YIELD sign on Janice Avenue at
Florence Avenue and to install a pedestrian walk sign and speed limit sign in
the parking lot that accesses Florence Avenue at Janice Avenue be received and
placed on file.
5.
Request by Ald.
VanderLeest to install a 4-WAY STOP condition at the intersection of Wiesner
and Biemeret Streets.
Mr.
Hansen stated that the intersection currently has a two-way STOP condition,
stopping Biemeret Street traffic. Sight
distance from all approaches is adequate.
Ald. VanderLeest’s constituents have complained of speeding along
Wiesner Street. An all-way STOP
condition is requested for speed control.
No warrant study has been performed.
However, based on knowledge of the intersection, it is doubtful that the
intersection would meet multi-way STOP control warrants. The nearest intersections with multi-way
STOP conditions are Ninth and Taylor Streets and Hazelwood and Wood
Avenues. Both intersections carry
higher traffic volumes.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that the
request by Ald. VanderLeest to install a 4-way STOP condition at the
intersection of Wiesner and Biemeret Streets be received and placed on file.
6.
Request by Ald.
Kriescher to install a 2-HOUR PARKING zone in the 300 block of Huth Street.
Mr.
Hansen stated that the 300 block of Huth Street spans over four City blocks
(Newberry Avenue to Hillside Lane). Mr.
Hansen recommended a restricted parking zone similar to nearby restricted zones
only between Newberry Avenue and Oakdale Avenue, if school parking is the
issue.
Both
Mrs. Kuiper and Ald. Kriescher stated that they have witnessed parking issues
between Newberry Avenue and Oakdale Avenue.
A
motion was made by Mr. Hopp, seconded by Ald. Kriescher and carried that, on a
90-day trial basis, establish a 2-HOUR PARKING 7AM TO 4PM SCHOOL DAYS zone on
Huth Street between Newberry and Oakdale Avenues.
7.
Request by Ald.
Kriescher to modify the NO PARKING zone in the 1300 block of Cherry Street to a
NO STOPPING OR STANDING zone.
Mr.
Hansen stated that currently the north and south sides of Cherry Street have NO
PARKING restrictions. Ald. Kriescher
stated that he has received complaints of parents waiting to pick up students
at East High School in the 1300 block of Cherry Street. Mr. Hansen recommended a NO STOPPING OR
STANDING 7AM TO 4PM SCHOOL DAYS zone.
Ald.
Kriescher stated that he has had complaints of people parked in their cars
waiting to pick up students.
A
motion was made by Mr. Kuepers, seconded by Mr. Hopp and carried that, on a 90-day
trial basis, establish a NO STOPPING OR STANDING zone on Cherry Street from Irwin Avenue to Baird Street.
8.
Request by Ald.
Kriescher to modify the NO PARKING zone on the north side of Proper Street from
Newhall Street to Elizabeth Street to a 2-HOUR PARKING zone.
A
motion was made by Mrs. Kuiper, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried to suspend
the rules and allow interested parties to speak.
Mark
Lindsley, 1580 Proper Street, stated that he has lived at his current address
for 23 years and a parking zone on the south side of the street has existed
since then. Now, when he has guests
over, there’s no place for them to park.
He agrees that the Parking Utility should issue tickets to the operators
of improperly parked vehicles.
Jim
Monek, 1572 Proper Street, stated that he needs parking, preferably on the
south side of the street.
Mike
Paque, 1575 Proper Street, stated that he prefers the NO PARKING restriction,
but only on one side of the street. He
also agrees that the Parking Utility should use more enforcement.
Emily
Yserbaert, 1569 Proper Street, believes that the parking problem is on the
north side where people were parking in front of the driveways. She has had difficulty getting into her
driveway and recommended that south side parking be allowed and 2-HOUR PARKING
be allowed on the north side.
Jim
Cullen, 1568 Proper Street, stated that there’s a need for on-street parking
because it’s an older neighborhood with single car garages and limited driveway
space. Moving and swapping vehicles is
inconvenient. He favors unlimited
parking on one side only.
Peter
LaPlant, 1565 Proper Street, stated that his driveway on the north side is
difficult to enter and he would like to see parking on the south side of the
street.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Hopp and carried to return
to the regular orders of business.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Hopp and carried that, on a
90-day trial basis, the NO PARKING zone on the south side of Proper Street from
Newhall Street to Elizabeth Street be removed.
9.
Request by Ald. Wery to review and modify the parking
zone on Nicolet Avenue just south of West Mason Street.
Mr.
Hansen read a memo from Tom Lesperance, Inspection Superintendent, summarizing
that the Tower Clock Eye Clinic, 1087 West Mason Street, meets the City’s
minimum requirement for on-site parking.
The memo also stated that zoning code requires the owner to make
provisions for changes in building use or the intensity of use that impacts parking.
Ald.
Wery indicated that vehicles exiting eastbound from the clinic parking lot onto
Nicolet Avenue were visually blocked by parked vehicles on the west side of
Nicolet Avenue. He is requesting that
the Department of Public Works paint the four feet of curb yellow on both sides
of each driveway south of the eye clinic on Nicolet Avenue.
A
motion was made by Mrs. Kuiper, seconded by Mr. Kuepers to suspend the rules
and allow interested parties to speak.
Barbara
Schwiesow, co-owner of Tower Clock Eye Center (1087 West Mason Street), stated
they were never notified of the 2005 parking change. They noticed the recent change and called the Traffic Engineer
and inquired why were they not notified.
She also wanted to know how the process of changing a parking zone worked. She investigated the parking situations on
other streets and concluded that Nicolet Avenue is unique compared to nearby
streets. She stated that there were no
parking restrictions on Oneida Street between Mason Street and Hickory Hill
Drive.
Mrs.
Kuiper stated that Oneida Street is wider than Nicolet Avenue between Mason
Street and Hickory Hill Drive.
Ms.
Schwiesow said that their building redevelopment goal in 1993 was to beautify
the area. She has looked into obtaining
additional off-site parking from the Salvation Army, but was denied. She stated that it would be nice to have
parking available on the east side of Nicolet Avenue.
Jack
and Mary Gillis, 851 Nicolet Avenue, stated parking on Nicolet Avenue close to
Mason Street is a safety problem. She
has witnessed two near miss crashes and she likes the modified NO PARKING zone.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried to
return to the regular orders of business.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and carried that the
request by Ald. Wery to review and modify the parking zone on Nicolet Avenue just
south of Mason Street be received and placed on file and that the request by Ald.
Wery to install yellow pavement curb markings on the first four feet of curb on
each side of the driveways to 714, 717, 718, 721, 722, 724, 725, 801, 804 and
805 Nicolet Avenue be approved.
10.
Request by Gregory Grobe to establish a NO PARKING zone
on Michigan Avenue north of the driveway access to 2225 Michigan Avenue.
Mr. Hansen recommended no parking on both sides in order to provide adequate clear width for emergency vehicles. However, the modified parking requested by Mr. Grobe is an improvement over the existing parking zone on both sides.
A motion was made by Mr. Kuepers, seconded by Ald. Kriescher and carried that, on a 90-day trial basis, a NO PARKING zone on the east side of Michigan Avenue, from East Shore Drive north to and including the cul-de-sac be established.
11. Request
by Ald. Theisen for flashing beacons on Monroe Avenue adjacent to Aldo Leopold
K-8 School.
Mr. Hansen indicated that the traffic study performed on Wednesday morning, March 22, 2006 concluded that five students crossed Eliza Street, went north to the signalized intersection at Porlier Street, crossed Monroe Avenue, went southbound on the west side of the street, crossed Eliza Street again and ended their trip at 500 Eliza Street. Two-way traffic volumes (from 2000) were presented. The posted speed is 25 MPH. Average speed is 31 MPH. 85% of the traffic was going 34 MPH or less. Police Department enforcement was requested by the Traffic Engineer due to the speeding issue. Mr. Hansen recommended that the request be received and placed on file and that the Department of Public Works continues to monitor this portion of Monroe Avenue.
Mrs. Kuiper and Ald. Kriescher recommended that Ald. Theisen call Cmdr. Arts to discuss the speeding issue.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Hopp and carried that the request by Ald. Theisen for flashing beacons on Monroe Avenue adjacent to Aldo Leopold K-8 School be received and placed on file and that the Traffic Engineer send an e-mail to the Police Department for more speed enforcement on Monroe Avenue between Emilie and Eliza Streets.
There being no other items
of discussion, a motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by Mr. Kuepers and
carried to adjourn from the regular orders of business. The meeting ended at 7:52 P.M. The next Traffic Commission meeting is
scheduled for Monday, April 24, 2006.