TRAFFIC
COMMISSION
Monday,
March 26, 2007
7:00
pm
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Chairperson Judy Kuiper, Brad Hopp, Lt. Brad Florence, Ald. Gary
Kriescher, Charles Karow, and Mark Schuster
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Matt Kuepers and Cmdr. Lisa Sterr
OTHERS PRESENT:
Ald. DeWane, Ald. Nicholson, and Recording Secretary and Traffic
Engineer Dave Hansen
1. Approval of the minutes from the
February 26, 2007 Traffic Commission meeting, and as amended:
A. Item 7 – Request by Ald. VanderLeest to
install blinking STOP signs at the 4-WAY STOP at Wood Lane and Hazelwood Lane.
A motion was made by M. Kuepers, seconded by B. Hopp and
carried that the request to install blinking STOP signs at the 4-WAY STOP at
Wood Lane and Hazelwood Lane be received and placed on file referred to
the Brown County Highway Department.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by B. Hopp
and carried to approve the amended minutes of the February 26, 2007 Traffic
Commission meeting.
2. Election
of Officers to the Traffic Commission.
J.
Kuiper asked that since M. Kuepers was excused from this meeting that this item
be postponed.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by B. Hopp and carried that the
election of Officers be postponed until the next meeting.
3. Request by Ald. Wiesbiskie,
on behalf of Dave DeGroot, for a NO ENGINE BRAKING
sign near 4440 Church Road.
D.
Hansen, City Traffic Engineer, stated that he thinks Mr. DeGroot
can hear from his residence the engine braking noise from gravel trucks
entering and exiting a nearby quarry.
The City has many NO ENGINE BRAKING signs posted on routes at the city
limits and in other spot locations. D.
Hansen recommended installing a NO ENGINE BRAKING sign facing westbound traffic
near the city limit just east of Nooyen Lane.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by M. Schuster and carried that the
request for a NO ENGINE BRAKING sign near 4440 Church Road be installed.
4. Request by Ald. DeWane to install
traffic signals at the intersection of Bader Street and Newberry Avenue.
Ald.
DeWane stated that quite a few accidents have occurred at the intersection. One family had three accidents at the
intersection. He has discussed this
intersection with a police officer and would like the intersection studied to
see if traffic signals should be installed.
D.
Hansen stated that the intersection currently operates under 4-WAY STOP. No traffic signal warrant study has been
performed at this location yet, and recommended that this request be referred
to DPW for study.
J.
Kuiper and Ald. Kriescher stated that signals would be out of place in this
neighborhood environment and questioned if signals would decrease the amount of
crashes.
A
motion was made by B. Hopp, seconded by Lt. Florence and carried that the
request to install traffic signals at the intersection of Bader Street and
Newberry Avenue be referred to DPW for study.
5. Request by Ald. DeWane to study the
overflow of cars using Tyrolian Drive as a shortcut.
Ald.
DeWane stated that residents have complained that motorists are using Sherry
Lane as a shortcut and raceway to Alpine Drive and think that STOP signs at
Sherry Lane and LeCapitaine Circle would reduce this
cut-through traffic. He stated that
motorists are avoiding STOP signs on Alpine Drive (at Malcore
Drive) and using Tyrolian Drive and Sherry Lane to
bypass the STOP signs.
B.
Hopp stated that a similar issue came up during road construction in the area
last year or so. Traffic Commission at
that time referred the item to the Police Department for enforcement.
D. Hansen stated that more neighborhood motorists are
presumably accessing Alpine Drive via Malcore
Drive. Because of this relatively new
STOP location that stops Alpine Drive traffic, residents that live on LeCapitaine Circle and vicinity are avoiding the STOP on
Alpine Drive and are using Tyrolian Drive to cut
through to Malcore Drive.
Lt. Florence and J. Kuipers
stated that adding STOP signs at Sherry Lane and Le Capitaine
Circle would not reduce cut-through traffic.
A
motion was made by Lt. Florence, seconded by B. Hopp and carried that the
request to study the overflow of cars using Tyrolian
Drive as a shortcut be referred to the Green Bay Police Department for
enforcement.
6. Request by Ald. Nicholson to review and
replace YIELD signs with STOP signs at the intersections of Juniper Drive and
Fiesta Lane with Laura Street.
Ald.
Nicholson requested that a person in the gallery be asked to speak on behalf of
the request.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, and seconded by M. Schuster to suspend the
rules and allow interested parties to speak.
Paul
Ebel (1756 Lilac Lane) wants YIELD signs changed to
STOP signs at both intersections. His
wife was recently involved in a crash at one of them. He travels the intersection frequently. Five to six times a year he has to take
evasive action when driving through these intersections because motorists are
not stopping for traffic on Laura Street.
He provided a map of the area to Traffic Commission members. He spoke with nearby residents after his
wife’s crash and they said that motorists don’t stop at the YIELD signs and
that STOP signs should be warranted. His
neighbor avoids those intersections and takes alternate routes.
A
motion was made by J. Kuiper and seconded by B. Hopp to return to regular order
of business.
D.
Hansen pointed out on a map the locations of the YIELD signs.
M.
Schuster asked which direction has the higher traffic volume. D. Hansen replied that no traffic counts are
available at both intersections, but that given they are residential streets, the daily volumes are probably in the hundreds per
day. He showed a map of the surrounding
area and where STOP and YIELD signs are currently placed, the similarities of
these conditions nearby, and explained some the area traffic patterns. He stated that a YIELD condition is the same
as a STOP condition in the presence of two or more conflicting vehicles. Investigating intersection sight distance and
a previous crash history should be done before converting the YIELDS to
STOPS. Per a recent visit to the site,
D. Hansen stated there are no sight vision problems at both intersections.
Lt.
Florence asked if crash records were available for the two intersections. D. Hansen replied that only the crash that P.
Ebel’s wife was involved in was recorded since 2004.
J.
Kuiper asked if traffic counts were ever done at these locations. D. Hansen replied no.
C.
Karow summarized that sight distance was adequate and that one crash occurred
in the past three years. D. Hansen
confirmed.
Lt.
Florence stated it would be advantageous to know what the traffic volumes are
at these intersections.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by M. Schuster and carried that the
request to review and replace YIELD signs with STOP signs at the intersections
of Juniper Drive and Fiesta Lane with Laura Street be referred to DPW for
study.
7. Request by U.S. Marshals Service to
establish a loading zone on Doty Street adjacent to Federal Court Building.
D.
Hansen stated that the U.S. Marshals Office is constructing a new temporary
holding facility within the Federal Court Building. This holding facility will hold high-profile
prisoners and requires safe and quick transport of prisoners to and from the
building. D. Hansen contacted Chris
Pirlot, DPW Parking Manager, who approves of the request that will require the
removal of three parking meters. D.
Hansen interprets this as a reasonable request, and recommends that the parking
meters be removed and replaced with a NO PARKING RESERVED U.S. MARSHAL zone
next to the Federal Court Building on Doty Street.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by B. Hopp and carried that:
A.
Parking
meters 329, 330, and 331 on the north side of Doty Street next to the Federal
Court Building be removed.
B.
A
NO PARKING RESERVED U.S. MARSHAL zone on the north side of Doty Street from a
point 135 feet east of South Jefferson Street to a point 200 feet east of South
Jefferson Street be established and adopted as ordinance.
8. Request by Ananh
Phomsena to establish a 4-WAY STOP condition at the
intersection of Phoebe and Crocker Streets.
D.
Hansen stated that Phoebe Street currently YIELDS to Crocker Street. The north leg of the intersection is not an
official street; it is the driveway entrance to the Park & Recreation
Department Maintenance Shop. Over the
past three years, one crash occurred at the intersection on January 30,
2007. The main cause of the crash was
failure to yield. Snow conditions
contributed to the crash. The crash
involved a Park & Rec employee, who was not the
at-fault motorist. Since all driveways
that enter a public street shall yield right-of-way to the public street,
technically the YIELD signs should be reversed, or in other words, placed on
the Crocker Street and maintenance shop entrance approaches.
Lt.
Florence and J. Kuiper questioned why the request was made. D. Hansen was unsure why the request was
placed but presumed it is crash related.
He did speak with Ald. Jeffreys and learned she is in support of placing
control on Crocker Street. He explained
to the Commission that a 4-WAY STOP condition is too restrictive for this
intersection.
M.
Schuster questioned that if a YIELD sign was placed on Crocker Street
(northbound), would a YIELD sign also be placed at the Park & Rec shop entrance.
D. Hansen replied yes, and clarified that not just one, but two signs in
opposing directions should be placed.
D.
Hansen stated he was contacted by Keith Wilhelm of the Park & Recreation
Department shortly after the January 2007 crash about making the intersection
control more restrictive. D. Hansen
studied the intersection at that time and came to the same conclusions that
were presented tonight.
D.
Hansen questioned that since the intersection carries such low volumes of
traffic and historically has been safe with the exception of one preventable
crash, is it going to make it safer or more dangerous by switching the YIELD
signs? The YIELD signs have been in
place for many years so the “do nothing” alternative
is plausible.
J.
Kuiper and M. Schuster questioned if a STOP sign could be placed at the park
driveway and leave the YIELD signs as is.
D. Hansen replied that a 2-WAY YIELD, 1-WAY STOP, 1-WAY FREE FLOW
intersection is not typical, and may confuse motorists.
M.
Schuster stated that it would clear up the intersection if the YIELD signs were
reversed. Lt. Florence agreed, and
stated that doing so would be in compliance with the city ordinance. Ald. Kriescher agreed.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by M. Schuster and carried that, on
a 90-day trial:
A. To
remove the 2-WAY YIELD condition on Phoebe Street at Crocker Street.
B. To
establish a 2-WAY YIELD condition on Crocker Street at Phoebe Street.
9. Request by Lori Thompson to install
BLIND PERSON AREA signs near 412 Scott Drive.
D.
Hansen approved of said sign installation and showed a map of proposed sign
locations.
M.
Schuster asked about the process of how these signs get installed. D. Hansen replied that DPW records the
locations of disabled persons warning signs such as DEAF CHILD AREA signs. D. Hansen sends out letters to the requestors
every two years to determine if they still reside near the warning signs. Those signs are removed if the previously
requesting residents have moved.
A
motion was made by B. Hopp, seconded by Lt. Florence and carried that BLIND
PERSON AREA signs near 412 Scott Drive be installed.
10. Request by Ald. VanderLeest for a traffic
flow study at the intersection of Hinkle Street and the West Wal-Mart Access.
D.
Hansen stated that DPW-Traffic Division plans to install this year a vehicle
detection system at this intersection.
With said installation, traffic flow will be greatly improved.
M.
Schuster, C. Karow, and D. Hansen discussed the recommendations of the WisDOT study of the Hwy 54 and Hwy 172 corridors that
proposed items such as installing right-in, right-out access points to the West
Mason Street frontage roads and improving the private access driveway at the
Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club stores.
M.
Schuster questioned how the detection system would improve the signal operations. D. Hansen replied that the existing traffic
signal currently operates with fixed green times for all approaches. With vehicle detection, green times will vary
based on the traffic demand, which will reduce vehicle stacking and wait
times. He also explained that DPW is
studying the synchronizing the traffic signals along West Mason Street between
Country Club Road and Taylor Street.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by C. Karow and carried that the
request for a traffic flow study at the intersection of Hinkle Street and the
West Wal-Mart Access be received and placed on file.
11. Request by Ald. DeWane to study the need
for a 3-WAY STOP condition at Alpine Drive and Deckner
Avenue.
Ald. DeWane stated that a resident who lives near the
intersection has had five crashes onto his property where they’ve hit his
mailbox and trees because northbound motorists don’t have to stop. Motorists, primarily high schoolers,
drive the intersection too fast. If STOP
signs are installed, they will stop at them.
The intersection has been enforced per Officer Komorosky.
D.
Hansen stated that now that the weather is getting warmer, DPW will be able to
place road tubes to count intersection traffic.
This data can then be used to determine if a 3-WAY STOP condition is
warranted.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by C. Karow, and carried that the
request to study the need for a 3-WAY STOP condition at Alpine Drive and Deckner Avenue be referred to DPW for study.
12. Request by Ald. Wiezbiskie to reassess
the YIELD sign at Edinburgh and Durham Road.
D. Hansen provided an overview of the recommendations of
the 4-WAY STOP warrant study, which was to keep the existing 2-WAY YIELD
control in place. He also reiterated
that research has proven that establishing multi-way STOP conditions at
unwarranted locations historically has made those intersections less safe. He asked the Commission if they had any
questions on the submitted report.
A motion was made by Ald. Kriescher,
and seconded by Lt. Florence to suspend the rules and allow interested parties
to speak.
Chris
Pirlot (3380 Edinburgh Road) stated that he lives 4 houses west of the
intersection and has seen the neighborhood develop over the years. Someday, Sussex Road will extend south to Scottwood Drive but he is unaware that the City has made
any efforts to secure roadway right-of-way for that extension. Durham Road now serves as the neighborhood
collector street and connects to Church Road feeding out of the
neighborhood. The intersection of
Edinburgh and Durham Roads was busier until Sussex Road was built and connected
between Church Road and Scottwood Drive. Since then, traffic patterns have changed. He and his wife had concerns on Edinburgh
Road before Sussex Road was built and there was more traffic at the
intersection. Even when traffic was
greater and the YIELD signs were reversed, they haven’t seen anything terrible
at the intersection. C. Pirlot stated he
has 19 years of traffic engineering experience prior to having D. Hansen serve
as the City Traffic Engineer. He likes
the way the YIELD signs work now. Since
the YIELD signs were recently reversed, he’s only had to come to a complete
stop only once to wait for an opposing vehicle.
He travels the intersection regularly during its morning peak to bring
his son to daycare. A 4-WAY STOP could
be possible someday, perhaps after Durham Road is extended to Scottwood Drive, but now it operates just fine as is. He hasn’t heard any tires screeching.
Scott
Schuetze (2735 Durham Road) is a local resident and
police officer and is in favor of 4-WAY STOP at the intersection. He has seen many vehicles have to stop at the
intersection. He and neighbors have
heard screeching tires. He spoke with
neighbors that are in favor of a 4-WAY STOP to help slow traffic and to make it
safer because cars will have to stop.
Vehicles will always run STOP signs, no matter of the location. Durham Road will eventually go through to Scottwood Drive. Why
wait until it becomes a thoroughfare with no traffic control? He spoke with other officers and they agree
motorists will speed because the length between stops is just under a mile
long. He believes that STOP signs at the
intersection will increase safety. He
spoke previously to Cmdr. Arts who in November 2006 was in favor of the request
because if you don’t control motorists, they will start to speed. In conversations with Cmdr. Sterr previously,
she agreed with S. Schuetze on “why wait until later”
and makes sense to do it now while its fresh in
motorists mind. You could probably ask
Lt. Florence about this issue. Why not
try it on a 90-day trial? He understands
why D. Hansen questioned the validity of the petition because of the
handwritten modifications stating “4-WAY STOP” to the typed text stating a
request to change the YIELDS to STOPS, i.e., convert
from 2-WAY YIELD to 2-WAY STOP. He
stated he wrote it on the petition after he read and after receiving four
signatures and after explaining the request clearly to them. He didn’t want to retype it. The neighbors on the corner have heard tires
screeching and have seen near crashes but understand there have been no crashes
there. But why wait until it’s too late? If a 4-WAY STOP was established and didn’t
work, he would come back to the Traffic Commission asking for their removal.
Gary
Fifarek is a fellow police officer and thought why
not sign the petition? But upon further
consideration, he thought why put STOP signs in to enforce speeds? He called D. Hansen to discuss the
request. He saw the road tubes and speed
boards collecting traffic volume and speed data. He is aware of the results of the Traffic
Engineer’s study that concluded among other things that speeding is not a
problem on Durham Road. He agrees with
Traffic Engineer recommendations and opinion that if a 4-WAY STOP
condition is established that midblock speeding will likely increase. This professional opinion is based upon past
research and studies of unwarranted STOP sign installations nationwide. He believes the number of speeders in the
area is limited, and that the times that these
speeders come through should be identified and officers should enforce the
speed limit then. As a patrol officer,
he was sent to enforce that area and issued some citations that made a big
difference in reducing speeds. He
searched for the number of traffic warnings and citations that were issued in
the past two years and found only 1 enforcement action issued last month. With this fact alone, he knows what needs to
be done – enforce the speed limit. Also
what would help would be to get the residents involved by getting to
participate in the Speed Watch program, where residents can obtain radar guns
from the Police Department to obtain and document speeds. He sat at intersection today between 2:30 and
3 PM – which is one of the peak times with the Red Smith school release - and
witnessed 51 vehicles, 2 adults, 9 kids and 1 dog go through the
intersection. Not one time did he see
two vehicles approach the intersection at the same time.
A
motion was made be Ald. Kriescher and seconded by Lt.
Florence to return to regular order of business.
D.
Hansen cautioned the Traffic Commission on recommending installing any
intersection traffic control device on a 90-day trial and then have it removed.
Doing so causes motorist confusion and compromises safety. The City has had issues in the past with
installing multi-way STOP signs on a trial basis at many locations. The intersection did not come close to
meeting 4-WAY STOP warrants and thinks that this is a poor location for
one. Traffic problems are likely to get worse,
not better, by establishing a 4-WAY STOP condition at this location.
C.
Karow asked on which road is the YIELD signs.
D. Hansen explained that Durham Road YIELDED to Edinburgh Road before
Durham Road was extended south to Paula Street.
But since extension of Paula Street and the addition of Sussex Street,
traffic patterns have drastically changed, and Edinburgh Road now YIELDS to
Durham Road, as Durham Road is now the neighborhood collector street that
should not have to YIELD right-of-way to a minor residential street until there
are factors that require all roads to STOP.
M.
Schuster questioned when Durham Road will be extended south to Scottwood Drive. D.
Hansen stated he is unaware of when this will happen.
M.
Schuster questioned if there are any traffic calming techniques that can be
applied instead of installing STOP signs.
J. Kuiper replied that if the road was up for reconstruction, then at
that time consideration could take place.
D. Hansen replied that the speed survey resulted in no speeding problem,
so why should the City spend money on installing traffic calming devices.
C.
Karow asked the distance to extend Durham Road to Scottwood
Drive. D. Hansen replied hundreds of
feet.
C.
Karow agrees with G. Fifarek that STOP signs should
not be installed to enforce speed. He
stated that studies have proven that STOP signs do not control speed, but
actually increase midblock speeds. The
Village of Ashwaubenon is a good example of these
STOP signs where he sees motorists on his way from work that travel closer to
40 mph midblock rather than 25 mph.
Installing those STOP signs didn’t solve anything.
D.
Hansen volunteered the detailed speed survey data to assist the Police
Department narrow down specific times to initiate a speed enforcement effort.
B.
Hopp stated that although G. Fifarek changed his mind
about signing the petition, he still sides with the people that signed it and
whatever the study says, you still have 60 people that want the STOP signs.
M.
Schuster stated that if no multi-way warrants were met, why put in the STOP
signs? J. Kuiper agreed. She re-read the traffic study the day before,
understands that no warrants were met, and the intersection doesn’t need a
change. We can’t modify intersection
traffic control just because the neighborhood wants it. If we did that for every request, we would
have STOP signs at all intersections.
Ald. Kriescher added that this is how Doty Street has become. J. Kuiper agreed with C. Karow’s
observations in Ashwaubenon and that STOP signs won’t
slow the traffic down. C. Karow added
that motorists will start to disregard unwarranted STOP signs, which is
ultimately more dangerous. C. Karow
agreed with M. Schuster that why should STOP signs be
installed if they are not warranted.
A
motion was made by C. Karow, seconded by M. Schuster and carried that the request
to reassess the YIELD sign at Edinburgh and Durham Road be received and placed
on file. B. Hopp opposed.
13. Request by Ald. VanderLeest to modify the
parking restrictions in front of Bay Area Diamond (1545 Sixth Street) to 1
HOUR.
D.
Hansen stated that this request was discussed in length at the last Traffic
Commission meeting, and that he spoke with the owner of Bay Area Diamond the
day after it. The owner is in support of
establishing a NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER zone on the south side of Sixth Street
from Military Avenue east past his store.
D. Hansen agreed with this proposal.
A
motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by B. Hopp, and carried that, on a
90-day trial:
A.
Remove
the NO PARKING zone on the south side of Sixth Street from a point 95 feet west
of Irvington Street to a point 100 feet east of Military Avenue.
B.
Remove
the NO PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM DAILY EXCEPT SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS zone on the
south side of Sixth Street from a point 100 feet east of Military Avenue to a
point 780 feet east of Military Avenue.
C.
Establish
a NO PARKING zone on the south side of Sixth Street from a point 95 feet west
of Irvington Street to a point 620 feet east of Military Avenue.
None
There being no other items of discussion, a motion was made by Ald. Kriescher, seconded by M. Schuster and carried to adjourn from the regular orders of business. The meeting ended at 7:47 P.M. The next Traffic Commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 23, 2007 at 7:00 P.M.