MINUTES
TRAFFIC
COMMISSION
Monday,
June 1, 2009
City
Hall, Room 310
5:30
pm
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairperson Brad Hopp, Vice Chairperson Matt
Kuepers, Charles Karow, Mark Schuster, and Lieutenant Brad Florence
MEMBERS ABSENT: Alderman Andy Nicholson (excused)
OTHERS PRESENT: Alderman Tom DeWane,
Alderperson Amy Kocha, and Recording Secretary and
Traffic Engineer Dave Hansen
1. Approval of the minutes from the April
27, 2009 Traffic Commission meeting.
A motion was made by M. Schuster, seconded by
M. Kuepers, and carried to approve the minutes from the April 27, 2009 Traffic
Commission meeting.
The remaining items
were taken in this order: 6, 4, 2-3, 5,
7-23
INITIAL REQUESTS
2. Request by Ald. DeWane, on behalf of
neighborhood residents, to establish a NO PARKING 7-4 SCHOOL DAYS zone on the
east side of Wesley Avenue from Newberry Avenue to Wildwood Court.
Dave Hansen, City Traffic Engineer,
summarized the existing parking restrictions along Wesley Ave. He had no concerns with the request.
A discussion took place that the
school year is nearing its end and that the majority of the 90-day trial would
take place outside the school year.
A motion was made by B. Hopp,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that, on a 90-day trial, to:
A. Remove the 2-HOUR 7-4 SCHOOL DAYS zone on the east
side of Wesley Avenue from a point 180 feet south of Newberry Avenue to a point
178 feet south of Donarski Court.
B. Establish a NO PARKING 7-4 SCHOOL DAYS zone on the
east side of Wesley from Wildwood Drive to a point 180 feet south of Newberry
Avenue.
C. Establish a 2-HOUR 7-4 SCHOOL DAYS zone on the east
side of Wesley Avenue from a point 178 feet south of Donarski
Court to Wildwood Drive.
A brief discussion took place about
whether the Chair of the Commission is allowed to make motions under Robert’s
Rules of Order.
3. Request by Ald. Nicholson on behalf of
Mike Thompson (1000 Lime Kiln Road) to extend the NO PARKING zone on the west
side of Lime Kiln Road at Manitowoc Road further south.
D. Hansen stated that he spoke with
Mike Thompson on the phone regarding this request. Mike has trouble seeing around vehicles
parked on-street when exiting his apartment driveway onto Lime Kiln Rd. D. Hansen spoke with Ald. Nicholson who
concluded that extending the zone south would not have significant impact to
residents since off-street parking is available. D. Hansen recommended that if the parking
zone were extended south, it should be extended to the next utility pole south
of the driveway to 1000 Lime Kiln Rd.
A discussion took place about
postponing this item until Ald. Nicholson is present.
A motion was made by M. Schuster,
seconded by C. Karow, and carried that the request to extend the NO PARKING
zone on the west side of Lime Kiln Road at Manitowoc Road further south be
postponed until the Monday, June 22, 2009 Traffic Commission meeting.
4. Request by Ald. Kocha
to re-address safety and visibility at the signalized intersections of
Walnut/Monroe and Walnut/Webster during nighttime red and yellow flashing
operations.
Ald. Kocha
asked to open the floor.
A motion was made by M. Kuepers, and
seconded by C. Karow to suspend the rules and allow interested parties to
speak.
John Wire (135 S Irwin Ave) spoke
against how early the traffic signals now flash at night. He nearly got into a crash at one of
them. He stated that the Xavier church
monument on the southwest corner of Walnut/Monroe and the old social security
building on the northwest corner of Walnut/Webster obstruct eastbound
motorists’ intersection sight distance.
He thinks it’s unsafe that both Webster Ave and Monroe Ave flash yellow
at Walnut St. He’d like to see both
traffic signals either flash all-red, or operate green-yellow-red all night.
Ald. Kocha
spoke in favor of changing to all-red flash at night.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by M. Schuster to return to regular order of business.
D. Hansen stated that the nighttime flash
operations at both intersections were changed in late 2008; Walnut/Monroe on
Wed Oct 29, and Walnut/Webster on Thu Sep 25.
They used to flash at 2:30 AM to 6:00 AM every night but have been
changed to flash at different times under 4 groupings: Sunday, Monday-Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday. Walnut St flashes red, and
both Webster Ave and Monroe Ave flash yellow.
Yellow and red flash direction did not change during the citywide
retiming project.
At Walnut/Webster, since the new
flash times went into operation, 7 crashes occurred at Walnut/Monroe; 2 during
flash operations. However, one crash
occurred between a westbound and a southbound vehicle (not attributable to the
questioned site obstruction), and the second crash, although between an eastbound
and a southbound vehicle, happened with the southbound vehicle in the inside
lane and the eastbound vehicle in the inside lane, which has more than adequate
sight distance. For the second crash,
the officer’s opinion of contributing circumstance was failure to yield
right-of-way.
At Walnut/Monroe since the new flash
times went into operation, 5 crashes have been reported, 1 during the flash
time. However, the 1 flash time crash
was alcohol-related according to the officer’s opinion of contributing
circumstances (both drivers). Unit 1,
who failed to stop for the flashing red, also was cited for no valid driver’s
license.
D. Hansen reviewed both
intersections and summarized that they both meet minimum intersection sight
distance criteria when a motorist encroaches into each stop bar (which is legal
after stopping at a stop bar first, then moving slightly forward to get a
better view). There are likely not many
pedestrians at these intersections late at night, so crosswalk encroachment
should not produce any vehicle-ped issues.
A lengthy discussion took place
about confusion at signalized intersections when all directions flash red,
moving back the nighttime flash operation to after bar close, nighttime
flashing times and sight distance safety concerns, impacts the flashing times
had on the crashes, and the pros and cons of flashing all-red until all-way
vehicle detection is funded.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by M. Schuster, that the nighttime flash operation of the traffic
signals at Walnut/Monroe and Walnut/Webster be changed to begin nighttime flash
at 2:30 AM Monday through Friday and 3:00 AM Saturday through Sunday, and that
vehicle detection be considered in a future budget cycle to be installed on all
approaches of Walnut/Monroe and Walnut/Webster to allow fully-actuated traffic
signal operations during nighttime hours.
Motion carried with Lt. Florence
voting no.
5. Request by Ald. Kocha
to address ongoing speeding concerns on Morrow Street near Forest Street.
D. Hansen summarized the results of
a speed study conducted from Fri Oct 17 to Fri Oct 24, 2008. 85th percentile speed was 30.6
mph. Morrow St is posted 25 mph. Since the 85th percentile speed is
less than the 32 mph threshold established in the neighborhood traffic calming
policy, Morrow St would not qualify for the program, therefore other solutions
could be considered such as speed enforcement.
He summarized the site characteristics and recommended that on-street
parking be allowed around the curve where the speeding activity is taking
place, since artificially narrowing a road has been proven to reduce
speeds. D. Hansen stated that since
Forest St access to Main St was cut off when Main St was reconstructed years
ago, Forest St traffic has likely dropped significantly. He presumed that the 4-WAY STOP condition at
Morrow/Forest is likely unwarranted because of this. Unwarranted multiway
stops lead to prevailing speeds being higher than the posted speed because
motorists tend to roll through these types of STOP conditions and then increase
their midblock speeds to make up for lost time.
Ald. Kocha stated that a neighborhood resident
and bicyclist informed her that he had safety concerns at Morrow/Forest, of
vehicles blowing the STOP sign.
A discussion took place about the
safety of the Morrow/Forest intersection and if the city should allow parking
back onto Morrow St around a curve that has beam guard.
A motion was made by M. Schuster,
seconded by C. Karow, and carried that the request to address ongoing speeding
concerns on Morrow Street near Forest Street be referred to staff to conduct an
intersection control study at Morrow and Forest Streets and to review the
feasibility of allowing onstreet parking to one or
both sides of the 1500 block of Morrow Street around the curve.
6. Request by Ald. Kocha
to consider providing pavement assistance for the blind on University Avenue at
the intersections of Elizabeth Street, Henry Street and Danz Avenue.
Ald. Kocha
stated that Scott Tedford, a blind pedestrian in the
gallery, visited the City of Janesville about 6 years ago and they had a groove
in a street to give pedestrians directional assistance. She said Scott experienced the stamped
decorative crosswalks at some intersections with Main St and had positive
comments about them. She asks to suspend
the rules for Scott and others to speak and also requested that there are other
streets they would like to talk about.
A motion was made by M. Kuepers,
seconded by B. Hopp to suspend the rules and allow interested parties to speak.
The following people in the gallery,
all visually-impaired, spoke in favor of tactile and/or auditory pedestrian
assisted roadway enhancements:
1. Scott Tedford (532 Proulx St) stated that the grooves he experienced 6 years
ago in Janesville were deep.
2. Mary Glinecki (2636
Hazelwood Ln) questioned if other cities have grooved
crosswalks.
3. Mary Swain (1278 Main St) questioned if west side
locations would be considered and if the Janesville grooves were on the blind
school campus.
4. Bob Heiser (1547 Foeller Dr)
stated that beep and chirp audible signals are annoying but
likes the verbal message type audible signals.
D. Hansen learned prior to the
meeting from Ald. Kocha that she heard from Scott Tedford that the City of Janesville had these crosswalk
grooves. D. Hansen said he called Dennis
Ryan, Senior Engineer, City of Janesville, who has worked for that city for 15
years, to ask them about the grooved crosswalk that was brought up in previous
conversations. D. Ryan stated that they
do not have any grooved crosswalks within their city limits. D. Hansen also spoke with Jeff Bagdade, a consultant and national safety expert in the
transportation field, about pedestrian assistance pavement grooves. Jeff was not aware of such grooves but
explained that audible pedestrian signals are the standard. D. Hansen stated that he received responses
back from both the Operations and Engineering Divisions’ of their professional
opinions of grooves (sawcuts) in pavements. A summary of the responses was that
additional pavement grooves create a stress concentration which eventually
becomes cracks which eventually lead to pavement failures due to water
infiltration. Additionally, any joint
can help adjacent pavement heave or settle, causing a tripping hazard at the
edge of the crosswalk. He questioned if
the Janesville grooves were typical concrete sawcut
joints.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by M. Schuster to return to regular order of business.
A lengthy discussion took place
about issues with raised pavement markings in a winter climate (snow plowing),
milled-in markings, stamped concrete and asphalt crosswalks, various types of
canes and tips, rumble strips, other cities that may have marking devices,
liability of grooved markings, and the visually-impaired school in Janesville.
A motion was made by M. Schuster,
seconded by C. Karow, and carried that the request to consider providing
pavement assistance for the blind on University Avenue at the intersections of
Elizabeth Street, Henry Street and Danz Avenue (A) be referred to the Legal
Department to determine if the city is increasing its liability by installing
grooved crosswalks to aid visually-impaired pedestrians across city
intersections, (B) that DPW staff contacts the Wisconsin School for the
Visually Handicapped in Janesville, Wisconsin to learn about visually-impaired
pedestrian grooved crosswalks, (C) that DPW staff coordinates an onsite meeting
with the local Visually-Impaired Support Group at the DPW East Side Garage to
demonstrate an existing milled pavement marking, and to (D) reconsider this
request at the Monday, June 22, 2009 meeting.
7. Request by Ald. Wery, on behalf of
Patricia Colburn (1209 Dousman Street) to install BLIND CHILD signs along
Dousman Street near her home.
A motion was made by Lt. Florence,
seconded by C. Karow, and carried that BLIND CHILD AREA signs along Dousman
Street near the home of Patricia Colburn (1209 Dousman Street) be installed.
POSTPONED FROM
PREVIOUS MEETING
8. Request by Ald. Vander Leest for an
update on the plan to install crosswalks and sidewalks in conjunction with
Brown County at the intersection of Hazelwood Lane and Wood Lane.
A motion was made by M. Kuepers that
the request for an update on the plan to install crosswalks and sidewalks in
conjunction with Brown County at the intersection of Hazelwood Lane and Wood
Lane be received and placed on file.
Motion failed by lack of a second.
D. Hansen stated that the Village of
Ashwaubenon has not responded to requests to participate in this project.
A discussion took place about the
locations that sidewalk and curb ramps are proposed.
A second motion was made by M.
Kuepers, seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the request for an update
on the plan to install crosswalks and sidewalks in conjunction with Brown
County at the intersection of Hazelwood Lane and Wood Lane be postponed until
the next Traffic Commission meeting on Monday, June 22, 2009.
REFERRED
BACK FROM STUDY
9. Request by Ald. Theisen on behalf of a
resident for a crossing guard study at the intersection of Monroe Avenue and
Porlier Street.
D. Hansen summarized the results of the
crossing guard study. The intersection
did not meet the crossing guard warrant.
Given that the warrant was not met, and that crossing guards exist at
Monroe/Cass and at Monroe/Eliza/Quincy, he did not see the need for a third
crossing guard within this small area, as children have 2 nearby crossing
options available to them.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by M. Kuepers, and carried that request for a crossing guard study at
the intersection of Monroe Avenue and Porlier Street be received and placed on
file.
10. Request by Ald. VanderLeest to conduct a
sidewalk study along Hobart Drive.
D. Hansen presented the results of the
pedestrian study. Pedestrian patterns
were observed on a typical school weekday (Tue May 26, 2009) between 8 AM and
7:30 PM with gaps in observation during presumed light pedestrian activity
between 9-11 and 1-3. The highest
pedestrian volumes occurred near the school during morning and evening pick
up/drop off. For each time period (8-9,
11-1, 3-4, and 4-7:30), ped volumes varied between 0
and 13 between Bellwood Ln and the W Mason St South Frontage Rd. During these same time intervals near the
school, ped volumes varied between 2 and 68. He noted that pedestrians along West Point Rd
at Hobart Dr were counted, and consisted of a large portion of pedestrians
collected. No pedestrian crashes
occurred within the last 3 years.
Observers reported no pedestrian crashes or close calls during the
study.
A discussion took place about
on-street parking zones and sidewalk assessment.
A motion was made by M. Kuepers,
seconded by C. Karow, and carried that the request to conduct a sidewalk study
along Hobart Drive be referred back to the Improvement & Service Committee
with a report that limited pedestrian activity occurred during the observation
periods between 8 AM and 7:30 PM with no pedestrian safety concerns.
TERMINATION
OF TRIAL PERIODS
11. That, on a 90-day trial, to remove the NO
PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 330 feet south of Mather
Street to a point 525 feet south of Mather Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the removal of the NO PARKING zone
on the east side of Broadway from a point 330 feet south of Mather Street to a
point 525 feet south of Mather Street be adopted by ordinance.
12. That, on a 90-day trial, to remove the NO
PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 638 feet south of Mather
Street to a point 718 feet south of Mather Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the removal of the NO PARKING zone
on the east side of Broadway from a point 638 feet south of Mather Street to a
point 718 feet south of Mather Street be adopted by ordinance.
13. That, on a 90-day trial, to remove the NO
PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from Mather Street to a point 150
north of Mather Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the removal of the NO PARKING zone
on the east side of Broadway from Mather Street to a point 150 north of Mather
Street be adopted by ordinance.
14. That, on a 90-day trial, to remove the
2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of
Broadway from a point 191 feet south of Kellogg Street to a point 118 feet
north of Dousman Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the removal of the 2-HOUR PARKING 7
AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of Broadway from a point
191 feet south of Kellogg Street to a point 118 feet north of Dousman Street be
adopted by ordinance.
15. That, on a 90-day trial, to remove the
2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of
Broadway from Bond Street to a point 118 feet north of Dousman Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that the removal of the 2-HOUR PARKING 7
AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of Broadway from Bond
Street to a point 118 feet north of Dousman Street be adopted by ordinance.
16. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
NO PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 150 feet north of
Mather Street to a point 205 feet south of Bond Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a NO PARKING zone on the east side
of Broadway from a point 150 feet north of Mather Street to a point 205 feet
south of Bond Street be established and adopted by ordinance.
17. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of
Broadway from a point 205 feet south of Bond Street to a point 10 feet north of
Kellogg Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a 2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 205 feet south of
Bond Street to a point 10 feet north of Kellogg Street be established and
adopted by ordinance.
18. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
NO PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 10 feet north of Kellogg
Street to a point 50 feet south of Kellogg Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a NO PARKING zone on the east side
of Broadway from a point 10 feet north of Kellogg Street to a point 50 feet
south of Kellogg Street be established and adopted by ordinance.
19. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of
Broadway from a point 50 feet south of Kellogg Street to a point 175 feet south
of Kellogg Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a 2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 50 feet south of
Kellogg Street to a point 175 feet south of Kellogg Street be established and
adopted by ordinance.
20. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
NO PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 175 feet south of
Kellogg Street to a point 270 feet south of Kellogg Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a NO PARKING zone on the east side
of Broadway from a point 175 feet south of Kellogg Street to a point 270 feet
south of Kellogg Street be established and adopted by ordinance.
21. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of
Broadway from a point 270 feet north of Dousman to a point 335 feet north of
Dousman Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a 2-HOUR PARKING 7 AM TO 7 PM MONDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 270 feet north of
Dousman to a point 335 feet north of Dousman Street be established and adopted
by ordinance.
22. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
15-MINUTE LOADING DELIVERY VEHICLES ONLY zone on the east side of Broadway from
a point 190 feet north of Dousman Street to a point 270 feet north of Dousman
Street.
A motion was made by C. Karow,
seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a 15-MINUTE LOADING DELIVERY
VEHICLES ONLY zone on the east side of Broadway from a point 190 feet north of
Dousman Street to a point 270 feet north of Dousman Street be established and
adopted by ordinance.
23. That, on a 90-day trial, to establish a
NO PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from Dousman Street to a point 295
feet south of Dousman Street.
A
motion was made by C. Karow, seconded by Lt. Florence, and carried that a NO
PARKING zone on the east side of Broadway from Dousman Street to a point 295
feet south of Dousman Street be established and adopted by ordinance.
There
being no other items of discussion, a motion was made by M. Kuepers, seconded
by Lt. Florence, and carried to adjourn from the regular orders of
business. The meeting ended at 7:50
P.M. The next Traffic Commission meeting
is scheduled for Monday, June 22, 2009, in Room 310 at 5:30 P.M.