City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission Agenda
April 3, 2006-7:30 PM
City Commission Room-City Hall
MEMBERS: John Ziegelmeyer Jr., Chair, David Hamby, Vice-Chair, Carol Bowen, Caroljean Brune, Danny Drungilas, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, Richard Heckler and Caleb Morse.
ITEM NO. 1: Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, March 6, 2006.
ITEM NO. 2: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Stewart Avenue from 19th Street, south 500 feet.
Facts:
1. Stewart Avenue is a “local” street paved 26 feet wide in a residential area.
2. Parking is currently prohibited along the east side of Stewart Avenue between 19th Street and 21st Street.
3. Additional parking restrictions can be imposed if supported by the adjacent property owners or if needed for public safety reasons.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 3: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of 9th Street between Pennsylvania Street and New Jersey Street.
Facts:
1. 9th Street is a “local” street paved 29 feet wide in a residential/commercial area.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of 9th Street.
3. Parking restrictions can be imposed if supported by the adjacent property owners of if needed for public safety reasons.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 4: Consider request to mark a CROSSWALK at the intersection of West Hills Terrace & West Campus Road.
Facts:
1. West Hills Terrace east of West Campus Road and West Campus Road are both “collector” streets and each carry approximately 5000 vehicles daily.
2. A recent study of 2000 crosswalks in 30 cities across the United States found that on two-lane streets, the crash rate at marked vs. unmarked crosswalks was identical.
3. A crosswalk can be marked at this intersection, however, the justification should be applied at similar intersections throughout the city.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 5: Public Comment.
ITEM NO. 6: Commission Items.
ITEM NO. 7: Miscellaneous.
Receive letter from Diane Zinn.
Receive minutes of the Pedestrian Advisory Sub-committee dated 23 February 2006.
City Commission action on previous recommendations: None.
City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
April 3, 2006 Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: John Ziegelmeyer, Jr., Chair, David Hamby, Vice-Chair, Carol Bowen, Caroljean Brune, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen and Caleb Morse.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Richard Heckler.
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department; Mark Bradford, Fire & Medical Department.
Chair John Ziegelmeyer, Jr. called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room in City Hall.
Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, March 6, 2006.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAVES, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING, MARCH 6, 2006; THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0-1 (Hagen).
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Stewart Avenue from 19th Street, south 500 feet.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and advised of an e-mail from Betty Alderson questioning if 500 feet is enough.
Commissioner Hagen asked Chief Bradford if 500 feet is enough; Bradford advised that 500 feet is all that the city owns on the west side of the street, but he would have no objections to establishing NO PARKING all the way to 21st Street.
Commissioner Morse asked Chief Bradford if he anticipated vehicles going south to 21st Street on emergency calls; Bradford advised, not as much as 19th Street, but that would be an alternate route.
Commissioner Brune asked Chief Bradford if there were typically cars parked along the street; Bradford advised that there were every day.
Commissioner Hagen: It makes sense to try the 500, but if experience indicates that more is desirable it can be handled later.
Commissioner Morse: I agree with Commissioner Hagen.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAGEN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, RECOMMENDING THAT NO PARKING BE ESTABLISHED ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF STEWART AVENUE FROM 19TH STREET, SOUTH 500 FEET; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Commissioner Bowen arrived.
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of 9th Street between Pennsylvania Street and New Jersey Street.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Mike Sweeten, MV Transportation: We are the contractor with the city to manage and operate the transit system; the steering committee is a group of employees that bring issues of concern to management; there are area businesses that use the area for parking and park large dump trucks with side mirrors which makes it very difficult for the transit vehicles with their mirrors to get through.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer asked Sweeten if he had a preference for which side of the street; Sweeten suggested that it might be more reasonable to remove parking from the south side.
Commissioner Brune: I would certainly favor the request; that street seems awfully narrow.
Commissioner Hamby asked what hours the bus runs through this area; Sweeten advised, 6AM-8PM.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, RECOMMENDING THAT NO PARKING BE ESTABLISHED ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF 9TH STREET BETWEEN PENNSYLVANIA STREET AND NEW JERSEY STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Consider request to mark a CROSSWALK at the intersection of West Hills Terrace & West Campus Road.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and advised that the consensus of the Pedestrian Advisory Sub-committee was to not mark a crosswalk at this location.
Linda Merillat, 1122 West Campus Road: There is employee parking for the University of Kansas north of West Hills Drive and the employees must cross at this intersection; vehicles coming from the east cannot be seen until they come around the curve which doesn’t give enough time to get across the street; when crossing to the north, you also have to look behind you to see if vehicles are approaching; if the crosswalk is not an option, can a stop sign be installed?
Commissioner Hamby asked about crossing West Campus Road to the west and then West Hills Terrace to the north; Merillat advised that is better, but there is not a sidewalk on the west side of the street and you have to walk in the yards.
Commissioner Morse asked if it would be possible to construct a pedestrian refuge island; Woosley advised that could be looked into.
Commissioner Hagen asked if the large radius on the corner which encourages higher speeds could be reduced to slow down the northbound traffic; Woosley advised that could be looked into.
Commissioner Brune: That is one of the most dangerous intersections, in my opinion, to get across; something needs to be put there.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: I think this is a terrible intersection, but I’m afraid to put a crosswalk there because of the false sense of security it would give pedestrians walking across the street; it scares me to death that they will think that it protects them and it wouldn’t at all.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF THE REQUEST TO MARK A CROSSWALK AT THE INTERSECTION OF WEST HILLS TERRACE & WEST CAMPUS ROAD AND REQUESTING THAT STAFF REVIEW THE INTERSECTION FOR AN ALTERNATE SOLUTION; THE MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Public Comment.
None.
ITEM NO. 6:
Commission items:
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer advised the commission that this would be Commissioner Morse’s last meeting; his term ends April 30 and has decided to not seek reappointment. Ziegelmeyer presented Morse a Certificate of Appreciation.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer noted that Commissioner Drungilas had resigned from the commission and asked staff to send him his Certificate of Appreciation.
Commissioner Morse: I have enjoyed my appointment a lot; I have learned a lot about traffic safety and how to work with commissioners.
Commissioner Bowen: I think the 4-WAY STOP that was installed at 10th & Vermont has really made a difference; pedestrians are not afraid to cross the street.
Miscellaneous.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the letter from Diane Zinn.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the minutes of the Pedestrian Advisory Sub-committee dated 23 February 2006.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00PM.
The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is Monday, May 1, 2006.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley, P.E.
Transportation/Traffic Engineer