City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission Agenda
March 5, 2007-7:30 PM
City Commission Room-City Hall
MEMBERS: David Hamby, Chair, Carol Bowen, Vice-Chair, Caroljean Brune, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, Richard Heckler, Ken Miller, Jim Woods and John Ziegelmeyer Jr.
ITEM NO. 1: Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, February 5, 2007.
ITEM NO. 2: Reconsider request to improve safety at the recreational path crossing at Sawgrass Drive.
Facts:
1. Southbound traffic on Sawgrass Drive is controlled by a YIELD sign due to 27th Street being classified as a “collector” street.
2. The city code requires “the driver of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall in obedience to such sign slow down to a speed reasonable for the existing conditions and if required for safety to stop, shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection…”
3. The view for southbound drivers on Sawgrass Drive approaching the recreational path along 27th Street is obscured by an iron fence on private property when stopped in advance of the crosswalk; this is not a problem for approaching pedestrians, but is a problem for approaching bicyclists.
4. The iron fence does not violate the city’s ordinance requirements.
5. The Yield sign could be replaced with a STOP sign; however, this would not improve the sight distance of drivers who stop.
6. A STOP sign could be installed for bicyclists on the recreational path; this would not improve sight distance and improved safety would only be as good as obedience to the STOP sign.
7. The recreational path could be relocated closer to 27th Street which would give southbound drivers a clear view of approaching bicyclists when stopped in advance of the crosswalk.
8. At the August 2006 Traffic Safety Commission meeting, the Commission requested that staff meet with the homeowners association to determine if they would be willing to move the iron fence in order to improve the sight distance.
9. Staff did meet with the president of the homeowners association; their response was that they didn’t feel there was a problem, their fence did not violate any city ordinances and they were not interested in making any changes.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 3: Consider request to review the SCHOOL REDUCED SPEED ZONE on 15th Street at Engel Road.
Facts:
1. A pedestrian refuge island and a school reduced speed zone were constructed on 15th Street at Engel Road in the summer of 2000.
2. The only official action by the city commission was setting a bid date and awarding a contract for the construction of the pedestrian refuge island.
3. It appears that the installation of the SCHOOL REDUCED SPEED ZONE was agreed to by the city manager’s office and the University of Kansas administration.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 4: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Tennessee Street adjacent to 21st Street.
Facts:
1. Police Department records show three crashes during the past three years involving eastbound vehicles.
2. In order to provide adequate sight distance, parking would have to be restricted for 125 feet north and 100 feet south of the driver’s eye.
3. It has been the city’s policy to place signs on or as near as possible to property lines, therefore, parking would need to be restricted from 115 feet north of 21st Street to 115 feet south of 21st Street.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 5: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Oak Tree Drive adjacent to the school crosswalk at Vantuyl Drive.
Facts:
1. It is desirable to provide 100 feet of NO PARKING adjacent to a school crosswalk.
2. It has been the city’s policy to place signs on or as near as possible to property lines, therefore, parking would need to be restricted from 80 feet north of Vantuyl Drive to 105 feet south of Vantuyl Drive.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 6: Public Comment.
ITEM NO. 7: Commission Items.
Commissioner Bowen: City Planning practices.
ITEM NO. 8: Miscellaneous.
City Commission action on previous recommendations:
Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request for a STOP sign at the intersection of Harvard Road and Sunset Drive;
Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request for a MULTI-WAY STOP at the intersection of Arrowhead Drive and Peterson Road;
Concurred with the recommendation to establish NO PARKING along the east side of Sunset Drive between 9th Street and Broadview Drive;
Concurred with the recommendation to rescind DISABLED PARKING in front of 714 Alabama Street; and
Indefinitely deferred the recommendation to construct TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES along Trail Road between Lawrence Avenue and Kasold Drive.
City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
March 5, 2007 Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: David Hamby, Chair; Carol Bowen, Vice-Chair; Caroljean Brune; Paul Graves; Richard Heckler; Ken Miller; and Jim Woods
MEMBERS ABSENT: Robert Hagen, John Ziegelmeyer Jr.
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department
Chair David Hamby called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall.
Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, February 5, 2007.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING, FEBRUARY 5, 2007; THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0-2(Bowen, Miller).
Reconsider request to improve safety at the recreational path crossing at Sawgrass Drive.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
None.
Commissioners:
Commissioner Woods: I contacted Scott Miller in the Legal Department and he advised that the fence did not violate any city ordinance; he suggested changing the STOP sign to a YIELD sign and moving it as far south as possible and adding a STOP or YIELD sign on the path.
Commissioner Heckler: My observation is that bicyclists need to ride defensively when approaching this intersection; I don’t see any reason to make any changes.
Commissioner Grave: I think people utilizing the path should use reasonable caution.
Commissioner Miller: Relocating the path is not the best use of the city’s money.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, TO RECOMMEND DENYING THE REQUEST TO IMPROVE SAFETY AT THE RECREATIONAL PATH CROSSING AT SAWGRASS DRIVE. MOTION CARRIED 6-1(Woods: could put a stop sign in).
Consider request to review the SCHOOL REDUCED SPEED ZONE on 15th Street at Engel Road.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Robin Smith, 1616 Louisiana: This is the only school crossing that I’m aware of that is close to the university; they are typically restricted to grade schools; I don’t think KU students are children; it’s time to mark the crossing appropriately as a pedestrian crossing.
Betty Alderson, 1920 Maine: I can understand the need for a crossing, that is an extremely dangerous intersection.
Commissioners:
Commissioner Brune: I would be in favor for consistency sake, to take the word “school” off the signs.
Commissioner Bowen: That seems like the logical thing to do.
Commissioner Graves: I think the signs should be changed to a “pedestrian crossing.”
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAVES, TO RECOMMEND CHANGING THE SCHOOL CROSSING ON 15TH STREET AT ENGEL ROAD TO A PEDESTRIAN CROSSING WITH APPROPRIATE SIGNS AND ORDINANCE; THE MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Tennessee Street adjacent to 21st Street.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
None.
Commissioners:
Commissioner Woods: I drive through the intersection four or five times a week and I don’t see a problem there.
Commissioner Hamby: If we can prevent property damage accidents, especially since there is no public comment in opposition, I don’t think it would be a big issue.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF TENNESSEE STREET ADJACENT TO 21ST STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 4-3 (Bowen, the residents need parking; Miller, it is not a high crash rate; Woods, there is no need for the restriction).
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of Oak Tree Drive adjacent to the school crosswalk at Vantuyl Drive.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Paulette Strong, 1638 Illinois, Principal of Quail Run School: We have 40-60 children who cross that crosswalk every day; we do pay our own staff to go to the crossing to let children know when it is safe to cross the street; parents park along Oak Tree and restrict the vision of the adult that is watching the traffic;
Paula O’Callaghan, 1109 Oak Tree Drive: I am not for it if people who come to see me couldn’t park in front of my house; my neighbors next to me feel the same way, they wouldn’t like it; we use the street a lot and when the weather is bad, sometimes we can’t even get up our driveway; it would be a real inconvenience for us.
Commissioners:
Commissioner Heckler: I could support limited “no parking,” 3-4 o’clock, or something like that.
Commissioner Graves: This looks like a unique situation for a school crossing.
Commissioner Hamby: We have consistently leaned toward pedestrians.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MILLER, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING SCHOOL DAYS ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF OAK TREE DRIVE ADJACENT TO THE SCHOOL CROSSING AT VANTUYL DRIVE, 3:30-4:00PM MTThF AND 2:00-2:30PM W; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-1 (Woods, it would be inconsistent).
Public Comment:
None.
Commission Items:
After considerable discussion the commission decided that the city had made progress and there were enough planning procedures in place to cut down on the number of traffic concerns in new residential areas in the future.
Miscellaneous:
The commission decided that if there is a meeting in April, it should start at 6:30 P.M.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 P.M.
The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is Monday, April 2, 2007.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley
Transportation/Traffic Engineer