City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission Agenda
August 6, 2007-7:30 PM
City Commission Room, City Hall
MEMBERS: Robert Hagen, Chair; Richard Heckler, Vice-Chair; Paul Graves; David Hamby; Ken Miller; Jason Novotny; Robin Smith; Jim Woods and John Ziegelmeyer Jr.
Anyone who wishes to be notified when
their item will be heard by the City Commission must provide their name and
a telephone number or an e-mail address.
ITEM NO. 1: Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, July 2, 2007.
ITEM NO. 2: Consider request to install STOP signs at the intersection of 16th Street & Rhode Island Street.
Facts:
1. Rhode Island Street and 16th Street are both “local” streets in a residential area.
2. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices provides guidelines for the installation of STOP signs.
3. The guideline that most closely fits this intersection states where “high speeds, restricted view, or crash records indicate a need for control by the STOP sign.”
4. The MUTCD also states that “STOP signs should not be used for speed control” and “STOP signs should be installed in a manner that minimizes the numbers of vehicles having to stop.”
5. Traffic counts obtained July 19 found during the 4-hour period of 7-9AM and 4-6PM a total of 53 vehicles on 16th Street and 51 vehicles on Rhode Island Street.
6. Police Department records show that there have been no crashes reported at the intersection during the past three years.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 3: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of Grand Circle.
Facts:
1. Grand Circle is a “local” street in a residential area paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of the street.
3. City policy is to allow parking along both sides of such streets unless a restriction is requested by the public and there is not substantial opposition.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 4: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of the curve between 30th Street and Crestline Drive.
Facts:
1. Crestline Drive and 30th Street are “local” streets in a residential area paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of both streets.
3. City policy is to allow parking along both sides of such streets unless a restriction is requested by the public and there is not substantial opposition.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 5: Consider request to permit PARKING along one side of Four Wheel Drive between 27th Street and 31st Street.
Facts:
1. Four Wheel Drive is a “local” street in a commercial area paved 30 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently not permitted along either side of the street.
3. City policy is to allow parking along both sides of such streets unless a restriction is requested by the public and there is not substantial opposition.
4. NO PARKING was established along the west side of Four Wheel Drive between 29th Terrace and 31st Street in 2005.
5. NO PARKING was established along the east side of Four Wheel Drive from 29th Terrace north to its end in 1999.
6. Traffic Engineering Division records do not indicate when NO PARKING was established along the east side of the street south of 29th Terrace or along the west side of the street north of 29th Terrace.
7. City staff recently received a request to establish NO PARKING along the west side of the street north of 29th Terrace because vehicles were parking too close to driveways to get in-and-out safely; upon checking the city code, it was found that the area was already restricted even though signs were missing; signs were then reinstalled.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 6: Public Comment.
ITEM NO. 7: Commission Items.
ITEM NO. 8: Miscellaneous.
Receive Traffic Safety Commission Attendance Summary for the period August 2006—July 2007.
City Commission action on previous recommendations:
Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request to remove Bob White Drive from the Traffic Calming Project List;
Concurred with the recommendation to establish NO PARKING along the south side of University Drive between Brittany Place and Crestline Drive;
Concurred with the recommendation to reverse the STOP signs at the intersection of 23rd Street and Noria Road;
Concurred with the recommendation to replace the YIELD signs on Ponderosa Drive at 24th Street with STOP signs;
Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request for an ALL-WAY STOP at the intersection of 7th Street and Lyon Street; and,
Did not concur with the recommendation to establish NO PARKING along the east side of Wisconsin Street between 6th Street and 7th Street.
City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
August 6, 2007 Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Hagen, Chair; Richard Heckler, Vice-Chair; David Hamby; Ken Miller; Robin Smith; and John Ziegelmeyer Jr.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Graves; Jason Novotny; and Jim Woods
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department; Shoeb Uddin, Public Works Department
Chair Robert Hagen called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room, City Hall, 6 E. 6th Street.
Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, July 2, 2007.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SMITH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING, JULY 2, 2007; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Consider request to install STOP signs at the intersection of 16th Street & Rhode Island Street.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer asked if the intersection met any of the codes; Woosley advised that the closest one would be restricted view, it is a pretty closed-in area, and it is the only uncontrolled four-way intersection in the area; in addition there is a fairly severe DIP requiring east-west traffic to slow considerably.
Public comment:
Brendan Lynch, 1617 Rhode Island Street: This intersection seems to be a problem; there is no indication of who has right-of-way there and there is no signage whatsoever indicating that; it is a rather obscure intersection; there are often politeness standoffs with two vehicles and each waiting for the other to go; there have been numerous near-misses and although there have been no reported accidents, I submit it is only a matter of time; it’s a hazard, it’s confusing, it is chaotic to go through there, and I feel like there just has to be some mechanism by which people can use as a guide to know who has right-of-way there; and there are a lot of kids in the area; I just ask that the commission consider this request.
Commissioner Smith: I don’t think it meets the criteria for Stop signs, has consideration been given for Yield signs; Woosley advised that the MUTCD requires sufficient sight distance for the legal speed of traffic for a Yield sign, and there isn’t.
Commissioner Hamby: My concern about putting-up a Stop sign is generally there hasn’t been any accidents; if you put up a Stop sign on 16th Street, then the speed of traffic on Rhode Island will probably increase; when you approach an intersection that is uncontrolled you yield to the person on the right, that is who has the right-of-way at the intersection.
Commissioner Smith asked if we could put-up signs to WATCH FOR KIDS; Woosley advised that those type signs are not approved by the Federal Highway Administration or the State of Kansas as legal traffic control signs; there is nothing enforceable about them; there are no studies indicating they have any effect on traffic; and they warn of something that you would expect to see in all neighborhoods.
Commissioner Miller asked about a sign stating “16th Street Traffic Does Not Stop”; Woosley advised that is not always correct, 16th Street traffic is required to Yield and Stop if necessary to traffic approaching from the right on Rhode Island.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, TO RECOMMEND DENYING THE REQUEST FOR STOP SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF 16TH STREET AND RHODE ISLAND STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of Grand Circle.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Travis Mullins, 2725 Grand Circle: Putting No Parking on the north side, including around the cul-de-sac, would be the safest for the residents; with people parking on both sides of the street, you have to zigzag down the street which isn’t safe with people backing in-and-out of driveways; this would also make it safer for people coming down Crestline and turning into Grand Circle; it is not a safe environment; it would make traffic flow and visibility much better; I would strongly recommend that you do this.
Marvin Collins, 2729 Grand Circle: Especially after a basketball game, they come in there and are partying, they have both sides of the street lined and it’s hard to get a single car down through there; they also park too close to the corner of Crestline.
Mullins: When the street is lined with cars along both sides, the only way to get an ambulance down there is if you clip somebody; it is a safety issue.
Commissioner Heckler: It seems like it would be difficult for fire engines and ambulances to get through there.
Commissioner Hamby: It looks like the outer ring would impact the residents the least as far as parking area.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: I live in the area and Grand Circle is a bad area all the time and the frustrating thing is there is plenty of room in the driveways to park even though people don’t.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING ALONG THE WESTERLY SIDE OF GRAND CIRCLE; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along one side of the curve between 30th Street and Crestline Drive.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report and noted that parking is currently prohibited along the west side of Crestline Drive, however, some of the signs are missing and will be replaced.
Public comment:
Erica Lisenby, 2916 Crestline Drive: The No Parking needs to finish going around the curve; it is a scary curve, especially at night; it is like going through a blind zone.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: This is a problem on Crestline at that corner; people will park around the corner on both sides, and if someone is coming the other direction, it is kind of a blind corner; I would recommend extending the No Parking west to the property line.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF 30TH STREET FROM CRESTLINE DRIVE TO THE FIRST PROPERTY LINE; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Consider request to permit PARKING along one side of Four Wheel Drive between 27th Street and 31st Street.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Kathryn Franklin, 2859 Four Wheel Drive: I’m the manager of Four Wheel Drive Townhomes; I want to read a letter from one of my business tenants that couldn’t be here tonight, “To whom it may concern: Recently people began parking on the west side of Four Wheel Drive. The line of cars along the street made it impossible for me and my clients to access Four Wheel Drive safely. With cars parked in front of the Four Wheel Drive Townhomes, there is no sight line to see oncoming traffic. The front of my car was at the middle of Four Wheel Drive before I could see to pull out. There are no exit or entries to the Four Wheel Drive Townhomes, both driveways are below the existing street. Therefore the sight line must be lengthened because of the sloping driveways. Please do not allow parking between the drives of the Four Wheel Drive Townhomes. If proper sight line distances are provided, parking could be allowed south of 29th Terrace and north at 28th Terrace. Sincerely, Fred Schneider.” That is our concern from our tenants, we can’t see to pull-out on the street safely and there have been several near misses there; I don’t have any problem with parking on the east side of the street though. We want you to leave it No Parking in front of our units.
Karl Capps, 2007 Hogan Drive: I’m the property owner of the west side of Four Wheel Drive from 2801 to 2835; there is not sufficient parking in the driveways of those units; if I lose that parking on the west side it would create some serious difficulty for me with respect to parking for my tenants; this site plan was designed this way so that additional parking would be provided along Four Wheel Drive; each driveway serves four units and each unit has only a single garage; I don’t have any problem with limiting parking to only one side of the street; we can provide more parking by having it on the west side.
Steve Dryden, 2862 Four Wheel Drive: I agree that the street is too narrow to have parking on both sides; I do have a small lot and I do a good business so when I have an overflow of customers, there is no place for them to park; I’m looking for overflow for my customers to park along one side of the street or the other; it is more feasible on the west side because of the open areas.
Bill Swenson, 2400 W. 31st Street: I own Lawrence Decorating Center at 31st & Four Wheel Drive; not having parking between 29th Terrace and 31st has been great; when we used to have parking on the east side, coming out of our exit was pretty dangerous; we’re fine and it is a lot safer on our end of the street with No Parking on both sides.
Danny Fox, 2858 Four Wheel Drive: I own Lawrence Automotive Diagnostics; having parking on one side or the other is a benefit to all of us; I think we should have parking on one side or the other in our area; I use it for overflow just like a lot of businesses in town.
Monte Gehrke, 2852 Four Wheel Drive: I own Countryside Small Engine; the side of the street that needs the parking is the west side; I utilize the street on some occasions.
Larry Franklin, 2859 Four Wheel Drive: I’ve almost been hit head-on coming out of Four Wheel Drive Townhomes with the limited sight line.
Commissioner Hamby: I think we could allow parking on the west side between the north and south driveways of Mr. Capps’ property and along the east side from 2858 to 29th Terrace.
Commissioner Smith: I like that a lot.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MILLER, TO RECOMMEND PERMITTING PARKING ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF FOUR WHEEL DRIVE BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH DRIVEWAYS OF 2801-2835 AND ALONG THE EAST SIDE FROM 2858 TO 29TH TERRACE; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Public Comment:
Betty Alderson, 1920 Maine Street: I was not available to attend the City Commission Meeting last week when they acted to essentially sell eight parking places in the 800 lot parking lot to a private developer and impact greatly those businesses on the north end of Massachusetts Street in the 800 block; I know how carefully you have guarded even one parking place downtown, and perhaps the City Commission ought to consider having you at least comment on downtown parking when they, in their great wisdom, decide to sell some of those places that were built through a benefit district that those business owners at one time or another paid for; I would just simply like to have that as a matter of record, that I think perhaps you might have been consulted for an opinion.
Commission Items:
Commissioner Smith asked about the starting time of the Traffic Safety Commission meetings; he was advised that the question came up almost every year and there are some commissioners with strong feelings about keeping the current starting time of 7:30PM.
Miscellaneous.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the Traffic Safety Commission Attendance Summary for the period August 2006—July 2007.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 P.M.
The next meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission will be Monday, September 10, 2007, if necessary, instead of the regularly scheduled September 3.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley
Transportation/Traffic Engineer