City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission Agenda
September 10, 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, August 6, 2007.
ITEM NO. 2: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along both sides of 24th Street between Kasold Drive & Winterbrook Court, and along both sides of Brushcreek Drive between 24th Street & Winterbrook Drive.
Facts:
1. 24th Street and Brushcreek Drive are both “local” streets in a residential area paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently prohibited along the north side of 24th Street from Kasold Drive west 75 feet and along the south side from Kasold Drive to Brushcreek Drive.
3. Parking is currently prohibited along the west side of Brushcreek Drive.
4. Current practice is to permit parking in residential areas unless a request to restrict parking is supported by area residents.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 3: Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the north and east side of Atchison Avenue from Melholland Road to the property line between 2120 and 2124 Atchison Avenue.
Facts:
1. Atchison Avenue is a “local” street in a residential area paved 26 feet wide.
2. Parking is currently permitted along both sides of Atchison Avenue.
3. Current practice is to permit parking in residential areas unless a request to restrict parking is supported by area residents.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 4: Consider request to install a FLASHING BEACON at the intersection of Arrowhead Drive and Princeton Boulevard.
Facts:
1. The City’s School Crossing Control Policy states that “Marked crosswalks shall be limited to one per street per school when practical.”
2. The designated crosswalk across Princeton Boulevard for Deerfield School is at the intersection with Lawrence Avenue (approximately 400 feet east of Arrowhead Drive), an ALL-WAY STOP with an ADULT CROSSING GUARD.
3. The School Crossing Control Policy also states that a “flashing beacon may be provided for each marked school crosswalk that is not protected by a stop sign…”.
4. Therefore, this location does not meet the requirements for consideration of a FLASHING BEACON.
ACTION: Provide recommendation to the City Commission.
ITEM NO. 5: T2030 Presentation by Anson Gock
ITEM NO. 6: Public Comment.
ITEM NO. 7: Commission Items.
ITEM NO. 8: Miscellaneous.
City Commission action on previous recommendations:
Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request for STOP signs at the intersection of 16th Street & Rhode Island Street;
Concurred with the recommendation to establish NO PARKING along the westerly side of Grand Circle;
Concurred with the recommendation to establish NO PARKING along the north side of 30th Street west of Crestline Drive; and,
Concurred with the recommendation to permit parking along portions of Four Wheel Drive north of 29th Terrace.
City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
September 10, 2007 Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: Robert Hagen, Chair; Richard Heckler, Vice-Chair; Paul Graves; David Hamby; Ken Miller; Jason Novotny; Robin Smith; and Jim Woods
MEMBERS ABSENT: John Ziegelmeyer Jr.
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department; Anson Gock, Planning Department
OTHERS: James Tobaben, Planning & Engineering Manager, PB Americas, Inc.
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, August 6, 2007.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING, AUGUST 6, 2007; THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0-3 (Graves, Novotny, Woods).
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along both sides of 24th Street between Kasold Drive & Winterbrook Court, and along both sides of Brush Creek Drive between 24th Street and Winterbrook Drive.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Della Sandgren, 2408 Brush Creek Drive: Cars are allowed to park on the north side of 24th Street and as you come off Kasold there is a slight incline and vision is blocked by parked cars so you have to pull over and wait for on-coming traffic; there are four parking spaces in each one of the 8 duplexes along the street; parking on Brush Creek blocks my vision as I back out of my driveway; there is ample parking in all the driveways.
Erin Petitjean, 3430 W. 24th Street: I have never had a problem driving on 24th Street with cars parked and having to pass with on-coming traffic; we have 6 vehicles in our household and can’t park them all in our driveway without blocking the sidewalk, which is against the law; it is very convenient to have the on-street parking, particularly when family comes to visit.
Joe Brandenberger, 2424 Brush Creek Drive: We live in a duplex, we don’t have a two-car garage and driveway, my wife and I travel at different times of the day which means without the space in front of our house we would have to do a lot of shifting around which is extremely inconvenient; if just one person were to come to visit, they would have to park around the corner; it would be terribly inconvenient for our household and I would request that you reconsider; we have very little parking as it is; I have never had any problem getting out or going down the street; it would be so inconvenient we may have to consider moving out of the area.
Kathy Garcia, 2426 Brush Creek Drive: I too oppose and have strong opinions about this; we only have two vehicles, but my husband is on-call and we would be doing a lot of musical cars which would be very inconvenient; we also have family that would require them to walk from a distance with our grandchildren or go pick them up somewhere, unload the car seats and bring them over; it may cause us to not see our family as much; I also have a disabled sister who visits and it would be an inconvenience for her; we may have to park somewhere else just to have visitors; we own our home and we would love to stay in the area but this would be a reason to consider moving out of the area.
David Severn, 3420-22 W. 24th Street: I drive the street six or seven times a day and I have never had a problem with parked cars; there is very limited parking on 24th Street in this area; one concern is that you would flood Winterbrook Court with tons of cars which would cause more problems.
Crystal Hammerschmidt, 3430 W. 24th Street: We have four people in our house and four vehicles and two scooters and it is already a hassle with the street parking to shuffle the cars back-and-forth; we really need the parking; if it is taken away, the cu-de-sac will be full.
Zachary Carr, 2409 Brush Creek Drive: With no parking on both sides, visitors would have to park a block or two away.
Commissioner Woods: From my score-keeping, most everybody is against it.
Commissioner Hagen: I have a concern that if parking is removed from both sides, the streets will turn into race tracks which would create greater or at least equal problems trying to get out of driveways.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REQUEST TO ESTABLISH NO PARKING ALONG BOTH SIDES OF 24TH STREET BETWEEN KASOLD DRIVE & WINTERBROOK COURT, AND ALONG BOTH SIDES OF BRUSH CREEK DRIVE BETWEEN 24TH STREET & WINTERBROOK DRIVE; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along the north and east side of Atchison Avenue from Melholland Road to the property line between 2120 and 2124 Atchison Avenue.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
Phillip Eravi, 2105 Atchison Avenue: When cars are parked on the north side of Atchison west of Melholland it is impossible to look to the north and see if there is any oncoming traffic; the only route to get out of the way would be into the cul-de-sac where there are a lot of children; also, with cars parked on both sides near the intersection there is a turning problem getting into and out of the street.
Commissioner Miller asked if 2120 and 2124 were notified; Woosley advised that letters were sent to both.
Commissioner Hagen: Restricting parking on one side makes sense to provide better visibility.
Commissioner Smith: It seems like an awfully long distance; I don’t know that it would be necessary to go that far.
Commissioner Hamby: Restricting the area in front of 2124 would make sense; it would take care of the curve and open-up visibility.
Public comment:
Eravi added that the property at 2124 is currently for sale and a sudden no parking zone could impact the resale value; I don’t think it would be an issue because there is plenty of parking across the street.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING NO PARKING ALONG THE NORTH AND EAST SIDE OF ATCHISON AVENUE IN FRONT OF 2124 ATCHISON AVENUE; THE MOTION TIED 4-4 (Hagen: I think we should do the whole request; Miller, I think we should contact the homeowner at 2124; Smith, I don’t think it is feasible to impact a single property owner without their input; Woods, I don’t think it will solve anything).
Consider request to install a FLASHING BEACON at the intersection of Arrowhead Drive & Princeton Boulevard.
Woosley presented the information provided in the staff report.
Public comment:
None.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SMITH, TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REQUEST TO INSTALL A FLASHING BEACON AT THE INTERSECTION OF ARROWHEAD DRIVE & PRINCETON BOULEVARD; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.
T2030 Presentation:
Anson Gock and James Tobaben described the purpose and procedure for T2030 and solicited concerns from the commission.
Public Comment:
None.
Commission Items:
None.
Miscellaneous.
None.
The meeting adjourned at 8:47 P.M.
The next meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission will be Monday, October 1, 2007.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley
Transportation/Traffic Engineer