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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTSMinutes_2017_07_13BROOKINGS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE City & County Government Center, Room 300 Thursday, July 13, 2017 12:10 p.m. The Brookings Traffic Safety Committee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 12:10pm in the City & County Government Center, Room 300. Members Present: Skip Webster, Jackie Lanning, Carol Rettkowski, John Howard, Kacie Richard, Jeff Miller, James Weiss, Tim Heaton, Brian Lueders, Tony Sonnenburg and Gregg Jorgenson Members Absent: Gary Gramm, Shayn Damm and Matt Bartley Others Present: Laure Carruthers, Ben Waltz, Jim Meyer, Stacy Steffensen, Marty Stanwick, Jeannie Manzer, Leanne Pierce, Benjamin Lamour Call to Order: Howard called the meeting to order. Lueders/Webster made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 11, 2017 meeting with a spelling correction for Lueders. All present voted aye. Motion passed. Additions to Agenda: None. Old Business: Discussion on options to improve site visibility at the intersection of 4th Street and 7th Avenue Howard opened the discussion saying the item was discussed at last month’s meeting. Howard asked Lanning if there was additional information. Lanning showed a drawing of a sample bumpout for the intersection, which was similar to the downtown bumpouts. The cost of constructing the bumpout was approximately $12,000, which included pavement removal and concrete construction. A property owner provided pictures of the intersection , which the committee looked at. The street department will be moving the stop sign on the southeast corner of the intersection to be closer to the ramp. Lanning said even with moving the stop sign, north bound vehicles may need to pull further north of the stop sign when there are vehicles parked on the south side of 4th Street, both east and west of the intersection. The committee looked at the different views of the pictures, some of which were from the view of a vehicle at the stop sign on the south side of the intersection. Sheriff Stanwick stated that even if the building expansion is decided at a later date, the building would still stay at that location. He brought the item forward as a safety issue that came up at the variance meeting. He stated that visibility is impacted when the students are back and more vehicles parked in the street. He said the intersection of 7th Avenue and 5th Street also has visibility issues, especially when there is church parking. Lanning stated for accident data at 4th Street and 7th Avenue, there have been 3 accidents in the last 5 years: one in 2012 who failed to yield, one in 2015 which was a rear end accident which would not be improved with a 4-way stop sign, and one in 2017 that failed to yield. Lanning mentioned some interim steps to improve visibility instead of the bumpout were to remove parking east and west of the intersection or converting the diagonal parking to parallel parking so vehicles would not protrude as far into the sight lines. Miller stated this intersection seems similar to 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street where vehicles park close to the intersection. He pointed at the picture which showed vehicles east and west of 7th Avenue. He stated if you really wanted to make the intersection safer, the 4-way stop signs should be used. Some audience members said it was harder to see to the east, especially with the tree in the boulevard. Howard asked how far north would the stop sign be moved, and Lanning stated to the south side of the ramp , which is approximately 5 feet. The committee noted that vehicles sometimes drive north of the stop sign as a second stop to see around the parked vehicles. Lanning stated this intersection is similar to downtown where there is diagonal parking, although downtown vehicles drive slower. Jorgenson mentioned many other intersections have the same problem with parked cars. Lanning pointed out there is approximately 10 feet of yellowed no parking near the radii. Jeannie Manzer asked if parking were removed, would that only be Monday through Friday, because the church people only have that one block to park on the south side of the church. She was concerned about eliminating parking for the people attending First United Presbyterian church. There was some discussion whether the church attendees could park in the County parking lot. Laurie Carruthers stated she was concerned about the diagonal parking to the west, and she avoids going north at the intersection because it is hard to see to the west. She said she has seen near accidents at the intersection, especially if large vehicles are parked on the street. Lueders asked if a 4-way stop sign would help. Miller stated the options are to install a 4-way stop sign, remove parking, or both. The committee discussed the bump out would be needed for the 4-way stop signs. The 4-way stop signs could possibly be installed without the bumpout but there was some concern if vehicle s could see the stop sign. Nancy Flynn asked if 4th Street could be made one way, however Stanwick pointed out on court day that vehicles would need to drive past the Children’s Muse um which is a private street. Howard said there are a number of options. Jorgenson made a motion, seconded by Lueders, to install 4-way stop signs with a bumpout. There was discussion who would pay for it, and Lanning stated that the City had recently constructed the ramps and the bumpout cost was not budgeted for 2017 or 2018. The committee voted on the motion with 5 voting yes, 3 voting no. The motion carried to recommend 4-way stop signs to the City Manager. Lanning read from Section 2B.04, Right of Way at Intersections, out of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). “Guidance: Engineering judgement should be used to establish intersection control. The following factors should be considered: B. Number and angle of approaches and D. Sight distance available on each approach.” Another condition was “B. The ability to see conflicting traffic on an approach is not sufficient to allow a road user to stop or yield in compliance with the normal right-of-way rule if such stopping or yielding is necessary. E. Reported crash experience.” Lanning stated the sight distance on each approach and the ability to see conflicting traffic were two warrants that were used in similar intersections. Webster added that the County parking lot could be signed or better stated if the church members were allowed to park in it. New Business: Discussion on request for yield or 2-way stop signs at the intersection of Olwien Street and Lincoln Lane South The property owners in the area were invited to the meeting. Ben Waltz, 2018 Olwien Street, said he has lived there since 1990, and stated it is hard to drive down Olwien Street when there are a lot of cars parked on the street. He said his concern was that it was hard to drive east and west and vehicles either have to pull over to the side or drive down the center of the street. Miller asked how often that happened, and Waltz stated every day. Miller stated he drove down Olwien and hadn’t seen many vehicles parked on the street. Lanning asked if the parking issue was on a certain stretch of Olwien Street and Waltz stated it was all of Olwien from Lincoln Lane to 22nd Avenue. Miller and Lanning stated the issue would need to be held at a future meeting since this item was to discuss stop signs. Howard indicated it should be moved to old business for the next meeting. Webster stated instead the committee should monitor the street and check it out at random times of the day. Miller stated it is a big issue to remove parking from a street and some property owners may not be in favor of it. Benjamin L’amour, 202 Lincoln Lane South, stated there are not usually vehicles parked on the south side of Olwien Street near his home. James Mettenbrink, 2031 Olwien Street, stated that he drives east/west ever y day on Olwien Street and they always stop at Lincoln Lane. He stated yield signs would help. Howard stated probably 70% of the streets in Brookings have the same parking problem. Mettenbrink added there is some student housing in the area. Lueders asked if the other intersections needed to yield at Olwien Street. Miller stated by law, vehicles need to yield to the right. Webster said he looked at the intersection and drove all of the directions, but the view was fairly open. Lueders stated the committee should receive a formal request to remove parking instead of being brought up at a meeting and someone who lives on that street should contact Lanning with the request. No motion was made. Discussion on request for temporary stop signs on 22 nd Avenue at the intersection of Eastbrook Drive Lanning described that Chief Miller received a request from a citizen to install temporary stop signs at this intersection while the intersection of 6th Street and 22nd Avenue was closed. She said the latest information she had on 6th Street was that 22nd Avenue was going to be opened by the end of the month, barring weather delays. Miller stated that he was not recommending the temporary stop signs. He added that it is hard to get onto 22nd Avenue, but he said he was not in favor of the stop signs on a temporary basis. No motion was made. Discussion on pedestrian crossing at alley on the west side of 7 th Avenue between 5th Street and 6th Street (at First United Methodist Church) Lanning stated she received a request about the pedestrian crossing on this alley from Jim Meyer, on behalf of the First United Methodist Church. Meyer stated that children cross the alley between the community center and the church. He said vehicles drive through the alley fast, and they try to avoid the traffic signal at 7th Avenue. Lanning showed a picture where the pedestrians cross the alley. Meyer said Monday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 PM are busy because of the Harvest Table. He liked the idea of speed bumps like URC, but th at alley is a private alley. Lanning stated this was a City alley and doesn’t install speed bumps along the alleys. Meyer stated people also cut across the alley to the gas station. The church constructed a sidewalk across the alley, and the street pedestrian crossing is on the 7th Avenue sidewalk. The committee discussed pedestrian crossing signs and the church puts up temporary signs during the events. Lanning asked if the church wanted to install permanent pedestrian crossing signs. Howard asked if there could be a “15 mph when children present” sign. Miller thought the speed limit was 25 mph. Webster stated he has seen the plastic signs that people put up to remind drivers to slow down. Rettowski asked if the problem was caused by the people attending the events, or other drivers. Meyer stated the people driving through the alley but not attending the event caused the most issues. Meyer stated the habit may change when DOT removes the traffic signal at 7th Avenue. Howard and Rettowski supported the 15 mph speed limit and Lueders stated the sign should not include the note “when children are present”. Webster/Lueders made a motion to recommend the speed limit be changed from 25 mph to 15 mph, and sign it on both ends of the alley. All present voted aye. Motion passed. Leuders also encouraged the church to install other signs if they wish. Member Reports: None. The next meeting is scheduled for August 10, 2017. Meeting adjourned. Submitted by: Jackie Lanning, City Engineer