HomeMy WebLinkAboutTSCMinutes_2018_09_131
BROOKINGS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
City & County Government Center, 520 3rd Street
Room 300 (3rd floor)
Thursday, September 13 , 2018
12:10 p.m.
The Brookings Traffic Safety Committee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, September
13, 2018 at 12:10pm in the City & County Government Center, Room 300.
Members Present: Jackie Lanning, Tony Sonnenburg, Gary Gramm, Matt Bartley, Skip
Webster, Lewayne Erickson, Kacie Richard and Stacy Perry.
Members Absent: Dave Erickson, Brian Leuders, Justin Bucher, Tim Heaton, and Rodney
Farke
Others Present: Jennifer McClaughlin, Rick Platt, Deb Waltman and Jerry Waltman
Call to Order: Webster called the meeting to order.
Approval of Minutes: Webster commended Chris Larson for the thorough minutes from
the July meeting. Gramm/Bartley made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 12,
2018 meeting. All present voted aye. Motion passed.
Additions to Agenda: None
Old Business:
Discussion on placement locations for digital speed signs
The police department will be moving the digital speed signs to new locations and wanted
suggestions form the committee. There are 3 digital signs but the sign on 5th Street South
is an SDSU sign and would likely stay in place. Bartley received a citizen request for the
area near 7th Avenue South & 20th Street South. The group discussed the heavy traffic in
that area, higher speeds and rentals and thought it would be a good area. Platt mentioned
college students and other vehicles drive fast on 7th Avenue South since the street is
wider. Lanning mentioned 7th Avenue South is a collector street. Platt asked if the City
could post speed limit signs and Bartley stated the City generally does not post signs in
residential areas. L. Erickson asked about the traffic volume in t hat area and what types of
areas should be targeted. Bartley stated the signs are meant to be moved around and
generally in higher volume or school areas where there is more speeding. Lanning said
another area the City has received complaints is near 17 th Avenue South and 20th Street
South with concerns about speeding vehicles and the pedestrian crossing at that
intersection. The committee also discussed leaving the digital speed sign on 22nd Avenue
near the golf course which had been recently installed at that location. Perry asked if there
were other suggestions. Webster mentioned there is a hill on Main Avenue South near
Dakota Prairie School where vehicles seem to speed and Bartley said the speed sign was
in that location about 6 months ago. Perry mentioned tracking the locations on a map
which the committee thought was a good idea. L.Erickson/Sonnenburg made the
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motion to install one of the speed signs on 20th Street South near 17th Avenue South
in the east-bound direction and install one sign on 7th Avenue South, north of 20th
Street South. All present voted aye. Motion passed.
New Business:
Update from Bicycle Advisory Committee
Jennifer McLaughlin from the Bicycle Advisory Committee was in attendance to update the
Traffic Safety Committee on topics from the Bicycle Committee. They have developed
several bicycle safety posts for social media and how to safely operate a bicycle in traffic.
They also held a Brookings Bonanza in August and had a bike ride to highlight biking,
promoted bicycle safety along the bike ride, and gave away child and adult helmets. They
have also developed a Bicycle Quick Guide that is given to students and others to highlight
bicycle safety. They are also collaborating with the Sustainability Commission to create 4
videos to highlight bicycle safety. One of the videos will show the bicycle rider performing
proper hand signals and shows the perspective of both the bicycle and the driver. They
also have a Facebook page where this information is highlighted. The Traffic Safety
Committee members were encouraged to look at the Facebook site and to like and share
it. The committee asked if people could ride bikes on sidewalks. Lanning said the City
Ordinance prohibits bikes from riding on downtown sidewalks, but bike s are allowed on all
other sidewalks. L. Erickson mentioned that downtown previously had words painted on
the sidewalk about no biking which informed people. Webster stated bikes can drive fairly
fast on sidewalks. Webster also asked about the 8’ wide bicycle path that will be installed
with the 6th Street Project and he had concerns about the bicycle crossings at intersections
along that route. Webster asked if the police department fined bicycle riders if they run a
stop sign and Sonnenburg said they could be given a ticket. Webster thanked McLaughlin
for the update.
Discussion on delivery vehicle parking near crosswalks in the downtown area
Webster said the committee discussed this item years ago and thought delivery vehicle
parking in the street was not allowed. Deb Waltman contacted John Howard about her
concerns on the issue. She said delivery vehicles tend to stop near the crosswalk and
people walking on the crosswalk cannot see if a vehicle is coming. She said vehicles
sometimes don’t stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, especially if they could not see
them. Webster said some of the responsibility should be the parent’s education but could
understand the issue. Waltman thought delivery trucks were supposed to use the alleys
for deliveries. Webster said there was past discussion about having deliveries early in the
morning and to use alleys if possible. Sonnenburg said if the truck is actively unloading
that the police department would not ticket the vehicle. Perry mentioned the businesses
could be educated about the issue. Webster agreed education would help for the business
owners to talk with their vendors. Bartley thought the delivery trucks started using the
streets to park since the alleys are narrow but it would help if the trucks parked near the
mid-block so they are not near the intersections and the curb ramps. No motion was
made.
Discussion on lower speed limit on Main Avenue between 3rd Street and 6th Street
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Webster stated that vehicles generally drive slowly on those three blocks since vehicles
are backing up in those areas. The committee also discussed that it would be difficult to
see speed signs due to the diagonal parking. No motion was made.
Member Reports:
Webster liked the flashing stop signs on 22nd Avenue South and 32nd Street South and
thought the visibility helped drivers notice the stop signs.
Lanning updated the committee about the news that Skip Webster would be resigning from
the committee at the end of the year after his many years of service. She updated the
committee that John Howard also resigned and the City will be advertising the openings on
the committee.
Gramm stated he liked the speed sign on 22nd Avenue and that it helped alert vehicles that
were driving over the speed limit.
Perry said the medians on 6th Street near 34th Avenue do not have reflectors in them and
they are hard to see. Bartley will check on the issue and thought delineator markers would
be installed soon.
L. Erickson said he also liked the electronic speed signs to alert traffic of speeding.
Sonnenburg mentioned the police department has budgeted for 2 more speed signs.
The next meeting is scheduled for October 11, 2018. Meeting adjourned.
Submitted by: Jackie Lanning