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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTSC Minutes 12-10-201 BROOKINGS TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE City & County Government Center, 520 3rd Street Online: Go To Meeting Thursday, December 10, 2020 12:10 p.m. The Brookings Traffic Safety Committee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, December 10, 2020 at 12:10pm in the City & County Government Center, Room 300. Members Present: Jackie Lanning, Dave Erickson, Charles Schnabel, Don Norton, Jake McGlade, Justin Bucher, and Brian Lueders. Members Absent: Kacie Richard, Tony Sonnenburg, Matt Bartley, Gary Gramm, Stacy Perry, Tim Heaton, and Lewayne Erickson. Others Present: Call to Order: Justin Bucher called the meeting to order. Approval of Minutes: B.Lueders / J. McGlade made a motion to approve the minutes from the February meeting. All present voted aye. Motion passed. B.Lueders / C. Schnabel made a motion to approve the minutes from the September meeting. All present voted aye. Motion passed. Additions to Agenda: Old Business: Request for 35 mph speed limit on 20th Street South between Western Avenue S. and Main Avenue S. J. Lanning gave some history on how this speed limit on 20th Street South was changed from 35 mph to 25mph. In 2015, when the Dakota Prairie School was opening there was concern about students walking in the road and crossing 20th Street South due to the school’s traffic. At that time, 20th Street South was a 2 lane road with ditches and it did not have sidewalks or street lights. The committee was concerned about pedestrian safety so they recommended changing the speed limit from 35mph to 25mph. She described that now the street has been widened and there are sidewalks and street lights installed. Lanning described a speed study they did in September and October. The data showed the number of speeders and the average speed was about 31 mph. The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) describes the guidance for speeds is to use the 85th-percentile speed as a target and the speed should be within 5 mph of the 85% percentile. D. Erickson described that there is a short segment of 20th Street South between Western Avenue and Main Avenue that is 25 mph. He said since the road is opened to three lanes and the shared use path is on the side, it gives the drivers the sense that the road is 35 mph. The citizens he has heard from said that this area should be treated the same as the rest of 20th Street South and be 35 mph. B. Lueders asked if 2 there are crosswalks installed. J. Lanning said there are ramps and pedestrian crossing signage at the intersection of Larkspur Ridge Drive and 20th Street South, but the crosswalks are not painted. J. Bucher stated he also had citizens asked when this area will get changed back to 35mph. B. Lueders said he was concerned with the hill and if the speed limit increased, he was concerned with the safety of children crossing the street. C. Schnabel stated looking at the data vehicles are traveling that speed already and there hasn’t been any issues. D. Erickson confirmed there ha d been no accidents in this area. J. Lanning stated their department has a traffic camera they could install in the spring and monitor how many children are crossing 20th Street South at Larkspur Ridge Road. D. Erickson/C. Schnabel made the motion to approve changing the speed limit to 35 mph on 20th Street South between Western Avenue South and Main Avenue South. 6 members voted aye, 1 member voted no (Lueders). Motion approved. New Business: Discussion on stop sign safety at the intersection of 8th Street and Medary Avenue J. Lanning stated this has not been implemented the street department is looking into see if they have the flashing lights. Request to remove one parking stall on 5th Street between Main Avenue and 5th Avenue J. Lanning showed a picture of the parking stall that was requested for removal, lo cated on the west side of the Post Office driveway onto 5th Street. The stall is located where part of the stall protrudes into the driveway exit area, causing visibility issues. There was discussion at the September meeting where this committee recommended to remove the parking stall. Due to no quorum at that meeting, no action was taken. C. Schnabel/D. Norton made a motion to approve the removal of the one parking stall on 5th Street between Main Avenue and 5th Street on the west side of the Post Office driveway. All present voted aye. Motion passed. Member Reports: B. Lueders would like the City to monitor the kids in the 20th Street South between Western Avenue S. and Main Avenue S. area in the spring. The next meeting is scheduled for January 14, 2021. Meeting adjourned. Submitted by: Chris Larson