MINUTES

TRAFFIC COMMISSION MEETING

SEPTEMBER 5, 2001

6:30 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER

Voting Members Present: Ron Eck, Phil Shuman, Sharon Semans, Katy Gleitzman,

James Lattanzi, Roy Nutter, Gene Kiral, Ron Bane

Non-Voting Members Present: Chuck Williamson, Terry Hough

Voting Members Absent: Alton Dalzot

Chairman Ron Eck called the meeting to order and welcomed two new members to the Traffic Commission: Ron Bane, representing First Ward; and Sharon Semans, representing the 5^th Ward.

MATTERS OF BUSINESS: Minutes of the July meeting were approved: J. Lattanzi made the motion to approve; seconded by R. Nutter; approved unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:

Eliminate Parking - Elmina Street (one side): Request by resident to eliminate parking on one side of Elmina Street (600 block) due to the narrowness of the street (hampers sanitation and fire department vehicles).

T. Hough stated that, after an inspection, it was confirmed that it would be difficult to get a large emergency or sanitation vehicle through the street with parking on both sides.

J. Lattanzi said that the parking situation on Elmina has been the way it is for years. There are very few driveways, so people have always relied on being able to park on the street. He stated that to take away parking from one side will force them to go to other streets to park and will ultimately create more parking frustrations.

G. Kiral asked if there were enough spaces on one side of the street to accommodate all the cars.

He felt it would be a good idea to get more input from the residents before making a decision to eliminate parking on one side.

P. Shuman made a motion to deny this request. G. Kiral seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Update on Traffic Management Plan:

R. Eck referred to a memo that he wrote to City Manager, Dan Boroff regarding the costs associated with neighborhood traffic management. In this memo to Mr. Boroff, he listed the devices/personnel which would be needed for this project. The total amount would be about $34,000, but the bulk of that cost would be for the speed monitoring trailers. He explained the various types of traffic calming devices and costs.

T. Hough stated that Mr. Boroff asked her to give him a report of budget requests for the next fiscal year relating to the implementation of this program. Decisions will be made early next year, when City Council works on the 2002-2003 budget.

K. Gleitzman asked which traffic calming devices are feasible to use on our streets at this time.

R. Eck replied that all of them could be used, although they would not all be appropriate in every case. The specific situation would need to be studied before deciding upon which traffic calming method to use.

J. Lattanzi made a motion for the Commission to strongly endorse the Traffic Management Plan and cost estimate to City Council as soon as possible so they can make a decision on it. He clarified that his motion is to strongly endorse this and urge Council to take some action to approve this as soon as possible, possibly even before the beginning of the next fiscal year.

R. Nutter seconded the motion, but expressed hesitation regarding the City Engineer's comment that, to effectively implement the program, additional personnel may need to be hired. He said we don't really have a choice and feels we should go ahead and endorse the program to Council.

A vote was taken on the motion to endorse the Traffic Management Plan to City Council and passed unanimously.

Update on Willowdale Road: Request by Councilperson Justice and Mayor Scafella for the use of stop signs for speed control on Willowdale Road.

R. Eck stated that, at last night's Council meeting, it was requested that this topic be removed from the agenda of tonight's meeting.

T. Hough explained that it was decided that the topic should be taken to the Committee of the Whole and that she is to be considering placement of one stop sign and placement of some speed humps.

A member (not identified) asked whose survey equipment was there. Someone answered that John Duarte had recently completed a survey/study of the area and that it was probably his equipment (traffic counters). Discussion ensued as to whether his survey was done before or after the yellow painting.

R. Bane said that he walks that area every day to work and stated that the counters were there for about a week after the painting was done. He asked where the speed humps would be placed.

T. Hough answered that, in order to determine the location of placement of the humps, she would need to have an engineering firm come in and make that decision. She stated that they are supposed to be placed on a straight, flat area and in an area where it won't interfere with driveways, etc. It will be difficult to find logical areas for the speed humps to be placed.

R. Bane expressed concern about interruption of traffic flow, especially in the winter.

J. Lattanzi stated that City Council certainly supercedes this Commission in it's decisions. He referred to the City of Summersville, WV. They seem to have resolved their problems with more strict enforcement from the Police Department. He feels that more enforcement is needed on Willowdale Road. If an officer is needed 24 hours a day, then that is what should happen.

R. Bane agreed with Mr. Lattanzi. He says that traffic has slowed down recently due to more tickets being issued. Drivers seem to be more alert that the area is being patrolled more closely.

He referred to the towns of Star City and Granville and stated that people are very careful with their speed in these towns due to the fact that they know it is being heavily enforced.

R. Eck asked if there were any additional comments or anything else that needs to be discussed under Old Business.

John Duarte entered the meeting and asked to speak.

R. Eck said that he could present his concerns during the Public Comments at the end of the meeting.

NEW BUSINESS:

Speed Limit Signs on University Avenue: Request by Councilperson Merow for the placement of speed limit signs on University Avenue, between Bilo Foods and Patteson Drive.

J. Lattanzi said he felt that speed limit signs should be placed at the discretion of the City Engineer.

T. Hough stated that the whole area was previously looked at from Patteson Drive to Star City, and some speed limit signs were installed in the middle, near Junior Avenue.

K. Gleitzman expressed concern that traffic already gets backed up on University Avenue in this area and felt that the need for speed limit signs is unnecessary. She feels that it is an obvious

25 m.p.h zone.

G. Kiral made a motion to deny this request. Motion was seconded by P. Shuman and passed unanimously.

Request for Mirrors: Request by Councilperson Justice and Mayor Scafella for the placement of mirrors on Charles Avenue at Shaw Place and at the intersection of Stewart Street and Protzman.

P. Shuman stated that these requests have been presented before (same locations) and that there have been mirrors there in the past. Once they were broken, the Commission decided not to replace them due to liability reasons.

J. Lattanzi said that there appears to be a need for them, but that, again, this is a decision that should be made by the Engineering Department.

R. Bane asked if there are any alternatives to improve visibility, such as trimming vegetation, etc.

T. Hough stated that we would be cutting back some brush at Shaw Place and removing several small trees. Due to the fact that there is a sharp bend at this location, she does not feel the mirror will solve anything. She said that research on accidents at this location was done (in the past 3 yrs.), and there was only one accident at that intersection, and the mirror would have been of no benefit in that situation because the car was coming from the other direction. Her feeling is that there are other things that can be done to alleviate the problem, and the Street Dept. will begin working on that very soon. She said that the request for the mirror on Stewart Street would not solve anything due to the geometry of the intersection and where the mirror would have to be placed. She stated, in fact, that it would possibly create more harm because the driver would be farther away from the mirror and would not give an accurate reflection of where the cars are at.

A research of accident reports at this location showed that the accidents would not have been prevented by the presence of mirrors.

R. Eck stated that one of his classes did a study of the area a few years ago, and the accident report for this intersection is surprisingly low.

P. Shuman motioned to deny this request. J. Lattanzi seconded the motion and said that the decision should be left to the discretion of the City Engineer. A vote was taken and the motion carried unanimously.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Public Comments:

R. Eck invited Mr. Duarte to speak on the Willowdale Traffic issue.

J. Lattanzi stated that he understood that the Commission would be given a copy of his report, which is approximately 75 pages in length. He requested that Mr. Duarte condense the report before it is given to the Commission, with specific areas highlighted.

Mr. Duarte agreed to this. He explained the conditions of traffic on the day which his study was conducted (Monday, August 27, 2001). Compared to last year, there was a 1% decrease in persons speeding. In general, drivers don't seem to be concerned that they will be ticketed for exceeding the speed limit. He is happy that the Traffic Commission is showing concern about speeding in this area. He encouraged the Commission to make the recommendation to City Council rather than leaving the decision to the Engineering Department because she is limited in her decision making due to budget constraints, etc.

ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:15 p.m.