City of Lawrence

Traffic Safety Commission Agenda

November 6, 2006-7:30 PM

City Commission Room-City Hall

 

MEMBERS:  David Hamby, Chair, Carol Bowen, Vice-Chair, Caroljean Brune, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, Richard Heckler, Ken Miller, Jim Woods and John Ziegelmeyer Jr.

 


 

 

ITEM NO. 1:           Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, October 2, 2006.

 

 

ITEM NO. 2:           Consider request from the North Lawrence Improvement Association to establish NO PARKING along the south side of Walnut Street between 7th Street and 8th Street.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     Walnut Street is an unimproved local street with a chip & seal surface approximately 18 feet wide.

2.     Parking is currently permitted along both sides of the street.

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

 

ITEM NO. 3:           Reconsider establishing NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     This item was sent back to the Traffic Safety Commission by the City Commission for reconsideration, based on public comments received at the city commission meeting.

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 4:           Consider request from Shelley Black, for a MULTI-WAY STOP at the intersection of 25th Terrace, Hampton Street & Kensington Road.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     The intersection is currently controlled with YIELD signs on the east and west approaches.

2.     The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices permits the installation of a MULTI-WAY STOP under specific conditions:

a.      Where traffic control signals are justified;

b.     A crash problem, as indicated by 5 or more reported crashes in a 12-month period; or

c.      Minimum volumes of 300 or more on the main street and 200 or more on the minor street for each of 8 hours of an average day.

3.     Traffic data collected at the intersection indicates that none of the MUTCD minimum requirements are met to justify a MULTI-WAY STOP installation; however, the city’s TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY would permit the construction of a traffic calming device if the neighborhood is interested (greater than 1000 vehicles per day on a local street.)

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

ITEM NO. 5:           Consider request from Sandra Wolf, 3224 W. 9th Street, for traffic calming along 9th Street between Lawrence Avenue and Kasold Drive.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     9th Street is classified as a collector street in this area.

2.     The posted speed limit in this area is 25MPH.

3.     The city’s TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY permits traffic calming devices on a collector street under the following conditions:

a.      The 85th percentile speed of traffic is 5mph or more over the speed limit;

b.     The traffic volume is greater than 3000 vehicles per day;

c.      Cut-through traffic is more than 50% of the traffic during the peak hour; or

d.     More than 50% of the frontage along the roadway consists of residential lots with the houses facing the street in question.

4.     This area meets the requirements for consideration of traffic calming devices.

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

 

ITEM NO. 6:           Consider request from Bill Reynolds, 846 Indiana Street, to establish 30-MINUTE PARKING on the north side of 9th Street in front of 616 & 620 W 9th Street and 846 Indiana Street.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     Parking is currently permitted in this area with no restriction.

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

 

ITEM NO. 7:           Consider request from the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association for a MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN-ACTIVATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL on 11th Street between New Jersey Street and New York Street.

 

                             Facts:

 

1.     The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices permits the installation of a TRAFFIC SIGNAL if the pedestrian volume crossing the street during an average day is 100 or more for each of any 4 hours or 190 or more during any 1 hour.

2.     Traffic data shows the 85th percentile speed in the area to be approximately 31.2MPH.

 

                             ACTION:  Provide recommendation to the City Commission.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 8:           Public Comment.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 9:           Commission Items.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 10:         Miscellaneous.

 

 

                             Pedestrian Advisory Committee Minutes 12-October-2006.

 

 

                             City Commission action on previous recommendations:

 

                             Concurred with the recommendation to deny the request to revise the city ordinance concerning skateboarding on the University of Kansas campus.

 

                             Returned to the Traffic Safety Commission for reconsideration the recommendation to establish NLT 7-9AM 4-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive.

 

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City of LawrenceTraffic Safety Commission

November 6, 2006 Minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:  David Hamby, Chair; Carol Bowen, Vice-Chair; Caroljean Brune; Paul Graves; Robert Hagen; Ken Miller; Jim Woods; and John Ziegelmeyer, Jr..

 

MEMBERS ABSENT:  Richard Heckler.

 

STAFF PRESENT:  David Woosley, Public Works Department; Officer Jim Miller, Police Department.

 


 

 

Chair David Hamby called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room at City Hall.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 1:

 

Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, October 2, 2006.

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HAGEN, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING, OCTOBER 2, 2006; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-0-2 (Brune, Graves).

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 2:

 

Consider request from the North Lawrence Improvement Association to establish NO PARKING along the south side of Walnut Street between 7th Street & 8th Street.

 

This item was withdrawn by the requestor.

 

 

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 3:

 

Reconsider establishing NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive.

 

Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.

 

Robert Lewis, 1105 West Hills Parkway:  Our neighborhood is a maze of streets, not a grid; this restriction will send traffic past a grade school; it will put more traffic into the bad intersection of 15th & Engel which is already congested.

 

Tammy Becker, 1045 Hilltop Drive, Principal of Hillcrest Elementary School:  I understand why you are looking at Iowa, but it raised concerns for me; Harvard is a high traffic area anyway because our school has 460 students, plus the KU students that use the area; we have 17 buses in the morning and 16 buses in the afternoon; we have a difficult time as it is getting the buses in and out of the area; this proposal will make a worse condition out of an already bogged-down area; 4:00 o’clock is the time we are most worried about; I would ask that you consider changing the time to 5:00-7:00; we have real safety concerns for our students now with the traffic we deal with on Harvard; my fear is that if you increase the traffic on Harvard, that we will at some point deal with a serious injury or something even worse.

 

Carol Hatton, 1641 Hillcrest Road, President of University Heights Neighborhood Association:  We had our annual meeting Saturday and discussed the Iowa proposal; we support Hillcrest School and do not want the left-turn restrictions imposed; if they are imposed, we hope they are only temporary and that someway we can get a protected left-turn lane put in on Iowa from Harvard to 15th Street; it’s been a problem for a long time.

 

Faye Watson, 1516 Crescent Road:  It would make the most sense to have a left-turn lane on Iowa Street; if traffic is sent down Harvard, after it gets past the school the street ends and the traffic would then have to wind through the neighborhood; if traffic is sent down 15th Street, the left-turn lane there already backs-up into the through lanes, and after you turn the corner, you then have to deal with the intersection at Engel which is one of the most dangerous in the city; we’re suggesting that you begin working with the highway department for a permanent solution and not do this little piece-meal restriction; it’s time to run that center turn lane all the way down Iowa.

 

Commissioner Woods asked Becker if their traffic was mostly gone by 4:15; Becker advised that 4:30 would be a better guess.

 

Commissioner Brune:  I don’t know why we assume that everyone will use Harvard or 15th; I travel through that neighborhood everyday and I use 9th Street.

 

Commissioner Hamby:  An important part of the proposal would be a 90-day trial to determine what problems there would be.

 

Commissioner Hagen:  The question is, is it worth trying something like this on an interim basis or waiting until funding for the major solution comes along.

 

Commissioner Graves:  I would like to point out that one of the four intersections proposed would not have an effect on the neighborhood since it involves a northbound to westbound turn.

 

Commissioner Bowen:  A band-aid solution could make more problems instead of fewer problems; I think we need to step back and think what we were trying to accomplish.

 

Commissioner Woods:  I think the reason is to improve the traffic flow on Iowa and cut down the number of rear-end accidents.

 

Commissioner Hagen:  I’m concerned that no one has spoken in favor of this except commissioners.

 

Commissioner Ziegelmeyer:  I would be willing to try it in the evening from 4:30-6:00.

 

Commissioner Hamby:  In my mind it is a safety issue; do we wait a number of years until funding is available for a left-turn lane?

 

Commissioner Hagen:  This solution may be creating problems elsewhere.

 

Commissioner Brune:  I’m convinced we need to try something; I think we need to give it a shot to see what impact it has.

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, TO RECOMMEND establishing NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4:30-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive for a 90-day trial period, INCLUDING BEFORE AND AFTER TRAFFIC COUNTS; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-2 (Miller: the display of public sentiment is overwhelmingly against it; Hagen: not enough evidence this is a good solution).

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAVES, TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY’S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION OF A TWO-WAY LEFT-TURN LANE ON IOWA STREET BETWEEN HARVARD ROAD & 15TH STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.

 

 

ITEM NO. 4:

 

Consider request from Shelley Black, for a MULTI-WAY STOP at the intersection of 25th Terrace, Hampton Street & Kensington Road.

 

Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.

 

Commissioner Woods:  I think there is already a traffic calming device there, there are two dips on Kensington; you’re not going to go through there very fast.  This is a residential area with not many straight streets in the area; I didn’t see that it’s that much of a problem.

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAMBY, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE REQUEST FOR A MULTI-WAY STOP AT THE INTERSECTION OF 25TH TERRACE, HAMPTON STREET AND KENSINGTON ROAD; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 5:

 

Consider request from Sandra Wolf, 3224 W. 9th Street, for traffic calming along 9th Street between Lawrence Avenue and Kasold Drive.

 

Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.

 

Sandra Wolf, 3224 W. 9th Street:  Our concerns are many for this hilly and curvy street; the signing in this area is not working; there has been a death of a driver who was speeding and hit a tree; a motorcyclist was seriously injured when he hit a tree; recently a speeding car sheared-off a utility pole, hit a fire hydrant, hit a fence and a tree; two of my cars parked on the street were hit and totaled by a speeding drunk driver; it is not unusual to see tire marks in yards up and down the street and signs, fences, shrubs, mailboxes and such bent and broken along the street; anything the Traffic Safety Commission can do to help the street be safer will be a welcome change.

 

Jill Batterman, 3231 W 9th Street:  9th Street is a very dangerous street, in 2004 we had a vehicle come at great speed down the hill going west and it flipped-over in our yard and ended-up up-side-down at the bottom of our front stoop; I’ve also been rear-ended while turning into my driveway by drivers coming at great speeds behind me; I would be greatly in favor of something being done on that street, mainly for the concern I have for the children in that neighborhood.

 

Karl Schmidt, 3209 W. 9th Street:  I’ve literally seen people get airborne over the top of the hill; what concerns me the most is there are a lot of kids that walk up-and-down the street and I’ve personally seen three near calls with kids that have almost gotten hit; they cross the street just past the top of the hill and there is no way a driver can see them in time to stop; I think this street is being used by people trying to avoid police detection while driving drunk; there have been a lot of people miss the curve that haven’t shown up as accidents.

 

Fran McNellis, 3327 W. 8th Street:  The trouble is not just over the hill and around the curve, there are three retaining walls across the way and they have all been hit; often they back-up, damaged car and all, and find their way up to Kasold; those who park their cars in the street get their mirrors taken-off or get rear-ended; I don’t think it is only drunk drivers, many people use 9th Street to avoid the traffic lights on 6th Street since there is only one STOP sign between Iowa and Kasold; we need something to slow traffic, and perhaps if it is slower, we won’t have as much traffic, hopefully.

 

Michael Lindsey, 901 Chalk Hill Court:  Cars gun it to go over the hill; hardly anybody is going slow; most people are speeding over the hill; the signs do not do anything, people don’t pay attention to them.

 

Carol Harmsen, 923 Chalk Hill Court:  My concern is trying to get onto 9th Street from Chalk Hill Court; we are on the blind side of the hill going down towards Lawrence Avenue; it’s a real dangerous situation that needs to be taken care of; whatever you can do will be appreciated.  

 

Aaron Crim, 3328 W. 8th Street:  It’s not just the high part of the hill but also after the curve that cars seem to come speeding; just backing out of my driveway in the morning is a challenge; I routinely notice signs knocked-over and tire marks everywhere.

 

Jeanne Pees, 2905 Stratford Court, and President of the Sunset Hills Neighborhood Association:  We are here to stand in support of the neighbors who live on that street and we support them in their endeavors and anything that you can do to help them would be greatly appreciated.

 

Paul Matthews, 3217 W. 9th Street:  We have two children and I’m nervous anytime they are out in the yard or when we are walking to Sunset Hill; it is a badly designed road and not meant for heavy traffic; the problem is it has become heavily traveled.

 

Kris Matthews, 3217 W. 9th Street:  I want to echo everything that has been said; whatever can be done would be appreciated.

 

Commissioner Hagen:  Part of the problem is enforcement, but I think the street has become something it wasn’t designed to be.    

 

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAGEN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MILLER, TO RECOMMEND CONSTRUCTION OF TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES ALONG 9TH STREET BETWEEN LAWRENCE AVENUE AND KASOLD DRIVE; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 6:

 

Consider request from Bill Reynolds, 846 Indiana Street, to establish 30-MINUTE PARKING on the north side of 9th Street in front of 616 & 620 W 9th Street and 846 Indiana Street.

 

Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.

 

Commissioner Hamby asked if there were other time limit zones or if this would set a precedent; Woosley advised that there were other time limit zones in town.

 

Commissioner Hagen:  I don’t have any problem with this in the same principle that we act for NO PARKING regulations; this is clearly a commercial area and they know their customers.

 

Commissioner Brune:  Owens has a little bit of off-street parking, but the other two businesses don’t.

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HAGEN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, TO RECOMMEND ESTABLISHING 30-MINUTE PARKING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF 9TH STREET ADJACENT TO 616 & 620 W 9TH AND 846 INDIANA; THE MOTION CARRIED 7-1 (Woods, I don’t see the need).

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 7:

 

Consider request from the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association for a MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN-ACTIVATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL on 11th Street between New Jersey Street and New York Street.

 

Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and distributed copies of an e-mail received.

 

Janet Good, 1124 New York Street, and President of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association:  We have an unusual situation in that our school is the smallest one in the district and we have extended hours with students arriving as early as 7:00am and they are there until 6:00pm; this time of year we have students walking to and from school in the dark and crossing 11th Street; the city garage is five blocks away with a lot of big traffic; 11th Street is a very busy, very scary street; my daughter is nine years old and I don’t let her cross 11th Street by herself; that street gets busier and busier because of Lawrence growing to the south and to the east; it is busy all day long, but particularly early morning and evening; it’s a bad situation and I hope you can support us with this mid-block crosswalk, which we have come up with as the best solution and most cost effective solution.

 

Commissioner Hagen asked where the students were coming from; Good advised that of 152 students enrolled last year, 122 lived south of 11th Street.

 

Shawn Hastie, 1117 Pennsylvania Street, and New York School PTO President:  There are times we wait five minutes to get across the street walking to or from school because there is so much traffic; there are many parents who won’t let their children walk to school because it’s not safe to get across 11th Street; as a PTO, this is what we came up with as the best option to get children across the street; I do think cars stop for pushbutton crosswalks; we need a safe way for our children to get to and from school; my daughter is in the 6th grade and I don’t send her to school by herself, I still walk with her; it’s not easy for children to judge how fast traffic is going.

 

Lori Strecker, 1301 Elmwood Street:  We are in the Brook Creek Neighborhood, but our children all go to New York School; our route is to walk or ride our bikes down 12th to New York and then cross at New York; if we had a pushbutton stoplight in the middle of the block, we would use New Jersey to get to the crossing; there are a lot of people south and east that this crossing would serve; our children travel at all times of the day, it’s a very mobile neighborhood; we cross it several times a week during the summer, we try not to drive at all, it’s not just used during school hours by school children; there’s lots of people in the neighborhood who walk and bicycle who would also use a pushbutton crosswalk; there is a responsibility on our part to educate the children and the parents on how to use the crossing.

 

Dawn Hawkins, 1219 New York Street:  I was recently inspired by the new crossing in the 600 block of New Hampshire; I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association or PTO, but I would suggest a raised crosswalk with a 4-way STOP at 11th & New York; also, the parking needs to be eliminated between Connecticut and New Jersey, it blocks the line of sight for pedestrians and traffic; some families would like to see a raised crosswalk at 11th & Connecticut too.

 

K. T. Walsh, 732 Rhode Island:  I am on the board of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association and Independence Inc. and am concerned for people with disabilities; I support the pushbutton crosswalk and a raised crosswalk.

 

Commissioner Hamby:  I’m concerned because the MUTCD warrants are not met; we have had numerous requests for similar situations in the past and have not recommended them; if we approve this one, where do we stop?

 

Commissioner Hagen:  One of my concerns is that this seems to be an unnatural location for a crossing point.

 

Commissioner Bowen:  If we provide a way for pedestrians to cross the street, then we will probably have a pedestrian count.

 

Commissioner Graves asked if a GAP STUDY had been conducted; Woosley advised one was conducted several years ago and at that time there were sufficient gaps in traffic for students to cross the street.

 

Commissioner Hagen:  I’m not happy about the solution, but I will reluctantly support it.

 

Commissioner Miller:  It is a mediocre solution, but it is a solution.

 

MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BOWEN, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MILLER, TO RECOMMEND INSTALLATION OF A MID-BLOCK PEDESTRIAN-ACTIVATED TRAFFIC SIGNAL ON 11TH STREET BETWEEN NEW JERSEY STREET AND NEW YORK STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-2 (Hamby, doesn’t meet warrants, it sets a bad precedent; Woods, we’re courting disaster putting it by the alley, it won’t get used that much).

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 8:

 

Public Comment.

 

None.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 9:

 

Commission Items.

 

Commissioner Bowen:  I would like to see something on the agenda about city planning and how practices on the planning side mean that new neighborhoods are coming to us with these problems, so the problems we see tonight we see over and over again.

 

Commissioner Woods asked what the status was with 27th Street & Sawgrass Drive; Woosley advised that he was trying to get in touch with the president of the homeowners association.

 

Commissioner Woods asked about a left-turn arrow at 23rd & Ousdahl; Woosley advised that previous studies have shown that it did not meet KDOT requirements, which must be met since 23rd is a state highway.  Woods asked that another study be conducted.

 

 

 

ITEM NO. 10:

 

Miscellaneous.

 

The Commission acknowledged receipt of the minutes of the October 12, 2006, Pedestrian Advisory Sub-Committee meeting.

 

 

 

The meeting adjourned at 10:15 P.M.

 

 

 

The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is Monday, December 4, 2006.

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

David E. Woosley

Transportation/Traffic Engineer