HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 5, 2015 Agenda Packet
AGENDA
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION
MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015;5:30 P.M.
I.ROLL CALL
II.APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 1, 2014MINUTES
III.PUBLIC HEARINGTO INSTALLTWO-WAY“YIELD” OR “STOP” SIGNS
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AT THE INTERSECTION OF WASHINGTON STREET AND 42AVENUE,
YIELDING OR STOPPING TRAFFIC ON WASHINGTON STREET
The Public Hearing Notice was published in the Sun Focus and sent to property owners within
300’ of the intersection. Inaddition, residents who signed the petition in 2011 were notified.
TheMnMUTCDguidelines for installing stop/yield signs are included in yourpacket.
In 2011, residents on Washington Street submitted a petition for yield or stop signs at the
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intersection of Washington Street and 42Avenue. The concern was the speed of traffic and
safety of children on the block. At that time, there had been threereported accidents in three
years. Two of the accidents (one in 2010and one in 2011) were caused by operators with no
driver’s license. The Traffic Commission denied the request for traffic control.
At the December meeting, Ms.Becky Chudek requested stop signs be installed at the intersection
because of the number of accidents (8 since last fall) and concern for safety of children in the
neighborhood.Police Department staff researched the accident records and foundfivereported
accidents within the last five years. There was one accident in 2011 and four accidents in 2014.
The Traffic Commission felt apine tree obscures visibility and called for the Public Hearing at
the January 5, 2015meeting.
All of the accidentssince 2009are listed in the table below.
DateDescriptionExtenuating Circumstances
8/12/2009West bound -South bound
Property damage
8/3/2010East bound –North boundCited for no driver’s license.
Personal injury
7/11/11East bound –North boundCited for driving after suspension.
Property damage
1/26/2014
Personal injury accident
2/27/2014Icy conditions a factor.
Personal injury accident
8/9/2014Hit and run. Driver cited for leaving the scene.
Property damage accident
10/23/2014
Property damage accident
Traffic Commission Agenda
January 5, 2015
Page 2
The lower branches on the pine tree located on the southeast corner were removed, exceeding
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compliance with “visibility triangle” requirements. On Washington Street, traffic yields at 41
rdndth
Avenue and stops at 43
Avenue. On 42Avenue, traffic stops at5Street and Jefferson
Street.
RECOMMENDED MOTION:
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Move to install “YIELD”signs at the intersection of Washington Street and 42Avenue,
yielding traffic on Washington Street.
IV.OLD BUSINESS
None.
V.OTHER OLD BUSINESS
VI.NEW BUSINESS
None.
VII.OTHER NEW BUSINESS
VIII.REPORTS
A.CITY ENGINEER
B.POLICE CHIEF
C.COMMISSIONERS
IX.ADJOURNMENT
The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in,
its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in
all City of Columbia Heights' services, programs, and activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request when
the request is made at least 96 hours in advance. Please call the City Council Secretary at 763/706-3611 to make arrangements.
(TDD/763-706-3692 for deaf only.)
UNAPPROVED
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION
MONDAY,DECEMBER 1, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Carlson at 5:30p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members present:Carlson, Doty, Tyler
Staff present:Kathy Young, Assistant City Engineer
Lenny Austin, PoliceCaptain
Sue Schmidtbauer, Public Works Secretary
Council Liaison:Donna Schmitt
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Motion by Tyler, seconded byDoty,to approve the minutes of July 7, 2014, as presented.Motion carried
unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
None
OTHER OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
A.REQUEST TO INSTALL “YIELD” OR “STOP” SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF
ND
WASHINGTON STREET AND 42AVENUE
In 2011 residents on Washington Street submitted a petition for yield or stop signs at the
nd
intersection of Washington Street and 42Avenue. The concern was the speed of traffic and
safety of children on the block. At that time, there had been three reported accidents in three
years. Two of the accidents were caused by operators with no driver’s license. The Traffic
Commission denied the request for traffic control.
Recently, Ms. Becky Chudekrequested the Public Works Department review the pine tree on
the southeast corner of the intersection for compliance with the City’s visibility ordinance. In
a subsequent conversation, Ms. Chudek requested stop signs be installed at the intersection
because of the number of accidents and concern for safety of children in the neighborhood.
st
The visibility at the intersection is fair. On Washington Street traffic yields at 41Avenue
rdndth
and stops at 43Avenue; on 42Avenue traffic stops at 5Street and Jefferson Street. Staff
review found approximately 2’ to 3’ of the pine tree branches extendinto the visibility
triangle.
Young reviewed the MUTCD guidelines and stated this intersection came up once before in
2011.She requestedthe Police Department take another look at the accident records. Police
Department staff found five accidents within the last five years. There was one accident in
2011, nothing in 2012 or 2013,and four accidents to date in 2014, twoduring the winter
Traffic Commission Minutes –December 1, 2014
Page 2
months, onewith ice conditions being a contributing factor.The other accident was a hit and
run in August involving adriver with nolicense. The crashes at thatintersection are usually
fairly low speed; however, last year was an interesting year due to the amount of snow
affecting visibility.
Carlson looked at the intersection and stated the pine tree does make somewhat of a difference
and it is in violation of City ordinance. If the tree were trimmed up from the bottom it would
clear up the northboundand westbound portion of the corner, but he doesn’t feel it would
make a difference from the other two directions. Ms. Chubek stated not all the accidents have
been reported. She has counted eight accidents, one recently with a school bus and another
where a car lodged into her neighbor’s front yard and stopped at the tree. Her children play in
the front yard of the neighbor that is right on the corner and she is concerned about their
safety. Ms. Chubek stated she does not really care if the tree is trimmed or not, she would
rather notbother the homeowner. She would like to see a yield or stop sign installedas she is
concerned about her children’s safetybecause there are a lot of accidentsand they end up in
the yards.
Austin stated the accident with the bus was a small bus with four students on boardtraveling
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westbound on 42Avenue.Tyler commented thatthey would have been obscured by the
tree. Young clarified what we can and cannot do regarding the pine tree. Because the treeis
on private property, we can only requestthat the resident trim it from the bottom up,but we
cannot requireit.We can only require them to trim the 2-3branches on the intersection side
that extend 2-3 feetintothe visibility triangle. We’ve requested that theyconsidertrimming
the treefrom the bottom up or even removingitbuthave not received a response to date.
Doty stated last time these accidents were brought up (2011) a landscape company was
parkingtheir vehicles on Washington Street overnight.The woman was concerned about
small children running in the street. Then Captain Austin brought up parking restrictions
becausecars and trucks were parked on WashingtonStreet blocking visibility andkids were
running in-between the parked vehicles.Itwas stated that wewould need to chalk the tires,
and towto enforce the parking restrictions.At that point the resident dropped the issue. It
had nothing do with the intersectionvisibility. The tree was trimmed up a couple of feet back
thenbut the issue was the landscaping trucks that were parked on the street in front of the tree.
Now it’s winter and thereis no landscape work. Doty suggested that we check thisin the
months of June, July and Augustto see ifthe landscaping trucksare parked on the street. Ms.
Chudek stated she owns the landscape companyand they are her trucks. She said theynow
only park on the street forsixhours and then pull the trucks in.They used to park underneath
the tree but no longer park there. She did not know of any kids running in the street. Doty
stated that the woman who was here was stating all this information when she wanted the stop
signs. Back then it was parking ordinance.
Carlsonasked ifwe meet any guidelines for ayield or stop sign. Youngresponded that the
crash records meet thethreshold, but shedoes think iftheproperty owner were willing to trim
the treefrom the bottom up, not just out of the visibility triangle,it would help. Schmitt
statedthey havea tree like that andtheytrim itbut itdidn’t make any differencelast winter
because there was so much snow--they still couldn’t see anything.Even after trimming,the
branches became weighted down with snow,and so it was onlyatemporary fix.Tyler stated
Traffic Commission Minutes –December 1, 2014
Page 3
our actions should not be based on whetherthey trim the tree or not, if there is a hazard there
we need to address it. Carlsonstated theissue at the intersection--to see someone coming
from theeastwhen you’re northboundorsomeone from the southwhen you’rewestbound
does make a difference.Would like to see if we can talk the residentinto trimming the tree to
open itup underneath, feels itwould solve the problem. Tylerfeels there may be a problem if
the treeisn’t trimmed and if it is trimmed we may still have a problem. We’re basing our
decision on whether they trim their tree or not and there’s no legal requirement to do so. Ms.
Chudek stated she knows theneighbor a little bit andfeels it would be more effective for her
to talk to the neighborrather than the commission.However, she still would like to see a
yield or stop signat that intersection.Her trucksmay have been out of compliance in 2011
but she has fixed that now. She would really appreciate a yield orstop sign. Carlson stated a
yield sign generally makes people go faster. Ms. Chudek stated it did help the St. Matthews
corner.
Youngstated that in 2011 there were threereported accidents in threeyears but two of them
were operators with nodriver’slicense. Austin stated drivers with suspended licenses has
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become common. Just recently, the accident on 43and7was a driverwhohad a
suspended license.Young advised Ms. Chudek that putting inayield or stop may providea
tendency for traffic in theopposite direction to go faster, so that is something to consider.
Carlsonstated that if you put a stop sign where therereally shouldn’t beone, people have a
tendency to go through it.
Youngwas unable to find a phone numberfor the tree property. Ms. Chudekdoes not know
who owns the house.
Ms. Chudek asked if it would do any good to put in a yield sign.Carlson stated a stop sign
and yield sign can mean the same thing. If traffic is coming from the other way you’re to stop
for the yield sign.
Motion by Tyler to recommend approval ofstaff recommendation“A”opting for a YIELD
sign. Youngstated that to install intersection control like that requiresapublic hearing
process, so Option A is to call for a public hearingat the Januarymeeting.Motion seconded
by Carlson.Motion passed. Doty abstained. Next meeting will beMonday, January 5.
Youngwill notify residents within300 feetineachdirectionof the intersectionand let them know about the
hearingand that they are welcome to come to the meeting and voice their opinion. We will know more
about the tree trimming by then as a letter has been sent.Ms. Chudek stated she will also talk to the property
owner about the tree.She’s unsure if it will doany good but will talk to her about it.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
None
REPORTS
A.CITY ENGINEER
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Youngstated there seems to have been a rash of accidents in the area of discussion; 42and
rdth
Washingtonand 43and 7Street.She also receivesquite a few emails from a property owner
Traffic Commission Minutes –December 1, 2014
Page 4
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at42and7Street. She’s keeping track of what’s going on there. Police is going back and
researching all the accident records. Young asked Captain Austin if he had any insight on the
number of accidents.Austinstated it could be a lot of things—weather may be part of it or new
residents. When he first started with the city he noticedthat there area lot of uncontrolled
intersections in this citywhich is hard to get used to. There were also a lot of accidents last
winterdue to the weather and thinks that’s a big part of it.Dotystated that stop signs are just as
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hard to stop for in winter. The 2011concern at 42and Washington was more in the summer
when kids were playing and vehicles were parked on the street. Weshouldcheck again
regarding parked trucks and vans on the street. Austinagrees with Young, thatayield sign may
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increase speed at that intersection.However,the yield signs on41and 7Street by the Islamic
Center have helped. TheIslamic Centeroriginally wanted stop signs but tried the yield signs
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and they have made things much better.Doty questioned if a yield sign on 42and Washington
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will be too close to the ones on 41and 7in that drivers will start disrespecting the signs.
B.POLICE
None.
C.COMMISSIONERS
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Doty questioned why there wereflags by the stop sign on 44Avenue andArthur Street.Young
stated this was to draw attention to the stop signs because no one stops. They were only put up
for a short time. Young stated this is a county road. We are consideringpainting the word
“STOP”in the street. Donna feelsthe flags help. The woman on the corner stated no one was
stopping so we put the flags up temporarily.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion byCarlson, seconded byDotyto adjourn the meeting at 6:09p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Schmidtbauer,Public WorksSecretary
MINNESOTA MANUAL ON UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES
JANUARY 2014
The MUTCD guidelines for installing STOP or YIELDsigns at intersectionsare
listed below:
Engineering judgment should be used to establish intersection control. The
following factors should be considered:
A.Vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic volumes on all approaches;
B.Number and angle of approaches;
C.Approach speeds;
D.Sight distance available on each approach; and
E.Reported crash experience.
YIELD or STOP signs should be used at anintersection if one or more of the
following conditions exist:
A.An intersection of a less important road with a main road where
application of the normal right-of-way rule would not be expected to
provide reasonable compliance with the law;
B.A street entering a designated through highway or street; and/or
C.An unsignalized intersection in a signalized area.
In addition, the use of YIELD or STOP signs should be considered at the
intersection of two minor streets or local roads where the intersection has more
than three approaches and where one or more of the following conditions exist:
A.The combined vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian volume entering the
intersection from all approaches averages more than 2,000 unitsper day.
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; and/or
C.Crash records indicate that five or more crashes that involve the failure to
yield the right-of-way at the intersection under the normal right-of-way rule
have been reported withina 3-year period, or that three or more such
crashes have been reported withina 2-year period.
CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Traffic Commission has determined a Public Hearing will be held to:
INSTALL TWO-WAY “YIELD” OR “STOP” SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF
ND
WASHINGTON STREET AND 42AVENUE, YIELDING OR STOPPING TRAFFIC
ONWASHINGTON STREET
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 5, 2015, at 5:30P.M. at the City Council
th
Chamberslocated at 590 40Avenue N.E. Notice is hereby given that all persons having an
interest therein will be given an opportunity to be heard.
The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or
access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request,
accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of
Columbia Heights services, programs and activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are
available upon request when the request is made at least 96 hours in advance. Please call the
City Council Secretary at 763-706-3611to make arrangements. (TDD/763-706-3692for deaf
only)
CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
WALTER FEHST, CITY MANAGER
Published in Focus on12/26/14