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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 1, 2016 Minutes OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Ed Carlson at 5:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Commissioners Ed Carlson, Brian Clerkin, Kevin Doty, Nick Novitsky and Leonard Olson Staff Present: Kathy Young, Assistant City Engineer Lenny Austin, Police Captain Sue Schmidtbauer, Public Works Secretary Council Liaison: Donna Schmitt APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Olson, seconded by Doty, to approve the minutes of February 1, 2016, as presented. Motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS None OTHER OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS ND A.REQUEST FOR STOP SIGNS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MADISON STREET AND 42 AVENUE Ms. Nicole Miller has requested YIELD or STOP signs at the intersection of Madison Street and nd 42 Avenue. Her concern is lack of traffic control and the number of accidents/near misses at this intersection. Visibility at the intersection is fair. There is a small hill in the southwest quadrant that partially blocks visibility for eastbound and northbound traffic. strdnd On Madison Street, traffic stops at 41 Avenue and 43 Avenue. On 42 Avenue, traffic stops at Jefferson Street and Quincy Street. The number of traffic accidents is approaching the MMUTCD guidelines of five crashes within a three-year period and three crashes within a two-year period. Residents present: Nicole Miller, 4244 Madison Street Ms. Miller states there are lots of young children in the area as well as a bus stop. Doty stated he was there in the afternoon and there were not many cars. Olson drove through on the way to the meeting. He does not see a problem with the intersection if you drive like you’re supposed to-- slow down, look all directions, and drive at a reasonable speed. The intersection is clear in all Traffic Commission Minutes –August 1, 2016 Page 2 directions. Ms. Miller agreed the intersection is clear but stated most people do not slow down and look in all directions. When they came to look at their home two years ago it was winter. She drove slowly through the intersection and almost got hit because she didn’t know there wasn’t a signal. She walks her dog and baby at least 2-3 times a day and sees drivers that don’t know they should slow down. She does not feel the intersection is safe for pedestrians, drivers, or kids getting off the bus. Clerkin stated he’s been through that intersection many times and unfortunately many drivers don’t seem to know how to follow the basic rules of etiquette when driving.Olson agreed. Normal drivers drive through the intersection carefully and observe all directions. Ms. Miller feels normal drivers do not slow down and look all directions. Olson stated any driver should slow down in that type of neighborhood, especially at an uncontrolled intersection. Ms. Miller disagrees. She feels normal drivers only slow down if there’s signage telling them to slow down. Olson stated an uncontrolled intersection is something alerting drivers to slow down. Ms. Miller disagrees. She does not look east and west when going through an intersection; she looks forward and behind her and stops or slows down only if there is a yield or stop sign in front of her. She does not believe she should have to look all directions when coming to an intersection. She feels strongly about safe roads and feels there should be a signal so everyone is not slowing down to 10 mph to look in all directions. Carlson stated he goes through that intersection quite often and feels it is normal for driving. He does not see a reason for a stop sign. He also stated drivers should not trust any intersection; he slows down for all intersections, whether there’s a stop sign, yield sign, or if it’s uncontrolled. Ms. Miller questionedwhy we have uncontrolled intersectionsDoty advised that if every corner . had a stop sign, drivers would run them because eventually they get tired of stopping at each one. In the winter vehicles would also rear-end each other by trying to slow down to stop. Novitsky stated there are plenty of uncontrolled intersections around, not just in Columbia Heights. Ms. Miller is concerned about newcomers and visitors and the children near the intersection and at the bus stop. Carlson advised Ms. Miller she should look in all directions when driving through uncontrolled intersections. Novitsky stated drivers should know if there is an uncontrolled intersection by driving the speed limit and being aware. Ms. Miller questioned how to tell who’s at fault if there is an accident. Captain Austin stated if two vehicles approach an intersection at the same time the vehicle on the left should yield to the vehicle on the right. If the police can make a determination from the impact, then they can say who’s at fault. Unfortunately there will always be crashes, even with stop signs. Captain Austin also explained another reason for not putting up too many stop signs is to maintain traffic flow. Schmitt stated we’ve added stop and yield signs over the last few years in this area and it looks like the stop signs are working better at preventing accidents than the yield signs. She stated that when adding signage we may want to consider putting up a stop sign rather than a yield sign. Doty explained in most cases residents wanted a yield sign rather than a stop sign or the decision was based on the recommendation of the Traffic Commission. Schmitt stated there is no consistency with the signs and it may be upsetting going from signage to an intersection without signage. Carlson sees no benefit to a stop sign and feels it would make this intersection more dangerous. Motion by Carlson to deny the request for STOP signs at the intersection of Madison Street and Traffic Commission Minutes –August 1, 2016 Page 3 nd 42 Avenue. Seconded by Doty. Carlson requested a roll call. All ayes. Motion passed unanimously. Carlson advised Ms. Miller that there is an appeal process. Schmitt also advised that there have been four accidents at this intersection and if there is another one it will meet the criteria for installing a stop sign. Not all accidents are reported so advised Ms. Miller to call 911 if she sees or hears an accident so it’s on record. Ms. Miller asked if she could get a list of accidents at the intersection. Captain Austin advised a record of reported accidents is available. thRD B.REQUEST FOR STOP SIGN AT THE INTERSECTION OF 7 STREET AND 43 AVENUE thrd Mr. William Obert has requested STOP signs at the intersection of 7 Street and 43 Avenue. His concern is the number of near misses at this intersection due to limited visibility and the speed of traffic. The Traffic Commission reviewed this intersection in 2011. At that time, Commissioners did not approve YIELD signs. It was felt that the majority of the accidents were during the winter months (slippery conditions) or had extenuating circumstances. The intersection is at the top of a hill. Visibility is limited until near the intersection, and then it is good. Within the last three years there have been two accidents in 2014 and one accident so far in 2016. With all recent accidents, one vehicle was travelling northbound. th A speed survey was done by the Police Department in 2015. The average speed on 7 Street for northbound traffic was 21 mph. Young noted she receives the most concerns/letters about this intersection. thstth On 7 Street, traffic yields at 41 Avenue and stops at 44 Avenue. On 43rd Avenue, traffic th stops at 5 Street and Jefferson Street. Olson can understand northbound traffic up to the crest of the hill being surprised, but if drivers use common sense and drive like they’re supposed to it’s easy to slow down. Novitsky feels there’s proper visibility to establish if there’s a stop sign. Doty questioned why one street is narrow and one is offset. He can see a problem there. Placing a stop sign would be tricky--- putting it on top of the hill would cause drivers to run it in the winter. Clerkin feels there should be no problem with the intersection if you drive safely. If you live in Minnesota you needto learn how to drive in the winter. If you put a stop sign at the top of the hill vehicles will get stuck and/or slide down into the cars behind them.A stop sign will cause more problems. Captain Austin agreed; drivers are surprised when they drive through that intersection but there aren’t a lot of options. Olson feels the intersection is treacherous enough that vehicles do slow down and look around. When asked where the most complaints come from, Young advised it is mostly from neighbors. Clerkin stated drivers education teaches the car on the left yields to the car on the right and to slow down at uncontrolled intersections. Schmitt agrees it’s a bad corner but Traffic Commission Minutes –August 1, 2016 Page 4 unsure what the commission can do. thrd Motion by Olson to deny the request for a stop sign at the intersection of 7 Street and 43 Avenue based on lack of accidents and that this intersection was reviewed by the Traffic Commission in 2011. It is a little surprising at first but vehicles need to slow down, a stop sign will not help. Seconded by Clerkin. Motion passed unanimously. OTHER NEW BUSINESS None REPORTS A.CITY ENGINEER th An Open House was held for the rework of 37 Avenue from Central Avenue to Stinson Boulevard. A grant has been submitted for two-way traffic, one lane in each direction; bike lanes, and a sidewalk on each side of the street. Schmitt asked why we don’t do something like Silver Lake Road where’s there’s controlled traffic at the corners and parking on the sides because there are so many homes on thth 37 Avenue. Young stated there’s not a lot of discussion about losing parking on 37 Avenue because most residents don’t park there. B.POLICE None C.COMMISSIONERS th Doty inquired about putting up a seasonal “Turtle Crossing” sign from May to July on either 49 Avenue and/or Innsbruck Parkway to warn drivers about turtles crossing the road. The turtles leave Highland Lake to lay eggs from May to July and many of them get run over. He would like to see some type of signage. Other cities put up seasonal signs for this type of thing. He would like to send Young a picture of the “Duck Crossing” sign used by St. Anthony. Young stated she will discuss it with the Public Works Director but seasonal signs are somewhat difficult. We can look at it for next year. rd Olson brought up the left turn signal on eastbound 53 onto Central Avenue. Young stated there is no change. She did bring some traffic counts as they had talked about changing the dedicated right turn lane to allow through traffic. However the traffic counts show there is very little through traffic but a lot of right turn traffic. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Carlson, seconded by Olson, to adjourn the meeting at 6:05 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Sue Schmidtbauer Public Works Secretary