HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 4, 2018 Agenda Packet
AGENDA
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION
MONDAY,JUNE 4, 2018;5:30 P.M.
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
I.ROLL CALL
II.APPROVAL OFMAY 7, 2018MINUTES
III.OLD BUSINESS
A.PUBLIC HEARING TODESIGNATE 461/2AVENUE AS ONE-WAYEASTBOUNDFROM JEFFERSON
STREET TO MONROE STREET
At the May meeting, the Traffic Commission called fora Public Hearing to designate 461/2
Avenueasone-way east bound. Postcard noticesof the hearingwere mailed to properties
within 300 feet of 461/2Avenue,Jefferson to Monroe Street, including properties in Hilltop.
Notice of the hearing was also published in theSunFocusnewspaper.
On March 19, 2018 a westbound vehicle on 461/2Avenue flew across the Jefferson Street
divide and hit a house on the west side of Jefferson Street crashing through the front door.
Although this was the most dramatic incident, the guard rail and fence are hit by westbound
vehicles at least annually.Reported accident informationis attached.
In Columbia Heights, 14 households will need to go north on Monroe Street anduse one of the
other east-west streets to access Jefferson Street.
th
Traffic counts were obtainedfor approximately 48 hours beginning May 14. These counts
represent vehicles travelling in both directions.
Location48 hour countAvg Daily Traffic (ADT)
461/2AvenueEast of Jefferson Street515258
461/2AvenueWest of Monroe Street219110
Monroe StreetNorth of 461/2Avenue1,185593
Monroe StreetSouth of 48 th Avenue1,612806
Staff is requesting 461/2Avenue be designated one-way east bound. This will have the least
impact on travel and plowing operations.
RECOMMENDED MOTION: Move torecommend the City Councildesignate 461/2Avenueas
one-way east bound from Jefferson Street to Monroe Street.
IV.OTHER OLD BUSINESS
None.
V.NEW BUSINESS
None.
Traffic Commission Agenda
June 4, 2018
Page2
VI.OTHER NEW BUSINESS
None.
VII.REPORTS
A.CITYENGINEER
1.No change inTraffic Commissionmeeting timeor place.
Traffic Commission meetings will remain on thefirstMonday of the month at 5:30 p.m.,
when there are agenda items.
2.No Parking on south side of 39thAvenuefromtheroundabout to Central Avenue.
th
TheCity Councilapproved“No Parking”theon south side of 39Avenue attheir meeting of
th
May 14.
B.POLICE CHIEF
C.COMMISSIONERS
VIII.ADJOURNMENT
The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment oremployment in,
itsservices, 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.
U N A P P R O V E D
OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION
MONDAY,May 7,2018
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Carlson at5:30p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members present:CommissionersCarlson,Clerkin,andOlson
Members absent:Commissioners Doty andSchluender
Staff present:Kathy Young, Assistant City Engineer
Lenny Austin, PoliceChief
Sue Schmidtbauer, Public Works Secretary
Council Liaison:Connie Buesgens
Residents Present:None
APPROVAL OFMINUTES
Motion byCarlson, seconded byOlson, to approve the minutes ofNovember6, 2017as presented.Motion
passedunanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
None
OTHER OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
A.REQUEST TO DESIGNATE 461/2AVENUE AS ONE-WAYEASTBOUND
OnMarch 19, 2018 a westbound vehicle on 461/2Avenue flewoverthe Jefferson Street divide and
crashed through the entrance ofa house on the west side of Jefferson Street. Although this was the
most dramatic incident, the guard rail and fencehave beenhit by westbound vehicles at least
annually.Once before,a vehicle ended up teetering on the retaining wall. In all other incidents the
guardrail or fence stopped the vehicles.
Public Works staff reviewed the options to improve safety, which consist of do nothing, close
461/2Avenue at Jefferson Street, or designate 461/2Avenue as one-way east bound.Due to
ongoing accidents at the intersection, to do nothing is not a viable option. Staff is requesting 461/2
Avenue be designatedasone-way eastbound. This will have the least impact on travel and plowing
operations. In Columbia Heights, 14 households will need to go north on Monroe Street anduse
one of the other east-west streets to access Jefferson Street.
Traffic counts will be obtained on461/2Avenue and on Monroe Street before the meeting in June.
Traffic Commission Minutes–May 7, 2018
Page2
Clerkin statedhewasalmosthit3-4 timesthis winteron westbound 461/2Avenue. It’sdifficult to
stop when coming down the hill if a driver is not paying attention.The hill is also difficult for
motorcycles.He feels making 461/2a one-way eastbound would solve a lot of problems. Olson
agrees;it’s somewhatof a blind intersection. Carlson questioned how far 461/2Avenue would be
designated as one-wayandhowitwould affect residents in the trailer court. Young advised people
th
in Hilltop most likely takeMonroe north to 48and then cut over. She does not feel they would
take461/2Avenue.
Motion by Olson, secondedby Clerkinto call a Public Hearing with residents at the next Traffic
Commissionmeetingin June to designate 461/2Avenue as one-way eastbound from Jefferson
Street to Monroe Street.Upon vote:Clerkin, aye; Olson, aye; Carlson, nay. 2 ayes–1 nay. Motion
passed.
TH
B.REQUEST TO INSTALL THREE WAY STOP AT THE INTERSECTION OF 48AVENUE AND MONROE
STREET.
The Police Departmenthadacomment posted to its Facebook pagerequesting 3-way stop signs at
th
the intersection of 48Avenue and Monroe Street due tospeedingand vehiclesrunning the stop
sign at the base of the hill.Staff would like to consider this requestbecause if461/2Avenue is
changed to a one-way street, the traffic volume on Monroe Street will increase.
th
The intersection at 48Avenue and Monroe Street is a T-intersection. Currently northbound traffic
thth
on Monroe Street has a stop sign at 48Avenue. Eastbound traffic on 48Avenue slows to turn
either northbound or southbound onto Monroe Street.There have been no reported traffic
accidents within the past five years and visibility at the intersection is good.
City staff contacted the City of Hilltopregardingthe stop signand theyconsiderit necessary as a
safety measure forthechildren walking to/from school on Monroe Street. This intersection will
probably come up at the Public Hearingbecause traffic volume will increase on Monroe Streetif
461/2Avenue is designated as one-way.For consistency, athree way stop at this intersection
should be considered, althoughitdoes not meet the criteria for stop signs.
Motion by Olson, secondedby Clerkintodo nothing.Motionpassedunanimously.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
None
REPORTS
CITY ENGINEER
nd
1.Request forstopsigns at the intersection ofMadisonStreet and 42Avenue
The decision of the Traffic Commission was appealed to the City Council. The City Council
approved stop signs at the intersection, stopping traffic on Madison Street. These signs were
rd
.
installed on May 3
Traffic Commission Minutes–May 7, 2018
Page3
2.No Parking on south side of 39thAvenuefrom the roundabout to Central Avenue.
During the Public Hearing for the street rehabilitation project, business owners requested No
th
Parking be designated on the south side of 39Avenue from the roundabout to Central
th
Avenue. The City Council will consider this at their meeting on May 14.This request did not
come through the Traffic Commission because it took place in a Public Hearing setting.
3.University Avenue (TH 47) Construction
thth
MnDOT has closed University Avenue from 27Avenue in Minneapolisto 44Avenuein
th
Columbia Heightsfor construction. The road will be closed until mid-June. Either 37Avenue
th
or 40Avenue intersections will be open during construction. The official detour is East River
Road for truck traffic and Central Avenue forcars.
Chief Austin stated the Police Department has received callsrelated to traffic complaints in the
rdth
residential areas. Most of the complaints are on3and4Streets. They’re working to obtain
additional signage, stop signsforintersection and pedestrian traffic. He also has officers
working on traffic control.The speed trailer is being set up in these areas on a rotating basis.
The biggest concernof residentsistrafficvolume, not speed. He feels most trucks are using
th
44Avenue as the other streets are pretty narrow.Young advised that thedesignateddetour
for trucks isEast River Road.ThePolice Departmentwill continue to monitor and hopefully
the Public Works Director will have further suggestions regarding signage to help with some of
the traffic.
4.Requests for Disabled Parking Signs
At the request of the residents,
A Disabled Parking sign has been installed at 4224 Van Buren Street, Permit number H54883,
and
ADisabledParking sign has been removed at 3959 Quincy Street.
5.There’s been a request by the EDA to either move our meeting to 5:00 p.m. or to potentially
meet on a differentday. The EDA currently meets the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m.
They would liketo change their meeting time to 6:00 p.m. Youngaskedif the commissioners
felt residents who request issues would have a problem getting here at 5:00. Carlson said yes
as a lot of people work until 5:00.We do not need to make a decision today.Thisitem will be
included in our next agenda packet
POLICE CHIEF
None
COMMISSIONERS
1.Carlson had a requestby someone who works for the City of Minneapolistodesigna pattern
for stop signs in the Columbia Heights.Carlsonfeels this wouldresult in takingdown and
putting upstop signswherewedon’t need to. He would like some type of report onthestop
Traffic Commission Minutes–May 7, 2018
Page4
signsin Minneapolis.Chief Austin will try to gethim something.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion byOlson, seconded byClerkinto adjourn the meeting at5:58p.m. Motionpassedunanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Schmidtbauer
Public Works Secretary
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
To:Columbia Heights Traffic Commission
From:Lenny Austin, Chief of Police
Subject:Traffic Accidents at46 ½ and Jefferson St.
Date:May 2, 2018
Below isa list of accidents at the intersection of 46 ½ and Jefferson Street over the last five years:
03/19/2018 at 10:33 am:
Personal Injury Accident: Driver was westbound on 46 ½ Avenue and attempted to stop at 46 ½ and
Jefferson. Driver stated his brakesfailed and he went through intersection, driving over the retaining wall,
and striking the house at 4630 Jefferson Street.
01/20/2017 at 6:40 am:
Property Damage Accident: Driver was westbound on 46 ½ Ave and slid into the intersection striking the
guardrail.
11/30/2015 at 8:24 pm:
Property Damage Accident: Driver was westbound on 46 ½ Ave and slid into the intersection striking the
fence and partially going over the retaining wall.
11/17/2014 at 1:39 pm:
Hit and Run Property Damage Accident:Suspect Vehicle struck and damaged sign, guardrail, shrubs, and
chain link fence at 46 ½ and Jefferson. Suspect driver was not identified.
12/02/2013at 6:30 pm:
Property Damage Accident: Driver was westbound on 46 ½ Avenue and lost control of the vehicle and
struck bushes and handrail just east of Jefferson. No injuries.
cc:Kathy Young, Assistant City Engineer