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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