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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 4, 2019 Minutes OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS COLUMBIA HEIGHTS TRAFFIC COMMISSION MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by ChairpersonOlsonat 5:30p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Commissioners Olson, Clerkin, Doty, and Schluender Staff present: Kathy Young, Assistant City Engineer Erik Johnston, Police Captain Sue Schmidtbauer, Administrative Assistant Council Liaison: Robert Williams APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Doty, seconded by Schluender, to approve the minutes of February 4, 2019 as presented. Motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS RESIDENTS PRESENT: Greg Miller, 4530 Taylor Street Larry and Jo Lindgren, 1215 45-1/2 Avenue th Avenue Dwaine Anderson, 1314 45-1/2 Avenue Constance Cotter, 1318 45 Mark Salchert, 1320 45-1/2 Avenue Bridget Flannigan, 1221 45-1/2 Avenue th Greg Billman, 1318 45 Avenue At the last Traffic Commission meeting the commissioners called thth the north side of 45 Avenue from Taylor Street to 240 east of Fillmore Street. Theconcernsare that 45 Avenue narrows from Taylor Street to Fillmore Street and the hill going up towards Buchanan Street tends to block visibility when vehicles are parked on the street. The Police Department also looked at traffic accidents within the past five years for that area and there hav Bridget Flannigan lives at 1221 45-1/2 Avenue which is 1-1/2 blocks from the area. On her way to the meeting tonight she had to drive through a snowbank in order to get around a garbage truck. She stated this is a perfect example of the difficulty of driving around th, especially with the snowbanks. You cannot get around the corner without just creeping out. When she takes the bus to work she will walkan extra blockon the otherstreetbecause she knows this street is not safe. Shedoes the same when she walks her dog. She tries to avoid this area asmuch as possibleand also feels itsdangerous forchildren. Olson asked it its the same inthe summer months. Ms. Flannigan advised itsdifficult to see with the parked cars in the summer too, drivers cannot see downhillor acrossor whats coming. The visibility all year round is tough and because the street narrows,only one car can go down at a time. Dwaine Anderson has livedat 1314 45-1/2 Avenue since 1965 and its always been a nightmare. Mr. Anderson is who brought thisconcern to the Traffic Commission. He stated cars are not supposed to be parked on the street from 2 am to 6 am, but when his son leaves for work at 2:45 amthere are frequently carsparked on the street.Whenvehiclesare parked on both sides of the street and with thehilland some people parking so close to Fillmore Street, it really cuts the v Traffic Commission Minutes  March 4, 2019 Page 2 Larry Lindgren lives at 1215 45-1/2 Avenue. He feels this is a tremendously dangerous place. It is difficult to judge when to turn as cars pop over the hill and the parked cars make it very difficult to see. He feels something needs to be done before lives are taken. Mark Salchert lives at 1320 45-1/2 Avenue and agrees with all his neighbors comments. He would like to add that hes has had many close calls and near misses at this intersection. Hes lived in the neighborhood 35 years. He drives a big truck and is a tall personand still has a hard time seeing over the parked cars. thth Greg Billman lives at 1318 45Avenue. He drives 45 Avenue to Central Avenue every day for his work path. States he constantly has to drive slow coming up or going down the hill to make sure he does a problem with a vehicle coming out of Fillmore Street. Hes used Fillmore Street a couple of times and you have to be very careful lookingboth directions trying to see past cars. Whencars are parked there it can be a little nerve wracking coming through that corner. th Bob Arth has lived at 1209 45Avenue at the crest of the hill for 40 years. Part of the issue is speed on the street because it is high traffic. He verified that parking will be on the south side of the streetHe stated a th number of people are bus drivers and theyve been leaving their buses on 45 Avenue, onehas left a bus on Fillmore Street, which is a bad spot as well and makes seeing traffic from over the hill even more difficult. He doesnt know how this is handled, if someone has a large school busthat they drive, if theyre allowed to park on the street. Theres also a bus parked in the Keyes Park lot thats had to be fixed and restarted a number of times. He doesnt think buses should be parked at Keyes Parkeither but he doesnt know what the arrangement iswith the bus companies. Anything that narrows that area and constricts the traffic is an issue, the school buses especially. They have been parking on the south side of the streetso theyre parking on the side thats allowed to be parked on but this still creates the same issue and is something that needs to be addressed. This is a dangerous intersection with issues all year around. Young advised she received a call from a resident on 45-1/2 Avenue who supports the parking change as well. th Constance Cotter lives at 1318 45Avenueand wanted to comment on the summer traffic. She feels parking should also be restricted in the summeralso as traffic tends to be a lot faster and vehicles zoom up and down the hill. The restricted parking will at least make it a little safer. She feels its a year round issue. th Shesalso seen a lot of vehicles parkedovernight on 45 Avenue and surrounding streets and would like to have that addressed. Motion by Clerkin, seconded by Doty to recommend the City Council designate No Parking on the north th side of 45 Avenue from Taylor Street to 240 east of Fillmore Street. Motion passed unanimously. th Young advised this will go before the City Council at their next meeting on March 11 and the City Council will make the final determination if it is approved or not. Once approved, the signs will go up, weathe permitting. Greg Miller of 4530 Taylor Street had a question regarding cars being parked overnight. Wanted to know what the rule is if they dont have a permit. Captain Johnston advised it is a violation. Mr. Miller asked why, when this happens all the time, isnt the car isnt towed away. Captain Johnston advised we do not tow cars, we issue citations. Mr. Miller stated he never sees an advised they have two officers on nights to cover the entire city and this is not always feasible. They do Traffic Commission Minutes  March 4, 2019 Page 3 actively and regularly enforce the ordinance every night as calls allow. They know its a frustration, but people have more cars than parking spaces. Theyve also seen an increase in parking permit requests. Mr. Miller asked if this should be reported if its happening frequently. Captain Johnston advised that he should go ahead and call if its an ongoing problem. Also advised that school buses are regulated separately in the ordinance and they will address that. Another resident asked the cost of the citation. It is $25.00. issuing a permit. Captain Johnston advised they do not issue permits to rental properties and a residence has to have more licensed drivers and vehicles than parking spaces. Issuing a parking permit is not based on convenience. Resident advised the hill is heavy rental property and thats where the issue lies. Captain Johnston stated they can ask for more reinforcements. OTHER OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS None OTHER NEW BUSINESS None REPORTS CITY ENGINEER None POLICE CHIEF None COMMISSIONERS None ADJOURNMENT Motion by Clerkin, seconded by Schluender to adjourn the meeting at 5:50p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Sue Schmidtbauer Administrative Assistant