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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.09.22 TPAB Meeting Minutes TRAFFIC & PARKING ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Aug. 9, 2022 Attendees: Jim Collins, Transportation Director Daniel Becker, Chair Dan Sciezinski Jane Boucher, Secretary Al Hartman Courtney Hansen Absent: Jim Stapel, Bill Christianson, Ross Wandschneider Guests: Sgt. Pettit (OPD) PUBLIC COMMENT Chairman Becker called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm and he explained protocol for public comment as a few citizens were in attendance. Roll call was requested and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Dan Becker stated the first order of business was to approve the minutes from the normal monthly meeting in June and the Joint meeting in July. Dan Sciezinski made a motion to approve both minutes as written, seconded by Courtney Hansen. Motion approved after roll-call vote. OLD BUSINESS: n/a NEW BUSINESS: Stop Sign Request– Arizona & W. 18th Avenue. Jim Collins said he received a See- Click-Fix request to add a stop sign at the corner of Arizona & 18th Avenue. He did a site inspection and did notice some possible visual obstructions and will have the Forestry Department perform some trimming. After driving that area several different times, he did not observe issues first hand so he researched the crash history. There was only two failure to yield crashes so definitely not a high volume intersection. Jim suggested to the reporting party to attend the meeting and present additional 2 | P a g e information, however he was not present. At this time, Jim does not recommend a stop sign and will continue to evaluate the area. Dan Sciezinski made a motion to bring the agenda item to open discussion, seconded by Courtney Hansen. Al asked why a Yield Sign vs. Stop Sign is preferred in this area; Jim stated for better traffic flow. He feels if a stop sign is in an area that it is not warranted, drivers are more likely to disobey. Chairperson Becker asked OPD if there is a difference in the fine issued between a failures to yield vs. failure to stop; Sgt Pettit said they were the same fee. Dan said he would rather error on the side of caution and vote yes to allowing the stop sign, or at the very least adding flags to the existing yield sign. Courtney agrees with adding the flags but isn’t sure if the stop sign is worth it; Al & Dan S. agreed with Courtney. Chairman Becker asked for a roll call vote on the request as written. Motion lost 1-3 after roll call vote. Chairman Becker made a motion to amend the request to add flags to the existing yield sign; seconded by Dan Sciezinski. Motion carried after 4-0 vote. Lane Configuration Request– South Main. At the joint meeting in July, KL Engineering presented their PowerPoint presentation to the Traffic & Parking Board and Bike & Pedestrian Committee. That same presentation was also distributed with this month meeting packet and was posted to laserfische so the general public could access. Since 380 meeting notices were mailed to residential and businesses in that area, Jim gave a quick overview of that same presentation for those that were not at the July meeting. He said the approval tonight is purely for the concept that a road diet should be recommended to City Council for approval. The actual details will be reviewed after a formal engineering plan is developed upon approval. Since a few members of the public were present, Jim wanted to remind everyone that this is not a physical project so no assessments or costs will have an effect on home and business owners. The objective is to maintain or increase traffic flow efficiency in this area, give pedestrian and bicyclists a safer route and reduce speed by going from 4 lanes to 2 lanes. If recommended by both the Bike & Ped Committee and Traffic & Parking, the goal is to present the ordinance for first reading at the August 23rd Council meeting, and take action at the September 13th Council meeting. Dan Sciezinski made a motion to bring the agenda item to open discussion, seconded by Courtney Hansen. Chairman Becker invited anyone from the public to approach the podium at this time. Steve Davis (50 Victoria Ct., Oshkosh 54902) said he was the former owner of Ardy’s & Ed’s Drive-in and said he has first-hand experience watching the traffic issues in this area for the past 40 years. He agrees that something needs to be done to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as cut down on the 3 | P a g e excessive speeds as people head out of town. He said he is thankful that it is being looked at but just wanted to make sure that some consideration has been given to the number of trains that back up traffic in this area. He is concerned that by going from 4 lanes to 2 lanes, that traffic back-up will far worse than it already has been. Currently, the traffic backs up all the way to Ardy’s & Ed’s (2413 S. Main) causing issues for customers’ existing the driveway. The change could also potential cause an issue on Doty Street if all of the customers are forced to go that way vs. Main. He closed with reiterating that safety and speed are definitely an issue but encourages the board to look into the train back-up issue. An emailed letter was also shared with the board from another home owner regarding this issue, however Mr. Collins already addressed his concerns via email. Discussion was opened back up to the board members. Courtney asked how far back the traffic would be backed up if a train goes through as that would be a concern; in addition to all of the driveways being blocked. Dan asked what the timeline of this project was; Jim stated it is in the early stages so it probably would be slated for May – Aug ’23 after Council approval. He said funding would need to be approved and the bidding process would take some time. Dan Becker said he agrees with Courtney’s comment and feels the back-up due to a train is critical information that is missing before taking a vote. He is also concerned that the traffic back-up could cause a serious issue for emergency vehicles. Al Hartman said more information is useful but it is not important if the change improves the area the rest of the time when a train isn’t going through. Dan Sciezinski asked if a change can be made after the painting is done as an option to go back if the change does cause major back- ups as he noticed other project reversed in the past. Jim Collins stated it can, but to look better, water blasting is the best process which can be expensive. Dan Becker made a motion to TABLE the vote until additional information is received, seconded by Courtney Hansen. Approved after roll-call vote. Dan asked if there are any staff statements. Jim stated he was asked by Board Member Christianson why only one side of the Jackson Street bridge is up for boats so Jim wanted to give an update that per the Public Works Director, only one side of the bridge is up because the “down” side is the side with the failed gears. The bridge leaf MUST be in the “down” position to remove the gears. The DOT would not be able to remove the gears if the bridge leaf was in the “up” position. Dan Becker was curious if anyone knew what the law was to open the bridge; Sgt. Pettit stated it is mid-October. Jim gave an update that Council voted to fix the bridge so currently Engineering is working the State on the project. 4 | P a g e Chairman Becker asked if there are any future agenda requests or other comments. Courtney asked if anything can be done down Main past Ceape/ Waugoo to improve traffic flow. She said it isn’t uncommon to be stuck by 11th street for 20 minutes because of all the traffic trying to switch lanes, the left lane is empty causing a major back-up in the right lane. She said it is not uncommon to take 3 light changes during the busy times of the day. Jim said eventually the problem will be alleviated when the grid smart cameras are installed in that area, but he will check to see if there might be a temporary solution until the equipment is received and installed. Dan S. asked if signage could be put up by 11th and Georgia to allow more space where the handicap ramp is on that corner. He said people keep parking all the way up to the corner making it very difficult for wheelchairs and electric scooters to maneuver in that area. Jim C. said they normally don’t like to paint curbs but he will look into that as a possible solution. Dan S. said another option would be to have a “no parking here to corner” sign put up. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Dan Sciezinski to Adjourn, seconded by Al Hartman. Motion Carried after roll-call vote. Meeting adjourned at 4:53 pm.