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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.12.2023 Minutes (pending approval) Transportation Committee Meeting Minutes September 12, 2023 Attendees: Evelyn Meuret Lynnsey Erickson, Council Jim Collins, Transportation Director Jeff Armstrong Sean Lynch Steve Tomasik, Operations Manager Jim Stapel Deb Martin Jane Weber, Secretary Also Present: OPD Representative – Sgt. Gogo Excused: Al Hartman The meeting was called to order by Evelyn Meuret who then explained protocol for public comment. Public Comment Chairperson Meuret invited the members that were present at the meeting for public comment. • Nathan Elliott (1401 Wisconsin Street) –Nathan’s comments were in regarding the reconstruction of Wisconsin Street and the area by Bent & New York which has just reopened and had the width changed from 28’ to 36’. He is wondering why there is no parking on the east side. If they decide to keep the no parking on the north bound lane, he is requesting a bike lane be considered like the UWO area. He also would like consideration be given to pushing the no parking in front of 1401 Wisconsin to 60’ vs. 16’ like it has been for 20+ years. Another request is for additional speed limit signs or an RRFBs. There is a speed limit sign by 1523 Wisconsin and then not until Prospect. He also said there has been an increased number of pedestrians and bicyclists in the area and feels the increase is due to the new school. Finally, he was told a traffic study would be conducted and is requesting that this information be shared with the residents. Some of these concerns are similar to a citizen requrest presented on July 11th regarding the intersection of Wisconsin Street and Congress Avenue. As noted at the last meeting, Jim Collins suggested to table this topic until the October meeting so he could gather data after the road and new school open to get traffic counts, and observe traffic trends. The request in July was for a 4-way stop at Wisconsin and Congress. • Rebecca Srubas (1422 Wisconsin Street) said she is paying $22,000 for this project and the new changes are not helpful for the residents in the neighborhood. She said that she isn’t happy about the increased traffic on Wisconsin vs. back on Jackson like originally intended. The neighbors are currently working on a petition for a 4-way stop by Congress & Wisconsin. 2 | Page Roll Call & Approval of Minutes After roll call, Jim Stapel made a motion to approve the minutes from the August meeting, seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after roll-call vote. Old Business N/A New Business 1. Request to remove the on-street permit parking on Brown Street between Algoma Blvd. and High Avenue. Jim stated this is a citizen request which he feels is reasonable as the permited stalls are not being utilized and get used by citizens loading and unloading for the church. He recommends converting 3 stalls to a 2- hour parking area. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve this request; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after vote. 2. Request for no parking on Union Avenue (south and west sides) from Algoma Blvd. to Algoma Blvd. Jim said this request is a minor change so the ordinance and posted signs match. It was a staff request from the sign division. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve this request; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after vote. 3. Request for no parking on Ripple Avenue (north side) from Oregon Street to its western terminus. Jim said this item was already presented earlier this year when the committee decided to restrict parking on the South Side of the road and now the north side needs to be discussed. It is a Citizen request. Neil Andrasko (3836 Red Oak) was present and gave a short overview. He said he is requesting no parking to match all other industrial areas within the city. Employees were utilizing on-street parking during the construction of the employee lot which has since been completed. He said the employees continue to park on the street probably because it is closer to the employee entrance. He said the on-street parked vehicles make it difficult for pedestrians and semi-drivers making deliveries. Jim Collins confirmed that he did speak with Generac and confirm they have adequate parking in the new lot so he thinks the request is warranted. Lynnsey Erickson made a motion to approve this request; seconded by Jim Stapel. Motion carried after vote. 4. Request to convert the 15-minute loading zone on New York Ave. to designated bus loading zone. Jim stated this is a request from Oshkosh Area School District. They would like to change the posted 15-minute loading zone to a designated bus loading zone instead to load and unload student by Merrill Elementary school. Jim Stapel made a motion to approve this request; seconded by Lynnsey Erickson. Motion carried after vote. Staff Statements South Main – Jim Collins stated the road diet is almost complete. The next step is to update the Bike & Pedestrian maps and complete the appropriate striping. 400 W Parking Lot – Jim said the parking lot project is progressing and after some minor repairs are completed, it will be time to resurface. 3 | Page Follow-up on GO Transit Ridership/Suspension Policy A citizen attended the August meeting asking about the suspension policy at GO Transit Transit. Jim Collins reported back to the board on the questions asked and referred to our posted policy on the GO Transit website stating the following: 1) All riders are held to the same ridership policy regardless if they are a student. He said complaints and issues are taken very seriously and researched extensively before any action is taken. 2) Suspension information stays internal and not shared unless there is a crime committed at which time Oshkosh Police would be contacted if appropriate. Jim Collins said in regards to the new student pass program, he has been receiving very positive feed-back and the office made a galiant effort to get the students their passes by attending several on-site events. Steve Tomasik. said a total of 686 passes have been issued and about 75% were obtained at one of the on-site events held in August. Also, it doesn’t appear that the number of temporary passes is excessive as only 58 temp passes have been given out to date throughout the entire school district. The temp pass has an expiration date with the intention of giving the student one week to stop in for their actual pass. He said he is very pleased with the roll- out and appreciates all the extra hours the office staff put in this past month. Lynnsey asked how ridership numbers compare; Steve said there is a slight decline in ridership and one interesting observation is that some students opted to pay cash vs. getting a pass. Future Agenda Requests Jim Collins said he will research the Congress / Wisconsin Street area and will put that on next month’s agenda assuming he can collect some data. Sean Lynch made a motion to adjourn; seconded by Jim Stapel. Meeting adjorned at 4:33 p.m.