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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES (2) TRAFFIC REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES JULY 14, 2009 4:00 P.M. PRESENT: James Kaprelian, Gene Kubasta, Bob Poeschl, Dennis Rumlow, Timothy Schuster and Don Seybold ABSENT: Stan Kline STAFF: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director Jennifer Weigand, Recording Secretary David Patek, Director of Public Works CALL TO ORDER Chairman Kaprelian called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Rumlow moved to accept the June 9, 2009 minutes. Mr. Seybold seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). 1. A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF NEW YORK AVENUE FROM BROAD STREET TO 65 FEET EAST OF BROAD STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING). Mr. Tim Schuster asked for clarification on the location of this request. Mr. Strong said it was the area east of the railroad tracks, in front of 502 E. New York Avenue. Mr. Kaprelian moved to accept this request. Mr. Rumlow seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). 2. A REQUEST FOR 2-HOUR PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF CEAPE AVENUE FROM STATE STREET TO COURT STREET BETWEEN 8:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M. (CURRENT CONDITION: METERED PARKING). Mr. Kaprelian questioned what days of the week this restriction would be valid. Mr. Strong replied it would be enforced daily except on Sundays and holidays. Mr. Poeschl moved to accept the request. Mr. Kaprelian seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). 3. A REQUEST FOR 2-HOUR PARKING ON THE EAST SIDE OF MT. VERNON STREET FROM WASHINGTON AVENUE TO 107 FEET NORTH OF WASHINGTON AVENUE BETWEEN 8:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M. (CURRENT CONDITON: METERED PARKING). Mr. Poeschl moved to accept the request. Mr. Kaprelian seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). ST 4. A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE NORTH/SOUTH ALLEY BETWEEN 21 ND AVENUE AND 22 AVENUE, EAST OF OREGON STREET AND WEST OF NEBRASKA STREET (CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING). 2 TRA MINUTES Page JULY 14, 2009 nd Mr. Gary Ross, 164 W. 22 Avenue, told the Board the alley is the main driveway access for seven residences. The residents feel there is not an issue with parking in the alley. Mr. Poeschl asked Mr. Ross if residents park their vehicles in the alley for extended periods of time. Mr. Ross replied one resident did because he was getting a new roof but had asked the residents prior to this. Mr. Kaprelian noted that three residents had e-mailed their oppositions to this request. Mr. Poeschl moved to accept the request. Mr. Kaprelian seconded the motion. Motion lost (0-6). TH 5. A REQUEST FOR UNRESTRICTED PARKING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF 8 AVENUE FROM 147 FEET EAST OF NEBRASKA STREET. (CURRENT CONDITION: 2-HOUR PARKING BETWEEN 8:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M.) Mr. Kubasta noted the Miles Kimball Company is no longer in this area and he saw no reason for a parking restriction. Mr. Poeschl moved to accept the request. Mr. Kaprelian seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). 6. A REQUEST FOR ONE-HOUR PARKING ON THE EAST SIDE OF COMMERCE STREET FROM 138 FEET SOUTH OF HIGH AVENUE TO PEARL AVENUE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M. DAILY, EXCEPT ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS. (CURRENT CONDITION: 2- HOUR PARKING BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9:00 A.M. AND 6:00 P.M. DAILY, EXCEPT ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS). Mr. Kaprelian moved to accept the request. Mr. Poeschl seconded the motion. Motion carried (6-0). 7a. A REQUEST TO DESIGNATE JEFFERSON STREET AS A TWO-WAY STREET FROM HARRISON STREET TO LINCOLN AVENUE. (CURRENT CONDITION: ONE-WAY STREET, SOUTHBOUND TRAFFIC). Mr. Paul Nebel, 1130 Mt. Vernon Street, was opposed to this change. He liked being able avoid the traffic signals on Main Street by using Jefferson Street as an alternative route to downtown. Mike Kalous, 102 E. New York Avenue, agreed with Mr. Nebel. He questioned why you would interrupt the traffic flow, when it runs smoothly now. He questioned how traffic would be controlled on the street. Mr. Strong replied that where stops are presently located on Jefferson Street, another stop sign would be placed on the other side of the street, so Jefferson Street traffic would stop for both directions. Mr. Kaprelian asked if this request was driven by the Common Council. Mr. Strong replied it was indirectly spurred on by the Common Council when they gave their approval for the automated recycling collection. On one-way streets, city crews will need to drive against traffic or use manual collection methods. He noted that the recent Oshkosh Visioning Plan recommended two-way streets. Mr. Strong noted that no parking restrictions would need to be changed to accommodate two-way flow on these streets. Mr. Kubasta was surprised by the lack of concern by neighbors. Mr. Strong replied that we had received an email opposed to the change and the City Manager’s office received at least one phone call in opposition. Mr. Kubasta asked Mr. Strong if he had researched why this street was made one-way in the first place. Mr. Strong said back in the 1960s there was a comprehensive plan that talked about a need for 3 TRA MINUTES Page JULY 14, 2009 Mt. Vernon Street and Jefferson Street being a one-way pair to complement Main Street and be a bypass route. Mr. Poeschl said the Visioning Plan is not clear to him if it is calling for more one-way streets around the urban center of cities, residential neighborhoods or both. Mr. Strong didn’t recall if they specified one or the other. Mr. Poeschl was hesitant to change the direction of the street when it has been that way so long without a great amount of consideration of the neighborhoods and the people who live on those streets. He was opposed to this request. However, he does understand and express the need somewhere down the line to have an active measuring step to clarify the need for 2-way streets in urban areas. Mr. Poeschl expressed concern over whether residents were aware of this proposal. Mr. Strong noted that all property owners were notified by mail of this meeting. Mr. Poeschl noted this is a mixed type of neighborhood where some landlords don’t communicate with their renters. Mr. Poeschl questioned if many citizens attended the forum on one-way streets. Mr. Strong replied it was a workshop held after a council meeting and it was more of policy type discussion with not many citizens attending. Mr. Strong said if we were going to change one-way streets in the community this street is one of the easiest ones to change. If we can’t make it work here, we won’t be able to make it work south of Lincoln Avenue. Mr. David Patek, Director of Public Works, said he would prefer to see two-way flow extend to Merritt Avenue. He said some issues would need to be resolved but from a Public Works perspective you should try to consider two-way streets wherever you can. Mr. Poeschl would like to offer an amendment that if this request is approved the residents be sent another notice notifying them that they can go to the council meeting to voice their concerns. Mr. Kubasta questioned why they would respond to a second notice if they didn’t respond to the first. Mr. Poeschl said the Common Council needs to know how the people feel about things. This would be another level of communication. Mr. Kaprelian liked the idea. Mr. Kubasta felt if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Mr. Schuster felt we need to do both streets at once or not at all. Mr. Kaprelian moved to accept the request. Mr. Rumlow seconded the motion. Motion lost (1 Rumlow – 5). 7b. A REQUEST TO DESIGNATE MT. VERNON STREET AS A TWO-WAY STREET FROM CUSTER AVENUE TO LINCOLN AVENUE. [CURRENT CONDITION: ONE-WAY STREET, NORTHBOUND TRAFFIC]. Mr. Paul Nebel, 1130 Mt. Vernon Street, was opposed to this request. He presented the Board with a petition (52 signatures) in opposition. He said if he had circulated a petition on Jefferson Street, he would have probably gotten the same response as Mt. Vernon Street. He likes the idea of having an alternative route to and from the downtown. Ms. Tracy Hawley, 832 Mt. Vernon Street, was opposed to this request. She finds it difficult to believe that there would not be any additional parking restrictions if it was two-way traffic. She believes the recycling issue, which occurs once a week, is less of an issue than opening up this street to two-way traffic. She thinks there would be a much more positive impact to changing the streets which are more centrally located to downtown than this residential area. 4 TRA MINUTES Page JULY 14, 2009 Mr. Kaprelian asked the width of Mt. Vernon Street. Mr. Strong replied Jefferson Street is 36’ and Mt. Vernon Street is 32’. Mr. Patek noted Jefferson Street was done in 1998 and at later date the Common Council went with 32’ as the standardized street width. Ms. Sharon Jowett, 202A E. New York Avenue, noted there is a Cerebral Palsy home located one block from her home and she has observed residents in the their electric wheelchairs riding down Mt. Vernon Street in the middle of the street in the wrong direction. She feels if Mt. Vernon Street were made two-way, you would have a worst problem. She has called the Police Dept. and the home about the situation and it still continues. Ms. Linda Glander, 1002 Mt. Vernon Street, said many residents were unable to attend the meeting because of the time of the meeting. She also has seen wheelchairs traveling down the middle of road heading towards the downtown area. She asked if they could reasonably expect to see no additional parking restrictions. Mr. Strong replied he sees no need at the present time to change the parking restrictions. Ms. Michelle Tobia, 932 Mt. Vernon Street, was opposed to the request. She noted the snow plows presently travel down the street in the opposite direction and she sees no problem with the recycling trucks doing the same. Mr. Strong said a citizen had notified him that motorists violate the one-way street restriction several times at Mt. Vernon Street and Harrison Street. From a traffic engineering standpoint, he sees no reason to keep it one-way. Mr. Wally Juedes, 1041 Mt Vernon Street, was opposed to this request. He said presently the garbage trucks travel down one side of the street one-way and than back the opposite way for the other side of the street. He feels if you change it to two-way, there would be more accidents. Mr. Kubasta felt it should not be changed. Mr. Kaprelian noted that both streets carry a relatively low volume of traffic. He said if this was more in the business core of the city, he would possibly support it. Mr. Kaprelian suggested Mr. Strong contacted the Police Dept. about the people in electric wheelchairs traveling down the middle of the roadway the wrong way. He feels there is no reason for them to be in the roadway when there are sidewalks. Mr. Kaprelian moved to accept the request. Mr. Rumlow seconded the motion. Motion lost (1 Rumlow – 5). Mr. Poeschl left at 5:12 p.m. TH 8. A REQUEST FOR NO PARKING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF 11 AVENUE FROM 268 FEET TO 298 FEET WEST OF MICHIGAN STREET BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 7:00 A.M. AND 5:00 P.M. [CURRENT CONDITION: UNRESTRICTED PARKING]. Mr. Kubasta moved to accept the request. Mr. Rumlow seconded the motion. Motion carried (5-0). STAFF STATEMENTS The Board unanimously agreed to cancel the August 11, 2009 meeting. 5 TRA MINUTES Page JULY 14, 2009 AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING: Mr. Poeschl asked that some type of control be put in at the intersection of New York Avenue and Bowen Street, because wheelchair users have difficulty crossing New York Avenue. Mr. Schuster would like the left turn prohibited for eastbound traffic on Congress Avenue at Arboretum Drive. He suggested making Arboretum Drive one-way southbound. Mr. Kubasta would like the no parking restriction at the southwest corner of Sawyer Street and Taft Avenue be removed. He sees no reason for it. There being no other business to come before the Traffic Review Advisory Board, and upon being duly moved and seconded (Seybold, Schuster), the meeting adjourned at 5:21 p.m.