Traffic Commission Agendas and Minutes

Page 1 of 6 September 21, 2020 MINUTES OF THE COHOES TRAFFIC COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 IN THE COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF COHOES CITY HALL AT 4:02 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Paul Johnston City Planner Joseph Seman-Graves Fire Chief Joseph Fahd Commissioner Stephen Hennessey Lieutenant John Shanahan ALSO PRESENT: Theresa Flatley, Recording Secretary CONSIDER THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 17, 2020 MEETING Chairman Johnston asked if there were any comments, questions or concerns regarding the minutes as presented. As there were no questions, concerns or comments, Chief Fahd made a motion to approve the minutes. Lieutenant Shanahan seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER THE REMOVAL OF A HANDICAP PARKING SIGN AT 1 LANCASTER STREET This request was submitted by Angela Gowett. Chairman Johnston stated that Ms. Gowett has informed us that she is moving and the sign is no longer needed. The Chairman’s recommendation was to remove the Handicap Parking sign in accordance with Attachment “A” to the agenda. Joseph Seman-Graves made a motion to approve the request to remove the Residential Handicap Parking sign from 1 Lancaster Street in accordance with Attachment “A” to the agenda. Chief Fahd seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER REMOVING PARKING PROHIBITION SIGNS ON FULTON STREET AND BROADWAY This request was submitted by Chairman Johnston. Chairman Johnston stated that do to the construction of a new home at #10 Broadway; the signs detailed on Attachment “B” to the agenda are no longer warranted. The Chairman’s recommendation was to remove the No Parking Here To Corner sign on Broadway and the No Parking Friday 7AM – 3 PM on Fulton Street in accordance with Attachment “B” to the agenda. Chief Fahd made a motion to approve the request to remove the No Parking Here To Corner sign on Broadway and the No Parking Friday 7AM – 3 PM on Fulton Street in accordance with Attachment “B” to the agenda. Lieutenant Shanahan seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed.  Page 2 of 6 September 21, 2020 CONSIDER THE INSTALLATION OF ALL WAY SIGNS AT THE YOUNGLOVE AVENUE AND CHESTNUT STREET INTERSECTION This request was submitted by Chairman Johnston. Chairman Johnston stated that this intersection is a three-way stop intersection with the fourth leg of the intersection being one-way away from the intersection. MUTCD details that All Way signs are required at intersections that are controlled by Stop signs in every direction. The Chairman’s recommendation was to install the All Way signs in accordance with Attachment “C” to the agenda. Joseph Seman-Graves made a motion to approve the request to install All Way signs in accordance with Attachment “C” to the agenda. Chief Fahd seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF A DRIVEWAY AT #409 VLIET BLVD. The request was submitted by Adam Cooney of 409 Vliet Blvd. for the installation of a driveway and a curb cut. Mr. Cooney’s application stated that he would like to widen his existing 12’ crusher run driveway to 18’ necessitating removal of an additional 7’ – 7” of existing granite curb. Chairman Johnston stated that he had looked at the location and the request will have no adverse effect on on-street parking. However, there is a joint in the granite curb line that is 5’ 3” from the end of the existing curb. Since the City does not cut granite curb, his recommendation was to approve the request for a driveway at this location of 18 feet in width, the curb cut being only an additional 5’ -3”± in accordance with the photo attached to the agenda, the driveway being constructed out of a typical driveway construction material of asphalt or concrete and contingent upon receipt of a City building permit and any requisite variances that may be required from the Zoning Board. Chief Fahd made a motion to approve the request for a driveway of 19 feet at #409 Vliet Blvd. in accordance with the photos attached to the agenda, the driveway being constructed out of typical driveway construction materials of either asphalt, concrete or other approved hard surface material and contingent on receipt of a City building permit and any requisite variances that may be required from the Zoning Board. Commissioner Hennessey seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. CONSIDER A REQUEST FOR ONE WAY TRAFFIC ON MASTEN AVENUE BETWEEN ELM STREET AND COLUMBIA STREET This request was submitted by Councilperson Bill McCarthy on behalf of Masten Avenue residents. Attached to the agenda request was a petition signed by 22 residents of Masten Avenue. The residents are requesting that Masten Avenue, between Elm Street and Columbia Street, be made one-way. No information was provided on the application as to the reason for the request.  Page 3 of 6 September 21, 2020 The Chairman stated that Masten Avenue is one of two primary north-south streets for vehicles traveling between Columbia Street and Vliet Blvd, two of the City’s primary east-west routes. He also stated that field measurement of the street reveals that the street is consistently 33 feet wide. This width is greater than a significant amount of other City streets that are 30 feet or less and that safely function as two way streets. The measured width of this street is less than a modern typical section street, however, currently cars measure 6 to 6.5 feet wide. Theoretically, this still leaves 10 feet for each travel lane. This spacing, however, probably still requires drivers to slow down and give right-of-way when necessary. Unfortunately, wider streets designed for driver convenience usually encourage higher speeds that are not safe in residential neighborhoods like Masten Avenue. The Chairman provided to the members a table that provides a synopsis of the reported accidents on Masten Avenue. The table will is attached to the minutes of the meeting. He stated that he reviewed the five year accident reports provided to him by the Police Department for Masten Avenue. In the last 5 years, there were nine accidents on Masten Avenue between Elm and Columbia Streets. The investigating officers officially reported that one was an oversized vehicle striking a tree, one vehicle made an improper turn, one vehicle failed to keep left and the remaining six accidents were because of driver inattention or driver error. The MV & T Law requires that drivers of vehicles proceeding in opposite directions shall give to the other vehicle one half of the roadway width. When their half of the roadway is blocked by an obstruction, a vehicle may proceed to the left of their half only if the adjacent half is free of oncoming traffic. Field inspection of Masten Avenue reveals that motorists driving in opposite directions occasionally have to yield to oncoming vehicles, by moving right, to allow the opposing vehicle to safely pass. This is no different than typically required actions of motorists on other City streets. There was discussion amongst the members about the severity of and the impact this request would have on traffic heading to and from the high school, what impact it would have on the surrounding streets, the neighborhood, emergency services response times, what alternatives might be appropriate and which direction would be appropriate if a decision was made to make it one way. Based on the aforementioned information, the Chairman’s recommendation was to deny the request for making Masten Avenue one-way between Columbia and Elm Streets. Chief Fahd made a motion to deny the request to make Masten Avenue one-way between Elm Street and Columbia Street. Joseph Seman-Graves seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion to deny the request passed unanimously. CONSIDER THE INSTALLATION OF 20 MPH SPEED LIMIT SIGNS ON WESTERN AVENUE  Page 4 of 6 September 21, 2020 This request was submitted by John Curtis of #55 Western Avenue. Mr. Curtis is requesting that the speed limit on Western Avenue be reduced to 20 MPH. The request contained a petition with 103 signatures of supposed users of Western Avenue. Mr. Curtis stated on his petition that one of two vehicles traveling in opposite directions needs to pull over to let the second vehicle pass and that the street attracts speeding vehicles. The Chairman stated that the MV & T Law requires that drivers of vehicles proceeding in opposite directions shall give to the other vehicle one half of the roadway width. When that half of the roadway is blocked by an obstruction, a vehicle may proceed to the left of their half only if the adjacent half is free of oncoming traffic. Additionally, the Law requires that drivers exercise due care when passing bicyclists or pedestrians. At last month’s meeting, the Commission approved a reduction in the speed limit to 25 MPH for that portion of Western Avenue that is overgrown, specifically the area from Jefferson Avenue to #104 Western Avenue. Additionally, under Subsection 1643 of the NYS MV & T Law the Commission does not have the authority to lower any speed limit within the City below the 25 MPH mandated by the MV & T Law. The Chairman provided to the members a table that provides a synopsis of the reported accidents on Masten Avenue. The table is attached to the minutes of the meeting. The Chairman stated that he reviewed the five year accident reports provided to him by the Police Department for Western Avenue. In the last 5 years, there were only two accidents on Western Avenue and two at the James Street intersection with Western Avenue. The investigating officers reported that two were the result of snow and ice and two were driver error. Western Avenue, between St Agnes Highway and the overgrown portion to the east, though narrow, has adequate sight distance for vehicles to be seen and adequately navigate the road in accordance with the Law. Based on the aforementioned information, his recommendation was to deny the request for any additional speed reduction on Western Avenue beyond what has been approved in the past. Chief Fahd made a motion to deny the request to reduce the speed limit on Western Avenue to 20 MPH. Joseph Seman-Graves seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion to deny the request passed unanimously. CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE ANNUAL RE-APPLICATIONS FOR EXISTING RESIDENTIAL HANDICAP PARKING SIGNS This request was submitted by Chairman Johnston. Chairman Johnston stated that the City’s MIRA policy requires the annual re-application of the applicants. The re- applications have been reviewed and are in order and on file. His recommendation was to approve the re-applications that are detailed on Attachment “H” of this agenda. Chief Fahd made a motion to approve the request for the annual approval of the handicap re-applications in accordance with Attachment “H” to the agenda. Joseph  Page 5 of 6 September 21, 2020 Seman-Graves seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER THE REMOVAL OF A HANDICAP PARKING SIGN AT 25 LINCOLN AVENUE AND 30 CONTINENTAL AVENUE This request was submitted by Chairman Johnston. Chairman Johnston stated that these signs were originally approved for Leonard Oldham and Pat Spain. The City’s MIRA policy requires the annual re-application of the applicant. During this year’s re- application process, Mr. Oldham and Ms. Spain failed to respond to our re-application requests. Accordingly, it is assumed that the signs are no longer needed. His recommendation was to remove the handicap parking sign in accordance with Attachment “D” to the agenda. Joseph Seman-Graves made a motion to approve the request to remove the Residential Handicap Parking signs from 25 Lincoln Avenue and 30 Continental Avenue in accordance with Attachment “D” and “G” to the agenda. Chief Fahd seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF STREET CLOSURES ON REMSEN STREET BETWEEN COLUMBIA STREET AND ONTARIO STREET This request was submitted by Debbie Jacques of the City of Cohoes. The closure request was to permit the Remsen Street restaurants to have in-street dining. This request is an extension to the request that was approved at the June 15, 2020 meeting. This extension will be for closures on Fridays only and will be between the hours of 3:30 PM to 10:00 PM beginning on October 9, 2020 and ending on October 30, 2020. Chairman Johnston stated that, as before, Howard and White Streets will remain open to traffic. Newcomb Street will be partially closed allowing only access to the Matchbox parking lot. Chairman Johnston stated that since this is an extension of a prior approval, his recommendation was to again approve the request contingent on notification to CDTA of the proposed closures. Chief Fahd made a motion to approve the request for the street closures on Remsen Street between Columbia and Ontario Streets. Joseph Seman-Graves seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE PARKING LOT CLOSURE IN LANSING PARK ADJACENT TO THE HUT AND THE CLOSURE OF BEVAN STREET This request was submitted by Daniel Hytko of the City of Cohoes. Mr. Hytko is requesting the closure to hold a City sponsored skateboarding event in the parking lot on September 26, 2020 between the hours of 12 PM to 3 PM. Only a portion of the parking lot and Bevan Street would be closed. Chairman Johnston stated that the Commission has historically approved closures of city streets for other City endorsed public events. Chairman Johnston’s recommendation was to approve the request.  Page 6 of 6 September 21, 2020 Joseph Seman-Graves made a motion to approve the request for the parking lot and street closures on Bevan Street. Chief Fahd seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. CONSIDER THE INSTALLATION OF PARKING SPACE LINES ON WHITE STREET BETWEEN REMSEN AND MOHAWK STREETS This request was submitted by Steve Napier of the City of Cohoes. Mr. Napier is requesting that specific parking spaces be designated on White Street between Mohawk and Remsen Streets. He is concerned that the haphazard parking that occurs on this block is affecting the number of usable parking spaces. Currently there are four multi-unit apartment buildings. Accordingly, parking on this street is saturated. There was discussion amongst the members that striping designated parking spaces in accordance with the City Ordinance and the MV & T Law would reduce the quantity of available parking space. Additionally, there are two commercial driveways on the north that also reduce available space. The Chairman’s recommendation was to table the request for further study of the parking issues on this block. Chief Fahd made a motion to table the request for further study. Lieutenant Shanahan seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion to table the request passed. Since there was no further business on the agenda, Chairman Johnston stated that the next meeting of the Traffic Commission would be held on October 19, 2020 at 4:00 PM. Chairman Johnston made a motion to adjourn. Chief Fahd seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. All were in favor. The motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 4:15 PM. Attachments: (4)