Public Works & Public Safety Commission

Department of Public Works Board Meeting Tuesday March 10, 2020 Meeting Minutes Members Present: K. VanGorder, Mike Urtz, B. Stark, P. O’Mara Others Present: Superintendent- C. Bistocchi Deputy Superintendent- N. Dovi Meeting called to order at 6:39 pm by P. O’Mara Approval of minutes from the DPW Board meeting from June 12, 2018 Motion to accept: First by P. O’Mara Second by B. Stark All in favor: Unanimous Old Business: None New Business: City parking adjustments for review: 1. Discussion on restricting parking on the North West side of North Greenbush to the driveway of house #34. Maps of area in question provided by City staff. Clarification of a footage of 75 feet not simply to the first driveway as originally proposed. All members discussed personal travel in the area and outlined how line of sight and parked cars in close proximity to the intersection create a safety concern. Accident data provided by City Police was also discussed. Motion to: Restrict parking on the west side of North Greenbush for +- 75ft from the intersection with Grant Street. First by B. Stark Second by M. Urtz All in favor: Unanimous 2. Discussion on restricting parking on the west side of Wilson Place from the intersection of Wheeler Avenue +- 220 feet. Members conversed on the need to eliminate due to the needed space for buses entering Smith Elementary school on Wilson Place. City personnel provided maps. The addition of a sign no parking here to +- 30 feet from corner of Wheeler Avenue on the East side of Wilson place was also recommended. This restriction does not need to be legislated due to current V&T parameters. Motion to: Restrict parking on the West side of Wilson Place from the intersection of Wheeler Avenue +-220feet. First by P. O’Mara Second by B. Stark All in favor: Unanimous 3. Discussion on restricting parking on East side of Sands Street in front of houses #5 and #7 due to problems with residents exiting their driveways and line of sight issues around curve. Maps of the area were viewed by members. Overall members did not see any issues and were hesitant to make changes because of setting a precedent in which any resident can request a parking restriction directly across from their driveway exit/entrance. Motion to: Deny request First by P. O’Mara Second by B. Stark All in favor: Unanimous 4. Discussion on altering the current parking configuration in the Cortland Youth Bureau parking lot on Port Watson Street to accommodate additional parking for patrons of the Downtown area. Maps provided by City personnel. The removal of the west side basketball hoop was noted and the board wished to grant 21 new parking spaces that mimic the current overnight and daytime parking configurations. It should be noted that the commission did not want to alter or extend the permitted parking in this specific parking lot in any manner. Motion to: Add 21 parking spots in the CYB parking lot at 35 Port Watson Street. The parking spots on the west side should be odd night parking and the east side even night parking. During the daytime hours the parking should reflect the current parking configurations. First by M. Urtz Second by P. O’mara All in favor: Unanimous Traffic Control Devices: 1. Discussion of adding a stop sign on the corner of Salisbury at Cleveland Street. Maps and accident data provided by City staff. The additional traffic on this particular dead end street was noted due to new businesses and organizations in the area. Motion to: Accept a new stop sign at the above location. First by P. O’Mara Second by K. VanGorder All in favor: Unanimous Misc. Items for review: 1. Discussion on altering the Speed limit on James Street to 20 miles per hour. Board members viewed maps and accident data of the location. Commissioners did not support a speed reduction but wanted Public Works staff to install new warning signs in both directions that alert motorists of the bend and a suggested speed of 10 MPH. These installations do not need legislation. Motion to: Deny request First by M. Urtz Second by K. VanGorder All in favor: Unanimous 2. Discussion on the addition of an un-signalized pedestrian in lane crosswalk somewhere on the west end of Groton Avenue near the City line all allow access to shopping plaza. Lengthy discussion commenced. Issues members had with the inquiry were vehicular speeds coming into the City from Cortlandville, the tree canopy in the area and foliage, all the side streets and parking lot traffic making it difficult to see pedestrians. The ratio of persons this aimed to assist compared to the safety concerns the crosswalk would subject upon pedestrians was also fully noted. Scheduled 2020 upgrades at the intersection of Floral, Townley and Groton Ave were also discussed. Motion to: Deny First by B. Stark Second by P. O’Mara All in favor: Unanimous Meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM Motion by: P. O’Mara Second by: B. Stark Respectfully submitted by Deputy Sup’t. Nic Dovi on