Committee of the Whole

SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2015 Public Works Training Room ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT: Mayor Burns, Ald. Brown, Bruno, Flanagan, Maladra, Simonian, Singer, ABSENT: Ald. Cummings, Kilburg, Marks, Seno. CITY STAFF PRESENT: McKittrick, Babica, DeGroot, Pierce. Call to Order After brief opening remarks, Mayor Burns called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Moved by Ald. Brown, seconded by Ald. Bruno to suspend the rules. V/V: 6-0 Motion carried. Items of Business Public Review of Proposed IL Route 31 Road Diet Public Works Dir. Rich Babica said that road diet plans being displayed at tonight’s meeting also are posted on the City’s website. He noted the presence of Randall Bus, whose firm, Cemcon, has prepared the conceptual drawings on display. He then introduced the City’s consulting engineer, Brent Coulter, Coulter Transportation Consulting LLC, who defined the road diet concept. Mr. Coulter gave the benefits of the road diet as being improved traffic safety, reduction in traffic speed, and potentially greater safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. He said that the road diet is proposed in conjunction with IDOT Rte. 31 improvements scheduled for this spring. IDOT has agreed to the feasibility road diet restriping subject to an analysis of its workability, the City’s support and public input. Mr. Coulter discussed the observed characteristics of Rte. 31 in the proposed road diet section (Fabyan Pkwy. to approx. Third St.), emphasizing the narrow nature of the roadway, which precludes the addition of bike lanes. He also covered the accident rate, many related to the narrow roadway width. Using diagrams, he then went over the potential three-lane configuration, how it will perform given the traffic count, and how it will be designed at Third St. Audience Comments and Questions Edward Butts, 228 N. Second St. – Glad bike lanes have been eliminated and would oppose any plan with bike lanes included. Felt presentation was very information but has not made a decision as to what he would like done with Rte. 31. Bill Schutl, 724 S. Batavia Ave. – Rte. 31 lanes are too narrow and road is in terrible shape. Shares driveway on Cheever. Says during rush hour, vehicles turning left on Cheever and traveling too fast have almost caused accidents. Feels the new configuration will cause more traffic to turn onto Cheever. Cars wait on north side of Cheever to pick up commuters, narrowing the street. Sees traffic backing up and causing frustration. Carie Carter, 809 S. Batavia Ave. – Rte. 31 is very narrow when cars are four across. Favors reducing the lanes to three. Jean Mallory, 1922 Tanager Ln. – Concerned about the bicycle issue, which has been satisfactorily addressed. Marty Smircich, 909 S. Batavia Ave. – Presentation answered just about every question one could have. Applauds what is being done. Committee of the Whole January 28, 2015 (Special Meeting) Colin Campbell, 185 Sixth St. – The road diet proposal is long overdue and should be done from St. Charles to Aurora. Presentation answered all of his questions. Gerard Keating, 316 Elizabeth Pl. – Thank you to Mayor and City Council for bringing issue to the table. Dangerous road section and has had two cars roll over in his front yard, as well as being sideswiped himself. Supports program 100 percent. Vehicles coming around curve at his location get disoriented and sidewalk is about 20 inches from road, causing dangerous situation for pedestrians. Carole Carlson, 518 Easton Ave. – Happy bike lanes are gone. Concerned that refuse trucks and other trucks collecting waste along Rte. 31 will create a hazard when they stop to make a collection. How will vehicles get around them? Charles Baumann, 949 S. Batavia Ave. – Glad bike lanes have been eliminated. Catch basin on west side of Rte. 31 needs to be replaced. Says basin always floods in heavy rain. Edward Gustafson, 932 S. Batavia Ave. – Car ended up on his front lawn. Has four children, so very concerned about safety. Vehicles travel very fast on that stretch of Rte. 31. Fully supports plan, believing it will improve safety. Aaron Degler, 921 Fargo Blvd. – Has driven on Rte. 31 since receiving license. Says Rte. 31 is not a good road but does not see problems. Reducing lanes is going to slow traffic and cause problems. Sees road diet as a terribly bad move. Paul Duke, 1210 S. Batavia Ave. – Better not to have bike lanes. With two lanes, traffic will back up further and take more time to clear driveways and cross streets. Harder to turn onto Rte. 31. Fargo Ave. may back up more than now. Drivers may take greater risks trying to turn onto Rte. 31. Gary Barmore, 1243 Brigham Way – Agrees with Mr. Duke. Backups will increase. Turning from Rte. 31 west onto Fargo requires the turning vehicle to almost stop on Rte. 31. Greater possibility of rear-end accidents with one lane. Also proposes that sidewalk/bike path running on east side of Rte. 31 from Government Center to about Ray St. be extended to Fabyan Forest Preserve entrance, where existing bike path is in place. Private fences at corner of Rte. 31 and Fargo require vehicles turning from Fargo onto Rte. 31 to almost move into the intersection to see oncoming traffic. Lack of sidewalks at some Fargo locations have school children and others walking in the street. Will send email specifying other problems on Fargo. Jeff James, 825 S. Batavia Ave. – Rte. 31 lanes are so narrow now, no leeway for maneuvering. Thinks road diet is a good idea, but it is only striping, so can be easily changed back if it does not work. Madeline Roth, 520 Ray St. – Has researched other areas where road diets have been put into place, and feels that it will enhance the environment along Rte. 31. Favors the plan. On a question concerning sidewalks, Mayor Burns said that sidewalk improvements are not included in the plan. John Kaindl, 2692 Stone Cir. – Why can’t full four-lane improvements with curb and gutter work as planned in Batavia be extended through the Geneva section of Rte. 31? Thinks sideswipe accidents on Rte. 31 is because vehicles move away from curb as roadway is deteriorated there. Improving road surface would eliminate that. Committee of the Whole January 28, 2015 (Special Meeting) Mike Simon, 614 Easton Ave. – Assuming the City Council approves the plan, any signals as to IDOT’s position? Mayor Burns answered that a supportive Council vote will help, but final decision rests with IDOT. On a question concerning the possible addition of a crosswalk on Fargo, Dir. Babica said plans do not call for any crosswalk striping or crossing improvements. Susan Jensen, 1515 Dunstan Rd. – Hesitant about the project without taking into consideration pedestrian access on Fabyan Pkwy. Dir. Babica said that the project plan has to be submitted in total to IDOT on or about Feb. 23, 2015 so that IDOT can make the necessary contract modifications by the end of March. Mayor Burns said that a vote on this proposal will likely take place at a Special Feb. 17 Committee of the Whole meeting, with that vote being ratified by the City Council that evening. Adjourn On a motion by Ald. Brown, second by Ald. Flanagan, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 8:28 pm. Submitted by Lynn P. Landberg, City Clerk