Committee of the Whole

SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES FEBRUARY 4, 2015 Public Works Training Room ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT: Mayor Burns, Ald. Brown, Bruno, Marks, Seno, Simonian, Singer, ABSENT: Ald. Cummings, Kilburg, Maladra. CITY STAFF PRESENT: Dawkins, Babica. Call to Order Mayor Burns called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm. Moved by Ald. Marks, seconded by Ald. Brown to suspend the rules. V/V: 6-0 Motion carried. Items of Business Public Review of Proposed IL Route 31 Road Diet Mayor Burns introduced consulting engineer Brent Coulter, Coulter Transportation Consulting LLC. Mr. Coulter noted the presence of Randall Bus, whose firm, Cemcon, prepared the conceptual drawings on display. He then defined the road diet concept and gave the benefits of the road diet as being improved highway safety, reduction in traffic speed, and potentially greater safety for pedestrians. He said that the IDOT Rte. 31 resurfacing project is set to begin this spring and that IDOT has agreed to the feasibility of the road diet restriping subject to an analysis of its workability, the City’s support and public input. He said Rte. 31 ranges from 35.4’ to 40.2’ over the distance of the proposed project, with 98 percent of the distance being less than 40’ (making it too narrow to accommodate the proposed bike lanes). 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. 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., describing two options for the transition at that location. He also addressed how the proposed configuration would accommodate the transition at Fabyan Pkwy. and at the various driveways and intersecting streets along the way. Audience Comments and Questions David Wilson, 1305 Brandywine Cir., Batavia – Commuted to Geneva METRA station for 28 years. Opposed road diet plan. Says traffic has increased over the years, so Rte. 31 should be widen and speed limit increased. Northbound traffic would have to merge into three-lane configuration, causing backups. Tom Carter, 809 Batavia Ave. – 100 percent in favor of plan, but is concerned about commuter traffic making right turn out of parking lot at METRA station and then having to merge into through lanes. Bob Fitzsimmons, 945 Batavia Ave. – Applauds Geneva for studying the road diet concept, which seems to be absolutely the right approach. Thinks it will make Rte. 31 safer. Craig Bixler, 1122 Keim Trail, St. Charles – Conducts a marathon that uses Rte. 31. Center turn lane was added to a roadway in St. Charles, making turning onto that roadway much easier. Jim Radecki, 2258 Newport Ln. – With width of Rte. 31 varying, will it be accommodated by varying width of center lane or the two outside lanes? Coulter answered that his preference would be to vary the center lane where needed. Committee of the Whole February 4, 2015 (Special Meeting) Mayor Burns concluded by saying that the Committee of the Whole will consider the road diet plan, with that recommendation then being considered by the City Council on February 17, 2015. He also noted that all documents displayed this evening are on the city website. Adjourn On a motion by Ald. Marks, second by Ald. Singer, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 7:58 pm. Submitted by Lynn P. Landberg, City Clerk