Committee of the Whole

SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES February 17, 2015 PRESENT: Mayor Burns, Ald. Brown, Bruno, Flanagan, Kilburg, Maladra, Marks, Simonian, Singer, Seno ABSENT: Ald. Cummings ALSO PRESENT: McKittrick, Dawkins, Babica, DeGroot, Atty. Radovich 1. Call to Order Mayor Burns called the meeting to order at 7:00pm noting that Ald. Cummings was absent. 2. Consider Consent Agenda Moved by Ald. Kilburg, second by Ald. Bruno Ald. Flanagan requested to amend the minutes from February 4, reflecting that she was not in attendance after the meeting was called to order that evening. V/V: 9-0 Motion carried. *3. Approve Minutes from January 28, 2015 and February 4, 2015 Approve on Consent Agenda 4. Items of Business a. Consider Resolution No. 2015-09 for Authorization to Proceed – IL Rte. 31 Road Diet Feasibility Study Submittal to IDOT District 1. Moved by Ald. Marks, second by Ald. Simonian Dir. Babica provided a review of the hearing materials, public comments, and proposed plan. Brett Coulter, consultant with Coulter Transportation LLC, was also present. Babica reviewed the results of the study including on-site traffic counts, regional traffic projections, roadway measurements, crash studies, staff interviews, and public comment gained from the two informational meetings held January 28 and February 4. Babica noted the additional modifications from Elizabeth Street and north would not fall under the IDOT costs and they would need to be funded another way. Ald. Flanagan asked about the additional costs for striping, signage and flashing lights that fall outside of the IDOT scope of work. Babica stated that a pedestrian crossing north of Third Street will be discussed and requested with Metra in regards to their third rail project. That project is completely separate from this item. Regarding the other items, Babica estimated $5,000 cost for pavement markings; flashing beacons could be as simple as a solar powered, somewhere between $500 – $1000. Flanagan also asked about any bus stops along this diet map. According to Mr. Coulter, the stop is outside of the diet map and would not be affected. Ald. Simonian provided additional background on the interest in doing this road diet and the interest among the residents along Route 31. This preliminary study was not paid for by the City – all done by SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES – FEB. 17, 2015 1 some of the constituents in the immediate area. Additional notification to the affected property owners was sent out via mail and email and Simonian met with many of them over the summer of 2014. Simonian stated his support for this project based on safety and constituent approval. Ald. Bruno noted the general support of those attending the informational hearings. The fact that the crash studies show a high incidence of accidents, it would seem logical to go ahead with the project. Bruno asked for clarification on where the project starts and stops and what the City’s obligation would be beyond those points. Bruno noted the sudden influx of cars at Third Street and wondered how that would best be dealt with. Babica stated that IDOT will choose where it will scale back to 2 lanes. Ald. Maladra stated this project is a series of tests to see if the idea holds up. The bike lanes failed the test due to the overall width of the road. Engineering, community support have all passed the ‘test’. Maladra stated that there would not be a perfect solution but if it is changed, it will also create potential new problems. The facts of the current stretch layout is substandard and it cannot be ignored therefore he supports the change and hoped it would be an improvement. On a question from Ald. Kilburg, Babica stated that the current study does not account for storm water drainage. The state owns the right of way where the drains are currently and not part of the City’s funding. No significant improvements planned other than general maintenance. The sewers are extremely old and significant costs would be incurred for replacement. Babica was hopeful that now that IDOT was aware of the substandard with of the road, that improvements could be made. Discussion of sight lines at the Fargo intersection were heard. City staff, along with Mr. Coulter, stated that the sight line issue is present in both scenarios presently. Coulter stated that vehicles on Rte. 31 would have the right of way over anyone trying to pull out of Fargo northbound. IDOT has no plans to expand the curb way on Fargo as part of their resurfacing project. Resident Hans Heyman, South Batavia Ave., expressed his opposition to the plan noting that traffic would now be backed up and stacked to the point where people would not be able to pull out onto Rte. 31. Heiman also noted the original intent to include a bike path to appease the east side homeowners who did not want a bike path in their back yards. Heiman was of the opinion that not all the affected travelers and residents were heard and the project would only be an asset to a few property owners who wanted it. Ald. Simonian stated that he lived along the route and was aware of serious accidents on the roadway. Simonian stated that politics was not part of this project. William Kerfoot, Woodward Ave., stated his opposition to the project. He did not believe the plan would be safe and would lead to other types of accidents. He stated drivers would use the turn lane to pass other vehicles. Kerfoot requested to see the project reviewed two to three years out to verify that it was serving a purpose as opposed to creating more problems. Mayor Burns reminded all in attendance that the item for approval tonight was only to approve the study to be submitted to IDOT. This study would not guarantee that the project would move forward; only that it would be requested and reviewed by IDOT prior to their previously-scheduled resurfacing project along the same route. Rob Burns, Fairway Cir., stated his role as a commercial property owner on Route 31 and his desire to make certain that the southern portion of the plan be based on the fact that there are more business entrances than residential entrances as there are on the north end. Burns was not aware of any safety issues on the south end so why does it need to start that far south? Burns noted the current issue of vehicle stacking at Fabyan and 31 heading south especially in rush hour traffic. Burns supported the idea of adding a westbound right turn lane at that intersection to alleviate this problem but understood it was SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES – FEB. 17, 2015 2 in Batavia jurisdiction. Burns asked the council to think about what the City would do if the plan does not work out as planned. What if any recourse would there be? Additional discussion on the revised plan that showed the taper to start further toward the 1950 Batavia Ave. entrance. Coulter stated original plans had it starting south of 2000 Batavia; now it starts further towards the 1950 Batavia Ave. driveway. That would mean no turn lanes for those businesses. Ald. Brown suggested adding an option to further review the south end and where to taper the lanes. Coulter stated further north closer to Forest View Dr. area. Simonian recommends moving tapering north past the commercial properties even north of Houghton Mifflin if they so desire. Babica noted IDOT would have the final say on where these would occur and are contingent on the overall lane widths. Burns suggested amending the language of the recommendation to include language to reflect tapering to begin furthest north to the south of Forest View Drive as possible. Friendly amendment agreed to by Marks and Simonian. Resident Hans Heyman suggested more discussion occur as it relates to traffic stacking on Rte. 31 due to the reduced lane. Mr. Coulter stated that the more you move tapering north, the less stacking would occur to the south towards the Fabyan intersection. In addition, there will be more space to merge from two lanes to one lane. Ald. Kilburg questioned if tapering further north would create more issues than less. Coulter stated the traffic should be settled into the new configuration well south of Forest View. Roll Call: Ayes: 9 Nays: 0 Motion carried. 5. New Business 6. Adjourn On a motion by Ald. Simonian, second by Ald. Singer, the meeting was adjourned by unanimous voice vote at 8:43pm. - Submitted by Recording Secretary Fornari SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MINUTES – FEB. 17, 2015 3