Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission

City Hall City of Harrisonburg 409 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission Wednesday, December 9, 2020 8:30 AM Virtual 1. Welcome and Introductions The Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission met on December 9, 2020 at 8:30am using a GoToMeeting. The meeting was not held in person due to the state of emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Commission members attended by calling in using a phone or joining by audio/video on a computer. Information allowing members of the public to watch the meeting live was provided in the agenda and posted on the City website in the week prior to the meeting. Members of the public were given the opportunity to provide comments on the items discussed by phone or e-mail prior to the meeting. Commission members present: William Blessing, Marian Lebherz, Kyle Lawrence, Chance Ebersold, Erin Yancey (Public Works), Sgt. Wayne Westfall (Police Department) Advisory members and guests: Jakob zumFelde (Public Works), Tom Hartman (Public Works), Paul Helmuth (Fire Department), Doug Stader (DMV Highway Safety Office) 2. Park Rd & Harmony Dr Intersection Mr. zumFelde said that staff collected traffic counts at this intersection, and he showed the Commission the data regarding number of vehicles counted approaching the intersection from each leg. He provided the relevant guidance from the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) and explained the aspects that are to be considered regarding which approach is controlled by a stop sign. He pointed out that two aspects of the guidance, volume of vehicles approaching the intersection and sight distance from the stop locations, both would suggest changing the intersection so that Park Rd is controlled by the stop sign instead of Harmony Drive. Mr. Lawrence asked if a 4-way stop was considered at this intersection, and he noted that the citizen who raised the concern had suggested a 4-way stop. Mr. Hartman said that 4-way stops are rarely appropriate treatments. Ms. Yancey said that while residents often think of this first, it is not usually warranted and a better resolution can generally be found. Mr. Lawrence agreed and said that communicating this to the public will continue to be important. Mr. Hartman indicated that “new traffic pattern ahead” signs will be installed temporarily when the change is City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 2/4/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 9, 2020 Commission made, and Public Works will do some communications efforts as well. Mr. Hartman and Mr. zumFelde said that staff would wait a few months to make this change, as they think residents will more easily adjust to this change in the spring than over the winter, particularly to avoid any concerns related to people having to make an unexpected stop in snowy or icy conditions. The members of the Commission were in agreement with this plan. 3. Smithland Rd speed limit Mr. zumFelde said that staff are collecting data to identify if the 45mph speed limit is appropriate on the segment of Smithland Rd with the bridge over I-81 that VDOT will be replacing. This is being evaluated as it may impact the design of the new bridge. Sgt. Westfall asked if data was also collected on Old Furnace Rd and Mr. zumFelde said that it was. Sgt. Westfall said that he responded to a crash where a person biking was hit by someone driving on Old Furnace Rd, and Sgt. Westfall was surprised that the speed limit on that road was 45mph. Ms. Lebherz asked if the speed limit would change between Old Furnace Rd and US 11. Mr. Hartman said that VDOT would evaluate that and make that decision. Mr. Lawrence asked what other roads in the City have speed limits of 45mph. He and Mr. Hartman noted that very few roads in the City are 45mph. [Editor’s note: The few roads that are 45mph are relatively short segments at the perimeter of the City that lead into the County, where speed limits are generally higher.] 4. Appointment of Members to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Mr. zumFelde explained that there are two, 3-year, terms on the Subcommittee that staff accepted applications to fill. He said that staff received three applications. Two members applied for re-appointment, Marci Frederick and Jessica Pyle, and the other applicant was Andrew Payton. Mr. zumFelde said that the Subcommittee members, excluding those who applied for re-appointment, reviewed the applications and recommend to TSAC that the current members be re-appointed. Ms. Yancey reminded the Commission that applications are accepted every year, so anyone not appointed will have a chance to re-apply next year. Mr. Blessing made a motion to appoint the two members who applied for re-appointment, Mr. Lawrence seconded the motion, and the motion was passed unanimously. 5. Updates on Previous Agenda Items Sgt. Westfall noted that Heatwole Road exists as a paper street that could be turned into a bicycle and pedestrian path between Emery St and Laurel St. Ms. Yancey said that staff would note this as a future opportunity. Ms. Lebherz confirmed that the ‘truck restrictions’ referenced in the updates are the City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 2/4/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 9, 2020 Commission braking restrictions and other truck restrictions on roadways. Mr. Lawrence noted that the initial results on Grattan St are promising. Mr. zumFelde agreed and said that an additional study will be completed when JMU is in-session with fully in-person classes. 6. Other Business/Announcements Mr. zumFelde noted that City Council is taking applications for a vacancy on TSAC, as Mr. VanWyk is not applying for re-appointment. Ms. Lebherz asked about the recent crash between a motorcycle and a pedestrian at the intersection of S. Main and South Ave. Sgt. Westfall said that the investigation indicated that the motorcyclist had a green light at the time of the crash, but that he was going at a very high speed. Additional aspects of the crash are still under investigation. Chief Tobia brought up concerns about egress from the Harrisonburg Rescue Squad onto Reservoir St. There was discussion about solutions that involve emergency vehicles having additional control over the signals at nearby intersections. Mr. Hartman said that these concerns have been discussed in the past, with multiple potential actions considered. Regarding emergency pre-emption (Opticom) with the signals, he indicated that a button would likely need to be placed in the rescue squad station for this to work. He added that staff would need to ensure the pre-emption is programmed in a way that helps the emergency vehicles move instead of stopping traffic on Reservoir in such a way that creates challenges. Mr. Hartman indicated that the cost of emergency pre-emption and other solutions, including pavement markings to discourage vehicles from stopping in front of the rescue squad, would add up to more than $10,000 and has been one reason why no actions have been taken in the past. Chief Tobia and Mr. Hartman determined that it would be good to have a separate discussion, between the Fire Department, Rescue Squad, and Public Works regarding actions that could be taken and possible ways to fund the improvements. Mr. Lawrence asked if it would be useful to have TSAC annually look at crash data from the City, particularly fatalities and serious injuries. Sgt. Westfall noted that HPD looks at crash heatmaps created by the crash reporting system, TREDS. Mr. Stader added that TREDS data is continuously updated and has multiple reporting methods. Sgt. Westfall said that he reviews this data continuously, and also looks at crashes that HPD responded to that did not meet the reporting requirements to be included in the TREDS system. Mr. Lawrence indicated that he thinks this data, both what is reported to TREDS and the “nonreportable” crashes, would be helpful for giving the Committee a wider view of safety City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 2/4/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final December 9, 2020 Commission concerns. Sgt. Westfall said he could work with other HPD staff to compile data from 2020 for the February TSAC meeting, with the goal of doing this yearly. Sgt. Westfall said that he and Chief Tobia have discussed concerns about parking on Water St adjacent to Urban Exchange. He and Chief Tobia are interesting in pursuing overnight parking restrictions, as a way to balance parking needs and ensuring ability for Fire Response. Mr. Hartman said that changes to downtown City parking lots are being considered, following recommendations from the downtown parking study. He said that this change could be added to that list. Sgt. Westfall said that he also wants to ensure this doesn’t become an issue with future developments. Mr. Hartman asked what the desired parking restriction time is, and Sgt. Westfall indicated 10pm to 6 or 7am. Others noted that Urgies is open past midnight and parking in the immediate vicinity is limited. Mr. Hartman indicated that that may cause some pushback to the proposed change. Sgt. Westfall noted that Urgies knew the parking situation when they located there, and there are many parking locations within 1-2 blocks. Mr. Ebersold asked Sgt. Westfall if there have been any crashes on Martin Luther King Jr Way at the intersection with Main St following the change in traffic patterns there that changed the westbound approach to one left turn lane. He said that he has seen many people turn left from the lane that is now only a through lane. Sgt. Westfall said that he is not aware of any crashes that were the result of that. The meeting was adjourned. 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