Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission

City Hall City of Harrisonburg 409 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Meeting Minutes - Final Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission Wednesday, June 9, 2021 8:30 AM Virtual 1. Welcome and Introductions The Transportation Safety & Advisory Commission met on June 9, 2021 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, John Scherpereel, Erin Yancey (Public Works), Sgt. Wayne Westfall (Police Department) Advisory members and guests: Jakob zumFelde (Public Works), Tom Hartman (Public Works), Matthew Tobia (Fire Department), Paul Helmuth (Fire Department), Brad Reed (VDOT), Bill Yates (JMU) All attendees introduced themselves. 2. Northeast Neighborhood Intersections Mr. zumFelde said that staff have identified the three highest-crash locations in the Northeast Neighborhood and have evaluated crash history and existing conditions at these intersections. He showed data collected regarding vehicle counts and vehicle speeds at these intersections. He said City of Harrisonburg Page 1 Printed on 8/10/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final June 9, 2021 Commission that the changes that staff have identified for consideration are to install raised intersections at the Sterling St & Wolfe St and Sterling St & Gay St intersections, and to switch the stop sign configuration at the Gay St & Hill St intersection. He said that staff see these improvements as valuable for addressing safety concerns, with staff suggesting implementation of these changes prior to completion of the neighborhood’s Traffic Calming Plan. He showed a general timeline and indicated that coordination and communication with the neighborhood will be important prior to implementation, which may occur in late 2021. 3. Current STARS Study Mr. zumFelde introduced Brad Reed, a Planner with VDOT, to present on a VDOT-coordinated study being completed in the City. Mr. Reed provided an overview of the study and noted that the study team consists of City of Harrisonburg staff, VDOT staff, MPO staff, and the consulting firm ATCS. He said that he would be providing information about each of the 10 intersections that make up the study. Mr. Reed said that the 10 intersections were chosen as they are all identified as having “potential for safety improvement” (PSI) by VDOT, based on the history of crashes at these locations. Mr. Reed then provided information about existing conditions and crash history at each of the intersections, and presented the preferred alternative that the study team has identified for each intersection. There were questions and clarifications provided as the intersections were presented. There was notable discussion about the pedestrian island proposed at the intersection of E. Market St and Mason St. Mr. Lawrence expressed concern because pedestrian islands that create vehicle slip lanes can lead to unsafe situations for pedestrians. Mr. Reed and others agreed that this is an important thing to keep in mind, with Mr. Reed indicating that staff anticipate that the design and implementation of the change (including potential signalization of both the vehicle and pedestrian movements) would lead to a safe configuration. Mr. Scherpereel asked about potential funding and how the recommended City of Harrisonburg Page 2 Printed on 8/10/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final June 9, 2021 Commission improvements may be implemented. Ms. Yancey said that once the study is complete, City staff will review options, as the intersections would probably be funded and implemented through multiple different sources. SMART SCALE is an important funding source, especially for higher-cost projects, but lower-cost improvements may be funded through City funds or other funding sources. 4. Traffic Signal Corridor Retiming Mr. Hartman showed information from the four corridors where signal retiming efforts were completed: E. Market St, High St, Port Republic Rd, and S. Main St. He highlighted the benefits, including reduced delay and number of stops, with benefits to people driving along these corridors and overall reductions in vehicle emissions. He emphasized that the corridor timing is based on driving the speed limit to encourage safe speeds on the corridors. He said that City funds will be used to retime the Reservoir St corridor in the coming year. 5. Updates on Previous Agenda Items There were no questions or comments regarding the provided updates on previous agenda items. 6. Other Business/Announcements Mr. Scherpereel asked about the Water St bridge, which is currently closed to vehicles. Mr. Hartman said that the bridge is owned and maintained by the railroad company. He said that they are in the process of making the needed repairs to the bridge, with the hope that it will be opened to vehicles again in a week or two. Sgt. Westfall said that while working at the intersection of Vine St & Old Furnace Rd, he observed excessive use of engine brakes. Ms. Lebherz said that she lives on Vine St west of Washington St and has observed notable use of engine brakes in that area as well. Mr. Hartman said that staff are in the process of making changes to N. Liberty St between Rock St and Gay St. He said that he has received a City of Harrisonburg Page 3 Printed on 8/10/2021 Transportation Safety & Advisory Meeting Minutes - Final June 9, 2021 Commission concern about the reconfiguration, which includes making Liberty St one-way southbound, eliminates the option to bike northbound on Liberty St. Mr. Lawrence said that he has heard similar concerns from many people. Adjournment City of Harrisonburg Page 4 Printed on 8/10/2021