Traffic Commission

TRAFFIC COMMISSION 1 November 3, 2021 ,~-~~ ti- E:;,rF -: . ~ ~~.t 1._ i - iJ L~~Z .~~~~ ~ ~i r'~ ~t~ ~ 2 CITY OF MARLBOROUGH OFFICE OF TRAFFIC COMMISSION 140 MAIN STREET MART,BOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS 01752 Traffic Commission Minutes The Regular Meeting of the Traffic Commission was held on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 10:00 am (originally scheduled for October 27, 2021) The meeting was also recorded and is available to view online at the City of Marlborough website (u~ava.marlborc~ugh-ma.gov~. Members present: Chairman - Police Chief David Giorgi, Fire Chief Kevin Breen, Commissioner of Public Works Sean Divoll and City Clerk _~ Steve Kerrigan. Also present: City Engineer Tom DiPersio, Ashley Miller and Ryan Malcolm also from the Engineering Department, Sgt. Zac Attaway and Officer Andy Larose from the MPD Traffic Services Unit, City Councilor Katie Robey and City Councilor Christian Dumais. Minutes-taken by Karen Lambert, MPD Records Clerk. Chief Giorgi started recording the meeting at 10:04 a.m. and began by welcoming everyone and making introductions. 1-Minutes The minutes of the Traffic Commission meeting of Wednesday, September 29, 2021. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED: TO APPROVE, All in Favor - Accept and Place on File. 2 - New Business — '; 2a) Parking Complaints on High Street @ Brown Street  TRAFFIC COMMISSION 2 November 3, 2021 Officer Larose sent an email to Chief Giorgi on this issue. He received another complaint about a vehicle being parked on the corner making it impossible for the trash truck to make the turn. This would also make it impossible for a fire truck which now becomes a public safety issue. Chief Giorgi asked if there was a No Parking regulation here. Officer Larose said there is a restriction on the Brown Street side but not the High Street side. There is a City Ordinance which restricts parking within 20 feet on of an intersection. He said that some people may not know this and asked if we could have a "No Parking Here to Corner" sign? Steve Kerrigan questioned if we should do this when this requirement exists at every intersection in the City. Sgt. Attaway said that he and Officer Larose had talked about this and they feel that at this particular intersection there really is a public safety issue. Officer Larose brought up a photo for reference. Sgt. Attaway asked if we could create a tow zone from here to corner. It was discussed that if this area were made a tow zone, the existing regulation would need to be amended. Chief Giorgi suggested that we start with a sign stating, "No Parking Here to Corner". Councilor Dumais said that it can work the way it is if cars axe parked correctly. He grew up in the area and has seen it work. He said that the person who lives on the corner has probably been parking there for 15 years and noted that 20 feet is almost the entire street. Chief Giorgi commented that it is a "unique street". He went there with Officer Larose and saw a jeep that parks there all the time. It would probably work to put up a sign and officers can use their discretion regarding enforcement. Officer Larose agreed that they are not looking to give tickets but do need to keep cars off the corner. Officer Larose and Sgt. Attaway will talk to the residents in the house on the corner. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to Sgt. Attaway and Officer Larose to speak to the resident and coordinate with the DPW regarding the appropriate signage. 2b) Engine Brake Issue by 275 Boston Post Road West Councilor Ossing asked that this item be added to the agenda as he received a complaint from a constituent. He tried to explain to her about the project at 149 Hayes Memorial Drive. He advised that the contractor is removing over 100 truck loads of material a day from the site and that this is probably the reason for increased truck brake noise. This part of the project will most likely continue for another few months and is a temporary problem. Chief Giorgi said that he spoke to Councilor Ossing and discussed everything that Tim Collins has advised about Engine Brakes in the past. This issue has come up a few times. Tom DiPersio also noted that there is a tremendous amount of fill coming out of this location. Officer Larose said that he talked to one of the truck drivers who said that the truck makes the same sound when it is down shifting so you hear a similar sound when they are not even using the Engine Brake. Chief Giorgi said that the noise appears to be mainly occurring during daytime hours. C TRAFFIC COMMISSION 3 November 3, 2021 Tom DiPersio reviewed that we have talked about Engine Brake issues in the past and the Traffic Commission determined that they would not be establishing a Engine Brake exclusion in the City. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to ACCEPT and PLACE ON FILE. REMOVE from the AGENDA. 2c) Prospect Street — Request for Handicapped Parking Space & One Way Arrow Councilor Trish submitted this request of behalf of his constituent. The resident of 68 Prospect is requesting a handicapped parking space in front of her home due to health reasons and an increase in doctor's appointments. He also asked about adding aone-way arrow on Prospect Street to mitigate traffic from going the wrong way onto Lincoln Street. Chief Giorgi tried to get in touch with Councilor Irish before the meeting today to understand exactly what he means about the arrow. He also forwarded the Handicapped Parking Sign Permit Application to Councilor Irish. In his email, Councilor Irish noted a similar handicapped parking spot on Chestnut Street. Ashley Miller confirmed there is a regulated parking spot on Chestnut, but it may not have an updated permit on file. The permit application needs to be updated annually to confirm that parking spot is still required. Officer Larose pulled up a photo of the area in question. The street is very narrow, and he is not sure how we would designate a handicapped parking spot here. Also, you can't come up that section of Prospect Street as it is one way. The only people that may be coming up there would be coming from the parking lot. Does Councilor Irish mean he doesn't want cars turning right out of the lot? There is already a sign that says Do Not Enter. Ashley Miller noted that if this is a recent issue it may be due to the fact that construction has caused there to be more traffic in the area. This is perhaps a temporary issue. Officer Larose also wanted to mention an issue with traffic congestion when he was working a funeral here. He was trying to take a right onto Prospect Street. He tried to pull out and could not see at all due to the way cars were parked. Tom DiPersio advised that they did think that this could be an issue once they finished construction there. They were waiting to see how it all worked. They might have to add a No Parking sign here so that you can see coming out. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to TABLE until we receive the completed permit application and a clarification on the request for an arrow. 3-Old Business 3a) Issues with the turn movement at intersection of Boston Post Road West & Ames Street TRAFFIC COMMISSION 4 November 3, 2021 Uudate: Engineering is working on a letter to the State. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to TABLE for the next meeting. 3b) Reservoir @ Red Spring Road Update: Officer Larose advised that he is waiting for Justin in the Sign Department to meet up with him to move the signs and then he can monitor the area and see how it goes. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to the Officer Larose to work with the DPW on proper sign placement. 3c) Commercial traffic and speeding on Farm Road. Update on Truck Exclusion: Tom DiPersio went to see what is actually there for signage regarding the Truck Exclusion. He did find that there are warning signs there, however, it was not as well signed from Rte. 85 and a truck is already on Framingham Road when they see the warning signs. An Advance Warning sign on Maple Street, at the intersection with Monti's, would be helpful. It is more clearly marked coming from Rte. 20; however, this is where he thinks more of the issues come from. Officer Larose brought up photos of both intersections for reference. You can see that it is clearly marked from Rte. 20. The same type of signs should be in place when coming from the other direction as well. Update on Crosswalks: Commissioner Divoll was looking into the types of sidewalks in the City with the intent of marking them all in a uniform manner. Ashley Miller provided a visual of the different types of crosswalks and explaiized the different types and how they are marked. Examples: Arterial Streets, Collector Streets and Cut- Throughs (i.e., bigger busier streets) should be marked with ladder style crosswalks, Minor Collectors Streets = Parallel Bars, Residential Streets = Parallel Bars, Main Street = Parallel with Red Brick Stamp Interior, School Zone = Ladder, Rail Trail = Parallel with Green Painted Interior. It was discussed that the crosswalks on Farm Road would quality for the ladder style since it is a busier road with a school zone. Steve Kerrigan said that he has also read about crosswalks that look like a speed table with a 3-D style. Are these a possibility? Commissioner Divoll said that these should be reserved for school parking lots MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to the DPW to change the crosswalks on Farm Road to Ladder style. REMOVE from AGENDA. 3d) Request for 2 handicapped parking spaces on Lavialette Street. Update: Chief Giorgi received the completed Handicap Parking Sign Permit Application from Academy Knoll Apartments. Officer Larose pulled up photos that Engineering provided of the area of Broad Street and Laviolette Street. Tom DiPersio pointed out the TRAFFIC COMMISSION 5 November 3, 2021 vehicles that were parked on the sidewalk. Academy Knoll is looking for a specific spot near the rear door to the building. You can also see a fire hydrant here as well. He noted that there is not an ideal parking situation here. Cars are not really parked in actual spots. The property owner has long term plans to work on this. The property does have parking available in the back, but it is difficult for some of the residents to park back there. Steve Kerrigan asked if there was room to pass if cars were not parking on the sidewalk. Tom DiPersio was not sure of the width of the roadway. He noted that there is No Parking on the building side. If cars were parked in the road vs. the sidewalk it would be very tight to get through, especially in the winter. Chief Breen asked if designated handicapped parking required on street markings. Tom DiPersio said that a marked space is 7-8 feet wide. He also noted that there are requirements for handicapped spots, i.e., grading etc. Officer Larose checked the GIS Mapping, and it shows the road is approximately 21 feet wide. Commissioner Divoll asked if there was a need for the sidewalk there. If it was removed, there would be more room. Chief Giorgi said that considering the request and the residents, it makes sense, and he would approve the request for a designated parking spot. All understand that they want a reserved spot near the back door. The question is how to label and mark the spot. Tom DiPersio questioned if there was another way to reserve a spot here without specifically marking it as a handicapped spot. Officer Larose said that they do get complaints that people park here all day and others can't use it. Tom DiPersio suggested that he could meet with them to find out exactly what they need to try to find a way to work something out. All agreed this was the best idea. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to ENGINEERING to work with Academy Knoll Apartments to resolve this issue. 3e) Parking Issues at Stevens Park Update: Chief Giorgi prepared the amended regulation with the wording provided by Engineering. The proposed wording is marked in red on the second page. The proposed language restricts commercial vehicles from parking here between the hours of 2:00 am and 7:00am. Commissioner Divoll said that he feels that the main issue with commercial paxking is actually during the day. Steve Kerrigan noted seasonal issues as well. The park is not as busy now without the splash pad. A 2-hour time limit was discussed during the day and allowing overnight parking. Chief Giorgi said that this makes daytime enforcement difficult. Officer Larose pulled up the live city camera showing the lot and you could see a couple of trucks parked there now. After further discussion, it was agreed to amend the commercial vehicle restriction in this lot as follows: Commercial vehicles shall not be allowed between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to Chief Giorgi to amend the wording on the regulation for the next meeting. Chief Giorgi asked if anyone had any fiirther questions or concerns. TRAFFIC COMMISSION 6 November 3, 2021 There was one other item requested in an email from Trish Bernard that was brought to the meeting. Handicap Parkiing Behind 240 Main St. The tenant's association at 240 Main St. has asked to have the handicapped spaces behind the building reviewed. It was unclear as to exactly what they are requesting. Chief Giorgi advised that he would contact Trish for clarification. MOTION was made, seconded, duly VOTED to REFER to ENGINEERING to see what is currently in place and any specific requirements. That there being no further business of the Traffic Commission held on this date, the meeting adjourned at 10:55 am. Respectfully submitted, Karen L. Lambert Records Clerk Marlborough Police Department List of documents and other exhibits used at the meeting: -City of Marlborough Meeting Posting for Traffic Commission Meeting on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021, including meeting agenda. -Draft of Traffic Commission Minutes from Wednesday, September 29th, 2021. -Email from Officer Larose to the Traffic Commission Members, dated 10/6/21, Re: High at Brown. -Email forwarded by Councilor Ossing to the Traffic Commission Members, originally from Alexis Korandanis, dated 10/20/21, Re: Jake Brake by 275 Boston Post Road West. -Email from Councilor Irish to Chief Giorgi, dated 10/24/21, Re: Prospect St./handicapped psrking space. -Handicapped Parking Sign Permit application for Laviolette Street. Additional Handouts -Copy of Amended Regulation for Article V: Municipal Paxking Areas. -Diagram and photos from Framingham Rd. and Farm Rd. -Diagram and photos from Laviolette Street. -Sidewalk Classifications with Photos -Email from Trish Bernard to Chief Giorgi, dated 10/28/21, Re: Handicap parking behind 240 Main St.