Traffic Commission Meeting

URBANA TRAFFIC COMMISSION Tuesday, February 09, 2016 MEMBERS PRESENT: Michael Madigan, City Council Member, Ward 6, Chair Craig Shonkwiler, Assistant City Engineer Pat Connolly, Police Chief MEMBERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: David Jayme, Civil Engineer John Collins, Operations Manager The meeting began at 4:00 p.m. Approval of Minutes: Pat Connolly moved to approve the minutes of the January 12, 2016 meeting. Craig Shonkwiler seconded the motion. The Commission voted 3-0 to approve the minutes of the January meeting. Additions to the agenda: Pat Connolly made a motion to add the following item to the agenda. Craig Shonkwiler seconded the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. Notice of the Temporary Speed Limit Reduction on Green Street between Wright Street and Lincoln Avenue. Public Input Those wishing to provide input preferred to do so at the time the topic was discussed. Unfinished Business There was no unfinished business to discuss. New Business  Traffic Commission Minutes February 2016 Page 2 Item #1- Notice of the temporary speed limit reduction on Green Street between Wright Street and Lincoln Avenue. Pat Connolly notified the Urbana Traffic Commission that the speed limit on Green Street between Wright Street and Lincoln Avenue would be temporarily reduced on March 4, 2016, from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour, during Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day events as a measure to reduce fatalities. He said that the temporary speed reduction had been instrumental in reducing conflicts between motorists and pedestrians in the past. He explained that City of Urbana’s Local Traffic Code allowed the Police Chief, with the approval of the City Traffic Engineer, to implement temporary changes in traffic control to protect the public. He added that the reductions would probably remain in effect no later than 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 6, 2016. In addition to notifying the Urbana Traffic Commission, Chief Connolly said that the Urbana City Council would be noticed at its next meeting. Item #2- Discussion of accessible parking in the Central Business District. Craig Shonkwiler provided background information about the request for accessible parking on Main Street in downtown Urbana. He explained that an employee of a law firm in downtown Urbana had requested a personal accessible on-street parking space near the northeast corner of Main Street and Race Street. He said that the City did not provide personal on-street parking spaces so if an accessible space was provided, then it would be available to anyone who was eligible to use it. He stated that staff member, David Jayme, performed an analysis of the number of accessible stalls to determine if there were sufficient stalls available. He added that the person making the request contended that even though there was an accessible space across the street from her, it was always occupied. David Jayme stated that staff conducted a study of accessible parking facilities within the Central Business District to determine if those spaces met the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He began his discussion of the study by defining the area as the block bordered by Main Street, Race Street, Water Street and Broadway Avenue. He stated that within the block there were twenty-one parking stalls of on-street parking. He said that to meet ADA requirements at least one on-street accessible parking space would be needed for that block. He said that one space was available at the northwest corner of Main Street and Broadway Avenue so that area met the requirement for on-street accessible parking. He mentioned that there were 66 off-street public parking spaces. According to Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG), three accessible spaces would be required. He said that there were four accessible spaces, so the number of accessible spaces exceeded the guidelines. He explained that staff studied the area across the street and found that there were eight stalls with one accessible space, which also met the ADA requirements. In addition, Mr. Jayme reviewed the accessible parking spaces within the Parking Deck and reported that there were 208 spaces, seven of which were accessible. He stated that guidelines would require seven accessible spaces in the Parking Deck, so that requirement was met. He said that the requestor had mentioned that the accessible space located across the street was never available. He performed a spot check throughout several days and at different times and found that there were no vehicles parked either the space across the street or the space located on Broadway Avenue. He said that most of the metered spaces were in use at the times when the accessible spaces were empty.  Traffic Commission Minutes February 2016 Page 3 Pat Connolly asked if there were time limits for parking in the accessible spaces. Craig Shonkwiler reported that there was no signage indicating that there were time limits for the accessible spaces, but the spaces did have a two-hour time limit from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. He said that time limit signage might be something that Public Works would want to address, but there were no time limits posted for the accessible spaces. David Jayme said that there was signage indicating no parking allowed between 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. for the entire area. He recommended to the Traffic Commission that no action be taken as the number of accessible parking spaces met or exceeded ADA requirements. Item #3- Discussion of traffic flow on Fairlawn Drive near Adams Street. Craig Shonkwiler stated that there was concern expressed about speeding vehicles on Fairlawn Drive at a previous Traffic Commission meeting. He defined the area of concern as on Fairlawn Drive near Adams Street, east of Philo Road, north of Florida Avenue and near the newly constructed pedestrian path between Lanore Drive and Adams Street. Mr. Shonkwiler monitored traffic speeds on Fairlawn Drive near Adams Street for a twenty-four hour period on September 24, 2015. He discussed the results of the speed study stating that there were 234 vehicles with the 85 percentile travelling at 32.4 miles per hour. He explained that the 85 percentile was used as a value which is based upon a principle “that a larger majority of drivers are reasonable and don’t want to be involved in an accident and travel at a speed in the desire to reach their destination in the shortest possible time.” He added that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) stated that the posted speed limit should be within five miles per hour of the 85 percentile. He did note that one motorist was travelling at 60 miles per hour around 8:00 a.m., which was the highest speed recorded. He recommended that the area be monitored, but that no other action be taken at this time. Mr. Shonkwiler stated that the resident who brought this request to the Traffic Commission had been contacted, but she had moved to another neighborhood since making the request. Mr. Shonkwiler noted that the Operations Division had installed larger pedestrian warning signs near the pedestrian path. With no other business at hand, the meeting was adjourned at 4:16 p.m. The next regularly scheduled Traffic Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at 4:00 p.m. at the Urbana Public Works Department, 706 South Glover Avenue, second floor conference room. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Stiehl Recording Secretary