City Council Planning Sessions

MEMORANDUM TO: Record FROM: Susan Bishel, Public Relations Coordinator SUBJECT: January 22, 2018 City Council Planning Session Minutes DATE: January 23, 2018 CC: Mayor and City Council, City Manager, City Clerk, Department Heads The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Session included: Councilman Barbier, Councilwoman Fitch, Mayor Gresk, Councilman Prendiville, Councilman Rutledge, Councilman Scalzo and Councilman Suess. Also in attendance were City Manager Dzugan, Assistant City Manager Duguay, Director of Engineering Redman, Police Chief Volpe and Public Relations Coordinator Bishel. The session began at 7:00 p.m. and concluded at 8:12 p.m. The following items were discussed: I. Call to Order The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Gresk. II. Public Comment There were no public comments. III. Approval of January 8, 2018 Planning Session Minutes The Council approved the January 8, 2018 Planning Session Minutes. IV. Presentation of Collector Road Traffic Study 25 mph Speed Limit Residential Streets Director of Engineering Redman stated the Council previously heard a presentation by traffic engineers from KLOA Inc. on the legal and engineering principles of setting appropriate speed limits on local streets. He stated the consensus of the Council was to lower the residential street speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph. The Council requested that KLOA perform a traffic study on collector roads to obtain data on traffic volumes and speeds. Michael Werthmann of KLOA presented the results of the study to the Council. Mr. Werthmann reviewed the characteristics of arterial, collector and local roads and reviewed the locations of the three types of roads in Wheaton. He stated KLOA collected data for collector and arterial roads, including speed surveys and daily traffic counts at 50 locations on two consecutive days this past fall. KLOA also inventoried the physical and operating characteristics of these locations and provided a summary of the findings for all 56 collector and arterial roads in Wheaton. In response to Council questions, Mr. Werthmann stated the data collected can be useful for the City, especially if a resident has concerns or questions about a particular location, as the City now has current traffic counts and speed data to reference for that location. Mr. Werthmann reviewed the findings of the study, which showed that volumes of traffic vary considerably within the collector road category, ranging from below 1,500 to more than 10,000 vehicles per day. The study's findings on speed showed 18 locations where volumes and speeds exceeded what traffic engineers would consider acceptable standards. Fifteen of these are minor arterial/major collector streets that are on the periphery of subdivisions and are used for mobility, which is to be expected. He stated the only truly residential areas where they found excessive speeds were Gables north of Roosevelt to Manchester; Cromwell Drive; Childs between West and Gables; and Lorraine north of Roosevelt. Based on the study, KLOA recommended the City divide the arterial and collector road categories into major/minor arterial roads and major/minor collector roads. In response to Council questions, Director of Engineering Redman stated the further classification gives the City better information about the volume of traffic on the given streets. In discussing determining an appropriate speed, Director of Engineering Redman stated besides the speed data collected, the City also considers other factors such as road geometry and access points and the perspective of those who live in the affected neighborhood and safety concerns they have. City staff recommended that if the Council desires to change the residential speed limit to 25 mph, there are a number of collector streets that should remain 30 mph based on the data. These streets are major collectors or arterials with more than 6,000 vehicles per day and serve as major routes to get through Wheaton. Director of Engineering Redman stated if the City changes residential speed limits, it would need to communicate the changes to the public, make amendments to City ordinances, create a plan for signage changes, and determine the staffing needed for enforcement from the Police Department. Council members requested the City consider keeping Main Street just north of Roosevelt 25 mph due to the park and curve in the roadway. Other Council members asked the City to 1/22/18 Planning Session 2 consider not decreasing the speed on Shaffner Road and on Leask Road. Director of Engineering Redman stated only a small portion of Leask Road is controlled by the City, so City staff suggests keeping it 30 mph so it is consistent with the other parts of this road. Other areas Council members requested further study included East Loop and Jahns Drive, and 22nd Street. In response to Council questions, Police Chief Volpe stated on most local streets, the majority of drivers are going 30 mph or less. He stated some of the streets where the Police Department receives complaints, there is not a speeding issue, but a perception of a speed problem by the person filing the complaint. The Police Department does check the areas where people have concerns, but they spend most of their time patrolling the areas where they know people are consistently traveling above the speed limit. In response to Council questions about whether lowering the speed limit would help prevent accidents or fatalities, Mr. Werthmann stated there is a lot of supporting data showing that lowering speeds from 30 mph to 25 mph can significantly help in reducing traffic-related injuries and fatalities. Director of Engineering Redman answered a Council question on measuring the success of lowering speed limits by stating the City could measure the change's effectiveness by doing another traffic study at some point after it is implemented. In response to a question, Director of Engineering Redman stated the City plans to further study traffic in the areas of Gary & Harrison and Gary & Jewell Road. He stated a previous study determined that a traffic light would not be suitable at Gary and Harrison because of the direction of most traffic in that area, but a traffic circle may be an option if there was enough space to configure it. In response to questions about the overall traffic in Wheaton, Mr. Werthmann stated traffic generally flows well in Wheaton. Some Council members asked that the City continue to look into what can be done at the site where there was a traffic fatality on Taft, how the City can address distracted driving, and look into where the City can add sidewalks. City Manager Dzugan stated City staff will create an implementation plan, including enforcement, additional traffic engineering analysis, and education. Staff will come back to the Council with an implementation plan for the Council to review before moving forward with 1/22/18 Planning Session 3 speed limit changes. V. City Council/Staff Comments City Manager Dzugan stated the City announced today that a portion of the downtown Wheaton train station lobby will be reopening in about a week, following cleanup efforts from a Nov. 22 fire. VI. Closed Session: Probable Litigation 5 ILCS 120/2 (C) (11) The Council did not go into closed session. VII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m. 1/22/18 Planning Session 4