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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/19/1997 Work Session -" '. MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 19,1997 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 19, 1997, at 6:34 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Maine and Shaver. Councilor Dahlquist was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Administrative Aide Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Traffic Calming on 51 st Street Project. City Engineer Al Peroutka presented the staff report on this issue. Council discussed whether a particular situation on 51st Street, near the new Riverbend Elementary School, merits council authorization to direct staff to develop criteria to evaluate the request for traffic calming measures on this project. In 1994, voters approved a general obligation bond measure for construction of three new schools which will be completed by fall 1997. . The Riverbend School on 51st Street is located on the site of the former Bob Artz Park. The street improvements for this new school extended from Main to E Street and two neighborhood meetings were held during the design phase. During neighborhood meetings residents expressed interest in the placement of traffic calming measures, including two raised crosswalks and one speed hump, in addition to standard school zone pavement markings and slgnage. The speed study conducted showed an average daily traffic count of 702 vehicles which is in the normal range for a neighborhood street. The study showed that the 85th percentile for speeds in the northbound lane was 27 mph and in the southbound lane was 37 mph. This means vehicles are typically traveling at higher speeds coming from the north, most likely from Highway 126. Some individual speeds were shown to be as high as 55 and 63 mph. The 51st Street project has been advertised for bid and bids will be opened on June 2. The crosswalks and speed hump are in the bid package as an alternate, not part of the base bid. Staff are in the process of conducting a survey of residents to gauge their interest in these devices. Traffic calming devices have only been authorized by council in two locations. . The use of raised crosswalks in conjunction with a school zone expands upon council's past policy decision. Resolution No. 90-51 specifies the council's recognition that the riverfront strip along West D Street may someday be declared a park, the city desires safe pedestrian movements, raised crosswalks enhance the visibility to motorists of crosswalks and ." . Work Session Meeting Minutes May 19, 1997 Page 2 pedestrians, and they may increase the likelihood of pedestrians using the raised crosswalks. Many of these same findings can be made for streets adjacent to schools. If council were to expand the use of raised crosswalks to school zones, the policy framework is already in place. The council has established policy intent for use of these facilities where high pedestrian activity is expected and visibility of the crosswalks and pedestrians warrants heightened motorist awareness. Council may want to consider limiting the placement of these facilities in anyone ofa number of ways. Another advantage of placing these devices on 51st is that the speed study indicated there is some speeding on this street, particularly in the northbound lane. Placement of these devices are supported by the neighborhood and the school district as well. The concern with raised crosswalks and speed humps is that the proliferation of these devices would have the effect of impending emergency response timing, which in turn affects survival statistics and resource deployment considerations. Concern is repeatedly expressed by the public safety departments nationwide and locally. Fire and Life Safety has expressed concern that speed humps and raised crosswalks not proliferate along emergency vehicle routes. They are concerned about 51 st Street because it is an emergency response route into the neighborhood area. .-- Staff explained the installation of raised crosswalks on 51 st Street, in conjunction with a school zone, is a departure from council's existing policy about where these traffic calming measures can be.placed. The location and nature of this street is such that it has many uses and serves many needs, including being an emergency response route into the neighborhood. The placement of a school on a former park site will mean pedestrian activity will continue or Increase. Due to the nature of the request, if council chooses to consider placing raised crosswalks and a speed hump on 51 st Street, staff recommends council direction be given to staff to work with the public safety departments, the school district and park district to develop criteria to use in evaluating such requests for traffic calming devices on city streets. Staff recommends this criteria be used to evaluate the 51 st street request. Transportation Plan Engineer Masood Mirza discussed stop sign rating systems and the installation of stop signs. He answered questions regarding the method used for the average daily traffic count. Councilor Maine said the stop sign issue has come up before in her neighborhood. She said this was more a right-of-way issue and not intended to be a speed issue. She did not support speed humps in the area. She thought use of crossing guards and sign posting would help safety access during school hours. She supported clarification of the written policy but did not suggest it be rewritten. . Councilor Burge agreed with comments made by councilor Maine and was reluctant to support inclusion of the speed humps and raised crosswalks. He discussed the limitations and impact on emergency vehicles. He said police traffic enforcement may be necessary. . . . .. .. vVork Session Meeting Minutes May 19, 1997 Page 3 Councilor Burge said a compelling argument could be made for many other areas needing speed humps. He did not support this. Councilor Beyer said since this was a city street, city standards should be implemented. She said the policy should be written following council guidelines. Mr. Mirza discussed the success of the traffic calming devices used at West D Street from the old "s" curve to Aspen Street. Traffic speeds were discussed. Councilor Shaver discussed the existing policy and said criteria was available for what was currently in place. He said criteria existed for raised crosswalks and staff has not deviated from this policy. He said the policy could include language stating if traffic calming items were installed, the neighborhood and/or school would be responsible for associated costs. He again said a specific criteria would need to be met. Mayor Morrisette asked if the speed limit posting stating "when children are present" means when children are in school during school hours, or only during hours when children are present and crossing the street. Councilor Shaver agreed with comments made by councilor Burge. He said local streets should be able to handle local traffic. Councilor Maine said she was not willing to expand the current policy but was willing to have the existing policy clarified. Staff would provide a draft of the policy, rewritten for clarification only and provide it via the communication packet. Council would notify staff it the issue needed to be discussed again. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson ~N~~ reg Shaver ~~x Council President Attest: ~~ -:ftrtte"Wi,I'SOfl- D8fll:ity City Recorder