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PTC Minutes_10.04.22 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Parking and Traffic Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: None LOCATION: Beverly City Hall Council Chambers DATE: October 4, 2022 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Richard Benevento (Chair), Darlene Wynne (Vice Chair), Jonathan Salt, Captain Jake Kreyling, John Lozada BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Sergeant Michael Henebury, Richard Vincent, Michael Collins, George Binns OTHERS PRESENT: RECORDER: Naomi Moca Benevento chairs and opens the meeting at 8:40 a.m. Pursuant to Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2022, Section 3, this meeting of the Beverly Parking& Traffic Commission was conducted in person but with remote participation through the Google Meet platform. 1. Continued Discussion on Recommendation to Zoning Board of Appeals: Special Permit/Finding for 397 Cabot Street (ZON22-00016) and Variance for 386 Cabot Street (ZON22-00018)-Janick Company LLC Tom Alexander presents on behalf of the applicant. One parking space has been eliminated. Anderson points out that the site has been used as a fast food business for decades and that as compared to that use,this project will have reduced traffic movement. Kreyling points out that the Bennet Street direction is one-way and the site plan should be corrected to reflect that. He also emphasizes that there should be appropriate signage to direct traffic at the entrance and exit from the lot. Salt asks where the Dumpster is located and Anderson states that there is no Dumpster included on the plan. Benevento states that a condition should be added stating the Dumpster needs to be located on the plan in the appropriate spot. Wynne moves to recommend the Zoning Board of Appeals approve the special permit/finding for 397 Cabot(ZON22-00016) and Variance for 386 Cabot Street (ZON22-00018)-Janick Company LLC with the following conditions: that the left turn in from Cabot Street northbound be designed and constructed to prohibit vehicles from taking a left turn but also not impeding fire vehicle access,that the plan be submitted and approved by Public Services in advance of a public occupancy permit,that the site plan will include a Dumpster location plus any loading areas that are necessary, that the plan for the 386 property be revised so the turning radius exiting onto Bennett Street is correctly shown in the direction of traffic, and that parking space 922 be eliminated. Salt seconds. Motion passes 5-0. Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 8 2. Continued Discussion on Recommendation to Planning Board: Site Plan Review #154-22 - 218- 224 Cabot Street and 18 Federal Street- Lenat McCall Properties LLC Review Peer Review Traffic Study prepared by Vanasse &Associates Miranda Siemasko of Glovsky and Glovsky presents on behalf of the applicant. Siemaskpo states that peer review comments are in agreement with providing extra information on the site plan. Jeffrey Dirk of with Vanasse and Associates worked on the project for the city. He states that based on the review of project transportation assessment,there should not be significant volume nor additional traffic, and there should be reduction in traffic on weekend. Dirk reviewed parking and safety,pedestrian and bicycle activity, improving sidewalks, wheelchair ramps and mobility in the area, and is asking for a commitment from the applicant for improvements in these areas. Parking spaces will be assigned to 2-bedroom units. With regard to the sight lines exiting the garage, there will be a 3-stage process to exit garage: exit garage, clear sidewalk, clear bikes, enter traffic. Benevento asks if what Dirk stated has been incorporated and addressed by the applicant, specifically items s-1 through s-8 on the site plan review. The Commission discusses the possibility of widening the garage door plus adding an alert sound. Siemasko states the applicant will verbally commit to making most of the changes, as the report was only received on Thursday. Rebecca Brown of GPI presents slides on the parking counts, evaluation of traffic concerns, and the loading zone. She continues addressing Dirk's comment on pedestrian safety, stating that the project will make curb cut modifications and reconstruct the sidewalk from Chapman Street to Cabot Street. Benevento points out that if handicapped ramps are needed, that the accepting ramp on the other side must be of the same dimensions as well. Brown states that they will comply with that,in addition to the need for a firetruck to make the turn. There are a few configurations to allow for that that will eliminate parking spaces, but they will be made up on Chapman street. Brown states that there is a planned curb radius adjustment in conjunction with relocating the sign without sacrificing parking spaces. Kreyling states that a practical study was done which resulted in firetruck getting stuck for 15 minutes. He agrees the new plan will allow for a firetruck to turn, and observes that the Fire Department has never had to make that turn in the past, because the engines access the other addresses from a different direction. Brown states that tandem spaces will be assigned to 2- bedroom units. Sight line triangles will be included. Vehicles will take a two-stage approach when exiting the garage. Benevento ask if the garage door is being widened and recessed from the sidewalk. Brown states that it will be only widened, as recessing it will impact parking spaces,plus the traffic is so light and the door rises so quickly that it will not back up traffic on the street. Brown states there is light and audio pedestrian alert system for the garage door. Dirk states that it is an acceptable alternative. He states concern about the dynamic of the live sidewalk in front of the garage and the sight lines exiting the garage,which would be solved by widening the sidewalk to give more buffer for pedestrian when vehicles are exiting the garage. Benevento agrees and comments that Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8 anyone impaired, such as wheelchair users, may need this widening. Lozada states that it is a mixed income area, so accessibility is important. Salt asks what the recessed amount was proposed. Brown states the recess had no measurement yet, but probably 10 feet. Salt states a bumpout on sidewalk could be an answer to not recessing the garage. Brown states a bumpout would narrow the already very narrow street, and eliminate parking spots. Plantings on the property are selected to grow to 30 inches maximum, and can be planted further back to not impact sight lines. Brown states that the updated parking study was done on a weekday evening during an event at the Cabot Theatre, and also on a non-event day. On a non-event day, 170 spaces were unoccupied, and on an event day, 99 spaces were available, all within the area of the Cabot Theatre. Wynne points out that the study was done in August,when the Larcom Theatre is closed for the summer, and that both theatres are open on the same days for 10 months out of the year. Salt asks for clarification on the slide numbers and Brown states that 57/84 means that 57 of the 84 possible spaces were occupied. Salt emphasizes that the number of spots used is different from the number of spots existing. Brown agrees. Salt comments that there is a perception of "nowhere to park in Beverly" so these numbers are important. Brown addresses the intersections of Dane Street with Cabot Street and Cabot Street with Knowlton Street. Brown states that the crash clusters on Cabot and Dane Streets were due to weather, not the design of intersection, possibly worsened by a drainage issue. With regard to the pedestrian and bicycle crashes, when at night, they possibly have been due to a lighting issue. Two crashes were parked cars. Four were rear-end crashes. Brown states that possibly a southbound left-hand turn lane from Cabot Street onto Dane Street is a solution. Brown adds that these types of crashes are not correctable by a signal. Knowlton Street had no clear type of crash pattern, and implementing a one-way on Knowlton Street would make Dane Street busier, when is already the street with the heaviest traffic in that area. For that reason, Brown states she has no recommendations there. Dirk sates that Dane Street intersection re-striping is a good idea, incorporating the firetruck turning study, and caution for vulnerable users, such are pedestrians and bicycles. Dirk feels improvements are heading in the right direction. Dirk mentions Federal Street and Park Street but nobody will be addressing them today as the report is too recent. Lozada asks about the Federal Street and Cabot Street intersection potential for signalizing. Brown states that coming out of Federal Street onto Cabot Street will not be impacted by more than one second. Benevento comments that the streets were constructed in a time period where this traffic was not anticipated, and apart from re-doing the whole downtown,there is a limit to how much can be done. Wynne observes that exiting from Federal onto Cabot is usually a multi- phase pull-out, where cars often block the crosswalk. Wynne states that a beacon is not a probable solution because there would need to be so many it is not an affordable option. Brown states that proposed adaptations will incorporate improvements that have been recently done downtown. Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 8 Salt recalls witnessing a pedestrian get hit by a vehicle on Cabot and Knowlton Street and it was "horrifying." He recounts that the pedestrian was crossing Dane and Cabot Street and got"quite hurt,"but he does not find the intersections difficult when riding his bicycle. Salt asks about the crash summary if there is any overlap with inclement weather and other crashes, and Brown states yes, some crashes were counted twice for that reason. Salt observes that cars will go out part way across Cabot Street to "jog"to go West Dane Street as it is not straight across. Salt observes that pedestrians tend to cross before the crosswalk to go to the Indo pub, so another option for pedestrians would be good. He observes there is no safety island within the crosswalk, and Brown agrees that it is not possible for a firetruck to turn the"awkward jog" across the intersection if there were a traffic island. Salt asks if any work has been done in that intersection to improve it recently. Brown states that there was in 2019 but Salt and Wynne state that that project stopped before reaching Cabot as it is a multi-phase project. Salt asks if the data includes before and after the re-working of the intersection. Brown states the study is based on 2017-2019 crash cluster info. Salt observes that the line of sight can be difficult. Lozada mentions there are currently vacant office spaces, but with the businesses added with the project, there will potentially be more pedestrian activity generated. Salt observes the roads are very old. The Complete Street policy was adopted by the City. Kreyling states that traffic leaving the garage will now be going to Stop and Shop, Target, and schools as an alternative to the closed Family Dollar, and the intersections will likely be more utilized and at a higher speed. Bow Street onto Rantoul is where residents will be exiting the property. Benevento encourages Brown to ask Dirk to address his comments. Danielle Spang, resident of 16 Mulberry Street, states that families and buses go to Cove School as they are in the district to attend Cove School. Suzy LaMont, resident at Park Street, states that Thursday nights are busy in the area due to City Hall hours. Brown states that the safety analysis will address Dirk's comments, and asks if there are other items. Siemasko states that one of the recommendations in the peer review report was a road safety analysis (RSA) and asks if there is a way to avoid duplicating efforts, such as to do a road safety audit, and have recommendations and conditions based on that. Benevento states the RSA is for short-term, affordable changes with a lot of stakeholders such as Public Safety, etc., and that the exercise will benefit other recommendations. Dirk states the City may apply for a grant tied to the outcome from the RSA due to it being residential. Benevento states the RSA is a go. Siemasko asks if Brown still needs to do more studies. Benevento states that the Commission will benefit from Brown's study to address as many things as possible. Benevento and Brown agree that she will discuss with Dirk the areas that need to be looked at. Benevento states that the RSA will be a key to connect all the concerns and Brown restates the items that she needs to follow up with. Siemasko asks if the Commission is open to a recommendation on the condition of the RSA being done in the interest of timing. Brown explains it takes about three months due to multiple steps. Benevento states making the condition of the RSA in the recommendation is not a problem. Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 8 LaMont underscores Spang's point about the students and parents going to and from Cove School, and adds that a new charter school at St. Mary's School will add 100+ students. Wynne states that will only be for one year duration, and LaMont counters that while that is true, the building could then be used for something different afterward. 3. Recommendation to Planning Board: Site Plan Review Site Plan Review#158-22 - 119 Rantoul Street-Wilso Ventures LLC & Tiny Ventures LLC Tom Alexander presents on behalf of Chris Crowley, who owns Meineke and the property. Building designer Thad Siemasko of SV Design, Siemasko&Verbridge, 126 Dodge Street, is also present. Alexander states that the site is 4/10 of an acre, and meets the one space per unit parking requirement. There will be 1,626 square feet of retail space and one loading space on the street. The existing curb cut will be consolidated into one continuous cut. The building currently on the site will be razed and there will be an entrance into the parking garage within building. Benevento clarifies the location of the retail space in site plan drawing. Alexander states it will be a fully accessible building. In the garage, there will be charging stations for 8 vehicles on the outside wall near the door. All spaces are 9'x18', with space afforded for a double-capacity bike rack. There is space allowance for a Dumpster. There will be an outdoor landscaped terrace area and roof deck. Alexander states that tow parking spaces were sacrificed for the loading space, which will be will be marked and with signage limiting parking hours. There is sufficient firetruck height and width allowance. It will be a 5-story building, with four residential floors above a retail space. Brown states that the traffic impact and access study is consistent with the Depot 2 study,with the exception of adding two streets to the study. The study used pre-COVID traffic counts at four locations and recent traffic counts, plus the School Street and Rantoul Street intersection as part of the Gateway development project. Traffic counts were conducted in June and August. She lists conditions applied to the study. There is now a traffic signal at the Rantoul Street and Railroad Avenue intersection, so crash occurrence is anticipated to go down. Brown states that sight lines from the driveway of the Station building and the project's loading zone gives over 400 feet of sight line and she observes that Rantoul Street is flat and straight. Brown conducted a trip generation estimate compared to actual Meineke driveway counts. The study includes a capacity and queue analysis. There is a slight increase in vehicles going from Railroad Avenue eastbound onto Rantoul Street. Benevento asks if there are new counts taken into account. Brown states the ATR count is from the Gateway project. There are 57 spaces proposed within the garage, which is one more space than required with 56 units. There are two parking spaces along the front, and the loading zone can be used for parking during off times. There are also parking spaces within the Depot Garage. Benevento asks Wynne how many new residential units were built in the last several years. Wynne states that approximately 700 units in the downtown have been added in the last 7 years. Benevento comments that the Commission addresses each project individually, but not Rantoul Street as a composite. He observes that in terms of overall impact, this particular project is no Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 8 worse than other projects that the Commission has seen. There is a consideration of on-street parking by each project. Benevento expresses frustration that as a whole the projects cannot all make use of the same street parking spaces, and the typical commuter trying to get to work at peak hours does not share in the success of the individual projects. Benevento asks if there will deficit of parking for the project's retail spaces. Brown confirms that six are needed, and two are assigned to the retail space, two possible spaces come from loading zone off hours, and/or vehicles may potentially go to the Depot Garage and pay for parking, or potentially park on the street. Benevento states that traffic and parking management during construction is a hot-button issue for him as he is frustrated personally by ongoing projects in Beverly. Benevento asks about traffic and signaling timing and phasing optimization. Brown states that a minor adjustment to signal at Railroad will bring intersection up to level of service "D" from "E." Lozada expresses confusion about the Depot Garage parking garage and how it is used. Brown states that it is under-utilized, and could serve as parking for construction employees during construction. Lozada observes that with the additional 700 units in the downtown, the ridership of the commuter rail has not really seemed to increase. Wynne states that the usage has not bounced back since COVID and more remote working arrangements. Lozada concedes that is not something that Brown can really address. Brown states that fact may mean there is more parking available in Depot Garage. Lozada asks about the traffic flow in the Depot Garage. Brown states there is one access into each portion of the garage, and both entrances are in and out. Wynne states that the two levels are not connected. Salt asks if there is a 2-space bike space. Siemasko states that there is a rack. Salt comments that it is a good idea. Salt asks why Broadway is not being considered. Salt asks how much parking at the Depot Garage the building will need. Brown states anywhere from two to six parking spaces for the retail component only, as residential is taken care of. Broadway was not included with the Depot 2 project, so as this is as smaller-scale project, it is not included in this analysis. Brown states the delay is exiting Pleasant Street onto Rantoul Street. Benevento asks how long the queue is on Pleasant. Brown states two vehicles. Salt asks how Rantoul Street will get slower or clogged up is analyzed. Brown states that a traffic analysis was done. Kreyling states that 2-level parking garages are scary for fire department, since codes have not caught up to usage. Kreyling emphasizes making sure the plans for garage include ventilation and access to park next door. Kreyling would like construction to stay on site or share work space with Station 101 instead of blocking up Rantoul Street and he observes he could barely get to this meeting on time. Wynne agrees with access to the park for residents. Benevento points out that a non-handicapped tenant could possibly rent an accessible unit, and find themselves with no parking. He concedes that there may also be tenants who have no car, so it is important to think of all scenarios. Wynne states that the requirement is for one space per unit, and that the accessible parking falls under a different set of rules. Benevento acknowledges that the owner is motivated to rent all of the units out. Kreyling asks if there is a way for tenants or units to be deeded to accessible spaces. Kreyling adds that charging spaces being used by nonelectric vehicles already poses a problem in other areas of the city. Wynne states that parking Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 8 could be bundled or assigned. Wynn adds that a condition will be applied to all future developments that any adjacent projects are not eligible for the resident parking because the City is running into people charging double for parking. Benevento calculates the project will have a deficit of five spaces, so the question becomes how to accommodate that, such as downsizing the number of units. Wynne states that the rules state count parking spaces for the residents can be counted within 500 feet in any direction of the project. In the past, the city came up with a bunch of strategies to encourage more commercial development downtown and to encourage more people to live downtown. Miranda Siemasko clarifies that the spaces need to be assigned and managed by the property owner. She states, as an example, that personally she has a handicapped tag for when she is with her autistic daughter, but does not require an accessible unit. Benevento asks how the accessible units are different. Thad Siemasko states they have enlarged door openings and the balconies do not have a step down. Kreyling states that in the case of dormitories and multi-family buildings it makes sense for rescuing purposes that the accessible units be on the lowest level possible. Kreyling also emphasizes that egress should be out the back of the building. Siemasko states there will be a tenant orientation, including signing up for The Ride. Benevento asks if utility connections will be needed in Rantoul Street, and Thad Siemasko states yes, sewer. The project will need to cut into Rantoul Street to connect to the main line and then need a patch. Benevento states that there is a moratorium on digging in Rantoul Street and that Public Services will have something to say about that since the Rantoul Street work is brand new, relatively speaking, and it will likely require more than merely a patch. Salt ask whether the condition of access to the park is for the residents only, and Wynne clarifies that it is. Lozada asks about the handicap symbol, and Benevento states that the rules set by the MBTCD are very specific as to what symbols are permitted. Miranda Siemasko states that School Street is already being reviewed because of the Gateway project. It is the furthest intersection southbound; Federal Street is the furthest intersection northbound. Benevento comments that the development community benefits from being involved in all of the projects and it would be great if they all got together to share what they plan to do. Miranda Siemasko states that as far as curb to curb, there will be some disturbance when striping and Benevento states that is fine; that the condition applies to a more extreme situation such as a fence or a truck impeding Rantoul Street traffic. Benevento states that condition will be applicable for many future unrelated projects in addition to this project. For example, he observes that there was road closed at 8 a.m. this morning on the way to this meeting. Benevento points out that the mutual goal of all parties is to make the project a success because everyone benefits. Wynne moves to recommend Planning Board approve Site Plan Review application for 9158-22 - 119 Rantoul Street- Wilso Ventures LLC & Tiny Ventures LLC subject to the following conditions: that parking spaces be assigned to the units, that tenants in the building Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission October 4,2022 Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 8 are not eligible for residential parking permit program and this shall be communicated in the move-in packet, that employees of the retail establishment shall be discouraged from parking on Rantoul Street, that a construction management plan shall be required to be submitted and reviewed by the Parking and Traffic Commission in advance of the building permit, that from the curb in, there will be no lane closures on Rantoul Street and that the area between curbs (curb to curb) shall not be impeded,that appropriate signage be placed in the instance of a sidewalk closure,that the applicant will review traffic signal staging and timing along Rantoul Street, particularly School Street, Federal Street, and Railroad Avenue, and provide recommendations for optimization, that the applicant will connect or provide access to the park for the residents' benefit, and that accessible units be on the lower level. Salt seconds. Motion passes 5-0. Benevento moves to adjourn. Wynne seconds. Motion passes 5-0. Adiournment Meeting ends at 11:09 a.m. The next regular meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, November 1, 2022.