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2012-11-09CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: LOCATION: MEMBERS PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: RECORDER: Parking and Traffic Commission November 9, 2012 Conference Room B, Third Floor City Hall Chair Rich Benevento, Bill Bent, Russ Rollins, Tina Cassidy, John Somes, and Richard Hutchinson Councilor Wes Slate Bill Fiore Eileen Sacco Benevento calls the meeting to order at 8: 30 a.m. 1. Discussion: Traffic Concerns Regarding Woodland Avenue (June 8 1 h Site Visit and Individual Observations) - Resident Lois Johnson Cassidy reports that the Commission held a site visit on June 8th at the request of resident Lois Johnson who has concerns about traffic on Woodland Avenue. Ms. Johnson is present at the meeting and hands out a hand drawn map of the area and a memo which highlights her concerns and suggestions. Ms. Johnson reviews her memo with the Commission and explains that vehicles heading south on Woodland from Kernwood Heights either turn left onto Livingstone or straight toward Greene Street. Johnson also notes that vehicles head north onto Woodland from Greene Street and either turn right onto Livingstone or continue straight up the hill on Woodland towards the Ayers School or Kernwood Heights. She noted that there is a high volume of traffic at the start and close of school during the week which also coincides with commuter traffic. Johnson states that the current traffic plan coupled with pedestrian traffic causes a high potential for a tragic event. Johnson requests a stop sign be placed on the even numbered side of Woodland Avenue at 16 Woodland. She also requests that a stop sign be placed on the odd numbered side of Woodland coming over the hill from Greene Street. She explains that the addition of these three stop signs would create a three way stop at that extremely busy intersection. Benevento states that the MUTCD workshops that he attends focus on 4 ways stops and they do not recommend using stop signs to control traffic. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 1 of 7 Bent states that he has been there several times and agrees there is a fair amount of traffic in the area. He notes that during school hours it is destination -type traffic. Johnson states that commute traffic is also a concern. She explains that people coming out of Woodland to Greene have a stop sign at Livingstone but there is none on the other side. Bent states that for an all way stop we would need to have speed and volume data. He asks Rollins if there are many accidents up there. Rollins says that he would be concerned about an all way stop backing up traffic to the school. Benevento states that he is concerned that if a stop sign would congest traffic on the school property which would exacerbate the problem. Johnson suggests that a "stop sign ahead" sign be put up to make people aware. Benevento states that he is not in favor of putting up stop signs without data. Rollins notes that at the beginning and the end of the school day are the busiest. He adds that people use it as a cut through from Kernwood Avenue over to Elliott Street. Johnson states that she feels it is better to be proactive than to react after something happens. She says this is a narrow road for the large volume of school and commuter traffic that uses it. Cassidy reviews the notes from the June 8 site visit and notes it was observed that traffic did not appear to be exceeding the 30 MPH speed limit. Rollins states that a sign and traffic study costs money. Cassidy answers that the Commission has a little money that can be used for data collection, etc. when needed. Johnson also suggests that a "no parking here to corner" sign be installed at the intersection of Garden Street and Woodland Avenue, noting that there are site distance problems there. She says it had been suggested to paint the curb yellow at that area but it has not been done yet. Johnson also suggests that a crosswalk should be installed going across Woodland. Benevento observes that a crosswalk would have to be ADA compliant. Benevento asks Commission members if this warrants analysis to see if it should be a three way stop. Bent states that he would not be in favor of utilizing a three way stop as a means to address a traffic volume issue. Benevento agrees, adding that there is a lot of traffic and he does not see how stop signs are going to solve that. He states that this is really a site distance issue and he doesn't recommend a stop sign regardless of an advance warning sign. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 2 of 7 Cassidy notes that mirrors are sometimes used to assist motorists in gauging oncoming traffic and asks if this is an appropriate application. Benevento states that he does not think those are effective or legal. Johnson suggests that a "slow, school sign" be installed to warn motorists of the school ahead. Cassidy suggests that perhaps a "pedestrian" sign could be installed. Benevento agrees that it would be a start, and suggests the Commission recommend that Public Services install a fluorescent yellow green pedestrian sign in advance of the school on Woodland Ave., near Garden Street. Somes observes that if people are using that area as a cut through it would be nice if we could slow things down a bit up there. Bent agrees that trying the pedestrian sign is a good start. He also says that monitoring the traffic volume and the use of crossing guards will help as well. Rollins says there used to be two crossing guards up there and one was removed. He adds that he would not expect a great impact. Somes agrees that the pedestrian sign may discourage people from flying through there. Bent: motion to recommend to the Public Services Department that a fluorescent yellow green pedestrian warning sign be installed southbound on Woodland Avenue, in an appropriate location at the crest of the hill. Hutchinson seconds the motion, all in favor. The motion carries 6 -0. Councilor Slate addresses the Commission and states that he and Councilor Troubetaris have an order in the Council associated with the City's current procedure for selecting and installing signs and notes that there should be more force in terms of signs being installed. He says that it would be wrong for the City not to install signs recommended by the Commission simply because of a disagreement in the color of the sign chosen. He stresses that it is not up to an individual department to determine the color of a street sign, and a City Council Order would address the issue. Cassidy suggests that she would send a letter to Mike Collins requesting the installation of the sign. Slate suggests that a copy of the letter be sent to Councilor Troubetaris. Slate also notes that the signs may or may not have an effect on the behavior of motorists but their existence does provide the mechanism for enforcement. He suggests that the Commission consider requesting patrols from the police department and that when resources allow, directed patrols be assigned. Members concur with this suggestion and agree to add it to the letter that will be drafted. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 3of7 2. Discussion: Police Department Recommendation to Restrict Parking on Hull Street northerly side from Desmond to Essex Street and Wayland Road both sides or the Establishment of a Fire Lane Benevento observes that the Commission has previously looked at the issue of overflow parking at the Centerville School, and this request seems to be the same issue. Ms. Vitale who was present at the meeting states that the problem is cars are parked on the sidewalk (on the north side of Hull Street opposite the school) and as a result children and other pedestrians cannot walk on the sidewalks. Mr. Ron Vitale notes that parents are parking on the sidewalk because they do not want to go into the school lot. Benevento suggests that the answer to the problem would be to install a granite curb, which motorists are unlikely to mount. Bent suggests that the Commission take this matter under advisement until the next meeting and that in the interim, members will review the previous discussions and recommendation (s) of the Commission. He states that he would like to have sufficient time to allow members to review the earlier documents. Mr. Vitales requests that the Commission go out and look at the site again specifically when school is getting out. 3. Discussion: Draft Request to State Regarding Truck Exclusion for Cole Street / Bent Bent reports that he has prepared a draft of a heavy vehicle exclusion document and reviews it with the Commission in draft form, noting the impact on truck traffic that gets excluded. Truck traffic represents less than 3% of the total traffic on this roadway and that is less than the benchmark the State usually uses to approve or disapprove such requests. He suggests that members take some time to review the draft before the Commission makes a formal recommendation on it. He states that in the meantime he is going to call a contact at the State to see if there is possibly any leeway in this. He adds that buses would not included in the exclusion. Benevento agrees that reviewing the proposal is a good idea and states that the governing body on this matter will be the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Slate suggests that the City Council and the Mayor should be made aware that this is being considered. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 4of7 Benevento thanks Bent for all the time and effort that he put into this matter to date. Cassidy suggests that if members have any amendments they should get them to her so she can incorporate them into a near -final draft for distribution at the next meeting. 4. Update /Discussion /Recommendation to City Council: Order #4 - Conduct Traffic and Parking Study in the Vicinity of the Proposed Commuter Rail Parking Garage Eric Barber generally explains the recent effort the City has undertaken relative to parking near the Beverly Depot, in light of pending construction of the MBTA garage and the Court Street lot coming off -line. Cassidy explains that some of the ordinance changes being proposed now were approved back in 2009 by the Council. Other changes are in fact "new ", as a result of the research and effort over the Summer. Barber adds that one of the biggest changes were in parking regulations. Barber states that staff also observed and documented parking trends, particularly in the early morning hours around the Depot. This information was used to develop some of the recommendations now being proposed. Bent states that the process was done thoroughly, noting that the Commission is looking to make parking more efficient. He notes that there were a lot of people involved in this effort and recommends that the Commission endorse the plan. It was noted that Benevento and Sgt. Rollins attended meetings regarding this, as did Cassidy. Cassidy explains that she is working on a final draft of a summary of the proposed changes and a "red line" version of the actual parking ordinance showing the proposed changes "in place ". She will email it to members when it is finished and says she hopes to submit the plan to the City Council for their November 19th meeting. Bent suggests that the Commission conditionally endorse the plan, pending any further suggestions from members after detailed review of the draft. Cassidy suggests that if anyone has any questions or comments they can contact her in the interim. Slate explains that the Council process would be for this to be sent to the finance committee on 11/19 and then be referred to the Legal Committee on 11/26. Audience member Rose Maglio requests a copy of the draft report. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 5 of 7 Bent: motion that the Parking & Traffic Commission provisionally endorse the parking plan submitted. Hutchinson seconds the motion, all member in favor. The motion carries 6 -0. S. Update: Regarding Issues regarding Speed and Roadway Impediments on Pillowlace Lane and Wentworth Drive - Resident Richard Garlin Cassidy reports that the basketball hoops have been looked at and a notice of Impending Removal will be posted. Cassidy stated that she will get up there to post the signs this week. 6. Request for Restricted Parking or a Fire Lane on Both Sides of Wayland Road Cassidy explains that the Police Department has received a request to restrict parking on both sides of Wayland Road. Rollins provides more details, explaining that the Caterpillar Club House (day care) has no problem with this request and all of the houses on the street have driveways so prohibiting street parking should not be a problem. He also notes that the group home has parking for staff and adds that the group home houses disabled adults and emergency vehicles respond to the site at times. Cassidy suggests that no parking on one side of the street should be considered instead of both. While residents' cars may fit in driveways, there would be no place for visitors to those houses to park. Barber notes that some areas would be tight and ideally no parking on both sides would be better. Cassidy asks Rollins if the Police Chief would be willing to exercise his authority to impose a 30 -day trial period to see how it goes. She also suggests that the neighbors and the police department as well as the DPW be contacted to advise them that the elimination of parking is being considered. Barber states that he would take that on and check with the neighbors. 7. Parking at Luigi's Pizza Slate addresses the Commission and says that the owner of this establishment on Rantoul Street is concerned about parking, given the pending redevelopment of the former Enterprise Rental Car site nearby. The owner is concerned about the parking spaces in front of his establishment that are restricted to 15 minutes. Slate states that the owner had trouble during construction and is asking the Commission to take a look at this and see if there is something that can be done to help him. Cassidy suggests that members who are able to should visit the area around Luigi's Pizza and make some suggestions at the next meeting. 8. Next Meeting Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 6 of 7 Members discuss the proposed dates for the next meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission. The next meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission will be held on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. 4. Adjournment Benevento asks if there is any additional business for the Commission to conduct today. There is none. Hutchinson: motion to adjourn, seconded by Rollins. All members in favor, no one in opposition. The motion carries 6 -0. The meeting is adjourned at 10:30 a.m. Final Parking & Traffic Commission meeting minutes November 9, 2012 Page 7 of 7