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Parking Traffic Com Meeting MinutesBeverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 20I7 CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD OR COMMISSION: Parking and Traffic Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: DATE: October 3, 2017 LOCATION: Conference Room B Third Floor City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Richard Benevento, George Binns, John Somes, John Lozada, Sgt. Antonio DiRuzza Police Department and DPS Director Mike Collins MEMBERS ABSENT: City Planner Aaron Clausen, Captain Chris Halloran, Fire Department OTHERS PRESENT: Greg St. Louis, City Engineer, RECORDER: Eileen Sacco 1. Benevento calls the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. 2. Recommendation to Planning Board: Site Plan Review Application #130 -17 and Inclusionary Housing Application #12 -17 — Construct 5 Floor — 28- Residential Unit Buildine with RetaiVCommercial use on the 1St Floor, with Parkins, at Grade on nonb_uilding area of the site — Windover Ford LLC —1'99 Rantoul Street 3. Recommendation to Planning Board: Special Permit Application #162 -17 and #163 7 and Site Plan Review Application #131 -17 and Inclusionary Housing Application #13 -17 — Construction of 6 Floor, 100 - Residential Unit Building with Retail/Commercial, Parking and Common Area on 1 St Floor, Deviation from Buildins; Height over 55 Feet and use of 8017 s.f. lot at Rear 211 Rantoul Street as a parkins: lot — Windover Ford LLC - 211 Rantoul Street Benevento suggests that the Commission take up these two matters together since they are essentially one project with Wallis Street running between the sites. Attorney Thomas Alexander, Chris Koeplin and Charlie Wear are present for the applicant. Rebecca Brown of GPI addresses the Commission and reviews the response submitted to the questions raised on the traffic study submitted. She notes that the project at 112 Rantoul Street was included in the data collected for the study and reported that the traffic volumes are up. Brown reviews the Transportation Demand Management measures that are proposed for the project. She notes that tenants will be encouraged to use public transportation noting the location of the Beverly Depot as well as bus access to the commuter rail. She notes that there are bike lanes on both sides of Rantoul Street and a storage and bicycle repair Page 1 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2017 area for bikes is included in the plan. She further notes that there will be interior and exterior bike storage on the site which will include a cleaning station. She also notes that they are looking into bike sharing programs. She also notes that they are planning for a "Pet Spa" for a pet cleaning area onsite. Brown reports that there will be 850 feet of sidewalk on Wallis Street for pedestrian access. Benevento asks if the sidewalk will stop at the driveway to the site. Brown states that it will and notes that it coincides with the driveway. Lozada asks where the snow storage areas will be located on the site. Wear reviews the areas on the plan where they could use for snow storage noting that they are at the end of the aisles. Koeplin notes that if necessary they will remove snow from the site as they do with other buildings. Brown explains that the site includes one parking space per unit and they are planning for four electric car charging stations on the site. She notes that new residents will be given information on public transportation. She also notes that the retailer and restaurants in the building will be encouraged to get information out to customers and employees on public transportation as well. Brown reviewed the traffic counts from the traffic study and noted that they used a 15% transit credit for residential. She reported that traffic from the Kelly site will result in 38 additional trips in the a.m., 26 in the p.m., and 5 Saturday mid day trips. She also notes that they updated the capacity analysis and the results were similar to the original study. Brown reported that most study areas were Level of Service D and two areas are Level E. Benevento notes that Wallis at Cabot Street is a LOS D, noting that one way flow of traffic on Wallis and Bow Street head up to Cabot Street adds traffic to that area. He questions if there is any mitigation that can be done. Brown notes that they try to maintain the level of service that exists or improve it and what is proposed is still below a .5 difference. She also notes that the access to Bow Street is available as well. Benevento notes that the population who live there can circulate the site and get out to Rantoul Street but questions how they will keep the public out. Collins notes that Wallis Street does not meet the warrant criteria for a light and there is not enough space for two lanes for a left turn. Lozada states that he is worried about River (Rantoul ?) Street. Brown states that they have not looked at River Street, but she would expect less of an impact on it. Benevento states that the LOS may be a little better. Brown states that in the a.m. it could be slightly worse. Page 2 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2017 Benevento asks if they looked at the effect on the rest of Rantoul Street. Brown states that they did not look all the way down Rantoul. Benevento suggests that they might take a look at the timing etc. to see if things are as optimized as they could be. St. Louis recalled that during discussions of the 131 Rantoul Street and the 211 Rantoul Street projects it was suggested that they take a look at the timing when the sites are occupied to see if adjustments need to be made. Benevento notes that the Cummings Center had a lot of little projects over the years that would not affect traffic and timing at the time but notes that at some point we have to look at the composite because eventually it is going to catch up. He notes that there is a lot of good stuff going up on Rantoul Street with only 3 -4 trip increases and he wants to be sure that we do not end up with a problem down the road that the City has to fix. Koeplin states that they were asked to look at the timing as part of the 131 Rantoul Street project and they are happy to do it and would be willing to that here as well. Binns asks if the parking spaces on the site will be assigned to the residents. Koeplin states that the parking spaces will be lined and numbered. He notes that the parking in the rear of the site will be for the retail space. He notes that there will be 13 parking spaces on the street for retail and 9 spaces in the lot dedicated to the retail space. Lozada asks if there will be metered parking on the street. Koeplin states that it would be up to the City if they want to meter the spaces on the street. Binns asks how long the construction of the project will take. Koeplin states that they are planning on 16 months of construction. Collins states that he dislikes the mid walk crosswalk on Wallis Street more with the proposed bump out. Brown explains that they suggest the bump out to add friction and slow the traffic down. Benevento questions why they need the crosswalks. Brown explains that it is an acknowledgement that people will be crossing in that area when it might not be expected. Collins states that he would like to make it explicit that the property owner will take care of removing the snow on the sidewalks. He notes that if they have to take care of the snow removal on the sidewalk they will be less inclined to put snow on the sidewalk when removing snow from the site. Koeplin states that they will have bobcats and will be able to clear the sidewalks. St. Louis reports that he commented in his letter that the 6 spaces in front of the garage door may have insufficient space to get around noting that there is not a lot of room. Page 3 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2017 Koeplin states that compact cars are slated to be parked in that area and they have proposed what is required. St. Louis suggests that they should check to see if handicapped parking is required onsite. Benevento opens the meeting up for public comment at this time. Megan Meek of 37 Wallis Street addresses the Commission and states that she is concerned about Gussett ( ?) Park and the over flow traffic going up that street. She notes that parking on Wallis Street is extremely tight and she is concerned about on street parking spaces being available for residents who live there. Benevento suggests that the Commission review the construction management plan at this time. Brown reviews the construction management plan with the Commission. Benevento notes that all of the construction signs signifying detours etc. have to be MUTCD compliant. St. Louis states that he would share a construction management plan for another project with them to show what the city expects. Derek Reitz of Windover Construction reviews the construction management plan and notes that a portion of Wallis Street is proposed to be closed to traffic with a detour for Wallis Street residents. He reviews the traffic circulation of the site. St. Louis questions how long they want to close Wallis Street. Reitz states that it will be for the duration of the construction which is estimated at 16 months. Benevento suggests that they install a four -foot sidewalk noting that they do not need jersey barriers. He notes that if they are going to shut down the street for 16 months they should be building a road and sidewalk. Benevento states that he has reservations about this and notes that he would like to think about this. Lozada states that he would be worried about jersey barriers on Rantoul Street and access for people with disabilities. He also notes that he is concerned about adequate signage. Benevento states that he needs time to digest this plan and the construction phasing plan given the proposed road closures etc. and states that he needs more time to review it. Page 4 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2417 Atty. Alexander asks when the next meeting of the PTC is. Benevento states that it is scheduled for November 7, 2017. He explains that the Commission would close this at the next meeting. Koeplin explains their timetable for the approval process and notes that they are scheduled to go to the Planning Board on October 17, 2017 with this project. Benevento asks members if they would be willing to hold a special meeting in the next week or so to approve this plan and the construction phasing plan. Members present agreed. Benevento states that he would review this with City Planner Aaron Clausen who is not present this morning to schedule a date for the meeting. He notes that it would be held in the late afternoon. There being no further questions or comments regarding this matter: Binns: Motion to continue the matter of 199 and 211 Rantoul Street proposed project to a special PTC meeting to be announced. Lozada seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). Members discussed possible dates for the special meeting and suggested October 16 at 4:00 p.m. Benevento will confirm with Clausen and other members who are not present and members will be notified by the Planning Department. 4. Discussion on Thoreau Circle / Essex Street — Truck Stop Benevento notes that the PTC discussed this issue at the last meeting and members were advised to go out and take a look at this. He reports that he visited the site and notes that it is tough to restrict truck parking on a public street. He notes that it seems to be a problem for 20 -25 minutes per day. The owner of the property who filed the complaint was present at the meeting and states that it sets a precedent for other trucks to park in front of his house. He notes that the trucks from Scenic Landscaping pull up at 7 :00 a.m. and stay until 7:25. Benevento states that he did not review the traffic at Dunkin Donuts noting that the area is zoned commercial and residential has been added. Benevento states that signage is not going to change anything and notes that the behavior needs to be changed. Collins suggests that the City try mediation with the resident and the landscaping company. Benevento explains the role of the Parking and Traffic Commission and notes that their Page 5 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2017 role is to review parking and traffic issues and make recommendations to the City Council or the Planning Board and the Commission is limited as to what they can do. Lozada suggests that the resident could put up a fence. 5. Discussion on Makin,; Montserrat Road One Wa_y Sgt. DiRuzza reported that he has been approached by residents regarding cut through traffic on Montserrat Road during morning and afternoon school traffic from the Hannah School. He explains that they are concerned that cars park on the street during drop off and pick up at the school and they would like the street to be one -way during school hours. Collins states that he feels that it would be worse if the street was a one -way noting that it would bring all of the traffic out to Brimbal Avenue. He recalled a similar situation on Putnam Street. Sgt. DiRuzza states that he will get back to the residents and suggests that he will visit to get a better handle on the circulation of the Hannah School traffic. He notes that they have to be safe and be mindful that this situation only lasts for 20 minutes per day. 6. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the Parking and Traffic Commission meeting held on May 2, 2017, and August 8, 2017 were presented for approval. Binns moved approval of the May 2, 2017 and August 8, 2017 Parking and Traffic Commission minutes as presented. Lozada seconded the motion. The motion carried (6 -0) 7. Old /New Business Discussion on Speed Limit on Grover Street Sgt. DiRuzza reports that he has a request from residents of Grover Street for a stop sign and speed bumps to address excessive speed in the area. He explains that the road is narrow and curvy, and the speed limit is 20 miles per hour. He notes that it is a narrow country road designed for self - regulation. Benevento states that the Commission would review this if there was a proposed ordinance change by the City Council explaining that it would be referred to the Commission by the Council. Myron Hood addresses the Commission and expresses his concern about traffic that will be generated by the new middle school on Cabot Street. Page 6 of 7 Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission Minutes October 3, 2017 8. Next Meeting The next meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. 9. Adiournment There being no further business to come before the Parking and Traffic Commission this morning, Binns moves to adjourn the meeting. DiRuzza seconds the motion. The motion carries (6 -0). The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m. Page 7 of 7