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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/12/2005 � � Traffic Safety Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley January 12, 2005 7:00 p.m. Municipal Center Minutes l. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m.by Chair Linda Dolan. Members Present: Craig Anglin,Dick Asleson,Linda Dolan,Harald Eriksen, Charles Grawe,Neal Heuer,Arthur Zimmerman(arrived at 7:20 p.m.) Members Absent: � Consultants/Alternates Present: Tom Sohrweide, Glen Van Wormer Others Present: 2. A�proval of A eg nda Ms. Dolan requested the addition of an Education Efforts item regarding Eastview High School Student Group Update. Mr.Heuer requested the addition of an Education Efforts item regarding newsletter articles. MOTION: Mr. Anglin moved, second by Mr.Asleson,to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed 6 to 0. 3. Approval of November 10, 2004 Minutes There were no changes or adjustments to the minutes. MOTION: Mr. Anglin moved, second by Mr. Asleson,to approve the minutes of November 10, 2004. Motion passed 6 to 0. 4. Audience Items There were no audience items. 5. Traffic Calming Measure Presentation Mr. Sohrweide provided a brief description of his professional background. He said that Traffic Calming as essentially an effort to impose a will on people or a way to get people to do something . � that is desired. He said that the desired ends can be achieved through the methods of education, empowerment, enforcement, and engineering. Mr. Sohrweide described the options available to traffic engineers as a"tool box", or a tool developed to facilitate the investigation of solutions. The"tool box"is collection of documented studies and analysis of how different attempted solutions have impacted identi�ed problems. Education provides several tools. Mr. Sohrweide described some education efforts including notifying neighbors of a problem,using yard signs to communicate concerns, and using signs on mailboxes. Empowerment is a means of getting others involved in the education effort. Enforcement by the Police,according to Mr. Sohrweide, is not the best use of limited City resources. Other methods that have been tried include neighbors taking license plate numbers and recording speeds in"speed watch"operations. He said the concern over such methods is vigilante behavior. Another option is variable speed displays such as the City's speed trailer,that can reduce speeds,but need to be coordinated with enforcement. Mr. Sohrweide then provided a description of a number of engineering tools that can help calm traffic. Mr. Sohrweide said that signing and pavement marking are common tools. Examples of signing include posted speed limits,turn restrictions,and stop signs. He said that speed limit postings increase driver awareness,but have not proven to reduce actual vehicle speeds. Drivers generally drive at a rate of comfort. In suburban settings,the greater setbacks between the houses and the street often result in increased speeds. The implementation of too many postings creates sign clutter. Mr. Sohrweide said that turn restrictions prohibit certain traffic movements. These restrictions can reduce traffic volumes and vehicle speeds at a relatively low installation cost. However,they restrict accesses and have frequent vehicle violations. He said restrictions often have a mixed acceptance by the community. Another signing tool is a one-way street designation. Mr. Sohrweide said that this tool can reduce traffic volumes on that street at a relatively low installation cost. However,creation of a one-way street will shift the traffic volumes to other parallel streets. He noted that one-way streets also restrict accesses. Mr. Sohrweide said that installation of stop signs in a basket weave pattern, alternating stops at every other block, is also a tool that can reduce vehicle speeds at intersections. However,the environmental impacts from stopping and accelerating frequently tend to be quite negative, including noise pollution, increased energy consumption, and decreased air quality. The stop signs also have frequent vehicle violations and generally cause little ar no reduction on traffic volumes. Examples of pavement markings include narrowing lanes and converging chevrons. Mr. Sohrweide said that the creation of narrow driving lanes and wider bike lanes can cause a reduction in vehicle speeds,but that the reduction is variable from case to case. He said the use of converging chevrons marked on the pavement creates a visual Doppler Effect, causing the driver to feel like the vehicle speed is traveling at a greater rate of speed. He said that a test study in Eagan using this tool showed an initial reduction in vehicle speeds for one direction of travel,but no reduction on speeds for the other direction of travel. Mr. Sohrweide said that physical improvements are also common tools. Examples of physical improvements include traffic circles, speed humps, chokers,medians,landscaping, curves, and chicanes. A traffic circle is a control island in the center of an intersection. A circle can be installed on a temporary basis,but needs to be constructed to look more like it would if installed . � permanently with plantings or other objects in order to function properly. Circles are not the same as roundabouts,which are much larger. The presence of a traffic circle can create difficulties far larger vehicles, especially as they need to make a left turn around the circle. Circles do not work well on streets with higher traffic volumes and when installed at a T-intersection,may result in frequent vehicle lane violations in attempts by drivers to avoid slowing at the intersection. Mr. Sohrweide said that speed humps are not the same as speed bumps that are often found in parking lots. Speed bumps are much shorter in width and are very jarring as a vehicle passes over them. Speed humps are wider than the car wheel base. Speed humps are a maintenance issue and create problems for emergency service vehicles. In order to be effective, speed humps need to be spaced at key intervals and in groups. Variations on the speed humps include raised intersections,raised cross walks, and split humps that allow some emergency vehicles with wider wheel bases to drive in the tracks without going over the hump. Temporary speed humps can be used to demonstrate the impacts to a neighborhood prior to permanent installation. Mr. Sohrweide explained that chokers are the physical narrowing of the driving lanes mid-block. Medians are the narrowing of the driving lanes by the creation of a center island. The narrowing of driving lanes doesn't work as well on residential streets where the lanes are often already narrower. Chokers also allow a driver to drive down the middle of the street using both driving lanes in order to avoid reducing the vehicle speed. Mr. Sohrweide said that a University of Minnesota study showed that plantings in conjunction with other narrowing projects could cause reductions in vehicle speeds. Mr. Sohrweide also explained some large physical improvements that can be used to calm traffic. Partial diverters stop traffic in one direction. The partial diverters may result in moderate reductions in traffic volumes and vehicle speeds. However,they are costly to install and restrict accesses and parking. Full diverters prevent turning movements and through traffic. They also are costly to install and restrict accesses and parking. Forced turn islands are medians that function much like the signed turning restrictions. Chicanes are curves in the roadway that can serve to reduce vehicle speeds. Drawbacks to chicanes are drivers using legal but excessive speeds for the roadway conditions and frequent lane violations. Closing a roadway can reduce traffic volumes by creating severe restrictions on access and difficulties for emergency responders. The three-lane road design can lead to reduced vehicle speeds but also increases delay. Mr. Sohrweide concluded with a brief comparison of the various tools impacts on vehicle speeds and traffic volumes. 6. Traffic Concerns on Pennock Avenue between 140'�'Street and 138'�'Street Mr.Van Wormer presented a summary of his study on traffic concerns on lower Pennock Avenue. He explained that many of the solutions described in the traffic calming presentation can not be implemented due to the physical nature of that stretch of Pennock Avenue. There are five curves in the roadway, three intersections with other streets, and 25 private driveway entrances. These factors greatly limit what can be done. The existing vehicle speeds are not very high, so a further reduction in speed would be minimal. He suggested considering replacing the existing curve signage with reverse curve signage with advisory speed limit postings. He said that enforcement efforts could be increased but noted that most of the vehicles are not exceeding the speed limit in that area. Mr.Van Wormer suggested that the City send his Summary Pennock Avenue 138�'Street to 140`i' Street Apple Valley,Minnesota report to residents who attended the last Committee meeting. He � • also suggested that the City could implement the proposed signage changes and try new enforcement activities. 7. Update on 153rd Street Project Mr. Heuer said the overlay project was scheduled for 2005. Mr.Heuer went over the concept plan with the adjacent property owners in 2004. One part of the plan involved moving the Post Office driveway and the mailbox drop-off lane. Mr. Heuer said the concept was well received and the City is currently working on a joint powers agreement so that the City can make the proposed improvements to the site. Mr. Heuer noted that the project may be delayed due to the construction project on the east end of 153rd Street near Gala�cie Avenue. He said that he would prefer to coordinate the work schedules for the two projects. He also noted that the process for the Post Office to approve the joint powers agreement could be lengthy and might also contribute to delaying the project unti12006. Mr. Heuer said he received a related complaint about the driveways out of the Cub Foods and Target Greatland parking lots near the Walgreens store. The resident requested a restriction on the vehicle movements as they exit the Cub Foods lot. He said that such restrictions would not work given the traffic volumes and flow out of the two properties. He said that the proposed improvements to 153`d Street might ultimately help to address this situation. 8. Traffic Safety Education Efforts a) Driver Informational Signs. Mr.Heuer said that the City purchased two speed monitoring signs at a cost of around$11,000.00. The signs require the installation of an electrical service. Two of the locations under consideration for signs are on Garden View Drive, one for southbound traffic near the Baptist Church and one for northbound traf�c near the intersection with Hayes Trail. Mr. Heuer said he is waiting on a variance from the Minnesota Department of Transportation(MnDOT) as these signs are not currently authorized in the manual on uniform traffic control devices. My Heuer also noted that the Public Warks Department implemented six"check your speed"signs for temporary mounting under speed limit posting signs. b) Special Operations Vehicle. Mr.Heuer said that a retired squad car has been outfitted with a light bar and parked on the street on a rotating schedule. The concept is that the unmanned vehicle causes motorists to check their speed and drive at the speed limit. c) Newsletter Articles. Mr. Heuer said that Golden Valley has shared traffic-related articles with Apple Valley in the past. Several new articles were created for Golden Valley and can be used by Apple Valley if desired. Mr. Van Wormer said he would send a list of topics covered by existing articles. d) Eastview High School Student Group Update. Ms. Dolan said that she spoke with Jodi Hanson of Eastview High School. Only one of the four students who attended the March 16, 2004 Committee meeting remains at the school or remain interested in traffic safety education. The group agreed to try to keep the high school students aware of the Committee's presence. i • 9. Traffic Concerns Communicated to the Citv a) Police Concerns. Mr. Anglin said he is preparing a report on 2004 activity for the next meeting. He noted that a fatal accident occurred on 160`h Street earlier in the day when a car crossed a median and was struck by a bus. b) Public Works Concerns. Mr.Heuer said he received one complaint other than relating to 153ra Street. The resident requested speed bumps installed on a cul-de-sac to slow a garbage truck. c) Other Concerns. Mr. Asleson requested that staff invite the Students Against Driving Drunk representatives from the high schools to attend the next Committee meeting to hear the presentation by the Safe and Sober speaker. 10. Other Items Mr.Van Wormer announced that as of February lst,he would be leaving his role with the Committee and Mr. Sohrweide would be taking his place. The members of the Committee thanked Mr. Van Wormer for his service to the Committee and to the Community. 11. Adj ourn MOTION: Mr. Asleson moved, second by Mr. Grawe,to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.