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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2012 � � Traffic Safety Advisory Committee City of Apple Valley July 11,2012 7:00 p.m. Municipal Center Minutes 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Secretary Joe Shaw Members Present: Todd Blomstrom, Linda Dolan, Harald Eriksen, Charles Grawe, Michael Marben, Joe Shaw Members Absent: Arthur Zimmerman Consultants/Alternates Present: Dave Bennett Others Present: Rob Kesselring, Will Nagle 2. Approval of A eg nda Mr. Blomstrom requested that the items concerning Redwood Drive, crosswalks, and 139�' Street be considered at the end of the agenda to allow additional time for those residents to arrive at the meeting. MOTION: Mr. Marben moved, second by Mr. Grawe, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed 6-0. 3. Approval of Mav 9, 2012 Minutes MOTION: Mr. Marben moved, second by Mr. Eriksen, to approve the Minutes of May 9, 2012 as presented. Motion passed 6-0. 4. Audience Items There were no audience items. 5. Resident Request for Parkin�Restrictions alon�Walnut Lane West of Garden View Drive Mr. Blomstrom introduced the item. This item was considered by the Committee previously. The problem occurs when overflow parking from the Westview Elementary School backs onto Walnut Drive,reducing the driving area to essentially one lane through a curve,placing pedestrians and vehicles � � at risk. The problem does not occur very often or for extended period of time. The Committee did not recommend any action at that time. Since then,the initial petitioner produced photographs that document the problem during these school events. The photographs documented a problem that could be solved with implementation of parking restrictions. Mr. Blomstrom recommended the Committee recommend no parking for the first 250 feet on the north side of Walnut Lane. The school principal and the two impacted residents both support the proposed restrictions. MOTION: Mr. Grawe moved, second by Ms. Dolan, to direct staff to send a letter to the two impacted property owners to confirm their support and then recommend the proposed parking restrictions be approved by the City Council. Motion passed 6-0. 6. Portable Driver Feedback SiQn Pro� Mr. Bennett said the City is obtaining two portable, solar powered driver feedback speed signs. These signs would be installed in a location for several weeks,but likely rotated to several different locations over the course of the non-winter seasons. The Committee discussed the amount of detail necessary in a policy ranging from largely request driven use of the highly mobile police speed trailer to the permanent signs installed on Garden View Drive based on more extensive traffic studies. Mr. Blomstrom said he would draft a policy for the new portable signs for the Committee's consideration. 7. Garden View Drive Speed and Traffic Review Mr. Bennett distributed traffic data taken from the advisory signs installed on Garden View Drive. Mr. Blomstrom provided a brief interpretation of the data. For the southbound traffic, 99 percent was at 35 miles per hour or below. For the northbound traffic, 92 percent was at 35 miles per hour or below. Mr. Marben said that the Police Deparhnent has spent a great deal of time on enforcement activity on Garden View Drive. As a result, the number of tickets written on Garden View Drive make up a very significant portion of the tickets written in the entire city. However, the officers conducting the enforcement are finding a very small percentage of the vehicles on Garden View Drive are exceeding the speed limit by a significant amount that would allow a ticket to be upheld in court. Mr. Nagle and Mr. Kesselring both described some of the specific problems experienced in their neighborhood. The Committee members noted that the problems appear to be more a function of traffic volume and aggressive driver behavior and less that of vehicle speed. Mr. Blomstrom said that minor � � changes to a roadway, such as the addition of one or two stop signs, are unlikely to create enough influence on driver route choice behaviors to make a significant impact on traffic volume. The Committee discussed a wide variety of possible changes and the potential pros and cons of each. The Committee asked staff to continue enforcement activity,to check the curve radius at the south end of the roadway for applicable speed advisory signage, and to explore moving the south speed advisory sign closer to County Road as requested by the residents. 8. Resident Traffic Concerns with Redwood Drive and Keller Lake Drive Mr. Bennett studied the intersection after the previous meeting at which a request for a three-way stop was discussed. He found the traffic volumes are well below the levels required to meet the warrants for a stop. Mr. Bennett found the sight lines are adequate,the traffic volumes are low, and there is no significant crash history at the intersection. In addition, a Burnsville resident also submitted a complaint asking that the City prevent drivers from Apple Valley using the roadway to enter Burnsville. They identified a"No Through Traffic" sign that has been on the Keller Lake Drive for many years and was a hold-over from when the neighboring area of Burnsville was under development and the sign was installed as a temporary measure to control the routes of the trucks involved in the construction. MOTION: Mr. Marben moved, second by Ms. Dolan, to remove the inappropriate "No Through Traffic" sign to be in conformance with the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Motion passed 6-0. MOTION: Mr.Marben moved, second by Mr. Eriksen,to request staff to contact the residents to inform them that warrants for a stop sign are not met and for staff to consider this location for placement of a portable driver feedback sign next year. Motion passed 6-0. 9. Resident Concerns with Crosswalks at Various Traffic Signal Svstems I Mr. Bennett said the nature of the complaint involved vehicle violations,but the specific location of the concern was not provided. MOTION: Mr. Blomstom moved, second by Mr. Grawe,to table the item until such time that the resident can attend the meeting or provides staff with additional information. Motion passed 6-0. � � 10. Resident Request for Parkin�Restrictions alon�Upper 139�' Street Mr. Blomstrom said he received a concern about potential parking problems when the BRT transit stations are complete and riders might begin parking in the adjoining neighborhood. As the BRT is not yet operational and the transit station has not been constructed, there is no current parking problem. The Committee consensus was that this type of request should be evaluated when the project is nearer completion. MOTION: Mr. Shaw moved, second by Mr. Marben, to table this item until the next meeting. Motion passed 6-0. 11. Other Traffic Concerns Communicated to the Cit�pple Vallev Police Concerns Mr. Marben had no additional police items. Public Works' Concerns Mr. Blomstrom said the City continues to work on solutions for the intersection of 153rd Street and Garrett Avenue. The Committee briefly discussed potential traffic concerns along Flagstaff Avenue as that roadway is completed to 140�' Street and when development occurs to the south of County Road 42. 12. Education Issues Ms. Dolan said her neighborhood will be testing the new speed awareness signs this August. The signs used in the Wyndemere neighborhood went missing within 12 hours of being erected. 13. Adjourn MOTION: Mr. Ericksen moved, second by Ms. Dolan, to adjourn. Motion passed 6- 0. Meeting was adjourned at 9:13 p.m.