City of Lawrence
Traffic Safety Commission
November 7, 2005 Minutes
MEMBERS PRESENT: John Ziegelmeyer, Jr., Chair, David Hamby, Vice-Chair, Caroljean Brune,Carol Bowen, Danny Drungilas, Paul Graves, Robert Hagen, Richard Heckler and Caleb Morse.
MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
STAFF PRESENT: David Woosley, Public Works Department; Tracy Russell, Police Department.
Chair John Ziegelmeyer, Jr. called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room in City Hall.
ITEM NO. 1:
Review and approve the minutes of the Traffic Safety Commission meeting, October 3, 2005.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HAGEN, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 3, 2005, TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING; THE MOTION CARRIED 7-0-2 (Brune, Drungilas).
ITEM NO. 2:
Consider request for additional traffic control at the school crossing on 27th Street adjacent to Sunflower Elementary School.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Jamy Taylor, 2737 Inverness Court: Our main concern is excessive speed and that no one seems to slow down for the school crossing, students on cell phones and parents taking children to school. We need help; I don’t think we need a crossing guard, but we need help.
Commissioner Hagen asked if this was a concern primarily during school hours; Taylor responded that it is also a problem during non-school hours.
Commissioner Hagen asked if speed and volume data was available; Woosley advised that they were not; they are not part of the school crossing study.
Commissioner Hamby asked if the crossing was marked as a school zone; Woosley advised that it was.
Steve Schulstrom, 2716 Inverness Court: I understand we probably don’t qualify for the higher levels of protection at a crosswalk, but we would like to have the speed limit enforced and the crosswalk enforced. Even during the early morning, late evening and weekends, motorists drive by at a high rate of speed. The crossing is between two street lights and it is very dark at night.
Marcus Dudley, 2732 Inverness Court: It is important to be proactive now, there will be more and more students crossing here in the future and more traffic on 27th Street.
Commissioner Heckler suggested that city staff meet with the neighborhood to review what options are available.
Commissioner Hagen: Addressing just the school hours is not the whole problem.
Commissioner Brune: I think we need to do something right now; I think flashing beacons should be installed.
Commissioner Bowen: We should encourage enforcement immediately.
Commissioner Drungilas: I feel this is something the City Commission should address immediately.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER DRUNGILAS, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, RECOMMENDING AN ADULT GUARD AND/OR FLASHING BEACONS AT THE SCHOOL CROSSING ON 27TH STREET ADJACENT TO SUNFLOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
ITEM NO. 3:
Consider request to establish NO PARKING along both sides of Silicon Avenue.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Lynn Potter, 1120 E 23rd Street: One side of the street does need to have NO PARKING; when parking occurs on both sides of the street, it is fairly narrow.
Commissioner Hagen asked which side should be NO PARKING; Potter suggested NO PARKING along the east side.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER MORSE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, RECOMMENDING THAT NO PARKING BE ESTABLISHED ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF SILICON AVENUE; THE MOTION CARRIED 9-0.
ITEM NO. 4:
Consider request to establish NO PARKING in front of Rieger Hall in the 1300 block of Ohio Street.
David Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report and distributed copies of pictures of the area provided by Ken Stoner.
Kenneth Stoner, Director of Student Housing, University of Kansas: Due to the steep area behind the curb, when vehicles park in front of the sidewalk, pedestrians must walk down the street to get to another access to the sidewalk; so we are asking for a NO PARKING zone in front of the sidewalk. Other parking is available along the street during non-commuting and non-bar hours.
Candice Davis, 947 Louisiana Street, representing the Oread Neighborhood Association: Our neighborhood association is not in favor of having this NO PARKING; we have always been concerned about the density of parking in the neighborhood; this would be a bad precedent for the neighborhood; it is not a luxury we can afford in the neighborhood.
Janet Gerstner, 4416 Jefferson Way: Parking was a big concern of the neighborhood as the University expanded into the neighborhood; people that live in the area do come and go during the day and it is an issue for them with parking filled by commuters.
Carol von Tersch, 706 W. 12th Street: I hate to see the Oread Neighborhood being asked to give up one more parking space in order to accommodate the University’s interests. Also, one of the property owners that owns two rental properties in the 1300 block called me this evening because he could not be here; he is opposed to the request.
Commissioner Drungilas: This would encourage people to walk in the street and to jaywalk.
Commissioner Hagen: This appears to be a misplace stairway.
Commissioner Morse: This would set a bad precedent for the rest of the neighborhood.
Commissioner Bowen: It is difficult for a pedestrian to climb the hill; the stairway is needed in this terrain.
Commissioner Hamby: There is a sidewalk on the other side of the street for pedestrians to use.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: This is the only access in this block to the sidewalk on the west side of the street.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER HECKLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF THE REQUEST FOR NO PARKING IN FRONT OF RIEGER HALL; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-1 (Ziegelmeyer; this is the only access to the sidewalk from the street in the 1300 block and needs to be discussed by the City Commission).
ITEM NO. 5:
Paul Atchley, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Kansas, presented a summary of research to date on traffic crash risk while using cellular phones.
ITEM NO. 6:
Public Comment.
None.
ITEM NO. 7:
Commission items:
Commissioner Drungilas solicited additional members for the Pedestrian Advisory Sub-committee.
ITEM NO. 8:
Miscellaneous.
The Commission acknowledged receipt of the Attendance Summary for the period November 2004 to October 2005.
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 PM.
The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Safety Commission is Monday, December 5, 2005.
Respectfully submitted,
David E. Woosley, P.E.
Transportation/Traffic Engineer