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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-04-2010 TRAFFIC COMMISSION MINUTES Caldwell Traffic Commission (TC) Minutes � ; �_� ����� October 04, 2010 10:30 a.m. `��?���� � ;;� Present: Brent Orton, Brian Billingsley, Dave Garcia for Gordon Reed, Chief Aligood ` Secretary: Tamera Frans Old Business 1. Request for School signage change from "When Children Present" to "Between the hours of 7:00 and 4:00 (Chief Allgood) Documents regarding school zone signage and decisions from previous TC meetings were reviewed and discussed. While it is understood a CPD Officer would prefer the "Between the Hours oP' signs for reasons of being clearly defensible when ticketing, other points to consider were discussed. Those points being: • It would be expensive to change out all existing signage • Signage was changed out in Oct 2005 when the TC made the recommendation to Council to make school zone signage uniformly "When Children are presenY'� • The TC decision to recommend the uniform change was based on the opinion that "When Children are Present" covers safety at all times ie: before school programs (breakfast), after school events, evening events, summer months, etc. • School times can and do change from year to year. It would be costly to update signage to refiect changes as they occur. 6-7-2010 Brian Billingsley recommended that the discussion be postponed until Chief Allgood could be present to speak on behalf of the CPD. 7-12-2010 Item continued, Chief Allgood not present at July meeting 8-02-2010 Item continued, Brent Orton reviewed remarks, Chief Allgood will review and discuss further at September TC meeting. 9-07-2010 Difficult to enforce per Chief Allgood. CPD would need to adhere to State code. Chief will read code. Nampa has 7am — 4pm signs. Brent will look into flashing signs. 10-04-2010 A motion was made and the Traffic Commission agreed unanimously to change placards on existing signs to read "School Days between the hours of 7:00 and 4:00". 2. Rural Site Triangles (Gordon Reed) Not ready for P&Z Commission. Need to change drawings to reflect City vs. rural. Main problem is vegetation; not maintained. No examples were drawn out by Engineering for today's meeting. A motion was made and the Traffic Commission agreed unanimously to have P&Z Commission postpone the item until their following meeting. Brent will have Engineering draw out examples and will ask ACHD if they are using the same design for urban as well as for rural. 10-04-2010 Item continued to November when Gordon Reed can be present to speak for the Street department. Action: B,rent Orfo,n = Request Engineering draw out some examples at various intersections for TC to review. Contact ACHD on urban vs. rural. New Business 1. Request "4-Way Stop Signs" at Canyon Springs School (Mr. Quarrel's, Caldwell school district) Brent Orton asked Jared Hale of the Engineering department to investigate Canyon Springs traffic flow. The following is Jared's report: Brent Orton was approached by Canyon Springs Alternative High School with concerns of the safety of the intersections of 11 th and Denver and 11 th and Elgin during school hours. Brent asked me to do a traffic study and to create a proposal for traffic commission. I made sure all of the speed limit signs were in place at the correct locations. All of them were in place and only one was blocked by tree branches. I e-mailed David with the street department about that issue. I observed the traffic and counted the turn movements for both intersections. Denver and 11 t " is the busiest intersection, but there is not enough traffic during the peak hours to warrant a four-way stop at that intersection. However, during the peak hours there are some dangerous driving practices and pedestrian movements in the Denver and 11 th area. There are a lot of cars that speed through the intersection. Most of the cars during the peak hours are dropping off or picking up students. A lot of those vehicles stop in the middle of the street or at an intersection to drop-off or pick-up the students. The school doesn't have a designated drop-off or pick- up area. More students jaywalk than cross the street at the crosswalks, mostly because they were dropped off in the middle of the street. I have put together a few options to help make the Denver and 11 th intersection safer: 1. The cheapest and easiest solution is to have the school designate a student drop- off and pick-up area next to the school for their rides. Then have the police monitor the speed in the area during the peak morning hour between 7:15 am- 8:15 am. 2. Along with having the student drop-off and pick-up area, smalls medians could be placed in front of the crosswalks with cross walk signs in order to narrow the road to slow down traffic. The roads are only 39 feet wide and would not provide a fu1120 foot wide drive isle for emergency vehicles. The drive isle would be closer to 18 feet wide if there isn't parking allowed adjacent to the median. 3. Along with having the student drop-off and pick-up area, chicanes could be put on the right-hand side of all four streets at the intersection before the crosswalks. This would narrow the streets and help slow down traffic. This would allow for a wider drive isle for emergency vehicles because it doesn't divide the street in half, but they would cost more to construct. In addition to the above remarks by Jared, Chief Allgood made an additional suggestion of vacating the section of 11 street between Denver and Elgin. A motion was made and the Traffic Commission agreed unanimously to table the issue untii Chief Wendelsdorf could be present to add remarks on behalf of the Fire department. Action: Robb- Talk with school district or Amber at LKV Architects about possible bus loading and unloading areas. Action: Chief Allgood- Talk to the SRO (School Resource Officer) about traffic concerns The next Traffic Commission meeting is scheduled for November 1st, 2010 at 10:30am.