2011-06-21 TPC MinutesTransportation and Parking Commission
City of Northampton
210 Main Street, Room 18,
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 587 -1210
www.northamptonma.gov /tpc
MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
City Council Chambers, Puchalski Municipal Building
4:03 p.m. — 5:58 p.m.
Members Present: Maureen Carney, Ned Huntley, Russell Sienkiewicz, Wayne Feiden, Debin
Bruce, Gary Hartwell, Leslie Stein, James Lowenthal, Jesse Adams
Members Absent: Paul Sustick, William Letendre,
Others Present: Laura Hanson, DPW; Wendy Bernstein, PTO; Monica Green, PTO; Roger
Sorkin, Citizen
Meeting called to order at 4:03 p.m. by Chair, Maureen Carney. Quorum met.
Public Comment
a. Traffic Slowing Mechanisms for Park Street, Florence — Roger Sorkin, citizen
He is a resident of 14 Park Street, which he said is a "pretty busy" street and
that they have two small children; that there are few places for pedestrians to
cross the street, and he is seeking information on traffic slowing mechanisms for
the purpose of pedestrian safety; specific example is when cars come up the hill
on Pine Street and take the turn faster than should be the case.
Discussion
Chair Maureen Carney recommended to Mr. Sorkin to go to the
northamptonma.gov website, click on "Committees & Boards," and then
"Transportation & Parking "; one will find a wealth of information on traffic
calming programs, including an application, how stop signs are governed by
state law, and the criteria for any other mechanism to be put in place; she also
asked for the record detailed information regarding the corner of Pine & Park,
deemed "especially dangerous" for a resident with small children.
b. Sidewalks in Town and Sharing with Bicycles — David Corbett, citizen
• He said bicycles shouldn't be on the sidewalk, especially at the crosswalks.
• He cited King Street near the bike path and Elm Street as examples;
• He asked the Commission to assert to and inform bicyclists, particularly the
more aggressive types, that pedestrians have the right -of -way on the sidewalk
and in the crosswalks;
• He said he had requested from DPW a pedestrian push- button for South Street
and that it was fixed the next day, and for which he offered his appreciation;
• He noted the bricks on Main Street were being replaced but that there were still
about a dozen missing on lower Main Street at the top of the handicap ramp;
• He concluded with his concern of overgrowing brush in people's yards, saying
it impedes the public passers -by.
Discussion
• Chair Carney conveyed to Mr. Corbett that there is a Subcommittee of the
Commission specializing on `Bike/Ped" issues, of which two members on the
Commission were present. She also asked for the record if the Subcommittee
can take up the issues presented by Mr. Corbett.
Student Pedestrian Hit — Jim Nash, Director of CareerWorks
• He is a resident of 18 Montview who distributed hard copies of a memo
addressed to the Commission, dated 6/21/11 re: "Gazette story "Northampton
PTO takes action after student Haley Milsark is hit in crosswalk," an incident
that occurred earlier in the Spring; contends the three crosswalks at the high
school are unsafe and that Ms. Milsark was crossing in the safest of the three;
• He argued the speed limits are inconsistent with respect to which direction
traffic is flowing, ranging from 25 to 35 mph (detailed in the memo);
• He pointed out statistics showing the likelihood of fatalities occurring relative to
the speed of the vehicle and that the speed limit is counter intuitively higher
nearer the high school than, say, at Cooley Dickenson Hospital and Smith
College, and requested the speed limit be made more consistent throughout the
corridor.
• He emphasized the driver of the vehicle that hit Ms. Milsark was fortuitously
moving at only half the rate of the speed limit, a difference in a likely death
occurring, estimated at 5% in that particular incident vs., say, 80 %, which is
indicated as when vehicles travel the posted speed limit of 35 mph;
• He added as a footnote that kids with disabilities are more likely to stick to
crossing protocols, and kids "in the mainstream" are more likely distracted by
other matters as they cross.
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Chair Carney thanked Mr. Nash for his input and informed him that the subject
would be part of a broader discussion of an item on the agenda in this meeting.
d. Conz Street/Pleasant Street Intersection – Ned Huntley, DPW, and Stephen Farr,
Nitsch Engineering
• Mr. Huntley requested the presence of and introduced Nitsch Engineering
representatives to provide a quick update on this project (not on the original
Agenda, thus added to the Public Comment):
• Mr. Farr, Project Manager for Nitsch Engineering, provided hard copies during
a corresponding slide presentation of a satellite view of the intersection,
photoshopped with proposed changes to be made in order to improve traffic
safety of what he termed a "high- accident intersection," twice as high as the
district -wide average for the area over the years '08-'10;
• He said MassDOT, which commissioned Nitsch, is looking to reconstruct the
intersection sometime within the next 4 -5 years, now in the beginning stages;
• He was accompanied by two colleagues —one being Corinne Tobias, the other
was unidentified;
• He said the intersection is at present unsignalized, grading the "level of service"
of the sides of both streets from A -F, where too often drivers on Conz Street try
to "shoot the gaps ";
• He said their data indicates the intersection sees about 20- thousand vehicles per
day; 13- thousand on one side of the intersection and 9- thousand on the other
side;
• He showed three schemes as examples of possible upgrades:
- A standardized traffic - signal intersection where left -turn, right -turn and
center /thru lanes will be clearly identified on both streets;
- A one -lane roundabout with a free right -turn from Conz to Pleasant
southbound and two -lanes on the other side; a similar scheme as the other
roundabout near Look Park; one drawback is larger vehicles, e.g., tractor
trailers, would not be able to negotiate this roundabout; and
- A modified single -lane roundabout with an expanded oblong apron (vs. the
previously proposed concentric apron) to satisfy the larger vehicles but
would impact the medical building's property; this version's level of service
is rated as slightly better than the other two.
• He said Nitsch and MassDOT seek input and consensus from the city before
they go through with any design alternative, ergo their presence before the
Commission today, but that MassDOT is ultimately responsible for design and
construction;
• He suggested the Commission go through the plans over the next few weeks or
month and Nitsch will come back with a more thorough presentation.
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• Chair Carney acknowledged the roundabout construction by Look Park was a
long process requiring a number of hearings sponsored by both MassDOT and
the Parking Commission;
• Debin Bruce would like to see the safety study and was assured by Mr. Farr that
Nitsch would have a safety draft "in to MassDOT by this time next week"
(6/28), which will be reviewed by MassDOT and DPW;
• James Lowenthal asked about whether crosswalks were part of the designs; they
are;
• Chair Carney emphasized that the designs as presented here are rough drafts.
She cut short the increasing Q &A for a later period due to time considerations
and for when the matter can be put on the Agenda; she also welcomed members
of the TPC to attend.
2. Approval of Minutes of May 17, 2011
• Minutes for Supplemental May 31, 2011 meeting not included.
MOTION, Chief Sienkiewicz, to Approve Minutes; seconded, Mr. Adams; Motion
carried; abstention, Mr. Lowenthal.
3. Crosswalks nearest to Northampton High School
a. Continued hearing of Pedestrian Safety — Wendy Bernstein, PTO
She came to speak reflectively on how to keep Northampton students and staff
safe at the high school; that the principal is requesting a city official to come to
the school and evaluate the traffic patterns in the morning and afternoon; that
the most dangerous time for potential hazards is between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m.;
that parents stop their cars in the middle of the road to let their children out; that
in the afternoon, busses and cars park in the circle and along the edges of Elm
Street; she provided more than a couple of anecdotes, including one incident of
long horn honking and screeching of tires from a car bearing down fast on a
student, although an accident was averted; she suggested a new light for the
high school crosswalks akin to the one along the bike path across King Street;
that too many parking spaces make for poor driver visibility; that there have
been several near - misses at the intersection of Woodlawn and Elm; that traffic
at Elm and North Elm, and overall for that matter is particularly dense and often
times moving at too high rate of speed; that too many drivers are high schoolers,
and thus are inexperienced; that the parking lot is problematic at pick -up and
drop -off times;
She suggested remedies, which have been talked about. They include:
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- a crossing guard at the high school at 7:15 in the morning;
- Increased signage warning drivers of the crossing;
- In -road signs donated by the Lions Club;
- Flashing /blinking lights, acknowledged as not productive as originally
perceived;
- A King St. bike path -style light;
- Deletion of one or two parking spaces on the Charles Park side;
- Lowering the speed limit, acknowledging the road falls under State purview;
She sought input from the Commission as to the viability of the suggestions,
means of raising money, etc.; and said constituent emails would be submitted to
the Commission for review.
Discussion
Chief Sienkiewicz had prepared accident statistics of 380 Elm St., Elm St. & N.
Elm, and Elm St. & Woodlawn Ave., dating between 1/1/03 and 6/7/11, and
presented hard copies to the Commission for review; he said the peak years
were between '03 and '08 and indicated the variety of types of accidents;
wished to emphasize the concentration of police is on the grammar schools,
moving up to middle schools, etc., indicating a shortage of manpower to staff all
the schools at the same time;
• Chair Carney inquired as to the accident referred to by Mr. Nash (dated 3/31/11
on the stat sheet);
• Bernstein wanted to know how to document near - misses, with or without
detailed info, and whether the police would follow -up on them;
• Chief Sienkiewicz said yes, the police will follow -up; that witnesses can file
reports online, over the phone, or walk -in to the station;
• Chair Carney suggested PTO could help educate constituents about online
reporting; a good idea, especially with follow -up;
• James Lowenthal suggested packaging this matter into a formal Traffic Calming
request and detailed the process, including their ranking in order of importance
determined by history of circumstances; and offered assistance with the request
and examine the possibilities of funding;
• Chair Carney emphasized the highest prioritization being related to availability
of funding, citing the 100% funding by Smith College resulting in the traffic
calming closer to that campus; "money is ever the issue ";
• Chief Sienkiewicz suggested a more intensive education of pedestrians, that
they need to be more alert; "Stop, Look, Listen ";
• Chair Carney — Remind students, staff, and parents if they're involved in near
misses to be at least notified that they were seen behaving in a manner that was
dangerous;
• Leslie Stein (to Laura Hanson) asked if this area is one of the official traffic
counting requests submitted; asked if students still have to pay a fee to park in
the parking lot (yes), and that many park in the church lot;
• Laura Hanson said a speed study had been conducted and determined that the
area's was significantly higher than average; she suggested pavement markings
that might help slow people down, and that some new traffic counts nearer to
Smith College can be submitted to the State to enlist their help in lowering the
speed limits;
• Chair Carney sympathized that the logic is "topsy turvy" but that the State
won't lower the speed limit from what 85 percent of the traffic is already
driving;
• Laura Hanson said pedestrian signs, rubber basins, pedestrian paddles, etc.,
were taken in the past, a mystery, and that with future usages that somebody
could bring them in at the end of the day; that deleting parking spaces near the
Elm crosswalk would require an ordinance change;
• Ned Huntley said painting of crosswalks is underway, that emphasis begins with
schools and other high- volume crosswalks, and they work outward from there;
that downtown has been done and that "they're getting there" to the high school;
Cooley Dick lights; crosswalks shut down by locals;
• Wayne Feiden said there were supposed to be two signals, one at Woodlawn,
the other at Cooley Dickenson, but the Woodlawn signal was objected to by
residents 20 years ago;
• James Lowenthal emphasized that a traffic light costs about $100K, and if one
can raise $100K, a signal might not be the best thing for the circumstance; that
it would cost $500K for all traffic - calming on Elm Street; expressed confidence
that safety could be imposed, but at what costa matter of $ priorities;
• Ned Huntley offered the Conz/Pleasant intersection as an example of
implementing a safety audit, short-term (line painting, etc.) v. long -term; that
paint is available but the budget is a question; no money for thermo - plastic
however; that painting & signage probably cheapest;
• Chair Carney suggested homemade signs as possibly more effective, involving
students educationally and as a creative exercise;
• Ned Huntley running with the homemade idea, suggested neighborhood- driven
endeavors;
• James Lowenthal pointed out that, bit by bit, the city is extending bike lanes and
into Florence, narrowing the streets as such, and that effective means for
slowing drivers is the feeling of being "squeezed on the road ";
• Wayne Feiden suggested cautionary signs to slow speed; he left the meeting at
5:13 p.m.;
• Leslie Stein suggested Smith Vocational students to help with creating signs;
• Jesse Adams suggested crossing guards;
• Chair Carney suggested Ms. Bernstein take a TCA, look through it, consult
school officials and students, and meanwhile she will call Bill Letendre to put
cones in parking spaces right at the intersection;
• Mr. Corbett suggested marshals, often times high school footballers, with signs
could be employed as traffic coordinators to slow traffic.
Matter to be continued.
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4. TCA #15 Massasoit St
a. Lou Knox, resident of Massasoit St.
She suggested there is consistent speeding on the street and that "an accident is
just waiting to happen "; Massasoit is different with traffic from the Y and no
left turn onto Elm at Woodlawn, forcing drivers to turn onto Massasoit; that
there is larger than average pedestrian and bicycle traffic as well.
Discussion
• Chair Carney acknowledged receipt of a map of Massasoit; and instructed that
the TCA being presented be directed to Ms. Hanson; hard copies of the
materials to be provided at a later date.
No action taken
5. Northampton Sidewalk Sales Permit — Jul 2
a. Dan Yacuzzo, Business Improvement Executive Director, and resident
of North Elm Street
He said that sidewalk sales is not only good for commerce but provides more
people the opportunity to experience downtown Northampton in a more festive
way;
He said this requires it be made more pedestrian - friendly; that last year, the
request was made to take out 26 parking spaces, move tents off the sidewalks to
facilitate pedestrian traffic, borrow fencing from the PD, and that overall it
worked well; that this year the request is for 27 parking spaces to be opened up,
7 of which from (inaudible) to Center Street by the AT &T office building; that
another 13 spaces from TD Bank crosswalk to Cracker Barrel Alley and then
going west to (inaudible) Street, another 5 spaces are requested; that the tents
would then be moved out to those spaces to accommodate pedestrians; that
much was learned from last year about directional signs indicating what spaces
are for pedestrians; that there will be some handicap parking spaces kept
available at all times; and summarized the bonus of he event is that it generated
around $500,000 in additional revenue and hopes this year that that number will
be increased;
He has met with Captain Sorvino who has assigned a detail of two police
officers who will be on -duty for 8 hours a day monitoring pedestrian and motor
vehicle traffic.
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Jesse Adams sought to clarify that some of the spaces would be used the day
before and the day after the event, i.e., 7/27 -8/1, for the purposes of leeway time
to set up and break down;
Chair Carney wanted to know if the city maximized the use of the garage during
that time, to which Mr. Yacuzzo affirmed that revenue did go up in the garage
as well as throughout the city;
James Lowenthal said the request looked great on paper, but expressed concern
that the tents not obstruct bikes or places where bikes are parked; that he was
unaware that some bike racks had been removed outright vs. merely being
obstructed by tents;
MOTION, Chief Sienkiewicz, to Grant Sidewalk Sales Permit, use up to 27 Parking
Spaces for Pedestrian Use; seconded, Mr. Adams; Motion carried.
6. Northampton Jazz Festival
a. Jesse Adams reintroduced the idea of block parties, which expanded into a Jazz
Festival, coordinated with John Michaels, and together they formed a non -profit to
form the Northampton Jazz Festival; he introduced Mr. Michaels to update the
Commission on the Festival.
b. John Michaels, President of Northampton Jazz Festival
He announced the Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 1st and said the
group is negotiating on 4 -5 different venue areas in town, 1 outdoors /4 indoors
(possible weather issues); that the music would be free and ongoing in each
venue area from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; that performers will be from the high
school, performing arts school, groups from UMass, local professional groups,
and groups (some of whom are world class) from New York state; that every
tier will get a level of exposure they don't typically get; and that the Festival
group is working to shore up the details (security, parking, etc.);
He concluded that Northampton is ahead of a lot of communities in
accommodating these types of events; he touted the Festival's "strong board of
directors." Website: www.northamptonjazzfestival.org
Discussion
Chair Carney sought clarification as to the request to block off Strong Avenue;
Jesse Adams indicated he would look into it and update the department heads
(Bill Letendre, Chief Duggan, the merchants, et al.);
James Lowenthal wanted to know if the indoor venues were close to Strong
Avenue, and was assured they would be;
• Ned Huntley suggested starting the process of establishing the block party with
the Board sooner than later;
• Jesse Adams responded to Mr. Huntley, asking when the Board is meeting: 6/22
and then 8/17;
• Gary Hartwell said there would be a meeting "sometime" in the middle of July
and then in August;
• Chief Sienkiewicz brought up the issue of obtaining a liquor license and block
permits for the event;
• Chair Carney suggested time was short and that the discussion could be tabled
for more informal times and need not be addressed in the Minutes;
MOTION, Mr. Lowenthal, to Support the Northampton Jazz Festival; seconded, Mr.
Adams; Motion carried.
Objection, Chief Sienkiewicz, that support should not be made in the form of a
Motion; that it's merely an update with limited information, and that as more info
comes in, support might change.
MOTION withdrawn, Mr. Lowenthal.
7. Committee & Department Head Reports — Nygaard
a. Chair Carney announced the Nelson \Nygaard final report was sent to all members
of the Commission. Time constraints preclude review here. She also announced
she will likely not be in attendance for the August meeting and wanted to know if
summer plans by other members might preclude a Quorum.
b. Leslie Stein said the Commission is working on a public transportation plan to be
forwarded to members for the purpose of being put on the next meeting's agenda.
Discussion
Laura Hanson instructed that the report is available online at the Office of
Planning & Development website.
8. DPW Updates — Laura Hanson
a. New Speed Regulations for Hockanum Road
• Good news for District 2, given all of the data re: the neighborhood including
Holly Street, Hockanum Road, and Holyoke Street specific to requesting that
the speed limits be reduced to 25 mph.
b. State Street & Summer Street, Pedestrian Signs Ordered
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• Laura Hanson says the signs will be going up. To which Chair Carney said she
would apprise Tom Riedell by email.
9. New Business
a. Leslie Stein suggested that the Commission consider that citizen member Mr.
Sustick does not attend these meetings, particularly in that he represents the
Business Community.
Discussion
Chair Carney noted Mr. Sustick was in attendance at the emergency 5/31
meeting; also, that citizen members are appointed by the Mayor;
Debin Bruce said there is a requirement to attend for the Planning Board, and
the same might be true for the Commission meetings; not necessarily, according
to Chair Carney.
No action was taken.
Motion to Adjourn, Mr. Lowenthal; Seconded, Chief Sienkiewicz; Motion Carried
Unanimously 5:58 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gregory P. Ammons
Johnson & Hill Staffing
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