2011-05-11 TPC MunutesTransportation and Parking Commission
City of Northampton
210 Main Street, Room 18,
Northampton, MA 01060
(413)587 -1210
www.northamptonma.aov /tpc
MEETING MINUTES
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
City Council Chambers, Puchalski Municipal Building
4:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
Members Present: Maureen Carney, Ned Huntley, Russell Si*enkiewicz, Wayne Feiden, Debin
Bruce, Gary Hartwell, William Letendre, Leslie Stein
Members Absent: Paul Sustick, James Lowenthal, Jesse Adams
Others Present: Laura Hanson, DPW; Wendy Bernstein, PTO; Monica Green, PTO; Jim
Montgomery, Citizen; Alex Krogh- Grabbe, Citizen; Barbara Solow, Hampshire Gazette
Meeting called to order at 4:08 p.m. by Chair, Maureen Carney. Quorum met.
1. Approval of Minutes of April 19.) 2011-
MOTION, Chief Si*enki*ewi*cz to Approve Minutes; seconded, Mr. Letendrele noted by
Ms. Bruce, Scribner errors; Motion carried with a minor wording correction offered
by Chief SI*enkewi*cz under item #8 I*n the 4/19 Minutes; Abstention, Ms. Stein.
2. Public Comment — Cook's Dam Parkin
a. Traffic Calming Application (TCA) #14 — Leonard Street
• Jim Montgomery, Private Citizen, clarified his mistake in that the approval date
by the planning board was in 2008, not 2009 as he indicated on the TCA (PDF
on file).
He added there have been many, many meetings, between residents and /or
between residents and the city, over the last 10 years, raising concerns over
development in an environmentally sensitive area and exacerbating the capacity
of the street already overburdened with two -way traffic and pedestrians,
especially children walking to &from school.
Discussion
• Chair Maureen Carney said she understood there was communication between
residents and DPW; acknowledged copies of the TSA were handed out to
members; instructed those in attendance to introduce themselves for the record;
suggested from Chief's remarks to task DPW to coordinate with the Planning
Dept. to present a preliminary review; assured Mr. Montgomery when the
review comes back, that he and interested residents will be apprised.
• Wayne Feiden said he assumed there was a "dedicated pool of money" from the
traffic mitigation project, but not more than specifically for the need unless this
project scored better than others thus determining a higher priority of need.
• Laura Hanson, DPW, cited the Planning Dept. decision referencing several
streets seeking traffic calming, but with only two traffic counters the gathering
of data is hard work; said it also needed to be determined what the Developer
vs. DPW should do about traffic calming; said
s he would need to do an
assessment in order to prioritize traffic calming requests.
• Mr. Montgomery said he'd like to see the coordination between the Developer
and DPW with respect to the mitigation funds.
• Chief Russell Sienkiewicz said he'd like to see more information, what the
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plans are in contrast to what is already in place; said a preliminary review of all
the data would be needed and decide the next step after.
• Debin Bruce suggested the TCAs are ideal for providing the necessary detail
and facilitate easy comparison to other TCAs to help prioritize need.
MOTION, Chief Sienkiewicz to Request Preliminary Review; seconded, Mr. Letendrelo
Motion carried.
b. Pedestrian Safety at Northampton High School -Wendy Bernstein, High School
PTO
• She addressed the issue of increased safety in light of the accident a few months
ago; contended there have been "many" undocumented near - misses as well;
said the high school's principal
is equally concerned.
She said the PTO has started a "conversation" within the community about how
to improve safety standards; said she spoke with Ms. Hanson, DPW, and were
able, through the Lions Club, to establish in -road pedestrian signs at the
crosswalks as well as signs installed by DPW at the behest of Officer Allard.
She summarized saying more needed to be done, e.g., blinking lights or a
similar kind of warning, and that she merely wish ed to convey the C ommunity's
concerns to and help raise awareness of the Commission.
Discussion
• Leslie Stein sought clarification that the crosswalks in question included two on
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Elm Street and one on Woodlawn Ave addressed the heightened risk for
students who leave school early for work programs.
• Ms. Bernstein inquired as to possibly moving signs to enhance safety, making
them more `strategic,' citing the one after Woodlawn Ave near N. Elm as that
area still experiences `near - misses'; asked whether in the absence of blinking
lights being added, `is there more we can do to ensure safety ?'; suggested the
lives of kids should supercede ordinance and zoning laws.
• Chief Sienkiewicz suggested moving signs is something we can tinker with';
also to keep cars out of no- Parking areas; informed the Chair that historical
accident data analysis was performed a year ago.
•
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Ned Huntley said weather, until recently, had been a factor and now the focus
is on making safer the downtown school and high - pedestrian areas first, `and
then go out from there'; ca utioned that S tate law or dinance prohibits lights;
added that originally the plan was to have a parking lot in front of the school;
concurred w /Ms. Bruce re: maintenance difficulties w /embedded crosswalk
lights, e.g. removed at Smith College; suggested island barrels are sometimes
run over by tractor trailers.
• Chair Carney cited Smith College, a private school, as being able to slow down
traffic; acknowledged Federal money for Jackson Street's Safe Routes to
Schools; wants to post this item on the agenda to solicit parents' input, to
explore more in -depth for changes and to procure more funding; asked Chief
Sienkiewicz if he could obtain historical accident data from the records;
suggested bringing
in an outside coordinator as well as informed personnel
(Smith Voc, NHS principal, et al.) to make for a more robust dialogue and to
demonstrate a commitment t1111 the safety of students &staff.
• Ms. Hanson said a study was done in the high school corridor which determined
traffic was in fact moving too fast, but that if the data were submitted to the
State it might increase the speed limit rather than reduce it; suggested traffic
counters already on Elm be used to see if the traffic has slowed down,
admittedly a long -range solution; asked if there might be any money from the
PTO for solar - powered signs in that there is too little city funding available; said
that flashing 11signs are nearer to elementary schools; reoommended a fundraiser
for pedestrian signs.
• Mr. Feiden said that historically a traffic signal at Woodlawn was considered
controversial; suggested parking meters for traffic calming as blinking lights in
some cases are "feel- good" vs. practical.
• Ms. Bruce said embedded flashing lights in the crosswalks, e.g. at Mt. Holyoke,
are visual year -round but are "a pill to maintain "; said a problem with the traffic
island "planters" is people popping out from behind them.
• Mr. Letendre took issue with the State Street blinking lights in that too often it
is the case people don't use them.
No action taken; Chair to put item on 6/21 agenda with official invites to Community
leaders.
3. Re on Passenger Rail Service
a. James Lowenthal absent.
Discussion
• Mr. Huntley asked about the status of a rumored defending of the project.
• Mr. Feiden clarified that some Federal money going to some states (e.g.,
Florida) was going back to the Treasury, but money already earmarked for this
region
ii s still available, although money not already paid wll not be available.
MOTION, Chief SI*enkiewicz, to Continue; seconded, Mr. Letendrele Motion carried.
4. Cooks ]Dam parking (continued from 4/19
a. Bill Letendre had asked for dimensions for the purpose of writing an ordinance and
is still waiting for data.
Discussion
• Chair Carney said she would follow up on Mr. Letendre's behalf to help
expedite the process.
• Chief Si*enkiewicz said he would monitor the situation.
No action taken. To be continued.
5. DPW Updates —Laura Hanson
a. Conz Street —She announced the reconstruction project was awarded to Gomes
Construction of Ludlow; that the contract was approved by DPW and is proceeding
via the various city departments; that work should begin the first week of June and
should last for approximately 4 months.
b. Damon Road Project —DPW is currently reviewing comments by VHB through the
25% phase, factoring in the impending high -speed rail project as well as the
improvements at the Industrial Drive intersection.
c. DOT has a list of cities /towns in District 2 for pavement operations; she said she
asked DOT to include Hockanum Road intersection (public safety concerns
expressed) to include a curb extension; also, a crosswalk across and a bus pull -out
on each side of Pleasant St.; she said DOT agreed if 4 'a big `if" —money is
available.
d. Ned Huntley said the "Hotel Bridge" in Leeds has funding pending City Council
approval for an engineering analysis for a bl*cycle/pedestrian way and /or a rail trail;
provided a partial background that the Hotel located on Main Street is no more but
that the bridge remaining is an 1890s Pratt -style Bridge.
Discussion
• Ms. Hanson clarified that Nitsch Engineering (Boston) was hired by DOT to
analyze the Pleasant/conz Sts. intersection; that they have received from the
State a notice to proceed and have asked for a stakeholders meeting to be set up
the first week in June (date not yet set); DPW, Planning &Development, the
Police, Mayor's office and City Councilors invited to attend; she said traffic
counters are already in place; Chair Carney said she would be unable to attend
but urged a Commission member to coordinate w /Ms. Hanson on attending as it
should be represented there.
• Ms. Bruce asked Ms. Hanson if bump outs were being considered for
crosswalks at the Senior Center
• Ms. Hanson said no bump outs; but new pavement with thermoplastic markings
were however; she added the streets were narrow, no room for curb extensions;
Mr. Huntley — Enforcement vehicles
6. Committee &Department Head Reports —Wayne Feiden
a. Summer/North /King Sts. Intersection — He he spoke with MassDOT and the process
of obtaining State /Federal funds is in the beginning stages.
b. Hatfield Rd./N. King St. Intersection — He said he's working with Ned Huntley on
the awarding a contract, that it's in its final details, to be finished within the next
week or two.
c. City Hall Park —The project did not get funded as more due diligence is required.
They are encouraged to reapply in the fall; working with DPW to put barrels out to
narrow Main Street in the short-term. They still ha v final e not received the report
from Nelson \Nygaard.
d. Manhan Rail Trail -Grand Opening &Rolling Party, Ribbon Cutting on May 22" 9
Flyers were handed out.
e. Off -ramp — He said they're looking to install one at the South side of North Street,
take it down to Edwards Square, Ward 3; indicated that the Council already voted to
support i
f. Ned Huntley said the Mayor is seeking to resolve all the private way issues (4 1) by
next snow storm, likely next November, complicated by matters involving private
property rights and what are thought to be public thoroughfares.
g. Bill Letendre said there is a request from 5 th Avenue residents to deal with parking
on both sides; they want to limit parking to one side.
h. Leslie Stein said the PVTA is installing intelligent transportation systems and are
celebrating the event at the Academy of Music Thursday, 5/19 at 10 a.m.
7. TCA #13 S. Main St -Report
a. Laura Hanson said Mr. Weissman is unable to attend; distributed handouts,
including a copy of the traffic count on S. Main St., a map with past traffic counts,
and a copy of the speed re gulations; road
M easurements were provided; DPW
analysis, though, is preliminary; concurred that line painting at Mr. Weissman's
request "would be helpful "; funds, however, are restricted and it was speculated that
the lines to be painted would cost around $1,200.00
Upshot: No positive news for Mr. Weissman; when it can be afforded, the project
may proceed; unknown, however, as to when that will be.
Discussion
• Mr. Huntley said the budget has been cut out of general funds would otherwise
love to paint the streets.
• Chair Carney said residents on the street might pursue fundraising; suggested
drafting a letter to Mr. Weissman on how best to let him know it isn't going to
h appen now or in the foreseeable future; Ms. Hanson to create a first draft.
• Mr. Feiden said there are other areas in greater need for traffic calming.
No action was taken.
Motion to Adjourn, Mr. Feiden; Seconded, Chief Sienkiewicz; Motion Carried
Unanimously 5:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gregory P. Ammons
Johnson &Hill Staffing