Loading...
2011-11-15 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, November 15, 2011 City Council Chambers, Puchalski Municipal Building 4:02 p.m. — 5:03 p.m. Members Present: Maureen Carney, Russell Sienkiewicz, Debin Bruce, Leslie Stein, James Lowenthal, Wayne Feiden, Ned Huntley, Gary Hartwell Members Absent: Jesse Adams, William Letendre, Paul Sustick Others Present: Laura Hanson, DPW Meeting called to order at 4:02 p.m. by Chair, Maureen Carney. Quorum met. 1. Public Comment - Fred Zimnoch, 23 Pomeroy Terrace Inquired as to whether the 85- percentile law was absolute as in the case of physical laws, e.g., conservation and enhancement energy; Said he Googled "MGL" and "speed limit" and found a 2004 law known as "Chapter 307" specific to speed limits in New Bedford (House bill 3741); Said he called Mark Daley in Senator Rosenberg's office and was told "Home Rule" can change speed limit laws. Discussion • Chair Carney acknowledged Mr. Zimnoch's assertion; noted as having been advised the Commission can petition the governor and state legislature for Home Rule to change the speed limit at Massasoit Street; 2. Approval of Minutes of October 18, 2011 Scrivener's errors and corrections made to Minutes include proper noun misspellings: "Mesa" to "Misa" (pg. 1); "Sagrodnic" to "Zagrodnik" (pg. 1); "Geaslin" to "Ghiselin" (pg. 2); and "Zimmock" to "Zimnoch" (pg. 7). Clarification was made in reference to the Pace Car Program (pg. 6): that it is an existing program, and to eliminate any erroneous assumption that Ms. Stein might have been advocating for people to identify themselves as Pace Car drivers in an ad hoc manner; Discussion Ms. Bruce asked if the letter intended for Lou Knox was sent per the 10/18 meeting instruction, and reflected in the Minutes; Chair Carney said she understood, and Ms. Hanson concurred, that the letter would not be sent given Ms. Knox was in attendance at 10/18 meeting and acknowledged that TCR #15 would not go forward; Chair Carney said the Ordinance, specific to N. Elm St. at Woodlawn, was forwarded to the City Council from the TPC, and referred to the Ordinance Committee, which they reviewed on 11/14 and sent back to the City Council with a positive recommendation; said first reading would be on 12/1 and second reading on (inaudible); Mr. Huntley said the DPW approved the Public Transportation Plan, adding that M.J. Adams had some comments re: school times and school children that she was to forward to the Chair; Chair Carney said she had not yet received those comments; Mr. Huntley recommended to the Chair that, when received, she forward those comments to all Committee members; Chair Carney acknowledged she would forward them to Ms. Stein; Ms. Stein clarified that the Public Transit Plan would be attached to the Municipal Transportation Plan; the Chair acknowledged and confirmed. MOTION, Mr. Feiden, to Approve Minutes; Seconded, Ms. Bruce; Motion carried. 3. Overhead Vehicle Detection Warning System and 4. Truck Escape Route — Laura Hanson, DPW • Deferred formalized presentation to December TPC Meeting due to technical difficulties; • Briefly summarized research by the police department re: the number of accidents since 2006, factoring in the number of times police are called to assist trucks before they hit the bridge; • Said Pioneer Valley Planning Commission did a study in 2005 which recommended signage; a laser detection system; funds from the State in cooperation with the State's District 2 office, the city of Northampton, and UMass RTIC (which provides the masstraveler.com website; • Said SICK is the laser detection system that is put on a telephone pole and will be connected about 200 ft. toward the intersection to a big yellow sign and flashing lights alerting truckers to the bridge's height restriction and provide a directional restriction (e.g., no left turn/no right turn); 2 • Said funding will cover 3 to 4 systems; top priority will be Exit 19; 2nd priority is Pleasant Street; other priorities would be King Street and Hawley Street; • Concluded with target date for installation as being scheduled for the spring. 5. Henshaw Avenue Parking Concern • Chair Carney advised she received a letter from Maureen Kiely, 29 Henshaw Ave., requesting that this matter be deferred until December meeting. 6. TCR #16 —Union Street a. Tim Van Epps — Union Street resident • Submitted proposal re: Union Street speeding; has 3 boys, aged 6, 4 and 1; the older two attend Bridge St. School; estimates 15 -20 children under age 8 in the neighborhood; • Asking for a traffic - calming speed hump; said he and his neighbors Messrs. Iselin and Dawkins spend much time asking drivers to slow down; summarized with "we have a real problem on our hands "; • Cited Bridge Street as a similar situation; concluded by "simply asking for a speed hump to be installed "; • Added as a follow -up that an I -91 southbound exit onto Route 9 would double traffic coming into town and on Union Street, and which he did not prefer. b. Hobie Iselin — 28 Union Street • Said he's been a Union St. resident since 1987; noted increased volume as drivers use it as a "cut -off' between Bridge and King Sts.; • Said that the street is too narrow, particularly in the Winter; said he would appreciate a speed hump or two but that he'd prefer that Union St. become a 1- way street between Market & Parsons Sts.; suggested that converting it to 1 -way would also alleviate traffic snarl on Market St. during afternoon drive -time as drivers would have fewer options; • Cited Jackson St. speed humps as examples and would like similar measures be applied to Union St. • As a follow -up, observed that ad hoc "Slow" signs that residents put on their property do not work at all. c. Bill Dawkins — 39 Union Street • Said his house is right in the center of the street; that there are no signs, either on Union or Market Sts., indicating a school's presence w /speed reduced to 20 mph except within 15 -20 feet of the school; • Said that when he bought his house in '95, there weren't that many kids in the neighborhood, but now there are many; and that even with a school, there are no traffic - calming measures in place, a situation he termed "bizarre "; • Said that with respect to traffic- calming measures, Jackson Street receiving favorable attention while Union Street doesn't is not right; • Noted increased traffic through the area, including beer trucks, due to back -up on Damon Road; • Suggested two speed humps AND 1 -way traffic. T)iccnccinn • Chair Carney acknowledged the residents' concerns, but explained the TPC cannot do anything that will immediately resolve the situation; referenced the traffic - calming manual that comes attached to the application; said creating "friction" is a way to slow traffic and that 2 -way roads slow traffic better than 1- way; explained that there is a process that has to happen in which the TPC reviews the application and then determines the allocation of resources, emphasized this is TCA #16, meaning there are 15 others also under review; said there is also a ranking system with multiple criteria, though not a first- come /first - served basis; • Chief Sienkiewicz said no statistics re: Union Street are immediately available; said he sympathizes greatly with the residents but that there are also similar concerns in other neighborhoods, e.g., on Massasoit St. and Trumble Road, etc., and that it is a matter of allocating resources; advised that speed humps aren't necessarily a "catch -all solution," and in some cases are "quite controversial," citing traffic noise of vehicles slowing down and then accelerating after going over them, etc.; advised also that traffic data would need be compiled, though not until spring because of the weather; • Mr. Van Epps inquired about the speed hump on Hawley Street and if it was to be a permanent placement; offered to personally pay 100% for speed humps if the TPC approved them; • Chair Carney said the city uses a speed hump, which is rotated around the city, most recently located on Riverside Drive, for residents to determine whether they want one as a permanent placement; suggested to Mr. Van Epps to attend a neighborhood meeting immediately following the TPC meeting, where he might be made aware that some residents want their speed humps removed; indicated that private or independent funding is one of the criteria for prioritizing the placement of speed humps; said that the biggest criterion is whether the street has to be dug up for sewer and gas line concerns; said the ranking system can be viewed on the city's website; • Mr. Huntley suggested a traffic study to assess the degree of speeding that 0 occurs there and types of vehicles; Ms. Bruce expressed concern on making too quick a decision for fear that adjoining streets would have to absorb the traffic and concern that the TPC isn't "just moving a problem around "; concurred with the need for a traffic study to be conducted; Ms. Hanson pointed out that traffic calming devices have been put away for the season because of the recent snow storm and other matters; said the soonest they could be brought out again would be in April, though that she would put Union Street "at the top of the list "; said she'd need the offer of private funding to be put in writing (via a letter addressed to Mr. Huntley at the DPW) thus giving Union Street priority; Mr. Iselin suggested he would personally maintain the speed hump if the DPW provided it sooner than later; MOTION, Mr. Huntley, to Move Forward with TCA, Get Further Data from DPW; Seconded, Ms. Bruce; Motion carried. 7. South Street Traffic Calming Ubdate — Debin Bruce Said Pamela Schwartz organized an informational meeting re: South St.; estimated approximately a dozen people in attendance, many of whom were in attendance at a similar meeting six months ago, including a mother /daughter pair afraid to bike on South St.; said she presented a Nygaard graphic to illustrate their recommendation; said the path is intended as a multi -use trail for bikers and pedestrians; Discussion • Mr. Lowenthal inquired as to status and what, if anything, is the plan; • Ms. Bruce suggested there weren't enough people in attendance to give her the impression there was sufficient understanding within the community; expressed disappointment with the turnout; • Ms. Hanson suggested another public meeting and a greater need to advertise it as key for transparency and obtaining public comments; wanted to factor in the Bike/Ped meeting; cited issues with old vs. new pavement markings, costs, etc.; • Ms. Bruce emphasized the import of road - markings, e.g., old way v. new way; 8. DPW Updates — Laura Hanson, DPW Traffic calming meeting tonight (11/15) at 7 p.m. at the Pfeiffer School; Chair Carney conveyed Councilor Murphy's intention on attending; Updated an email sent with samplings, w /corrected reaction, not "half & half' but three- quarters very positive and a quarter are "not so positive "; • Received the comment from Fire Chief Duncan as not having "heard any issues out there," deemed encouraging feedback; confirmed by Asst. Deputy Norris re: the EMTs; said she's always willing to hear comments from police, fire and ambulance personnel; • Said the crack sealing contract will be done in April due to inclement weather; • Said the Main Street crosswalks, 20 were done by the DOT, although some of the material was peeling up and repairs will be effected, ideally soon; • Said survey work was being done on North Street even as it is not on the agenda; Discussion • Mr. Lowenthal reminded Ms. Hanson that one resident from Grove Ave. will provide testimony; • Ms. Hanson said people prefer hearing from people in the neighborhood more than from a city official in these meetings; • Ms. Stein inquired whether the speed humps on Riverside were taken up; confirmed by Ms. Hanson; • Mr. Huntley said progress is being made with crack sealing repairs, having started with a $500K backlog, now reduced to $75K repair & maintenance remaining; • Mr. Lowenthal publicly thanked DPW for their work on Conz St., adding he was a skeptic but that it came out very nicely; • Mr. Feiden provided an update on Hatfield/N. King re: a roundabout, saying a nearby wetland complicates the plan; said the bike path access ramp on the rail trail was completed; City Council meeting Thursday (11/17) 2 land- takings via eminent domain: 1 being the off -ramp at Edwards Square, the other behind the BoA building; said Pat Goggins owns BoA land; • Ms. Hanson updated on the intersection of Pleasant /Conn Sts.; said Dist. 2 had changes to plans; will apprise as to when a public information meeting is scheduled; said Damon Road is not to begin for approximately 5 -6 years; • Chair Carney acknowledged a 25% design meeting re: Damon Rd. and that it is tied to the King Street redevelopment; • Mr. Huntley updated on Damon Rd., having saw engineering plans earlier in the day specific to a high -speed rail, the coordination of signals on Industrial Drive, and a Damon Road sidewalk. MOTION, Ms. Bruce, to Adjourn; Seconded, Ms. Stein; Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Gregory P. Ammons Johnson & Hill Staffing 0