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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-14-TSAC-min o`OJSNNa o• � .o Town of Lexington Traffic Safety Advisory Committee TO Deborah Mauger Chair Board of Selectman CC Carl Valente—Town Manager Bill Hadley—DPW Director,Donna Hooper-Clerk FROM.Traffic Safety Advisory Committee(TSAC) SUBJECT Minutes of Meeting—January 14 2014 Members present:Manuel Ferro,Dave Cannon,Sudhir Mildly,Steve Frj'mer,Steve Ades Members absent: Mary Ellen Dunn Liaisons Present:David Kucharski',Planning Dept Guest: Diamond Middle School Principal Anne Carothers, Wachusett Drive&Prospect Hill Road residents Agenda. • Approval of September 10th Meeting Minutes • Diamond Middle School Roundabout • Prospect Hill Road Pedestrian Crossing • Police Traffic Safety Monthly Updates • New Business o Future TSAC Meeting Dates/Times AnDroval of September 10th Meeting Minutes The committee did not have any comments or concerns for the set of minutes. The motion to approve the September 10th TSAC meeting minutes was passed unanimously It was indicated that because the meetings on November 5th and December 3"d lacked quorum, the notes taken during those meetings are not official meeting minutes and do not require approval from the committee. Diamond Middle School Roundabout Dave Cannon (Assistant Town Engineer) noted this intersection has been recognized as a problematic area for some time and a concept plan was originally conceived about 2 years ago to convert the traffic circle into a modern roundabout. The intent is to create design speeds of 20 mph through geometric improvements which involve slightly shifting both of the approaches at Hamilton and Hancock Streets as well as narrowing the roadway approaches. Mr Cannon noted that not much is changing operationally The work would require removal of two stop signs and the installation of yield signs at all approaches. A major change would be the removal of the crosswalk that currently bisects the existing traffic circle and moving pedestrians to the perimeter of the roundabout in order to avoid future conflicts with vehicles. The plans are also available on the Town s website for residents to view and submit additional comments. Mr Cannon indicated there will be no right-of-way impacts and all work will take place within the town property Engineering has met with the abutters to go over plans. There is a resident who lives at the corner of Burlington and the Diamond School access road. Engineering is meeting with him to discuss the potential of moving his driveway access off of Burlington and onto the Diamond School access road. The Town would have to obtain and easement but there is precedent with a resident who has access off of the driveway leading to the Estabrook School. Looking for TSAC to approve plans and recommend bringing them forward to the Board of Selectmen (BOS) with an abutters notice for their review and approval. Before a vote took place TSAC members and residents asked the following questions Q.Why are you not including a crosswalk on North Hancock Street? A. There is currently no sidewalk connecting North Hancock to Burlington and therefore we are not looking to change the pedestrian activity We are also looking to maintain the current location of the crosswalk on Burlington. It was noted that the Sidewalk Committee has suggested the placement of a sidewalk in this area. Q.Will these changes impact the speed of vehicles and create back-ups? Page 1 of 3 o`OJS NNa�0 o• � o Town of Lexington Traffic Safety Advisory Committee A. By removing the stop signs and making everyone travel at the same speeds the intent is to improve the processing of traffic coming through this area. Q.Would the traffic island be raised? A. Islands are being proposed as raised but could also use rumble strips at some of the approaches. The island on Hancock Street needs to be raised due to an existing utility pole. Q.Are there any crossing guards serving this area? A.There are currently no crossing guards at this location. Q.Will cyclists be able to travel through this facility? A. In this area cyclists can ride on the sidewalk or they can use the roadways. The reduced speeds will improve safety for all users. Q.How do you plan on controlling the speeds of the traffic? A.The geometric changes to the roadways,which conform to MUTCD standards will force vehicle to slow down. Q.Would you install speed limit signs? A.No,believe the geometric changes to the roadways would be more effective to reduce speeds then signage. Q.What is the timing of this? A.If approved by the BOS it can be put into this year s construction projects for this summer The preference is to have the construction occur when school is out of session. However,it is possible to do some of the work outside of the traffic flow while school is in session. Q.Is this area in a school zone? A. Yes,the speed limits are regulated to be 20 mph during school times but with the proposed geometric changes the goal is to design 20 mph year round. Q.What is the cost of the project? A.Approximate cost is$100 000 but will depend on the treatment to curbing and other materials used. A motion was made to allow engineering to proceed and bring this recommendation before the BOS. The members of TSAC unanimously voted in favor of presenting the Diamond School Roundabout to the BOS and notify all abutters. Prospect Hill Road Pedestrian Crossing Mr Cannon noted that TSAC is aware that there are other ongoing petitions in this area including the creation of a sidewalk. Today s proposal focuses on the introduction of a crosswalk across Prospect Hill Road. Wachusett Drive is considered an unaccepted street which limits what the town can and cannot do Ms.Alexander indicated she had shared the crosswalk plans with her neighbors. Mr Cannon indicated that the proposal being shown today does not require BOS approval. Captain Ferro suggested that this should be brought to the BOS even though there are no regulatory changes. BOS should be made aware of this recommendation and abutters should be notified. Before a vote took place, TSAC members and residents had the following discussion. Q.Would there be any signage? A.There would be no signage on Wachusett but would have signage on Prospect Hill(bi-directional reflective strips) Q.Do you consider this an arterial road? A. Believe it is designated as a collector road but if traffic counts were conducted it may reveal that it functions more like an arterial. The counts we currently have are not considered an official recording but rather a tool we use to get an estimate on the volumes. We would need to hire a consultant to conduct an official count. Q.How wide is the roadway? Page 2 of 3 o`OJS NNa�� o• � o ipm Town of Lexington Traffic Safety Advisory Committee A. Depending on the location it varies between 24 and 26ft which is a typical road width in town. There are other roads between 18 and 20 ft. Q. This might be a good opportunity to implement traffic calming measures. Is this an appropriate location to narrow the roadway or have a raised crosswalk? A. Our recommendation is to move forward with the crosswalk at this time. We do not intend this to be a cure for the conditions the residents are currently facing but an enhancement. The plans do show white edge lines but this would need to be discussed further and as noted earlier there is an initiative to have a sidewalk installed in this area. A sidewalk would require a needs assessment and would trigger additional construction affecting existing catch basins. TSAC recommends you work with those trying to install a sidewalk. C Sidewalks are not considered a traffic calming measure. R. Correct but providing a crosswalk now would provide some short term level of safety as the first of many components. Crosswalks are visual queues for drivers more so then pedestrians and have been shown to reduce speeds. They also act as a channeling agent for pedestrians, recommending the safest location to cross. Recommend you come to BOS meeting to voice your concerns. A motion was made to allow engineering to proceed and bring this recommendation before the BOS. The members of TSAC unanimously voted in favor of presenting the Prospect Hill Road crosswalk to the BOS and notify all abutters. Police Traffic Safety Updates Colony Road at rear entrance to Fiske School: Request was made to install bi-directional signage at existing crosswalk. TSAC recommended determining if this particular crosswalk is on or off school property This particular crosswalk is being studied as part of one of the WorldTech Reports. TSAC will request updates on the status of both reports being conducted by WorldTech. In addition to an update TSAC needs some direction from Town Management as to how the recommendations being made in these reports affect TSAC s evaluation of proponent s requests which overlap with that ongoing work. Pearl Street at Bartlett Avenue. Proponent is asking for a stop sign or some other visual queues which have been approved elsewhere. TSAC recommended a stop sign will be installed on Pearl Street approaching Bartlett Avenue. The recommendation will be forwarded to the BOS Waltham Street at Worthen Road Vehicles heading north on Waltham approaching entrance to High School do not realize they are entering a left turn lane until it is too late because there is no signage Proponent requests placing signage indicating a lane merge and a left turn lane. This roadway was recently repaved and striped. TSAC recommends continuing to monitor the area to allow conditions to normalize. Clarke Street. Proponent asked for changes to on-street parking regulations. This is not a TSAC issue. Planning Department contacted proponent and notified him of ongoing initiative to address on-street and off-street parking in the Center 30-32 Turning Mill Road Proponent requesting the placement of a curve in road signs to identify the bend. It was noted that a lot of working is being done in this area and would like to wait until conditions normalize before making any recommendations. New Business. Next TSAC Meeting.David Kucharsky will notify Cathy Severance of the meeting schedule for 2014 Attached Documents. Plans for Diamond Roundabout and Prospect Hill Road Crossing Next Meetinu•February 4 2014 Robbins Room(lower level of Carey Hall next to Estabrook Room) Page 3 of 3