2026-08-11 - Traffic and Parking Committee

0:02All right, we're getting started. Today

0:03is Tuesday, August 11th, traffic and

0:06parking meeting.

0:08Um, we're starting where we have

0:11principal staff assistant and fam,

0:14commissioner Department of

0:15Transportation Mobility, Steven Rolle

0:17Rolle.

0:18Um, we also have Sergeant Foley with us

0:21and counselor Tony Economou and Louie

0:24Ojeda

0:25online.

0:27And I'm

0:28District 5 City Councilor Jose Rivera.

0:31Um, can we start with attendance,

0:33please?

0:34>> Yes, uh, Chair. Councilor Economou.

0:39>> Here.

0:39>> Councilor Ojeda.

0:46Councilor Ojeda.

0:51Uh, you can press star six to unmute.

0:55>> Here.

0:56>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera.

0:58>> Here.

1:00All right, um, can you give us the

1:02virtual attendance call information,

1:04please, Ms. Fam?

1:05>> Yes, um,

1:06gladly to you, Chair. So, one virtual

1:08attendee call information pursuant to

1:11chap- chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021 and

1:13in order to ensure active public

1:15engagement, the City of Worcester

1:17currently allows for both in-person and

1:19remote participation at all City Council

1:22and standing committee meetings. To

1:24partake in the meeting, you may attend

1:25the meeting in person within the meeting

1:27location, follow the below link to join

1:30via the Zoom. So, you can find a link on

1:32our website or dial the following

1:34number, 1-646-828-7666,

1:39and the access code is 1-614-119-888.

1:45If you join,

1:46uh, a Zoom meeting or by dialing in or

1:49with the phone with the phone number or

1:51on the application, you can raise your

1:54hand,

1:55uh, by dialing star nine or use the

1:59raise hand function on the app. Thank

2:01you too chair.

2:02>> Thank you. Is due to approval of the

2:04minutes uh, where the city council

2:05standing committee of traffic and

2:06parking hereby approves the minutes of

2:07the traffic and parking committee

2:09meeting July 22nd, 2026. Roll call.

2:12>> Councilor Economou.

2:15>> Yes.

2:15>> Councilor Ojeda.

2:18>> Yes.

2:19>> And chairperson Councilor Rivera.

2:21>> Yes. Item number three, bus stop

2:23petitions. Councilor Tony Economou

2:25requests the bus stop between Chino Ave

2:27and 12th Boylston Street be removed.

2:30Um, anybody here that wants to speak on

2:32that item? Do we have anybody online?

2:36>> To the chair, there's no one raising

2:37their hands. Actually, there's one

2:38person raising their hands.

2:40Uh, to speaker with the name Joe, you

2:43can press star six to unmute.

2:46>> Hi, can you hear me?

2:47>> Yes, Joe. How are you?

2:49>> Good. How are you doing? Is there a time

2:50limit to how much I can speak?

2:53>> Um, we're going to try to just share. We

2:56we don't want to limit people, but we

2:58don't want be here half an hour. Yeah.

2:59>> I'll be quick. Um,

3:02So,

3:03my name's Joe. I live very close to this

3:05bus stop. I walk past it frequently. I

3:08drive past it every day multiple times a

3:10day. One of first thank uh, Councilor

3:13uh, Economou for bringing this forward

3:15because we've had quality of life issues

3:18surrounding this stop um, and actually

3:20that entire strip

3:22um, for years. And it's great to just

3:25have a discussion about this. So, I want

3:28to just thank him. Uh,

3:30I am kind of conflicted in terms of uh,

3:34if this bus stop should be removed. I

3:36think on one hand you have

3:38um, a lot of taxpayers up on Chino Ave,

3:42>> [snorts]

3:43>> uh, Passyunk Parkway, Seattle Street,

3:46and they've already been kind of had

3:48that bus stop taken away from them

3:50because

3:52every afternoon and evening that stop

3:54becomes

3:56an open-air drug

3:58uh

3:59distribution site and consumption zone.

4:02There's also violence. There's police

4:04incidents that back all this up. Um so

4:07you know, if we get rid of it, uh

4:10people won't really miss it because

4:11they're avoiding it already. But on the

4:14other hand, I can say um

4:17there's been a few items that have come

4:18through the City Council over the past

4:20month that has increased enforcement of

4:22quality of life laws

4:24at that bus stop.

4:26Um

4:27you know, things like public drinking

4:28and stuff. And in my observation,

4:31the more enforcement that happens at

4:33that stop, the worse the stop right up

4:36the street at 600 Lincoln Street gets.

4:39So, it's

4:41you know, we got to question are we

4:43actually

4:44addressing the root issues or or are we

4:47just moving them 300 ft up the street.

4:51Uh so, my concern is if you get rid of

4:53that bus stop, which by the way, I've

4:55I've spoken to

4:57uh several residents um

4:59and

5:01they're

5:02they think we should you just get rid of

5:04the bus stop, but my concern is we're

5:06just displacing issues rather than

5:08addressing them. So, once again, just

5:11want to thank Tony Economou for bringing

5:13this forward and having this discussion.

5:16Thank you.

5:17>> Thank you, uh Counselor Economou. You

5:18want to speak on the item?

5:21>> Uh real quick there, Mr. Chairman. Thank

5:22you for the opportunity. And I you know,

5:25I agree with many of the sentiments that

5:26Mr. Kasha has just brought forward and

5:29and from the neighborhood in itself. And

5:32we have been working very diligently

5:34over the last month, month and a half to

5:36try to get

5:37uh more police presence there. The

5:40difficulty, too, that has arisen out of

5:43the bus stop being there

5:46is that it's difficult to move people

5:48along and sometimes they use

5:51the bus stop as their excuse to be

5:53there.

5:54Um and I agree I agree with Mr. Kashi.

5:57It's like we're just

5:59um

6:00if we eliminate this one, are we moving

6:02it up the street? Are we moving it to a

6:03different location?

6:05Um

6:06but I feel at this juncture, at this

6:09moment,

6:11I feel the best thing that we can do for

6:13that stretch of Boylston Street

6:16is to work to

6:18eliminate that bus stop.

6:21Get our act together um as we've been

6:24doing and I am grateful for

6:27the police's the police department's

6:29activity there,

6:31um the quality of life team,

6:32inspectional services

6:34um in trying to get that area cleaned

6:38up.

6:39And then down the road if we have to

6:41revisit it to bring it back, I'm in

6:43favor of that, too.

6:45But I think for the moment now, I think

6:47the best

6:49the best

6:50that we can do is to eliminate that bus

6:53stop.

6:54>> Thank you. Any of my other colleagues?

6:55>> Thank you.

6:56>> Uh by the way, I want to announce that

6:57our now counselor um District 2 City

6:59Councilor Al Baladas on line with us as

7:01well. Do any of my other colleagues want

7:03to speak on this item?

7:09Okay, no. Commissioner Rowlett.

7:12>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank

7:14you to Councilor Economou uh as well as

7:16the resident who spoke on the item. So,

7:17it was certainly helpful to have that

7:20additional context.

7:21Um

7:23yeah, we did speak with the WRTA about

7:26this stop. Um they do have some concerns

7:29with removing it because of the high

7:31ridership that is experienced there. So,

7:33there's

7:35there's um

7:37uh on average about 61 riders a day that

7:39are accessing WRTA services at that

7:42stop. Um there is a corresponding stop

7:45across the street, but we have noted

7:47that there's not actually a good way to

7:48cross between those those two stops.

7:50It's a four-lane street without any

7:52crosswalks.

7:53Um

7:55so you know, from from

7:58from a purely transportation

8:00perspective, we have some concerns about

8:02removing the bus stop, but that's not in

8:04any way to um dismiss some of the

8:08quality of life issues that have have

8:10been talked about. Um

8:13the nearest alternate stops are on

8:15Tacoma Street, which is about 1,000 ft

8:17to the the north and Lincoln Street,

8:19which is about 800 ft um to the to the

8:23south. Um

8:25that's you know, anyone in this

8:27neighborhood who is using transit,

8:29that's a fairly significant

8:31inconvenience to have to access the

8:32buses at those stops. So, having a stop

8:36somewhere between those would be

8:38um probably preferable.

8:40Um

8:42so I you know, my thinking is

8:45um I would like a little more time to

8:47talk this through with the quality of

8:49life team, PD, and the WRTA.

8:53Uh we have two more meetings this this

8:55month actually. We have three three

8:57meetings this month somehow. Um so, I'm

8:59wondering if we could

9:01um the discussion here is helpful, but

9:03if we could then uh hold this item and

9:05maybe bring it back at our last meeting

9:07in August and have a a vote on it then.

9:09I think that might help us have a more

9:11informed discussion.

9:14>> That sounds good. Uh

9:16I'm sure Councillor Kanamori will agree

9:19to be staying in touch with this um

9:22item.

9:23Just one more chance before we move on.

9:25All right, cuz I think I thought I heard

9:27someone online. Does any of my

9:28colleagues want to speak on this item?

9:33All right, we're good. So, we're going

9:34to move to hold the item for some more

9:37>> Hello, hello, hello.

9:38>> Hello.

9:38>> Hello.

9:39>> Yes.

9:39>> Can anyone hear me?

9:40>> Go ahead.

9:41>> Yeah, sorry. This is Counselor Balada.

9:43>> All right, go ahead.

9:45>> Yeah, no, thank you. I appreciate it and

9:47sorry.

9:49My connection isn't that great. But I

9:51agree with the Commissioner Balada as

9:52well. I think we should give ourselves

9:54more time to to exactly say what

9:58Counselor Balada would say, you know,

10:00what we can do on our end before we

10:01remove a bus stop. I know I've been in,

10:04you know, many meetings lately about

10:06increasing our bus stops. I'm blasting

10:08and want to do is get rid of a bus stop.

10:09I understand what the issues are. But I

10:12really have a lot of faith and

10:13confidence in our departments such as

10:16quality of life

10:18with the PD, you know, the agencies that

10:20can help with that what's going on in

10:21that area. So I do agree to to hold it

10:23to see, you know, what else we could do

10:25or to see how things have been going on

10:28um

10:29since we've been bringing more attention

10:31to the area.

10:33So thank you.

10:34>> Sounds good. We're going to move to hold

10:36the item. Roll call.

10:39>> Councilor Balada?

10:41>> Yes.

10:42>> Councilor Ojeda?

10:45>> Yes.

10:45>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera?

10:47>> Yes.

10:49We're going to move to item number four,

10:51no parking petition. Councilor Robert

10:53Balada requests installation of 20 ft of

10:56no parking here to set corner signage

10:59along Hamilton Street at its

11:00intersection with Commonwealth Ave,

11:02Middle Six Ave, and Boston Ave.

11:06Um anybody speak on this item? No.

11:09Councilor Balada want to speak on this

11:11item?

11:11>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. I apologize

11:13for for being late. Uh

11:15yes, I I submitted this petition

11:18just in hopes there were some large

11:20commercial vehicles parked close to the

11:22corner and when you're exiting Boston

11:24Ave onto Hamilton Street, it's very

11:26impossible to see

11:28traffic coming east on Hamilton. So I

11:31was hoping we could

11:33ban commercial traffic parking here to

11:35eliminate this bunch of box trucks, even

11:3818-wheelers, parking in this on this

11:40section. So, just that was my reasoning

11:43for petition. Thank you.

11:45>> Thank you. Do we have anybody else

11:47online want to speak on this item?

11:49>> Chair, there is no one raising their

11:50hands.

11:51>> All right, Commissioner Rall.

11:53>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. So, just to

11:55clarify, the way that item is presented

11:58on the agenda is a

12:01posting of no parking signs within 20 ft

12:04of each of those intersections. So,

12:06it it won't actually change any of the

12:08parking regulations. It's just posting

12:10what's already a restriction that

12:12usually isn't signed. In this case, we

12:16we agree it's a good idea. This is the

12:18section of Hamilton Street that has kind

12:20of an S curve,

12:22and the sight lines are not very good,

12:23and we have observed

12:25vehicles, including larger

12:27box trucks and things like that, parking

12:29there, which makes it very difficult to

12:31see

12:32oncoming traffic. So, we do think that

12:35it merits on these three streets posting

12:38that 20-ft statutory parking provision.

12:41>> Great. Move to approve the item. Roll

12:43call.

12:44>> Councilor Balata.

12:46>> Yes.

12:46>> Councilor Ojeda.

12:52>> Yes.

12:53>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera.

12:55>> Yes.

12:56>> Moving on to number five, parking and

12:58parking meter petitions. Communication

13:00of city manager recommend adoption of an

13:02ordinance establishing a commercial

13:04loading zone and two-hour metered

13:07parking on a portion of Main Street.

13:09Does anybody here want to speak on this

13:11item? Is anybody online?

13:13>> Chair, there is no one raising their

13:15hands.

13:16>> Um, any of my colleagues want to speak

13:18on this item?

13:21>> No.

13:22>> Commissioner Rall.

13:23>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. So,

13:25this item is a proposal from the

13:27administration. Uh we had

13:30been in uh touch with

13:32uh

13:33a business downtown as well as the

13:34Worcester Chamber of Commerce um on

13:36behalf of some businesses downtown

13:38looking at uh the possibility of

13:40expanding parking options in the the

13:43north sort of section of Main Street. Um

13:47and one of the things we came across is

13:50that there's actually a physical parking

13:52lane.

13:53So, it has curb extensions at either end

13:55and it has a 7 and 1/2 ft deep parking

13:57lane.

13:58But, parking's prohibited there all day

14:00long. Um it's sort of a head scratcher.

14:03Um so, that clearly is an opportunity

14:06where we can better use the curb space.

14:08Uh in our discussions with stakeholders

14:11in this area, we recognized that that

14:14one of the possible reasons for that was

14:17to keep that curb space open for

14:19commercial deliveries.

14:20Um so, for that reason what we're

14:22proposing is that in the morning hours

14:26that uh be established officially as a

14:28commercial loading zone. So, from 6:00

14:30a.m. to 10:00 a.m. that would function

14:31as a commercial loading zone.

14:33Then at 10:00 a.m. it would switch over

14:35to 2-hour metered parking

14:37um until 8:00 p.m. which is consistent

14:39with the rest of downtown. So, that'll

14:41provide an additional four to five

14:43spaces for customers of businesses in

14:45that area.

14:46>> Sounds good.

14:48I'll move to approve the item. Roll

14:50call.

14:51>> Councilor Bilotta.

14:53>> Yes.

14:53>> Councilor Ojeda.

14:56>> Yes.

14:57>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera.

14:58>> Yes. Number six, stop sign petitions. We

15:01have Eric Hoffman request installation

15:04of stop signs at the intersection of

15:05West Boylston Drive and

15:08Scrimmage Road.

15:11Um

15:13yeah.

15:14Anybody

15:16online on that item?

15:18>> To address, no one raising their hands.

15:21>> Commissioner Wally.

15:22>> Mr. Chair, so this item was a request

15:24for an all-way stop at the intersection

15:27and the stated purpose was to help

15:29control speeds on on West Boylston

15:31Drive. As we've talked about at the

15:33committee before, we can't utilize stop

15:35signs for the express purpose of

15:36controlling speeds. The the federal

15:38manual on it actually prohibits that

15:42because it was shown not to be effective

15:44when they're not warranted for other

15:46other reasons.

15:47We did conduct the warrant analysis and

15:49it does not meet any warrants

15:52which include looking at things like the

15:54traffic volume, the crash history, and

15:57the sight distance at this location.

15:59However, we do believe that the side

16:01street should have a stop sign.

16:03Currently, none of the none of the

16:04approaches have a stop sign, so we are

16:06recommending approval of a stop sign

16:08facing and I'm going to butcher the

16:10name, but I think it's Scrimgeour Road.

16:12>> Scrimgeour Road.

16:13>> Yeah.

16:14So, just facing the that one approach.

16:17>> Sounds good.

16:19We'll move to approve the item. Roll

16:20call.

16:22>> Councilor Bellada.

16:23>> Yes.

16:24>> Councilor Ojeda.

16:31Councilor Ojeda.

16:41>> If we lose them, we'll go to me. Nagu,

16:43yes?

16:44>> You can keep going.

16:46>> I think he just dropped off. Maybe a

16:49connection issue.

16:50>> Yeah.

16:50>> So, Councilor Rivera.

16:52>> Yes.

16:53>> Thank you.

16:54>> All right. We go to number seven,

16:55traffic lane reconfig- reconfiguration

16:58petitions. Matthew Germain requests

17:00installation of a right turn only lane

17:03on Lincoln Street at its intersection

17:05with Plantation Street.

17:07Nobody here for that item. Anybody

17:09online?

17:10>> Mr. Chair, there's no one raising their

17:11hands.

17:12>> Commissioner Rawley.

17:13>> Mr. Chair, so this is an interesting

17:15one.

17:17This particular intersection, the we're

17:19talking about the eastbound approach.

17:22So, it has two lanes.

17:23The rightmost lane is what we call a

17:26shared lane. So, you can either continue

17:28straight or you can turn right onto

17:30Plantation Street.

17:31Um, in the opposite direction, in the

17:34eastbound direction, it actually is

17:35configured as they're proposing here

17:37where there's one left turn lane, one

17:38through lane, and and one right turn

17:40lane.

17:41Um,

17:43taking a look at the traffic volumes

17:44here, the

17:46it is about a 50/50 split in terms of

17:48through traffic and right turning

17:50traffic. So, that, you know, initially

17:53indicated to us, "Hey, maybe it does

17:55make sense to convert that that right

17:57lane to a a right turn only lane."

18:00Um,

18:01however, there are a couple of caveats

18:03that come with that. One is that we

18:06found that if there's not physical

18:09changes also incorporated to the

18:11intersection beyond just signs and

18:13paint, um, we do tend to see an uptick

18:16in crashes

18:17uh when we have what we call a drop lane

18:19like that. So, we we basically force the

18:22turn in the lane.

18:24And I think one of the things that

18:25happens is you get trapped in that right

18:27lane thinking you can go through because

18:29you're looking down the road and you

18:30still see two lanes in front of you. Um,

18:32so you see a lot of people violating

18:34that right turn only.

18:36The second thing is we went ahead and

18:38modeled this in the traffic operation

18:40software and it was a little bit

18:41surprising, but it didn't actually

18:43improve the traffic operations at all.

18:45So, it did I have to say it did make the

18:47trip faster for the people that are

18:48making that right turn. So, they would

18:50have seen their um,

18:53you know, the amount of delay they

18:53experienced at that intersection

18:55improved. Uh, although currently they

18:57are at what we call level of service C,

18:59which is a considered a good level of

19:01service during the the peak period. So,

19:02the amount of congestion here is not

19:05anything beyond what you'd expect during

19:07busy times.

19:09Um, however, everyone else's delay got

19:11worse if we made that a a right turn

19:13lane. And the net result overall looking

19:16at all the users was actually slightly

19:18worse,

19:19even though there was, as I said, a very

19:21notable benefit for the right turners.

19:23So,

19:24you know, it's something that I think

19:26may make sense at some point in time. Um

19:30but given that the intersection actually

19:32operates pretty well today, there would

19:34be some cost. It's not a huge cost, but

19:36it's not inconsequential either in

19:38trying to convert this over.

19:40Um our recommendation is to go ahead and

19:42file this and we'll keep an eye on it

19:44over time and it might make be something

19:46that makes sense in the future.

19:47>> Sounds good. Do any of my colleagues

19:49want to speak on this item?

19:56Take that as a no. Move to file the

19:57item. Roll call.

19:59>> Councilor Balada.

20:01>> Yes.

20:01>> Councilor Ojeda and Chairperson

20:03Councilor Rivera.

20:04>> Yes.

20:06>> Yeah, to 8A.

20:08Councilor Morris Bergman requests

20:10installation of a stop sign on Indian

20:12Hill Road at Marconi Road. Further

20:15requests installation of a do not block

20:17intersection signage at said

20:19intersection.

20:21Um

20:23anybody here want to speak on this item?

20:24Come on up. Name and address, please.

20:30>> My name is

20:32>> Yeah, that one.

20:33>> My name is Heather Windolf and I live on

20:35Watt Road. So, it's right up in Indian

20:37in the neighborhood. Um I guess I'm just

20:39trying to figure out how

20:41we can have a

20:42stop sign and a yield

20:46and all this

20:47signage, I guess, on the ground in the

20:50spot that's no bigger than this, first

20:52of all, the intersection itself.

20:55Um and has anybody looked at actually

20:56maybe even making Marconi one way from

20:59Ararat into the neighborhood, which

21:01would eliminate, I'm sorry, which would

21:03eliminate any of the coming together at

21:06Indian Hill, Marconi, and Arera.

21:09>> That'd be a different petition for

21:10another meeting.

21:11>> sure. Okay. But, um

21:14I just, you know, has have Have you guys

21:16looked I'm sure you've looked at this

21:17intersection.

21:18>> Absolutely. He's going to have some

21:19information for you.

21:20>> Okay. Thank you.

21:21>> Thank you. Anybody online?

21:27>> To a total of one person raising their

21:29hands, to speaker Henry Halpern.

21:33You can go ahead and use

21:36>> Hi team. So, uh Henry Halpern here. I

21:38live right at this intersection. Um so,

21:41couple of things. Um so, it's uh

21:44everybody knows it's against the law.

21:46You can actually get a ticket

21:48um to blocking an intersection, right?

21:49It's illegal to block an intersection.

21:51And that happens here uh quite a bit. Um

21:54certainly more in the morning, but it

21:56does happen in the afternoon.

21:58Um so, it's happened to me quite a few

22:00times. I live right at this intersection

22:02and I see it happen to other people as

22:03well. So, I think that what happens is

22:06if we put a yield sign in

22:08uh or or the do not block intersection,

22:10that's just a reminder for the law,

22:12right? There's a that's that's just a

22:14simple law that exists.

22:16Also, um if we put a yield sign in and

22:18also from the Registry of Motor Vehicles

22:20Handbook Driver's License Manual, it

22:22states that when the the two roads come

22:25together in a V, the road on the right

22:28has the right of way, right? And so, and

22:29a lot of people are coming down at Ratch

22:31coming up Indian Hill and uh and and and

22:35not yielding properly, right? So, once

22:37again, uh just a reminder of the law,

22:40it's in the Registry of Motor Vehicle

22:41Handbook. So, um so so that's that's

22:44what we're getting at here is that um

22:47um

22:48you know, it's just simple laws that

22:50we're trying to observe and um you know,

22:52an X on the ground cuz people do have to

22:54come through that intersection and make

22:55their way to Arera and and and wherever

22:57else they're going. So, we just need a

22:59little X on the ground or some diagonal

23:01lines so they know which part not to

23:03block, right? So, they can they can they

23:06can either stop or yield. I don't think

23:08it needs a stop sign. I think it just

23:09needs a yield sign, right? When there's

23:11no traffic around, there's no need to

23:13stop, right? But, if there is traffic

23:14around, they need to know Indian Indian

23:16Hill needs to know that they need to

23:18yield. It's simple law. The X on the

23:21ground, simple law, right? Do not block

23:23an intersection.

23:25That's what I got.

23:26>> Thank you, Henry.

23:28Um, any of my colleagues want to speak

23:29on this item?

23:32No.

23:33>> No.

23:33>> Okay. Commissioner Rowley.

23:35>> Yeah, Mr. Chair, I'll just point out

23:36that

23:38um

23:39Mr. Halpern, who just spoke, also has um

23:42related petitions B and C. So, these are

23:44all at the same location, kind of

23:47proposing similar things.

23:49>> Do you want to just

23:50combine them?

23:51>> We we could I'm comfortable taking them

23:53all at once if

23:54>> Sure. So, then I'm just going to mention

23:56them while we're at it. Um,

23:58um AB, Henry Halpern, requests

24:00installation of yield sign at Indian

24:01Hill Road and McCartney Road. And AC,

24:05Henry Halpern, requests installation of

24:07do not block intersection signage at the

24:10intersection of Indian Hill Road and

24:12McCartney Road, as well as street

24:14marking with an X where cars should not

24:16block said intersections. So, that's A A

24:20B and C. Commissioner Rowley.

24:22>> Mr. Chair, so this is one um that we

24:25heard back in November and and we held.

24:27Uh, it's been

24:29a little bit difficult to wrap our heads

24:30around this location because it's just

24:32it's odd. Just there's no other way to

24:35put it. Um, as the the person who spoke

24:37initially noted, it's two streets that

24:41meet right before major uh intersection.

24:44So, there's two intersections in very

24:46close proximity to one another.

24:49Um, McCartney Road is also a private

24:52street. So, that means that

24:55um we can control it at its point where

24:59it intersects with Indian Hill Road, but

25:02we can't really do anything back up

25:05along the roadway. So, we can't change

25:07the direction of the roadway. We can't

25:09um,

25:11you know, we can't paint lines in the

25:12roadway or those kinds of things once

25:15we're onto the the private street. So,

25:17our

25:18our ability to implement things is is

25:21really on Indian Hill Road.

25:23Um,

25:24my

25:25you know, we we gathered some data here.

25:28Neither street is especially busy. I

25:30understand at at times of day, you know,

25:33during the commute periods, um, there is

25:35some queuing that forms back from the

25:37intersection because people are having

25:39difficulty, um, making turns out onto

25:42the the um,

25:44Ararat Street. Um,

25:47so, that can, because of the close

25:49proximity, it can cause cars to back up

25:50through there.

25:52Um,

25:53Indian Hill Road has a little bit higher

25:56traffic volume, but I characterize it as

25:57about the same on either road. Um,

26:01so, our first thoughts were, well, gosh,

26:03you know, if we were going to do

26:04something, we'd put a stop or a yield on

26:07Marconi.

26:09Um, but in talking with, um, Mr. Halpern

26:13as as well as, um,

26:15you know, thinking more about how this

26:17intersection works, one of the things we

26:18realized is

26:20one of the difficulties here is when

26:23you're actually coming back in the other

26:24direction. So, if you're on Ararat

26:26Street and you're making a turn onto

26:29either Indian Hill or Marconi,

26:31um,

26:32it's that sort of conflict point that

26:36exists right after you make that turn.

26:37So, if you're going up Marconi and

26:39someone's coming up Indian Hill, those

26:42two people don't know what either is is

26:45going to do next.

26:46Um,

26:48so, as, you know, as the first person

26:50noted, if we could make Marconi one way

26:53um that could potentially solve it but

26:55we don't we don't have that ability

26:56since it's private street. So, our

26:59thought is

27:00maybe it does make sense to go ahead and

27:03establish traffic control on Indian Hill

27:05Road at the intersection.

27:07Um we can talk about the merits of a

27:09yield sign versus a a stop sign.

27:12You know, I think either either could be

27:14appropriate here. The thing I do like

27:17about the stop sign is that that might

27:21cause traffic to better recognize the

27:24vehicles coming toward them and not just

27:26sort of look to the right to see if

27:27anyone's coming down Marconi but also

27:29think about the vehicles coming toward

27:31them.

27:32Um but the yield sign means the same

27:34thing. They're still supposed to yield

27:35to oncoming traffic. It's just for

27:37anyone coming up Indian Hill Road

27:40it's difficult to determine how that car

27:42coming toward you is planning to proceed

27:45through that intersection. So,

27:47along with this we would do a little bit

27:49of lane markings. We don't usually do

27:51lane markings on local streets but I

27:53think because those intersections are so

27:54close together um we want to just lay

27:57out a little tiny bit of double yellow

28:01and some white edge line to just sort of

28:03define where vehicles are supposed to

28:05move through the intersection in

28:07conjunction with either a a yield or a

28:08stop sign and I don't know if Sergeant

28:10Foley has any any thoughts on this

28:12intersection or if you've had a chance

28:14to look at it. Um

28:16I I would be comfortable starting with

28:18the yield and then we could could uh go

28:20to a stop sign if that didn't prove

28:22effective. Um I do I do think there are

28:25some additional benefits to a stop sign.

28:27The downside of course is that then

28:29everyone on Indian Hill Road is going to

28:30have to stop. There's not a lot of

28:32traffic out there. People tend

28:34to not obey stop signs when there's not

28:36a lot of traffic. So,

28:38you know, from that standpoint the yield

28:39sign might be the way to start.

28:41>> Sounds good. Um I think the yield sign

28:44is a good way to uh to start. I agree

28:48with Commissioner Rawley, so we're going

28:49to move to approve that item. You will

28:51sign road call for 8A and also to take

28:56care of uh

28:57B and C, which is going to file those

28:59cuz they're repetitive. So, 8A will take

29:02care of it.

29:03>> Yeah, so Mr. Chair, if we go with the

29:04yield sign, I would recommend that we go

29:06ahead and approve B then.

29:09>> B.

29:09>> Um because Counselor Bergman had amended

29:11his original to become a stop sign.

29:13>> Got you.

29:15So, we'll file 8A

29:18and we'll approve 8B

29:23and file 8C.

29:26Road call.

29:27>> Counselor Palada?

29:28>> Yes.

29:29>> Counselor Ojeda?

29:32>> Yes.

29:32>> And Chairperson Counselor Rivera?

29:34>> Yes.

29:36So, we're moving on to 8D, Adam Arch,

29:39requests installation of blind driveway

29:42signage in front of 425 Lake Ave north

29:45to warn drivers traveling towards

29:47Lincoln Street of said blind driveway.

29:51Nobody here and not anybody online?

29:53>> To the chair, there's no one raising

29:54their hands.

29:55>> Commissioner Rawley.

29:56>> So, Mr. Chair, this is on Lake Ave right

29:59after it crosses under I-290 and there's

30:03a situation there where at 425 Lake Ave,

30:06there are two driveways that connect

30:08rather large parking lot to the street.

30:11Um and those driveways currently operate

30:14as one-way driveways.

30:16And the one that's the exiting driveway

30:18is the furthest south. And immediately

30:22to the south of that, Lake Ave does this

30:24kind of S curve, goes under the two

30:27overpasses, and there's also some

30:29vegetation there. So, the the visibility

30:31is not great looking in that southerly

30:33direction. Uh so, someone pulling out of

30:36that driveway where they have to exit

30:37and trying to turn left onto Lake Ave,

30:39um it wouldn't be difficult if someone's

30:43going at a high rate of speed on Lake

30:45Ave to not not be able to see them in

30:47time. There isn't really a crash history

30:49um, issue here. There's been one crash

30:51in the last five years. It did involve

30:53the drive one of the driveways, but it

30:54was actually the entering driveway, not

30:56the one that we're we're more concerned

30:58about.

30:59Um,

31:02traffic on Lake Ave's going at a pretty

31:04good clip here. Um, the average speed is

31:0634 mph and the 85th percentile speed is

31:1043 mph.

31:12One of the tricky things is this is

31:14covered under the statutory speed limit

31:16and Sergeant Foley and I have been

31:17discussing this on another nearby

31:19roadway, but um,

31:21the statutory speed limit of 25 mph

31:23applies in, you know, residential areas

31:27that are considered thickly settled

31:29as well as business districts and this

31:31is kind of right on the border of that.

31:33So,

31:34um, it's not entirely clear that those

31:37speeds are actually in violation of the

31:40sort of prudent speed limit there.

31:43Um,

31:45the the request itself is for a blind

31:47driveway sign. That's a sign that's not

31:49specifically

31:50um,

31:51an official sign authorized by the MUTCD

31:54anymore. So, we try not to utilize that

31:56sign. There still are some cases where

31:58we'll have

32:00what is absolutely, you know, you come

32:02around a corner and there's a driveway

32:03right there. We will still occasionally

32:05use those signs in those cases. This

32:07isn't really that. You still have a

32:09couple of 100 ft after you come around

32:11the corner before that driveway.

32:13So, our thought is to file the item and

32:15then instead, uh, what DTM will do is

32:18we'll evaluate the appropriate

32:19horizontal curvature

32:21um,

32:22signage approaching this location

32:25uh, as well as putting an advisory speed

32:27plaque on that if it warrants it. So,

32:29with that curve, I think once we get the

32:31engineering study done behind that, it

32:33may merit a 25 or

32:36uh,

32:36the even 30 mph speed limit plaque on it

32:39that will help hopefully slow people

32:41down. And you can custom make those

32:44signs to actually show that there's a

32:45driveway connection, too, after they get

32:47out of the curve. So, um I think that's

32:50probably the best treatment here. I

32:52would also advise that the petitioner

32:54talk with the property owner about

32:57potentially changing that northern

32:59driveway to be two ways. It's 24 ft

33:02wide. It could accommodate two-way

33:03traffic. If they wanted to widen it a

33:05little, they could. That's out of our

33:07control because it's on their private

33:08property, but that driveway has much

33:11better visibility and and sightlines

33:13than the the southerly driveway.

33:17>> Sounds good. Uh I'll start with the

33:18chair's order requesting that the

33:20Department of Transportation mobility

33:21evaluate and install the appropriate

33:24horizontal curve and speed walking

33:26plaque in advance of the driveway.

33:28And then we move to file the item roll

33:31call.

33:32>> Councilor Balada?

33:33>> Yes.

33:34>> Councilor Ojeda?

33:36>> Yes.

33:37>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera?

33:39>> Yes.

33:40Let's move on to 8E, Kemper L. Barnes,

33:44Jr., request installation of do not

33:46block driveway signage in front of 15

33:49Winham Street. So, it's similar to the

33:51other one.

33:53Commissioner Rawley? Is anybody online

33:54first?

33:55>> Mr. Chair, there's no one raising their

33:57hand.

33:57>> Commissioner Rawley?

33:58>> Yes.

33:59Sorry.

34:01Mr. Chair, so um

34:03uh again, do not block driveway sign is

34:05not a sign that we would use. However,

34:06you could sign the statutory no parking

34:08distance of 5 ft either side of the

34:10driveway because there are literally

34:12tens of thousands of driveways in the

34:14city. We we don't do that unless there's

34:16extenuating circumstances where we are

34:18seeing recurring violations. Um this

34:21petitioner has reported that they are

34:23experiencing problems with people

34:25parking close to their driveway. Um

34:27submitted a picture of a vehicle that

34:29was parked um Um, you know, right up

34:31against the driveway.

34:33That being said, we're not

34:35we're not seeing any sort of special or

34:38unique circumstances that should make

34:39that happen any more than it any other

34:42driveway.

34:43Um, you know, there's multiple driveways

34:46along this street. There's not some sort

34:48of special

34:49special use next to it that's driving

34:51people to to park there.

34:54Um, so I would encourage them to just

34:57continue to call parking enforcement.

34:59Once someone gets a couple of tickets

35:00for doing this, they're going to stop

35:02doing it. Um, I know it can be

35:04frustrating that parking enforcement

35:05can't always be there at all times of of

35:08the day.

35:09But uh, even, you know, if it's an

35:11overnight thing,

35:13they get a couple of work orders on it

35:15the next time they have an overnight

35:16shift, they will go around and and look

35:18for those violations. So, my

35:20recommendation is to file the item and

35:22then, uh, you know, again, I would just

35:24recommend that the the resident make

35:26sure that they report it anytime they're

35:27having a problem with it.

35:30>> Thank you very much. Uh, we'll move to

35:31further item roll call.

35:33>> Councilor Balada?

35:35>> Yes.

35:35>> Councilor Ojeda?

35:38>> Yes.

35:39>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera?

35:41>> Yes.

35:42Um, so that's our meeting today. We'll

35:45move our roll call to adjourn the

35:47meeting.

35:49Attendance for the adjourn the meeting?

35:50>> Yes.

35:51>> Councilor Balada?

35:52>> Yes.

35:53>> Councilor Councilor Ojeda?

35:57>> Yes.

35:57>> And Chairperson Councilor Rivera?

35:59>> Yes, thank you guys.

36:01Meeting adjourned.