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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20140409minutesAPPROVED April 9, 2014 MINUTES Transportation and Traffic Commission Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Commission Members (present) Jeff Ahlers Timothy Diemler Mark Kross Jeremy Murray Roger Schwartze Donna Deetz Ryan Towner Commission Members (absent) Ron Fitzwater Michael Hughes Staff Liaisons (present) Councilman Carlos Graham Sgt. Doug Ruediger Staff (present) Britt Smith Matt Morasch Guest(s): Madeleine Leroux (News Tribune), Harley Thompson, Matt Brake, Gertrude Davis, Lisa Loesch, Sharry Russell, and Mildred Archer. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ahlers at 8:15 a.m., and a quorum was present at that time. 1. Introduction Chairman Ahlers welcomed all and requested attendees to sign in. Britt Smith introduced Beth Sweeten as the new commission secretary. 2. Acceptance of the March 12, 2014 meeting minutes Mr. Kross noticed an error in the minutes under new business C. Mr. Schwartze motioned to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by Mr. Kross. All were in favor, motion carried. 3. New Business a) Request to remove parking on Garfield Street. (Requestor: Louis Vetter) Mr. Smith presented the staff report and noted to the commission members that this area was constructed on a platted alley right-of-way, having a width of only 20ft. Given the APPROVED April 9, 2014 narrow width of the street and support from the neighborhood, staff supports removal of street parking. Gertrude Davis and Lisa Loesch were present and spoke on their behalf of why they need parking available. Ms. Loesch stated that the vehicles parking there are on her driveway and not the street. Mr. Smith noted that the area is the city right of way. Ms. Loesch said that the vehicles she has parking there are for medical staff that are tending to her. Mr. Smith described to the commission members where the city right of way ends and Ms. Loesch’s driveway begins. After lengthy discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Ahlers to remove parking on Garfield Street as requested. There was no second, and the motion fails. Mr. Smith told Ms. Loesch that the vehicle she has parked on the street with the expired plates is against city ordinance. She assured the commission that the vehicle will be taken care of. b) Request to remove parking on the east side of the 900 block of Montana St. (Requestor: Harley Thompson, Sr.) Mr. Smith gave the staff report. He mentioned to commission members that Montana Street was constructed with and 18 to 19 foot width and open ditches for drainage. Staff would support the parking removal if the neighborhood supports the change. Harley Thompson Sr. was present and stated the reasoning for his request. He said he has had an issue with water drainage as a result of vehicles parking off of the road and in the ditch. He had some pictures of the vehicle parked and the water in his yard. Sharry Russell was present and said that the vehicle he is referring to is parked on her property. Her step son parks with part of his vehicle in the yard and part on the street to allow enough room for other cars to get through. Mr. Smith stated that the vehicle is actually parked on the city right of way. He stated that parking off the pavement is against city ordinance. Sgt. Ruediger stated that, yes it against city ordinance to park where there is no pavement. Mr. Smith asked if there was parking available behind the house. Ms. Russell said there is a drive entrance but not an approved driveway. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Schwartze to approve the request as submitted to remove parking on the east side of Montana Street. There was no second and motion failed. Mr. Thompson asked what he should do when they park in the ditch. Sgt. Ruediger said that he can call the police department and they will come out and assess the case. c) Traffic ordinance update for the north Jefferson City area. (Requestor: Staff) Mr. Smith gave the staff report. He said it was found that numerous stop and yield signs did not have an ordinance supporting their placement. Staff recommends that we eliminate six stop signs that are currently installed and cauterize and code the remaining yield and stop signs. Cedar City drive is currently coded for 40 mph speed limit. We would ask to pass an ordinance to enforce that speed limit. APPROVED April 9, 2014 Mr. Schwartze suggests leaving the two stop signs at 4th Street and Sandstone Drive. He said it provides access to the Lions Club and the Parks and Recreation community building. Mr. Smith said that staff would be okay with that. After a brief discussion among commission members a motion was made by Mr. Schwartz to accept staff recommendations with the addition of adding stop signs at 4th and Sandstone. Mr. Kross seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion carries. This item will now be moved forward for Council approval. 4. Old Business a) Request for no parking zone at Williams Street entrance of 2023 St. Mary’s Blvd. (Requestor Matt Brake) Mr. Smith gave a brief staff report and reminded the commission that they looked at this issue last month. It was deemed that it may be better to remove parking completely at this area and the commission tabled the discussion until we could notify the effected property owners. Staff recommends removing the parking in that area. Matt Brake was present and told the commission that he is in favor of removing the parking. He said that when cars are parked there, it makes it difficult to see when you are pulling out of the business driveway. Mr. Brake said that there has been a new lot added for parking and it is being underutilized. Mr. Smith said that he received a letter from the apartment building owner and he is also in favor of removing the parking. After a short discussion Mr. Towner made a motion to approve no parking on the east side of Williams Street. Ms. Deetz seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion carries. This item will now be moved forward for Council approval. b) Request to extend the no parking area on Cedar Ridge Rd. near Southwest Blvd. (Requestor: Vicki Boehm) Britt Smith stated that this item was left over from last month and gave a staff report. He informed the commission members he received two letters from neighbors who support the request. Mr. Frala who owns the CPA firm has requested that the commission modify the request to only make the no parking to his sidewalk. He is really concerned for his elderly customers that will have a hard time accessing his building. He understands the concerns from the residents. He did ask that since it is the middle of tax season and he is not able to appear in person, that if the commission is leaning toward removing all the parking, that they table it until next month when he is able to attend in person. Staff believes that a good compromise would be to remove parking to the sidewalk and see if it is still an issue. Discussion among members took place. Mr. Ahlers asked if there seemed to be a certain time of day that there seems to be an issue. Mr. Smith said that no, not in particular, just during the tax season. APPROVED April 9, 2014 Roger Schwartze made a motion to extend the no parking from Mr. Frala’s sidewalk to the end of Southwest Blvd. Mr. Diemler seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion is carried. This item will now be moved forward for Council approval. 5. Other Business There was no other business to discuss. 6. Adjourn A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Towner, and seconded by Mr. Murray. Meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m. Respectfully Submitted Beth Sweeten Administrative Technician, Public Works