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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-10-2004 - Minutes TCCITY OF ORANGE CITY TRAFFIC COMMISSION Minutes of a Regular Meeting: March 10, 2004 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper I. OPENING A. Flag Pledge B. Roll Call Present – Commissioners: J. Fortier, F. Sciarra, F. Petronella, J. Beil, N. Lall Present – Staff: T. Mahood, D. Allenbach, W. Winthers, C. Glass, Sgt. J. Burton, P. Then D. Approval of Minutes February 11, 2004 ACTION: Approved as published by the Recording Secretary. MOTION: F. Sciarra SECOND: F. Petronella AYES: Unanimous II. ORAL PRESENTATIONS None this meeting. III. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Request for the implementation of “NO PARKING ANYTIME” restrictions on the north side of Fairhaven Avenue from Winthorpe Street to Earlham Street. Kenneth Snyder 864 N. Newhaven Dr. Orange CA 92869-5444 Oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. Chairman Fortier opened the public hearing for the following discussion of this item: Charles Anderson, 887 S. Newhaven Dr. – In favor of restrictions. It’s very difficult to exit our street, there are cars going 45 MPH and by the time you get your nose stuck out somebody’s going to hit you. We’ve had motorhomes parked there for a month at a time. Last weekend for 3 days there was a 40 ft. boat parked out there on a trailer. None of the neighbors use that area, it’s being used as a car lot. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 2 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper Ken Snyder, 864 S. Newhaven Dr. – Support the parking restrictions. It’s a very dangerous situation. I agree with the staff’s findings and I hope you will act accordingly. Chairman Fortier closed the public hearing and returned the item to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. ACTION: Approve the request and implement “NO PARKING ANYTIME” restrictions on the north side of Fairhaven Avenue from Winthrope Street to Earlham Street. MOTION: J. Beil SECOND: J. Fortier AYES: Unanimous B. Request for the installation of red curb markings on both sides of the driveway serving 2345 E. Palmyra Avenue. Jim Stephens Orange Unified School District 2345 E. Palmyra Ave. Orange CA 92869 Oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. There was no discussion of this item. ACTION: Approve the installation of 30 feet of red curb on both sides of the subject driveway. MOTION: F. Sciarra SECOND: N. Lall AYES: Unanimous B. Request to lengthen the existing red curb markings at the driveway serving 600 North Batavia Street. Richard O’Neill 600 N. Batavia St. Orange CA 92868 Oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. There was no discussion of this item. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 3 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper ACTION: Approve the installation of an additional 85 feet of re d curb markings to the existing red curb on the north side of the subject driveway. MOTION: F. Sciarra SECOND: N. Lall AYES: Unanimous IV. CONSIDERATION ITEMS 1. Request for the installation of an “All-Way” STOP control at the intersection of Driftwood Street and Meadowbrook Avenue/Woods Street. Lisa Whaley 345 E. Meadowbrook Ave. Orange CA 92865 The oral presentation is based on the written staff report; please refer to your copy. Chairman Fortier – I went out there and sat and I couldn’t really see a problem. I wasn’t there during the peak hour but I sat there a while and not one car went by. Vice Chairman Sciarra – I also went out there. In fact I took that route on Woods St. north right at the curve where the center median is and I couldn’t go through there at 15 MPH, I had to slow down to 5-10 MPH. I don’t see this as being a problem. Chairman Petronella – I am very familiar with this neighborhood since I used to live in it. I’ve walked it and everything else and I didn’t see a problem th en and I don’t see one now. Chairman Fortier opened the public hearing for the following discussion. Michael Lyman, 340 E. Meadowbrook Ave. – Like you said you weren’t there at peak time. Generally right about my dinner I can hear cars hitting 2 nd gear in front of my house. It’s 525 feet long and they’re doing upwards of 40 MPH down that street, if it’s only 30 that’s 30 more than I want going 40 MPH down my street. There is an existing problem with speeders that are cutting through our tract, there are 16 houses on Meadowbrook, even with an average of 2 cars each that’s 32 cars that would go on our street and stop they’re not going through to the other end. They’re cutting through because the traffic backs up on Glassell and they use our street as a cut-through to get to Riverdale. There’s a woman in a wheelchair that is afraid to cross the street during some of those hours. I don’t think the red curbs are necessary for this “All-Way” STOP. As it is right now Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 4 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper people are going through there at 25 MPH with and I mean at zero I would think there would be much better visibility than it is at 25 MPH going through there so I don’t think you need red curbs. As far as it being an “All -Way” STOP that isn’t a make or break request, just as long as the traffic on Meadowbrook stop’s on either end would hopefully alleviate the people cutting through the tract. I don’t believe that noise is any less going from 25 MPH to 0 than it is from 45 -15 MPH when they go around the corner. The acceleration-deceleration is the same during that period of time. Chairman Fortier – Do you live at the corner of this intersection? Michael Lyman – No, I live in the middle of the street. I’m not in favor of the red curbs and I’ve looked in the neighborhood and there are STOP sign s and especially we’ve got a fire hydrant there so there is no purpose for one anyway, two driveways, the other street that is like that doesn’t have red curbs either. Robin Mayes, 335 E. Meadowbrook Ave. – I’m opposed to the STOP sign, I live directly across the street from Michael so I also live in the middle of the street. I agree with your staff, I don’t see a need for this sign. Jennifer Christensen, 349 E. Meadowbrook Ave . – I am opposed to the STOP sign. I live right at the corner and have been there for almost 29 years. My bedroom used to be at the front of the house and in all the years I’ve lived there I have seen maybe 4 accidents. I don’t see a need for a STOP sign at the corner, I don’t want one in front of my house and if you think about it, people have to slow down to go around that curve. Putting in a STOP sign doesn’t make sense they already have to slow down so a STOP sign isn’t going to add anything. Chairman Fortier – We have installed STOP signs at locations that warranted it and people came back because of the noise pollution, brakes screeching, general noise. Art Saldivar, 3127 N. Driftwood – I am opposed to the STOP sign. I live at the corner house where the fire hydrant is located. Our concern is the noise and as you can see from these photographs our bedroom and bathroom windows are about 20-25 ft. from the corner. Maybe Friday or Saturday night some of these young guys might take that corner a little hard but other than that I do not see a need for a STOP sign at that corner. Ian Gibson, 3154 N. Driftwood – I am opposed to the STOP sign. I really can’t see a need for a STOP sign. Someone made a comment about a woman in a wheelchair, when my mother visits she uses a wheelchair and she likes to go out in the neighborhood a lot and she has never had any problems in the area whatsoever. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 5 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper Ed Wise, 416 E. Meadowbrook Ave. – I am opposed to the STOP sign. We live right at the corner where the curve is. I agree with everything that’s been said so far. We’re against it because of the noise and pollution, plus we see no need for it because as you come around the curve there’s a STOP sign already at Meadowbrook/Woods and Rainier; that is only about 25 yards where this STOP sign would be and I don’t think that’s practical. Occasionally we might have somebody speeding but that’s true of every street everywhere so we see no need for it. Craig Rheese, 326 E. Meadowbrook Ave . – I am opposed to the STOP sign. I live at the opposite end of the corner. I spend a lot of time in the neighborhood and I haven’t seen that big of a problem and I’m against having a STOP sign installed because there is another STOP sign less than a football field away and you would have two STOP signs too close together. As far as the speeding in the middle of the street, by the time you get to the middle of street its not going to deter speeding because if someone wants to speed, even if they stop at the STOP sign by the time they get to the middle of the street they’re going to be up to 35-40 MPH before they have to slow down again. There are a couple of natural barriers at each end of the street, a block wall which deters speeding as well, you have to turn you can’t go straight. Mike Shortle, 3116 River Mist - I am opposed to the STOP sign. I drive through that intersection peiodically. Usually there is a traffic study that is done before a STOP sign is put in or speed limits are changed and I haven’t heard about anything like that. Chairman Fortier – Anyone can initiate a request to install a traffic control device. When they do we send our Traffic Engineer’s out to the neighborhood to study the area. Vice Chairman Sciarra – Our Traffic Engineering Division conducted the appropriate traffic study prior to today’s meeting. George Thien, 323 E. Meadowbrook Ave. – I am against the STOP sign for all the reasons stated before. Susan Gibson, 3154 N. Driftwood – Just to mention that the STOP sign at Woods and Rainier is only a 2-Way STOP and not a 4-Way so I think the money would be better spent making that a 4-Way STOP because people will speed through that intersection before they reach the curve. Chairman Fortier closed the public hearing and returned the issue to the Commission for further discussion and a motion. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 6 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper Chairman Fortier - I’d like to commend all of you, usually when we get a request like this only the proponent’s show up and we only hear from a small percentage of the residents that may or may not want something but you have come when something was asked for and said you don’t want it and I think you should be commended for exercising that right. You would be surprised with the number of requests we receive and we never hear from the majority of the affected residents. Vice Chairman Sciarra – You’re known as the silent majority. Commissioner Beil – I don’t believe the suggested STOP controls are even reasonable based on the analysis done by the Traffic Dept. and the geometric conditions out there as mentioned by a lot of the speakers, the geometrics themselves act as a calming device. Many of us went out to this location and drove the area and it is a calming device. Acceleration and deceleration is going to happen through the course of a block regardless of what controls you put in at the ends. There may be other issues driving this request, I think the neighborhood should watch the traffic in the future to see what happens and if something needs to be done in the future to deal with cars cutting through the neighborhood or other traffic calming issues, but right not I don’t see this req uest as reasonable. ACTION: Deny the request to install an “All-Way” STOP sign at the intersection of Driftwood Street and Meadowbrook Avenue/Woods Street. MOTION: F. Petronella SECOND: F. Sciarra AYES: Unanimous  End of Consideration Calendar  V. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS None this month. Minutes of a Regular Meeting – City Traffic Commission – March 10, 2004 Pg. 7 Tape #CTC-24.03 of this City Traffic Commission meeting is available for your review. Please contact the Recording Secretary at (714) 744-5536 in this regard, advance notice is appreciated.  March [N:/Traffic/CTC/2004 Minutes] Printed on Recycled Paper VI. ADJOURNMENT After discussion of today’s Agenda items the City Traffic Commission meeting was concluded, and as there were no further requests for action under Oral Presentations, the Chairman adjourned this session of the City Traffic Commission. The next meeting of the City Traffic Commission is scheduled: 5:30 P.M. Wednesday – April 14, 2004 Respectfully submitted, CITY OF ORANGE Phyllis Then, Recording Secretary Traffic Engineering Division pthen@cityoforange.org CITY OF ORANGE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION 300 E. CHAPMAN AVE. ORANGE CA 92866 PH: (714) 744-5536 FAX: (714) 744-5573