TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

Transcription

1 TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting of Wednesday, October 21, :30AM Volume 62 No. 10 Members Present: Members Absent: Staff Members Present: Others Present: John P. Larson, Acting Chairman John Fuerst, Deputy Commissioner of Parking Richard Hope, Commissioner of Public Works Daniel K. Spencer, Deputy Corporation Counsel (for J. Callahan) James Bradley, Chief of Police (For D. Chong) Melissa Briggs Thomas Soyk, Deputy Commissioner of Parking Christopher Gomez, Commissioner of Planning Ken Burford Anthony Marena, Transportation Engineer Nicholas Kralik, Capt.-Commander, Traffic Div. Dr. Tali Lando, 14 Vermont Avenue William Null, Cuddy and Feder Lucille Brady, Secretary to the Commissioner of Parking I. Approval of Minutes On a motion made, seconded and carried, the minutes of the September 16, 2015 meeting were approved. Page 1

2 II. Old Business 1. Woodcrest Avenue Request from the Parking Department Traffic Division to review the parking regulations on Woodcrest Avenue between Kensico Avenue and Valley Road. The staff delivered letters to the residents in the area last month. The staff has not received any responses. Based on this, the staff recommended that a Two Hour Parking 7:30AM to 6:30PM be created in the area without a current restriction to match the existing adjacent parking restriction on Woodcrest Avenue. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation. 2. Bond Street Request from Louis J. Margan, Jr., to review the bus activity in the area. Mr. Margan feels that buses should not be permitted to use Bond Street to access North Broadway when they are leaving their site (they should use Fisher Lane). Mr. Margan also feels that the buses should be prohibited from turning left onto Bond Street from North Broadway. He feels the radius at the intersection of Bond Street at Haarlem Avenue cannot accommodate the turning buses and suggests that all northbound buses turn left at Holland Avenue. Page 2

3 The staff conducted a field review of this location. The staff felt that the intersections operate well based on the volume and traffic. They did not feel any additional changes are needed. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation. 3. Hawley Street Request from Anthony Abbate, 25 Hawley Street, to create a parking restriction during weekdays on Hawley Street since he feels that cars are parking on the street all day. The staff mailed letters to the residents in this block last month. The staff received two replies to the survey: one against any changes, and one in favor of a new restriction. Based on this, the staff recommended no changes to the parking restriction on Hawley Street in this area. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation. Page 3

4 4. Ria Drive and Bayne Place Request from Ms. Rise Stern, 59 Bayne Place, to restrict parking on one side of the street on Ria Drive and Bayne Place. She states that parents are parking their cars on both sides of the road to drop off their children. Due to the pavement width, only one car can get through. She would like parking restricted on one side during school hours. The staff recommended that the residents in the area be polled prior to making any changes to the parking regulation and the Commission agreed. 5. Scott Circle Request from Dr. Tali Lando, 14 Vermont Avenue, to create a No Right Turn for Prospect Street westbound at Scott Circle. The staff discussed Dr. Lando s request but did not feel that a No Right Turn would be appropriate for this area. They also felt that, since it is an unwarranted restriction, it would be violated often. The staff did not recommend any changes at this location. At this time Dr. Lando stated that, when she and her husband purchased their house, they did not know about the road and they were promised that there would not be a road, since there was a cul-de-sac there. So they built their house and the backyard was forest and a paper street was where the trees were. She continued that, at some point, it was recognized that the emergency vehicles and municipal trucks could not turn around in the cul-de-sac since it was not wide enough. Page 4

5 Some time later, DPW told her that they were building a road and not to make a big deal about it as it was just going to be for access for the houses that were on that street. She continued that she believed it would be simply a one way where the vehicles could go through, but then realized that the one-arm garbage trucks could only pick up on the right side of the road making it impossible for it to be a one-way street. She was concerned that vehicles were cutting through this street all the time and at all hours of the night and that there were many people doing so. She said that she believed that, one reason for this, was that the GPS did not yet recognize the street. She continued that there is a cut-through to Post Road that a lot of people use through Prospect Park, but it is 500 feet ahead and some people make the turn on her street instead of waiting for the stop sign. She said that she was concerned for her children being able to play safely in their back yard as well as her neighbor s small children. She stated that there is no signage on her street at all and asked if, because the City could not make it a one-way street, if they could install Do Not Enter or No Right Turn signs, even temporarily until the GPS system was updated to recognize her street. Commissioner Larson asked if anyone had any comments. There were several comments. Commissioner Larson stated that we could make the street one-way, but that the problem would be that it would have to go in the opposite direction. Page 5

6 He then asked Dr. Lando if she believed that her issue related to use of the Google Maps navigation app. She indicated that she believed that was part of the problem. Chief Bradley suggested that the Commission look at different signage options such as No Through Traffic or No Access to Post Road. The Commission agreed to discuss alternate signage options and, at this time, to put up signs showing it is not a through road and review the results. At this time, Dr. Lando left the meeting. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation not to install No Right Turn signage but amended their recommendation to review and install alternate signage. III. New Business 1. Church Street During the September 16, 2015 meeting, Deputy Corporation Counsel Spencer stated that on Church Street, when he leaves work at 6PM, vehicles trying to turn on Hamilton Avenue are backed up with vehicles in the second lane attempting to turn left making it difficult for those vehicles wanting to go straight. He asked if it was necessary to take out a few spaces to rectify this situation. Page 6

7 Currently the loading on the west side of Church Street allows passenger vehicles to park in the loading zone after 6PM. The staff felt that, if the loading zone was posted as a loading zone until 9PM, the area would often have additional storage capacity for vehicles wanting to turn left onto Hamilton Avenue. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the recommendation that the loading zone on Church Street currently posted as active until 6PM, be changed to show it as an active loading zone through 9PM. 2. E. J. Conroy Drive Deputy Corporation Counsel Spencer also noted, during the September 16, 2015 Traffic Commission meeting that the buses are continuing to idle on E. J. Conroy Drive. Some of the Bus Stop signage at this location had recently been changed by Westchester County DPW. The signs did not match what was approved by the City of White Plains. The signs have been corrected and the County was contacted and told to inform their drivers about the sign changes. Deputy Corporation Counsel Spencer commented that he believed the situation has improved. Page 7

8 3. North Street Request from Ms. Antoinette Diaz to reduce the speed limit to 35 mph on North Street between Robinhood Road and Ridgeway. The staff reviewed the location. The widths of the travel lanes and stopping sight distances are adequate. North Street in this area is a four-lane roadway with a median and separate left turn lanes at the major intersections. The staff felt that, based on the characteristics of the roadway, a lower speed limit would not result in reduced speed of motorists. Based on this, the staff did not recommend any changes to the speed limit in this area. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation. 4. North Street Request from the Parking Department Traffic Division to create a School Speed Limit regulation on North Street (both directions) in the vicinity of Club Pointe Drive. It is requested that the regulation be in effect from 7:15AM to 8:30AM and 2:15PM to 3:30PM. The staff recommended that the school speed limit on North Street in the vicinity of Club Pointe Drive be created for 7:15AM to 8:30AM and 2:15PM to 3:30PM on School Days. Page 8

9 On a motion made, seconded and carried the Commission approved the staff recommendation. 5. Tibbits Avenue at Ridgeview Avenue Request from Richard Daub, 21 Tibbits Avenue, for an all-way stop. He feels that the visibility is limited due to the hill and feels that stop signs will slow the cars down. The field staff reviewed the location and the accident history. The accident history did not show a pattern of accidents correctable by the installation of an all-way stop. Stop signs are not installed to reduce the speeds of motorists. The federal warrants for an allway stop are not met at any of the intersections. Based on the warrants not being met, the staff did not recommend an all-way stop. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation. Page 9

10 6. Lake Street Request from Joseph Pacelle, A & C Autobody, Inc., Lake Street, to remove the one-hour parking restriction on Lake Street in the vicinity of his business. Mr. Pacelle has also included signatures of several nearby businesses that are also in favor of the removal of this restriction. The staff is not opposed to changes in the parking regulations in this area, however, they felt that some of the businesses (e.g., deli, dry cleaners) will need short term parking. The staff recommends that the businesses be contacted directly for input prior to making any changes to the one-hour restriction. The Commission agreed to hold this item pending polling of the area businesses. 7. Mamaroneck Avenue at Hunting Ridge Road - Request from Mary Ann Amodio, 1124 Mamaroneck Avenue, to restrict right turns on red for Hunting Ridge Road onto Mamaroneck Avenue. She states that she was almost hit on two separate occasions while making a U-Turn on Mamaroneck Avenue. Page 10

11 The signal at this intersection has only been in operation for a few weeks. The staff felt that motorists are still getting used to the operation. A vehicle making a U-Turn with a green arrow has the right of way. The vehicle making a right turn on red must stop and yield to all traffic prior to making a right turn. The staff did not recommend a no turn on red at this intersection. On a motion made, seconded and carried, the Commission approved the staff recommendation IV. COMMON COUNCIL REFERRALS 1. Hindu Temple of Tri-State (390 North Street) Request for site plan amendment. The submitted application states that approximately 400 people will be accommodated during the High Holy Days, however the included Parking Management Plan is based on 250 people being accommodated during the high holy days. Page 11

12 William Null, Esq. of Cuddy and Feder, introduced himself and said that the parking accommodations for this site were the same as they had proposed for the bigger building and that the sanctuary phase hasn t changed in size at all. He added that the normal analysis for parking is based on the sanctuary. He attributed the inconsistency in parking accommodations, to be one of a clerical nature, missing what was going on. He continued that the analysis was consistent with prior buildings and that there has not been any change. He said that he should have looked back and corrected this inconsistency in the Parking Management Plan. He continued that valet and stacked parking was also set up and that there was no change in the plans between the smaller building and the building that was initially approved. Commissioner Larson asked whether the 400 was an accurate number or not and Mr. Null responded that, the night prior, the Planning Board had asked the same question and that the architect had responded it would be 300 or so. Mr. Null continued that he had come up with the 400 number from somewhere and believed that number to have been in his letter, Mr. Marena responded that he believed that number had been used for the previous application. Mr. Null continued that the newer version is of a smaller building with a smaller parking demand. Page 12

13 Commissioner Larson asked if anyone had any comments. He then noted that he certainly saw a problem in that the letter we had received said there would be 400 people while the Parking Management Plan says only 250. Mr. Null stated that satellite parking should address the Commission s concerns and that if the Temple could not accommodate on-site parking, there should be satellite parking and proceeded to give examples of how other institutions without ample on-site parking had made plans for satellite parking. Mr. Null said there was a proposal spelled out in the Parking Management Plan for satellite parking to accommodate any vehicles that might not be able to be accommodated on site. Commissioner Larson reiterated that the real concern is that their letter says there is a need for 400 spaces, yet their Parking Management Plan says the site can only accommodate 250 and he saw that as a problem. Mr. Null then questioned if he could either change his letter or tell us whatever number there is that they have the ability to accommodate and have the overage located offsite as they had committed to in the Parking Management Plan, which he believed to be the more accurate way to approach this issue. Page 13

14 There was a question as to whether the satellite parking provision was addressed in the Parking Management Plan. Mr. Null said that he did believe that it was addressed in the Parking Management Plan. At this time, Mr. Marena read the following excerpt from the Parking Management Plan: If it is determined by the Department of Public Safety that the Temple s parking lot (using the overflow area) is not addressing the parking demand for peak times, then the Temple will be directed to obtain off-site parking to satisfy the peak parking demand. Commissioner Larson asked if there was a current plan for satellite parking and Mr. Null responded that he did not think they were going to need it, as the larger number was only for the high holidays. Commissioner Larson asked if the original site plan included, as a condition, that Public Safety can determine whether you need to provide off-site parking. Mr. Null did not know if it was included or not, but said that he would have no problem with it being a condition. There was a brief discussion on the number of both the holy days and the high holy days. Mr. Null said that he regretted the inconsistencies, but said that the numbers that have been presented are identical with those presented the first time around, but that it is now a smaller complex in that it does not have a social hall. He stated that he believed that the solution was the same, since he believed that they have more than ample parking on site Page 14

15 for daily usage, and that, if a larger event were planned, the Temple would arrange for satellite parking as was intended. Mr. Null continued that he didn t know if the resolution had that kind of condition. Chief Bradley said that they had a history of working with institutions and doing what they could. He said his biggest concern was that they did not want overflow parking on North Street and Mr. Null responded that he completely understood and that is why he mentioned the alternative arrangements. Chief Bradley suggested that, on the designated days when the Temple thinks they may have a possibility of requiring additional parking, they contact the Department of Public Safety fifteen days prior in writing telling them where the off-site parking will be located. Mr. Null agreed that that would work. Chief Bradley asked Commissioner Larson if he was in agreement. Commissioner Larson said he was OK with that and asked Chief Bradley if he was OK with the language they had put in the Parking Management Plan where it says If it s determined by the Department of Public Safety that the Temple s parking lot, using the overflow areas not addressing the parking demand for peak times, then the Temple will be directed to use off-site parking. Page 15

16 Chief Bradley did not believe there would be a problem so long as the Temple complies. Chief Bradley said that he thought the statement should be reversed and instead say that it is up to the Temple to notify the Department of Public Safety of the arrangements they are making which we would then approve. Commissioner Larson concurred. On a motion made, seconded and carried the Commission approved the recommendation that the site plan amendment be approved with the condition that it would be the sole responsibility of the Temple to notify the Department of Public Safety Chief of Police of the location of any off-site parking, in writing, at least fifteen (15) days prior to an event, adding that parkers would be prohibited from parking on North Street. V. ADDENDUM ADJOURNMENT On a motion made, seconded and carried, the meeting adjourned at 9:08AM. lfb Page 16