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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Transportation Advisory Committee - 04/23/2012Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, April 23, 2012 Call Meeting to Order - Mr. Curtis A. Rock, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of March 26, 2012 were approved. III. Presentations and Discussions - a. Monthly Traffic Fatality Report: Capt. Vesely reported one (1) new fatality for the month, which brings the total to nine (9) for year 2012. He said this fatality occurred on April 5, 2012 at 2:33 a.m. They believe this is an alcohol related accident. The driver was going very fast and he lost control of his vehicle at Weber Rd. and McArdle Rd. Capt. Vesely said they have not received the toxicology report from the medical's examiner. b. Monthly Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Report: Mr. Cardenas reported the "Vulnerable Road Users" ordinance would be going to City Council on Tuesday, May 8 for the first reading and the second and final reading would be on Tuesday, May 15. c. Police Department Traffic Enforcement Complaints: Capt. Vesely reported it has been a slow month since our last meeting. There have been about 12 traffic complaints. They are starting to see fewer complaints at school zones and more of the generalized speeding complaints from around the city. He said it does not look like there is anything remarkable at a specific section of town. d. Top 20 Traffic Accident Locations for the Month: Capt. Vesely reported the number one location for the month of March is SH358 -FWY NB to IH37 -FWY NB Ramp with four accidents. He said in the past this section has been a bad location for traffic accidents. Capt. Vesely stated this location went down last year and presumes it was due to the lack of rain. The four accidents at this location occurred when there was precipitation. The motorists failed to control their speed as they come around the curve, this is going north on SH358 and it terminates into IH -37 towards San Antonio. Over the years, TxDOT has done a lot of work in this area to make it safer. Capt. Vesely stated when it rains motorists still drive too fast. He said there is a new location at the 3700 blk. of Alameda St. at the 500 blk. of Doddridge St. with three accidents. Capt. Vesely mentioned all the other locations are pretty much standard. e. Discussion of Possible Expansion of Red Light Camera Locations: Capt. Vesely discussed the two lists with the 21 approaches and all the remaining surveys conducted last year. He said that last year they looked at numerous locations they considered for red light cameras. Many of these locations are the perennial top 20 locations. The Redflex Corporation conducted surveys at each of these intersections, looking at two, three or four directions depending on what the intersection looked like. Capt. Vesely said as a way of comparison, until the construction on Staples St. and Williams Dr., the red light camera with the most violations continually was the Staples St. and Williams Dr. location. He said the Page 1 of 4 Redflex Corporation looked at all 21 intersection approaches and they preapproved all the locations. His initial response to them was that the city could not look at any TxDOT right -of -way locations until the MMA is completed. Therefore, they looked at the other four locations and stated there is a reason why they are trying to get to four locations. According to the new contract, if they increase three locations, then they get to move one of their least productive red light locations for free. He said the current least producing red light camera is Yorktown Blvd. and Cimarron Blvd., which produces on the average per month about five to six violations. Capt. Vesely said this means people are stopping and this is what they want to see. Initially the four locations that they actually sent survey crews to look at the logistics of putting in electricity and the loops and everything else they are trying to do. He said they looked at Leopard St. and Navigation Blvd., Mesquite St. and IH -37 (both directions) and Doddridge St. and Ocean Dr., going the other direction. However, at Doddridge St. and Ocean Dr. there was not enough room to put their equipment without right -of -way issues so they crossed this one out. Capt. Vesely stated that right now they have a list of three locations. He said the interesting thing about Mesquite St. and IH37 is that these are straight through violations. These represent a large danger to the public because these are people that are going straight through running the red light. As opposed to making a right turn on red, which is not as dangerous to the motorists but more dangerous to bicyclists and pedestrians that happen to be on the right hand side when people make an illegal right turn on red. Mr. Dudek asked if any cameras have been moved in the past. Capt. Vesely responded no they have not. Mr. Jacobi said he would like to the see the number of accidents per vehicle crossing at the red light camera locations. Mr. Cardenas said Traffic Engineering has this type of data. He said they do want to look if the accident rate has been reduced because of the red light cameras. f. Bayfront Presentation: Mr. Cardenas introduced Mr. Dan Bites, Interim Director of Engineering Services. Mr. Bites discussed the Shoreline Blvd. realignment and the concept proposed to them by Hargreaves Associates as part of the Destination Bayfront design. Mr. Bites said the Shoreline Blvd. Road Realignment from Furman St. to Cooper's Alley was a Bond 2008 Project approved as a separate proposition under Bayfront Development Phase III. He said Hargreaves Associates would be presenting the road concept to City Council on May 15, 2012. After this, they would be starting the design on the road. He said the design on the park is a separate deal. Mr. Bites said they are looking for feedback and based on this they will move forward with the direction. g. Unified Development Code (UDC) - None h. Urban Transportation Plan Amendments - None i. Update on Municipal Maintenance Agreement (MMA): Mr. Cardenas said the city and the state have been working numerous years on obtaining the Municipal Maintenance Agreement (MMA) signed between the two entities. He said some of the duties of the right -of -way maintenance on state designated highways are the responsibilities of the city, like the mowing. Mr. Cardenas stated it would be very minimal impact to the city compared to the older MMA, just some newer roadways. He said the older MMA was signed in 1983 and since then there have been more additions to the agreement. It is important for this committee to become updated with the MMA because it is tied in with the red light camera operations for the city Page 2 of 4 to install them on state designated roadways. Mr. Cardenas said Saratoga Blvd. (SH359) and Staples St. (SH2444) are TxDOT owned roadways. The MMA needed to be updated in order for the city to place red light cameras; this is one of the conditions. In addition, there is going to be a supplemental agreement specifying the red light cameras on state designated roadways, if needed. Mr. Rock asked if the MMA goes through Legal first and then City Council approval. Mr. Cardenas said yes it does. He said it was passed through City Council last Tuesday and it is ready to move forward. j. Discussion of No Cell Phone Use While Driving: Mr. Jacobi commented the city has recognized there is an epidemic with respect to cell phone use; whether, be talking or texting. Otherwise, there would not be signs in the school or hospital zones. Mr. Jacobi said he assumes it is a primary offense in the hospital zones. Capt. Vesely said yes it is. Mr. Jacobi said there are many laws right now that are difficult to enforce. He discussed some articles from around the country about no cell phone use while driving. Mr. Jacobi said we are seeing more states and cities across the nation getting on board and saying yes, there is a problem, it is an epidemic. He would like the committee to get ahead of the game and not wait for something tragic to happen. Unfortunately, some of the laws he has researched are of a result of someone's death. Mr. Jacobi said the ordinances he has provided the committee from seven cities and states are very simple and are about two pages long. He said the committee should consider providing them to Legal so they could do research and create something similar. Ms. Cudd asked Capt. Vesely how the police would enforce this, especially texting. Capt. Vesely responded it is not difficult to enforce cell phone issues in school zones. He said people use their cell phone so much they do not pay attention to the police vehicles. Capt. Vesely said if it were city wide, the officer would have to be at the right place and the right time. Mr. Cardenas stated this is a hot issue and it is happening around the country and not just here. He said in the material enclosed it states that some of these violations are secondary violations. These are customized laws in these communities; therefore, it is worth looking into and maybe tailoring them to fit our needs. He stated the distractions are overwhelming. He said Traffic Engineering could generate some kind of report where cell phone use was involved during accidents, as far as local statistics. The committee agreed that this would be good to do. Mr. Jacobi commented they have asked Capt. Vesely about this before and he does not think a review of the cell phone records of a cell phone in the car is a standard operational procedure; therefore, there is no data right now. The records are occasionally looked at but they are not something that is required in the case of an injury or fatal accident. Capt. Vesely stated this is correct but he could ask his traffic officers, who work one -third of the traffic accidents, to note in their narratives if there is cell phone use so Traffic Engineering could pull this data. k. Temporary Traffic Signal on Staples St. @ Moore Plaza: Mr. Cardenas reported that this traffic signal is being used. He said this signal is much needed for the pedestrians that are using the RTA buses to get to HEB during the Staples St. Construction Project. I. One -way Traffic Issues on South Shores to Montclair Elementary - Item tabled for next meeting. Page 3 of 4 m. Island Community Sidewalks Issues: Mr. Rock said the committee had already discussed this item at the last meeting. IV. Staff Recommendations requiring Committee Review for Recommendations / Actions - a. Appointments to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Sub - committee - None V. Identify items to be placed on a future agenda - None VI. Public Comment - None VII. Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 3:38 p.m. Page 4 of 4