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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Transportation Advisory Commission - 08/22/2011 RECEIVED Transportation Advisory Committee DEC 1'2 2011 Meeting Minutes CITY SECRETA 1 Monday, August 22, 2011 OFFICE Call Meeting to Order - Mr. Curtis A. Rock, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 2:34 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of July 25, 2011 were approved with one correction made to item j. Ms. Cudd said the following sentence should be corrected from; Ms. Cudd said that she wanted to do away with the yield sign to Ms. Cudd said that the constituent wanted to do away with the yield sign. III. Presentations and Discussions - a. Monthly Traffic Fatality Report: . Capt. Vesely reported two (2) new fatalities, which brings the total to twenty-one (21) for year 2011. Capt. Vesely said fatality twenty occurred at the 4300 block of Saratoga Blvd. at W. Shea Pkwy. He said a pick-up truck failed to yield the right-of-way to a motorcyclist at the intersection. Capt. Vesely said the driver of the pick-up truck did not see the motorcyclist. He said fatality twenty-one happened at the 5600 block of King Trail. This fatality was a one-vehicle accident. The 26 year-old male lost control of vehicle, hit a brick mailbox, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Ms. Beard asked if the person was wearing a seatbelt. Capt. Vesely said he was not. He said alcohol is a very possible contributor and they are waiting on the toxicology report. Capt. Vesely reported on a fatality accident, which occurred earlier in the year. He said the vehicle had run through the dead-end of Rodd Field Rd. at McArdle Rd. and this is where the 87 year-old woman was killed. He said they have a resolution for this case. Capt. Vesely said the driver's statement was his vehicle's accelerator had been stuck and he was unable to control the vehicle. He said the Police Department tried to read the black box with their equipment but were unable to do this. He reported they had obtained a private entity from Michigan to read it but they said due to the type of impact this vehicle had they were unable to read any other additional information. Capt. Vesely said the case has been closed. There are no charges filed and there is no evidence whether it was the fault of the driver or the vehicle. b. Monthly Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Report: Ms. Beard said two years ago when we first started talking about the "Safe Passing" ordinance, a couple of local attorneys came up with a short draft. She said "Bike Texas" came up with a draft of the ordinance and a number of cities have adopted the ordinance. She said Asst. City Attorney, Mr. Jay Reining, drafted the resolution attached. Ms. Beard stated the true desire of the subcommittee would be to have an ordinance passed. She said many cities have done so with success but we have hit a brick wall in Corpus Christi. Mr. Rock asked since other cities.were able to accomplish passing the ordinance; what is the roadblock in Corpus Christi. Ms. Beard responded the city attorneys are the roadblock. She stated if it is the desire of this committee to go ahead with the ordinance they previously approved, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee is willing to take it and see what happens then go with a resolution. Mr. Jacobi stated the resolution is nothing more than Page 1 of 3 SCANNED r • resolving the fact they want to enforce existing laws. Mr. Jacobi said the ordinance is specifically directed at the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. Mr. Cardenas said in his opinion a resolution is not going to hurt anything. Pushing the resolution and getting City Council and public support for the resolution is a lot ' easier and then the next step would be going for an ordinance. The committee members agreed that the "Safe Passing" ordinance should be taken to City Council. Mr. Rock stated that as a committee responsible for safety on the roads, we owe it to the community to do what is in the best interest of the community. Mr. Jacobi asked what is the procedure to get this item on the City Council agenda. Mr. Cardenas said to get on the agenda at this point it is not going to go through city staff. c. Police Department Traffic Enforcement Complaints: None to report due to staff being unavailable. d. Top Intersection Crashes for the Month: Capt. Vesely went over a list of the top accident locations. He reported the top location was at the 5400 block of SPID-EB with six accidents. He said Saratoga Blvd. and Staples St. is another one because there is construction in this area, which makes it more difficult for drivers. He said "Failure to control speed" is again the most prevalent cause for accidents and the most common day of the week for accidents is Wednesday. He said "Failure to control speed" is indicative of people not paying attention.to what they are doing, which means they are being distracted by something inside their vehicle and hitting the vehicle in front of them. He stated this is more difficult for police officers to regulate these actions. e. Discussion of Emergency Vehicles: Tabled for next month. f. Discussion of Previously Approved "Safe Passing" Ordinance and Resolution with Possible Action Taken: Same as item b. g. Sports Entertainment Et Arts District. (SEA) Traffic Control - Chaparral Improvements: Mr. Cardenas said this is the same presentation given to the City Council. He demonstrated a quick background of the project's limits on Chaparral St. from Belden St. to Port Ave. Mr. Cardenas said the city was doing a sealcoat project. There has been some congestion in this area during special events going on at the American Bank Center. Mr. Cardenas explained in the new configuration that lane can turn right or go straight, simply by eliminating that continuous left turn lane. Now, there are two lanes going up and one lane going down IH-37. Mr. Cardenas discussed the Event Traffic Control Plan. Next, Mr. Cardenas explained the private parking lot codes and permitting. He said these are the main issues, which are parking, traffic flow and parking attendants. IV. Staff Recommendations requiring Committee Review for Recommendations/ Actions a. Appointments to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Sub-committee: None b. Motion to Retract . Previous Motion of the "Safe Passing" Ordinance Previously Approved by the TAC with Possible Action: Ms. Cudd motioned to proceed with the original "Safe Passing" ordinance previously approved by the TAC to present it to the City Council. Mr. Jacobi seconded. Motion Passed. • Page 2 of 3 c. Motion to Approve the "Safe Passing" Resolution to Replace the "Safe Passing" Ordinance Previously Approved by the TAC with Possible Action Taken: Declined by committee. V. Identify items to be placed on a future agenda • Temporary Traffic Signal on Staples St. ® Moore Plaza • Staples/Saratoga - Montana Mike's. VI. Public Comment - Mr. Freddy Ramirez said he is the president of South Texas Area Runners Riders Swimmers (STARRS), which represents approximately 220 fit and athletic people in Corpus Christi and the surrounding areas. They promote swimming, biking and running events, also called triathlons. He is involved with the Mayor's Fitness Council with the Republic of Texas Triathlon coming up next year. Mr. Ramirez said he is also involved with Conquer the Coast; he is in the executive steering committee. He stated because of this he has the opportunity to interact with many cyclists as well as a broad face coalition of business leaders. In addition, he is also the founding member of "Be Kind to Cyclists", which promotes safe cycling and/or benefits to the pedestrians, runners and vulnerable road users in the community. He is also a newly elected member of "Bike Texas". Mr. Ramirez said he is a member of board of directors for "Bike Texas"; they represent over 100,000 cyclists in the state of Texas. There are seven members of the board and he is the principal engineer for the organization. He stated. "Bike Texas" started this push to create a "Safe Passing" ordinance back in 2001. He said in the 2008 Legislature session they were successful in getting.the Senate to unanimously pass this ordinance and getting the House to also pass it. Mr. Ramirez stated nine cities in Texas have passed the same "Safe Passing" ordinance. He said in Corpus Christi there is a roadblock, which is with the City Legal Department. He stated as a member of "Bike Texas" the Legal Department should try to consider what is in the best interest of everyone. Mr. Ramirez commented lets protect our most vulnerable users our runners, cyclists and bicyclists. He said "Bike Texas" does not agree with the Texas Transportation Code, therefore they do not agree with the resolution. Mr. Ramirez stated to move forward with the modified "Safe Passing" ordinance. Let the Legal Department take it, oppose it and if the City Council votes it down, maybe the next City Council would approve it. He stated we would never know, unless we try. VII. Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m. Page 3 of 3