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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-05-20 Minutes I I COUNCIL INFORMATION I-23 MINUTES C Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee Thursday,May 20 2004 at 7:00 p.m. Location: Committee Room lA ICI Enter via Municipal Administrative Centre, north door 40 Temperance Street,Bowmanville Present Andrew Kozak, Gord Lee, Clayton Morgan, Glenn Wallis (Voting Dirk Zinner, Wayne Godwin,Ron Radcliffe. Members) Present Ron Baker, Leslie Benson,Tony Cannella, Stuart McAllister, (Non-Voting Councillor Don MacArthur. Members) Regrets: Keith Richards,David Duffie Absent: Glenda Baker, Teresa Williams, Brendon Nightingale, Dave Rickard Secretary: Donna Van Schyndel Chair Clayton Morgan called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Meeting Protocol Attendance The meeting began with Clayton Morgan discussing meeting protocol.which states, "that if someone is absent for three consecutive meetings the chair may request that they be removed from the committee". Donna will notify Patti Barrie in Clerk's Department that Teresa Williams and Glenda Baker should be removed. Speaking during meetings The chair reminded everyone to let one person speak at a time and minimize side discussions. Members should let the chair know if they wish to speak. Speaking to the Public The chair should be the only one to represent the committee by going out and speaking with the public, or he would delegate someone to speak on his behalf. No one should represent the Municipality in any way. If any member is contacted by the public they should not express an opinion, instead bring any concerns back to the committee where they will be discussed as a group. One member expressed an opinion that this could limit the input by members. Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee MINUTES —May 20, 2004 Page 2 of 6 1) Minutes of previous meeting (April 15, 2004) Moved by Ron Radcliffe; Seconded by Wayne Godwin, that the minutes meeting of April 15, 2004 be approved with one change made to reflect that item 4 (New Business), (b), the outstanding request has been taken care of by Stuart McAllister, who emailed Ron Baker. 2) Items for information a) Road Watch/Traffic Watch Update Ron R. reported that there were 21 citizen reports, and 4 from the school bus program submitted over the previous one month period. Ron B. spoke to Dennis and he will be returning to operate the radar message board next week. There were 2 public inquiries about borrowing the message board. b) Highway 407 Update The April 27th meeting dealt with environmental issues and the brochure will be brought to the next meeting for discussion. The IBI group discussed issues and differences between 2003 and 2004 EA Terms of Reference for the Highway 407 Committee. They need further discussions on 407 local traffic issues. It is questioned as to where the traffic will go in the meantime? Population growth is a concern. The next meeting is June 1, 2004. Leslie Benson attends the meetings as well as Janice Swartz. They attended the MTAG(Municipal Technical Advisory Group)presented by Totten Sims Hubicki Associates, (TSH) which was very informative. The public reaction is that this whole process is taking far too long. Congestion is a definite problem which impacts a very large area and Stuart McAllister will raise the issue that statistics should be kept to show changing traffic patterns. C) Bowmanville Community Improvement Plan Update Next meeting is May 27th. There is an ad in the paper for tenders to buy street lights. Street lights are on order and there has been good progress. d) Other Information Tony Canella advised that electrical approvals are still needed for the new Roenigk Drive and King St. traffic signals and they should be operational starting in mid June. Miwel Construction is doing the work and everyone agrees that is looks very good. 3) Agenda items for discussion Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee MINUTES —May 20, 2004 Page 3 of 6 a) Concession St. W. traffic concerns (Liberty St. to Wellington St. including intersection of Concession &Beech) Speed and Volume Concerns The general consensus was that operating speeds on Concession Street were lower than most other streets in Clarington. The costs of speed humps was discussed, with mixed feelings whether they are worth putting in or not given the already low speeds, delays to emergency vehicles and increased noise levels. The average cost of a single hump is approximately$2,500.00 - $3,000.00. The Longworth Bridge Project will be open during the fall and should reduce traffic volumes on Concession Street. Some members felt that Concession St discussions should be put on hold and monitored to determine if volumes drop and resident concerns are reduced after the opening of the bridge and new roadway. Visibility at Beech Ave and Concession St. There was extensive discussion regarding the large Spruce Trees at Concession and Beech Streets. It is a visibility issue and it was discussed whether the trees should be taken out or not. A four-way stop is also a consideration. Ron B. advised the committee that the two evergreen trees on the s/e corner are on municipal property and that complaints had been received. Discussions with the adjacent property owner about removing or trimming the municipal trees and restoring the boulevard to the owner's satisfaction were futile with no cooperation from the resident. Ron B.'s opinion is that the trees are a safety and liability concern and are a greater hazard than the sight triangle requirements imposed by zoning by-law 84-63 which regulates vegetation on private property. Ron B. noted that this location is the worst vision problem in Clarington created by a group of municipal trees. Ron B. also noting that an all-way stop was not warranted under provincial guidelines due to the low side street activity but that if an all- way stop were introduced it would still not remove the municipality's liability. There are accidents at all-way stops similar to two way stops because motorists become distracted and drive through without slowing or stopping. Tony C. and Leslie B. reiterated that sight triangles are important to public safety. Ron B. suggested as the visibility issue was an immediate safety concern that it should be dealt with as soon as possible. Councillor Don Macarthur felt that staff were too concerned with liability issues and that other sight distance problems existed in the Municipality. Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee MINUTES —May 20, 2004 Page 4 of 6 After much discussion regarding the Concession St. concerns it was Moved by Wayne Godwin; Seconded by Councillor Don MacArthur, "That the Concession Street issues be deferred until the Longworth project is completed and restudy again with the exception of the issue of the Spruce Tree at Concession and Beech Streets." Motion failed as a result of votes in favor: 3 and not in favor: 4. Question of Voting Privileges It was questioned as to whether the Council appointed representative was able to make motions and vote. In the CTMAC constitution it was noted that the Council representative served as a liaison and was not allowed to vote. Clayton Morgan stated that the New Council approved Committee Protocol overrides the constitution and reads that each member of the committee is entitled to a vote. The January 2004 letter from Patti Barrie shows that Councillor Don MacArthurs name is on the same page as the voting members appointed and because of this, the chairs interpretation was that the Councillor was able to vote. Donna Van Schyndel will obtain clarification from the Clerk's department for the next meeting as to who has the right to vote on motions. Lowering the legal speed limit It was discussed if lowering the speed limit to 40 K.P.H. would be reasonable. The committee seemed to feel this was a separate issue and should be dealt with separately. Stop sign issue The stop sign issue has been on the agenda for two years and should be dealt with. Per Ron Baker's statistics,Tony Canella advised that the intersections on Concession St. at both Beech and Centre St do not warrant having all way stops. The Engineering Department cannot recommend all way stops if they don't meet warrants. The Engineering Department needs to be consistent. Council has the authority to override Engineering recommendations. Concession St. already has two all-way stops one at Prospect St. and another at Elgin St. Ron B. noted that provisions of sight triangle are still valid at all-way stops and the trees should be removed. Any accident would result in legal action being brought against the Municipality. Andrew Kozak stated that there wasn't any sight obstruction at the intersection before because previously there were no sidewalks on the south side. During the time of reconstruction it is reported that the firm of Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee MINUTES —May 20, 2004 Page 5 of 6 TSH advised the homeowner that the trees would not be altered due to reconstruction. Councillor Don MacArthur stated that he hasn't heard of any accidents at this intersection yet, and residents claimed there are places worse than this such as the corner of Liberty and Concession. Ross Libbey added that, if the trees are a safety concern and in violation of By Law-84-63, why is it even an issue for the committee to debate? Ron Baker advised that, if the committee feels the trees should stay untouched they would have to recommend to council that the Zoning By- Law and sight triangle requirements are not justified and should be repealed. Don Macarthur felt the evergreen trees help to slow down traffic and improve compliance with the stop sign. The adjacent property owner has made reference to "his" tree but records show both are on municipal property. Andrew K. stated that there have been no complaints in the past, but Ron disagreed and advised that there were previous complaints. Comments were made that there haven't been accidents so why worry about the vision problem? Andrew K. noted there are worse trees than this and Ron B. again disagreed. Leslie Benson commented that the trees are even closer to the road than the 7.5m X 7.5m sight triangle since they are on municipal property. The committee will vote again because the first motion failed. "That the trees are in violation and they should be removed." It was Moved by Ross Libbey; Seconded by Dirk Zinner. Motion failed as a result of votes in favor: 2 and not in favor: 5. Due to the lack of consensus the committee will need to refer this to the next meeting and may need to look at other possibilities such as; trimming the limbs of the tree, moving the stop sign at Beech or a four-way stop. There could be more negotiations with the adjacent property owners. This is an older area and may not conform to the current regulations and this neighborhood is unique and not in the same category as a new subdivision. It was further discussed about the liability issues for the Municipality and home owners. Councillor MacArthur suggested that everyone should drive by the site and check out the situation. (if you turn left onto Scugog St. you can't see what's coming) the same solution (white painted line) could serve to work at Concession and Beech. i Clarington Traffic Management Advisory Committee MINUTES —May 20, 2004 Page 6 of 6 Intersection of Concession St. and Liberty St. Clayton Morgan commented that he has driven east on Concession and came to Liberty Street and tried to make a right turn on a red light and stated that this was very dangerous due to the short sight distance to the north. Most agreed that it should be discussed with the Region as to whether a sign as either a regulatory or warning should be posted stating "No right turn on red light". Stuart M. agreed to review with staff at the Region on this sign issue as it had been discussed last year. 4) New Business Any new business will be discussed at the next meeting. 5) Next meeting date: June 17, 2004—7:00 pm Room 1A (New Location- Enter via Municipal Administration Centre, north door). 6) Adjournment-8:50 p.m. Motion for adjournment was Moved by Clayton Morgan: "To carry over item 4 (New Business) to the next meeting; seconded by Wayne Godwin.