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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-04-25 Government Operations Committee Minutes GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITfEE MEETING MINUTES • April 25, 2001 Councilors Attending: Nichi Farnham, Dan Tremble Staff Attending: Edward Barrett, Bob Farrar, ]ames Ring, Joe McNeil, Sgt. John Roach Others Attending: Wendy Erickson, Dr. Bigda, Carolyn Adams Meeting convened at 5:00 p.m. 1. Temporary Relocation of Downtown Bus Operations (Farrar, McNeil) Joe McNeil, Bus Supt., spoke to the Committee. With the addition to the Parking Garage and the congestion that will result in the Pickering Square area from the construction, it has been suggested that the bus operation be temporarily moved. Several locations were looked at and the best one that would have the least impact would be Water Street. A map has been prepared by Engineering which shows where � the buses will be located and where the parking spaces will be. Councilor Tremble asked if a shelter would be erected, and Mr. McNeil responded that he has made arrangements to borrow a free-standing shelter from Veazie which would fit on one side. James Ring stated that although using the area on Water Street would displace ten existing spaces, a location has been found along Merchants Plaza where the ten spaces could be created and still leave plenty of sidewalk. It also might make sense after the Parking Garage construction is completed to retain these ten spaces for bus access to the childrens' museum. Another possibility raised by Bob Farrar would be to relocate the hub for the bus on a permanent basis. He said there are other desires for the space in the Parking Garage, and there is some complication with the bus operation being there. This summer that issue will be studied along with all of the routes to see if there may be another spot that would be available to house the bus on a more permanent basis. In closing, Joe McNeil stated that if the Committee agreed, arrangements would be made with the Police Department to clearly mark the area for the buses. A motion was made and seconded to begin the process to temporarily relocate the bus operation to the Water Street. 2. Citizen Request for 4-Way St� at Intersection of Forest Avenue &Garland Street Rin James Ring introduced Wendy Erickson and said that he has talked with her about her � concern for the safety of children crossing Garland Street at Forest Avenue. He referred to the yellow highlighted area on a map he had prepared. Currently, there is a 4-way stop at Essex Street and there is an overhead flasher at Fern Street. The location that Mrs. Erickson requesting is indicated as a pinkish-red circle on the map. Currently, there is a crosswalk and a crossing guard during school hours but her child has had a close call there. Jim indicated that John Roach from the Police Department is � here to talk about accident history . Before allowing Mrs. Erickson to speak, ]im said he had received a call from Fred Gunther who is aware of the request and indicated that he didn't think a 4-way stop was necessary. At this point, the neighborhood has not been polled. Jim further stated he had talked with Bill Armstrong, the Principal at Abraham Lincoln School. Mr. Armstrong indicated that a number of his students utilize that crossing, and there is a bus stop a block or two away for Mary Snow students which also makes additional students destined for that bus stop. Mr. Armstrong guessed that there are approximately 30 or 35 students that use the crosswalk in both the morning and afternoon. Last Fall there were some problems with the crossing guard. As a result of these problems, the company was changed and Mr. Armstrong thinks that things are better now. Because he lives in the area he is familiar with the area. Along with the safety issue of the children, one must take into consideration that a 4-way could do at this intersection is potentially slow down the speed of through- traffic which may increase, on a short term basis, the number of minor accidents. Overall, Mr. Ring indicated no strong feelings one way or another. He then introduced Wendy Erickson to the Committee. Mrs. Erickson repeated her name and indicated her residence as 123 Forest Avenue which is very close to the intersection in question. She has two children, one at Mary Snow School and one at Abraham Lincoln School. She also indicated that there was a third school that uses the intersection, that being the Cohen School. She stated that � the crossing guards are not very reliable, and furthermore, in the summer there are parks and recreation programs at Chapin Park which is right near Abraham Lincoln School. The program runs from 9 to 4 but children are coming and going throughout the day. Mrs. Erickson told the Committee that her daughter had been hit by a car that was pulling out who claims to have not seen her daughter start to enter the crosswalk. Fortunately, it was not serious but she was on crutches for three weeks. Mrs. Erickson said that because of the short notice for this meeting she didn't have a chance to get signatures. She also said there is a lot of pedestrian traffic particularly in the Spring, Summer and early Fall going to the park to walk their dogs. So it is not just children who cross there, but adults as well. She also had 2 1/2 years of day care experience taking six children between the ages of 2 and 5 to the park. Finally, she indicated that the Citibus turns from Garland onto Forest every half-hour all day long, and as it pretly much takes up the entire intersection, the bus interferes with childrens' visibility. Officer John Roach then spoke to the Committee. He indicated that he did an analysis of every accident at Garland and Forest since December of 1999. There was one in December of 1999 and six in 2000, and one in 2001 making a total of eight. Officer Roach indicated that he had spoken with Chief Winslow and he is not opposed to the proposed 4-way stop, but it does slow down traffic and sometimes causes more minor � accidents. Ed Barrett asked if)im thought the neighborhood should be polled and he responded 2 that he could go ahead and poll those in the immediate area so that everyone will have a chance to come and give their opinion. Jim stated he wanted to see what the � Committee's feelings were first rather than stir things up initially because there may be some opposition. Mr. Barrett supported the idea of contacting the neighbors. A motion was made and seconded to poll the neighborhood and report back to the next meeting. 3. Council Ordinance 01-187 Parking Limited to Parking for Handicapped on French Street Dr. Paul Bigda introduced himself to the Committee and said that he operates a podiatry business at 261 French Street, and said that he was contacted by Sgt. Hodges about tonight's meeting. His building runs parallel to Broadway between Cumberland and Somerset Streets, or where French Street begins at 7ohn Bapst to the 2-way section of the street. Parking is only allowed on one side of the street, the odd side. He moved in on Labor Day weekend. Once school started there were cars parked everywhere. In the section on the corner of Cumberland and on the corner of Somerset, there's an area of 2-hour parking only which is filled continuously during the day. Most of the offenders are the students and the adults that work at Bapst. One of his problems in the Fall was when he raked his leaves out to the edge of his lawn and people parked right on top of the leaves so that Public Works couldn't pick up his leaves. So he piled the leaves up higher than 4 feet and 6 feet wide. An individual in a 4x4 backed up and parked on it. Dr. Bigda has also requested a handicapped area in front of his office. This would not affect the flow but would allow his elderly patients easier access to his office. There is also off-street parking for his office but this is � limited at times. Dr. Bigda wants to maintain good relations between the police and the students and between the neighbors as well, but it is a tough situation. Sgt. Hodges delivered letters around the neighborhood and only one response was received, from 273-275 French Street. Councilor Farnham recalled previous Committee meetings on French Street, and Jim asked Off'icer Roach if this was one of the areas that was changed to 2-hour so there wouldn't be all day parking. Carolyn Adams introduced herself to the Committee, and said that she and her husband has purchased her grandmother's house on the corner of French and Cumberland Street, the last house to be refurbished in that area. Mrs. Adams said she sympathized with Dr. Bigda because they have had people park in their dooryard, their plow person had to come back because their driveway was blocked at times, and they have had to call to have vehicles towed and later find trash on their lawn. She described the parking in the area as a nightmare. She did raise an objection to the handicapped because it only benefits a few but harms many. Dr. Bigda is not there on the weekends and Calvary Church parking would be affected because they have activities going on there 7 days a week and sometimes in the evenings. She further added that Dr. Bigda � does have off-street parking. � Dr. Bigda told the Committee that he has offered the use of his parking lot to the Calvary Chapel after hours and on Sundays for their services, and they have refused this. Councilor Farnham asked if they would have to pay and Dr. Bigda responded it 3 was free of charge. This would have freed up a lot of spaces. Councilor Tremble suggested a more aggressive approach to ticketing be taken in the area. Ed Barrett � responded that this is what's being done depending on how many people are available. Mr. Barrett asked Officer Roach to check into how many tickets are being written and how frequently the police are up there, and maybe some serious enforcement work early in the school year and periodically thereafter might get the message across. The police can keep better track the rest of this school year and with the summer off the problem can be addressed early in the school year. Dr. Bigda and Mrs. Adams were in agreement with this approach. The Committee took no further action on Ordinance 01- 187 and it will return to the full Council for consideration of action to indefinitely postpone. 4. Request to Waive Nepotism Policy (Tentative Pendina Interviews) Bob Farrar indicated that this item has been withdrawn. Meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. � � 4