City of Lawrence
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING DIVISION
MEMORANDUM
TO: Charles Soules, Director of Public Works
FROM: David Woosley, Transportation/Traffic Engineer
DATE: 4 January 2007
SUBJECT: Traffic Safety Commission, November 6, 2006
Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive
At the October 2, 2006, Traffic Safety Commission meeting, the commission heard a request to establish NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive. The commission recommended implementation for a 90-day trial period. At the October 17, 2006, City Commission meeting, several members of the public appeared in opposition to the proposal and the item was sent back to the Traffic Safety Commission for reconsideration.
The Traffic Safety Commission reconsidered at the November 6, 2006, meeting and, after public comment, recommended implementation for a 90-day trial period, but revised the afternoon time period to 4:30-6PM due to concerns of traffic adjacent to Hillcrest Elementary School. The vote was 6-2 with Commissioner Miller opposed due to the display of public sentiment being overwhelmingly against it; and Commissioner Hagen opposed due to insufficient evidence that it is a good solution.
Action Requested: Approve Traffic Safety Commission recommendation for a 90-day trial period establishing no left turn between 7-9 AM and 4:30-6 PM, MON-FRI, on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road, and University Drive.
TSC Minutes_ ITEM NO. 3:
Reconsider establishing NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive.
Woosley reviewed the information provided in the staff report.
Robert Lewis, 1105 West Hills Parkway: Our neighborhood is a maze of streets, not a grid; this restriction will send traffic past a grade school; it will put more traffic into the bad intersection of 15th & Engel which is already congested.
Tammy Becker, 1045 Hilltop Drive, Principal of Hillcrest Elementary School: I understand why you are looking at Iowa, but it raised concerns for me; Harvard is a high traffic area anyway because our school has 460 students, plus the KU students that use the area; we have 17 buses in the morning and 16 buses in the afternoon; we have a difficult time as it is getting the buses in and out of the area; this proposal will make a worse condition out of an already bogged-down area; 4:00 o’clock is the time we are most worried about; I would ask that you consider changing the time to 5:00-7:00; we have real safety concerns for our students now with the traffic we deal with on Harvard; my fear is that if you increase the traffic on Harvard, that we will at some point deal with a serious injury or something even worse.
Carol Hatton, 1641 Hillcrest Road, President of University Heights Neighborhood Association: We had our annual meeting Saturday and discussed the Iowa proposal; we support Hillcrest School and do not want the left-turn restrictions imposed; if they are imposed, we hope they are only temporary and that someway we can get a protected left-turn lane put in on Iowa from Harvard to 15th Street; it’s been a problem for a long time.
Faye Watson, 1516 Crescent Road: It would make the most sense to have a left-turn lane on Iowa Street; if traffic is sent down Harvard, after it gets past the school the street ends and the traffic would then have to wind through the neighborhood; if traffic is sent down 15th Street, the left-turn lane there already backs-up into the through lanes, and after you turn the corner, you then have to deal with the intersection at Engel which is one of the most dangerous in the city; we’re suggesting that you begin working with the highway department for a permanent solution and not do this little piece-meal restriction; it’s time to run that center turn lane all the way down Iowa.
Commissioner Woods asked Becker if their traffic was mostly gone by 4:15; Becker advised that 4:30 would be a better guess.
Commissioner Brune: I don’t know why we assume that everyone will use Harvard or 15th; I travel through that neighborhood everyday and I use 9th Street.
Commissioner Hamby: An important part of the proposal would be a 90-day trial to determine what problems there would be.
Commissioner Hagen: The question is, is it worth trying something like this on an interim basis or waiting until funding for the major solution comes along.
Commissioner Graves: I would like to point out that one of the four intersections proposed would not have an effect on the neighborhood since it involves a northbound to westbound turn.
Commissioner Bowen: A band-aid solution could make more problems instead of fewer problems; I think we need to step back and think what we were trying to accomplish.
Commissioner Woods: I think the reason is to improve the traffic flow on Iowa and cut down the number of rear-end accidents.
Commissioner Hagen: I’m concerned that no one has spoken in favor of this except commissioners.
Commissioner Ziegelmeyer: I would be willing to try it in the evening from 4:30-6:00.
Commissioner Hamby: In my mind it is a safety issue; do we wait a number of years until funding is available for a left-turn lane?
Commissioner Hagen: This solution may be creating problems elsewhere.
Commissioner Brune: I’m convinced we need to try something; I think we need to give it a shot to see what impact it has.
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER BRUNE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WOODS, TO RECOMMEND establishing NO LEFT TURN 7-9AM and 4:30-6PM MON-FRI on Iowa Street at Orchard Lane, Oxford Road, Stratford Road and University Drive for a 90-day trial period, INCLUDING BEFORE AND AFTER TRAFFIC COUNTS; THE MOTION CARRIED 6-2 (Miller: the display of public sentiment is overwhelmingly against it; Hagen: not enough evidence this is a good solution).
MOTION BY COMMISSIONER ZIEGELMEYER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER GRAVES, TO RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY’S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION OF A TWO-WAY LEFT-TURN LANE ON IOWA STREET BETWEEN HARVARD ROAD & 15TH STREET; THE MOTION CARRIED 8-0.