2007-05-21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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12 Ms. Angela Tucker, Development Services Manager, said staff has been working with the Woolen Mills neighborhood to calm traffic. She said properties were canvassed door to door about one waying Franklin Street, and one business was against one-waying. She said staff recommends a one-year pilot to one way Franklin Street. Mr. Norris asked if there has been a traffic study since the change to voluntarily restrict truck traffic on Franklin Street. Ms. Tucker said a cursory cut through study was conducted. She said 25% of the traffic came from the neighborhood, and the rest was from businesses on Broadway or pass through traffic. Mr. Lynch said he thinks we still have work to do before going one-way. He said Franklin is a major collector street between neighborhoods. He said he thought a stop ahead sign was going to be put at Franklin and Market. Ms. Tucker said that technically Franklin is a local street. She said it has been striped for pedestrian passage and stop ahead signs have been added between Market and the railroad overpass. She said truck restricted traffic signage has been added down E. Market. Dr. Brown said the bridge is awfully narrow, and he thinks there are safety concerns for pedestrians and bikers. He said he is supportive generally of making Franklin one way, but questioned the impact on the trailer park. He said we should get data ahead of time and then later to show the volume and type of traffic that is relocated. He said he would support a trial period. Ms. Tucker said that the generally accepted guideline for relocated traffic is no more than 10%. Ms. Hamilton said she thinks the intersection signage has improved the situation and stripping and signs will also help. She thanked the neighbors for reaching out to businesses. She said she does not support making Franklin one way, because if we do it will just move traffic to another neighborhood. Mr. Norris said that at a cursory level he knows there is still a lot of cut through traffic. Mr. Lynch said we are talking about less than 2,000 cars a day. He said Franklin is an important connection. He said if we make every street with 2,000 cars a day one way we will have no two way streets left. Mr. Taliaferro said a major concern to him is moving traffic to another neighborhood. He said he would like to see more data. Ms. Tucker said that if more than 10% of the traffic is displaced the one-waying will be assessed. Mr. Lynch asked if it would be possible to take the striped area and put in a sidewalk. Ms. Hamilton said the need for a sidewalk is greater on the other side of the road. Ms. Tucker said the cost of a sidewalk can be priced. Dr. Brown noted that the neighborhood concern was traffic generally, not just truck traffic. Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Taliaferro favored keeping Franklin Street the way it is for the time being. Mr. Norris said he does not see doing nothing. He said he would like to explore the sidewalk issue on Franklin and improving signage.