20200917 - CSAC Meeting Minutes

ATTENDEES:

CSAC Members/ Liaisons:  Anastasia Bamberg, Charles S. Di Marco, Robert Fuhrman, Jane Remis, Councilmember Lorraine Reynolds, Christopher J. Rutishauser, PE, Barbara Sacks

Others:  Debbie Curley, Bridget Donahue, Al Dort, Mary Dort, Lawrence Kelty, Sarita Kelty, Ellen McKenna, Caitlin Powers, Steve Ragains, Michelle Tzoulafis

OLD BUSINESS:

1)  Franklin Avenue Corridor-- Design documents revised and sent to County Engineer for review in August. Status of municipal agreements reviewed and remain pending development by Council and staff.

2)  Crosswalk at Van Emburgh Avenue/ Hampshire Road-- Thermoplastic crosswalk markings are on contractor's list of assignments. 

3)  Pedestrian/Bike SRTS Grants--Mr. Rutishauser reports NV5 work continues.

4)  CBDAC-- Ms. Bamberg reported the status of Grab N' Go parking space program. Ms. Sacks reported AM Rotary contribution to the fees for the program to support local businesses.

5)  North Walnut Street-- BEFORE/AFTER Study has not been completed due to significant changes in traffic patterns since March due to COVID-19 impacts. Police requested to furnish completed data when relevant comparisons can be done.

6)  Union Street--Thermoplastic markings are on contractor's list of assignments.

7)  SSATF-- No progress due to changed school schedule and traffic since March.

8)  Starbucks Driveway-- Final plans sent to County for approval.

9)  West Glen Avenue--- Concept study for Heights Road to North Monroe Street underway.

10) Bike Safety/Educational Efforts-- No report. Schools out of in-person sessions since March.

11) West Glen Avenue/ North Monroe Street-- No design as yet.

12)  CSAC Appointments-- Council approved appointments for two year terms from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2022 for Ms. Bamberg, Mr. DiMarco, Ms. Docktor, Mr. Fuhrman, Ms. Remis, Ms. Sacks and Ms. Shinozuka. Councilmember Reynolds has been designated as Council representative. Ms. Bamberg  is designated as CSAC member of the CBDAC replacing Ms. Shinozuka who served so well for the past four years.

NEW BUSINESS:

1)  Colonial Road-- Mr. Di Marco provided background and a summary of correspondence between Village staff and Council with Ms. Donahue since July. Ms. Donahue has experienced difficulty exiting her property and expressed her belief that an unsafe condition exists when vehicles park across the street from her driveway. Colonial Road has a 40 foot Right-Of-Way (ROW) and a cartway of approximately 24 feet curb-to-curb. Regulations are "NO PARKING " along the north curb and "NO PARKING" during certain school days and hours along the south curb. Ms. Donahue resides along the north side of the street.

At a recent Council meeting, a suggestion was offered to "flip" the parking regulations so as to make the south curb a "NO PARKING" zone. In accordance with a long-standing Village practice, a survey of residents affected by a new or altered rule was conducted. Mr. Rutishauser sent letters to approximately 40 residents explaining the proposed regulation change and soliciting comments before September 30th. Some residents have responded and Mr. Rutishauser stated no residents had expressed support for the proposal to date. 

Mr. Di Marco said many Ridgewood residential streets typically have a 40 foot ROW and a 24 foot cartway with legal parking spaces opposite a driveway. Along Colonial Road, eight homes (including Ms. Donahue's) along the north curb and seven homes along the south curb have this condition. Mr. Rutishauser stated he was not aware of a safety problem at other locations with similar conditions nor had the Police reported any to his knowledge.

Several Colonial Road residents expressed disapproval for the proposed change including: the transfer of the condition to a nearly equal number of neighbors on the opposite side; limited sight distance at some residences which would be worsened by adding parked vehicles where parking is not now permitted; the infrequency with which the condition occurs; and, their personal experience being able to safely maneuver when the condition is encountered. 

CSAC members discussed the matter and a consensus was reached that no safety issue existed and to "flip" the regulations and transfer the condition to about the same number of neighbors certainly would not be helpful. Several neighbors have made themselves accessible to Ms. Donahue by text or e-mail and were agreeable to informing any guests or service persons at their homes to move any vehicles which may be parked opposite the Donahue driveway.

Mr. Di Marco urged all residents to respond to Mr. Rutishauser's request for comments on the proposed change by September 30th so the record would be complete.

2)  RHS Traffic Circulation-- Ms. Sacks described the safety and circulation issues along North Irving Street and nearby streets near RHS since schools opened with a new schedule and protocols for student access. Parking, standing and stopping  regulations are being widely disregarded and little enforcement is occurring resulting in blocked access and unsafe travel  conditions. The Police were urged to give immediate attention to this continuing issue.

3)  East Glen Avenue-- An East Glen Avenue resident, Ms. Denise Castner, wrote an e-mail to Police Chief Luthcke on August 5th regarding several concerns along the street related to school traffic, pedestrian safety, vehicle speed and Police enforcement practices. The e-mail was forwarded to the Traffic Group at the Police Department and a request to provide a report on past and current relevant actions and findings was requested for the next CSAC meeting.

4)  Van Emburgh Avenue-- Ms. Powers, a resident of Van Emburgh Avenue, reported a problem with high travel speeds, including large trucks, need for more enforcement and better markings at the crosswalk at Hampshire Road. The concerns are referred to the Police for attention. The pavement markings for the Hampshire Road crosswalk were addressed in Item #2 under OLD BUSINESS. Mr. Rutishauser agreed to request PEDESTRIAN CROSSING signs from Bergen County to supplement the marked crosswalk.

Mr. Di Marco recognized the many scheduling conflicts affecting CSAC members and liaisons and emphasized the value of having Board of Education and Police participation at the meetings where the knowledge and input of these entities is so helpful to residents and to the discussions.

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 7:30 PM in the Youth Center at Village Hall.