Loading...
Approved Minutes - 1999-05-05 MINUTES OLD RIVER ROAD TASK FORCE -- MAY 5, 1999 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - Lake Oswego Human Resources Conference Room Members Present: Sister Eileen Brown, Co-Chair, Mike Anderson, Co-Chair, Michael P. Lammers, David Funk David Dodds (Arrived Late), Judy Dauble, Kelly Atwood, Marcia Robertson, Jamie M. Ellgen, Stan Aschenbrenner Staff: Ron Bunch, Lake Oswego Long Range Planning Manager and David Ausherman, Fregonese, Calthorpe & Associates, Gordon Howard, City of West Linn Others: Gloria Bence, John Panichello, Priscilla Panichello, Jerry Lublink, C.C. Dawell, and David Bartz The meeting was convened at 6:35 p.m. I. Review and Approval of the April 21, 1999 Minutes Judy Dauble stated that she had some minor changes to propose to the April 21, 1999 minutes. On page 4, third bullet. The first sentence statement should read, "If a pathway is provided on the road, it should abut the road. A five to six foot wide paved strip should be provided for walkers to get out of the way of cars." On page 5 the statement under the fourth bullet should read, There should be enforcement, but residents along Old River Road are frustrated with speed enforcement. The r ke O y.'ego Police Department has bee„ ;neff cti„n We can't rely on speed enforcement to slow traffic. Residents don't believe that traffic enforcement has been effective. Judy wished to stress, that she did not want to give the impression that the Police Department is ineffective. The statement behind the seventh bullet-- " needed", should be deleted. On page six, third sentence, The sentence should be changed to read, "The primary asset of Old River Road Weeds-is its natural setting. With the above changes the minutes of April 21, 1999 were approved. t 1� II. Review and Discussion of Proposed Findings and design and policy/management solutions Applicable to Old River Road and Glenmorrie Drive. Mike Anderson, Co-Chair stated that he was unable to be at the last meeting because of work, but he wished to make sure that his concerns as an ad-hoc representative of the entire community were in the record. He wanted to stress that public safety and the needs of the recreational walker be taken into consideration. This is important, especially in light of statements made at the last meeting about not needing a pathway on the road. It seems that the process engaged in by the Task Force has resulted in a set of options that meet everyone's needs, and a pathway all along the road needs serious consideration for the sake of public safety and the recreational walker. Jamie Ellgen stated that she was fundamentally against a pathway because of Old Town's experience with the City requiring a pathway as part of the new"River Bend" development to connect to Rohr Park. A pathway along Old River Road would encourage walkers and bikers to use Old River Road, George Rogers Park and then come through Old Town to Rohr Park. This would impact Old Town. Safety can be addressed on the road by traffic management devices and providing a place for the pedestrian and bicyclist to step off. Judy Dauble stated that there is a need to accommodate the safety issues but impact as few people as possible. Safety is a vehicular issue and not a pedestrian issue. If the speeds and amount of traffic is dealt with then the road would be safer. It is important to protect the natural resources of the area. Sister Eileen stated that what she had heard was to approach solving the problems on Old River Road as a phased program. Not to do everything all at once, but approach the issues one or two steps at a time and do things as they are needed. A major goal is to manage traffic -to slow it down and make the road safer Judy Dauble stressed that a major issue is to protect the natural environment. Phasing is important--to do as little as possible until the problem is addressed. Jamie Ellen stated regarding rumble strips, the concern regarding noise and appearance might be addressed with using differences in paving as has been done in Old Town and Waluga Park. The Committee agreed that the attached findings and design and policy/management solutions applicable to Old River Road and Glenmorrie Drive were representative of the Task Force's general recommendation to the City Council. III. Review of Proposed Design Concepts for Old River Road 2 �� Preceding review of the of the proposed design concepts for Old River Road,there was concern about the speed of the person who delivered papers, early in the morning. In addition, Kelly Atwood stated that an acquaintance of his, which typically speeds on the road, said that he had"talked"his way out of a speeding ticket. Kelly stressed that the City should take a stronger position in enforcing the speed laws on Old River Road. David Ausherman reviewed several different types of speed and traffic management devices, including full and partial speed bumps,rounded speed bumps, pedestrian table and pinch downs. He provided examples of these applications in Denmark, on what the Danes referred to as"quiet and silent" roads. He stated in the example provided that speeds were reduce to the level, 25 mph, desired by the task force and there had been no accidents. He stressed that pedestrian facilities were integral and,noted that all of the examples had pathways, preferably separated from the road. In some instances, where topography did not warrant, the pathway shared the edge of the road. Where the pathway was separated,the width of the road was perceived as narrower. Examples were provided were there was a subtle change in paving between the road and the path. The locations of the proposed pinch points and speed bumps were discussed. David stated that,the pinch points needed to be carefully sited to avoid driveways and provide room (where the group agreed there should be a pathway --the Sisters' property) for a pathway to avoid steep slopes. The width of the road, in the vicinity of the pinch points was discussed. Twelve feet was emphasized as need for a school bus. The Fire Department likes to have two - 12 foot lanes for residential streets. It was stressed that the pinch-points in some places were not going to be very dramatic, since the reality on the road is that in some places it only has a 14 - 15 foot paved width. This often causes vehicles to drive off the pavement to avoid pedestrians and on-coming cars. The way by which the path from George Rogers Park was proposed to be separated from the intersection of Glenmorrie Drive and Old River Road was reviewed again. The need to make the pump station more attractive was also stressed again. Judy Dauble asked how this was going to be done in a way to avoid going on private property-- off of the pavement and the private easement. Staff stated that City had adequate pubic right-of- way to do so and that it was one of the goals of this project to minimize, where possible the use of the right-of-way. Therefore, it was very unlikely that this or any part of the improvements recommended by the Task Force would encroachment onto private property. There was general discussion of the pinch-points and speed bumps and it was agreed that some of these devices could be interchanged. It was stated that the location of the pinch points and driveways should not conflict. The group as a whole felt that traffic management devices (speed bumps) on Glenmorrie Drive were important to support the recommendations being developed for Old River 3 14 Road -- especially to slow traffic to enhance pedestrian safety. It was recognized that some parts of Glenmorrie Drive, from an engineering standpoint were not appropriate, but where they could be used, they should. This is because, there are more cars on Glenmorrie Drive and traffic that once traffic, which has been slowed on Old River Road, hits Glenmorrie, speeds would increased. There was considerable discussion about the proper design of the hairpin curve at the intersection of Glenmorrie Drive and Old River Road. David stated that it would be possible to cut the embankment to provide adequate sight distance. Judy Dauble said that this would be inconsistent with the need to maintain the "country" look and feel of the road and it was important to lessen encroachment on private property Sister Eileen stressed the many commonalties that the Task Force shared. It was important that Old River Road was recognized as a mullet-use road. She stated that the details as to how to address these kinds of issues were important and when the recommendations were implemented, then the community and neighborhood should also be involved in the implementation. There was a general discussion regarding the need to ensure that the corner was safe. A general consensus was arrived at that the hill should not be cut back, that stop signs should be installed and the trail from George Rogers Park definitely needed to be separated from the road. The sharp corner tended to slow traffic down and there was some comment, that the corner could be made shaper to make the driver stop, think and negotiate the corner to reduce speed. Jamie Ellgen stated that it was important that the concepts for traffic management that were discussed be tested as soon as possible. This summer with, with summer traffic on the road would be an ideal time. There was a general agreement that testing of the proposed traffic management devices needs to occur as soon as possible. Staff indicated that they would ask the City manager to do this and get back to the Task Force. Jamie also stressed that the since the road is used so much for recreational walking that a gateway feeling should be stressed. IV. Public Comment, Discussion and Announcements C.C. Dawell's comments are summarized below: • He doubted that the city surveyor had described the right road in his description -- that there were a lot of mistakes in the past. • The issue in this case are property rights and that the City is proposing to use the road for a use that is not allowed by the underlying rights of the adjoining property owners. 4 I • Dogs are an issue and a problems in terms of number and sanitation. Safety is not an issue; there have not been any accidents on the road. • The road should be left as it its. • Use of the road for uses as proposed affects the property values of the owners. This is a unique situation and there has no grant of right-of-way to the City. • Stop signs do not work. There are too many stop signs already and in many places stop signs are being taken down because the driver does not pay attention to them. • There has not been an official transfer of the road to the City by the County. • This road as a recreational area conflicts with private property interests. This is an absolutely private area. • Painted lines are inappropriate. Signs are a visual pollution issue and should be minimized. • IVIr. Dawell stated that he is taking steps that he could not disclose to address the above private property protection issues. The land underlying the road belongs to the property owners. • He said that he is comfortable with the pinch points. David Bartz, stated that he lives on the corner of Glenmorrie and Old River Road and safety is a big issue with him and his family. He is not so concerned with the private property issue as he is with protecting the safety of his family and others that use the road. Speed is an issue. The road should be managed where traffic has to go 25 m.p.h. The hill forming the curve on Glenmorrie where it intersects with Old River Road below his property should not be smoothed out. It serves to slow down traffic. Also,there are large trees that would come down if the curve were straightened out. The path should stay on the same side of the road --the east side. It should not cross the road- back and forth. David said that he has concerns about the safety of bus- stops, especially at Lily Lane. Perhaps sign is needed that Children are on the road or that a bus stop is at a particular location. Some effort is needed to ensure the safety of bus stops. One way to do this is to install speed bumps on Glenmorrie Drive. He has worked out the location of four where they would be possible from an engineering perspective. Slowing cars down on Glenmorrie Drive would go a long ways to addressing the pedestrian safety issue. 5 � � Rumble strips are noisy and should not be used. Stops signs are a more appropriate solution. Gloria Bence stated that the hillside should not be cut back. Stop signs are needed at the location. Drivers need to slow down. Perhaps the curve needs to be sharper. There needs to be some demarcation where private property is where the path from George Rogers intersects Old River Road. Otherwise people will still trespass to get to the River at this location. The pinch downs need to be carefully sited to avoid conflicts with driveways and it is recommended that speed bumps be across all of the road's width to avoid people trying to drive around them. Testing of these and other traffic management devices needs to occur before actual construction take place. Summer is a good time for this to occur. The phase-in approach of these improvements is a good one, to gauge the impacts of improvements on the safety objectives. Sister Eileen closed the meeting, stating that the group is read to finalize its recommendations and that the above comments will be prepared in a design to be presented at the June 2, 1999 meeting. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Ron Bunch Long Range Planning Manager 6 /1.