VILLAGE OF VERNON HILLS, IL

TRAFFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Meeting Minutes

August 16, 2000

With a quorum being in attendance the meeting of the Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC) was called to order at 7: 30 PM CDT. In attendance were:

Larry LaLuzerne, Chairman

James Schultz, Member

Susan Oster, Member

Mark Fleischauer, Chief of Police, Member Ex-Officio

Ed Laudenslager, Director of Public Works, Member Ex-Officio

Absent:

Anthony Ugaste, Member

Cindy Hebda, Village Trustee, Member Ex-Officio

Thom Koch, Village Trustee, Member Ex-Officio

Guests:

Mr. Achim Ehning - 190 E. Ranney Ave. (Lot 19) Vernon Hills, IL

Ms. Michele Ehning - 190 E. Ranney Ave. (Lot 19) Vernon Hills, IL

Mr. Manfred Hecht - 303 Onwentsia Rd Vernon Hills, IL

Mr. Larry DeGraf - Executive Director Vernon Hills, IL Park District

x/copies:

Mike Allison, Village Manager

Evan Teich, Assistant Village Manager

David Brown, Village Engineer

I. Minutes

The minutes of the June 21, 2000 meeting were reviewed.

Motion: Adopt minutes as published.

· Motion made by: Mr. Schultz; Seconded by: Mr. LaLuzerne

· Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Abstains ; Mr. Schultz – Yes

Motion adopted 2 to 0, with 1 abstention.

II. Old Business

1. Grosse Pointe Athletic Field follow-up

· Chief Fleischauer reported on a sampling of automobiles parked on Grosse Pointe Rd, conducted during anticipated peak usage periods. The capacity of the new parking lot exceeds the number of vehicles currently parking along Grosse Point Blvd by 50% (60 Parked Cars vs. 90 +/- New Spaces).

· One vehicle was identified as being illegally parked during the surveys and was ticketed.

Summary – The consensus of the committee is;

· The new lot should alleviate parking issues on Grosse Pointe Rd.

· Review the situation in early 2001 to determine if any actions are required in regards to traffic flow and/or safety in regards to this locale. Included in the review will be a status update from the Vernon Hills Park District (Mr. Degraf) on their efforts to educate baseball attendees on the value of utilizing the new parking spaces over street parking.

2. Centennial Crossing – Limited / No Street Parking

· Mr. Ehning and Ms. Ehning delivered a presentation to the committee concerning their desire to have additional on street parking areas designated along Ranney Ave near their home.

· During previous discussions on this topic, Committee Member Mr. Ugaste who was not present, had indicated that the Fire Protection district mandated that no parking be allowed in this area. The concerns revolved around the narrowness of the roadway and tight turning radii that make emergency vehicle access difficult in this area.

Motion: Recommend that the Public Works Director investigate possible alternate parking options, review those options with the Countryside Fire Protection District, and report findings / recommendations to the committee at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

· Motion made by: Mr. Schultz; Seconded by: Ms. Oster

· Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Yes ; Mr. Schultz – Yes

Motion adopted 3 to 0.

3. Deerpath at Albany / Warrington - Street Crossing / Stop Sign

· Mr. Richard Paul’s letter of July 15, 2000 was reviewed by the committee.

· Committee reviewed warrants for Stop signs, including special conditions that allowed for Stop signs at Linden and Midway on Deerpath, (e.g. Narrowness of the street and the limited sight-lines which result from the highly curvilinear design of that section of Deerpath Dr.

· With no new information being presented the committee was not inclined to take any further action at this time.

Motion: Table further discussion until such time as new information / evidence becomes available to warrant further review / action.

· Motion made by: Mr. Schultz; Seconded by: Ms. Oster

· Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Yes ; Mr. Schultz – Yes

Motion adopted 3 to 0.

III. New Business

1) Parking Restrictions – Onwentsia Rd, Deerpath sub-division.

· Issue

Mr. Manfred Hecht delivered a presentation concerning the longstanding condition of “Little League” baseball / soccer attendees parking on Onwentsia Rd vs. utilizing the parking lot currently in place in Deerpath Park.

· Details / Concerns

Mr. Hecht indicated that some trespassing was taking place, but more to the point the residents of Onwentsia are subjected to a condition where no street parking is available to them or their guest during the spring / summer athletics season on evenings and weekends. Additionally, the quiet of this residential neighborhood is disturbed and a significant amount of littering is occurring.

Mr. Larry Degraf of the Vernon Hills park District indicated that the district intends to construct a new 30-space lot (at Warrington Rd.) which will provide a better parking situation for sports participants at the north end. The Park District will renew its education of sports participants concerning parking availability and neighborliness expectations, in the spring of 2001.

· Motion:

1) Table discussion to the February / March 2001 meeting.

2) Recommend that the Public Works Director request an overview of progress from the Park District on new parking lot construction and education efforts early in the Spring of 2001, and provide a status report to the committee.

· Motion Made By: Ms. Oster: Motion Seconded By: Mr. Schultz

· Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Yes; Mr. Schultz - Yes;

Motion adopted 3 to 0.

· Summary: The committee is looking to obtain more information after the construction of the new parking lot and the renewed efforts of the Park District in encouraging neighborliness.

2) Odd – Even Parking Restrictions on Monterrey Ave

· Issue:

Cut through traffic is perceived to be increasing on Monterrey Ave.

Parking restrictions requested to improve flow and reduce possible unsafe conditions.

· Details / Concerns

Unknown

· Motion:

1) Table discussion to the September 2000 meeting.

2) Recommend that the Public Works Director request an overview / additional input from residents / others on key issues concerning the requested new parking regulations and report to the committee.

· Motion Made By: Mr. Schultz: Motion Seconded By: Ms. Oster

· Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Yes; Mr. Schultz - Yes;

Motion adopted 3 to 0.

· Summary: The committee is looking to obtain more information on this issue before making any recommendations.

3) Route 60 pedestrian crossing safety and VH High School pedestrian access to retail areas along Rt. 60 / 21 corridor.

· Issue

· No clear pedestrian access is available to Hawthorn Mall

· Hawthorn Mall is not pedestrian / bicycle friendly.

· No clear pedestrian access is available to the retail centers from the VH High School campus.

· Details / Concerns

· Unknown

· Motion:

1) Table discussion to the September 2000 meeting.

2) Recommend that the Public Works Director request an overview / additional input from author of Village Voice response submittal / others on key issues concerning this issue and report to the committee.

· Motion Made By: Mr. Schultz: Motion Seconded By: Ms. Oster

· Mr. LaLuzerne - Yes; Ms. Oster - Yes; Mr. Schultz - Yes;

Motion adopted 3 to 0.

· Summary: The committee is looking to obtain more information on these issues before making any recommendations.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Oster and seconded by Mr. Schultz.

The motion was adopted 3 to 0 and the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 PM.

The next meeting is scheduled for September 20, 2000.

The above constitutes the authors understandings of the proceedings.

James E. Schultz

Acting Secretary

Traffic Advisory Committee

Vernon Hills, IL