VILLAGE OF VERNON HILLS, IL

TRAFFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE

May 21, 2003

Meeting Minutes

 

 

With a quorum being in attendance the meeting of the Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC) was called to order at 7:07 PM CDT. In attendance were:

 

Larry LaLuzerne, Chairman

Susan Oster, Member

James Schultz, Member

Anthony Ugaste, Member

 

Mark Fleischauer, Chief of Police, Member Ex-Officio

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

Cindy Hebda, Village Trustee, Member Ex-Officio

 

Absent:

Jeff Hauptman, Member

Thom Koch, Village Trustee, Member Ex-Officio

 

 

X/copies:

Mike Allison, Village Manager

Evan Teich, Assistant Village Manager

 

Guests:

Ms. Sarah Guillen

347 Cherry Valley Road

 

I.     Minutes

·       The minutes of the September 25, 2002 meeting were reviewed.

 

Motion: Amend minutes as published: By Mr. Ugaste  ; Seconded Ms. Oster

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

Mr. Ugaste -  Yes   Mr. Hauptman -  Absent    Motion adopted   3   to  0 .

 

·       The minutes of the November 20, 2002 meeting were reviewed.

 

Motion: Amend minutes as published: By Mr. Ugaste  ; Seconded Ms. Schultz

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

Mr. Ugaste -  Yes   Mr. Hauptman -  Absent    Motion adopted 3   to  0 .

 

II.     Old Business

1)             Hazeltine Cul de Sac Parking

·       Chief Fleischhauer shared with the committee the follow-up letter sent to resident Mr. Jason Kerr, indicating that the review of both side street parking was not unduly hazardous and that the recommendation of the committee was to not to pursue a ban of parking along either side of this thoroughfare during “daylight” hours. It was also noted that no further feedback was received from the residents.

 

2)       Yield signs in Corporate Woods

·       Public Works Director Laudenschlauger indicated that pending final approval of the November 20, 2002 minutes no action has been requested of the Village Board on adding yield signs at the intersections of the side streets that intersect with Woodlands Parkway and Corporate Woods Parkway. A request will now be made to obtain approval for the installation of this signage.

 

3)       Aspen Rd south of Route 60

·       Police and Hawthorn school officials have expressed a concern over the backing up of Aspen Rd traffic onto Il Route 60 during rush hours, especially when school buses are on the street bring children to and from school. Previous discussions have noted that the right to access Vernon Plaza should not be abridged, even though the access design is a violation of reasonable design considerations.

The only viable solution at this time is to try to create a means of keeping northbound vehicles from blocking access to the Plaza.   

 

·       Motion:

Recommend the installation of “Regulatory Signage” including pavement marking via Ordinance to make blocking this entrance driveway a violation of the traffic code.

 

·       Motion Made By:   Mr Ugaste      Motion Seconded By: Ms Oster

·       Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne -   Yes ; Ms. Oster -  Yes ; Mr. Schultz - Yes; Mr. Ugaste – Yes;                Mr. Hauptman - Absent.  Motion adopted   4     to   0 .

·       Summary

Mr. Laudenschlager / Chief Fleischauer are to request concurrence from the Village Board to; a) Adopt an ordinance prohibiting blocking driveways so that the police can enforce it by way of issuing citations, and b) Install regulatory type “Do Not Block Driveway” signs and appropriate pavement markings on Aspen Rd at the Vernon Plaza entrance.

         III.     New Business

1)              

·       Issue

Cherry Valley Overnight Street Parking Permit request.

 

·       Details / Concerns

Ms. Sarah Guillen presented a request to the committee to allow her to park one or more of her families 4 vehicles on Cherry Valley Rd overnight. As part of her request she noted that other individuals in this area have been granted permits for overnight parking. Mr. Laudenschlauger noted that these other requests were approved because the vehicles served a handicapped individual, and that primary grade level parking once available for those residences was eliminated by the Village’s street improvement project that eliminated front yard parking and created alley access parking, which is below the grade of the residences.

 

·       Motion:

No recommendation in support of this request.

 

·       Motion Made By:   Mr Ugaste  Motion Seconded By: Ms Oster

·       Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne – Yes ; Ms. Oster - Yes ; Mr. Schultz - Yes; Mr. Ugaste – Yes;                 Mr. Hauptman -  Absent.  Motion adopted   4     to  0 .

·       Summary:

The committee typically adheres to a policy of No overnight street parking in order to retain clear site lines for police patrol vehicles. In this case no compelling evidence to reverse this policy was presented, especially in light of the fact that off street parking is available in the Village Hall and Golf Course parking lots in the same general area.

 

2)              

·       Issue

No Parking Signage request on Annapolis and Monterey within 30 feet of Deerpath Rd.

 

·       Details / Concerns

A resident contacted the Police about individuals parking on these side streets too close to the intersection of Deerpath Rd, blocking site lines. This problem appears to occur only during athletic events at the two open fields in Deerpath Park across from these intersections.

 

·       Motion:

No recommendation in support of this request.

 

·       Motion Made By:   Mr Ugaste  Motion Seconded By: Ms Oster

·       Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne – Yes ; Ms. Oster - Yes ; Mr. Schultz - Yes; Mr. Ugaste – Yes;                 Mr. Hauptman -  Absent.  Motion adopted   4     to  0 .

·       Summary:

The committee typically adheres to a policy of limiting unwarranted signage. In this case no compelling evidence to reverse this policy was presented, especially in light of the fact that traffic standards note that parking is prohibited within close proximity to intersections, and this is a limited use area for events so that violations are most likely infrequent.

 

3)              

·       Issue

Monday through Friday Daytime parking of METRA commuter in Centennial Crossing

 

·       Details / Concerns

A resident contacted the Police about an individual who parks daily in a legal location within Centennial Crossing and then walks to the train station, to most likely avoid the $1 per day parking fee in the commuter train station lot.

 

·       Motion:

No recommendation in support of this request.

 

·       Motion Made By:   Mr Ugaste  Motion Seconded By: Ms Oster

·       Vote: Mr. LaLuzerne – Yes ; Ms. Oster - Yes ; Mr. Schultz - Yes; Mr. Ugaste – Yes;                 Mr. Hauptman -  Absent.  Motion adopted   4     to  0 .

·       Summary:

The committee typically adheres to a policy of limiting unwarranted signage. In this case no compelling evidence to reverse this policy was presented. Should additional commuters begin to clog neighborhood streets when parking is available in the designated lot, the committee is amenable to re-evaluation of a request to create limited No Parking zones to prevent all day parking by commuters.

 

4)              

·       Issue

Baseball parking for Deerpath park

 

·       Details / Concerns

Chief Fleischhauer indicated that several meetings were held this spring with baseball officials who were reminded of the villages desire to have participants and spectators, park either in the Deerpath Park parking lot or in the Kubota Building parking lot rather than on the streets of the Derpath neighborhood adjoining the park.

 

·       Summary:

Based on police reports and the lack of complaints, the situation appears to have become less bothersome to the Deerpath residents. The police will continue to monitor the situation.

 

5)      

·       Issue

Center Drive No Parking Zone

 

·       Details / Concerns

As the office park is being developed in Phases, all the necessary parking is not yet currently available. Because Center Drive is a high volume connector between key arterials (Ring Rd and Lakeview Parkway), street parking on this roadway adds to general congestion and unsafe conditions.

 

·       Summary:

The Public Works Department is recommending directly to the Village Board to convert this thoroughfare to a No Parking zone.

 

 

6)       Item

·       Issue

Gregg’s Parkway at Lakeview Parkway and Huntington Rd traffic control devices.

 

·       Details / Concerns

The intersections of Gregg’s Parkway at Lakeview Parkway and Gregg’s Parkway Huntington Rd are the highest accident rate locations within the village.

 

·       Summary:

Public Works will be conducting traffic counts using summer interns to provide additional information to re-evaluate the need for additional controls at this intersection.

 

 

 

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

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.

 

The above constitutes the authors understandings of the proceedings.

 

 

 

James E. Schultz

 

 

 

Acting Secretary

Traffic Advisory Committee

Vernon Hills, IL