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Page 3 - Minutes February 8, 2006 3.Loop North and Leland parking proposal The commissioners reviewed the parking plan proposed by the developer and the Public Works Department’s comments to the City Manager regarding the proposal. The following comments were offered: ?Developer should explore the possibility of underground or elevated parking ?The Parking Lot #4 and Delmar (between Kingsland and Leland) operates at their capacity and is a problematic area. It is difficult to maneuver in the parking lot because of the amount of cars parked, the big trash containers, the delivery trucks, etc. By allowing parking along Leland and Loop North we are enlarging the problematic area. ?Delivery trucks for businesses in the Loop and Metro Buses use Leland and Loop North as regular routes. The traffic congestion will grow by allowing street parking. ?Currently, the intersection of Kingsland and Loop North is highly traveled by pedestrians and vehicles from Delmar-Harvard Elementary School. The volume of vehicles and pedestrians may grow by allowing parking on Loop North which may represent a safety problem for the school children. ?The proposal took away the sidewalks to allow parking on Loop North. The sidewalks should stay for pedestrians to walk safely from the bus stop. Otherwise, they will have to walk on the street. ?Angle parking on streets is associated with accident problems. There are 25 reported auto accidents on Municipal Lot #4 from March 28, 2003 to November 10, 2005; most of them during afternoon hours. ?Leland and Loop North are very vital routes for the Police Department. They use these streets to re-route traffic when events occur in the Loop and they should not be congested. ?The proposal shows cars parked blocking the entrance of the alley located east of Leland, north of Parking Lot #3. This alley should not be blocked. ?If the capacity of the Municipal Lot #3 is 82 spaces, seems like the developer is not offering a lot of extra parking since the development will be on Municipal Lot #3. ?A lot of pedestrians use Ackert walkway, especially during Friday and Saturday nights. People park in Municipal Lot #3 and #4 and walk to the Loop. The access to Ackert walkway may be affected by the development. 4.City to adopt the MUTCD as the City’s traffic manual The Commissioners recognized that the Public Works Department uses the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as a guide to ensure consistency in the use and placement of traffic control devices and it is recognized as the national standard for all traffic control devices. The Commissioners voted that the MUTCD be adopted as the Manual for U. City's traffic policy and procedures, with the exception of the traffic procedures already included in U. City's Municipal Code. V:\WP51\Mariela-Projects\Traffic Commission\minutes\2006\Minutes 2-8-06.doc