3 - Minutes 6-10-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

2. Request to remove parking restriction on south side of Forsyth Blvd from Big Bend Blvd to Asbury Ave. CBB observed traffic, parking and the character of the street (commercial businesses, single-family homes, multi-family homes) on Forsyth to evaluate parking and traffic patterns in order to make a recommendation to the City regarding whether or not the existing on-street rush hour parking restriction on Forsyth Boulevard between Del-Lin Drive and Big Bend Boulevard during am and pm peak hours should be removed. Mr. Cannon was not yet prepared to provide a recommendation; rather he wanted to give the Traffic Commissioners an opportunity for input. Mr. Cannon stated that although local residents may consider Forsyth to be a local residential street, it is in fact an arterial. Forsyth is functionally classified as an arterial on East-West Gateway’s system maps and operates in the regional road network as a minor arterial. Functional classification means how the road fits into the roadway system in the region. Delmar, for example is an arterial road. Mr. Cannon asked the City’s Traffic Commission: 1. Do you want to optimize the road to accommodate traffic that needs to use the road? or, 2. Restrict the capacity and let the traffic congest and divert to other routes? Officer Margul explained that cars violate the parking restriction during rush hours, and what is preferred by UCPD is to have two-lane traffic to improve eastbound traffic. Officer Margul explained that in the past there was no penalty for not paying a parking violation ticket, but now there are repercussions for vehicles which have accumulated unpaid parking violation tickets. The vehicles can now be towed and/or booted. He also noted that Northmoor Dr. has seen increased traffic from Forsyth eastbound drivers. He recommended that the AM and PM restrictions should be enforced on each side of the street. Mr. Cannon stated that in general, there is adequate parking in the general neighborhood (Forsyth, Lindell and Northmoore). In the neighborhood, the parking spaces available total 716 spaces. Of those, 199 of the available parking spaces are located on Forsyth: 105 are located along the north curb and 94 are located on the south curb. Mr. Cannon stated that during peak hours there is 50% utilization of the available parking spaces on the north side of Forsyth Blvd. More dense parking is occurring on the west and east end. The observation was in latter May and the result may be different when Washington University begins classes in the Fall. Forsyth is 40 feet wide. Currently there are two 12 ft wide-traffic lanes and two 8ft wide-parking lanes. CBB will present recommendations on this issue at the July 8, 2009 traffic commission meeting. Public Work’s priorities are public safety and trash collection needs. As a subsequent task, CBB recommended that the Resident Only Parking Restriction system only be implemented within a specified “zone” instead of on one side or segment of the street. 3. Children at play signs at 8100 and 8200 blocks of Tulane Ave. There was no one to present this request. Commissioner Paterson presented the request and since the MUTCD does not recognize this as a standard sign, the Public Work Department does not recommend the installation of the “Slow Children at Play.” Minutes – June 10, 2009 Page 2