Village of Colonie Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting March 14, 2019 6:30 p.m. There was a meeting of the Village of Colonie Traffic Advisory Committee, held on March 14, 2019 at the Village Hall, 2 Thunder Road, Albany, NY 12205. The meeting started at 6:30 p.m. Chairman Prevratil called the meeting to order with a salute to the flag. Those Present: Chairman, Mr. Frank Prevratil Mr. George Lashoff Mr. Daniel Hornick (Absent) Mr. Les Samiof Mr. Dan Judge Mr. John Gillivan Secretary, Alexandra Hart Colonie PD Officer, Jason DePaulo (Absent) Liaison, Deputy Mayor Edward Sim Kevin France, DPW Traffic Advisor Mr. Samiof made a motion to approve last meeting’s minutes, as amended. Mr. Lashoff seconded the motion. Motion passes to approve the minutes from February 14, 2019. Correspondence: There was no direct communication with Village Hall of any traffic safety concerns. New Business: Trustee Sim stated that Hunting Road will be repaved this summer and there are plans to redo the 4 way stop at the Bridle Path/Locust Park intersection. Trustee Sim stated that Mr. France drew up a rendering showing the proposed markings to improve visibility. The renderings were shown to the committee members. The rendering shows stop bars on all streets and stop signs on both sides of the road on Hunting. Trustee Sim stated that this could be the future of intersections for the Village and can later be used at the Harriet/Holland and Locust/Cottonwood intersections. Mr. Judge asked what the dashed lines on the pavement meant. Mr. France stated that the dashes were to make the road seem narrower and therefore making the driver think they need to slow down and ultimately stop at the stop sign. Mr. France asked if not stopping at the stop sign is a large problem. Trustee Stim stated that it is an issue. Mr. France used the City of Albany as an example of a municipality trying to fix the same problem, and stated that the problem cannot be solved but it can be helped. Mr. France added that maintenance could be a problem depending on the materials used. Chairman Prevratil stated that the Locust/Bridle Path intersection is the worst, however the intersections at Red Fox/ Bridle Path and Harriet/Holland should be next. Mr. France stated that the “stop ahead” signs can also add value to the intersection. Mr. France added that depending on the material on the road, the weather/wear and tear, and optimal application the lines should last about 5-7 years. Mr. France stated that epoxy might be the best material to last through the harsh winters. Mr. Judge stated that if the intersection improvements save at least one accident then it’s 1 worth it. Mr. Gillivan stated that people tend to pick up speed on the downhill heading to Sand Creek Rd. Mr. Gillivan suggested a few members of the committee could survey the intersection to see how many cars to not stop at the stop signs. The Committee overall thought the new striping at the Locust/Bridle Path intersection were a great idea and hope that more intersections like that one can be added throughout the Village. OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Gillivan addressed the committee regarding the survey he created regarding the bike path connection. Mr. Gillivan stated that a few members sent some feedback and consolidated 9 questions down to 4. Trustee Sim stated that if committee is ok with questions then he can take it back to the Board of Trustees for their Monday night meeting. Trustee Sim asked how the committee plans to distribute the surveys. Mr. Gillivan suggested a few members meet one Saturday morning and divide the street up on Locust Park, and it should only take an hour or two. The Committee discussed potential days/times to meet to hand out the survey along Locust Park. Mr. Judge asked what side of the road the bike path proposes to be on. Mr. Gillivan suggested the East side of the street because of the bus stop on Central Ave and Village Hall. Trustee Sim stated that the fire hydrants and utility poles could play a role in that and added that eventually an engineer will eventually need to get involved to look at the lane width of the street. Chairman Prevratil stated that the survey is a great idea and will give residents an idea of the grand bike path connection plan. Mr. Gillivan informed the committee about the CDTC capital trails plan to connect the Mohawk Hudson trail to Albany to Buffalo and New York City to Plattsburgh. Mr. Gillivan stated that the Rapp Road connection is the real issue and suggested letters in support of the trails by local leaders to help the project along. Mr. Gillivan informed the committee of a CDTC and FHA survey for pedestrians that will measure pedestrian traffic walking and crossing streets, the municipality would get to choose which stretch of road to conduct the survey. Mr. Gillivan suggested Central Ave and added that the Village would only have to provide mentors/guides and maybe lunch for up to two days. Chairman Prevratil stated that anything associated with Central Ave needs to be ran by DOT since Central Ave is their jurisdiction. Trustee Sim stated that the Village would be happy to supply mentors and provide lunch for the survey, but someone needs to look into getting DOT involved. Chairman Prevratil asked what kind of information people are looking for on Central Ave. Mr. Gillivan stated speed reduction and jay-walkers. Chairman Prevratil suggested looking into other communities that have the same problems and see how they overcame them. Mr. Gillivan gave an update on the mini-grant and how the Village was unable to apply due to computer error. Mr. Gillivan stated that instead of having a separate bike rodeo event, he was wondering if it could be tied into Family Fun Day. Mr. Gillivan suggested some educational tables to raise awareness and give out the left over helmets from last year and some other giveaways form local businesses. He also suggested another “pop-up” event for Locust Park after the results of the survey are in. Trustee Sim stated that anything for Family Fun Day needs to be directed through Carl Fleshman who is in charge of the event. Trustee Sim also added that there are some concerns over multiple events as they tend to become too intensive for the Department of Public Works. He stated that if the Committee is committed to putting in the work then that’d be great, just know that 2 the DPW will not do all the work. Chairman Prevratil stated that he liked focusing all the energy on Family Fun Day rather than multiple events. Trustee Sim gave an update on the March 18th vote on the Lincoln Ave traffic sign. Mr. Lashoff asked if there are any other streets that the “drive like your kids live here” signs can go. Mr. Judge suggested Broderick Street and stated there was a pretty bad accident a few weeks ago. Mr. Judge suggested that the signs go up sometime in June. The Committee discussed walking around Broderick Street on April 27th to ask for permission to put the sign out. Mr. Lashoff made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Samiof seconded the motion. VOTE: Unanimous to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Alexandra M. Hart Asst. Traffic Coordinator 3