Village of Colonie Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting August 8, 2019 6:30 p.m. There was a meeting of the Village of Colonie Traffic Advisory Committee, held on August 8, 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, Julianne Okun Colonie PD Officer, Jason DePaulo Liaison, Deputy Mayor Edward Sim Kevin France, DPW Traffic Advisor Ms. Carol Sparanza – 24 Lanci Lane Ms. Marilyn Mangino – 67 Delafield Drive The minutes from both the May and June meeting were reviewed and approved as amended. CORRESPONDENCE: Ms. Carol Sparanza of 24 Lanci Lane came before the Traffic Committee to voice her concerns about speeders down Lanci Lane as well as freight trucks using Lanci Lane to turn around after dropping off at the Central Avenue Stewarts. Chairman Prevratil shared the photos and videos of the trucks Ms. Sparanza had sent in. Chairman Prevratil read into the record an e-mail Ms. Sparanza had sent requesting the “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” signs. Ms. Sparanza was upset that the signs went from Broderick then to Red Fox and back to Broderick, and feels as if other streets, including Lanci, had been skipped over. Mr. Judge explained to Ms. Sparanza that protocol for the signs is that the Committee will canvass a street and then once they have the signatures, the Department of Public Works will put the lawns signs up. Mr. Judge stated the next street on the docket is Lincoln and that the Committee wanted to focus mainly on what data provided as the troubled Village streets: Locust, Lincoln, Broderick, and Red Fox. Ms. Sparanza stated that she understands that speeding is a continuous issue throughout the entire Village, but that Lanci has become a major problem. Mr. Judge stated that they just can’t hit every street in the Village with the signs, and that they currently want to focus on the cut through streets. Regarding the freight trucks, Officer DePaulo stated has spoken to the manager at Stewarts multiple times. Ms. Speranza stated she understands it’s a horrible location for the Stewart’s Shop, but it’s also very dangerous for the freight trucks to travel down a residential street with a weight limit and low hanging wires. Chairman Prevratil mentioned he had spoken to Ms. Sparanza the evening before and encouraged her to obtain signatures of the neighbors who want the “Drive Like Your 1 Kids Live Here Signs.” Ms. Sparanza presented to the Board the signatures of about 15 or so residents on Lanci Lane who wish to have the signs on their lawn. Chairman Prevratil stated to everyone present that while the Committee is doing everything they can to slow cars down, no can stop people from breaking the law. Deputy Mayor Sim stated one thing the Village could do is put the radar trailer out on Lanci Lane, as data shows having the radar trailer display the oncoming cars speed does indeed get them to slow down. Chairman Prevratil stated that future protocol for residents wanting “Drive Like Your Kids Live Here” signs will be as follows: 1. The Traffic Committee will be advertising in the upcoming Villager about the signs 2. The ad will encourage interested residents to attend meetings so their voices can be heard. 3. The Committee will encourage the residents to come to meeting prepared with signatures from other interested neighbors. Chairman Prevratil stated this information will help the Traffic Committee collect data so they will be aware of issues on the other streets. Deputy Mayor Sim stated that the Committee has about 50 signs and they should be able to do two streets at once. He also stated that some level of communication needs to exist between the Committee and the Coordinator so that Ms. Okun knows what to communicate to residents when they call to inquire about the signs. NEW BUISNESS: Ms. Marilyn Mangino of 67 Delafield Drive came before the Traffic Advisory Committee to share her concerns with speeding cars. Ms. Mangino stated he has lived on Delafield Drive for a very long time, and the speeding has gotten to the point where it is dangerous for people to walk with their children and dogs. She stated that speed humps, stop signs, and radar trailers do not work, but what does work is that is law enforcement presence in the neighborhood. Chairman Prevratil stated that while nothing will work 100%, everything does work a little bit. Deputy Mayor Sim stated that the DPW will put up traffic counters near Ms. Mangino’ s house and they will collect data on how many cars and how fast they are going. Mr. Judge stated that the Committee will be gathering on the 17th to start canvassing for Lincoln Avenue. OLD BUSINESS: Mr. John Gillivan shared with the Committee the results of the Bike Path Locust Park Survey. Results are attached to the minutes. Mr. Gillivan stated that while the questions were standard “yes” or “no” questions, there were variations to the answers, for example, some residents do feel safe on Locust Park, but only when walking against traffic, and there were some residents that used to walk along the Locust Park, but no longer due to either age or health reasons. Deputy Mayor Sim asked if the Committee just canvassed Locust Park, with Mr. Gillivan stating they also surveyed Cottonwood, Colt, and Winston as well as Hunting and Bridle Path. Mr. Gillivan started that he has collected e-mails of residents who were interested in the results of the survey. Deputy Mayor Sim stated to the Committee that he will share the results of the survey to the Mayor and the Board, from there, there could possibly be community meetings through the winter and potential implementation in the spring. 2 Deputy Mayor Sim updated the Committee regarding the striping on Hunting Road, Red Fox, and Barker. There have been larger speed limit signs installed on Barker Street along with flags to gain the attention of potential speeders. He also stated the possibility of putting an “Intersection Ahead: sign before Locust and Cottonwood, as a 4-Way Stop Sign may not meet state criteria. Chairman Prevratil mentioned to the Committee to continue to watch out for motorcyclists. Mr. Lashoff made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:10PM. Mr. Samiof seconded the motion. Respectfully Submitted Julianne Okun Traffic Safety Coordinator 3