EDWARD SIM Village of Colonie DEPUTY MAYOR VILLAGE HALL PATTY SCHWARZ 2 THUNDER ROAD LOCKART COLONIE, NY 12205 TRUSTEE (518) 869-7562 FAX (518) 464-0389 ART WHITE THOMAS J. TOBIN TRUSTEE MAYOR JAMES RUBINO TRUSTEE villagehall@colonievillage.org www.colonievillage.org JAMIE BLOT CLERK MINUTES VILLAGE OF COLONIE TRAFFIC COMMITTEE THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023 The Village of Colonie Traffic Committee meeting was held on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 2 Thunder Rd, Albany, NY 12205. Chairman Prevratil opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance at 6:30 p.m. Roll Call: Chairman, Frank Prevratil Present Dan Hornick Present John Gillivan Present George Lashoff Present Les Samiof Present Liasion Ed Sim Absent CPD Liaison Investigator DePaulo Absent Kevin France Present Coordinator Hannah Curran Present The minutes from the regularly scheduled February 9th meeting were reviewed by the present members of the committee. Mr. Hornick made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Samiof seconded this motion. Vote: All in favor. NEW BUSINESS: Chairman Prevratil provided a few updates on Liasion Sim’s behalf. Firstly, he reported that there are 25 new lawn signs, and 50 new frames in storage at the DPW garage. Mr. Lashoff added that Sand Creek Road is now on the list for street signs, and he is in the process of going door to door to ask residents if they would like one. He also asked if it was okay to have flyers printed regarding the CDTC study that is underway, so that he could hand these out to the affected residents on Sand Creek Road. Chairman Prevratil also reported that of the 4 solar speed signs we had ordered, 1 of them is operational on Locust Park. Another sign will go on Locust Park in the opposite direction, and two will be placed on Lincoln Avenue in opposing directions. Liasion Sim offered that we could Page 1 of 3 purchase an additional 4 signs, and asked for the committee’s input on where they would be placed. Based on the complaints the committee has received, Mr. Hornick agreed Harriet Street and Red Fox Drive were good suggestions. Chairman Prevratil asked if Harriet Street should be chosen over Broderick Street, and Mr. Hornick stated that was a good point, seeing as Harriet Street already has numerous stop signs. Chairman Prevratil added that the greatest issue on Harriet Street seems to be individual’s running through stop signs, and overweight trucks using the street as a cut through. He offered that he feels Broderick Street and Red Fox Drive have problems that the solar speed signs would be more suitable for. Mr. France suggested that we may not even need 2 signs on each chosen street, and especially if the streets aren’t used as a cut through to another main road. More of the Village could be covered with signs if only one was placed on each street, with the exception of the few main streets. The committee agreed to give the following recommendation, with 2 on Lincoln Avenue, 2 on Locust Park, 2 on Red Fox Drive, 1 on Lanci Lane and 1 on Broderick Street. If more funding were to become available, the committee suggested eventually adding 1 on Tanglewood Road and 1 on Sunset Boulevard. Mr. Gillivan stated that the current solar sign on Locust Park is visible right from Central Avenue and offered that it would likely be the most effective on a straight street. He asked Mr. France if he knew how the maximum distance the vehicle could be away from the sign for the speed to be calculated, to which Mr. France said he wasn’t sure. Mr. France added that there is no recommendation for how far from the street the sign should be, but it should be left up to the best engineering judgment. He also noted that these signs are permanently placed in the ground, and the locations of the signs should be chosen with this in mind. OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Prevratil shared an update on the ongoing CDTC study, as he attended the most recent meeting. He stated that the next meeting will be in a few weeks, but the first meeting was more of an introductory informational session. He added that there was great representation, with individuals from agencies all over the county. He assured Mr. Gillivan that there was discussion about pedestrians and focusing on access to the parks. Once dates for the public forums are published, they will be made available to the traffic committee, as their participation is encouraged. Mr. Lashoff requested to have these dates as well so he could distribute them to those that are interested. Liasion Sim asked Chairman Prevratil to report that Trustee Patty Lockart had put in a request through the Albany County Legislature to have a traffic light timing study conducted on Central Avenue. This would include all of the lights from Albany to Schenectady, which would greatly impact the Village. Chairman Prevratil agreed that this would be much needed. Mr. Lashoff asked how this would work with traffic lights that are sensitive to the amount of traffic in the area, using the Locust Park/Jupiter Lane intersection for example. Chairman Prevratil suggested he call Trustee Lockart to express this concern so that she could pass it along to the appropriate contact. A brief discussion was held regarding the lawn sign program that Mr. Lashoff had been working on. Chairman Prevratil stated that the schedule for the sign program was great. Rather than assigning times to all of the members, they will now be assigned streets, and can put the signs Page 2 of 3 out at a time that’s convenient for them. Mr. Lashoff added that he will communicate with all of the members as the program gets closer to beginning. Mr. Samiof reported that he received a complaint regarding an area of Lincoln Avenue that needed to be repaired, but that has since been resolved. He also added that he spoke with a resident from Harriet Street regarding the reduction of speeding on her street, but she was not in attendance at the meeting. She was advised to reach out to Investigator DePaulo. Mr. Gillivan reported that he will contact the New York State Department of Transportation regarding a project surrounding Central Avenue. He added that they already have the support of the Town of Colonie, and he will report any updates back to the committee. The Traffic Advisory Committee was contacted by the Village of Colonie Code Revision Committee and was asked to review sections of the code that pertained to them. A discussion was held regarding suggestions that the committee would like to see made. Mr. Lashoff made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:15 P.M. Mr. Samiof seconded the motion. Vote: All in favor. Respectfully submitted, Hannah Curran Traffic Advisory Coordinator Page 3 of 3