Meeting
City Council · 2015-01-14
City Council meeting
Decisions
0
0 motions in all
Split votes
0
at least one no
Discussion
–
no recording
Residents spoke
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introduced themselves
Agenda items and what happened
Items and outcomes were extracted from the agenda and minutes by Claude (Anthropic); each links to the minutes page. The minutes are authoritative.
Text extracted from the minutes PDF (scanned pages via OCR). The PDF is the official record.
OREMCITYCOUNCIL/ALPINESCHOOLDISTRICT SPECIALJOINTMEETING 56 North State, Orem, Utah January 14, 2015 This meeting was for discussion purposes only. No official action was taken. CONDUCTING Mayor Richard F. Brunst, Jr. OREMELECTEDOFFICIALS Councilmembers Black, Margaret Tom Macdonald, Mark E. Seastrand, and Brent Sumner OREM STAFF Jamie Davison, City Manager; Brenn Bybee, Assistant City Manager; Stephen Downs, Assistant to the City Manager; Karl Hirst, Recreation Director; Chris Tschirki, Public Works Director; Keith Larsen, Traffic Operation Paul Goodrich, Transportation Engineer; Engineer; and Jackie Lambert, Deputy City Recorder ALPINEBOARDOFEDUCATION John Burton, Paula Hill, JoDee Sundberg, and Deborah Taylor ALPINE SCHOOL DISTRICT ADMIN. Vern Henshaw, Superintendent; Rob Smith, AssistantSuperintendent ABSENT Councilmembers Hans Andersen and David Spencer INVOCATION Councilmember Mark E. Seastrand Mayor Brunst called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. He gave a brief update of some of the projects that were underway in Orem, and thanked the Alpine School District for working with the City on the University Place CDA.· Items of Common Interest DISCUSSION - Hawk Signal near Canyon View Jr. High and Orchard Elementary Mayor Brunst invited Chris Tschirki, Public Works Director, to present information regarding a proposed hawk signal near Canyon View Junior High and Orchard Elementary. Mr. Tschirki introduced Keith Larsen, Traffic Operation Engineer, and Paul Goodrich, Transportation Engineer. Mr. Tschirki said that, since the last discussion on the hawk signal, a study had been conducted at the crossings to evaluate if a hawk signal was warranted. There were currently three crossings, JointOremCityCounci/AlpineSchoolDistrictMinutes-January14,2015(p.1) onewith a crossing guard present nearest the elementary school. Two studies were conducted in the morning from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., and three studies were conducted in the afternoon from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Warrant studieslooked atfactorslikehowmanypedestrianswere crossing that location at a given time, the speed of the street, and width of the street. Mr.Macdonald asked aboutspeedused inthe analysis,ifitwas at35or 20milesanhour.Mr. Larsensaidthespeedwouldneedtobemeasuredbythefreeflowspeedof35milesanhour. Mr.Tschirkisaid the afternoonstudiesshowedthenorthcrossinginfrontof Orchard Elementary metwarrantsfor a hawksignal.The crossing infront of CanyonViewnever metwarrantsfor a hawk signal during either themorning or afternoon.When crossingswere combined they warrantedahawksignal. Ms. Sundberg asked for clarification of what a hawk signal was, and why it was being proposed. Mr. Tschirki provided information on hawk signals and said the proposal was in response to feedbackfrom PTA that had requested hawk signals.Mr.Larsen noted that a hawk signalwas a darksignal until a pedestrian pushed thebutton and activated the crossing.Cars could ignore the signal unless therewere lights flashing. workedwell,andthatitworkedtowardthesafetyofbothpedestriansanddrivers. Mr.Tschirki said that,based on the study results,the staff was recommending to remove crosswalksandreducedspeedschoolzones toinstall ahawksignalfor acombinedcrossing at 1000North800East.Thatwasabouthalfwaybetweenbothschools,andwouldconsolidate crossings for both. Reduced speed signs and the crossing guard would be moved to the location of thehawksignal. Mrs.Blackasked if the crosswalkat950Northwouldberemoved.Mr.Tschirki said all crosswalkson800Eastwouldberemovedandconsolidatedattheproposed1000North800East crossing, but the crossing at 950 North would stay in place.The drop-off zones in front of OrchardElementarywould alsostayinplace. Mr.Macdonald said it was unlikely that the students would cross the consolidated hawk crossing but were more likely to jaywalk across the street at the points where the crosswalks were 10 currentlyplaced. Dr. Henshaw and other board members expressed concern that the students would not be willing to walk down to the signal, and it would result in the hawk signal being underutilized. The study showed what should happen, but more likely the students would continue to cross wherever they wanted. Mr.Goodrichsaid the principals and other administratorsfrom the school wouldneed to be part of the discussion of where things should be and what would be the most effective in keeping students safe. JointOremCityCouncil/AlpineSchoolDistrictMinutes-January14,2015(p.2) Mayor Brunst said parents should also have input. Mr. Davidson said parent input was valuable, but they would not know state requirements, traffic liability laws, etc. that the City would be bound by. Mr. Burton asked about the possibility of flashing yellow signals at both crosswalks. Mr. Goodrich said the rapid flashing beacon was not a stop requirement, and therefore not as compliant as a hawk signal would be. Mr. Larsen added there could not be two reduced speed zones within 600 feet of each other. Mr. Bybee clarified that the request for a hawk signal was from Canyon View Junior High PTA, not the elementary school. Mr. Goodrich added that, if the hawk signal was installed, more students might walk to school as parents would feel safer about the crossing which would increase foot traffic. Mr. Smith said he had reached out to the administration at both schools and would come back with additional information. Mayor Brunst said this was an important topic to be discussed. DISCUSSION -Mass Transit and BRT At the request of Mrs. Sundberg, Mayor Brunst provided information from a recent meeting of the Utah County Commissioners on the subject of mass transit and BRT. Thanks - Orem Administrators Mrs. Sundberg said the administrators in the Orem area had done an outstanding job, several of whom had received awards, such as Administrator of the Year. Peter Glahn, assistant principal at Mountain View High School, was named Assistant Principal of the Year. Set Date and Time for Next The next meeting was scheduled for February 25, 2015, at noon in Orem. The meeting adjourned at 1:04 p.m. CORPORATE SEAL mmaR.kaven Donna R. Weaver, City Recorder Approved: February 10, 2015 Joint OremCityCouncil/AlpincSchoolDistrictMinutes-January14,2015(p.3)