Transportation Advisory Board

400 S. Eagle Street City of Naperville Naperville, IL 60540 http://www.naperville.il.us/ Meeting Minutes Transportation Advisory Board Thursday, September 7, 2023 7:00 PM Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Melaniphy called the September 7, 2023 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting to order. This was closed. B. ROLL CALL: This was closed. Present 6- Mary Howenstine, Suzanne Hart, Michael Melaniphy, Inga Orolin, Matthew Seeberg, and James Webb Absent 4- Janet Blubaugh, Michael Brown, Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, and Scott Hurley C. PUBLIC FORUM: Marilyn Schweitzer found an article from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). The article speaks on how the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is being revised by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and is now under review by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Marilyn, mentions several quotes from the NACTO article on pedestrian safety, speed limit setting, pedestrian signals, and target road user definitions. The article mentions several reforms that she agrees with that should be made in the new MUTCD. Marilyn asks that when the updated MUTCD is approved that staff reviews it and hosts a public workshop to discuss the implications of the changes. Melaniphy states that it is always good to review best practices within the industry. Deputy Engineer Andy Hynes adds that the MUTCD is the gold standard in the traffic engineering world. He states that it is not perfect and has been around since the 1930s. It gets updated every decade and has guidelines on traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings among other items. He states that NACTO is a newer reference that is focused on dense urban areas like Chicago. He states that City staff reviewed the MUTCD revisions and sent comments. Hynes states that it is a very rigorous process that makes sure everything is City of Naperville Page 1 Printed on 3/19/2025 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2023 tested and safe to use. Hynes states that there are numerous resources that staff uses for engineering roadways and the MUTCD is one of many documents that is used in the traffic world. This was closed. D. REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Police Department Report Sergeant Derek Zook states that PD completed their labor day campaign. PD will be participating in the walk to school event at Prairie Elementary School the first week of October and he is sure other schools will be involved in that. Melaniphy asks Sergeant Zook how the start of school has gone. Sergeant Zook states that their has been a few issues and that everyone should abide by the school walk route and traffic control plan for each school. This was closed. 1. Approve the minutes of the August 3, 2023, Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Project Manager Michael Prousa states that the August minutes had a few mistakes that were corrected and that the revised minutes were sent to TAB. Marilyn Schweitzer thanks Mr. Prousa for making the changes to the minutes. A motion was made by Hart, seconded by Howenstine, approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Howenstine, Hart, Melaniphy, Orolin, Seeberg, and Webb Absent: 3- Blubaugh, Brown, Bruzan Taylor, and Hurley 2. Receive the results of the 2023 Naperville Pedestrian and Bicycle Survey Hynes gives a presentation on the 2023 Naperville Pedestrian and Bicycle Survey. Hart is wondering why the Naperville Park District, Will County Forest Preserve, and DuPage County Forest Preserve weren't partners in the survey. Hynes states that this was an initial step and that in the future those agencies will be involved. Hart asks if the City of Naperville has any paths. City of Naperville Page 2 Printed on 3/19/2025 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2023 Hynes states that the City has several paths but it is a shared system. Webb asks what five neighborhoods did the City do the survey in. Hynes states that the five neighborhoods that received door hangers were Brookdale, Cedar Glade, Walnut Ridge, Winridge, and the Historic District. The survey was open to everyone. Webb asks if the City could see where the residents lived. Hynes and Communications Specialist Ryan Rey states that zipcodes were given to the City. Rey states that they have never seen a response rate this good before. Seeberg asks if any details that they weren't expecting came out of the survey. Hynes states that the results were for the most part in line with what staff was hoping to see. Seeberg asks if the recommendations will come from just the survey. Hynes states that it is to be determined, he states that documents will need to be updated and throughout that process more recommendations may come out of the survey. Seeberg asks if we track incidents at intersections near major trails for the purpose of trying to figure out which ones are the most dangerous. Hynes states that we do have that information. Overall the bicycle and pedestrian incidents has been consistent throughout the years and no intersection has been higher than any other. Zook states that they do track all of that information and that they do track it throughout the year. Howenstine states that expected higher responses from the e-bike community. She states that she expects e-bikes to swell in numbers in the future. Hynes agrees and states that the survey results maybe don't reflect that but staff is keeping an eye on it. Orolin states that residents should be able to give feedback on more topics in the city. Melaniphy states that he was stunned by the response rate. He states that he was impressed by the e-bike number. Marilyn Schweitzer thanks TAB, TED, NEST for conducting the survey. She was disappointed with the question, "Do you feel safe walking or biking in Naperville?" She states that it was limited to yes/no answers and the City of Naperville Page 3 Printed on 3/19/2025 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2023 subsequent question was only to be answered by responders who said "no". She states that it would have been better to ask if respondents generally felt safe or to rank how safe the respondent felt. Subsequently, all the respondents should have had the opportunity to state when they felt unsafe and what the reasons were. I feel this poorly worded question will make it far to easy for decision makers to dismiss making improvements by blindly saying, "look over 80 percent of respondants think it is generally safe, so why do we bother even making improvements." She states that to often already, transportation safety concerns are dismissed. She generally believes Naperville is safe for pedestrians, just as she believes Naperville is safe relative from crime. she states that it does not mean public safety for crime and transportation issues should be dismissed. Please recognize this shortcoming of the survey and take safety issues seriously and with decent priority. She would also like to add that accidents are only a partial measurement of safety. They do not take into account the overall risk and incidents that don't result in an accident. She is disappointed when she hears people in her neighborhood report stuff and they feel like giving up reporting because nothing is every done. She states that Naperville is very safe and should be applauded for their efforts and that does not mean that concerns should be as easily dismissed as they have been. Melaniphy states that safety comes from due diligence and is always changing and evolving and that TAB will always pursue policies and procedures for public safety. Justin White states that we need to have this baseline for tracking going forward. He states that some of the questions and other things can be approved upon for next year and that we need to do these surveys on a regular basis. He states that more data is behind the questions that were more open ended. He states that yes Naperville is safe but there is more to do. He would like to update plans that are outdated. Melaniphy on behalf of the board would like to thank everyone that made the survey happen. This Report was closed. 3. Approve a recommendation to establish a 25 MPH speed limit and right-of-way controls for the Wagner Farms Subdivision Prousa gives a presentation on the recommendations to the Wagner Farms Neighborhood. Webb asks about the City policy on t-intersection stop signs. City of Naperville Page 4 Printed on 3/19/2025 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2023 Prousa states that the policy is from the Illinois Vehicle Code and that the City expects drivers entering the terminating leg of the t-intersection to yield to the through street. Prousa states that this a newer policy for the City and that there are some neighborhoods that will have t-intersections with stop control. Webb asks if this is something that can still be considered on a case by case basis. Prousa states that yes, staff would look at an intersection if requested to do so for stop sign installation. Melaniphy asks about continuity with neighborhoods that are next to Wagner Farms. Prousa states that Crestview Knolls, which is the neighborhood to the southeast of Wagner Farms, does not have stop controls at the t-intersections. Melaniphy asks if the stop signs that are installed by the developer are kept or does the City come through with new signs. Prousa states that the Publics Works Department will replace the signs that are in place. A motion was made by Webb, seconded by Orolin, approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Howenstine, Hart, Melaniphy, Orolin, Seeberg, and Webb Absent: 3- Blubaugh, Brown, Bruzan Taylor, and Hurley 4. Approve the recommendation to modify the no parking zones, compact car parking, and commuter parking on the north side of Fifth Avenue at Center Street, Ellsworth Street and Brainard Street Prousa states the sight distance issues at 5th and Center, 5th and Ellsworth, and 5th and Brainard warrant removal of several parking spaces on 5th. Staff would like TAB to recommend approval for those removals. Melaniphy asks for clarification on a typo in the agenda item. Prousa clarifies the question and mentions that it will get corrected. A motion was made by Howenstine, seconded by Seeberg, approved as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Howenstine, Hart, Melaniphy, Orolin, Seeberg, and Webb Absent: 3- Blubaugh, Brown, Bruzan Taylor, and Hurley E. OLD BUSINESS: Hynes gives an update on the Washington Street Bridge. City of Naperville Page 5 Printed on 3/19/2025 Transportation Advisory Board Meeting Minutes September 7, 2023 This was closed. F. NEW BUSINESS: Hynes gives an update on the changes to the commuter parking system. Melaniphy wants to compliment the staff on the West Street construction for the changes to the construction zone. Zook states that not a lot of conflicts have occured. Hynes gives an update on the West Street construction project. This was closed. G. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Seeberg, seconded by Orolin, to adjourn the Transportation Advisory Board Meeting at 8:04 p.m. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Howenstine, Hart, Melaniphy, Orolin, Seeberg, and Webb Absent: 3- Blubaugh, Brown, Bruzan Taylor, and Hurley City of Naperville Page 6 Printed on 3/19/2025