Safety Committee July Meeting
The Safety Committee met on July 10 to discuss parking restrictions on South Main Street.
The Safety Committee met Monday night. Members Erinn Grube, Don Gutierrez, and I were in attendance along with village CAO Rob Jamieson, Police Department Lt. Jason Weiskopf, and Council President Angie DeBernardo.
South Main Street Parking
The meeting was requested by the Police Department to discuss parking restrictions on South Main Street. South Main Street is a two-lane street and parking is allowed on most the western (southbound) side of the street. No parking is allowed on the eastern (northbound) side. Lt. Weiskopf explained that there have been seven documented crashes on South Main Street between 2019 and today. Parked vehicles were not contributing factors to those crashes. However, the department still believes that parked vehicles create a dangerous situation on certain stretches of the road where the slope makes it difficult for drivers to see oncoming traffic when attempting to pass a parked vehicle. They are not recommending a complete ban on parking on South Main Street – only specific areas and times of day when a parked vehicle is most likely to create a safety issue.
Using Google Street View, we reviewed the length of South Main Street from the intersection with Washington Street to South Street at the Geauga County line. Lt. Weiskopf recommended parking restrictions for the area from 44 to 100 South Main Street, the area adjacent to Bellview Street, and the area directly across from Elm Court. After some questions and discussion we decided to recommend the same hours for parking restrictions as on Bell Street, as the situation is similar to that street and those hours have worked well there. The committee voted to recommend to the village administration to create a map showing the proposed restrictions. That will be shared with residents for feedback, and – based on the outcome of that process – an ordinance to amend the Traffic Control Map will be presented to Council.
Mid-block Crosswalks Improvements in the Central Shopping Business District
Continuing our conversation from our June 12 meeting, I suggested a different and more substantial style of planter than the ones shared by CT Consultants at our June meeting. Erinn asked for something more suitable to the style of Chagrin, using the lampposts as an example. Something less “modern” than my suggestions. Rob seemed to back-peddle on the whole idea, saying the administration wasn’t sure they would be effective, and implying that we were doing something just for the sake of doing something. I reminded him that we regularly receive feedback from residents who don’t feel safe crossing the street at our mid-block crosswalks, and that planters seemed like a relatively easy, low-cost, and non-permanent way to improve the situation and test the effectiveness of curb extensions before committing to them in concrete. I asked that we continue to work together to arrive at a plan that everyone can live with.
North Main & Bell Street Intersection
I reminded Rob that we would like CT Consultants to model a pedestrian scramble at the intersection of North Main and Bell Street, and review the results at a future meeting.
East Orange, North, and Mill Streets
Earlier this month – with permission from the property owner – the village removed most of the overgrowth from the northeast corner of the intersection and visibility from southbound North Main Street and westbound Mill Street is much better. Rob also let us know that a flashing stop sign will be ordered soon, and possibly a flashing pedestrian crossing sign as well. I thanked the village for their efforts.
Miscellaneous
Don Gutierrez asked about the intersection of West Summit Street and North Main Street at the top of Grove Hill. This topic comes up pretty regularly and the most common request is for a mirror to help drivers on East and West Summit Streets see traffic coming up the hill on North Main Street. However, we’ve been told that a mirror is not an approved traffic-control device and would create a legal liability that the village is not willing to have. Over the years a lot of thought has been given to the situation, but no one has come up with a viable solution.
Erinn asked that we schedule a meeting to discuss committee goals for 2024.