Agenda - Council - 09/09/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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'1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ! continue to pull them apart;' Davis said. "There are a lot of ' peoplfi involved in it who axe pretty, open-minded about trying to bring this to a conclusion." But divisiveness was the order of the evening, as a question- and-answer period degenerated into interruptions, sarcasm, fin- get-pointing .and shouting. One target of some neighbors' ire was Dr. Thomas Falion, who lives just across the street from Lowry Hill and owns several apartment buildings in the neighborhood. Fallon is not technically a Lgwry Hill resident; neither is his attor- ney, Warren (Sskey, who repre- sents the coalition. LHRI board member Vanessa Dayton object- ed to money the coalition . allegedly spent to organize. against the 'traffic circles. Dayton then left the meeting. Mayoral candidate Barbara Carlson -- a Lowry Hill r~sident' who strongly dislikes traffic cir- cles M also jumped into the fray at the community meeting, urg- ~g Sco. tt to hold a vote. A vote was eventually held, with 75 residents voting for removal of the traffic-calming . tests, 13 people voting against. Meanwhile, Scott and Mona- }/an prop6sed a plan to remove many of the circles from Lowry. Hill, while inst~lllng new four- way stop signs at two intersec- tions and testing another"traffic- calming de¢ice, the raised speed .' table. To make any circles or humps perinanent, 75 percent of the residents one block in ea~ ' direction would have to apprcwe, Mon. ahan said. ' "I'm very doubtful that'cird~s · will be'remaining;'.Sqott said, ' after ~e meeting. ;' : · ':' ' ' Data: tiLaffic · calming Works · Lowry Hill's traffic-calming tests included installation of I7 traffic Circles, speed humps on one blocl4'and a throated inter- section. By far, residents have reserved most of their animosity for the circles, although cars have' been honking as they drive on the speed humps. Monahan said that during the test, .cars have hit five traffic ckdes. However, the- ' city has received nO reports of.. ~,ehide-vehide accidents at traf- fic-circle intersections~ The city ilso produced data · sl~owing that. the traffic-calming tests had slowed traffic without appreciably ch_anging, tr&ffik vol; umes. The goal of traffic-calming is to sl0w cars without causing ' them to switch to other streets. In Low3-y' Hill, one concern was that speed humps, on Irving. would cause ~rs to move to Humb61dt, but the city's tests. haven't shown' that {o be happen- in.g, said John Hotvet, of_Public Works. The Coalition for Traffic Safe- ty's resolution asked that th~ neighborhood spend its NRP · money set aside for traffic calm- ing on police buy-back to enforce' traffic laws. Coalition members also favored lobbying the Legisla- ture to reduce speed l/mits on residential streets t° 25 miles per hour. In April, the coalition col- lected 400 signatures asking for removal of the traffic circles and speed-hfirnps; they said r~sidents opposed'them 9:I.. -' . Is there any larger meaning to Lowry Hill's traffic-ch-de debate? "What ha~/e we learned about the functioning of our public "' streets, our urban character and 'our coll~ctive concerns for safety, pedestrian and bicyde rights, and driver courtesy?" Scoit asked ' ' :- n~ighborhood residents'in a July 25 letter. "Who sh'ould be allowed to decide whether oi' not s'p'ecific calming devices'should bi ". -" retained?" '" .! Get inqoived · Lowry Hill Residents, Inc:, the official Lowry Hills neigh- borhood associati6n, has sched- uled an 'Aug. 19 board meeting., 7:30 p.m. at Kenwood Recre- ation Center;, traffiC'relining .is on the agenda. :.. ~