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. . . to discuss the issue of the anti-idling regulation and a follow up to the traffic enforcement management plan. |
May 30, 2006Committee Report #6 TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC AND In City Council June 26, 2006
The Transportation, Traffic and Parking Committee held a public meeting on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at five o’clock and thirty minutes P.M. in the Sullivan Chamber. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the issue of the anti-idling regulation and a follow up to the traffic enforcement management plan. Present at the meeting were Councillor Craig Kelley, Chair of the Committee, Ronnie Watson, Police Commissioner, Dave Degou, Superintendent of Police, Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environment and Transportation Planning, Community Development Department and Donna P. Lopez, Deputy City Clerk. Also present was Bette Davis, Kathy Podgers, Lawrence Adkins and Sheila Headley. Councillor Kelley opened the meeting and stated the purpose. He did not want to have monthly meetings on the issue of traffic enforcement. His planning idea is more specific. Commissioner Watson stated that there is a whole host of work done on traffic. Traffic and data is reviewed to establish an enforcement plan. It is difficult to state that specific times each day will be set aside for traffic because of the nature of police work. Locations and times can be identified, but there is a need for flexibility in the department. Councillor Kelley explained a situation at an intersection on Garfield Street where northbound cars stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, but southbound cars do not, leaving even the most visible of pedestrians stuck in the middle of the road with cars passing on both sides. This happens on a regular basis. What can be done to make this more effective, he asked. He stated that he would like more tickets issued. Commissioner Watson stated that problem locations are identified and patrol officers are assigned to the problem areas in an effort to eliminate problems. Sometimes the problem is the traffic pattern rather than enforcement. Enforcement is not the only answer to the traffic enforcement plan. Councillor Kelley stated that he would like to see what could be done differently to make traffic work better. Commissioner Watson stated that traffic enforcement does not center on one or two locations. People who are committing violations are people who are traveling through the city during the morning and evening rush hours. As soon as assigned officers leave the problem locations the violations occur, commented Councilor Kelley. Massachusetts does not have a culture of abiding the traffic laws. He gets complaints about this on a regular basis. Superintendent Degou stated that he took over the traffic and patrol division. He assigns officers to enforcement during certain times of the day. Officers can be diverted from traffic enforcement to perform other duties. He gives the officers the option of performing five hours of traffic enforcement. This plan has worked out better. He favored flexibility for the department. He stated his willingness to work with Councillor Kelley on this issue. Commissioner Watson stated that the officers have a better effort with enforcement when they are allowed flexibility when violations occur. In the past most citation written were warnings. He requested his department to do balanced enforcement of 50% warnings and 50% tickets. Allegations of racial profiling must also be considered. Councillor Kelley stated that the streets now are not what he would like to see. It would be helpful if the public and the police department worked together to set expectations for traffic enforcement. Commissioner Watson responded that his department is happy to meet with the public, bike committee, pedestrian committee and Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department to discuss what is the best approach. Ms. Rasmussen stated that the bike and pedestrian committees have a strong involvement with the police department and that these committees consist of members of the public. Some situations require a traffic solution rather than an enforcement solution. These committees are in place to look at these issues. This is a committee that is in existence and may not like the establishment of another committee. Councillor Kelley stated that the bike and pedestrian committees are good but that the streets are not as good as the streets could be. The pedestrian committee looks at all locations that are difficult to cross. Police then does enforcement or Traffic, Parking and Transportation does engineering review. The bike committee does the same work as it relates to bike issues i.e. bike lanes, obstacles, etc. She suggested that Councillor Kelley have a meeting with the bike and pedestrian committees and the police department. Do not leave these people out of the solution. Councillor Kelley stated that potholes are not being fixed. More focus on traffic enforcement by the police department on their web page and budget submission information is needed. He would like traffic enforcement effort be as important an effort as crime prevention. The most important aspect of traffic enforcement in the city is cars, pedestrians, bikes and trucks stated Commissioner Watson. A large amount of time is spent on traffic enforcement. Traffic enforcement is the primary function of the police department when the officers are not working on crime related issues. The website cannot be changed until a technical person is allocated to the police department. This will be provided by IT department and the data will be put on the website. Councillor Kelly stated that it is not wise to meet this way. Commissioner Watson agreed stating that nothing is being solved. He suggested letting the pedestrian and bike committees and the police department get together to review traffic issues and see what has been done and what could be done better. It will take time to compile this information and this takes officers off the streets to do research. Councillor Kelley discussed sidewalk bike violations. Superintendent Degou informed the committee that 1,059 violations for bikes on sidewalks were issued in 2005. Councillor Kelley stated that he keeps getting complaints. He wanted to change the status quo or make things different. Enforcement is done on banned sidewalks and riding bikes on sidewalks stated Commissioner Watson. Officers have a multi-faceted job. Councillor Kelley stated that he understands that the issues are complex. The residents may need to decide whether they want to fund a larger police department. He asked what is the cost of financing five more officers. Commissioner Watson stated each additional officers costs $60,000 - $70,000. The job of his officers is to make people aware of behavior. The enforcement effort is compliance. The bike stencils will be painted on the sidewalk next month. At six o’clock and five minutes p. m. Councillor Kelley opened the meeting up to public comment. Kathy Podgers stated that she has noticed that there is improved enforcement on banning bicyclists from riding on the sidewalk. She spoke about valet parking in Harvard Square on Winthrop Street. How are people dealt with who park on the sidewalk on Winthrop Street who treat this as their own private parking space and Police don’t do anything about it. The problem with valet parking is that people cannot walk on the sidewalk. This makes it difficult for people with disabilities. There are always bikes in Harvard Square. She stated that she had photographs. The California Appeals Court stated that people with blogs do not have to name their sources. She suggested that there should be a drop-in group that meets every two weeks to have conversations about issues such as these. She stated that she worried about handicapped people being discriminated against to the point of a civil rights violation. She spoke about steep curb cuts which are detrimental to persons with disabilities. The police officer in Central Square has allowed bicyclists on sidewalks in handicapped ramps. Commissioner Watson stated that the police department does not deal with ramps. He is not prepared to discuss valet parking. The police will investigate illegal parking on sidewalks. Vigorous enforcement will be done on bike riding on sidewalks where stenciled. Bette Davis, a long-time former member of the pedestrian committee, stated that these issues keep coming up with no change. She has reported idling and has not seen enforcement. She thinks the pedestrian committee should be notified better about these meetings. She thinks there is no enforcement of idling laws. Bicyclists on the sidewalks are a constant problem and the bicyclists are driving on the wrong side of the sidewalk. Photo enforcement is the solution and has not been instituted because it requires state legislation. The City Council was an obstacle with photo enforcement, she said. She stated that she was not in favor of hiring more police officers. Photo enforcement works. She commented on the fact that there is no system to check on warnings issued. She wanted the pedestrian committee to receive statistics on warnings and citations. She said that the pedestrian committee had often asked for statistics and still did not get them on a regular basis. Commissioner Watson stated that police department is working on photo enforcement. The City of Lawrence is proposing passing an ordinance to enable photo enforcement. The draw back, however, is that the Registry of Motor Vehicles collects the fine. Problems exist in Massachusetts with photo enforcement. The police department works with the MBTA on compliance with idling. Busses are turned off. Idling enforcement is something they do, but not as much as they should. Sergeants from the Traffic Division and Bike patrol attend the pedestrian committee meetings to coordinate getting necessary information. Enforcement of bikes on sidewalks is slowed until stencils are painted on the sidewalk. It is hard to do enforcement when people do not know about the ban. Ms. Davis spoke about campus enforcement of the anti-idling regulation. Ms. Davis talked of big MIT-related buses lined up and idling on Vassar Street and asked if the MIT police enforce in that case. Commissioner Watson stated that he would bring this enforcement to the attention of the universities. Lawrence Atkins spoke on busses on Putnam Avenue at the King School. He has spoken to Mr. Lucey about the busses that load and unload Harvard students on Putnam Avenue. Harvard has been experimenting with a new bus service and the King School community was left out of the notification process for the jitney license. He wanted the tour bus route amended because this is a detriment to the area. Harvard only services their clientele and not the residents of the city. He submitted a proposed petition that would be signed by residents of the area (ATTACHMENT A). He noted that these are big buses and asked why they could not be smaller. He also submitted a communication from the Director of Traffic, Parking and Transportation regarding the petition of residents to make Howard Street a one-way (ATTACHMENT B). He expressed concern that it is not an open, clear process and he wants this one-way process to work better than the last one. Deputy City Clerk Donna Lopez suggested a direct complaint on the Jitney issue. Sheila Headley said that she has been working on the Jitney issue for a while and has had some positive and some negative experiences and that busses on Putnam Ave have become a huge problem, that they are tour busses but they’re not touring, they’re shortcutting. She stated that she filed a complaint with the License Commission because the busses on Putnam Avenue have escalated. Lieutenant Jack Albert has contacted Peter Pan and Harvard University and requested that they refrain from using Putnam Avenue for busses. Harvard busses, carrying 57-60 passengers, are being parked across from the King School where they wait for Harvard passengers. This goes on from 7:00 AM to 12:30 PM. Harvard has a shuttle permit for four busses and the license does not allow the operation after 9:00 PM. She wanted the police department to ticket these busses. She also wanted signs placed on Putnam Avenue that read “NO BUSSES”. Commissioner Watson expressed his concern about the time the busses were in use. A 45-person shuttle was granted as a pilot. Citations have been issued to the bus companies. Ms. Headley stated that if there is a violation of the jitney license the permit should be revoked. The children are breathing the exhaust from the busses. Paul Revere was granted a jitney license for four trips. She wanted the LMA jitney route to be reviewed to determine if the permit allowed the company to use the streets traveled. She wanted to see if the company had the right to use the city streets. Commissioner Watson also expressed his concern about the weight limit. Mr. Atkins stated that Putnam Avenue was not to be added as an access street. He suggested that Harvard University’s transportation company be invited to a meeting before this committee, saying that the bus issue is big and requires a lot of people in the room. Ms. Headley stated that she wanted the busses ticketed if they do not belong on city streets. Commissioner Watson stated that he wanted it clear as to who can use the city streets. He and Ms. Headley noted that it was not clear who was in on the setting up of the routes. Mr Watson said that Lieutenant Albert would do enforcement. He also suggested working with Harvard University to encourage the use of low emission busses. Ms. Headley said that there was lots to the Jitney issue that should happen that is not and that shouldn’t happen that is. She stated that she gives Lt. Alpert a lot of credit. Mr. Watson stated that at the next meeting, maybe sort out restriction in place, the restrictions that are needed, signage and so forth. Deputy City Clerk Lopez noted that the route in all of these cases is spelled out and that the City Council can amend routes. Kathy Podgers commented that curb ramps were designed for people who have mobility issues; they are not for bicyclists. She suggested a handicap stencil, possible a wheelchair instead of a bike. She spoke about handicapped persons being pushed out of the way by persons using carriages. She complained about ramps being too steep because it forces people into the street. She wanted a more relaxed conversation on these issues. Commissioner Watson responded that it has never been reported that motorized wheelchairs cannot use the ramps and that CPD does not have an attitude problem vis a vis PWDs. He cited the safety issue of persons traveling on the street. Sarah Smith spoke about Crystal busses idling for three hours on Blackstone Street. What should she do about this situation? Commissioner Watson informed Ms. Smith to call Emergency Communications and cite the complaint of the idling busses on Blackstone Street. If the busses are not turned off a citation will be issued. Ms. Smith asked if a vehicle contained a refrigeration unit would this violation be covered by the Noise Ordinance? Commissioner Watson informed Ms. Smith to call the police department at 349-3300 and they will respond. Ms. Smith noted that she had been woken up twice during the current week by idling construction equipment. At six o’clock and fifty-five minutes p.m. Councillor Kelley closed public comment. Councillor Kelley stated that statistics would give an idea of what is going on with enforcement. It would be helpful to know what the public expects from police officers.
Commissioner Watson stated again that the police have a multi-faceted job, he doesn’t want to second guess what officers are doing. Officers responding to crime, break-ins, theft and assaults are not doing traffic enforcement. If a citizen wants to find out the duties of a police officer there is a Citizens Police Academy conducted through the Community Relations Division. His responsibility as Police Commissioner is to ensure that city is getting the most out of a police officer on any given day. There are college-educated police officers that make a decision based on the situation. Councillor Kelley informed the committee that he would schedule meetings to discuss jitney licenses and a meeting with the Bike and Pedestrian Committees, Police and Traffic, Parking and Transportation Departments to discuss what can be done better on traffic enforcement. At this time the committee proceeded to discuss anti-idling regulation. Commissioner Watson stated that the License Commission enforces the anti-idling regulation when a taxicab is in violation. The violation is reported to the Police and his department will follow up on the violation. Councillor Kelley questioned reports about bus idling. Superintendent Degou stated that there is a five-minute anti-idling regulation. The police must observe the violation. Then ask the operator to shut the bus off. The officer returns in fifteen minutes and if the violation reoccurs a citation is issued. There is cooperation with the MBTA on idling busses. Councillor Kelley stated that the public should feel comfortable to complain. Commissioner Watson commented that with the first complaint a warning is issued. If another complaint is received a citation is issued. Every complaint received is answered, he said. Councillor Kelley stated that he would like to see how photo enforcement fits in with traffic enforcement. The police never stop looking at photo enforcement stated Commissioner Watson. The issue is how it is treated. In Lawrence it is treated as a traffic violation with the Registry of Motor Vehicles collecting the fines. The city manager has a committee reviewing photo enforcement. Councillor Kelley inquired if there was anyway to develop a different citation system without fines that would gain people attention. Enforcement is an education tool. Commissioner Watson stated that every violation is a surcharge to auto insurance which is a hurdle but there was no professional talk that he knew of about changing the surcharge issue. Cambridge is trying to change behavior. He explained the review process by his department of every violation. Ms. Podgers stated that New Jersey has photo enforcement of illegal use of handicapped parking spaces. Commissioner Watson stated that he would like to do photo enforcement on restricted truck routes and illegal left turns. This would gain compliance and would alleviate police officers that can be used for other duties. Despite its great compliance, safety and convenience record, there is a lot of opposition to photo enforcement. Councillor Kelley thanked those present for their attendance. The meeting adjourned at seven o’clock and twenty-two minutes p.m. For the Committee, Councillor Craig Kelley, Chair |