Good Afternoon.
This is a good letter I support.
I once attended a meeting where business owners wanted more parking in front
of their establishments.
From this meeting all possible parking spots in the downtown area were
identified.
All the spaces took advantage of all the area in a sardine can sort of way.
I just wanted you to be forewarned that this parking plan may be a clash
point.
From: wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wsmac-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf ;
Of John Brooking
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2019 1:16 PM
To: wsmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [wsmac] Letter of Support for Crosswalk Parking Setbacks
WSMAC,
Discover Downtown Westbrook's Design Committee is requesting that the City
of Westbrook modify its ordinance and design practice to prohibit onstreet
parking within 20 feet of any crosswalk. They have asked our committee to
provide a letter of support that they can include in their request. Below is a
proposed draft that I have written for this purpose. Please respond with any
questions, comments, or suggestions you may have. The request needs to be
submitted by Friday. (Note that "whether" is unfortunately misspelled in the
FHWA source document I found, so for accuracy I kept the mispelling but notated
it with the standard "[sic]" notation, meaning the error is in the source
document <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic> .)
-----------
To Whom It May Concern,
This letter from the Westbrook Safe Mobility and Access Committee (WSMAC) is
written in support of an initiative by the Design team of Discover Downtown
Westbrook to improve pedestrian safety in Westbrook by 1) changing the
Westbrook Code of Ordinance so that no parking is allowed within 20 feet of a
crosswalk and 2) implementing that change in the downtown area. These
improvements are consistent with the MaineDOT Guidelines on Crosswalks
<https://www.maine.gov/mdot/civilrights/docs/ada/crosswalkpolicy%20EI_C6%20revised101316.pdf>
, which also "highly recommends" that municipalities create an ordinance
consistent with this policy. That is exactly what this initiative seeks to do.
In additional, crosswalk setbacks have long been recommended by national
guidance organizations such as the Federal Highway Administration and the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
The FWHA includes the 20 foot crosswalk setback requirement in this document
<https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferjourney1/library/countermeasures/56.htm> :
The primary documents for determining curb parking restrictions are the Uniform
Vehicle Code (UVC) and Model Traffic Ordinance. The standard for most local
jurisdictions state the "No person shall:
* Stop, stand or park a vehicle:
* on a sidewalk;
* within an intersection:
* on a crosswalk
* Stand or park a vehicle, weather[sic]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic> occupied or not, except momentarily to
pick up or discharge a passenger or passenger:
* within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection;
* within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing signal, Stop sign,
Yield sign or traffic-control signal located at the side of a roadway."
Many of us on this committee have experienced numerous close calls while using
crosswalks in Westbrook. Some of us have been hit in a crosswalk, or know
someone else who has. While of course actual crash causes can vary, we
understand the general importance of good sightlines as an important
prerequisite for safety in any street situation. Therefore we believe that the
proposed changes to ensure the consistent creation of good sightlines will help
to increase pedestrian safety in Westbrook.
In summary, WSMAC supports this proposal of the DDW Design Committee and looks
forward to seeing it implemented in a timely manner. Thank you for your
attention to this matter.
Westbrook Safe Mobility and Access Committee
John Brooking, LeeLee Prince, co-chairs
