Hi Abigail,
Thanks for your Response on the Edwards Block.
One more Combination Location:
We had mentioned the Parallel Curb Cut and Parking in front of the Chinese
Villa Restaurant blocking Line of Sight for the Main Street / Mechanic
Street Crosswalk there, towards the Armory Apartments across Main Street.
Now, just in observation, the New Metro Bus Stop and Shelter on Mechanic
Street across from Chinese Villa, would have been , may be much better if a
Curb Cut for the Metro Bus coming out of Mechanic with a Right Turn to Main
Street. As it is now, the Metro Bus blocks the Right Hand Lane on Mechanic
Street which then backs up Traffic on Mechanic Street that want to turn
Right. It also makes The Crosswalk on Mechanic a tricky endeavour for
Pedestrians.
That " T " Intersection of Main and Mechanic Streets can be a real ( insert
profanity ) in the mid to late afternoon weekdays Commute, no matter if
you are a Pedestrian, Motorist, Metro Bus Driver, School Bus Driver, etc.
On Jul 25, 2019 1:11 PM, "Discover Downtown Westbrook" <
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi all, hope you don't mind me jumping in here!
Thanks Carson and Dennis for your notes.
We are working on in-person outreach to the directly affected business,
and have also sent an email to our full list of businesses. For directly
affected businesses, there are only 7 and we already know of one who has
specifically requested no parking in front of his business to the city
prior to this initiative.
Dennis, thank you for noting the Edwards Block issue, as I had not thought
of that. I was looking at parking spots specifically, but of course, that
is not actually a parking spot, but a delivery location. As such, it isn't
in our purview for this 'no parking' effort, but should definitely be
addressed some other way. I will be sure to chat with the committee about
it, and ask the city if there are any written policies in this location.
Best,
Abigail
--
*Abigail Cioffi*
Discover Downtown Westbrook
Executive Director
(207) 619-1732
Visit Our Website <https://www.downtownwestbrook.com> | Donate
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752 Main Street
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Westbrook, ME 04092
On 7/23/2019 1:55 PM, Dennis Marrotte wrote:
John,
This is a revolutionary proposal, that I agree with. But, we may
encounter opposition from some businesses.
One Location with a Pedestrian Activated Crosswalk is on the West bound
side of Main Street, in front of the west end of the Edwards Block, at the
Intersection with Bridge Street. This can be 2 Problems at certain times,
for Pedestrian Safety and for Motorists driving West on Main Street, when a
Tractor Trailer making deliveries to Portland Pie, parks along the Curb on
Main Street, in front of Portland Pie, with a Ramp installed at the opened
rear doors of the Trailer.
This blocks the West bound Right Turn for Main to Bridge Street as well as
Blocking the Visual Line of Sight for Pedestrians wanting to cross Main
Street towards the CVS side. Along with backing up Westbound Traffic. I
do not know if The Discover Downtown Committee and / or the City with
Portland Pie, have a written agreement Policy on WHEN they can have a
Tractor Trailer make a Delivery on certain Days and Times of the Week.
That is One Crosswalk Location I have witnessed umpteen problems with ,
and the Tractor Trailer parallel parking in a travel and Right Turn Lane
exacerbates the Safety Margin and Visual Line of Sight for Pedestrians.
Thank You John,
Dennis Marrotte
On Jul 23, 2019 1:15 PM, "John Brooking" <johnbrooking4@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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
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