4-6-23 Agenda with BackupTRANSPORTATION SAFETY ADVISORY COMMISSION
HAL BALDWIN MUNICIPAL COMPLEX COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1400 SCHERTZ PARKWAY, BUILDING #4
SCHERTZ, TEXAS 78154
MEETING AGENDA
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2023 AT 5:30 PM
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL -- TRAFFIC SAFETY ADVISORY COMMISSION
HEARING OF RESIDENTS
This time is set-aside for any person who wishes to address the Commission. Presentations
should be limited to no more than 5 minutes. Each person should fill out the Speaker’s
register prior to the meeting and give it to the Chair. The Commission can only discuss items
that are on the agenda. Discussion by the Commission of any item not on the agenda shall be
limited to statements of specific information given in response to any inquiry, a recitation of
existing policy in response to an inquiry, and/or a proposal to place the item on a future
agenda. The presiding officer, during the Hearing of Residents portion of the agenda, will call
on those persons who have signed up to speak in the order they have registered.
1.Minutes: Consideration/action for approval of February 3, 2023, TSAC Meeting
Minutes.
2.New Commission Appointments
3.Updates on Various Requests and Studies
Speed Concerns
Data Collected: Misty Woods, Dimrock, Woodland Oaks, Cliffside Drive,
Bench Trail
Data Collection Pending: Rhine Valley, Westchester, Columbia, Wild
Cherry, Frank Baum, Oak and Marilyn, Crest Oak
1.
Request for four-way stop, data collection pending - Aero Drive and Oak Street2.
Request for evaluation of four-way stop, data collection pending - Woodland
Oaks and Kline Circle
3.
4.Discussion and/or Action Regarding the Process for Approving Islands in
Roadways
5.Staff Comments and/or New Requests
6.Future Agenda Items Requests from Commissioners
7.Adjournment
I, Cyndi Simmons, Administrative Assistant - City Management Office of the City of Schertz,
Texas, do hereby certify that the above agenda will be posted on the official bulletin boards on
this 3rd day of April, 2023, at 2:30 PM, which is a place readily accessible to the public at all
times and that said notice will be posted in accordance with Chapter 551, Texas Government
Code.
Cyndi Simmons
Cyndi Simmons, Administrative Assistant - City Management
I certify that the attached notice and agenda of items to be considered by the TSAC
(Transportation Safety Advisory Commission) was removed by me from the official bulletin board
on _____day of _______________, 2023.
____________________________Title:__________________________
This facility is accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Handicapped
parking spaces are available. If you require special assistance or have a request for sign
interpretative services or other services please call 619-1800 at least 24 hours in advance of
meeting.
Transportation Safety Advisory Commission
Minutes
Thursday, February 2, 2023
5:30 PM
02-02-2023 Minutes Transportation Safety Advisory Commission
The Transportation Safety Advisory Commission (TSAC) convened for a meeting on
Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 5:30 PM in the Bob Andrews Conference Room, Building #2
1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154
TSAC Commissioners Present:
Dziewit, Richard, Chairman
Cornelisse, Chuck
Heyward, Ferrando
Stevens, Ronald
Wiley, Paul
TSAC Commissioners Absent:
Dominguez, Andrews
Freeman, Allison
Hormel, Christopher
Icke, Steven
Ragsdale, Roy
Winter, Michael
Staff Present:
Brian James, Assistant City Manager
Kathy Woodlee, City Engineer
Mark Davis, City Council Liaison
Doug Letbetter, Streets and Drainage Manager
Cyndi Simmons, Administrative Assistant
NOTE: At the 5:30 PM hour, there was not a quorum present to begin the meeting. There were two
residents present and they stated their concerns to be placed on a future agenda.
• Billy Cameron, 380 Frank Baum Drive, Schertz TX 78154: Request speed bumps on Frank
Baum Drive in Jonas Woods.
• Christopher Duffett, 3400 Woodlawn Farms, Schertz TX 78154: Request for discussion on
Savannah Crosswalk project.
CALL TO ORDER at 5:59 PM by Chairman Richard Dziewit.
ROLL CALL
1. Minutes: Consideration and/or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the November 3,
2022 meeting. Motion was made by Commissioner Chuck Cornelisse to approve the minutes of
the November 3, 2022 meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Ferrando Heyward. Motion
passed. Vote was unanimous.
2. Staff Updates on Various Requests and Studies:
a. Issues Referred to Consultant
02-03-2022 TSAC Minutes 2
• Pedestrian crossings:
a. Savannah Drive near Dietz Creek – Kathy Woodlee reported on the Kimley Horn
study to provide better access to Paschal Elementary School and support access to
pocket park and shared use path for Willows Ridge/Sunset Ridge. Traffic data
collected indicates that the 85th percentile speed is approximately 36-38 mph so it’s
not excessive, but not crawling either, and approximately 2,700 vehicles per day
volume. Recommended treatment: Install a raised median so there’s an area of
refuge and also to narrow down the lanes of traffic around the crosswalk to help folks
slow their speed at a cost of approximately $35,000. Will provide traffic calming, a
two-stage crossing, and positioned to maximize sight distance.
b. Homestead Parkway – Kathy Woodlee reported on the Kimley Horn study to provide
access to the Community Center and trail. Traffic data collected indicates that the
85th percentile is approximately 36-38 mph and approximately 1,200 vehicles per day
volume. The neighborhood is still building and a little more than half complete in
Schertz; however, there will be additional building within the Cibolo boundary.
Recommended treatment: Have two crossings installed; one aligned with trail and
one aligned with community center entrance with ADA ramps and detectable
warnings at a cost of approximately $29,000. Potential Enhancement: Construct
median refuge at northern crossing for added traffic calming benefit, and 85th
percentile speed indicates consideration for active/enhanced crossing. The developer
had come to us previously and asked if we could put in a crossing and at that time we
indicated that we would do the study to determine the appropriate location and
treatment. There is still an opportunity for the developer to participate in installing
the crosswalks.
The next steps for these two are budget considerations and discussion with the
developer.
Commissioner Heyward asked about the height of the island. Kathy Woodlee
responded that it would be an approximate 7 inch curb. The refuge is flush with the
road, but the island is built up around it so that it is protecting the pedestrian. Brian
James remarked that the feedback we are looking from TSAC is that we understand
the issues and the challenges and the safety concerns and how we’ve looked at the
solution so is this something TSAC thinks we need to move forward including how to
fund the solution. He anticipates this would become a program in the budget for next
year to do these two things. It helps us to hear from TSAC to say that this solution
makes sense or we aren’t quite there yet. Commissioner Cornelisse asked about the
width of the pavement. Kathy Woodlee responded that it is currently one lane of
travel in each direction with bicycle lanes striped on both sides. It is roughly 36 feet
across with a typical lane is 12 feet, the bike lanes are approximately 7 feet each, so it
feels very wide. The width of the refuge is approximately 6-8 feet. The island will
force vehicles to slow down and pay attention going through the area. Signs will be
posted that will alert drivers.
Commissioner Heyward remarked that if we know there is a problem and we do
nothing about it, then a hospitalized child becomes the city’s problem because the city
was aware of it and did nothing. Brian James responded that staff is comfortable with
TSAC proposing that we fund these projects, otherwise nothing will change on the
Savannah issue.
02-03-2022 TSAC Minutes 3
Commissioner Heyward motioned that we recommend to staff to take to City Council
to add the Savannah project to next year’s budget. Commissioner Stevens seconded
the motion. Motion passed. Vote was unanimous.
Commissioner Stevens motioned that we support the Homestead project but that we
recommend the staff to go to the developer for full or partial funding. Commissioner
Cornelisse seconded the motion. Motion passed. Vote was unanimous.
• Schertz Parkway/Curtiss Avenue stop sign warrant study:
a. This intersection is currently a multi-way stop. There is a traffic light at Schertz
Parkway and Hwy 78 and a traffic light at Schertz Parkway and Elbel Road. Schertz
Parkway is an arterial roadway, Curtiss Avenue is a local roadway not on the
thoroughfare plan. A citizen expressed concern that the stop signs on Schertz
Parkway are not visible enough and we needed to take a look at the safety of the
situation.
In order to perform this evaluation, the consultant looked at traffic signal warrants;
not to see if a traffic signal is warranted at this location, but because that’s the
terminology for the particular counts and criteria they look at with respect to a multi-
way stop also. The results are mostly volume related and none of the thresholds were
met and the significance is that the volume on Schertz Parkway is so much higher
with respect to the comparison with Curtiss Avenue.
The last warrant that is taken into consideration is crash information and the warrant
is considered met if there are five crashes within a 12 month period that could
potentially be corrected by installation of a traffic signal. There were four crashes,
but every one of them was attributable to driver inattention, so that threshold was not
met either.
Then taking all of that information, they look at the multi-way stop criteria analysis
and there are four conditions here (A, B, C, and D as presented on page 18 of the
PowerPoint presentation and none of the four criteria were met. So, this is not here as
an interim measure where a signal has been warranted and installation is pending.
The minimum volume criteria was not met and for items C and D, all the
subcategories have to be met in order for them to consider that those criteria were
met.
In consideration of all criteria, it is not warranted as a multi-way stop. If there was
not a stop sign already present, we would not recommend placing one there. But
since it is already there, we have to factor that into the situation. Also to note – and
probably the most significant thing to note – was that this really comes down to a
compliance issue. When the stop is not warranted, generally you’ll have situations
where folks don’t stop because there’s no feeling there’s a reason to stop.
Other considerations that were checked were adequate sight distance that does exist
for all lengths of the intersection, intersection visibility, slight impairment by a light
pole, fence corner, and some vegetation with respect to being able to see the stop
signs and to see your sight distance. It’s there, but you have to negotiate your view
somewhat.
The options are:
02-03-2022 TSAC Minutes 4
i. Remove the all-way stop.
ii. Rework the crosswalks instead of having four crosswalks on each side of each
street.
iii. Maintain the all-way stop and improve the visibility of the stop signs and put
in a larger stop sign. The larger stop signs are generally used on higher speed
roads and what’s there now meets the normal specification for this speed on
the road, but because we’re trying to enhance the visibility, putting in
oversized signs for this road would be recommended.
iv. If we can make it work, another option would be to add additional stop signs
in the median of the road so there are stop signs on both lanes of travel to
enhance the visibility.
v. In any case, monitor the vegetation that may be in the way of seeing clearly.
Commissioner Dziewit remarked that he likes the idea of a center stop sign because it
gives visibility to the right, but also to the driver’s side in the front. That is also a
school crossing and during that time period people watch more closely, but at all
other times the extra stop sign might be of benefit.
Commissioner Heyward asked the height of the stop signs and who maintains the
foliage (property owner or city). Brian James responded that the property owner can
be made to do it if they violate the ordinance, but the city has the authority in the
right-of-way to cut it back. We would likely reach out the homeowner and would
coordinate with them. Possibly have the city do it the first time and then the
homeowner maintain.
Councilman Davis asked about flashing LED stop signs. Brian James responded that
the drawback with the flashing LED stop signs is that if we open that up, are we okay
with opening it up to the possibility of multiple requests. Kathy Woodlee agreed that
the possibility of multiple requests is one drawback, another drawback is that the
residents may not want the blinking lights in front of their house and yet another
drawback is that they have limited daytime benefits.
Another option is installing a very narrow curb/island with a stop sign between the
regular lanes of travel and the turn lane. Another suggestion is that there’s an existing
grass median island after the turn-in to Arlan’s and to install a “stop ahead” sign.
Doug Letbetter commented that once a month the crew does a check on the
streetlights as well as the reflective properties of the stop signs. Brian James
commented that the drawback to taking away the four-way stop is that there is a
crossing guard during the day and becomes a safety issue. Kathy Woodlee
commented that there may be political implications of removing something that’s
been there for quite some time. Brian James also recalled the bigger issue with
removing the four-way stop was that it was the crossing guard not being protected by
a stop on Schertz Parkway.
Councilman Davis asked about suspended or light poles that flash red in each
direction. Brian James commented that if it’s something we wish to explore that we
should go back to Kimley Horn and get their feedback.
Commissioner Heyward asked if, in the interim, can we pursue installation of larger
stop signs on Schertz Parkway and manage the foliage. Brian James responded that if
that is what we want to do, we can certainly do that. Doug Letbetter advised that the
current size is 30 x 30 and we can go 36 x 36 or 48 x 48.
02-03-2022 TSAC Minutes 5
Commissioner Cornelisse motioned that we recommend to staff to increase the size of
the two stop signs on Schertz Parkway (size according to advice from Kimley Horn)
and monitoring the vegetation. Commissioner Wiley seconded the motion. Motion
passed. Vote was unanimous.
b. Traffic Studies Pending
• Speed concerns – Misty Woods, Dimrock, Woodland Oaks, Bench Trail, Cliffside Drive,
Rhine Valley, Westchester, Columbia, Wild Cherry. Data collection is underway. Will
likely add Frank Baum to this list.
• Request for 4-way stop sign – Aero Drive and Oak Street
• Request for evaluation of 4-way stop – Woodland Oaks and Kline Circle
c. Lighting concerns on Bench Trail – A resident came to the last meeting and expressed his
concern for safety due to low level of street lighting. Staff investigated and confirmed that
there are dark areas partly due to vegetation and partly due to geometry. Staff is working
with GVEC to address problem spots in service area on a holistic basis. Staff working on
proposed UDC update on street light placement frequency including requirements of lighting
study.
3. Chapter 86 Proposed Amendments: Update on Preparation to Present to City Council – Text
and formatting of ordinance and appendices being finalized. Tentatively scheduled for City
Council on February 28, 2023.
4. Staff Updates: None
5. Future Agenda Items Requests from Commissioners (Next meeting scheduled for
Thursday, March 2, 2023):
Commissioner Stevens commented that the two driveways by Arlan’s off Schertz Parkway is
confusing and he was almost hit. Would like to explore the option that the driveways become
one-way? There are stop signs on both sides, but people turn in on the left side and that’s where
he was almost hit. Brian James commented that there are two possibilities – one that it is private
property and two that it may have to do with the lotting pattern. We will add to next month’s
agenda.
6. Adjournment: Motion was made by Commissioner Chuck Cornelisse to adjourn the meeting.
Seconded by Commissioner Ferrando Heyward. Motion passed. Vote was unanimous. Meeting
adjourned at 6:50 PM by Chair Richard Dziewit.
Attest:
________________________________ ________________________________
Richard Dziewit, Chairperson Cyndi Simmons, Recording Secretary