4-6-23 TSAC MinutesTransportation Safety Advisory Commission
Minutes
Thursday, April 6, 2023
5:30 PM
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
Hormel, Chris
Icke, Steven
Martinez, Will
Stevens, Ronald
TSAC Commissioners Absent:
Dominguez, Andres
Wiley, Paul
Winter, Michael
Staff Present:
Brian James, Deputy City Manager
Kathy Woodlee, City Engineer
Doug Letbetter, Streets and Drainage Manager
Larry Busch, Interim Director, Public Works
Cyndi Simmons, Administrative Assistant
Sergeant A.J. Arriaga, Police Department
Steve Williams, City Manager (portion of meeting)
CALL TO ORDER at 5:30 PM by Chairman Richard Dziewit.
ROLL C',AT.T.
HEARING OF RESIDENTS
Billy Cameron, 380 Frank Baum Drive, Schertz — This is his second time addressing the
Commission to voice concerns about trying to get a speed bump installed in Jonas Woods on Frank
Baum Drive. Kathy Woodlee did not have his email address and will be happy to send the
information on the requirements. She informed him that Frank Baum is on the list of location for
traffic studies. We will do a traffic study in that area over the course of a week and that is how we
start the evaluation to determine if it meets the criteria for a speed hump before going through the
motions of getting signatures on a petition. It's not uncommon to have issues with our counters, so
sometimes we have to repeat the study. PD usually spends some time in the area as well. Mr.
Cameron asked if it doesn't qualify for a speed bump, is there a possibility for installing an
electronic "this is your speed" sign. There have been two serious accidents in that area.
1. Minutes: Consideration and /or action regarding the approval of the minutes of the February 3,
2023 meeting. Motion was made by Commissioner Ferrando Heyward to approve the minutes of
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the February 3, 2023 meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Ronald Stevens. Motion passed.
Vote was unanimous.
2. New Commission Appointments
Will Martinez has been appointed as a new member, Ferrando Heyward was reappointed, and
Chuck Cornelisse was appointed as an alternate.
3. Staff Updates on Various Requests and Studies:
a. Studies regarding requests for traffic control devices presented by Doug Letbetter:
• Woodland Oaks (east of FM 3009) — Three locations for counts. Result: Woodland Oaks
will not quality due to the 30 MPH speed as said in the speed hump application. Possible
Solutions: Make sure there are sufficient speed limit signs with orange flags, rumble
strips, police presence, radar speed signs. Sergeant Arriaga reports that there are no
accidents to report in this area.
• Oak Trail Estates (Bench Trail) — Three locations for counts. Result: Oak Trail Estates
does meet the 85% at 1520 and 1620 Bench Trail with the highest speed of 25.7 MPH. It
falls below the average 500 cars per day in all three locations. Possible Solutions: Make
sure there are sufficient speed limit signs with orange flags, rumble strips, police
presence, do not recommend a speed hump. Commissioner Chuck Cornelisse would like
a copy of this particular study to present to the HOA. Commissioner Ferrando Heyward
asked the cost of rumble strips and if they affect bicyclists. Doug Letbetter reports that
rumble strips cost approximately $1,000 to install and they should not have an effect on a
bicyclist traveling over them. Kathy Woodlee also advised that we will pull accident data
for all locations in the future. Kathy Woodlee also advised that we will investigate the
use of rumble strips or grooves in the road as far as maintenance ramifications.
• Dimrock — Three locations for counts. Result: 1132 Dimrock exceeds the 85% at 29.6
MPH and barely exceeds the 500 cars needed at 556 average cars per day. This is due to
the straight, long roadway that comes off of FM 3009 and leads to FM 3009 with no stop
signs until you get to Kline Circle, which is approximately 1660' from FM 3009. The
other two locations at 824 and 932 have stop signs every few blocks that slows them
down; therefore, Dimrock does not meet the speed hump qualifications. Possible
Solutions: Make sure there are sufficient speed limit signs with orange flags, rumble
strips, police presence, radar speed signs, do not recommend a speed hump at this time,
further study recommended for the 1132 Dimrock location. Kathy Woodlee also
commented that they are somewhat curious as to why there is more traffic a block away
and the significantly higher speed, while the other two were less. They want to make
sure they're not seeing an anomaly from the counters. Commissioner Dziewit asked if
there is a particular time of day where there are higher speeds. Brian James recalled that
it was fairly random. Things they look for are higher speeds in the morning during rush
hour or in the evening coming home or later at night. As he recalls, it was fairly random,
wasn't one where there was a specific pattern. That is why they want to further study this
location. The drawback to the speed humps is that yes, they will slow you down, but a
lot of people don't like them, the noise, etc.
• Misty Woods Subdivision — Three locations for counts. Result: 720 and 756 Misty Cove
exceeds the 85% at 26.7 and 28.3 MPH, but does not exceed the 500 cars needed for the
speed hump requirement. This street is a cut - through to Schertz Parkway out of Mesa
Oaks. Possible Solutions: Make sure there are sufficient speed limit signs with orange
flags, rumble strips, police presence, do not recommend a speed hump. Commissioner
Heyward asked if the rumble strips affect the fire trucks or if the road is grooved or will it
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decrease the road lifespan. Commissioner Hormel commented that what is concerning to
him is that the speeds are higher than the others, and they're having to get to those higher
speeds in a very short distance with roadways that are shorter and have more curves.
This one seems more unique compared to the other two just for those circumstances.
Brian James commented that may be indicative of what the problem is; people cutting
through that aren't residents of the neighborhood whereby you see that behavior. There
are not a lot of cars parked on the road compared to some of the other neighborhoods so
it's more open, feels more open, and you can pick up speed and not just going to get to
your house and the drivers may not care. The challenge is that it doesn't have the volume
to necessitate the speed humps, but more than all the others we agree there is a problem
because there are enough people going fast enough that it is a concern. Commissioner
Heyward asked if we think the curves are giving a NASCAR feel as they are driving
through to their next destination? Steve Williams, City Manager, commented that he
drives Dimrock twice per day and he advised he doesn't see that many cars going through
there, but even on Dimrock he doesn't see a lot of people speeding. 20 MPH for that
long stretch on Dimrock is hard to maintain. Commissioner Stevens asked if there was a
4 -way stop at Oak Valley. Kathy Woodlee checked and it is a 2 -way stop. There is also
a down slope in one location where there is a noticeable change in topography.
Northcliffe ( Cliffside Drive) — One location for counts. Result: 3438 Cliffside does not
exceed 500 cars a day and does not meet 5 MPH above the speed limit needed (85 %) for
the speed hump requirement. Possible Solutions: Make sure there are sufficient speed
limit signs with orange flags, rumble strips, police presence, do not recommend a speed
hump.
b. Pending Studies regarding requests for traffic control devices:
• Rhine Valley subdivision
• Westchester
• Columbia
• Wild Cherry
• Frank Baum
• Crest Oak — Commissioner Cornelisse has had residents ask if the speed limit could be
increased to 25 or 30 MPH.
• Oak at Marilyn
c. Other Studies:
Four -way stop — Aero Drive and Oak Street
Four -way stop — Woodland Oaks and Kline Circle
4. Discussion and/or Action Regarding the Process for Approving Islands in Roadways
Kathy Woodlee reports that per UDC Paragraph 21.14.1.P.2: Islands in Roadways. Islands
in road rights -of -way will be considered on a case -by -case basis. The street right -of -way will
be engineered to accommodate all emergency and utility vehicles, after coordination by City
Staff, to include a review and recommendation from the City of Schertz Transportation
Safety Advisory Commission. At a minimum, all islands shall provide at least twenty -four
feet (24') of pavement on each side of the island. All islands provided within the street ROW
shall be designated on the plat and shall be dedicated by the developer or its successors
and /or assigns. A plat note shall be provided which identifies maintenance of islands as the
responsibility of the developer or its successors and /or assigns. Any islands that are not
maintained in accordance with this section may be removed by the City and shall be removed
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at the expense of the developer or its successors and /or assigns, after due notice and written
recommendation by the City Engineer and Fire Department.
Kathy Woodlee advises that this has been in the code since before she's been with the City
and probably since before Brian James has been here. We're not really sure where it came
from initially. It is an additional step and cumbersome process for developers to go through
when it is really a technical issue — if it designed and safe enough (they have 24 feet of
pavement on each side) with the reason that if there is an accident that ends of closing the
area, there are still two -way space on the other side of the island. The location and layout of
the islands is processed through the Engineering and Public Works Departments for the
construction plans. It goes through the platting procedure which goes through the Planning
& Zoning Commission and anything that's appealed goes to City Council. So, we're
working on this and a number of other issues to try to streamline and reduce some of the
burden on the developers to get through the process and get their projects approved. Brian
James explained further that we want to remove the requirement for TSAC to approve so that
essentially when a developer comes in with a new subdivision and we're reviewing the civil
drawings with the plat and it shows an island, that our Engineering Department either
approves that or denies that and it doesn't come through TSAC. Because it's really a
technical review by the Engineers and for those who have been around awhile, the issue we
had on some of these older ones is they didn't have 24 feet either side and there was the
concern that with a car parked you couldn't get emergency vehicles through. Now that
we've said you need 24 feet of pavement on each side, that problem goes away. Therefore,
having to come through TSAC is a delay for the developer.
Staff recommends removing requirement of review and recommendation from TSAC for the
approval of islands in roadways.
Commissioner Heyward motioned and Commissioner Icke seconded to remove the
requirement of review and recommendation from the City of Schertz Transportation Safety
Advisory Commission in UDC Paragraph 21.14.1.P.2. Motion passed. Vote was unanimous.
5. Staff comments and/or New Requests:
Brian James reported on the driveways by Arlan's off Schertz Parkway. Is it one -way traffic
on either side, is it two -way traffic on either side. We went back and looked as best we could
through our old records on the platting and through the old aerial photos on Google Earth and
based on all of these things, what we think happened is it was not a coordinated development
with an island in the middle intending to be traffic going one way on one side and the other
way on the side. We think that two different developers, each of them saying they needed
their own curb cut and they were built at different times (we can't verify that). However, it
doesn't function that way now. The challenge on this one is that it's not a city street. The
recommendation is to coordinate with the property owners and say we've had this issue come
up, it seems to be confusing, have you had your customers bring this up and see if they would
be willing to sign it. The problem with this one is that they are too wide and it's confusing.
If you don't know and we see people still getting confused. Ideally, they could modify the
island to make it wider and it becomes clearer. He doesn't think they'll spend the money on
it. What we can do is go talk to the property owners and see what they want to do. It
becomes one of those where it's on private property and we defer to them; however, we will
advise that it seems to us this that this would better function if they are one -way in on the
right side and one -way out on the left side and through striping and signage, you can do that.
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Commissioner Hormel asked if they agree to that, can the city put up the signs showing the
middle divider. Brian James that the challenge would be that it is public funds being used on
private property. Commissioner Hormel advised that he was speaking of putting the divided
sign on Schertz Parkway in the city's easement. Brian James advised that there is some
wiggle room that may allow for that.
• Kathy Woodlee reports that there are two other locations where we've asked the EDC to
reach out to other businesses to work on some things where there are issues caused by private
property.
The first one is on Schertz Parkway near the Primrose School and the Legacy at Forest Ridge
elderly care and some medical offices that have been built. When this was developed, the
turn is right turn out only for folks traveling southbound. If they are traveling northbound,
they may turn into the drive, but when leaving they are required to turn right. There are sight
distance issues. There were some parents from the school that asked if we could do
something because there's not good sight distance for them to turn left and that's why it is
designated as turn right only. We're going to talk to the property owners and find out what
we might get their assistance to help enhance the area to make it clear that it's right turn only.
Commissioner Heyward asked if they do what they are supposed to and turn right only,
where will they be able to turn left. Brian James advised that it is quite a distance to travel to
get to a point where they can turn around to head back towards I35. The light pole in that
area is knocked over quite often.
The second one is at 1103 and 35 where the new Starbucks is being developed. There is a
McDonald's, Walgreens, and self - storage units in that location. The driveway has no stop
signs and the manager from self - storage called and asked for stop signs on the street and
again, because it is private property, there isn't much we can do. We're reaching out through
our Business Engagement Manager to talk to the property owners to see if they can work
something out.
• Another item is that TxDOT is coming to City Council next Tuesday, April 11, 2023 to speak
on the I -35 NEX project.
• Commissioner Heyward would like to review the island on the I -35 access road coming out
of Walmart towards 3009. The pole on the end of the island has been missing for a long time
and at night if you are not aware, you don't see the island. This would be TxDOT's
responsibility, but it will be reported.
• Sergeant Arriaga reports that the speed signs have been placed on Dimrock for the speed
study.
• Larry Busch reports that the timing on the signal at 78 and Schertz Parkway was off and
weren't operating normally for morning traffic. The issue has been fixed and they should be
working properly.
• Kathy Woodlee reports that she received a call from Dale, our contact from TxDOT, because
prior to all the recent railroad crashes, they were already tasked with looking at railroad
crossings and the problem with the high centering that is happening to trucks. They are
looking to make sure that there is proper signage is in place to warn the trucks that this
condition exists and to not turn there if you have a low clearance. They found that they don't
have the proper signage in place on 78 so they will be putting a plan together and installing
the proper signage.
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Programs and this particular project will be added to the Expanded Programs. They will present
those to the management team in June and those will be prioritized and ranked. We go along
until we get the numbers of what we have in property taxes which will determine the tax retreat.
They will follow up with a retreat with Council in early August where, based on tax rate, the cut
line is for Expanded Programs. Public Works or Engineering will put it in their budget as an
Expanded Program and they will note that this is a recommendation supported by TSAC. It will
be a factor that Council is aware of He noted that we have very few residents that show up at
the Public Hearings on the Budget. If we have a half -dozen residents showing up for an issue,
we can likely get something funded.
7. Adjournment: Motion was made by Commissioner Chuck Comelisse to adjourn the meeting.
Seconded by Commissioner Ferrando Heyward. Motion passed. Vote was unanimous. Meeting
adjourned at 6:37 PM by Chair Richard Dziewit.
Attest:
and Dziewit, Chairperson
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ly y v uy" r1immons, Recording Secretary