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Parking Takes Center Stage at Traffic Commission

Meeting
Changes coming near Centennial Greenway Trail
By Kareem Johnson | Email the author | April 14, 2011

1 Comment

In a short meeting Wednesday night, the

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University City Traffic Commission covered a lot
of ground.

After approving minutes from the March 9th

meeting, the first order of business were changes
that will be coming to the Centennial Greenway
Trail, a pedestrian and bicycle walkway that joins
Washington University and Ackert Walkway along
Melville Avenue, between Kingsland and Delmar.

The trail ends at Delmar, in a plaza currently

under construction, which will have traffic signals PHOTOS (7)
at the intersection. The construction required the

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 removal of 37 parking spaces on the west side of
Melville. Washington University has donated land
to the project to allow for the creation of 22
spaces to make up for the loses. Add your photos & videos

William Courtney, owner of Cheese-ology Mac

and Cheese, located at 6602 Delmar, gave the
recommendations of the traffic commission for Share Print
the project his full backing.
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“I'm fully in support of them. I think they are great Email Submit a tip
ideas [the parking and traffic changes], keeping
Melville two-way, [and] allowing traffic flow
through that area.” Tell Your Neighbors About Patch

He did have a concern about the parking verses

Map data © OpenStreetMap c ontributors, CC-BY-SA
no parking areas along Loop South (Avenue A) between Melville and Leland.

Courtney said he was surprised with ordinance 10.44.010, which stated that there is no parking on
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both sides, 90 feet from Melville. He said that aside from 10 feet of yellow curb, there is no indication
of no-parking being allowed on the north side of the street.
Lights to Remain Off at University City
Driving Range
“I would really like to recommend is that you, the commission, would speak to whoever is necessary to
get signage and curb painting put on the north side, because people currently park there,” Courtney Committee Makes Recommendations to
said. He noted that there really isn’t enough space for cars to move in both directions in that location, City Manager Regarding Driving Range
and that he felt it was an emergency hazard as well.
City Council Considers Domestic
Partnerships, Budget Transfers
University City Police Officer Shaun Margul, who represents the department at the Traffic meetings,
addressed Courtney’s concerns, noting that there is a no parking sign immediately east of the City Council Agenda for April 25, 2011
parking lot behind Cheese-ology, where parking tickets are issued as much as the department is able
Traffic Commission Meeting-Canceled
to. To the west of the parking lot, there is no parking permitted.

After Courtney’s testimony, the commission listened to the Public Works Department’s MOST POPULAR ARTICLES
recommendations to amend the municipal code to restrict parking on the west side of Melville
1. City Council Agenda for May 23, 2011
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 between Kingsbury and Delmar and allow perpendicular parking on the south side of Loop South 1. City Council Agenda for May 23, 2011
(Avenue A) between Melville and Leland. 2. University City Police Investigate
Separate Shooting Incidents
The Public Works department’s recommendations were passed by a voice vote.
3. A Walk Down Memory Lane
The second item on the agenda was the Olive Streetscape Project Phase III, which involved a request 4. Memorial Fund Set Up For Family of
to eliminate a pedestrian crossing on Olive Boulevard west of Hanley Road. The pedestrian crossing University City Man Killed In Car
is on the northwest corner. The city is upgrading sidewalks and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accident
access points on Olive. A proposal was given to the city by the Missouri Department of
Transportation (MoDOT) to eliminate the crossing on the west side of Hanley. In the March 9meeting, 5. University City Man Goes From Painter
Lee Cannon, the city’s traffic engineer consultant presented three designs, and noted their to Millionaire
noncompliance with ADA. Option A does not have level landings, which are not ADA compliant.
Option B, MoDOT’s proposal, doesn’t meet ADA guidelines because a level landing cannot be
constructed at the curb because of the existing grade. Option C, is not ADA compliant, but keeps the Follow us:
crossing, and adds ADA compliant components, such as 2 signal pushbuttons, which need to be
coordinated with MoDOT’s

The removal of the crosswalk is not under consideration, and the issue was tabled until the
commission gets additional information from MoDOT.

The final item on the agenda was a request to install a stop sign on Enright Avenue at Westgate.
Officer Margul said that a stop sign was needed at that intersection, a T-type. A temporary stop sign
was added to the intersection after the police department expressed safety concerns. There have
been 10 accidents at that intersection over three years.

Margul noted that a stop can’t be placed there, because not ordinance exists for the stop sign to be
placed. The commission passed a motion to have City Council pass an ordinance to place a stop
sign at Enright and Westgate. The motion was seconded and approved.

Lastly, a comment from resident who recently purchased a home on Crest and frequents the
Schnucks on Olive, and when turning off of Ferguson onto Olive, he is met with a very long light,
which he feels he could make if the sign was changed to yield on green, rather than have to wait on
the light. Members of the commission met his situation with agreement.

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 The signal is operated by the state, and the resident was instructed to give his contact info to the
Public Works department, and the city will look into the situation.

The meeting adjourned at 7pm. The next scheduled meeting of the Traffic Commission is May 11 at
6:30 pm in the EOC Room.

What do you think about the parking situation on Loop South? Do you use the intersection at
Ferguson and Olive? Would a yield on green work well there? Tell us in the comments.

Interested in a follow-up to this article? Enter your email address Keep me posted!

Comments (1)

James Hays Flag as inappropriate

12:19pm on Saturday, April 16, 2011

I use the east-bound left turn from Olive to Ferguson reluctantly. It's absurd to not have a blinking yellow
(yield) light there because one can see at least half a mile down Olive. The same goes for west-bound on
Olive turning left (South) onto Midland. It seems as if there is no concern for drivers and bicyclists who
use these roads daily. I suspect frustrating drivers to the point of committing violations on camera is a
revenue-generating motive on the part of MODOT/U-city. Let's get real and keep the traffic flowing rather
than making us cut through residential back streets to avoid these prolonged no-yield strategies.
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