Rockford Sun

City of Rockford Traffic Commission met July 12.

Here are the minutes provided by the commission:

I. CALL TO ORDER

Attendee Name	Organization	Title	Status	Arrived
Gabrielle Torina	City of Rockford	Alderman	Absent
Scott Capovilla	City of Rockford		Present
Kerry Lin	City of Rockford		Present
Dock Ward	City of Rockford		Present
Don Bissell	City of Rockford		Present
Dorien Peterson	City of Rockford		Present
Patrick Yarbrough	City of Rockford		Absent
Michael Slife	City of Rockford		Present
Tom Okite	City of Rockford		Present
Brian Strawser	City of Rockford		Present
Christopher Tumeo	City of Rockford		Present
Cedrick Ketton	City of Rockford		Present

Other Attendees:

Ms. Sharon Dodge, 606 13th Street

Mr. Charles & Mrs. Laura Laskonis, 501 Indian Terrace, 61103

II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES

The minutes of the last regular meeting held on June 14th, 2023, were approved as submitted.

III. TRAFFIC REQUESTS

A. New Business

1. Request in the 3rd Ward, by Charles Laskonis, 501 Indian Terrace, to establish “2-Hour Parking” and “Residential Permit Parking” restrictions on the east side of Indian Terrace from Mound Avenue to 45 feet north of Mound Avenue, thus repealing the “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the east side of Indian Terrace from Mound Avenue to 45 feet north of Mound Avenue. (This and the following item were laid over from the June meeting. K. Lin explained that these requests were revised following the meeting with the Rockford Fire Department and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Laskonis. Commission recommended taking “No Action”. Motion by K. Lin, seconded by C. Tumeo, Voted 9-0).

2. Request in the 3rd Ward, by City Staff, to establish “2-Hour Parking” and “Residential Permit Parking” restrictions on the south side of Mound Avenue from Indian Terrace to 45 feet west of Indian Terrace. (See above. Commission recommended taking “No Action”. Motion by K. Lin, seconded by C. Tumeo, Voted 9-0).

3. Request in the 3rd Ward, by the Rockford Fire Department, 501 Indian Terrace, to establish “Residential Permit Parking” restriction on the east side of Indian Terrace from the end of Indian Terrace to 25 feet north of the end of Indian Terrace, thus repealing the “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the east side of Indian Terrace from the end of Indian Terrace to 25 feet north of the end of Indian Terrace. (K. Lin modified the request to include the “2-Hour Parking” restriction on the east side of Indian Terrace from the end of Indian Terrace to 25 feet north of the end of Indian Terrace. Mr. Charles Laskonis and C. Tumeo discussed the meeting that was held and how they came to the agreement regarding this and the following request. C. Tumeo also requested that parking stall striping be provided along Mound Avenue as he has witnessed vehicles parking 3’ from the curb which impacts the street which is already narrow. K. Lin replied that this will be discussed with staff. Commission recommended establishing “2-Hour Parking” and “Residential Permit Parking” restrictions on the east side of Indian Terrace from the end of Indian Terrace to 25 feet north of the end of Indian Terrace, thus repealing the “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the east side of Indian Terrace from the end of Indian Terrace to 25 feet north of the end of Indian Terrace. Motion by D. Peterson, seconded by D. Bissell, Voted 9-0).

4. Request in the 3rd Ward, by the Rockford Fire Department, to establish “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the south side of Mound Avenue from the end of Mound Avenue to 65 feet west of the end of Mound Avenue. (See above. Commission recommended establishing a “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the south side of Mound Avenue from the end of Mound Avenue to 65 feet west of the end of Mound Avenue. Motion by T. Okite, seconded by B. Strawser, Voted 9-0).

5. Request in the 13th Ward, by Rockford Mass Transit District, to establish RMTD Official Car parking on the west side of Court Street from West State Street to 130 feet north of West State Street, thus repealing the “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the west side of Court Street from West State Street to 130 feet north of West State Street. (This item was laid over from the June meeting. C. Ketton explained that this parking will primarily serve security vehicles and, on rare occasion, serve as a bus bay. C. Tumeo expressed concern about vehicles, especially buses, parking too near the intersection and blocking the visibility. K. Lin commented that “No Parking Here to Corner” signs have recently been installed 30’ back from the intersection. Commission recommended establishing RMTD Official Car parking on the west side of Court Street from West State Street to 130 feet north of West State Street, thus repealing the “No Parking Any Time” restriction on the west side of Court Street from West State Street to 130 feet north of West State Street. Motion by D. Bissell, seconded by C. Ketton, Voted 9-0).

6. Request in the 2nd Ward, by Sharon Dodge, 606 13th Street, to establish an all-way stop at the intersection of 13th Street and 5th Avenue, thus repealing the existing traffic control of 5th Avenue yielding for 13th Street. (Ms. Sharon Dodge spoke on her request and supplied the Commission with several letters from her neighbors. One concern she expressed was the presence of a school bus stop at this intersection. M. Slife stated that RPS Transportation will review this stop. Ms. Dodge pointed out that speeding is a major concern and K. Lin replied that a speed study will be conducted to determine the extent of the speeding problem. She also commented that stop signs are not used as a speed control measure. In addition, she noted that the traffic volumes at the intersection do not warrant a 4-way stop and that unwarranted stop signs can make an intersection more dangerous. Commission recommended taking “No Action”. Motion by D. Peterson, seconded by M. Slife, Voted 9-0).

7. Request in the 13th Ward, by Henry and Annie Lee, 701 Trenton Avenue, to establish traffic control at the intersection of Trenton Avenue and Hudson Street. (K. Lin commented traffic volumes are low due to two legs of the intersection being dead end streets. There were no accidents in the study timeframe. Commission recommended taking “No Action”. Motion by M. Slife, seconded by S. Capovilla, Voted 9-0).

Elections for Chairman and Vice Chairman were held. D. Peterson ran for Chairman and was elected. T. Okite ran for Vice Chairman and was elected.

IV. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was closed at 6:35 PM

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