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Home My WebLink About1997-12-16 CorrespondenceDate: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 16:28:38 -0600 (CST) From: "H. Hart" <hhart@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu> To: council@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu Subject: A Note of Thanks I've been meaning to extend my thanks to all who had a part in making the downtown shuttle available. It's a wonderful service, and I hope it can be continued! Holly Hart 411 N. Dubuque St 337-7341 City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: December 10, 1997 To: From: City Clerk Doug Ripley, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner~[5~/ Re: Removal of Bus Loading Zone in 100 Block of Clinton St. As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Unless directed otherwise by the City Council, this action will occur on or shortly after December 26, 1997. Action Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(18) of the City Code, signage will be removed designating the bus loading zone on the east side of Clinton Street, north of Washington Street. The commercial loading zone will be returned to this portion of the street. Comment This action is being taken at the request of the Transit Division. The bus loading zone prevented area businesses from receiving deliveries. The Transit shuttle will continue to stop in this area, but will do so in the easternmost travel lane of S. Clinton St. Im\mem\dr12-10,doc December 5, 1997 CITY OF I0 WA CITY TO: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council RE: Civil Service Entrance Examination - PAR~ING ~ORC~T We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Commission of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Parking Enforcement Attendant. Cary Spicher IOWA CITY CIVIL CO~ISSION. ,9 ~~/~ael~nedy, SERVICE Chair ATTEST: Jan Karr, City Clerk 411) kA.S! %'I'.'%.SIIIN(;I'ON S'I'RI'21';T d, l()%%A ('IT','. Melrose Avenue Neighborhood Association 629 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa 52246 (319) 354-4171 December 13, 1997 Iowa City City Council Civic Center Iowa City, IA 52240 re. Melrose Reconstruction Project Dear Council Members: Like the rest of Iowa City, we are pleased that the Melrose Avenue Street Reconstruction Project has been completed. Moreover, we believe the results were worth the construction headaches: the street looks wonderful, and the crosswalk lights, wide shoulders and center turn lane certainly afford greater safety for pedestrians, bikers and motorists. However, now that we have had a chance to live with the new situation for a while, we have become aware of a couple of areas that may not be working as intended: 1. West-bound commuters on Melrose seem to be experiencing delays during peak travel periods. 2. The pedestrian light at Melrose Court across from the University field house appears to be longer than is necessary to cross the street, thereby exacerbating the traffic flow problem. We hope Council will consider directing staff to study these areas in order to find ways to improve current conditions. As part of the process, we urge you to consult with representatives of the University and University Hospitals, for a couple of reasons. First, there is, of course, much traffic turning right at Hawkins Drive to reach the University's many facilities located north of Melrose Avenue. In evaluating the right-turn problem, we suggest that consideration be given to the following: Determining the destination of right-turning traffic into the University. Doing so may point the way for redirecting traffic. For example, vehicles whose destination is the new parking ramp 4 along Melrose Avenue may be able to enter the Hospital complex via the South Grand Avenue surface lot entrance next to the field house, thereby completely avoiding Mel rose. Determining what effect curb cuts such as the one at the Pomeranz Pavilion surface lot onto Hawkins Drive are having on the right-turning traffic at the Melrose intersection. It is, of course, possible that the recently-begun Newton Road relocation will redirect some traffic to that part of the Hospital complex, resulting in an overall reduction of vehicles on Melrose Avenue. In this case, perhaps little would need to be done to the Hawkins Drive intersection. A discussion with representatives at the University and Hospital about this point may clarify the situation. It is curious that the subject of a right-turn lane at the Hawkins Drive intersection did not come up during the many conversations about the street reconstruction project. One would have thought that the consultants, who did analyses of the 5 main intersections in the Melrose Avenue corridor, would have suggested such a feature for the 2- and 3-lane options. Perhaps it was anticipated that the center turn lane, coupled with the new traffic light at the intersection of Melrose and page 2 of 2 Melrose Reconstruction Project Koser, would obviate the need for a dedicated right tum lane at Hawkins. It may be that this issue needs to be revisited. A second problem complicates the issue. It appears that at least part of the problem at Hawkins Drive is caused by a back-up of traffic going north on Hawkins. This is due to the fact that the light at South Drive (opposite the stadium) is triggered by cars leaving parking ramps no. 2 and no. 4. The frequent changing of this signal hampers the movement of north-bound traffic on Hawkins, and this in turn blocks right-turning cars at the intersection. In light of the significant gains realized by the street reconstruction, we are not discouraged by what we have observed regarding peak-period traffic flow. We do, however, believe that additional improvements are still possible, and we are willing to be involved in discussion about ways of improving the current situation. Truly yours, Steering Committee Melrose Avenue Neighborhood Association cc: Jeff Davidson, Assistant Director, City & Transportation Planning, Marcia Klingaman, Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ann Rhodes, V.P. University Relations