[0:02] Okay. Uh welcome everybody. This is
uh
[0:06] the City of Vineland Chestnut Avenue
Safety Improvements and Rehabilitation
[0:11] Project in the City of Vineland,
Cumberland County, New Jersey.
[0:15] Repre- Representatives include Brian
Headley, the city engineer, Stephanie
[0:19] Weakley, the assistant engineer.
Um
[0:23] Beth Grasso, that's myself from Pennoni,
we're the we're the designer lead.
[0:28] Charles Comer
Ca- Calimer?
[0:32] Sorry. Uh he's from GPI. Uh we
he is also one of the designers uh on
[0:38] the project and we have put this project
together but as a shared project between
[0:43] Pennoni and GPI.
And uh we have I'm not sure if Carol's
[0:48] there, but um from Envisions
um she has uh been leading the public
[0:54] involvement portion of the project.
So,
[0:58] um
[1:01] I'd like to introduce our Spanish
interpreter.
[1:33] Are we good?
>> Yeah.
[1:34] » Good.
Okay. So,
[1:37] the project is funded with a 20% city
match to uh through the following
[1:42] sources.
Uh the city received a $20 million grant
[1:45] through the Safe Streets for All the
SS4A program
[1:49] uh from the Federal Highway
Administration and $2 million in federal
[1:54] community project funding.
This is the second PIC meeting, public
[1:59] information center meeting.
Since the first meeting
[2:03] back in September, it was September 11th
of 2025, the scope of the project was
[2:09] changed based on Federal Highway
guidance.
[2:14] So, we're going to talk about some of
those changes.
[2:19] Uh Pennoni Associates is a primary
engineering consultant and partnering
[2:22] with with Green and Peterson
Peterson uh GPI.
[2:27] The following process is typically
applied for our transportation
[2:30] improvement projects.
First, we evaluate the corridor. We come
[2:35] up with a plan.
We create the design, and then the
[2:38] project goes to construction. Right now,
we're in the design phase.
[2:45] Okay.
So, some of the things we'll discuss is
[2:49] the project location, the existing
conditions, the purpose and need for the
[2:53] project, the proposed improvements, the
project benefits, the next steps, and we
[2:59] will have a Q&A session at the end.
Please hold your questions to the very
[3:03] end. We will answer everybody's
question,
[3:06] uh but it's just uh more organized if we
answer the questions at the end and just
[3:11] continue going through the slideshow.
So, the project location is Chestnut
[3:17] Avenue between Delsea Drive Route 47 and
Main Road, that's CR 555.
[3:22] It's about 2 and 1/4 mi in length.
[3:27] The existing roadway is a four-lane
multi-lane highway with two lanes in
[3:31] each direction. Traffic signals are
outdated with obsolete timings and
[3:35] non-functional or limited vehicle
detection.
[3:39] There's uh damage to sidewalk and ADA
facilities,
[3:43] uh limited roadway and pedestrian
lighting, and stormwater infrastructure
[3:48] needs replacements or and or upgrades.
[3:54] Besides the condition of the pavement.
Um the asphalt pavement and striping is
[4:00] in overall poor condition.
The traffic signal equipment is outdated
[4:05] and timings are obsolete for current
traffic volumes.
[4:08] Uh missing and damaged sidewalk limit
limits ADA uh roadway users.
[4:14] Uh safety concerns are paramount with
the crash history showing significant
[4:18] numbers of crashes, crashes with
injuries and fatalities.
[4:22] The uh
proposed stormwater improvements will
[4:25] help mitigate flooding around along
Chestnut Avenue.
[4:31] So, the proposed improvement, we're
going to uh this is uh different than uh
[4:37] what we had presented back in um
September, which was at that time a road
[4:42] diet, which was going to be one lane
each direction with a center lane to
[4:46] make turns.
That has since been changed to convert
[4:50] the four-lane multi-lane highway into a
four-lane thoroughfare
[4:54] with 12-ft wide dedicated left turn
lanes at the signalized intersections.
[5:00] So, we're still going to upgrade the
traffic signals within in the corridor,
[5:04] and use uh new traffic uh signal will be
installed at South 3rd Street.
[5:09] We're going to install 5-ft wide
sidewalk and an 8-ft wide shared use
[5:13] path on the eastbound and westbound
sides of the roadway, respectively.
[5:18] It We're going to install ADA compliant
curb ramps, install upgrading lighting
[5:22] facilities for vehicles and pedestrians,
and we're going to do those drainage
[5:26] infrastructures updates. I want to uh
point to the photo or the this the
[5:31] um figure on the right-hand side
proposed roadway layout. I'm sure
[5:35] everybody's familiar with when you have
two lanes and you put in a center lane
[5:39] uh to to make that dedicated left turn,
you know, it'll give you a protected um
[5:45] left turn and improve safety.
Okay.
[5:51] So, this is kind of a weird
push out picture, but uh, when you go
[5:56] from four lanes to five lanes, at the
intersection you're going to have to
[6:00] push out. So, you're going to
uh, convert the existing four lane
[6:05] between Southeast Boulevard and 7th
Street into a four lane thoroughfare
[6:08] with a center
uh, two two-way left turn lane.
[6:13] Uh, we're going to install mid-block
crossings with rectangular rapid
[6:16] flashing beacons at several locations.
Um,
[6:21] so, this is kind of representing what
what you would see
[6:25] um,
the widening. You've gone from the four
[6:29] lanes out to five lanes, and then you go
from the five lanes back to four lanes.
[6:37] So, dedicated left turn lanes are
anticipated to reduce the rear end and
[6:41] left turn crashes and act as an overall
traffic traffic calming mechanism.
[6:47] New shared use paths will separate
vehicular traffic from bicycles and
[6:51] pedestrians.
Optimized traffic signals are expected
[6:55] to enhance the travel time through the
corridor.
[6:58] Currently, people race through the
corridor trying to get to the next light
[7:02] without getting caught by the light.
This timing will be
[7:06] better, so there'll be a smoother flow
and there's no real reason to race down
[7:10] the street to try to hit the next light.
[7:15] So, the next steps, we are proceeding
with the final design plans. We just
[7:19] submitted our 60% plans.
We're going to develop our construction
[7:23] cost estimates and bid the project to
perfect
[7:27] prospective contractors.
We're going to enter construction with
[7:31] an anticipated
completion in fall of 2027.
[7:36] Stephanie, I believe that is pushed back
a little bit.
[7:41] » Yeah, we're looking to start
construction in June
[7:45] of next year.
>> Okay.
[7:48] » It's upcoming here.
>> So, it's not completion. It's
[7:52] construction is anticipated in fall of
20 or June of 2027.
[7:56] » prior to fall, yeah.
>> Yeah. Okay.
[8:01] All right. And then, uh
just to let everybody know this
[8:06] meeting's been recorded and be available
for replay on the City of Violence
[8:09] website under the project
uh web page. There's the web page. It's
[8:15] really easy to find um on
uh Violence web page.
[8:20] Uh public comments will be accepted for
period of 30 days through August 20th of
[8:26] 2026.
Uh kindly for- forward all your uh
[8:30] comments to Stephanie Weakley at
sweakley@bylasay.org
[8:36] and there's her phone number.
So, um if there's any questions, we'd
[8:41] like to address those.
[8:44] I'll leave this up on the screen if if
anybody's writing it down.
[8:47] » Would anyone Does anyone have any any
questions or comments that you'd like to
[8:52] share? Please raise your hand.
[8:56] Oh, um
Yeah, uh if anyone has any questions or
[9:02] any anything you'd like to share, please
do so now. Please raise your hand. I
[9:06] think you raised your hand first, so you
might sit down. And can you state your
[9:10] name and your address, please?
>> My name is uh Mr. Herrera.
[9:14] I'm from 105 West Cherry. That's
actually in between the Boulevard and
[9:19] Horse Street at that main intersection
where all this community transit comes.
[9:24] Um in the past, there's been a lot of
accidents there, a lot. Uh there's been
[9:29] a lot of deaths.
And I've actually lost my neighbor on
[9:32] Chester Avenue
uh November 15th, 1989, right there
[9:37] where the hospital is.
Um this is I I feel it's going to be
[9:41] something uh a lot better for us to have
here because there is a lot going on on
[9:47] Chestnut Avenue. Um everyone is racing
to get to a traffic light for no
[9:52] apparent reason of life other than for
their own sanity, I guess.
[9:57] Uh this is going to help a lot. I do
believe it's going to improve a lot
[10:00] what's going on, especially the
drainage.
[10:02] There is a lot of flooding on Chestnut
Avenue that the area of 6th Street is
[10:06] the worst spot of all.
So I would say that I think this is a
[10:09] good plan to move forward with.
Um my question really is is there
[10:13] already a engineering drawing laid out
uh by model or anything?
[10:18] Of the area at all?
>> Like plans?
[10:21] » Yes, the actual way actual way to
see it now.
[10:25] » Uh
>> On the road with or anything like that?
[10:27] » Just more of like a a design plan that's
on the website.
[10:31] Yeah.
[10:35] » Remember the link that goes with the
document you were
[10:38] » Um I'll look into that.
>> Thank you. Thank you for your comment.
[10:43] Um
I Did you have your hand raised? Oh, you
[10:45] did.
>> Yes, first here.
[10:47] » And state your name and address.
>> My name is John Basilie.
[10:51] I was the city engineer for the city
that did most of this work that is
[10:56] involved in this project.
So I have just a couple of questions. Is
[11:00] there going to be any widening of the
Chestnut Avenue?
[11:05] » Beth, did you hear the question?
>> Something about widening.
[11:09] » Yeah, is the is the roadway going to get
widened?
[11:13] » It'll be
uh only in the areas uh where we're
[11:17] widening for left turn lanes.
>> I mean like at an intersection
[11:21] primarily.
>> intersection, yes.
[11:22] » The main width of the road is pretty
much going to stay the way it is.
[11:26] » Yes.
>> Well, it's going to be
[11:28] Yeah, it's going to be widened at the
intersections because we're creating a
[11:31] dedicated left turn
>> Right. Correct.
[11:33] » So it's lighting for that.
>> Right.
[11:36] And um
the reference to shared pathways
[11:41] between pedestrians and bicycles like
you know, that's not clear to me. Does
[11:46] that mean that the sidewalk is now going
to be used
[11:50] and no bicycles will be in in the
roadway? What does that mean, a shared
[11:55] pathway?
>> You want to take that, Stephanie?
[11:59] » I mean
That's a good thing but that's what it
[12:02] is.
>> Yeah, we'll have a separate multi-use
[12:06] path
that is separate from the roadway which
[12:09] will accommodate both pedestrians and
bicycles. It'll be 8 ft wide and it'll
[12:13] be located typically on the west side of
the roadway.
[12:18] The east side of the roadway will have a
5-ft wide sidewalk instead of the 4-ft
[12:24] that's out there.
>> North side of the roadway. It'll be on
[12:26] the north side.
>> All right, so
[12:28] » Sorry, north and south. Yeah, you're
right.
[12:30] » There won't There won't be a bicycle
path
[12:32] » There's no bicycle Yeah, there's no
bicycle lane in the roadway. The idea of
[12:36] the shared use path is so that the the
bicycles are out of the travelway for
[12:42] » That's good.
>> for safety purposes.
[12:44] » One of the early ideas was having a
bicycle path possibly mixing with
[12:49] traffic so I just want to make sure
>> outside the curb line to
[12:53] » Yeah, that's good.
>> prevent the uh
[12:55] » I didn't hear anything about the
intersection of Valley and Chestnut cuz
[13:00] once upon a time there was
I guess a design idea of putting some
[13:05] kind of a
circle or turnaround in there. I know
[13:09] it's
>> A roundabout is not included. Right. A
[13:14] roundabout is not included.
>> So no, there's um
[13:18] we we did look at that in the original
concepts of the uh unfortunately we just
[13:22] don't have the right of way there to put
a roundabout. Uh I believe it's just
[13:26] going to be handled through traffic
signal timing improvements primarily to
[13:30] make that
>> Right.
[13:31] » a little more efficient.
>> So, the main thing that I'm getting from
[13:34] this presentation,
and and this is very important, and
[13:39] that's that Chestnut Avenue will
primarily still be four lanes wide all
[13:44] the way because that's why we made it
four lanes wide. When I started, it was
[13:50] two lanes wide and at rush hour, you it
was terrible.
[13:56] You couldn't get you couldn't get in and
out because
[13:59] the volume of traffic, you can imagine
what it was
[14:03] 25 years ago when I did it. Today, it's
even more.
[14:07] So, and and with the fire station there,
you know, you can't have a traffic
[14:13] problem and have a fire station in the
same area.
[14:17] » Yeah, we
>> That's a very good it's a very good
[14:20] amendment that you made.
>> Yeah, we we we did switch back to the
[14:24] four or two in each direction as as well
as additional protected left turn lanes
[14:28] at the lights. Uh and then we have added
other pedestrian and bicycle safety
[14:34] improvements in the hope that these
crashes that have happened uh between
[14:40] pedestrians and also just the motor
vehicles general are reduced as part of
[14:44] this project.
>> And and obviously in the very beginning,
[14:48] uh there's no doubt that Chestnut Avenue
needs a complete rehab. I think the last
[14:53] time it had new asphalt was '96. So, if
you do the math,
[14:57] 30 years, that's way past the expectancy
on a road of this
[15:03] level of volume of traffic. And of
course, school buses use it quite a bit
[15:07] as well.
So, uh
[15:13] Are you to the point of designing the
thickness of the asphalt or how that
[15:19] final installation is going to be or you
still in the design part of just doing
[15:25] geometry?
>> Beth, you can correct me if I'm wrong,
[15:28] but we're we're at the end of prelim
we're
[15:31] » You know, I can hardly hear you because
I'm echoing in the stream.
[15:34] » preliminary engineering design. So, we
do have thicknesses proposed areas in
[15:39] some areas Chestnut does have a concrete
base
[15:42] » Yeah.
>> that we're working with
[15:44] either removing or replacing, but we are
at that point where we do have
[15:49] thickness. I don't have it off hand.
>> That's okay. I'm just wondering whether
[15:52] you already got to that point.
>> Yeah, we are we are there.
[15:54] » All right. All right, good.
>> And we did some
[15:57] we did do some coring samples and things
like that to test the sub base and
[16:01] obviously during construction if we have
to make
[16:04] minor changes we will.
>> Yeah, you you shouldn't have find any
[16:08] surprises in Chestnut Avenue. We found
them all.
[16:12] » [laughter]
>> Saved us some time.
[16:15] » Huh?
>> Saved us some time.
[16:16] » Yeah, well, we widened it when when we
went from two lanes to four lanes,
[16:20] you're going to find a lot of stuff. So,
we moved most of the utilities that
[16:24] could have been moved. Especially
between the railroad and Delcy.
[16:29] Cuz that that was very narrow. So, the
gas line and everything
[16:33] has been moved, but still
there's you might you never know what
[16:38] you might find, but we took care of most
of it I think back then.
[16:42] All right, very good. Well, I'm happy. I
mean, it's a big change from the
[16:47] beginning when this project first
made the news, you know, with two lanes
[16:52] and bicycles. I got a lot of phone calls
about you got to stop it.
[16:57] So, someone came to their senses.
>> Well, thank you for being here
[17:01] especially with your your history.
Thank you.
[17:05] Yes. Yes.
>> I wasn't sure where we're going to be so
[17:10] whether we were at two lanes or four
lanes or or especially with the bicycles
[17:15] cuz I wouldn't want anyone to ride a
bike down Chestnut Avenue. That would be
[17:20] very dangerous, I would consider.
>> So, it's good that we're separating
[17:23] we're separating them.
>> satisfied with with what I've just seen.
[17:29] » Thank you.
>> Uh I would say 2027 is an ambitious
[17:33] date, but go for it.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
[17:39] Does anyone else have any public
comment? Okay, please state your name
[17:42] and your address, please.
>> Michael Stern, Princess Lane, Vineland.
[17:48] Uh two questions. One, will the speed
limit change
[17:52] with the uh
improvements? And the second thing is
[17:56] there is a
uh an approval for a uh self-storage
[18:01] facility
on uh Chestnut Avenue. Uh is there going
[18:07] to be some
uh
[18:09] accommodation for a D-cell lane, or you
don't think you need one
[18:14] with that particular project?
>> Uh for for the first portion, the speed
[18:19] limit will not be changing as I don't
believe so.
[18:23] » The speed limit is not changing as part
of the project. For the second question,
[18:26] the self-storage facility is is uh
towards the east side of the project,
[18:31] towards Main Road.
Um it does have approval. We're not sure
[18:35] of the timing.
Uh it
[18:38] They did not propose a D-cell lane. I
don't believe it would be required.
[18:41] Typically, self-storage after
construction has a relatively low
[18:44] traffic count uh because people are
visiting at maybe once a week to the to
[18:49] their storage unit. Uh so, we're not
proposing any sort of D-cell lane for
[18:52] actually any of the uses along Chestnut
Avenue.
[18:56] » Thank you very much.
[19:01] » Okay, yes. Um please state your name and
your address, thank you.
[19:04] » Yeah.
[19:07] Lisa Fleming, 2100 Marsh River Parkway.
Um in Vineland.
[19:12] And I was just wondering uh how far are
the sidewalks and the the sidewalk and
[19:19] the
multi-use
[19:21] path, how far will they be from the
curb?
[19:25] And will they be like
it probably is going to vary as you go
[19:28] along the road, but
will be mostly taking room from
[19:34] the space between the sidewalk and the
curb or cutting more towards people's
[19:39] properties?
>> So, generally
[19:42] uh it will be cutting
further away from the roadway
[19:48] with so that there's a
vegetated strip between the curbing and
[19:53] the path um
that separation is important for us.
[19:58] Uh Chestnut has a 100-ft right-of-way,
so I will say there is a lot of
[20:05] private improvements that have creeped
their way into the public right-of-way,
[20:09] uh but what we're doing is we're
obviously doing our best to weigh those,
[20:12] but it will have a it varies obviously
the distance, but it's not going to be
[20:16] right up against the curb like you see
sometimes. That's not something we're
[20:19] looking to do here.
>> That's good. Thanks.
[20:24] Would anyone else like to Oh, yes, thank
you. Please state your name and address.
[20:29] » I'm Deb Marco, 728 Yale Terrace. Most of
the crashes on Chestnut Avenue have been
[20:34] pedestrian-related. Could you explain a
little bit more how people are crossing
[20:37] Chestnut Avenue, particularly like at
Valley and Main Road where the school
[20:41] is?
[20:43] » Sure. Um
[20:46] Do you want me to Beth, do you want to
handle that one? That's a little more in
[20:49] the details than than I know about.
Did you hear the question?
[20:53] » Yeah. We're adding uh the bus the
pedestrian paths
[20:59] uh will keep more kids on the sidewalk
rather than out in the roadway.
[21:04] Um especially if they're riding
bicycles, and all the crossings will be
[21:09] very well marked. We'll have um,
push buttons.
[21:14] So that the children can
can go across when the push button shows
[21:18] them the symbol to walk.
Um, and you know, uh,
[21:23] we're updating all the signals
accordingly.
[21:28] » We're doing lighting improvements as
well.
[21:30] » Yeah.
>> Uh, and we have we have reached out
[21:34] to the crossing guards as well. So they
are
[21:37] they are along that path for a lot of
the walkers from the school and taking
[21:41] their concerns into consideration as
well.
[21:44] » And we're going to have several
rapid flashing beacons.
[21:48] » There are but there's no bump out
proposed at the intersection.
[21:52] Um, it's not wide enough for the bump
outs, right Beth?
[21:56] » Correct.
>> So, um, there's no bump out proposed but
[22:00] we do have the certain areas that have
flashing beacons.
[22:04] And then in general all of the light the
traffic signals will be upgraded
[22:09] so that they are better advertising when
a pedestrian should cross.
[22:16] Um, they provide the, you know, the
flashing beacons, the walk, don't walk,
[22:21] the countdowns.
And then additionally
[22:24] just general visibility will be improved
through striping.
[22:28] And then better realignment for certain
crosswalks so that it would be more
[22:33] conducive to somebody using that. Cuz
the big issue I think we run into a lot
[22:38] um, with pedestrian crashes, pedestrian
vehicle crashes, is getting the
[22:43] pedestrian to utilize the crosswalk.
Sometimes I know we had this issue on
[22:47] Landis Avenue where if if they want to
cross
[22:51] in the middle of the roadway and there's
not a crosswalk it's difficult to design
[22:55] for that obviously cuz we can't
anticipate that and we obviously can't
[22:58] have the whole thing be pedestrian
crosswalk. So what we try to do is we
[23:02] try to improve the crossings that exist
to
[23:06] uh make them more I'll say user-friendly
for the individual, more inclined to to
[23:11] utilize those crosswalks to give them uh
the safest path from either the north
[23:16] side to the south side or or or
east-west along Chestnut Hill.
[23:21] » Um as Anatole mentioned, there's a lot
of aging infrastructure in Violand. Has
[23:25] everything been improved in that
Chestnut area of Carrigower? Cuz most of
[23:29] the time we have
>> paving projects and a year later they're
[23:31] digging it up because we have a water
main break or something like that.
[23:34] » We have been working uh very hard in
general across the city to make sure
[23:40] that uh we are following the water main
and sewer and gas uh with our paving
[23:46] projects, but yes, for this one
specifically, uh we have coordinated
[23:49] with water utility,
um South Jersey Gas. You might have seen
[23:53] them out there. They're They've been
doing improvements down the way uh for
[23:56] quite some time. Uh same thing with the
Landis Sewerage Authority. Uh they're
[24:00] aware and they're in the process of uh
TVing all their pipes to make sure their
[24:05] services are updated. So, yeah, we're
doing our best to prevent that.
[24:11] » We also also videoed uh storm sewer,
too.
[24:16] » I know you had another remark.
>> Okay, Lisa Fleming again. Um
[24:22] question about the crosswalks.
Actually, two.
[24:26] Is it
is there any thought to having the
[24:30] timing of the
pedestrian crossings be like total all
[24:36] the way around like
>> Like a separate like a third phase where
[24:40] it's just pedestrians crossing?
>> Yes.
[24:42] » Um we actually
ironically, we spoke about that today.
[24:45] Uh as of right now, we don't have a
separate uh pedestrian phase. Uh it's
[24:51] definitely something that we could see
if it's warranted based on our
[24:55] pedestrian counts, but right now it's
just the uh standard kind of
[24:59] uh
you know, you're going to where the
[25:01] traffic's going in your car.
>> Right. It It just might be good at the
[25:04] major intersections like at Main Road
and at um East.
[25:10] » Yeah. Yeah, we're working on that
balance, obviously, um for private. So,
[25:14] it's definitely something we can uh
continue to consider as we finalize our
[25:18] design.
>> And will there be any other crossings in
[25:23] between the intersections?
>> As of right now, we don't have any
[25:27] mid-block crossings. Uh for a road like
Chestnut, uh we we felt that to to do
[25:32] that would be um
would be fairly [clears throat]
[25:37] dangerous for a pedestrian.
>> Inviting problems.
[25:39] » It does cuz obviously it's four lanes of
traffic and um
[25:44] any mid-block crossing, even the one
with the best signage, uh is sometimes
[25:48] unexpected for a pedestrian. So, I know
if you drive down Landis, sometimes you
[25:51] don't expect them and it's a whole
different It's a whole different uh
[25:54] service. So, we we thought that there
were We felt there were enough crossings
[25:59] that uh it would be adequate to have
them cross uh particularly at
[26:02] intersections and primarily at
signalized intersections.
[26:06] » Okay.
Thank you. Um yes, you have a question
[26:10] or a comment.
>> Hi. My My name's Mike Di Stefano. Uh
[26:15] Rocque Funeral Service here in Vineland,
1110 Chestnut Avenue. We take up a lot
[26:19] of frontage between Valley and Evelyn on
there.
[26:22] Uh I know I'm a little late. I tried to
get on Zoom. I couldn't get on. But,
[26:26] I'm interested to know where the
existing sidewalk is
[26:30] on Chestnut going in front of our
building. Is that going to be moved or
[26:34] are you encroaching that far back or
>> Uh
[26:39] Do you have an existing sidewalk in
front of your
[26:41] » In front of the funeral home.
>> Yes.
[26:42] » All the way down.
[26:46] Mhm.
>> Uh
[26:48] and
you would know better. I It's out up
[26:50] against the curb, right? There's this
strip.
[26:52] » There's a grass strip, you know.
>> Uh that will be on the north side that
[26:56] will be revised to an 8-ft wide shared
use path.
[27:00] » Okay.
>> It'll be wider, so it will be moving
[27:03] inward.
Still on city property, obviously city
[27:06] property, but inward towards towards
your building.
[27:09] » Right. So, I don't know if you've ever
been by, but we have four large concrete
[27:14] pilasters with lanterns and the entrance
and exit are up our driveway.
[27:18] They We always thought it was our
property, you know, back that far from
[27:21] the center of the road.
But, what happens to those?
[27:25] » Well, we we've done our best if need be
to kind of jog
[27:30] uh that sidewalk to avoid any uh
moving any larger structures or things
[27:36] that we wouldn't really
>> Yeah, cuz I just had these put in not
[27:39] long I mean, we've been there since
1955, but I had them redone about 6
[27:44] years ago, I guess, and I made them all
concrete.
[27:48] » We
we
[27:50] » Okay. All right. That's a good thing. My
other question is the traffic light at
[27:55] Valley Avenue. You know, Valley's
offset. That's where a lot of accidents
[28:00] occur.
Um when we pull out taking leave on a
[28:04] funeral and we're leaving
the east-west
[28:08] side of Chestnut Avenue, that light we
timed it's about 19 seconds before it
[28:13] changes.
Are they Are they going to be elongated
[28:16] or anything to give more time
for that?
[28:20] » What we've done is uh
we're doing a full reevaluation of the
[28:23] signal and the signal timing and
obviously the signal itself is being
[28:27] replaced.
>> Right.
[28:28] » and updated. Uh so, based on our traffic
counts, obviously we can't always
[28:34] account for something like a funeral
>> Yeah, I understand they were fixed not
[28:37] long ago. They were retimed or whatever,
but we actually timed it several times
[28:42] pulling out of the funeral home with a
funeral procession and a lot of times we
[28:46] can't even get out of the driveway and
make it to the intersection before the
[28:49] light changes.
>> Yeah, we
[28:52] based on our traffic counts, we are
definitely looking
[28:55] at basically all of that corridor of
work
[28:59] as you know, if you go the wrong time
down Chestnut, you're hitting every
[29:03] » Every light. You Yeah, the timing is
>> So we are looking at timing
[29:07] coordination
>> Okay.
[29:09] » general traffic signal coordination.
You know, you're not going to get 100
[29:13] cars through the light, but we're hoping
that it'll be an improvement in general
[29:16] at the end.
>> Right. So with the new design given
[29:20] there's four lanes and a suicide lane, I
believe that's the plan.
[29:23] Okay.
>> No, four lanes and a left turn lane.
[29:28] » Yeah.
Okay.
[29:30] » We call it a center turn lane.
>> Right.
[29:33] » It's the word suicide.
>> Yeah, well, that's I'm old so that's
[29:35] what we used, you know,
>> [laughter]
[29:36] » that's a
>> They don't like that word too.
[29:38] » But is there is there any shoulder to
that between the roadway and the curb?
[29:43] Is that where the bike lane will be or
>> No, no bike lane. The shoulder's about 2
[29:49] and 1/2 ft wide.
The bikes will be on the multi-use path.
[29:54] » Oh, okay.
>> And as far as far as the signals, I'm
[29:57] sorry. As far as the signals go, the
existing signals that are out there,
[30:01] they they float like they're so old that
they don't like keep the timing.
[30:06] » Yeah, because I noticed this big change.
>> float from the original design. The new
[30:10] signals will have it in
encoded and will perform much better and
[30:15] they reset every day like to midnight.
So if they float by say 3 minutes today,
[30:21] it'll reset at midnight. And the ones
now might be 3 minutes today, 3 minutes
[30:26] tomorrow, 4 minutes the next day, 2
minutes the one after that and then
[30:29] things start to float around.
So these will be improved.
[30:35] One of the options for you at the
funeral home, I would think is if you
[30:40] got the violin police involved and they
could probably just go into the box and
[30:45] preempt
to let everybody out if you have that
[30:48] much traffic.
>> notice that it there's always a rapid
[30:51] change. One day it's longer, the next
day it's not. And it's just probably The
[30:55] other The reason I asked about if
there's any
[30:58] little bit of room between the curb and
the existing street. When we have a
[31:02] snowstorm, we always clear our sidewalk
out there. Because we have all the
[31:06] traffic from Memorial Veterans School.
The kids walking.
[31:10] And a lot of places don't clear their
sidewalks, so they go out onto the
[31:13] street. And when they do,
I said I can't even look out the front
[31:18] door. Because all these kids are walking
in Chestnut Avenue and they tend to move
[31:22] a little fast there. So hopefully this
will alleviate part of that. So.
[31:27] Okay. All right, thank you very much.
>> Thank you so much for those remarks.
[31:34] Would anyone else have any question? Oh.
>> I apologize. I have to step out for
[31:39] another meeting at 6:00, but uh
Stephanie and Rick can handle any more
[31:43] questions. Thank you guys for coming
out. We really appreciate it.
[31:47] » There's another question.
>> Okay.
[31:51] » Thank you.
>> You.
[31:53] » Cathy Malone, 622 South 4th Street. Um
two questions. That you just talked
[31:58] about helping with the flooding that
happens. Is it going to be going to be
[32:02] addressed at West and Chestnut as well?
Cuz it's like a pond over there when it
[32:06] rains.
>> Yeah, we're We're evaluating all the
[32:10] storm water. Uh there'll be a new basin
that we're going to be installing
[32:15] um and we're adding inlets and replacing
pipes as appropriate to help eliminate
[32:21] uh the flooding out there. The problem
is when you have uh no little to no
[32:26] shoulder, um that that lane tends to
fill up with water. So we're trying to
[32:32] put in more inlets to collect the flow
instead of having it bypass the inlets.
[32:37] and we're trying to upsize our our our
pipes to be able to convey the flow
[32:43] without a backup. But yeah, we
definitely see in our modeling, we
[32:46] definitely see there are problems out
there.
[32:48] » Yeah, cuz it's not a shoulder issue.
It's the whole road all both lanes are
[32:52] flooded.
>> Yeah, understood. It's the whole thing.
[32:55] Some of the systems are undersized.
>> We're going to make into a basin. We own
[33:00] that one corner across from Rex.
>> Oh, perfect.
[33:03] » Which corner is
>> This southwest corner.
[33:07] Say that again?
>> At West, West and Chestnut.
[33:11] » It's like an open basin.
[33:14] » Yeah, cuz it floods there a lot. My
second question is we have a proposed
[33:18] start date of June of 20
2027.
[33:22] Do we have an estimated completion date?
[33:28] » Um
>> Uh
[33:30] possibly around 300 days past that start
construction.
[33:34] » About what?
>> 300 days.
[33:36] » Okay, so about a year.
Almost a year. Okay, this just so I have
[33:40] an idea. Thank you.
[33:43] I think we need to take a new question
over here and then you next. Okay.
[33:49] Thank you.
>> Are you done?
[33:51] » Marcos Diaz, 724 East Chestnut Avenue.
In those 300 days that you guys going to
[33:57] be working in that area,
most of the business, I own a business
[34:01] over there, is going to be really
affected by the construction. So, how
[34:05] does the city any plans for the business
that practically is going to be closed
[34:09] on those days?
>> So, we're going to try and keep the
[34:12] roadway open the entire time. It'll just
have lane closures here and there.
[34:17] Uh but the contractor will coordinate
with the businesses or residents if
[34:21] there is an actual road closure.
>> Did you have another remark?
[34:29] » Anatol Vassiliev again, just a comment
about the flooding.
[34:32] I don't know if uh your company has
videoed the drainage system at all,
[34:37] but
typically
[34:40] uh our systems in violent get full of
trash very quickly.
[34:45] In my day, we had two crews that did
nothing but clean out drainage systems.
[34:50] That was usually very effective.
And I don't know if the city still does
[34:55] that. Uh a lot of things have changed
since I left, but uh many times a
[35:00] drainage system will flood because it's
half full of trash, debris, sand, and
[35:06] all the other stuff cuz it has no place
to go
[35:09] literally when it gets in there. So, I
would just tell everybody and and
[35:14] don't know how much you've communicated
with the city, but you should ask the
[35:18] city to clean it out first, then video
it, or at least be aware of all these
[35:24] trash problems cuz the systems under
Chestnut Avenue were uh very adequate
[35:29] for for many years after we installed
them, there was virtually no flooding.
[35:33] But, that was 30 years ago. A lot of
things happen in 30 years. But,
[35:38] especially the intersection of Chestnut
and West,
[35:41] that used to be a pond, but there's a
very big system underneath there. But,
[35:47] as I drive by, I always see the inlets
are full of trash, stuff stuck in them,
[35:52] branches are stuck in them. Well, you
know where that goes? Not too far. It
[35:57] goes a few feet in there, and that plugs
up the effectiveness of the system. So,
[36:02] I would just repeat,
make sure you contact the city and see
[36:06] what they can do about cleaning them
out. It's free.
[36:10] That's what they do for a living, or at
least that's what they used to do for a
[36:13] living. So, before you design
a much bigger system, just make sure
[36:18] that the one you have is working.
This is my two cents.
[36:22] » Okay, understood. We have
uh already had the system cleaned and
[36:26] videoed.
Uh the undersizing is because the storms
[36:32] that are regulated now
are much larger than the storms that
[36:36] were regulated 20, 30 years ago.
So, just in our our calculations and
[36:41] modeling, um we have to design to a
larger frequency storm
[36:47] um than what they did 30 years ago.
That's why it says the systems are
[36:51] undersized.
[36:54] Some of the systems.
Not all of them.
[36:57] » My name is Pedro Varela. I live in
Chestnut and Fourth Street.
[37:03] I'm sorry.
[37:07] » The uh
system that's that's there now is um
[37:11] there's one on each side. On the south
side, it's like a five, six uh pipe
[37:16] manifold perforated system. And uh we
have recently had uh
[37:22] uh emergencies there because the system
has failed. Um
[37:26] the system is silted up. Um so, that's
going to need rehabilitation. So, that's
[37:31] going to be an important one.
[37:35] » Uh my name is Pedro Varela. I live uh
Chestnut and Fourth Street.
[37:40] Uh my question is the new sidewalks are
going to be built by all by concrete?
[37:46] Uh because in my section, there is a
part concrete and a lot of strip of
[37:51] grass
and some small trees along
[37:56] along the the way.
And uh the new sidewalks is going to be
[38:00] all concrete?
Uh without the trees
[38:05] and no grass?
>> And we will have concrete sidewalks. Um
[38:10] and what was the address again?
>> Uh Chestnut and Fourth Street.
[38:14] » Oh, over on Fourth Street?
>> Yeah.
[38:16] » I'm familiar with that area. There are a
lot of homes on the corner
[38:20] um going eastbound
on the north side,
[38:24] um going halfway up the block to about
418 Chestnut Avenue, there is no
[38:31] sidewalk there. There's a There's
actually people walking through there
[38:34] all the time.
There is I've actually seen flooding
[38:39] also spillage both flows coming out of
this this well, so it's probably the
[38:43] reason why there's a sidewalk there is
because there's part of the system still
[38:48] remain from over there prior to the
construction of Chestnut Avenue many
[38:52] years ago.
So, there's a lot of flooding there.
[38:56] » Uh, my other question is that the
Why you doing the pave
[39:01] all the sewer section, all the sewer
system are going to be
[39:06] uh, updated? I
Somebody's going to make sure that
[39:10] everything is doing
the way it's supposed to before you pave
[39:15] because when I receive a letter, it was
saying that
[39:19] uh, if there is any problem with the
sewer system through from your house to
[39:24] the
sewer system,
[39:26] once it's paved, you cannot do anything.
>> Correct. Yeah, you're you're talking
[39:32] about just for like utility.
>> Yes.
[39:34] » Correct. Yes. So, if if you need to make
any upgrades, I I would suggest doing it
[39:40] now.
Um,
[39:42] or in the near future.
[39:46] Um,
>> Oh, okay. Thank you.
[39:51] » Thank you.
Does anyone else have any questions or
[39:56] any comments? Okay, yeah.
[40:03] » Starting on Chestnut Avenue, there's a
drainage ditch that goes
[40:09] to Walnut Road, then it continues to the
Boulevard and
[40:14] continues after that. Is there any plan
to utilize that
[40:20] in water retention or water disposal
from Chestnut Avenue?
[40:28] » We cannot We cannot increase the flow to
that particular location.
[40:33] We have to match the discharge that we
have now.
[40:39] So,
we do discharge to the the existing
[40:43] system discharges to that particular
uh ditch,
[40:48] but we cannot change the amount that
we're discharging to that ditch.
[40:54] Without a permit.
Yeah.
[40:56] » Thank you.
>> Is that located?
[40:59] » It's um
Tarmac Branch or something? Tar
[41:04] It's uh
It comes across the near the railroad
[41:08] and Chestnut.
And then it goes behind
[41:11] um
the homes on Chestnut. And like you
[41:16] said, out to Walnut and then eventually
flows into the uh
[41:23] What's the name of the branch there?
[41:26] Not Blackwater.
I'm sorry. I'm drawing a blank.
[41:34] But yes, we we are not looking to put
any more water there.
[41:43] » Okay. Does anyone else have any
questions or any comments you'd like to
[41:47] share?
[41:50] No?
Oh, okay. Yes.
[41:53] » Uh regarding our property on Chestnut
Avenue where our parking lot is, uh this
[41:57] was built before it was required to have
runoff and spillage. So, we actually at
[42:02] the end of our driveways at the entrance
and the exit, we had the drainage basins
[42:06] which would run out onto the pipe that
went by Chestnut Avenue.
[42:10] About 6 7 years ago, we had a sinkhole
develop in one of our gardens. We didn't
[42:15] know what it was from.
So, I called GE Mechanical, they came
[42:18] over.
Uh they dug it up and they went down
[42:21] there with a camera and they said where
it runs out to the terracotta pipe
[42:25] along Chestnut Avenue, which was
installed many years ago, the terracotta
[42:29] pipe is collapsing.
So, they said what's happening is your
[42:32] spillage is going in there, going
directly in there and it's and it has
[42:36] nowhere to go, so it's backing up cuz we
were getting a flood out by the end. So,
[42:40] they said um I would just pave over it
in your parking lot, over that one,
[42:46] and then just let it run out. And I
called the city and I spoke with the
[42:49] mayor's office and I I said I would
appreciate it if if a city engineer
[42:53] comes out and signs off on this because
if our runoff from our parking lot
[42:58] floods Chestnut Avenue from our
location, 1110, down to Evelyn Avenue,
[43:03] and it creates a danger in that in that
lane,
[43:07] I don't want to get blamed for that. So,
I had two people come out and everybody
[43:11] agreed that was the simplest solution.
They said eventually they'll fix that
[43:14] portion of the pipe, but they don't know
when.
[43:17] So, that I do know cuz they went under
there with cameras and they looked and
[43:21] the terracotta pipe that's out there is
completely disintegrating. It's
[43:25] insufficient, they told me.
So, I just wanted you to be aware of
[43:28] that.
>> Thank you. Any terracotta pipe would be
[43:32] replaced automatically.
We do have corrugated metal pipe that
[43:35] needs to be replaced also because that
is also at at end of its design life.
[43:40] So, we will be replacing pipes in the
street.
[43:46] » And anyone else?
>> I'm sorry, that's a What What was the
[43:48] address?
>> 1110 Chestnut Avenue.
[43:52] » 1110 East Chestnut Avenue.
>> Okay. And And the pipe is actually in
[43:57] Chestnut.
>> Yeah, it's in Chestnut and everyone's to
[44:00] Valley Avenue.
>> It runs to Valley Avenue at the
[44:02] intersection there.
>> Okay, thank you. We'll double-check
[44:05] that.
[44:09] » Does anyone else have any comments that
would they they would like to share or
[44:13] any questions?
[44:17] No?
Okay. Thank you.
[44:25] » Okay.
[44:29] I will end the recording.
Uh and then if anybody else comes in and
[44:34] has some questions, we'll turn the
recording back on. It's currently 6:50
[44:39] uh sorry, 5:52
and I'm going to stop the recording.
[44:43] Thank you.
[44:49] » Thank you all for coming out tonight. We
really appreciate your feedback and your
[44:54] questions.
Oh, hey everyone. When you came in, we
[44:59] we actually gave you a survey. So, if
you'd like to fill it out and give it
[45:03] back to us, we will be factoring that
into
[45:07] our the design going forward.
Although,
[45:11] what