[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

Chestnut Avenue Public Meeting - Division of Engineering

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