OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Traffic Safety Advisory Committee Meeting - August 6, 2025

City Council & Commissions — Wednesday, August 6, 2025
BodyAstoria, Oregon
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, August 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:26

Transcript — Verbatim
1:12

Okay, I'd like to uh bring to order the Astoria Traffic Safety Advisory Committee meeting.

1:19

It is 5 30 PM.

1:21

And the Astoria Planning Commission will meet immediately after this meeting.

1:25

And both of these will be recorded and transcribed.

1:29

Staff, may we please have a roll call.

1:32

Yes, thank you.

1:33

President Corcoran.

1:35

Here.

1:36

Vice President Henry?

1:37

Here.

1:38

Commissioner Francis.

1:40

Commissioner Woolmack?

1:41

Here.

1:42

Commissioner Cronin?

1:43

Here.

1:43

Commissioner McGee?

1:45

Here.

1:45

And Commissioner Hafker.

1:47

Here.

1:48

Excellent.

1:49

And also in attendance, we have City Planner Tiffany Taylor, Community Development Director John Roberts, City Manager Scott Spence, Public Works Director Jeff Harrington, and Police Chief Kelly.

2:02

First, we're going to review the minutes from the April 29th meeting.

2:05

Has everybody had a chance to review those minutes?

2:08

Does anybody have any changes to those minutes?

2:13

Nobody?

2:14

Well, not hearing any.

2:15

I'd be entertaining a motion.

2:24

I motion that we accept the meeting minutes from April 29, 2025.

2:32

I'll second that.

2:33

So the minutes were the motion was made by Commissioner McGee and seconded by Commissioner Henry.

2:38

Um the meetings of the draft, the meetings are accepted.

2:43

Okay.

2:44

So updates.

2:45

The agenda item that we're here today about, I imagine, in the audience.

2:49

The traffic safety advisory council is advisory to city council on matters of traffic safety.

2:55

And we've had a terrible tragic fatality happen last month.

2:59

And we're gonna talk about some solutions we can make moving forward throughout the agenda, but I'd like just to take a moment to acknowledge that fatality.

3:08

And um please in silence.

3:41

After that, we invite you to come up and say anything that you all would like to say.

3:52

We will collect and move forward uh to staff and um move on from there.

3:59

So Jeff Harrington, you have some a few words.

4:03

And so public works and city engineer's are are involved in traffic safety stuff with the city.

4:11

And I was unaware of the extent to which that staff is involved in ongoing committees and work through grants and other kind of things with the Department of Transportation and other participating agencies.

4:22

A lot of people working on this kind of thing.

4:23

So uh with that.

4:25

Jeff Harrington.

4:28

Okay, so um Jeff Harrington, Story Public Works Director.

4:31

So the first thing I wanted to do is talk about the the two items that came up in the previous meeting.

4:35

So one of them was the parking lot at 173 Columbia Avenue.

4:40

Um at that time, um staff had agreed with uh the commission to continue to monitor the parking lot.

4:47

We've um decided to move ahead with um parking um wheel stops.

4:52

They're called wheel stops.

5:00

The one of the issues with doing that was uh the cost and and if we make improvements to that parking lot, we need to bring it up to standards, which means putting an ADA parking in basically the way it's configured, there wouldn't be much but a couple spots left.

5:09

Um we determined that we can put the wheel stops in without triggering the need to upgrade and change the parking lot.

5:15

And staff's going to do that.

5:17

So we've already ordered those, and uh public work staff will be putting those in instead of a contractor, which will save a lot of money.

5:23

Um the second thing was the um poor condition of uh it's an extension of Mill Pond Road, it's commercial street by the uh Yakima project.

5:33

That work has uh we've we've required the contractor to restore half the street and that's done.

5:39

So that should be a lot better.

5:41

And um the other half that they need to tie into is it's a very uneven seam where they tie in.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████66%
Public Safety█████████████████25%
Procedural██████9%
Summary of Proceedings

Traffic Safety Advisory Committee Meeting - August 6, 2025

The Astoria Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) met to discuss recent traffic fatalities, ongoing safety efforts, and public concerns. The meeting featured updates from the Public Works Director and Police Chief on a fatal crash at 16th and Irving, along with public testimony. The committee decided to prioritize traffic safety issues for future action.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The draft minutes from the April 29, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously (6-0) with a motion by Cindy Magie and a second by Brookley Henri.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jacob Lewin (1608 Irving Ave): Expressed skepticism about the reported average speed of 22 mph on Irving, citing frequent speeding, road rage, poor visibility at 16th and Irving, and a lack of enforcement. Recommended speed bumps, pedestrian islands, lights, better signage, and enforcement.
  • Mary Ann Larson (2907 Irving Ave): Shared experience as a crash victim at 17th and Irving, raised concerns about speeding on Irving, limited visibility near Cathedral Tree Trail, and impatient drivers during downtown events. Suggested a new bridge to stop all traffic on Irving.
  • Rosemary Lewin (1608 Irving Ave): Noted that outliers breaking laws necessitate enforcement. Recounting personal experiences as a driver and pedestrian, she highlighted poor visibility at 16th and Irving, racing on 16th, road rage against pedestrians, and lack of response from city officials. Called for more enforcement.
  • Kelly Nordon (2957 Irving Ave): Described safety issues near Cathedral Tree Trail, including black ice in winter, limited visibility, speeding, and heavy morning traffic. Emphasized the danger to pedestrians and children.

Discussion Items

  • Traffic Safety Overview (16th & Irving):
    • Public Works Director Jeff Harrington: Reported updates on wheel stops at 173 Columbia Avenue and improvements to Commercial Street extension. Presented crash data collection processes and noted that the average speed at 16th and Irving was 22.9 mph downhill, with only 0.2–0.8% of drivers exceeding 40 mph. Discussed speed monitoring, traffic calming measures, and challenges with engineering solutions (e.g., speed humps, pedestrian islands) due to noise, truck traffic, and emergency vehicle access.
    • Sergeant Thomas Litwin: Reported on a crosswalk enforcement operation earlier that day, with 47 stops and 17 citations across three locations, including 11 stops at 16th and Irving, resulting in 2-3 citations and one DUI arrest.
    • Police Chief Stacy Kelly: Provided a high-level overview of the July 1 fatal crash. The driver, Michael Smith, was under the influence (BAC 0.35, still 0.23 at 4 p.m.) and had weapons in the vehicle. He struck pedestrian Patricia Harrison in the crosswalk at 16th and Irving, then hit another vehicle at 17th and Irving. Witnesses reported the driver never braked. Chief Kelly stated only the driver's decision could have prevented the incident.
    • Committee Discussion: Members shared personal experiences and concerns about dangerous conditions at 16th and Irving and Cathedral Tree Trail. Suggestions included mirrors, flashing/activated crosswalks, traffic calming, vertical speed controls, and increased enforcement. The consensus was to develop a priority list of issues to address at future meetings.

Key Outcomes

  • Action Plan: The committee agreed to develop a prioritized list of traffic safety issues, focusing on engineering, enforcement, and education solutions, with support from staff.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.

Note: The agenda and minutes indicate the meeting was held on July 22, 2025, but the user-provided date override specifies August 6, 2025. This summary uses the override date as instructed.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I'd like to uh bring to order the Astoria Traffic Safety Advisory Committee meeting. It is 5 30 PM. And the Astoria Planning Commission will meet immediately after this meeting. And both of these will be recorded and transcribed. Staff, may we please have a roll call. Yes, thank you. President Corcoran. Here. Vice President Henry? Here. Commissioner Francis. Commissioner Woolmack? Here. Commissioner Cronin? Here. Commissioner McGee? Here. And Commissioner Hafker. Here. Excellent. And also in attendance, we have City Planner Tiffany Taylor, Community Development Director John Roberts, City Manager Scott Spence, Public Works Director Jeff Harrington, and Police Chief Kelly. First, we're going to review the minutes from the April 29th meeting. Has everybody had a chance to review those minutes? Does anybody have any changes to those minutes? Nobody? Well, not hearing any. I'd be entertaining a motion. I motion that we accept the meeting minutes from April 29, 2025. I'll second that. So the minutes were the motion was made by Commissioner McGee and seconded by Commissioner Henry. Um the meetings of the draft, the meetings are accepted. Okay. So updates. The agenda item that we're here today about, I imagine, in the audience. The traffic safety advisory council is advisory to city council on matters of traffic safety. And we've had a terrible tragic fatality happen last month. And we're gonna talk about some solutions we can make moving forward throughout the agenda, but I'd like just to take a moment to acknowledge that fatality. And um please in silence. After that, we invite you to come up and say anything that you all would like to say. We will collect and move forward uh to staff and um move on from there. So Jeff Harrington, you have some a few words. And so public works and city engineer's are are involved in traffic safety stuff with the city. And I was unaware of the extent to which that staff is involved in ongoing committees and work through grants and other kind of things with the Department of Transportation and other participating agencies. A lot of people working on this kind of thing. So uh with that. Jeff Harrington. Okay, so um Jeff Harrington, Story Public Works Director. So the first thing I wanted to do is talk about the the two items that came up in the previous meeting. So one of them was the parking lot at 173 Columbia Avenue. Um at that time, um staff had agreed with uh the commission to continue to monitor the parking lot.

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