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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Packet August 2011 Att and Ab Co Sta Ex tendees: Tom d Corinne Vie sent: Brent T ouncil Liaiso aff Present: Officio Me I. CAL Mee II. APP Cha Aug III. ADJ Non IV. PUB Drew Drew resig fund traff This aspe He l V. ACT A. TRA Co m Burnham, E eville Thompson, an n: David Cha Mike Faught embers: Ste LL TO ORD eting was calle PROVAL OF airperson Rya gust 18th minu JUSTMENT ne. BLIC FORU w Gilliland/3 w is the new gned his posit ding to constr fic. s project is in ects of this pr 1. SOU gro 2. Faster pr 3. Increased left basic plan TION ITEM Parking Proh Jim Olson su parking proh would not be Staff is work review, due t in case of an residents hav The Commis possible solu ANSPO ouncil Ch Eric Heesacke nd David You apman t, Jim Olson, M eve MacLenn DER: ed to order at F MINUTES n will submit utes will be br TS TO THE A UM: 40 Coventry Director of F tion with SOU ruct new dorm SOU’s maste oject: owth roject complet d employmen ns for the Com MS: hibitions on A ummarized the hibition on Alm e a suitable so king closely w to restrictions emergency a ve off street pa ssioners discu utions based o Page 1 of 6 ORTATI Augus hambers, M er, Shawn Kam ung Mary McClar nan t 6:05 p.m. by S: t a list of corr rought in to th AGENDA: spoke to the C Facilities, repl U. Drew prim ms on campus er plan, hopin ted, investors nt in the Rogu mmission to r Almond St. e memo dated mond Street. olution. with the Ashla s they place on and/or conduc arking, so som ussed in length on Fire’s abili ION C st 18, 201 , 1175 Ea Minutes mpmann, Stev ry y Chairperson ections to the he Commissio Commission acing Larry B mary wanted t s, which will h ng to begin in s begin to see ue Valley review. d August 11, Staff realize and Fire and R n fire trucks a ct routine chec me on-street p h, details abou ty to function OMMI 11 ast Main ve Ryan (Cha n Steve Ryan. e minutes of J on for approv regarding the Blake, who is to inform the have a huge i n the summer a return he wrote to th s to prohibit p Rescue Depar and their abili cks. Almond parking is crit ut road sizes, n. ISSION Street air), Julia Som July 21st. Bot val at the Sept e SOU new do moving out o Commission impact on foo of 2012. He s he Commissio parking on on rtment on sele ity to drive on d Street is unim tical. off streets an N mmer, Colin S th July 21st a tember 15th m orm project. of the area an n they have re ot transportati stated three p on regarding ne side of the ecting streets n the streets, o mproved, not nd different id Swales, and meeting. nd has etained on and ositive a street for operate t all deas for Page 2 of 6 Staff is asking the Commission to allow them to investigate possible solutions and bring back to the Commission their findings on how best to solve this parking problem. Margueritte Hickman, from Fire and Rescue spoke to the Commission about the challenges they face when they are not able to drive on Almond when there are parked cars. In addition, they are not able to operate their equipment to facilitate rescues and fire terminations. She explained the department would like to follow a uniform street standard, but realizes in this case an alternative solution would be needed to be able to provide good service to the community. Commissioner Heesacker thanked her for the photos creating a visual perspective. Commissioner Swales expressed concern about the fire hydrant locations and Margueritte explained they can stretch a hose around 600 feet. He also asked about right of way and if different solutions such as options of cut and fill to make parking bays. Jim explained the history and the difficulty of expanding the street due to right of ways, historical significance, and building retainer walls. Commissioner Burnham discussed density issues and Chairperson Ryan asked staff to consider the criteria needed to make this decision. Commissioner Sommer felt there would not be a need for a motion, that this is more of an informative discussion and the Fire Department and engineering staff could work out solutions to bring back to the Commission. PUBLIC FORUM: Phil Miller/129 S. Laurel St. spoke to the Commission regarding his 33 years residency on Almond Street. He was pleased that the idea of one-sided parking restriction was rescinded, it makes more sense to go in and out because there are some natural places to park. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic due to the popularity of dog walking, and citizen walking therefore speeding becomes a problem not only for safety reasons, but also for the dust that arises. There are places, certain parts of the street he can’t imagine a fire truck being able to operate. If there are going to be signs posted, he would like to see some slow signs or speed limit signs. The Commissioners discussed the public alley way dimensions along Almond Street, sprinklers, uniform standards, unique standards, safety, unimproved street, improved streets, and overhead obstructions and would like these items included when constructing the plan. The Commission members decided to allow staff and the Fire Department work together on a plan and report back to the Commission. Commissioner Vieville made a motion that they give staff the authority to work out with the neighbors, Fire Department, and staff the best locations and define parking spaces along Almond Street. Commissioner Sommer seconded the motion. The Commissioners discussed the wording of the motion and the need for a motion. Commissioner Vieville withdrew her motion. Commissioner Sommer withdrew her second. Chairperson Ryan stated the Commission will support staff’s recommendation and memo as it stands. Commissioner Burnham made a motion to approve staff’s request to improve the access for the Fire equipment on Almond Street and return to us with a plan. Motion failed for lack of second. The Commission supported staff’s process in determining parking spaces along Almond Street. Chairperson Ryan asked staff to do triple diligence. Page 3 of 6 B. Proposed Traffic Control Devices at Fourth and “A” Street Jim Olson summarized the memo dated August 11, he wrote to the Commission regarding a request for a 4-way stop at the intersection of 4th & A Street. Staff recommended not to install a 4 way stop but to mark crosswalks and to address issues on concerning vision clearance and pedestrian access. Commissioner Swales remarked this item was on the Council Consent Agenda at their last meeting. Jim clarified this was a request for a 4-ways stop at the intersection of 4th and ‘A’ street. Jim went over static information, volume, parking, speed and marking the cross-walks with the Commission which was also outlined in his memo to the Commission. Chairperson Ryan asked about future developments, and increased pedestrian traffic. Jim explained the property is railroad and they would be required to spend thousands of dollars to clean up before it is marketable. Commissioner Heesacker and Sommer talked about the danger of painting crosswalks and turning some of the parking into a bike corrals, and Jim talked about the reason for painting the crosswalks would be for the safety of the pedestrians. Commissioner Swales discussed the mixed used of A Street and the restrictions cross walks would place on pedestrians and their ability to freely cross and visit existing businesses and areas. Chairperson Ryan would like to see what the statistics of pedestrian traffic would be during peak times. Commissioner Kampmann believes just deciding on the issue of a 4 –way stop or painted crosswalks would be the decision to be made now, and the other ideas could wait for a future discussion. Commissioner Swales made a motion that staff does not install a stop sign at the corner of 4th and ‘A’ Street, tree trim for better vision clearance at the intersection, and not add crosswalks but rather explore creative options to improve traffic calming, pedestrian safety such as a bike corrals. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Sommer. Brandon Goldman, staff planner for the Community Development Department, spoke to the Commmioners regarding current businesses on ‘A ‘street that utilize the parking credits, changes of use in terms of what would be required to convert parking into bike corrals. He explained the City Council was having a study session on the 23rd, to determine what constitutes an on street parking credits. He asked they look at individual planning actions in the immediate vicinity before an improvement is put into place. Commissioner Kampmann made a motion to amend Commissioner Swales motion that we not install a stop sign at the corner of 4th and ‘A’ Street, tree trim for better vision clearance at the intersection, and defer the creative options of bike corrals until the code definition is firmly established by the Council and become a separate subject that is dealt with at a later time. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Swales. Voting on the amended main motion first. Voice Vote: All Ayes with the exception of Commissioner Heesaker. The motion passed with a majority vote. Commissioner Burnham clarified in regards to the main motion; there is already one stop sign on 4th street and he felt crosswalks are important for pedestrian safety and assistance. Page 4 of 6 Voice Vote: Four (4) Commissioner in favor, Swales, Sommer, Kampmann, and Ryan. Three Commissioner (3) against, Heesacker, Vieville and Burnham. The motion carried. C. Proposed Change of Commission Meeting Day Jim Olson distributed a memo explained he has officially retired, but will remain under contract with the City for another year to facilitate a smooth transition and distribution of his duties. Staff recommends the Commission change their meeting time to the fourth Thursday of each month, to begin at a future date such as January 1, 2012. Commissioner Kampmann made a motion the Transportation Commission change their meeting date to the fourth Thursday of each month beginning the first meeting in January, 2012. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Vieville. The Commissioner discussed their concern about other Commissioners not in attendance. Commissioner Kampmann withdrew his motion until everyone was present, and Commissioner Vieville withdrew her second. The Commissioner expressed their appreciation to Mike Faught for attending the Commission meetings and a huge acknowledgment to Jim Olson for his dedicated 41 years of service to the City. Chairperson Ryan requested this item be brought back next month to allow the other members to attend and discuss the change of the meeting date. VI. NON ACTION ITEMS: A. Critique of Council Action regarding the Road Diet Mike Faught updated the Commission about the Council meeting, highlighting the struggles, controversy, testimonies, any citizen feedback, and how pleased staff was with the outcome. Commissioner Kampmann believes there should be some sort of criteria to measure the success and/or failure of the Road Diet so everyone would understand what would constitute a success and a failure. Chairperson Ryan reminded the Commission the consultant’s recommendations in response to the public input at the May public meeting. In addition Mike noted staff had some recommendations for crash statistics in the residential area of concern. Councilman Chapman reinforced Councils support for criteria. Commissioner Swales took the time to thank Commissioner Heesacker and Mike Faught for their representation to the Council; he felt they did an excellent job. Councilor Chapman would like to see the Council thank all the people who give the Council input, information, concerns, recommendations that help them to make decisions. He believes they move to the next topic so quickly, they never seem to take the time to acknowledge those people. B. Car Free Day Update The Commissioners discussed some organization of the event to be held on September 22; including Councilor Chapman will try and get some other elected officials to participate. C. TSP Update Mike gave the Commission a brief update and informed the Commission of the necessity of a meeting on the 27th, first with TAC, then including the Commission for a period of 4 hours, Page 5 of 6 preferably from 5-9pm to finish in one day. D. Transit Subcommittee Recommendations Mike passed out the notes from the Transit meeting with Councilor Chapman and Silbiger on August 12, 2011. He highlighted several points: • Change in routes • RVTD’s proposal • Pass program • Summary of recommendations • Budget • Study session with RVTD Board • Shuttle operator • Short and long term plans Commissioner Kampmann nominated Chairperson Ryan as the representative from the Transportation Commission to the sub-committee. The nomination was seconded by Commissioner Swales. Unanimous agreement. Commissioner Kampmann supported the idea of a shuttle service and possibly incorporating Hotels and Motels into the service also. The Commissioners discussed different options, different cities with courtesy services, chamber of commerce, and the ability to subsidize a program. E. Traffic Crash Summary Chairperson Ryan made reference to the spreadsheet in the packet. Jim met with the stakeholders, consulted an engineer, a sub-consultant (Commissioner Kampmann) and noted they are working on getting to the next stage. The Commissioners questioned Commissioner’s Kampmann’s involvement in the project, if it would be a conflict of interest or ethical violation if there was any voting necessary. Commissioner Kampmann explained if there was a conflict he would excuse himself from discussion and voting. F. N. Main/Hersey/Wimer Intersection Re-Alignment Update Commissioner Burnham asked for a time-line on the Hersey street project and Jim explained that would not be possible, although Commissioner Burnham then asked for a sequence and Jim agreed that was possible. Mike gave a tentative order of how they hoped the project would move forward and would put together a approximate schedule. Commissioner Swales pointed out that the actual motion to approve the Road Diet was changed from concurrent to subsequently in order move forward. He wondered if the project would happen before next year, and Mike explained that was their goal to get it started as soon as possible. In addition, Commissioner Swales asked if the round-about be included in the discussion of the alignment if the Diet were to be successful. Chairman Ryan asked if there was a code or official statement of what constitutes an ethic violation or conflict of interest definition. Councilor Chapman explained most of the specifics are in land use hearings, but if anyone believes there is real conflict of interest they would step aside from the discussion and voting and ask the Council to be dismissed from that item/issue. Chairman Ryan volunteered to do some research to learn more about it. G. Siskiyou Velo Grant Commissioner Sommer congratulated Chairperson Ryan receiving a $3,000 Velo Grant toward the construction of two bicycle corrals and the distribution of bicycle helmets to low-income students. . Commissioner Burnham remarked they meet the Velo’s request and apply for grants in the future. Page 6 of 6 Commissioner Vieville asked for clarification the space used would be on the street and not be crowding needed sidewalk. Jim explained they would be in what is currently marked a yellow zoned area. Chairperson Ryan asked to return to this when they seen the proposed project. Also, he asked the helmets for the children’s program go on an up-coming agenda. Councilor Chapman announced there was a list of grants issued in the current issue of the Mail Tribune. VII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: set aside A. Action Summary B. TC Budget Balance: $5,000.00 C. City Source Article D. Traffic Safety Connection E. Trauma Nurses Talk Tough message VIII. FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS: Commissioner Sommer would like Car Free Day on the September agenda. Commissioner Kampmann would like in the October meeting to review and refresh the mission and ordinance of the Transportation Commission, clarifying roles. Chairperson Ryan reminded the Commission needed to do their budget. IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Commissioner Heesacker announced this would be his last meeting, as he has agreed to be a Commissioner on the Planning Commission. He stated he would miss the Commissioners, he had learned a lot. The Commission thanked him for his service and expressed they would miss him and his participation on the Commission. X. ADJOURN: 8:13pm Respectfully submitted by: Mary McClary, Administrative Assistant to the Electric Department