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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Packet June 2011 Att Dav Ab Cou Sta I. II. III. IV. V. tendees: Eric vid Young sent: Tom Bu uncil Liaison aff Present: M CALL T APPRO Commis Commis Voice V . ADJUS None sta . PUBLIC Bruce C crossing believes forward intersect Mr. Cap Diet Pro ACTIO A. Bicycle Jim Olso memo, S Recreati The first Will this He expla pointed TRA Co Heesacker, S urnham, Bren n: David Chap Mike Faught, TO ORDER OVAL OF M ssioner Kamp ssioner Young Vote: All Ay TMENTS T ated. C FORUM Capp/115N ma g North Main s all the traffic , he recomme tion. This wo pp was unable oject is implem 1. What eff 2. All traffi 3. Only 3 ex ON ITEMS: Education by on provided t Support for pa ion. t question: s Commission ained the requ the Commiss ANSPO Th ouncil Ch Shawn Kampm nt Thompson, pman Jim Olson, M : Meeting wa INUTES: mann moved g. yes. The mo O THE AGE ain spoke to t as Lithia Wa c lanes going ends the chan ould benefit to e to find throu mented. His fect on the tra ic exiting tow xit lanes out o y BTA and As the staff repor ast BTA effor n support BTA uest from BT sion to the atta Page 1 of 5 ORTATI hursday, hambers, M mann, Steve R , Corinne Vie Mary McClary as called to or to approve th otion passe ENDA: the Commissi ay joins in, wi out of town s ge to reduce t ourists, and a ugh studies w main concern affic reducing wn of town shland Parks rt and letter cl rts and consid A’s request fo TA for $3,400 ached letter in ION C June 23 , 1175 Ea Minutes Ryan (Chair) eville y rder at 6:00 p he minutes of ed with a un ion regarding ith regards to should remain the lanes begi automobiles fr what effect wo ns were: from 4 lanes and Recreatio larifying ques deration for fu for last year’s .00 was for p n their packet OMMI , 2011 ast Main Julia Somme p.m. by Chairp f May 19, 201 nanimous v the intersecti the North Ma n the same. A in at Helman rom stacking uld be on the to 2 on stions from la uture Bike Ed bike training ast education ts for further ISSION Street er, Colin Swa person Steve 1 as written, ote. ion of Helman ain Road Diet Although, if th Street instead up. e traffic when ast month’s m ducation by As g in the amoun n, not future, a explanation. N ales, and Ryan. seconded by n/Church Stre t Project. He he project mo d of after the the North Ma meeting regard shland Parks nt of $3,400.0 and also eet e oves ain Road ding the and 00? Page 2 of 5 The second question: The Parks Commission asked the Commission to consider a total revamping of the educational program. Rachel Dials, the Parks Recreation Superintendent, explained to the Commission how the revised program would be run by the Parks and Recreation instead of BTA to allow not only spring classes, but also fall classes. She explained the program approximates costs $6,400 to $7,000 and $4,000 to $5,000 of the funds would come from the Bike Swap event. She asked for a commitment from the Commission in the amount of $2,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The Parks Department would commit to operating this program as long as they continued to facilitate the Bike Swap event. Commissioner Young made a motion to pay BTA $3,400.00 to support last year’s activities from the Commission funds, and to commit up to $2,000 in support for the Parks and Recreation to administer the Bicycle Safety Education Program. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Sommer. There was some brief favorable discussion between the Commissioners about the reorganization of this program, generating the program from Ashland, downside from BTA, the bicycle fleet, insurance and the Commission’s budget. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Motion carries B. Building Safer Communities Mini-grant Jim Olson gave background information about the Building Safer Communities Mini-Grant Program. He explained the grant is primarily used for education and thought this grant could be used to support the Parks Department Bicycle Safety Education Program. The Commissioners discussed prior programs that were funded by this grant. Staff employees, Jim and Rachel, would write the grant for supporting the Bicycle Safety Program. Commissioner Young moved that the City apply for the Mini Grant Program to be applied to the Parks and Recreation’s Bike Safety Program. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Swales. The Commissioners discussed how if the city received the grant monies for this program, then it might not be necessary for the Commission to contribute all of the $2,000.00 that was just approved. Chairperson Ryan called for a vote. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Motion carries C. Request for Information Booth @ Car Free Day Celebration Jim Olson explained they have had a request from Mary Curtis (The US Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory) to have a booth at Car Free Day mainly to clarify misconceptions about Climate Change. She explained to the Commission the science behind the green house gases and how they would like to be able to reach a broader audience to inform them on how they can do things on a local level as well as a national level. Commissioner Kampmann made a motion to allow The US Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Laboratory to have a booth at Car Free Day, seconded by Commissioner Sommer. Chairperson Ryan called for a vote. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Motion carries Page 3 of 5 D. N, Main Road Diet Mike Faught read an email (included in the packet) from Tom and Nancy Burnham into the record. Mike, I am unable to attend this week’s TC meeting (06/23/11). I would like this forwarded email to be read into the minutes for the record. It appears that PW is doing the right thing in addressing the North Main Diet. Have a fun meeting. Thank you. Tom Burnham. Mike, Based on the comments heard at the meeting of June 14th and subsequent ones regarding the North Main Road Diet, I have come to the conclusion that the project is a good one. I am in favor of the present plan with the exception of Wimer/N.Main intersection. When that issue is resolved, I will vote in favor of doing the project. The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned. The project must move forward. I would entertain a signaled intersection as the simplest solution whether the streets get realigned or not. Regardless of what is done there, it is going to be expensive. Thank you. Mike spoke to the Commissioner about the article that came out in the paper regarding his comments about the Road Diet and the realignment of Wimer and Hersey Streets. He explained several unsafe situations that have arisen in the past and talked about different options and costs to readjust this area. Councilor Chapman talked about how they have looked at this re-alignment for a long time. Commissioner Kampmann remarked the realignment should be done regardless of the Road Diet. The Commissioners discussed the option of a mini round-about, although Mike Faught explained implementing this option would be a permanent change. Since the Road Diet is a temporary project, the roundabout is not an option at this time. There was a lot of discussion about roundabouts, traffic patterns and roundabouts as solutions in other areas. Councilor Young brought back the main focus of the discussion to the Road Diet Project approval and Mike Faught went over a time line of how everything would go forward. The Commissioners wanted to be clear about a time line for the Road Diet, the re-alignment, discussing other options and treating the project and/or the re-alignment as a standalone project. They discussed how to proceed. Chairperson Ryan wondered if the ODOT funds would be delayed, other suggestions for the roundabout, and points of view from opposing citizens. Commissioner Swales discussed the “no left turn option” onto Wimer and supported moving forward with the project. Commissioner Sommer made a motion the Commission recommend to the City Council that we proceed as soon as possible with the North Main Pilot Road Diet Project and that staff present Council on August 2nd with a budget and timeline, also with the understanding the alignment with North Main will be done as soon as possible in conjunction but not to delay the Road Diet Project. The motion was amended: Commissioner Sommer made a motion the Commission recommend to the City Council that we proceed with the North Main Pilot Road Diet Project as designed. Commissioner Swales seconded the motion. Commissioner Young discussed how he felt that the Commission was left out of the process when Dan Burden was in town, and also the decisions mentioned in the article that was printed in the paper. The Commissioners agreed and there was more discussions about the motion on the table, public input, effects Page 4 of 5 on the downtown area, the responsibility to represent of all of the public by the Commissioners, and the reminder that this is a pilot project. Chairperson Ryan called for a vote. Voice Vote: All Ayes with the exception of Commissioner Kampmann. The motion passed with a majority vote. Motion carried. Mike Faught further explained the comments in the article explaining he said he would be “recommending to the Commission,” not that he was making any sort of decision alone. The Commissioners would like a copy of the Tidings article in the packet, since some members do not get the Tidings. Also, they suggested page numbers be listed on the pages submitted in the packet. Councilor Chapman spoke to the Commission about advocating for the re-alignment of Wimer/Hersey for quite some time. He would be disappointed if the alignment was delayed, but also liked the Commission’s discussion about looking into that re-alignment and not being dependent on the North Main Project. E. Parking Prohibition on Central Avenue Mr. Riser, Ashland citizen, suggested the removal of parking spaces on the street due to limited vision driving up and down Central Avenue between Helman and Water Street. Staff’s recommendation was that there would be no parking prohibition placed on Central Avenue, however paint a centerline to help keep vehicles in their prospective lanes as pointed out in the memo to the Commission dated June 14, 2011. Councilor Heesacker moved to approve staff recommendations, seconded by Commissioner Kampmann. Chairperson Ryan called for a vote. Voice Vote: All Ayes. The motion passed with a unanimous vote. Motion carries F. Draft Memorial Marker Policy Jim Olson explained to the Commissioners about the proposed policy that was drafted with the help from Commissioner Thompson, for memorial markers. This was a first draft and staff was looking to the Commission for direction. They discussed how the markers would be tied to safety issues, the sign size, locations, costs, what language would be on the signs, length of posting time, and the qualifying events for the signs. Chairperson Ryan volunteered to communicate back with the family who spoke at the last meeting and brought this issue to the Commission. The Commissioners will submit suggestions in writing and staff will bring back another draft for their consideration. VI. NON ACTION ITEMS A. TSP Update Mike Faught updated the Commission on the subcommittee’s progress in initiating the usage of busses in the city. They researched a contracted service, which was recommended by consultants, and the proposed costs would be approximately between $416,000 and $500,000 for bus service on evenings and weekends. Another idea was to purchase passes for Ashland residents, and they are waiting for an estimated cost from RVTD for that purchase. Under the current program, Route 15 that costs $270,000, would be dropped and these funds would be available possibly to help with the purchase of passes. The subcommittee discussed short term and long term plans, also noting RVTD has some great recommendation on their ten year plan on their website. Chairperson Ryan requested the Commission review the subcommittee findings before a report goes to Page 5 of 5 Council. Chairperson Ryan moved to adjourn. All other Items were set aside. B. Traffic Crash Summary VII. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS A. Action Summary B. TC Budget Balance:$3,677.27 C. City Source Article D. Bike Traffic Law Enforcement E. FHA Pedestrian Forum F. Velo Bike Advocacy Grant VIII. FUTURE AGENDA TOPICS Budget Process Car Free Day Bike Parking and Bike Rack Design Policy Parking Restrictions on E Nevada St Future Railroad Crossings A Street Shared Road designation Discussion IX. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS X. ADJOURN: Respectfully submitted, Mary McClary, Administrative Assistant