HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Minutes March 2012TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION and PLANNING COMMISSION
DOWNTOWN PLAN SUBCOMMITTEE
Minutes
April 11, 2012
CALL TO ORDER
Mike Faught called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m.
Transportation Commissioners Present: Pam Hammond, Shawn Kampmann, and Corinne Vièville
Planning Commissioners Present: Michael Dawkins, Richard Kaplan and Pam Marsh
Staff Present: Mike Faught and Jodi Vizzini
ExOfficio Member: Maria Harris, Planning Manager
Overview and Goals
Mike Faught gave an overview of the downtown area related policies, projects and studies in the Transportation System Plan (TSP) the subcommittee would be reviewing during the meeting.
Commissioners discussed the need to look at the Downtown Plan as a whole as one decision can affect many. Discussions included incentives for trucking, sidewalks, biking facilities,
one-way to two-way streets, three-lane to two-lane streets, and parking.
Commissioner Marsh stated the goal should be to come up with best recommendations for City-wide transportation improvements, including the downtown, with a multi-modal emphasis. She
stressed the importance of pulling all the recommendations together, looking at it as a whole, and creating a template based on the objective.
Options discussed were:
Kittelson study using Clear Creek as a bypass.
Kittelson presentation/study of data on two-way verses one-way street on Lithia Way. Mr. Faught will bring two-way couplet data to the April 25th meeting.
Kittelson presentation/study of data on three-lane to two-lane street on E. Main St. with wider sidewalks, bike lanes, study of truck traffic, and parking issues.
Policies discussed individually from table:
#
Description
Previous Results
Subcommittee Recommendations
(L3)
Incorporate Wider Sidewalks
As feasible, incorporate wider sidewalks into downtown projects to provide more space for pedestrian
Approved
Goes on list from three-lane to two-lane study
(L4)
Street Patios
Allow for downtown restaurant owners to apply for temporary seasonal street patios
Move to (S2) parking study as noted at 11/29/11 meeting.
Leave as is; it will flush out in plan
(L5)
Incorporate Preferred Pedestrian Treatments
Incorporate preferred pedestrian treatments into downtown projects, as feasible
Approved
Policy across the board, not just downtown, overreaching policy, add additional verbiage to include rewarding people for pedestrian treatments
(L6)
Encourage Alley Enhancements
Encourages property owners along alleys to enhance the environment through improved landscaping, businesses oriented towards the alley and other similar characteristics
Approved
Leave as is
(L7)
Incorporate Bicycle Parking
As feasible, incorporate bicycle parking into downtown projects
Approved
Leave as is – discussion of bicycle parking for new businesses, on each block or side street, and bike lockers
(L8)
Develop Incentives for Truck Loading/Unloading
Work with Chamber of Commerce and downtown business owners to reduce delivery and pick-up of goods in peak hours
Approved
Falls into study
(L9)
Update Downtown Parking Management
Work with Chamber of Commerce and downtown business to update parking management strategies
Approved
No conclusion
Discussion on Parking
Commissioner Marsh stated she sees the downtown parking issue as aligning with the downtown plan. The parking study could be independent of a downtown plan. Topics of discussion included:
1) capacity, 2) are spaces being used effectively, 3) does capacity need to be increased and if so, how will that happen.
Other topics of discussion included employee parking, parking strategies/incentives, use of vacant lots, underground parking, land use part of parking study, zoning issues, improved
signage to direct tourists to parking structures and different ways to utilize public parking.
Future Meeting Topics
The remaining items that were not discussed at this meeting were: downtown intersections, studies and bikeway projects. The subcommittee decided to defer the bikeway projects to the
Bikeway Network subcommittee for decision, and will discuss their feedback at the April 25th meeting.
Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi Vizzini, Public Works Assistant