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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-28-10 Minutes - Transportation Coordinating Committee MINUTES BOZEMAN AREA TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY,JULY 28, 2010 • These minutes are not word for word and should be considered in addition to the audio recording of this meeting. ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE Chairperson Christopher Scott called the meeting to order at 10:06 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 in the City Commission Room, City Hall, 121 North Rouse Avenue, Bozeman, MT and directed members to introduce themselves. Members present: Christopher Scott, Planning Department, Gallatin County, Chair of TCC Jeff Krauss, Mayor, City of Bozeman Jeff Ebert, MDT, Butte District Joe Olsen, Engineering Services Superintendent, Butte District MDT Ray Stocks, Bozeman Area Maintenance Chief Gary Vodehnal—proxy for Ralph Zimmer, Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee Carol Strizich, Statewide and Urban Planning, MDT Sam Gianfrancisco, County Citizen Representative Debbie Arkell, Director of Public Works, City of Bozeman Brian Caldwell, City Planning Board Marianne Amsden, County Planning Department Bob Lashaway, Montana State University Rob Buckvich, Montana Dept. of Transportation Dan Martin, City Citizen Representative Bill Cochran, Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board Guests /Staff present: Stacie Howell, Senator Max Baucus office Rick Hixson, Engineer, City of Bozeman John Van Delinder, Street Superintendent, City of Bozeman Ada Montague, Gallatin County Planning Department Aimee Kissel, Deputy City Clerk—taking minutes Jeff Key, CDM—Helena Lloyd Rue, Federal Highway Administration Chris Naumann, Downtown Bozeman Partnership Ted Johnson, CDM—Bozeman Joe Gilpin, Alta Engineering ITEM 2. PUBLIC COMMENT 1 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes {Public comment limited to any public matter within the jurisdiction of the Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee not on this agenda with a three-minute time limit per speaker.} Chairperson Scott opened public comment. No person commented. Chairperson Scott closed public comment. ITEM 3. MINUTES Motion and Vote to approve the minutes of April 28,2010. It was moved by Bob Lashaway,seconded by Sam Gianfranciso to approve the minutes of April 28,2010. The motion passed unanimously. ITEM 4. TCC COMMITTEE/MEMBER REPORTS A. Transit Committee Report Dan Martin Mr. Martin reported that Streamline is making slight modifications to the schedule taking place August 13th losing the Livingston pilot route. Streamline transferred from First Student to Karst Stage on July lst. Karst Stage is starting a pilot project from Gardner to Mammoth for Yellowstone Park. Skyline is losing some funding so there may be some reduced service to Big Sky. B. Gallatin County None. C. City of Bozeman Debbie Arkell Ms. Arkell said the College and 1 It" roundabout design is completed. Construction will begin next spring. D. Bike Advisory Board Bill Cochran Mr. Cochran said they purchased a number of light sets to provide to bicyclists when they are stopped at night. The Bike Board is interested in the Babcock and Mendenhall scope discussion. E. Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee 2of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Debbie Arkell Ms. Arkell reported that Ralph Zimmer was instrumental in getting the pedestrian lights on Main Street changed. Gary Vodehnal The Committee has been discussing making a recommendation for CTEP funds next year to go towards implementation of the Safe Routes to School Plan. No other member reports. ITEM 5. OLD BUSINESS None ITEM 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Scope discussion for feasibility study of Mendenhall/Babcock Streets conversion to two-way (See Commission memorandum from July 19, 2010 for additional details) Rick Hixson Mr. Hixson said he has put together a scope of work to run through the TCC,with policy recommendations from the City Commission. He presented this to the City Commission several weeks ago and received feedback for the Committee to include a member of the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee and the Bicycle Advisory Board. The scope of work was broken down into six primary areas. When interviewing design firms we do not want this too specific because we want to hear their ideas. Much of the economic impact analysis was taken from the town of Fargo with some constructive comments from Chris Naumann. The Downtown Improvement Plan said that Mendenhall is a barrier, but did not indicate in what ways. It may be that another solution besides conversion to two ways may solve the barrier issue. Olive and Lamme need to be looked at as well as they do not have signals. North, south traffic is stopped on both streets, making them fairly thru streets which may cause another issue. He plans for a robust public participation plan with details in the scope of work regarding group meetings. Discussion took place regarding the scope of work just presented. Chris Scott Mr. Scott mentioned the comments provided by Ralph Zimmer prior to the meeting. (See attached notes.) Brian Caldwell Mr. Caldwell asked about timing and the schedule of the process, asking how the request for proposal (RFP) would be finalized, adopted and moved forward. He suggested that a sub- committee be created to finalize the RFP and move things forward. He also asked for 3of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes verification that the City of Bozeman was applying for funding for this study and the actual work. Debbie Arkell Ms. Arkell explained the City currently does not have the money budgeted to fund this study that is estimated at $200,000. The City applied on Monday for a pre-application TIGER grant with the final application due August 23rd. There may also be some funding available from the Downtown Business Association. The study cannot proceed until funding is secured. Brian Caldwell Mr. Caldwell asked whether the study could be started before spring 2011 if funding were available. Sam Gianfrancisco Mr. Gianfrancisco thanked Mr. Hixson for the thorough job done in this initial work. Please include County citizens in public participation. Christopher Scott Mr. Scott suggested that public participation be pro-active. Brian Caldwell Mr. Caldwell spoke to downtown involvement and said the Downtown Improvement Plan had quite a bit of public participation and that-Plan spoke to what the downtown businesses would like to see. Bill Cochran Mr. Cochran said the Bicycle and Pedestrian groups would like to be a part of the discussion from the beginning. Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert wanted to make sure the scope focuses on Mendenhall and Babcock and that Main Street is not included in the recommendations. Rick Hixson Mr. Hixson said there would not be any organic changes to the configuration of Main Street, but there could be traffic changes to Main Street that would be looked at. Mayor Krauss There could be changes on Main Street as a result of the proposal, so we definitely need to study the engineering effects on Main Street. Lloyd Roe from the Federal Highways Administration arrived at the meeting. Christopher Scott Mr. Scott asked for further discussion. 4of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Motion and Vote to approve the scope (study of Mendenhall/Babcock Streets) as contained in the document with the recommended changes elaborated by the City Commission and the Transportation Coordinating Committee. It was moved by Jeff Ebert, seconded by Brian Caldwell approve the scope (study of Mendenhall/Babcock Streets) as contained in the document with the recommended changes elaborated by the City Commission and the Transportation Coordinating Committee. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion took place regarding timing and funding. The City should learn if funding is available through grant by September. A decision was made to add this item under Old Business on the next TCC agenda to learn if the grant was successful. B. Gallatin County Park and Trail Plan Update Ada Montague, Gallatin County Planning Department Ms. Montague gave a PowerPoint presentation on this draft plan. She explained intensive public outreach efforts were made regarding where people needed access and what type of access so those facilities could be created through subdivision review. Through the two year process,the County conducted an inventory of existing trails and parks. An eight part public outreach was accomplished thanks to a grant from Blue Print America through Montana PBS. The Parks and Trails Committee drafted a plan and established priorities. They conceptualized four service areas divided into County wide, regional (divided by precinct voting lines), and five regional service areas. Within the regional service areas there are several community areas. The smallest service areas are neighborhood service areas with most as subdivisions. To measure the level of access/service came up with standards by population size, frequency of use, and capacity for use. This concluded in over fifty priority routes and facilities. Ms. Montague then went through a few of these routes explaining that some will overlap with the Transportation Plan. The main purpose of this plan is for creating spaces for people to recreate. Ms. Montague specifically spoke regarding the trails and facilities listed in the plan for the Belgrade/Bozeman/Four Corners area. Christopher Scott Mr. Scott recommended that trail #23 encompass all of Valley Center. Ada Montague Ms. Montague said public input is welcome on the plan through August 16t" and can be directed to Mike Harris at mike.harriskgallatin.mt.gov. Christopher Scott Mr. Scott answered a question regarding subdivision review saying if there is a nexus between the subdivision and the facility, a subdivision could be required to build a facility. 5of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Ada Montague Ms. Montague explained that section 7K.7 of the subdivision regulations does require any route identified in a trails plan to be constructed if it's a minor or a major. Dan Martin Mr. Martin asked about prioritization. Ada Montague Ms. Montague explained that prioritization was based on weighted criteria, but questions and debates still remained. The next step would be to prioritize. Discussion took place regarding the difficulty with constructing some of the plan details. Marianne Amsden Ms. Amsden spoke regarding a signed bike route from Bozeman to Churchhill. Some are accomplishable outside of subdivision review, but other routes the County could not pursue due to opposing landowners, cost, etc. Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss said he appreciates the Counties efforts in looking at this. The next challenge is identifying funding sources and how will it relate to streets, roads and transportation. He suggested working with the Forest Service regarding recreation roads and landowners to help. The challenge is always the competition for scarce resources and realities of government limitations in some of these areas. Hopefully money can be set aside in the future either from transportation or parks. Ada Montague Ms. Montague explained Title Four of the plan is the funding analysis. Marianne Amsden Ms. Amsden said that within the plan, developers have been requested to look at the Transportation Plan and the PROST Plan. Jeff Krauss Mayor Krauss said that if we require developers to fill in infrastructure, we must also ask what responsibility the City or County has in making the trails tie into something. Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said MDT appreciates the work the County has done with this plan. When the State was putting together an access management plan on both Jackrabbit and Huffine Lane, the County assisted. They would support the County in their efforts. Valley Center includes a component to provide a trail all the way to Jackrabbit. The Jackrabbit to Four Corners North project includes a component to provide a pedestrian access up to Belgrade and the Belgrade South project eventually. 6of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Brian Caldwell Mr. Caldwell spoke towards the need for a policy or direction that any subdivision falling within that area is required to build a trail. Marianne Amsden Ms. Amsden explained there is a County policy statement that says if a trail plan is within a one mile radius developers have to connect a trail to it. Christopher Scott Mr. Scott said that acquiring the right of way or easement will be the first step, with the actual trail work to follow later. Ada Montague Ms. Montague said the County has already seen a flurry of interest in getting easements. Having the plan down on paper has helped already. The County doesn't want trails to nowhere. It is tough to balance funding, location and rationale nexus. Ms. Montague reiterated this is a draft with changes to be made before final. Lloyd Rue, from the Federal Highway Administration— Urban Planning Mr. Rue spoke regarding the TIGER planning grant, saying he is glad to hear the City is applying. He explained that they have a new business process for the grant and the USDOT is working out the business process. There are two recipients of the grant from round one at this time, and this was a slow process. The grant is now coming from general fund monies. If you do get award, do not get too far ahead. The FHWA would want to consult on the selection process. Also, both the house and senate have marked up DOT appropriations bills with one having 400 million while the other has 600 million, making it likely there will be another round of TIGER grants. They do have authority for the Federal Aid Highway program up through December, however they need an extension of their authority to operate as an agency and an appropriations bill by September 30th or an extension. He believes it will be a year and a half to two years before we have a long term highway bill because the bill needs a revenue solution. The urban planning process will likely have a new planning `factory' soon for climate change. There is a state action plan which may change regulations. Sustainability/Livability have re- emerged. They are seeing FTA programs with criteria for livability. ITEM 7. PROJECT UPDATES A. MSU Projects Update Bob Lashaway Mr. Lashaway said they are starting renovation of Cooley Lab, but are not anticipating any long term street closures. In the spring, if the roundabout construction begins, College and 1 lth will be a good area to avoid. 7of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes B. Belgrade Projects Update Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert spoke regarding the Amsterdam Road chip sealing project going from Thorpe to Jackrabbit which has been let to contract. This will include an updating of the pavement markings through that area that will help to alleviate some of the delay. Another project they are looking at is the loop ramp and traffic signal. The Department let to contract to Frontier West the bridge replacement project on Amsterdam to replace the structure washed out by rains in June. This will be finished by the end of this construction season. C. CTEP Projects College and Huffine shared pathway bids will be opened August 10, 2010. The plans can be viewed within the City Clerk's Office. D. South 19th Avenue—Main Street to Kagy Boulevard Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert reported this project is done however there is the potential of placing a light at the intersection of Lincoln and 19"' at the crosswalk. The final epoxy pavement markings are the last piece that needs finished. Discussion took place regarding the dangerous nature of the crosswalk at the intersection of Lincoln and 19 to. Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss thanked the state for fixing the manholes on 19t" and asked about the status of the speed study for the final speed limits. Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said he would check on whether the speed study had been requested and he'll find out where that is at. Additional discussion took place again regarding the pedestrian crossing. Sam Gianfrancisco Mr. Gianfrancisco spoke regarding the delineators and said it will be impossible for plowing and is likely to cause snow drifting. He has taken some pictures. He feels the traffic light at Babcock and 191" is a disaster because many cars make left hand turns when they are not supposed to and when the light is red both directions,people are ignoring the red light and driving through it. 8of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Bob Lashaway • Mr. Lashaway said the Universities long range plan includes the possibility of some kind of an overpass at the university to provide priority access for bicycles and transit routes. Remove Item D from the agenda since this item is done. Sam Gianfrancisco Mr. Gianfrancisco said he does feel this is a good project, even with the few problems that exist. E. Intersection Improvement Projects Mayor Krauss Mayor Krauss brought up again the problem with east bound traffic on Kagy stacking to turn left,North on 11"' and how short the turn lane is. Traffic is stacking all the way through the thru lane. Sam Gianfrancisco Mr. Gianfrancisco feels there is a need for a left hand turn arrow there because you can set there for a long time because of back up. Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said they are working on placing a traffic signal at Huffine and Gooch Hill later on this summer. Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said he still needs to schedule a meeting with the City Commission regarding the intersection of College and Willson. Sam Gianfrancisco Mr. Gianfrancisco said that on Highland Blvd coming out of the hospital, there is a divider to prevent left turns coming out of the hospital, but he has seen numerous cars turn left there anyway. Debbie Arkell Ms. Arkell said she did look into that issue and was given justification for that divider. F. North Rouse Avenue Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said they had discussions with land owners that have potential issues with the right of way acquisition. Mr. Ebert said they are working on advance acquisition, and an environmental document review needs to be completed at each of those locations. The funding for this project with lack of a transportation bill is not likely to happen until 2014-2015 at the earliest. It is too early for obtaining right of way, but they are looking at the tough right of way issues in advance. 9of10 July 28, 2010 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes G. I-90 Improvements Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert said this refers to the Montana Rail Link and Rouse Avenue structures which the contractors have been working on. The west bound direction should be done by the end of the construction season. Next year they will build the other two east bound structures. During the third year they will handle the final chip seal. The State has projects at the North Seventh interchange in 2012 or 2013. They also have pavement preservation on Bozeman Pass going to contract soon. Most of the work will happen next year. H. I-90 East Belgrade Interchange Report Jeff Ebert Mr. Ebert reported that they have been meeting with utilities associated with the project. They also met with Montana Rail Link, because they will be building a structure to go underneath the railroad. They are starting utility negotiations that the County is responsible for and assisting with getting that work going. As far as funding,there is still $10 million of MDT capacity funds available, and the earmark received before, but they are still 14 to 15 million dollars short. The State will support the County and the airport and Belgrade in requests for additional funding for that project. I. TSM's Report None. J. Other None. ITEM 8. 2010-2011 MEETING DATES AND ADJOURNMENT * October 27,2010 * January 26,2011 * April 27, 2011 Motion and Vote to adjourn the meeting. It was moved by Debbie Arkell, seconded by Bill Cochran to adjourn the mectinQ. The motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 11:41 a.m. J i Christopher S �flhiirperson Bozeman Areaportation Coordinating Committee Prepared by: & J Aimee Kissel, Deputy City Clerk Approved on 0C4Dbe.t- a7, o' oto 10 of 10