HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-10-18 PTS Minutes1 Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
2 Minutes of the January 10, 2018 Meeting
3 Upstairs Conference Room Alfred Stiff Office Building
4
5 Attendance:
6
7 Voting Committee Members:
8 Ralph Zimmer (Gallatin County), Chair
9 Danielle Scharf (City of Bozeman), Vice Chair
10 Tony Gaddo (At-Large Member)
11 Vance Ruff (Bozeman School District)
12 Tom Foster (Gallatin County)
13 Marilee Brown (At-large-Member)
14 Dillon Fatouros (Bozeman School District)
15 Absent: Mandee Arnold (City of Bozeman), Secretary
16
17 Official Non-Voting Committee Members:
18 John Van Delinder (City of Bozeman Streets Department)
19 Todd Swinehart (School District)
20 Absent: Bill Brownell (County Road & Bridge)
21
22 City Commissioners, County Commissioners, and School Board Members
23 Absent: I-Ho Pomeroy (City Commissioner), (County Commissioner), (Bozeman School District
24 Trustee),
25
26 Law Enforcement Liaison Officers
27 Absent: (Sheriff Department), Bozeman Police Department)
28
29 Frequent Attendees and Guests (City, County, Bozeman School District, and Montana
30 Department of Transportation Staff):
31 Dan Center (Gallatin Valley Land Trust)
32 Rich McLane (Bozeman Police Department)
33
34 Citizens and Other Guests:
35 Matthew Stark (Bozeman School District)
36 Kyle Scarr (TD&H)
37 Jeff Lusin (NE45)
38 Dick Lund (Neighbor to Bozeman High School)
39
40 Quorum: Present.
41
42 1. Call to Order and Introductions.
43 Ralph Zimmer, PTS Committee Chair, called the meeting to order at 12:00 PM and
44 introductions of attendees were made. Danielle Scharf agreed to serve as acting secretary.
45
46 2. Agenda.
47 Ralph offered the opportunity to provide comments on the agenda. None were made.
48
49 3. Public Comment.
50 None.
51
52 4. Minutes. Ralph noted that he has been traveling and has not been able to review and
53 distribute the December meeting minutes yet. We will review and approve them at our next
54 meeting.
55
56 5. Election of At-Large Committee Members for 2018. The committee can elect 0, 1 or At-
57 Large voting members. Tom nominated Marilee Brown and Tony Gaddo. The committee
58 voted and they were both unanimously reelected as at-large members.
59
60 6. Election of Committee Officers for 2018. Tom nominated Ralph Zimmer as Chair, second
61 by Marilee. No other nominations. The vote was unanimous to re-elect Ralph. Tony
62 nominated Danielle Scharf as Vice Chair. The nomination was seconded, and the vote was
63 unanimous to re-elect Danielle. Marilee nominated Mandee Arnold for Secretary, the
64 nomination was seconded, and the vote was unanimous to re-elect Mandee.
65
66 7. Traffic Impacts of Proposed Changes at Current High School. Todd Swinehart reported
67 that the School District is currently working on both a new high school and renovations to the
68 existing high school. Todd provided an overview of proposed improvements to the existing
69 high school. They have identified improvements to the existing stadium as well. The Main
70 Street drop off and parking lot will be reconfigured. They have identified other areas for
parking expansion and have been talking with the City about the 15th
71 /Beall intersection among
72 other things.
73
74 Jeff Lusin from NE45 Architects presented the plan for the new stadium. They originally
75 planned to renovate the existing stadium, but are now planning a new stadium to the north of
76 the existing stadium. Will include 106 additional parking spaces on-site adjacent to the
77 stadium. The Traffic Impact Study by Marvin & Associates reviewed multiple alternatives
78 for parent drop-off and identified the preferred alternative as being reconfiguration of Ruth
Thibeault Way to the east of the 15th
79 /Beall intersection. The City requires 1 parking stall for
80 every 3 seats in the stadium. They currently have 1,017 spaces on campus within 1000 feet of
81 the stadium, which meets the City’s requirement.
82
83 This school will be 1200 students when the new school opens and will be capped at 1500
84 students, both are less than today, so overall traffic demand will go down from today’s
85 volumes. They only need 450 spaces for daily high school use, so this becomes an issue of
86 event traffic and that’s anticipated to be 12 times per year.
87
The City is moving up the design of the 15th
88 /Beall intersection with either a signal or
89 roundabout. Construction of the stadium will start this summer and they hope the intersection
90 improvements could be completed within a similar timeframe, maybe the following summer.
91 The school district will fund the improvements, hopefully with a payback district for others
92 that will benefit to pay in. Intersection improvements will address pedestrian crossings as
93 well.
94
95 Marilee noted concerns about the parent drop off and challenges with the long cul-de-sac.
96 She feels they will continue to use the side streets instead. Response was that they will
97 continue to use many of the other loading areas around the site as well as the busing system.
98 They at one time had a concept that would exit the loading zone thru the parking lot to the
99 north, but now working with the City they would like the exit to be at the intersection.
100
Dillon’s primary concern is the safety of pedestrians. 15th
101 /Beall is a difficult place to cross
102 today. Tom asked about safety of pedestrian crossing at the roundabout and the possibility of
103 a flasher for the crossings. The pedestrian crossings will be a big component of the overall
104 design. Marilee expressed some additional concerns about compliance in the loading zones.
105 Rich said they recommend having police on the ground to help direct parents and provide
106 education when issues arise. Rich said the reduction in students combined with the
107 improvements proposed will be a great product overall.
108
109 A separate parking study by Genesis Engineering was discussed. This study was not
110 commissioned by the District or the District’s consultants. School District representatives
111 said it was a non-verified study and Bob Marvin has stated that he does not agree with that
112 study. They don’t feel it accounts for all of the variables involved; it addresses distance to
113 parking only. The current official plan is what they’re showing in this presentation today and
114 is available for viewing online.
115
Buses will continue to use 11th
116 for loading as they are today. They have discussed the
117 possibility of moving some of the transfer station facilities to the new high school. Ruth
118 Thibault Way will not be used for a lot of large buses.
119
School District would fund the roundabout at 15th
120 /Beall, ideally with a payback district to
121 share the cost with future development in the area. Jackson Contractor Group has been
122 selected for the stadium improvements, but they’re not sure if they’ll construct the roundabout
123 yet. That is still being discussed with the City.
124
125 8. Report on Results of Previous Actions & Consideration of Follow-Up Action.
126 The request to support lowering the speed limit on I-90 through Bozeman was discussed.
127 Ralph wrote the email we requested to the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT).
128 He also wrote a similar letter to the City of Bozeman, City of Belgrade, and Gallatin County
129 officials suggesting they make similar requests to MDT. He spoke with the State Traffic
130 Engineer this morning and she said they did a study on this segment of I-90 when the overall
131 interstate speed limit changed. Based on that September 22, 2016 study they are not planning
132 on considering changing the existing 75 MPH speed limit for at least a couple of years “unless
133 circumstances change”. It was suggested that we follow up with Jeff Ebert (MDT Butte
134 District Administrator) because he had previously indicated that there was a process for the
135 community to request a reduction.
136
137 9. County Commission, City Commission, and School Board Member Reports.
138 None at this time.
139
140 10. Liaison Officer Reports.
141 None at this time.
142
143 11. Reports from Non-Voting Official Committee Members.
144 John Van Davinder (City of Bozeman Streets Department) reported that his department has
145 primarily been focused on plowing. This year has been especially difficult. Tony asked if
146 there’s any way to limit parking on one side of the street when there’s this much snow. John
147 said they haven’t done that before. Dan asked about ice around pedestrian ramps. John said
148 they will try to open up a path for water to drain to inlets, but that usually happens after the
149 streets are plowed. John said last week for the first time they started towing vehicles that have
150 not been moved.
151
152 12. Reports from Related Groups (BABAB, TCC, GVLT, Citizens for Safer Bozeman)
153
154 a. Safer Bozeman and Gallatin County. Nothing to report.
155
156 b. Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT). Dan reported that they are planning for the
157 summer.
158
159 c. Galla10 Alliance for Pathways (GAP). Nothing to report.
160
161 d. Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC). They will be meeting later this
162 month.
163
164 13. City of Bozeman Strategic Plan.
165 Ralph reported that this will be on the Commission agenda on January 29. Ralph asked
166 Marilee to read his proposed changes. Marilee moved that we pursue the addition of
167 Ralph’s proposed language in the Strategic Plan and that motion was seconded.
168 Specifically, the motion called for PTS to recommend to the City Commission that Vision
169 Statement 4.5.d be revised to read: “Plan and create safe, interconnected bicycle, sidewalk,
170 and separated shared-use path networks to encourage non-motorized travel by both
171 impaired and non-impaired individuals.” The motion passed unanimously.
172
173 The committee discussed other Vision Statements of concern. In the end, Ralph was
174 instructed by consensus to make any recommendations to the City Commission that he felt
175 PTS would support. Tony volunteered to assist in the process.
176
177
178 12. Additional Business. None.
179
13. Next Meeting. February 14th
180 at Noon
181
182 14. Meeting Adjournment
183
184
185 Minutes by Danielle Scharf and Marilee Brown
186 Initial edits by Ralph Zimmer