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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-12-18 PTS MinutesBozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee 1 Minutes of the September 12, 2018 Meeting 2 Upstairs Conference Room Alfred Stiff Office Building 3 4 Attendance: 5 6 Voting Committee Members: 7 Ralph Zimmer (Gallatin County), Chair 8 Danielle Scharf (City of Bozeman), Vice Chair 9 Marilee Brown (At-large-Member) 10 Tony Gaddo (At-Large Member) 11 Tom Foster (Gallatin County) 12 Absent: 13 Mandee Arnold (City of Bozeman), Secretary 14 Dillon Fatouros (Bozeman School District) 15 vacancy (Bozeman School District) 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, Road & Bridge Supervisor (County) 21 22 City Commissioners, County Commissioners, and School Board Members 23 Terry Cunningham (City Commissioner) 24 Absent: (County Commissioner), (Bozeman School District Trustee), 25 26 Law Enforcement Liaison Officers 27 Travis Munter (Bozeman Police Department) 28 Absent: (Sheriff’s Department) 29 30 Frequent Attendees and Guests (City, County, Bozeman School District, and Montana 31 Department of Transportation Staff): 32 Linda DuPriest (City of Bozeman Contractor) 33 Andy Kerr (City of Bozeman Engineering) 34 Carolyn Poissant (City of Bozeman Parks) 35 Duane Liebel (MDT Butte District Preconstruction Engineer) 36 37 Citizens and Other Guests: 38 Linda Semones 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. 45 46 2. Agenda. 47 Ralph noted some changes in the agenda. We will move directly to Item 10 after public 48 comment. We will then go on to Item 11 and then back to the beginning. Ralph offered the 49 opportunity to provide other comments on the agenda. None were made. 50 51 3. Public Comment. 52 No public comment on items not on the agenda. 53 54 4. Safety Concerns along South Church from Pete’s Hill through Bogert Park. 55 Linda Semones and Lars Hoff spoke on this topic at our last meeting and Linda provided a 56 letter for our review. Linda provided an overview of their request for speed limit sign 57 improvements and a crosswalk flasher at Curtiss/Bogert pool entrance. They are also working 58 with Danni Hess at MSU for a possible traffic calming program in this area. Linda read an 59 email from Elizabeth Hill, Aquatics Manager with the Parks Department, who supports the 60 proposed safety measures. 61 62 Andy said he set up a video camera at the Curtiss intersection to count pedestrian crossings 63 and reported the volumes crossing on August 15, 16 and 24. The average was 3.2 pedestrian 64 crossings per hour. He noted that not all drivers respect the one-way circulation in the park 65 and are exiting through the Curtiss intersection. Andy also noted several pedestrians that 66 crossed outside of the crosswalk. His observations didn’t show significant delay for 67 pedestrians. 68 69 Andy said the southbound pedestrian crossing warning sign could be changed to match the 70 northbound warning sign. He believes a Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon (RRFB) could be 71 problematic here because the sign would be obscured by a large tree on one side if it were in 72 the appropriate location for pedestrian activation. He doesn’t feel the volumes are high 73 enough to warrant it at this time. This street is on the schedule for repaving and they could 74 then redo the markings. They could also remove one on-street parking space to improve 75 visibility of pedestrians. The counts were taken before the pool closed. 76 77 Carolyn suggested that counts be taken again during Farmers Market. She said the one tree 78 that would block the RRFB may have already been removed. 79 80 Andy said you generally need to have 20 pedestrian crossings per hour to warrant an RRFB. 81 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently came out with some additional 82 guidelines call STEP (Safe Transportation for Every Pedestrian). Andy’s recommendation is 83 to improve the markings and eliminate one parking space, possibly improve the one-way 84 signage at the park and/or change to angle parking. Carolyn noted that a lot of the crossings 85 are children. Linda suggested that we may want to do the counts again earlier during the 86 summer and during Farmers Market. 87 88 Linda DuPriest offered to meet with Linda to discuss this area further. She also praised the 89 speed of service by Andy to get the counts prior to the pool closing. Linda D’s biggest 90 concern was people exiting the parking lot against the one-way. Marilee suggested fancy 91 crosswalk striping like the one by Valley Unit Park. 92 93 Linda asked if the radar sign could be moved to the north side. Marilee asked if the 94 southbound sign could be changed to match the northbound sign (15 mph ahead). Carolyn 95 will talk to the Parks Director about necking down the entrance and restriping the parking lot 96 to angle parking. Linda D will meet with Linda and she’ll also confirm potential signing 97 changes with Andy. Carolyn may also want to discuss potential changes with Sergeant 98 Munter. 99 100 5. Minutes. 101 102 Hard copies of the minutes of the August 8, 2018 meeting were distributed at this meeting. 103 Electronic copies had been sent out just a few hours earlier, so Ralph offered the option to 104 wait and vote next month. However, the committee was ready to vote. 105 106 A motion to approve the minutes of the August 8 committee meeting was made by Tony and 107 seconded by Marilee. Marilee then made a motion to amend line 152 to add “to the MDT” to 108 Sheriff Gootkin’s comments. The motion to amend was seconded and passed. The original 109 motion as just amended passed unanimously without any additional changes. 110 111 6. Report on Results of Previous Actions & Consideration of Follow-Up Action. 112 Ralph noted that he was supposed to write a letter to the County in support of Streamline 113 funding. He did not write that letter, but he attended a County Commission meeting only to 114 learn that they had already decided to provide the full $100,000 that had been requested, but it 115 will be split between two fiscal years at $50,000 each. 116 117 Ralph listened in on a training session conducted by MDT about its Transportation 118 Alternatives (TA) grant program. Grant applications will be accepted by MDT again this fall. 119 However, MDT stated that they will not solicit projects that involve new construction at this 120 time but only just for pavement preservation due to funding concerns. Duane noted that 121 training session leader, MDT’s Dave Holien, had just learned about this change a few hours 122 prior to the training workshop. 123 124 Duane reported that a few new projects are coming up in Bozeman. They include the Baxter 125 and Love Lane intersection improvements, Signal at 19th Interchange to be constructed next 126 spring, guardrail upgrade in Gallatin County (Gallatin Gateway), and Rouse Ave is ready to 127 construct. On Rouse, the power company is currently working on utility relocations. They 128 will not be able to move gas until next fall, so the project will be delayed one year. The 129 Huffine and Love Lane signal is also coming soon. 130 131 Linda DuPriest asked about striping on North 7th. They would like a striped bike lane or 132 possibly get some additional right-of-way for a path. Duane said MDT is working on a 133 project in the area, but they have not surveyed it yet. Linda would like to make sure we can 134 reserve some space there because it’s in our transportation plan and Griffin will eventually 135 have bike lanes and it will be a connection to the future frontage path. Duane said they have 136 not started designing yet and it may be going out to a consultant. 137 138 Marilee reported that Montana State Transportation Commissioner Schultz has not yet been 139 replaced so we may want to consider people that we would recommend for that position. 140 141 7. County Commission, City Commission, and School Board Member Reports. 142 City Commissioner Terry Cunningham reported that he’s been watching with great interest 143 the improvements on Sourdough Road that were discussed at one of our past meetings. It 144 looks like the old driveway has been torn out and the new driveway is in place. The City is 145 currently working on updating the Community Plan and he will keep us posted as it evolves. 146 Marilee noticed in the newspaper that some decisions are being made related to the dog park. 147 Terry stated that the Regional Park master plan calls for a new parking lot off of Ferguson. 148 The City has notified the County about their concerns about the current “muddy” parking lot 149 to the north. The County has the funding lined up, but it will be tough to get the work 150 completed yet this fall. 151 152 8. Liaison Officer Reports. 153 Sergeant Munter was in attendance today. The BPD is currently working through some 154 changes in staffing. With the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant from the 155 state for traffic enforcement, they have used all of their funds, requested more and almost used 156 up those funds too. They are about to make some shift changes so we’ll be seeing some new 157 faces. Changes are also underway in code enforcement including a new manager who will 158 coordinate with the other City departments. He also encouraged us to read up on the new Law 159 & Justice Center vote coming up in November. 160 161 9. Reports from Non-Voting Official Committee Members. 162 Todd Swinehart (Bozeman School District) reported that school is back in session. They have 163 been working with the City on the South Tracy improvements including a new speed table in 164 front of Longfellow Elementary School. They are also working on the new high school 165 project and has noted the speed of traffic on Flanders Mill. BPD has been helping with 166 increased enforcement. He understands the struggle of hiring contractors here in town. 167 168 Ralph asked for an update on the 15th and Beall roundabout. The City Commission hearing 169 occurred in August, but the project is still under review by the planning department and they 170 need to acquire right-of-way soon. It will be smaller than the 11th and College roundabout. 171 The Hastings Shopping Center approach near that intersection will be relocated. 172 173 Marilee asked Todd who’s responsible for teaching kids how to stop and look at intersections 174 when riding their bikes on sidewalks. Todd noted that bike to school week would probably be 175 a good opportunity to provide some education. Marilee would like to get a coordinated effort 176 going with the school district. Linda is willing to help Marilee with the education, but noted 177 we also need to address why people don’t feel comfortable in the street. 178 179 John Van Delinder (City of Bozeman Streets Department) reported that the City is working on 180 hiring but mostly getting applications from out of state. Stucky/Cottonwood is supposed to 181 open this month. Baxter from 27th to Davis will open up prior to winter. 182 183 Ralph asked Commissioner Cunningham about finding a new director of public works. Terry 184 reported that they have received many applications and have narrowed it down to 5. They are 185 beginning interviews with those 5. He will check to see if they will meet with the public and 186 get back to us. 187 188 10. Reports from Related Groups 189 Galla10 Alliance for Pathways (GAP). Marilee reported that they are actively searching for 190 new board members. Hoping to apply for a TOPS grant for a segment of path from Moss 191 Bridge Road to Nelson Road and possibly a TA application depending on whether they accept 192 applications for new construction. 193 194 Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board. Linda DuPriest reported that they discussed TA 195 funding and moving forward with creating a new bike map. Linda is now going to spearhead 196 the map creation. The map has not been updated for seven years. 197 198 Safer Bozeman. Marilee provided a graphic that displays her concerns about the speed 199 signage at Chief Joseph. The school crossing ahead sign is on the same post as 25 mph. 200 Around the corner is another school sign with 15 mph. Marilee suggested the City consider 201 another solution. John will discuss it with Andy and Todd will discuss with School District 202 Administration to see if this is on their radar. 203 204 11. Community Transportation Safety Plan 205 206 Marilee reported that she has some money from the City, but it has been challenging. She’s 207 been working with the City’s new communications coordinator, but that has caused some 208 delays. She had a booth at Catapoolza with Captain Night and gave out several pamphlets and 209 bumper stickers from MDT. She passed out copies of those handouts. 210 211 She is continuing to work with as many people as she can to keep moving things forward. 212 Captain Night suggested a distracted driving sting this fall. She’s trying to track down the 213 distracted driving banner that was previously up downtown so we can get it up again. John 214 thought the sign company that put it up may still have it. 215 216 12. County Road Design Standards. 217 Ralph checked in with Levi Ewan regarding their new transportation design standards. The 218 County Attorney’s Office has not completed its review of the draft standards and thus they are 219 not available for public review yet, but Levi will let us know when they are. 220 221 Ralph also reported that the Belgrade-Bozeman-Four Corners Triangle Planning Coordinating 222 Committee (PCC) is discussing how they can merge design standards from the different 223 jurisdictions. 224 225 13. MDT State Bike/Ped Plan. 226 Ralph feels that we should provide input on the plan in some way. He would welcome input 227 on how we should do that. It should include addressing MDT’s relatively recent policy 228 changes regarding shared-use paths. 229 230 14. Pedestrian Access to Bus Stop at College & Grant Chamberlain. 231 John said College from 11th to 19th is scheduled for a mill and overlay next summer. They 232 could stripe the crosswalk then, but there is no ADA route to the path on the south side and 233 the sidewalk is over-grown on the north side. 234 235 Linda DuPriest suggested that Marilee contact Streamline (Sunshine Ross) to get some 236 information about their bus stops in this area. The problem might be mitigated by simply 237 moving bus stop locations. College Street is scheduled for design in 2020, but unscheduled 238 for construction. Public Works won’t want to invest money in a temporary solution with the 239 corridor re-design coming up that soon, but Streamline may be able to help for better service 240 to their customers. Linda also suggested Marilee contact Candace Mastel at MSU. Ralph 241 asked them to copy him on any correspondence on this issue. 242 243 15. Additional Business. None. 244 245 16. Next Meeting. October 10th at Noon. Todd and Danielle will both be out of town that 246 day. (Electronic Postscript: that October meeting was subsequently cancelled due in part 247 to the probable absence of a quorum. The next meeting occurred on November 13.) 248 249 17. Meeting Adjournment 250 251 252 Minutes by Danielle Scharf 253 Some edits by Ralph Zimmer 254