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HomeMy WebLinkAbout103000 Transportation Coordinating Committee Minutes Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 1 BOZEMAN AREA TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE BOZEMAN AREA TRANSPORTATION PLAN 2000 UPDATE OCTOBER 30, 2000 MINUTES ITEM 1. 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER AND ATTENDANCE Chairperson Bill Burdock called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. He asked attending TCC members, City Commission, and County Commission to introduce themselves. He gave a brief description of the area under review for the Bozeman Area Transportation Plan Update 2000. Members Present Staff Present Andrew Epple, Director, City of Bozeman, Chris Saunders, Associate Planner, City of Boze. Planning & Community Development Alan Vander Wey, MDT Debbie Arkell, Public Service Director, Rob Bukvich, MDT City of Bozeman Carol Schott, Recording Secretary John Gallagher, Representative, Bozeman Bicycle Advisory Board Lee Provance, Gallatin County Road Supv. Commissioners Present Jason Giard, District Engineer, MDT Sandra Smiley, City Commission Clark Johnson, Manager, City of Bozeman Jarvis Brown, City Commission Bob Lashaway, Representative, MSU Steve Kirchhoff, City Commission John Mandeville, Citizen Member, City of Bozeman Bill Murdock, Chairperson, Gallatin County Commission Marcia Youngman, Mayor, City of Bozeman Ed Musser, President, City of Bozeman Planning Board Howard Van Noy, Delegate, Gallatin County Planning Board Lynn Zanto, Urban Planning, MDT Visitors Present There were 96 visitors registered, the register is on file in the City of Bozeman Office of Planning and Community Development. Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 2 ITEM 2. PUBLIC HEARING A. OPENING STATEMENTS 1. Chris Saunders Chairperson Murdock introduced Chris Saunders, Associate Planner for the City of Bozeman, who gave a brief introduction of the Plan, noting it is a facility plan that deals with transportation. Planner Saunders introduced consultant Doug Widmayer of Robert Peccia and Associates. 2. Doug Widmayer Mr. Widmayer gave an overview of the process of developing the draft plan, described the tests run, and reviewed the resulting graphics and recommendations. 7:20 P.M. B. RESPONSE TO SUBMITTED QUESTIONS Mr. Widmayer answered questions, which were presented in writing by the audience, including the use of the current Transportation Plan by the City and County Offices; the paving of Baxter Road to Jack Rabbit Lane; the extension of Harper Puckett north from the intersection of Hidden Valley and Harper Puckett Road; the need for mass transit; the use of the $5 million bond to level the hills on Highland Blvd; the width of right-of-way for 5 lanes on Oak Street, Baxter Lane, and Durston Road; the need for more right turn lanes; the need for left turn arrows at the intersections of North 7th Avenue and Oak Street and of Durston Road and North 19th Avenue; and widening of North 19th Avenue to Baxter Lane. (The complete set of questions is on file in the City of Bozeman Office of Planning and Community Development.) 8:00 P.M. C. OPEN HEARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT OPENED PUBLIC HEARING FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. Fred Norman 1272 Harper Puckett Road, noted that Harper Puckett Road doesn’t exist as shown. He stated Love Lane is already through from Huffine Lane to Valley Center Road, then asked why Love Lane wasn’t chosen to intersect with the interstate. Mr. Widmayer noted that the location of the County roads on either side of the interstate was the reason. He stated the corridor needs to be set aside for a future road, if and when the property is developed. Mike Cok, 3300 Harper Puckett Road, criticized the draft plan as being non-representative of the community as the residents were not surveyed for the their comments. He stated the consultant is wrong if he thinks the predicted 10,000 homes will appear here. He stated that due process was not followed. His concerns were Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 3 that farms were split into two parcels by the consultant’s roads, the roads are proposed to be constructed through wetlands, the plan is just a method to justify condemnation of land for roads, and the assumptions for where the increase in population will live are incorrect. He noted the plan is affecting people’s heritage and their lives and asked the TCC to give the community the opportunity to respond to the draft plan and to offer alternatives. Mr. Widmayer stated if the land isn’t sold or developed, the roads will not happen. He commented there is no intention to build a road through anybody’s farm. He continued the reason for the plan is to have a clear plan for TCC and City and County Planners to follow in determining how much right-of-way is needed for roads when someone decides to develop land,. He noted the community has no money to build a road., therefore, the developer will build the roads. He stated the maps are to show how the network has to work if the land is developed. He noted the community is not trying to dictate how anyone will operate their piece of property. Another member of the public stated if a line is drawn on the map, developers will attempt to develop the land. Frank Culver, 3111 Blackwood Road, stated placement of roads will dictate where growth will occur. He suggested the growth plan be completed prior to the adoption of the Transportation Plan. He stated the straightening of Gooch Hill Road will impact wetlands, stream corridors, and prime farm land. He noted mass transit will be in more demand, and stated that 3% is a too conservative a number predicting who will use mass transit. Mr. Widmayer stated the growth plan should include protection for the open space in the county. Frank Silva, 80610 Gallatin Road, stated the growth plan should be in place prior to the transportation plan. Gil More, Belgrade Fire District, stated fire district personnel have a concern with providing service to the area south of the interstate. He encouraged the construction of a mid-valley interchange and the airport interchange, with north-south roads to both sides of the railroad and interstate for public health and welfare. Shawn Garrity, Highland Boulevard, representing the southeast side of Bozeman, presented some concerns and solutions to the concerns. Mr. Garrity noted Highland Boulevard would be the long way around to get to the west side of town from the north. He noted it would be a shame to install a street on the ridge to the east of the current Sourdough Road along the proposed trail. He commended the planners and consultant for providing for the preservation of open space. He stated the traffic plan is on a good path, however, the growth plan should come first. He asked for a show of hands in support of what he presented, and 27 or 28 hands were raised. Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 4 Chairperson Murdock asked for a show of hands of those who support merging the two plans. All audience members appeared to be in favor of merging the two plans. John Mandeville suggested continuing Donegal Drive to connect to Highland Boulevard rather than moving Sourdough Road. Mr. Garrity stated Donegal Drive is of adequate size to take the pressure. Andy Tuller, 510 East Gallatin Avenue, Belgrade, stated planners have a tough project predicting where growth will occur in the valley. He stated he is in favor of mass transportation, riding bikes, and suggested more energy be spent on providing public transportation and alternative means of traffic, including electric buses and government grants for bike paths. Tim Conlon, 420 West Koch, suggested traffic calming devices be installed to keep speeding cars off neighborhood streets, which would help create a safe place to live and raise families. Mr. Widmayer noted a chapter has been included which lists the procedure to have calming devices installed. Mr. Conlon stated his desire is to maintain the existing quality of life, yet meet the City’s mission and vision statements. Courtney Dann, 3050 Harper Puckett Road, asked for a show of hands of those who don’t want Harper Puckett to go through to a mid-valley exchange at the interstate. 38 hands were raised. Bob Paugh, 2444 Valley Center Road East, displayed an aerial photo dated 1981 which shows Valley Center Road being developed from North 19th Avenue to Jackrabbit Lane. He stated the improvements have been on-going since then and further improvements have been the number 1 priority for several years. He noted Valley Center Road is a shortcut for a lot of traffic from Highway 10 to Jackrabbit Lane. He stated that an extension of Love Lane to a new exchange at Airport Road would be more appropriate than an exchange at the end of an extension of Harper Puckett Road. Mr. Widmayer noted that 3.4 million dollars has been set aside to improve Valley Center Road and the bids were let in the middle of October. A lady in the audience asked if improvements for Baxter Lane are among the committed improvements. Mr. Widmayer read the list of committed improvements, which did not include improvements to Baxter Lane. Paul Gaffney, 4600 Sourdough Road, asked if a cul-de-sac will be installed on the north end of Sourdough Road, just before Kagy Boulevard. Mr. Widmayer noted Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 5 the plan includes some kind of extension for a north-south connection on the east side of town by realigning Sourdough Road south of Kagy Boulevard with Highland Boulevard. Mr. Gaffney suggested leaving the access to Kagy Boulevard open as well as realign the road. Margaret Barber, Sourdough Ridge, suggested all traffic be routed further east of the hospital and nursing home to avoid congestion on Highland Boulevard in the vicinity of the hospital. Mr. Widmayer noted the proposed widening of Highland Boulevard is due to increased traffic on Willson Avenue. Frank Harrington, 3121 West Babcock, stated the widening of West Babcock Street has been on the priority list for the last few years, yet nothing has been done. Mr. Widmayer noted the project is on the top ten list and is slowly happening, but it will take a while because the right-of-way isn’t available as of yet. Mark Haggerty, 308 South Bozeman Avenue, suggested another step should be taken to educate the public using planning charrettes, which would help people get from the vision to the lines on the map. He criticized the charrettes done by the City in the past as having been isolated instances. He stated the farms and ranches that people are trying to protect need to be saved. Denise Alberg, 2950 Harper Puckett, suggested making West Babcock Street from 23rd Street west one-way, west-bound. She stated she feels it would be much safer. Bob Paugh stated the one-way couplets, Mendenhall and Babcock Streets, should be reversed. Mr. Widmayer noted the suggestion has been studied, however, the study didn’t show reversing the one-ways would solve traffic problems. He suggested a more in depth study should be done. Alex Phillips, South Bozeman, was concerned with what happens when the plan meets the County and if the County will adopt it. Mr. Provance noted the County is much larger than this plan, however, this plan will be a piece of the puzzle. He noted if a parcel of land is to be developed, the plan gives the County the vision of what roads are needed, which ones need to be paved, and where parks should be located. Mr. Widmayer noted that he is recommending sidewalks for both sides of arterials and collectors. He noted that if the City adopts the plan and the County doesn’t, it would be a problem for the City when annexations happen and the needed street width rights-of-way are not dedicated. A lady asked who owns Amsterdam Road, and how are the State, Federal, and County are related in regard to roads. Mr. Widmayer explained the various levels of Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 6 authority over streets and roads and the funding sources for each level. He stated the TCC works on coordinating the various road systems. Another lady asked about the dust and increased number of vehicles on Baxter Road due to the many new subdivisions in the area. She stated the road is a mess and cars just fly along the road. In response to her question as to when the rest of Baxter Road will be paved to Jackrabbit Lane, Mr. Provance stated it will be paved when property adjacent to it is developed He stated he’d like to pave every county road with over 500 trips per day, however, that would take a County-wide bond issue. Ted Newman, 535 Valley Drive, asked why the improvements to an intersection are done several times and not all at once. Mr. Widmayer noted the improvements are dictated by the availability of funding. He noted the development along North 19th Avenue has overgrown not only the improvements, but also the timing of further improvements. Deanna Campbell, 1340 Hidden Valley Road, stated there is a road shown through her horse pasture and through wetlands. Mr. Widmayer noted he drew lines for future roads IF (emphasis provided by Mr. Widmayer) the land is approved for development by the County Commissioners, and only as a guide for where future roads will be needed. He stated if several generations from now the land is developed, that proposal would have to go through the same review for environmental qualities as a residence. He noted a development plan will not let development occur where it is not desirable. Ms. Campbell noted that TAKINGS (emphasis by Ms. Campbell) allows the government to take land and install roads wherever. She stated she sees the plan as a device for opening the community for TAKINGS and a violation of democracy due to lack of public input. Chris Nixon, 719 North Wallace, noted a neighborhood council has been formed on the Northeast side of town and elsewhere to help each neighborhood solve problems without impacting other neighborhoods. He asked if Church Avenue is still proposed to swing over to connect with Wallace Avenue on East Main Street, and, if so, how will it affect the CMC/library proposal. Mr. Widmayer noted moving the intersection of Church Avenue to Wallace Avenue at Main Street will create a signalized intersection, which makes sense as traffic will flow through to the north. Approx.9:30 P.M. D. CLOSE HEARING Chairperson Murdock called for further public comment, and hearing none, CLOSED THE PUBLIC HEARING. Mr. Widmayer thanked everyone for coming and voicing their opinions. Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee Hearing Minutes - October 30, 2000 7 Chairperson Murdock noted the hearing will not be continued to November 13th as there seemed to be no further comment. He noted he feels the written comment deadline shall be continued indefinitely. Debbie Arkell noted an e-mail has been received from Jody Gritter, who was concerned about safety at Beall Street and North 19th Avenue . ITEM 3. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Murdock adjourned the meeting at 9:05 p.m. ____________________________________________ Bill Murdock, Chairperson Bozeman Area Transportation Coordinating Committee