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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-11-10 Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee Minutes Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee Minutes of the August 11, 2010 Meeting Upstairs Conference Room Alfred Stiff Office Bldg. Those Present: Voting Committee Members: Ralph Zimmer (Gallatin County) Frank Manseau (Gallatin County) Gary Vodehnal (City of Bozeman) Danielle Scharf (City of Bozeman) Sue Brown (At-large Voting Member) Sam Miller (Newly Elected At-large Voting Member) Liaison Officers: Tommie Franscioni (Bozeman PD) Ryan Stratman (Sheriff’s Office) Guests: Sean Becker (City Commission) Elizabeth Bird (BABAB Liaison) Quorum: present NEW BUSINESS: Ralph called the meeting to order at 12:05 PM. Public Comment. 1. No public comment. Minutes. 2. Minutes from the July 14, 2010 meeting were approved with minor edits made by Ralph Zimmer prior to distribution. Clarification was provided regarding a comment that Gary made about the option to add projects to the CTEP list after it had been approved by the Commission. The note should have stated that the Commission will have the opportunity to add projects to the list or shift priorities when they approve it. Election of At-large Members. 3. Under the inter-local agreement between the City, County and School District and our by-laws, we have the option of voting in zero, one or two official at- large committee members. Sue Brown was recently elected as an at-large voting member and we have room for one more. Names that have been suggested to fill the second position include Taylor Lonsdale, Elizabeth Bird, and Sam Miller. Taylor said he was willing, but he was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to attend very many meetings. Elizabeth was in attendance at this meeting and stated that she would not be interested because she has too many other commitments. She would like to continue to serve as the BABAB liaison to this committee and attend as often as she can, but cannot commit to becoming an at-large voting member. Sam Miller was also in attendance at this meeting and had expressed interest at a previous meeting. Ralph requested input from the group on whether we should make a nomination at this time and there were no objections. Frank nominated Sam and no other nominations were made. Ralph requested a vote that we choose to elect an at-large member at this time and all were in favor. Ralph requested a vote to elect Sam Miller and all were in favor. Sam has been elected as the new at-large voting member of the committee for the remainder of this calendar year (plus the first meeting in 2011, which is when we will do elections for the 2011 calendar year). TCC Meeting. 4. Gary attended the TCC meeting on July 28th in Ralph’s place. During the meeting, Rick Hixson recognized the PTS Committee’s involvement in getting the pedestrian signals changed on Main Street. They also discussed the upcoming feasibility study for the two- way conversion of Babcock and Mendenhall. Based on Ralph’s recommendation, Gary said they intend to include a representative from the PTS Committee and BABAB on the selection committee and steering committee for the project. The meeting also included a presentation from the County on the draft County Trails Plan. Comments on the draft plan are due August 15. Gary noted that GVLT is currently reviewing the plan and they intend to provide comments. Their main concern is the public vs. private status of parks and trails. Elizabeth stated that she didn’t think it was a done deal that our two committees will have representation on the two-way conversion committees. We should follow up with Rick Hixson to make sure that happens. Ralph is more concerned with having representation on steering committee. He will follow up with Rick. Ralph’s other big concern is that funding might not even be available for the study. Rick had previously stated that it would cost $100,000 to $200,000, or possibly even more. Another item to be further discussed is the title of the study. The scope would include many more options than just converting Babcock and Mendenhall to two-way, so the title should be all-encompassing. Ralph will contact Rick to suggest that we have representation at a minimum on the steering committee, but also potentially on the selection committee. County Trails Plan. 5. We discussed whether or not this committee should provide comment on the draft plan. Ted Lange is heading up the review for GVLT. Ralph noted that Ted recently sent him some emails that may have addressed the plan, but he didn’t get a chance to follow up on them. Frank said that the only reason he can see to allow a private park is if it were in a gated community. Sean noted that you cannot have a gated community in Gallatin County because it’s prohibited by the subdivision regulations. An example of a private park is Sundance Springs, which is not open to the public, but the Commission has not authorized a private park since that one. Ralph asked the group if we should submit a statement expressing our support for public access to trails if there is an eminent deadline for comment. All agreed unanimously. Gary will have Ted send more information to Ralph, including the draft plan and confirming the deadline for comment. CTEP Projects. 6. As discussed at our last couple meetings, a list of potential CTEP projects was developed by the CTEP Committee on May 26, 2010. At our last meeting, we discussed some other potential project suggestions and were concerned that Safe Routes to School projects were not given sufficient consideration. As a result, a sub-committee (including Gary, Danielle and Taylor Lonsdale) was appointed to take a closer look at these projects. Over the course of two meetings, the sub-committee reviewed the Safe Routes to School reports and came up with some additional recommendations for CTEP projects. The sub-committee also developed a list of what they felt should be the priority projects. The intent is to give this list to Ron Dingman and the CTEP committee for consideration and suggest that the Safe Routes to School projects be considered as projects are selected for CTEP funding. Gary provided a brief summary of the recommended additional projects and the list of priorities. thth The intersections of 5/College and 6/College will be removed from the list because accessible ramps are already provided. While these may be good locations for crosswalks, it probably doesn’t make sense to use CTEP funds just for signing/striping. The Short Street sidewalk project would require a private property easement from the adjacent property owner. Frank asked about accessible ramps on Kagy and Gary explained that we didn’t really consider Kagy because it is an MDT designated route. Ralph asked if this list is intended to replace or supplement the original CTEP list. Gary and Danielle explained that it is meant to supplement the original list. The intent is to provide some suggested additional projects and to provide some input on the top priority projects, not to replace the entire list developed by the CTEP Committee. Frank asked why the Longfellow crossing was not included. Danielle explained that after discussing the crossing with Taylor, the sub-committee felt that the Longfellow crossing should be addressed through Safe Routes to School efforts and close coordination with Longfellow Elementary School. The recommendations included in the Safe Routes to School report included a raised crosswalk that would address the schools speed concerns among other things. The sub-committee felt that this project warranted further discussion and that it didn’t make sense to include it on the CTEP project list at this time. Frank noted that he used to be a representative of this committee for Longfellow School, so he will follow up with the school to see what they think about the crossing. Ralph suggested that our sub-committee forward this list to the CTEP Committee and request that they consider this input in the development of the final list that they will bring forward to the th Commission for approval. Gary noted the exception that we will remove 5/College and th 6/College from the list of accessible curb ramps. A motion was made to communicate this list to the CTEP Committee as recommendations from the PTS Committee for incorporation into the list of CTEP projects. The motion passed unanimously. (NOTE: the list as approved by the PTS is attached to these minutes.) Update on Distracted Driver Issues. 7. Due to time limitations, this item was only briefly discussed, but will be made a priority for our next meeting. Sam said that the City of Billings just recently approved a hands-free city ordinance in July. Ralph requested that Sam provide a copy of the ordinance that the City approved. Danielle noted that we could also probably find a copy on the City’s website. Sean said this item is not on the Commission’s priority list and will not be considered as an agenda item, unless a request to reconsider it is issued. Sean asked if law enforcement has the ability to pull someone over for obviously being distracted while talking on the phone. Tommie and Ryan explained that they can pull someone over for driving erratically, but the ticket would be for the driving behavior not for talking on the phone. Liaison Officer Reports. 8. Tommie Franscioni, the liaison officer from the Bozeman Police Department, provided a brief report. At the last meeting, he said he would check the Police Department’s accident records to see if there have been any accidents at the intersections proposed for accessible ramp improvements on the CTEP list. The records did not show any accidents at those intersections. Ryan Stratman will be taking over as the new representative for the Sheriff’s Office and has provided his contact information on the sign-in sheet. Sam asked Tommie if the City will be conducting the crosswalk sting operation again this year. All agreed that it was particularly effective last year and the consensus of the committee was in favor of doing it again. Tommie said he was in charge of it last year and will try to get it going again. Future Agenda Items. 9. The following items will be considered as future agenda items. · Path along Bridger Canyon Road · Galligator Trail crossing at South Willson & Lincoln – review # of crossings along Willson from Kagy to Garfield and consider a recommendation to install another at Mason? · South Willson & College intersection improvements · Citizen proposal to install flashers on South Willson at Dickerson · Continue discussion on Complete Streets Policy · Continue discussion on Sidewalk Encroachment Policy · Continue discussion on the operation of Main Street pedestrian signals · Continue discussion on Distracted Driver Issues th · South 19 Avenue turn lanes The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 PM. Next Meeting: September 8, 2010 Minutes by Danielle Scharf Minor edits by Ralph Zimmer Additional CTEP Projects & Priorities Recommended by the Bozeman Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee August 11, 2010 Recommended Additional Projects Accessible Curb Ramps 5th & Alderson 5th & Dickerson 5th & Story 6th & Curtis 6th & Story 7th & Alderson – Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Recommended Improvement 7th & Dickerson – SRTS Recommended Improvement 7th & Curtis 9th & College 13th & College – SRTS Recommended Improvement 10th & Dickerson – SRTS Recommended Improvement 10th & Alderson – SRTS Recommended Improvement Church & Story Sidewalks Centennial Park – south and west sides – SRTS Recommended Improvement College – Tracy to Black – SRTS Recommended Improvement Davis – East of Wallace – SRTS Recommended Improvement 5th Street – North of Peach – SRTS Recommended Improvement rdth Short Street – 3 Ave to 4 Ave – SRTS Recommended Improvement 7th Street from Oak to I-90 – Coordinate with North 7th Urban Renewal District Intersection Improvements th 5 & Peach Curb Extensions – SRTS Recommended Improvement - Coordinate with the striping of bike lanes on Peach Street (could serve as City’s local match for CTEP funds) Recommended Priority Projects 1. Accessible Curbs – including additional locations noted above with priority given to SRTS recommended improvements. thth 2.Sidewalk on north side of College Street from 13 to 19 - #3 on original CTEP list, also a SRTS recommended improvement. 3.Sidewalk on College Street from Black to Tracy - #8 on original CTEP list, also a SRTS recommended improvement. 4.Sidewalk along Centennial Park – not on original CTEP list, but an important link along the park and a SRTS recommended improvement. thth 5.Sidewalk or path along south side of Oak Street west of 7 Ave to 12 Ave – part of #7 on original CTEP list. th 6.Path along Oak Street east of 7 Ave to Rouse – part of #7 on original CTEP list. 7.Sidewalk along Rose Park - #19 on original CTEP list. thth 8.Sidewalks along Babcock from 11 to 19 - #2 on original CTEP list.