HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-14 Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee MinutesBozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
Minutes of the January 22, 2014 Unofficial Meeting
Upstairs Conference Room Alfred Stiff Office Building
Those Present:
Voting
Committee Members:
Ralph Zimmer (Gallatin County)
Danielle Scharf (City of Bozeman)
Frank Manseau (Gallatin County)
Non-Voting Committee Members:
John Van Delinder (City of Bozeman
Streets Department)
Liaison Officers:
Tommie Franscioni (Bozeman Police Department)
Rick Musson (Bozeman Police Department)
Guests:
Rebecca Gleason (Western Transportation Institute
& Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Bd Chair)
Kelly Pohl (Gallatin Valley Land Trust Associate Director)
Rick Hixson (City Engineer)
Quorum: Not present. We will not take any official
action today, but have several points of discussion.
NEW BUSINESS:
Ralph called the meeting to order at 12:00 PM.
Public Comment. Ralph offered the opportunity for public comment
on items not on the agenda. Rebecca said she was recently approached by a senior civil engineering student who’s interested in a research project and noted the recent webinar about
funding sidewalks hosted by WTI. Rebecca thought that type of funding program would make a good research project to see what other communities are doing and how a similar program would
work for Bozeman. She would submit her application in February and complete the project before she graduates next December. The project would likely include meeting with us several
times during the process. Frank asked if she could attend our February meeting so we can talk to her before she submits her application. Rebecca suggested that we also provide a letter
of support for her application.
Consideration of Meeting Agenda. Ralph offered the opportunity to provide input on the agenda and noted that he will take some liberties as we have
many items to discuss. Because we do not have a quorum, we will not discuss at-large membership or election of officers today.
Minutes. Danielle made a motion to approve the minutes
of the November 13, 2013 meeting subject to affirmation at our next meeting, second by Frank. Motioned passed.
Pathway along North Rouse from Oak to Story Mill. Rick and Kelly explained that the MDT project originally consisted of Main to Story Mill, but was subsequently divided into two projects
separated at Oak Street because it was thought that one segment may take longer than the other to get through design and right-of-way acquisition. The projects have progressed and the
design is completed.
Since then a trail has been designed (and contract let) along the south side of Oak from N 7th Ave to Rouse. In addition, funding has been secured for a trail
from Story Mill to the M, including matching funds allocated by the City Commission from the Trails, Open Space and Parks Bond. Since those two projects have come together, there is
now a desire to incorporate a 10-foot wide pathway along MDT’s project from Oak to Story Mill to connect the other two projects. The Oak St Trail will be constructed on the south side
and the Bridger Drive trail will start on the south side, then transition to the north side, but final design is yet to be determined by Western Federal Lands engineers.
Our committee
previously agreed to write a letter of support for adding the trail connection along Rouse, but we have not yet done that. Craig Woolard, Public Works Director agreed to have a discussion
with Jeff Ebert (MDT Butte District Administrator) and has since written an email addressed to Kelly, Gary and Ralph explaining the outcome of that discussion. Rick summarized that
discussion. It revolved mostly around funding, primarily because right-of-way acquisition would be required to construct the pathway. Neither MDT nor the City has the funds available
to acquire additional right-of-way. MDT is also concerned that it may delay the project.
Kelly shared a map showing a potential alternate route extending along Oak across Rouse along
Birch Street and Front Street, and crossing the RR tracks at Wallace.
Rick stated that the Rouse project will include bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides, as well as a 10-foot
pathway along the west/north side of Rouse from Oak to Story Mill (electronic postscript: it was later determined that this statement was inaccurate. The current plan calls for 5-foot
sidewalks on both sides but no 10-foot pathway). The current MDT plans do not call for any changes for the intersection of Rouse and Story Mill, but it is an unscheduled project in
the City’s Capital Improvements Plan, meaning that it has been identified by the City for future improvements.
Rick’s understanding of the Trails, Open Space and Parks Bond is that
the money has not yet been spent. They have identified three projects totaling just over $2 million, but the rest of the money has not been allocated yet. It is still possible the
City Commission will consider giving funds to this project, likely for the alternate project along Birch. GVLT cannot pay for the Rouse alternative, but could possibly afford the alternate
project. Kelly feels that they have made their case for the Rouse segment and the answer was no, unless GVLT can fund it. Therefore, she’s ok with proceeding with the alternative.
There is no longer any reason for us to write a letter of support for the Rouse segment. We could write a letter of support for the alternate route, but it would no longer go to
MDT as they will not be involved in that project.
Update on Previous Actions. We talked previously about an effort to submit Bozeman for the Walk Friendly Community designation, but we missed the deadline. We will therefore plan to
submit next year and Taylor Lonsdale has already started working on the application.
At our last meeting, we also discussed crossing improvements at various locations along Willson.
Andy Kerr (City Engineering) is planning to attend our next meeting to discuss these improvements.
Liaison Officer Reports. Tommie and Rick from the Bozeman Police Department were
both in attendance today, but did not have anything specific to report. Ralph is planning to follow up with the Sheriff’s Office to see about renewing their participation on our committee.
School
District. John reported that the School District is planning an upcoming Safe Routes to School meeting that he is expecting to attend.
County Road Department Report. Dave Fowler was
not in attendance today. Frank recently asked Rob Bukvich from MDT about the turn lanes on South 19th Avenue and specifically whether the project would include sidewalks or bike lanes.
He said it would include bike lanes, but not sidewalks. Danielle said she expected that there would probably be a wider shoulder, enough width for bike lanes, but that bike lanes would
not actually be striped for just a short distance.
City Street Department Report. John reported that the City is primarily focused on snow and ice removal at this time. Rick and John
are both concerned about street damage due to freezing and thawing. Rick will be before the Commission in February to discuss funding for local street improvements. Frank asked when
Kagy will be improved and Rick said it will be the next MDT project after College is completed. College will be completed in summer of 2015 because they are still acquiring right-of-way
and will need to pipe the existing ditch on the north side. It will include bike lanes and separated pathway on the north side from Technology Boulevard to 19th, in addition to the
existing path on the south side. It will also include raised median along the entire length, which will help to improve access issues near the Main Street intersection.
New City Commission
Liaison. Ralph reported that Cindy Andrus will be the new City Commission liaison to this committee. She was not able to attend today because of a conflicting meeting. Rebecca said
that BABAB’s new liaison will be I-Ho Pomeroy.
Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB) Report. Rebecca reported that MDT has a new bike/ped coordinator, Angie Zanin, and she will
be in Bozeman on February 5th to attend BABAB’s meeting. They will also likely host a meet and greet at WTI at 4:00 pm that day. We could either attend that, schedule a separate meeting
with her that afternoon, or invite her to one of our future meetings. Rebecca will send Ralph her contact information.
Ralph reminded the group that, on behalf of the City, three proposals
were prepared by WTI for the Transportation Alternatives program that were submitted in September and for which we wrote letters of support. The first week in November, Ralph heard
an announcement that the decision on those applications would be made in December. Ralph has been inquiring to MDT since then to ask when a decision will be made and was informed that
MDT would be
informing the applicants directly, but still no word. Ralph was told last week that these would be awards, not recommendations for award to the State Transportation Commission.
Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC). TCC met this morning. Mike Delaney presented a proposal for a secondary access to The Village downtown. He had previously proposed
that it be at Haggerty and Main, but the City and MDT would prefer to see it at Highland and Main. Today Mike offered the option of providing a 60-foot right-of-way for the extension
of Highland Boulevard on the north side of Main. Highland would connect to an extension of Front Street. In general, TCC was supportive of the idea, especially if it means that he
will drop the idea of access at Haggerty. TCC committed to officially considering his proposal at its April meeting. Ralph suggested to TCC that it wait to take action until it receives
input from this committee and BABAB. Ralph will invite a City representative and Mr. Delaney to attend one of our upcoming meetings.
Greater Gallatin Safety Coalition. Ralph attended
one of their meetings recently and found that there is some overlap in the items that group is discussing. He would like to see if we could identify someone on their committee to attend
our meetings as well. Rebecca suggested that we start by requesting a copy of their meeting minutes. Danielle also noted that Taylor Lonsdale has been attending their meetings regularly.
At-Large
Voting Members and Election of Officers. Ralph noted that Sue Brown is the only one that has expressed to him an interest in serving as an at-large voting member for 2014. We will
postpone this discussion, and the election of officers, until our next meeting when we have a quorum.
Huffine Lane Pedestrian Crossings. Ralph received an inquiry from a concerned
citizen about pedestrian crossing safety on Huffine Lane near Four Corners. Ralph suggested that he attend one of our upcoming meetings and asked that he notify him a week in advance
so he can put it on the agenda. He has not yet heard back from him again.
Implementation of Bozeman Community Transportation Safety Plan. Rick has not had time to follow up on the
implementation of this plan yet. He intends to delegate it to one of his staff engineers to get on the Commission agenda for approval and proceed with implementation. Rebecca asked
if there was any funding available for implementation of the plan. Rick said no, the funding available was for the plan itself, but not for implementation.
Next Meeting. Our next
meeting will be scheduled for February 12th at 12:00 pm. No conflicts for those in attendance.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM.
Next Meeting: February 12, 2014 at noon as
noted above.
Minutes by Danielle Scharf
Edits by Ralph Zimmer