HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-08-14 Pedestrian and Traffic SafetyBozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
Minutes of the October 8, 2014 Meeting
Upstairs Conference Room Alfred Stiff Office Building
Those Present:
Voting Committee
Members:
Ralph Zimmer (Gallatin County)
Gary Vodehnal (City of Bozeman)
Danielle Scharf (City of Bozeman)
Sue Brown (At-large Member)
Vance Ruff (School District)
Frank Manseau (Gallatin
County)
Tony Becken Gaddo (At-large Member)
Official Non-Voting Committee Members:
Todd Swinehart (Bozeman Public Schools)
City Commissioners, County Commissioners, and School Board
Members (Non-Voting on PTS):
(None in attendance)
Liaison Law Enforcement Officers (Non-Voting on PTS):
Rick Musson (Bozeman Police Department)
Tommie Franscioni (Bozeman Police Department)
Kenzi
Schnittgen (Bozeman Police Department)
Guests:
(None in attendance)
Quorum: Present.
NEW BUSINESS:
Ralph Zimmer, PTS Committee Chair called the meeting to order at 12:05 PM.
Membership. Ralph met with School Superintendent Rob Watson yesterday and discussed the School District’s representation on this committee. Todd Swinehart will now be the official
non-voting “staff” member of the committee, Vance Ruff was appointed for another two-year term ending June 30, 2016, and Bud Jarvis was appointed as a new voting member to a term ending
June 30, 2015 but that could be extended at the Superintendent’s discretion. Bud was not able to attend today due to a work conflict.
Agenda. Ralph offered the opportunity to provide
input on the agenda. No comments at this time.
Public Comment. Ralph offered the opportunity to provide comments on items not on the agenda. None at this time.
Minutes. Draft minutes of the September 10, 2014 meeting were distributed. A motion to approve the September meeting minutes was made by Vance, second by Sue. Minutes were approved.
At-Large
Membership. As discussed last month, the inter-local agreement that established this committee allows us to appoint up to two additional at-large voting members. We currently have
one, Sue Brown, and discussed electing a second at our last meeting. Bud Jarvis and Tony Becken-Gaddo were both under consideration, but we tabled the vote until this meeting because
we thought Bud might potentially be appointed by the School District to fill one of their vacant positions. Since Bud has now been appointed by the School District as one of its voting
members, only Tony’s name is still on the table,
Ralph asked for a vote to elect Tony as an at-large voting member for the remainder of 2014. All were in favor of doing so. Both
Sue and Tony will be eligible for re-election in January 2015.
Report on Results of Previous Actions. The City is having a difficult time finding a contractor to construct the mid-block
crossing we recommended at the Medical Arts Building on North Willson, but they are asking another contractor and are still hoping to have it constructed this fall..
Ralph attended
Kesleigh Walin’s focus group meeting yesterday on sidewalk funding. Another such meeting will occur on November 6th to continue the discussion on the City’s sidewalk policy.
Reports
from City Commissioners, County Commissioners or School Board Members. None of these representatives were in attendance today.
Reports from Law Enforcement Liaisons. Rick Musson reported
that L Street is now paved and the Police Department has been receiving complaints about people driving too fast so they’ve increased enforcement. The posted speed limit is 25 mph.
The walk/bike to school day event was this morning, so they had officers scheduled to participate. Tommie walked kids through the College/11th roundabout.
The Police Department
has had problems with transient camps within parks and along trails. They are working with the City Parks Department to get these camps cleaned up. We should notify the Police Department
if we hear complaints about these issues along trails. Gary said the Gallatin Valley Land Trust had recently cleaned one up near the Burke Park parking lot, but will call the Police
Department in the future. Tommie suggested that they be on site during cleanup just in case someone returns to the camp during that time.
Gary said he heard a pedestrian was injured
while crossing Main Street. Tommie confirmed that it was at the intersection of Main and Bozeman in the marked crosswalk. The driver of the turning vehicle didn’t see the female pedestrian.
The collision resulted in only minor injuries. The driver had a green light, but failed to yield to the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
City Street Department/County Road Department
Reports. Neither John nor Dave were available to attend the meeting today.
School District Report. Todd noted again that the School District’s Bike to School event was held today. He appreciates the assistance received from the Police Department for the
event.
Reports from Related Groups. Gary said that FHWA will have a workshop tonight requesting input on the separated bike path from Story Mill to the M. It will be from 4:00 to
7:00 pm at City Hall. Gary said there was an article in the paper this morning and Tommie said he heard an announcement on the radio. It will be an open house with no formal presentation.
Valley
Center Spur Road. We discussed the potential closure of the Valley Center Spur Road at our last meeting. MDT is considering two alternatives: 1. Close the spur road or 2. Signalize
both intersections on either end of the spur road. They have an October 10 deadline for the submission of written comments. Ralph would like to ask this group if we have thoughts/recommendations
about the spur road being closed, what would our recommendations be if the intersections were signalized, whether they should proceed immediately with implementation or wait until the
new interchange is open, and finally, decide if we would like to submit comments to MDT.
Ralph asked, if the road were closed to vehicles, should it remain open to bicyclists? If it
remains open to bicyclists and pedestrians, should the railroad crossing gates remain in place? Tony wondered what Montana Rail Link’s (MRL) point of view is on this. He suspects that
if the at-grade crossing goes away, they will prefer to remove everything. Danielle said she hasn’t seen a bike/ped-only railroad crossing treatment, but it would be nice to preserve
that route for connectivity. There’s an existing trail along Valley Center, and a desire to eventually have one along Frontage Road, but no support from MRL who owns the right-of-way.
Gary noted the recent bicycle collisions on the Frontage Road and safety issues there.
Rick commented that he thought it would be confusing for drivers if bicyclists were able to
turn there and vehicles were not. Ralph had asked Rebecca Gleason what BABAB’s position is on keeping it open to bicyclists. They discussed it, but did not have any strong opinions
and did not take a formal position. Danielle said we should not oppose closure to bicycles and pedestrians now, but encourage them to retain the ability to use it for this purpose at
some point in the future. All agreed that it’s a valuable connection that could be used in the future.
Danielle explained the operation of signalized intersections located adjacent
to railroad crossings. Ralph said that he remembered Rob saying at our last meeting that all intersection legs would get all-red when a train is passing. Danielle and others said they
did not remember hearing Rob say that. Gary said the only reason he could see for doing that would be if the turn lanes aren’t long enough to hold all the vehicles waiting to turn.
All agreed though that it seems to make more sense to allow east-west traffic to have a green signal when a train is passing.
Ralph asked who owns the railroad right-of-way. Gary
said it’s owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, but leased by Montana Rail Link. Each time GVLT has talked with them about a trail project they’re working on, they have met with lawyers
from both.
Ralph asked for our thoughts on speed limits on the Frontage Road. Ralph attended the September 16th public hearing and noted that comment after comment was related to lowering the
speed limit. Ralph commented that what they really should be saying is that speeds should be lowered. Danielle explained that MDT sets speed limits based on a speed study and 85th
percentile speeds. Installation of a traffic signal would reduce speeds so it may result in a lower speed limit eventually. Tommie also commented on the importance of speed enforcement,
but it’s hazardous to make a stop on that narrow road.
Ralph expects that the installation of traffic signals would take quite a bit of time. Do we feel that a reduced speed limit
should be implemented in the meantime? Gary said he thinks the new interchange will change traffic patterns, and all agreed. He would really like to see MDT install a wider shoulder
along the Frontage Road to improve bicycle safety. We also discussed the likelihood that the new interchange will provide a safer route to get from Belgrade to Bozeman via Valley Center.
Ralph
asked what we thought about recommending MDT postpone the decision until after the interchange is complete. Most seemed to agree that waiting to see what affect the interchange has
on area travel patterns would be beneficial.
Ralph asked again about our position on lowering speed limits. He explained that reducing the speed limit can result in a disparity in
vehicle speeds between those that follow it and those that continue to drive faster, which can actually be more dangerous. Vance noted that because of the volumes, the traffic is often
going slower than 65. Danielle suggested we recommend they complete a speed study, which may result in a reduction consistent with MDT’s practices. Gary suggested we encourage them
to complete a speed study after the interchange is complete, which should be by November. All agreed that would make sense.
Ralph asked if we would like to submit comments to MDT prior
to their October 10th deadline. Danielle suggested we make comment by encouraging them to evaluate a shift in traffic patterns and possibly speeds after the new interchange opens.
All agreed that we should make some comments along those lines.
Community Transportation Safety Plan. City staff has told us previously that they would get this plan before the Commission
for approval and begin with implementation, but Ralph just recently was told they don’t currently have time to move it forward. We will continue to discuss this at future meetings.
Bridger
Drive Speed Limit. Taylor Lonsdale informed Ralph recently that the speed limits on Bridger Drive have been reduced. The 45 mph speed limit now extends past the “M” trailhead and through
the narrows section to near the first straight away. The speed limit then increases to 60 mph and that now extends beyond the curve at Kelly Canyon to just past the fire station where
the speed limit increases 70 mph.
A corridor study is underway and a public meeting is scheduled for October 23rd at 6:00 pm.
Next Meeting. Our next meeting will be scheduled for
November 12th at 12:00 pm. There were no conflicts for those in attendance.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 PM.
Next Meeting: November 12, 2014 at noon as noted above.
Minutes by Danielle Scharf
Edits by Ralph Zimmer