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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-08-08 TAC MINUTES• City of Englewood, Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of August 8, 2002 The regular meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Chairperson Anderson at 7:00 p.m. in the City of Englewood Public Works Conference Room. Members Present: David Anderson Joe Christie Gary Dounay Betty Goosman Barbara Hodge Members Absent: Cinda Losee (Alternate Member) A quorum was present. Also Present: Ken Ross, Director of Public Works, ex officio Ladd Vostry, Traffic Engineer Linda Wilks, Recording Secretary Wendy Gracy, Traffic Analyst There were no visitors in attendance. Chairperson Anderson asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of July 11, 2002. • Committee Member Hodge noted that, during discussion regarding bike trail improvements, she suggested telephones be installed intermittently along bike trails; her intended suggestion was that emergency phones be installed rather than pay phones. Director Ross advised that by dialing 911 on a pay phone, the call will go through without inserting the normal 25 cent phone charge. Mr. Ross stated he will check with the phone company to be sure he is correct. Additionally, Mr. Anderson stated that a conversation regarding LED signals was omitted from the minutes. Mr. Anderson recalled that the cost savings on power was significant, and he opined that the City should pursue that installation rather than listing it in the Transportation Action Plan for future pursuit. Traffic Engineer Vostry stated that he is currently working with Xcel Energy to formulate an estimate of cost savings. Mr. Vostry estimated a savings in the range of 70- 75%, or a savings of approximately $30,000 per year. Mr. Vostry noted, too, that traffic signals at some intersections in Englewood have already been replaced with LED signals. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed. • Under Old Business, Director Ross distributed copies of, and reviewed, a revised listing of projects for the Transportation Action Plan, replacing the list distributed at the July ETAC meeting. Mr. Ross reviewed items not previously contained on the list: 1) NW Greenbelt/Harvard Gulch bike trail, noting the revised 2002 cost; 2) Pedestrian Bridge over Belleview to connect Cornerstone Park with Englewood's Aquatics Park, noting the City may, if necessary, pursue an agreement with South Suburban to accommodate additional parking, bridge location uncertain at this time; 3) Wyandot Connection between Union Ave. and Belleview Ave ., inadvertently omitted from previous revision; 4) Revised 2002 costs, in response to Committee Member Christie's query, for traffic calming improvements at previously listed locations; 5) Intersection safety improvements at all crosswalks for Englewood schools; 6) Total Costs for Transportation Action Plan -$38,108,200 (Englewood costs). Committee Member Dounay inquired whether or not the construction design listed for the LRT station at Bates Ave. will include a circle drive area for vehicles dropping off light rail riders. Director Ross stated he will make that recommendation as the design process proceeds. Brief discussion ensued regarding funding for the Bates LRT Station. Director Ross summarized possible funding prospects for future major development projects. Rather than seeking impact fees from large project developers, Mr. Ross stated that he is researching possible alternatives for raising funds that would pay for costs to repair and improve the City's infrastructure that is impacted by development and construction of large projects. There was brief discussion regarding developing an Action Plan list that is fiscally constrained. Traffic Engineer Vostry noted that traffic system improvements listed on page 6 of the proposed Action Plan are ongoing improvements allocated in his traffic budget. At Chairperson Anderson 's inquiry , Director Ross ex plained that funding in the Concrete Utility Program does not cover costs for concreting city alleys, but it does cover the costs for repairing existing concrete alleys. At the present time, should a property owner des ire a concrete alley, they are advised they must circulate a petition and obtain a minimum 50% approval from adjacent property owners. City Council will then consider creating an improvement district wherein the City will cover the initial costs for design and construction, and property owners reimburse the City over a period of ten years through a property assessment program. Committee Member Hodge expressed concern regarding the high speed traffic through her neighborhood , as well as in the alley, coming from the CityCenter site. Committee Member Dounay mirrored Ms. Hodge 's comments with regard to his neighborhood. At Committee Member Christie 's inquiry, Mr. Ross reported that funds have been requested in 2003 to replace the residential 30 mph speed signs with 25 mph signs. Further discussion ensued regarding driving habits of the traveling public. Mr. Dounay opined that the speed limit along the length of Broadway from Yale to Belleview should be reduced from 35 to 30 mph for that entire stretch to help minimize the opportunity for rear end collisions and running red lights. Discussion followed , culminating in Committee 's agreement to invite Municipal Court Judge Atencio to attend a future ETAC meeting to discuss issues of enforcement and increased or doubled fines as a means of curbing excessive speeds. Further d iscuss ion took place regarding the publ ic's perception of t raffic fines as a means of ra ising money for a city's general fund vs. modifying driving behavior, as well as photo radar and red light cameras that have been placed in other jurisdictions. Traffic Engineer Vostry commented that court statistics taken prior to initiation of the Speed Pledge Program for Dartmouth Ave. between Broadway and University indicate that 60% of speeders are actually Englewood residents. Brief discussion ensued regarding speeders on major streets vs. collector streets. 2 • • • • • Under New Business, Director Ross noted that the ETAC group is scheduled to meet with City Council on September 15th for an informal discussion of mutual topics of interest. Mr. Ross invited Committee Members to prepare topics they may wish to discuss with Council. Brief discussion ensued regarding ETAC's role in serving the citizens of Englewood. Under Director's Choice, Mr. Ross advised that he has been contacted by the City of Denver regarding constructing a connection for the Northwest Greenbelt and Platte River Trails. Mr. Ross noted that the existing Harvard Gulch trail, as it enters the Northwest Greenbelt, ends near the railroad tracks at Raritan St. and does not continue on to provide a connection with the Platte River Trail. The City of Denver has contracted with an engineer to design this missing trail link, a small portion of which is located in the City of Englewood. Denver estimates the total cost of construction will be $260,000.00. Englewood's portion of the trail comes to $104,000.00, however, since Denver has budgeted $100,000 for the project and has also received $80,000 in grant money from Great Outdoors Colorado (GoCo), Englewood's portion of the project cost will be $80,000.00. Since Denver will be using GoCo grant money, construction of this project must begin yet in 2002. Mr. Ross advised that, since Englewood has not budgeted for this project, he will be approaching City Council to request appropriation of funds and acceptance of an intergovernmental agreement with Denver to complete this trail connection. ETAC Members offered their unanimous recommendation for Mr. Ross to approach City Council with a request to approve funding for this project. With respect to today's emphasis on bicycle trails, Mr. Ross commented that with the demand for additional traffic lanes to accommodate today's ever increasing vehicle traffic volume, cities in the metro area are encouraging alternate modes of transportation , i.e., bicycling, for which trails must be provided. Mr. Ross noted that Englewood is in the process of updating the biking trails system within the City of Englewood to provide more opportunity for bicyclists. Brief discussion then ensued regarding the potential for imposing a head t ax . Traffic Engineer Vostry reported that, following a meeting with Craig Hospital representatives, staff has made improvements to the traffic signals at the in tersect ion of Girard Ave. and Clarkson St., which will provide easier crossing access for patients crossing from the hospital to the new family housing building. In addition to replacing the push button actuators with user friendly touch actuators, the crossing time has been extended significantly. Craig Hospital will request additional adjustments, if needed. Signal head replacement is also scheduled for this in tersection. Director Ross reported that Mr. Vostry was contacted by Immanuel Lutheran Church at Acoma St. and Kenyon Ave., requesting that handicap parking be installed near the entrance to the church, effective only du rin g services on Sundays. The City of Englewood adopted the Model Traffic Code, which does not allow installation of time restricted handicapped parking. Councilman Moore was then contacted by parishioners, resulting in his recommendation that City Council pass an ordinance amending the Code to allow the City to • post time restricted handicapped parking in the public way. City Council approved the recommendation and the request will be put into effect as soon as next week. 3 Director Ross discussed the condition of the Union Avenue Bridge over the South Platte River, stating that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), during their bi-annual inspection, gave this particular bridge an unsatisfactory rating. Additionally, a vehicle accident at the bridge in 2000 caused extensive damage to the guard rail. Staff contracted with Lonco Engineering to design improvements to address a number of the safety issues named in CDOT's reports and to enhance the life of the bridge. Lonee's estimate for the improvements came in at $125,000; however, the City has only $66,000 in the budget for bridge repairs. Mr. Ross is scheduled to attend the City Council study session on Monday night to request consideration for additional funds to make the necessary repairs . At a minimum, Mr. Ross will request funds to eliminate the safety concerns reported by CDOT. Funds currently available would cover safety issues for immediate repair, such as installing a street light, repair settled approach sidewalks for pedestrian safety at both ends, and repair the damaged guardrail at the southwest corner of the bridge. Director Ross briefly discussed the proposed ETAC budget for 2003. ETAC then reviewed, and approved, the goals and objectives prepared by Recording Secretary Wilks. At Chairperson Anderson's inquiry, Mr. Ross briefly outlined staff's and City Council's budget approval process. Chairperson Anderson, speaking on behalf of Alternate Member Losee, observed that Bates Ave. between Emerson St. and Clarkson St. appears to be nothing more than an alleyway, and safety advisory signage is at a minimum. Mr. Anderson noted that children play along this narrow dirt roadway and the adjacent City Ditch. Citizens at Ms. Losee's Neighborhood Watch group have expressed concerns regarding the safety of the children because of high speed traffic and the obstruction of traffic signs on this narrow stretch of road. Mr. Anderson inquired about improvements to City signage at this location. Traffic Engineer Vestry reviewed requirements of the Model Traffic Code for placement of signage, which is 7 ft. from the ground. Mr. Ross voiced concern that clearing shrubbery away from the roadway may give cause to increased traffic speeds. Committee Member Dounay suggested installing orange flags on the existing warning signs to re-familiarize the traveling public of the possible dangers on that stretch. Mr. Ross commented that the homemade warning sign that has been installed by neighbors appears to be an effective tool for warning motorists of the danger. Mr. Ross noted possible drainage issues for adjacent property owners that could come up with respect to installing certain traffic calming devices. Mr. Vestry stated he will direct staff to replace the existing signs with the new fluorescent yellow-green illuminating type signage , which will be more effective in alerting the public of these dangers. In addition, Mr. Vestry will notify Code Enforcement regarding the need for trimming the shrubbery away from existing signs. Committee Member Dounay noted occasions he has observed Englewood Police Officers not coming to complete stops at some stop signs in his neighborhood and expressed concern that they are not setting an example for children observing that behavior. Additionally, Mr. Dounay stated that the view for motorists coming to the stop sign at Lehigh Ave. is obscured by vehicles parked along Jason St.; vehicles must actually • • enter the intersection in order to see oncoming traffic. Mr. Dounay inquired about enforcement of vehicles • parked too close to the intersection. It was suggested discussing parking enforcement issues with Judge Atencio at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Ross added that perhaps not everyone is aware that parking within 30 4 • • • feet of a stop sign is prohibited, as is parking within 5 feet of a driveway or 10 feet of a fire hydrant. Logan St. and Oxford Ave. was also observed as a trouble spot. Mr. Ross commented he will check into repeating an article in the Englewood Citizen advising citizens of various traffic regulations. Mr . Dounay inquired about painting the curbs yellow in the no parking zones. Mr. Ross advised there is not sufficient staff to keep the curbs painted the required two times per year. Committee Member Hodge questioned the intent of the No Outlet signs that are posted at locations off of Eastman Ave . near Cushing Park, since outlets do, in fact, exist. Traffic Engineer Vostry stated the signs were installed at the request of residents to discourage motorists from traveling those roadways. Discussion ensued regard ing notification of authorities pertaining to suspicious parked vehicles. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m . 5