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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-04-11 TAC MINUTES• • City of Englewood, Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of April 11, 2002 The regular meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order at 7:40 p.m. in the City of Englewood Community Room by Director of Public Works, Ken Ross. Secretary 's Note: The regular meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m., rather than the normal 7:00 p.m ., t o accommodate an Open House that began at 4:30 p.m. for citizen input regarding the draft 2001 Transportation Study. Members Present: David Anderson Joe Christie Gary Dounay Betty Goosman Barbara Hodge Cinda Losee (Alternate Member) A quorum was present. Members Absent: None Also Present: Ken Ross, Director of Public Works Ladd Vostry, Traffic Engineer Linda Wilks, Record ing Secretary Dave Woolfall, Carter and Burgess See attached sign -in sheet Director Ross asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of March 14, 2002 . There being none, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed. Director Ross welcomed visitors and invited their input. Mr. Ross expressed appreciation for citizen participation received at this evening's open house with respect to the draft 2001 Transportation Study. Director Ross briefed Committee Members on the process that will carry the Transportation Study to completion. The public comments that were received at tonight's open house, along with the draft Study and comments from ETAC, will be presented first to the Planning and Zoning Commission for comment, and then to City Council for review prior to making any additional substantial changes to its content. The final revision will follow City Council's review. Director Ross inquired of Dave Woolfall, of Carter and Burgess, if there were any items from Committee Members' comments during the March ETAC meeting that could not conceivably be added to the draft Study. Mr. Woolfall advised that, because of insufficient business comments received at last year's meetings, it was not realist ic to try to create a business comments pie chart that would coincide with the public comments pie chart. Mr. Woolfall stated that, otherwise, Committee Members' comments have been incorporated in the draft Study. He noted that the Recommendations and Conclusions chapter is not yet complete, but will be • finalized with inclusion of tonight's open house comments and those from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Director Ross discussed revisions that are being recommended for the current Truck Route Map. He advised that Quincy Ave. west of Broadway, Huron St. north of Kenyon Ave., and Fox St. north of Dartmouth • Ave. have been eliminated as designated truck routes because of changes, over time, in the City's traffic flow. The revised map will be added to the draft Study. Committee Member Dounay noted two corrections to the revised draft Study, i.e., beginning on page 7- 8 of the Appendix, last year's public meeting dates listed do not correspond with the actual meeting events, and secondly, same section, a legend needs to be added to signify the intent of the red, green and blue dots. In response to Committee Member Hodge's inquiry regarding recent installation of four-way stops adjacent to some Englewood schools, Director Ross stated that all-way stops were discussed during the public comment phase of the draft Study. Mr. Ross added that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was recently revised to allow all-way stops where large pedestrian populations exist, even when warrants may not be met. Mr. Ross stated he advised the School Safety Committee of this MUTCD revision, and asked the school Principals to determine the need for all-way stops adjacent to their schools. In conjunction with school Principals' requests, City staff determined that all-way stops could be safely installed where a cross walk exists adjacent to the school. Mr. Ross noted that the all-way stops have now been installed at Bishop, Cherrelyn and Clayton Elementary Schools, and flags are posted on each sign to draw attention to the new installation. Traffic Engineer Vostry added that Flood Middle School has since requested an all-way stop at Kenyon Ave. and Lincoln St., which will be installed as soon as possible following concurrence of the School Safety Committee. At Committee Member Goosman's inquiry, Mr. Vostry advised that, with the exception of Maddox Elementary, all Englewood Elementary and Parochial Schools are signed with flashing 20 mph signs, which were requested by the individual schools. Under Director's Choice, Director Ross reported that Nova Sound Wall Corporation was the low bidder for the Kent Village Sound Wall project. Mr. Ross explained that this particular sound wall system is constructed without the use of mortar, and, therefore, portions of the wall can easily be replaced should damage occur. Construction will begin the week of April 15 th , on the north side of Hwy. 285 just west of University Blvd. Director Ross advised that the Rockies Baseball season opener has, again this year, created a situation of Light Rail riders taking their overflow parking into the Cushing Park neighborhood. Mr. Ross noted that he provided petition forms for residents on both Huron St. and Galapago St., which would provide permit parking for those residents. Mr. Ross stated that Committee Member Hodge had requested one of those petitions, to which Ms. Hodge reported that she has received 16 of the possible 19 signatures from her block, and, she noted, the gentleman circulating the Huron St. petition is close to completing his petition drive. Ms. Hodge requested that the parking restriction be extended to 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. to better accommodate residents arriving home from work. Mr. Ross stated that in order to extend the time restriction, it would be necessary to re-petition the residents on both Huron St. and Galapago St. to reflect the extended time. Each house within the signed permit parking zone would receive two resident permits and two visitor permits. Regarding the Cushing Park parking lot, Mr. Ross explained that he approached the 2 • • Parks and Recreation Commission last year requesting that they consider opening forty spaces at Cushing • Park, as a good neighbor gesture, for Light Rail overflow parking. The Parks and Recreation Commission agreed to allow the forty spaces farthest from the Park. As discussed at the February ETAC meeting, Director Ross reiterated that "countdown" indication equipment will be installed at the intersections of Broadway and Kenyon Ave. and at Broadway and Chenango Ave. to better accommodate middle school students crossing the main arterial going to and from school. Mr. Ross stated that the signal improvement equipment has now been received and is scheduled for installation the week of April 15 th. Brief discussion ensued regarding additional walk time that is allocated when the walk button is used. Traffic Engineer Vostry noted that he spoke with the chairman of the School Safety Committee regarding informing the middle school students about the new signal equipment. Director Ross reported that City Council is asking each City board and commission to provide a member who would be willing to serve on the Parade Committee or as a Parade volunteer. Brief discussion ensued. There was brief discussion regarding City Council's open forum meeting scheduled to take place at Bishop Elementary School on April 22nd. Committee Member Anderson encouraged everyone to attend. Under Committee Members' Choice, Committee Member Christie reiterated comments made at the March ETAC meeting by Committee Member Anderson regarding focusing on promoting public input for ETAC projects. Mr. Christie suggested placing newspaper notices to call attention to specific topics that are scheduled for discussion, and, in particular, advance notice of the upcoming Transportation Action Plan. • Committee Member Dounay offered some suggestions he believes will facilitate in developing an ideal • Transportation Action Plan: • • • • • • • • • • The Action Plan ... Should be acceptable to the culture of the Englewood community, i.e., traffic calming tools that may cause interference with City traditions. Should not exacerbate current traffic problems, i.e., install traffic calming tools that may transfer traffic situations to another roadway. Should not increase risks to people traveling in any mode or manner, i.e., bicycle . Should not increase response times for emergency vehicles . Should be a cost-effective solution for the problem it is intended to solve . Should not deprive any residents or businesses of their current parking conditions or other current uses of their property. Should be based on solid factual and objective data, including costs of the proposed Plan and schedules for Plan implementation. Should provide options for solutions of the perceived problems, i.e., provide comparison data for solutions. Should include a "trigger" for implementing traffic calming measures, i.e., criteria for installing a tool box. Perceived problems should be tied to options for solutions so that City Council will have sufficient information to make informed decisions. Director Ross suggested that at the May ETAC meeting, Committee Members, along with staff, discuss the above points as outlined by Committee Member Dounay. Mr. Ross stated that, as representatives of the 3 citizens of Englewood, it is important for Committee Members to understand the pros and cons of each point, i.e., traffic control devices and the delays that could be experienced by emergency response vehicles • (Table TC-2 in the Appendix); consequences that could be experienced when installing all-way stops; consequences that could be experienced by installing a traffic circle; enforcement; etc. Brief discussion ensued regarding the City of Englewood's placement of motorcycle and bicycle police officers. Crime Prevention Officer Peterson, seated in the audience, responded that three motorcycle and four bicycle officers travel the Englewood community. Committee Member Hodge inquired about the status of the Broadway Entry Port that was discussed at the February ETAC meeting. Director Ross advised that Community Development will be discussing this project with City Council at the Study Session on May 5th . Mr. Ross stated he will invite the architect to speak with ETAC regarding this project. Director Ross reminded Committee Members that, at the February 4th ETAC meeting, the Committee tentatively agreed that they should be prepared by the April ETAC meeting to elect a Chairperson. Mr. Ross asked for nominations for Chairperson. A nomination was made and seconded for Committee Member Anderson to serve as Chairperson for ETAC. Committee Member Anderson accepted the nomination. There was no discussion. A vote was taken, and Committee Member Anderson was unanimously approved to serve as Chairperson. Director Ross asked for nominations for Vice-chairperson. A nomination was made and seconded for Committee Member Christie to serve as Vice-chairperson for ETAC. Committee Member Christie accepted • the nomination. There was no discussion. A vote was taken, and Committee Member Christie was unanimously approved to serve as Vice-chairperson. Mr. Ross offered congratulations to Mr. Anderson and to Mr. Christie. The meeting was then turned over to Chairperson Anderson, and adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Linda Wilks, Record(ng S~cretary • 4 • • • City of Englewood Page 1 ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE VISITOR SIGN-UP SHEET NAME • i ( 11 ~ t l I"'-C.\ ;e Lu tAI\ ""'1.. i' "f ..i -c-;.._ - --\ [,," 1 .<....,p L )ri'\.ler Regular Meeting J ~ /~<U_., 04/11/2002 ADDRESS s<-~e~~~ vtl_XJL~~( :1 1 11 s 11\:;D m -~ PHONE ·7{39 ·-f:2 ~§ 'I ~9i lt ~?--~