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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-01-13 TAC MINUTES• City of Englewood, Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes of January 13, 2005 The regular monthly meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Chair Christie at 7:02 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room at the City of Englewood Civic Center. Members Present: David Anderson Joe Christie Betty Goosman Daryl Kinton Regi Maclaren Ray Tomasso, Council Liaison Rick Kahm, Director of Public Works, ex officio Members Absent: None A quorum was present. Also Present: Ladd Vostry, Traffic Engineer Linda Wilks, Recording Secretary Lt. Jeff Sanchez Bob Fearns, Muller Engineering Approval of Minutes Secretary's note: The quorum of members who attended the November 18, 2004 meeting was not • present at the December 9, 2004 meeting. Therefore, legal approval of the minutes for the November 18 th meeting was conducted this evening. Chair Christie asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of November 18, 2004. There being none, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. With Members Anderson, Goosman, Kinton and Maclaren voting aye, the motion passed. Chair Christie noted that he abstained from that vote, as he was not present at the November 18 th meeting. Chair Christie asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of December 9, 2004. There being none, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. With Members Anderson, Christie and Goosman voting aye, the motion passed. Public Comment There were no visitors in attendance. Old Business • Traffic Engineer Vostry noted that Bob Fearns from Muller Engineering is present to revisit the proposed Oxford Avenue traffic calming program and to discuss changes that were suggested by ETAC at the December meeting. Mr. Fearns introduced himself, and proceeded to review the plan that was presented in December, and changes that were requested. Because of interference with the alley east of Bannock St., • the proposed center median on Oxford Ave. has been relocated to just east of Cherokee St., which eliminates obstructing alley access for apartment dwellers traveling into and out of the alley east of Bannock. Mr. Vostry noted that Englewood Schools favored the relocation site of the center median. Mr. Fearns, with the use of aerial mapping, showed changes, requested by Members at the December meeting, that were made to the west end of Oxford Ave ., near Lipan St. Mr. Fearns stated he has added a 35 ft. center median just east of the drive on the west side of the Recreation Center, and, additionally, reconfigured the choker islands; the island on the south side of Oxford Ave. allows easy access to residential driveways in that vicinity, as well as easy access into and out of the Recreation Center drive. Mr. Fearns noted that the proposed center median at the cross walk between Inca and Jason Streets remains unchanged. Brief discussion ensued. The medians will be constructed of 6 inch raised vertical concrete curb, filled with aggregate base course and topped off with 2 inches of asphalt pavement. Appropriate signing will also be installed. Mr. Fearns will provide an updated cost estimate for the pilot program. Director Kahm reviewed the draft meeting and construction schedule contained in Committee packets for both the Oxford Ave. and Dartmouth Ave . traffic calming plans. Mr . Kahm is hopeful that the project design will be complete at the February 10 th ETAC meeting, so that ETAC can then present the plan to City Council on February 14th, followed by a public meeting with ETAC on March 10 th. Mr. Kahm stated that residents on Oxford Ave. most directly affected by the proposed plan will be personally contacted by Mr. Vostry within the next 2-3 weeks to advise them of the pilot program and to note any concerns they might have. Flyers notifying residents of the public meeting tentatively scheduled for the March 10 th ETAC meeting will then be distributed to a wider base of residents who could be affected by the plan. To Mr. Kinton's suggestion, Mr. Kahm agreed that it could be beneficial to include a diagram/overview of the proposed plan with the notification flyer. Mr. Kahm noted that the variable speed message signs have been ordered. Estimated completion dates are May 1 st for Dartmouth Ave., and June 1 st for Oxford Ave. Committee Members concurred with this proposed schedule. Mr. Kahm stated that he should have final diagrams and cost estimates for the Oxford pilot program to discuss at the February 10 th ETAC meeting. Discussion ensued. At Vice-chair Anderson's request, Mr. Kahm reviewed , for the benefit of Committee Members Maclaren and Kinton, the concept of pinning the medians to the roadway surface, which is most feasible when determining the effectiveness of a pilot program such as this. Funds could become available at a later date to upgrade the features to be more aesthetically pleasing. Council Member Tomasso entered the meeting at 7:50 p.m. • Discussion resumed, from the December meeting, regarding ETAC Member term limits and officer term limits, as well as increasing the number of members from five to seven . Members reiterated that four year terms would facilitate completion of some projects that could potentially be lengthy. Brief discussion ensued. Director Kahm stated that, since Members will be meeting with City Council on February 14th to discuss the Oxford Ave. pilot program, he will also include discussion of term limits on that agenda. Vice- chair Anderson made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Kinton, to increase ETAC Member terms from two years to four years. Motion passed unanimously. It was noted that also maintaining the alternate member position would be beneficial to the Committee. 2 • • • • • • Chair-Christie made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Maclaren, to increase the term limit for ETAC officers from one year to two years. After further discussion, Mr. Christie added to the motion retaining the current limit of two consecutive officer terms. Motion passed unanimously. Further, Chair-Christie made a motion, seconded by Committee Member Goosman, that the ETAC membership be increased from five members to seven members, and retaining the alternate member position. It was noted that the low number of applications typically received for appointment to the different boards and commissions could create a situation where one or more vacancies on ETAC could go unfilled . Upon a call for the vote, the motion passed unanimously. New Business There was no new business. Vice-chair Anderson asserted that all Members can introduce topics for discussion under New Business by notifying the Chair, Vice-chair, or Secretary Wilks at least 8 to 10 days prior to each meeting . It was also noted that topics can be introduced under New Business at each meeting. Director's Choice • Regarding traffic calming efforts on Dartmouth Ave., Director Kahm advised that weather has hindered application of the white parking lane lines on that roadway between Downing St. and just west of University Blvd. Staff plans to install the "shared roadway" signage and parking lane lines as soon as possible. • Director Kahm advised that the street light, to be installed on Navajo St. south of Oxford Ave., has been ordered. He expects that Xcel Energy will install the light within the next six to eight weeks . • To Vice-chair Anderson's inquiry regarding an article that appeared in the December 31, 2004 Englewood Herald, Director Kahm advised that Traffic Engineer Vostry has acquired $75,000 in federal funding through DRCOG to purchase equipment to upgrade the traffic control system along the Hampden Ave. corridor near Logan St. Mr. Vostry said the upgrade will relay traffic pattern information, through video detection, to the main traffic computer, which evaluates the information and then automatically adjusts the signal timing pattern, as necessary, to provide smoother traffic flow. Mr. Vostry noted that this funding will also provide a communication line for the signals on Logan St., both north and south of Hampden Ave., with the Hampden Ave. upgrade so that when the timing on Hampden is adjusted, the timing for traffic flow on Logan can also be modified. Mr. Vestry opined that, in the future, Denver will modify their timing of both Hampden Ave. and Logan St. to coordinate with Englewood's system. Mr. Kahm added that Mr. Vestry has been instrumental, over the years, in obtaining funding through DRCOG for traffic signal coordination for the Broadway corridor from downtown Denver to Highlands Ranch, which covers four municipalities. Additionally, Mr. Kahm continued, Mr. Vestry is working to obtain funding for coordination of the Santa Fe corridor from C470 north to 125. Mr. Kahm named numerous coordination and traffic projects for which Mr. Vostry has been instrumental in obtaining funding. Mr. Kahm noted that Mr. Vestry's name was recently mentioned at a traffic research committee meeting in Washington, D.C., of which COOT was a part. It was noted at that meeting that Englewood might be a good candidate for a pilot traffic management program, should it materialize at some point in the future. 3 Chairperson's Choice Chair Christie congratulated Committee Member Kinton on his appointment to the RTD Board. To Mr. Christie's inquiry, Mr. Kinton stated, that by remaining on ETAC, he will be able to keep in touch with what is going on locally, and hopefully bring information from RTD back to ETAC. Committee Members' Choice • Vice-chair Anderson commented that he is reminded of the tour ETAC received of Mr. Vostry's traffic computer system, demonstration of computer controls, etc. Mr. Anderson suggested revisiting the site once an alternate member is appointed to ETAC later this month. • Council Member Tomasso noted he has recently observed police patrol conducting "traffic calming" measures in various locations in the city. • Council Member Kinton thanked staff for their responsiveness in arranging for the street light to be installed on Navajo St. south of Oxford Ave. Noting the bike plan, which has been approved by City Council, Mr. Kinton inquired about the status of acquiring funds from DRCOG to construct a bike path across Hampden Ave. Director Kahm stated that a request had previously been submitted for funds to construct a pedestrian bridge across Hampden, however, it did not score well in the application process. Mr. Kahm elaborated, however, that the request submitted for construction of a bike bridge over Little Dry Creek at Dartmouth Ave. and the Platte River is the next project in line for funding through DRCOG should the top project be eliminated for some reason. To Mr. Kinton's inquiry, Mr. Kahm discussed the prospect of RTD providing additional parking for Englewood light rail patrons. With the passage of FasTracks, RTD is moving forward with plans to construct a 12 foot diameter pedestrian tunnel under Santa Fe Drive that will provide access to additional parking space, obtained from COOT, on the west side of Santa Fe Drive. The tunnel and added parking will cost in the neighborhood of $4.5 million, compared to the $15 million for construction of a parkin g garage . Because RTD is using the feasibility study and other information previously put together by Englewood staff, it is estimated that the tunnel and parking could be in place as early as this Fall. Mr. Kinton inquired about environmental issues. Mr. Kahm stated that, because of the planned location and surrounding facilities, they do not expect those types of environmental issues to materialize. Discussion ensued regarding the potential for construction of a light rail station on the former General Iron Works (GIW) site with funding through FasTracks. The RTD maintenance facility now occupies the north portion of that site. To Mr. Kinton's inquiry, Mr. Vestry advised that a bike trail connection had originally been planned for this site along with the City's plan to develop a transit/residential community. That plan did not materialize when RTD abandoned their plans to build that station a number of years ago because of lack of funding at that time. Regarding the Little Dry Creek bike trail, Mr. Kahm noted that a link is missing through the Englewood Market Place, connecting the trail that ends near Hampden Place at Cherokee St. with the trail that begins again at the Plaza east of the Denny's Restaurant. Mr. Kahm advised that Market Place owners recently 4 • • • agreed to provide an easement along the south side of the property, along Hampden Ave., in order to complete the trail. Funding for that connection will come out of the 2005 PIF Bicycle Plan Implementation • account. • • Mr. Kinton also inquired about the status of adding a trail connection at Pirates' Cove to the Big Dry Creek trail in Belleview Park, near the Children's Farm, that would actually connect with a pathway to Pirates' Cove. When discussed in May, 2004, Director Ross indicated that perhaps some remaining funds in the Sidewalk Missing Links Program could be used for that connection. Mr. Kahm stated he will look into it. Mr. Kahm stated, regarding Mr. Kinton's comment, that the speed signs installed on Inca St. at CityCenter have been very effective. He commented that it appears pedestrians actually needing assistance to cross the street will activate the flashing pedestrian crosswalk lights, but that pedestrians, in general, continue to cross without benefit of the lights. • Council Member Tomasso advised that, in response to a number of traffic accidents on Broadway at Centennial Ave., Burt's is reconstructing their building to accommodate improvements of that intersection to reduce the number of accidents. Additionally, Burt's plans to redevelop the area near the old Gem Store (Target) as well as open up the Big Dry Creek at that location to allow additional access for the bike trail to continue through that area. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m . Linda Wilks, Recording Secretary 5