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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-12 TAC MINUTES• City of Englewood, Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes of May 11, 2006 The regular monthly meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Chair Anderson at 6:43 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room at the City of Englewood Civic Center. Members Present: David Anderson, Chair Betty Goosman, Vice-chair Daryl Kinton Mark Craft Ray Tomasso, Council Liaison Rick Kahm, Director of Public Works, ex officio Members Absent: Danielle Gregory A quorum was present. Also Present: Ladd Vostry, Traffic Engineer Linda Wilks, Recording Secretary Commander Jeff Sanchez Approval of Minutes Chair Anderson asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of April 13, 2006. There being none, a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. With all Members present voting aye, the motion passed. • Public Comment There were no visitors present. Old Business There was no Old Business. New Business Chair Anderson, referring to a recent article in the Englewood Herald, inquired as to the role that ETAC might play in DRCOG's efforts to update their long -range pedestrian and bicycle transportation plan. DRCOG held a public forum in Englewood on April 25, to gather citizen input that will be combined with input from a similar meeting yet to be held in Boulder, and from the outcome of those meetings, a public comment report will be prepared and made available in early summer. Director Kahm stated that members of the Community Development staff attended the public forum on April 2sth, but that Public Works did not receive advance notice that the event was taking place. Mr. Kahm stated he will follow up with Community Development on the outcome of that meeting, and any possible involvement that might be expected of ETAC. Discussion ensued regarding a bicycle plan that was drafted in 2003 by Community Development, Public Works and the ETAC group. Mr. Kahm noted that the trail segment at Hampden Ave. and Cherokee St. is expected to be completed yet this year. Traffic Engineer Vostry advised that changes are expected in • bike route signage requirements in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) in 2007/2008. 1 Director's Choice • Traffic Engineer Vostry advised that he has not yet heard back from Ms. Manning regarding her request that the City allow parking on both the east and west sides of Bannock St. between S.H. 285 and Kenyon Ave. Brief discussion ensued. • Mr. Vostry reported that, as suggested at the March ETAC meeting, changes have been made to the electronic speed signs on Oxford Ave. to better catch the attention of motorists . The signs have been reprogrammed to remain blank until a motorist's speed is detected; your speed is then reflected; speeds between 33 and 45 mph will begin flashing; speeds over 45 mph will cause the sign to revert to a blank screen. • Traffic Engineer Vostry reported that, as discussed at the April ETAC meeting, speed studies are currently being conducted in the 2700 block of S. Elati St. in response to resident concerns following a single car accident in that block; a speed study is also being conducted in the 2700 block of S. Delaware St. due to speed concerns. Safety Services' speed trailer was stationed on Elati St. for a period of time prior to the speed study. Mr. Vostry advised that he also met with the VP of Operations for Barton Brothers Supply regarding a visibility concern caused by the fence that runs along their property adjacent to the curved portion of Elati St. near this accident scene. Barton's agreed to remove that section of fencing and replacing it with chain link fence , and, additionally, agreed to keep that space free of vegetation that could cause further visibility problems. Brief discussion ensued . • Director Kahm stated that staff is scheduled to speak with City Council regarding plans for closing Bates Ave. to vehicle traffic between Clarkson and the alley to the east, allowing only pedestrian traffic and emergency vehicle access . As discussed at the April ETAC meeting , changes to this 20 foot wide roadway are being made because of overwhelming support from residents who have requested the street be closed because of safety concerns. The closure is expected to take place sometime this summer. Committee Member Kinton entered the meeting at 6:49 p.m. • Traffic Engineer Vostry provided an update regarding RTD's request for applications for capital and service projects. The City completed RTD's application , requesting bus pad construction for eight locations in Englewood, as well as bus service for Colorado's Finest Alternative High School. The request for bus service for the Alternative High School correlates with ETAC's recent discussions to facilitate students ' travel, particularly to and from evening classes. Mr. Vostry noted tha t RTD has $400,000 available to pay for projects throughout the metro area. Brief discussion ensued. • With regard to bus traffic on Tejon St., Traffic Engineer Vostry advised that the Connex Company has been purchased by Veolia Transportation Services. Meeting w ith representatives of Veolia, Mr. Vostry learned that they have assigned additional supervisors to mon itor and control bus traffic on residential streets, and, additionally, they have conducted safety meetings and reviewed the acceptable routes with all employees. Mr. Vostry stated he plans to monitor the bus traffic in that area, and pay occasional friendly visits to Veolia to maintain a working relationship . Brief discussion ensued regarding the City's general satisfaction with services provided by RTD. 2 • •• • • • Traffic Engineer Vostry reported that striping, worn away by traffic and sanding efforts, has been replaced on the Broadway bridge. Director Kahm discussed intergovernmental agreements that have been reached, over the years, with other municipal governments to exchange Englewood's rotomilling services for lane striping with Westminster, or concrete work with Littleton. Westminster, however, is no longer providing striping services, therefore Englewood will revert to contract painting at a substantial cost increase. To Council Liaison Tomasso's inquiry, Mr. Kahm stated he will have staff check with the City of Littleton regarding the possibility of adding lane striping to their current agreement with Englewood. Chairperson's Choice • To Chair Anderson 's inquiry, Director Kahm discussed the City's plans for microsurfacing the Broadway corridor. Mr. Kahm explained the mixing process and chemical makeup of the microsurfacing product. Since a chemical imbalance in the microsurfacing product was experienced in the 2005 Program, the smaller project scheduled for 2006, encompassing only the portion of Broadway from Quincy to Tufts, will give staff the opportunity to work through any necessary adjustments to the chemical structure of the product. A considerably larger area will then be included in the 2007 project. The project for 2006 is expected to go out to bid in June, and the project will likely take place in August. Mr. Kahm noted that an enhancement project is scheduled for 2007 that involves rebuilding the medians and installing raised planters and landscaping on Broadway from Tufts Ave. to Belleview. Microsurfacing for this stretch of Broadway will then be included in the 2008 project. The microsurfacing product greatly reduces, or eliminates, moisture seeping into the roadway • pavement, prolonging the life of the street system. When the microsurfacing program was put into place, the Public Works Department was able to reduce their summer patching crew from three full time two-man teams to the current single two-man team that cuts and patches only a total of 10 days each summer. • • To Mr. Anderson's inquiry, Traffic Engineer Vostry advised that he has not received any recent phone calls regarding traffic safety in or near Englewood's School Zones . He noted that, each school year, he contacts the individual schools regarding traffic safety concerns they may have . Mr. Vostry stated that there have been no reports of speeding near Englewood High School since the 20 mph speed limit signs were installed last fall. Committee Members' Choice • Addressing an inquiry from Vice-chair Goosman, Director Kahm reported that motion detectors are available for the pedestrian walk lights that will be installed as part of the pedestrian safety enhancement project planned for Lincoln St. adjacent to the Malley Center. Mr. Kahm said the two fixtures that currently exist on Inca St. will also be retrofitted with the motion detectors. • Council Liaison Tomasso advised that the City plans to mail a Citizens Survey to a random group of Englewood citizens later this summer or early fall . Mr. Tomasso asked if ETAC would like a question added to the survey addressing red light cameras. Following brief discussion, Mr. Kahm stated he will ask the City Manager's office if it would be possible to include questions in the survey in addition to those chosen by the surveying company. 3 Mr. Tomasso asked Commander Sanchez to check on a 40-50 foot race car trailer, which is attached to a truck, that parks near the stop sign on the northeast corner of Bates Ave. and Cherokee St., blocking motorists' view. Mr. Sanchez stated he will follow up. Mr. Kahm commented that the owner may not be aware that the vehicle is causing a site obstruction, that, by informing him, he may elect to voluntarily remove the vehicle. • To Committee Member Craft's inquiry, Director Kahm stated that a return is the concrete radius that goes around the corner from one street to another. A spandrel is the triangular shaped return area in the crosspan that squares out with the gutter. Mr. Kahm explained the function of the motion detector devices that will be added to the existing crosswalk lights on Inca St. as well as the new lights that will be installed adjacent to the Malley Center. • Committee Member Kinton inquired about the status of construction of the Big Dry Creek Bike Trail. Director Kahm advised that the path is completed up to Lehow Ave. near the K-Mart store. South Suburban Parks District was unable to acquire the needed right-of-way easements from two property owners that would be necessary to extend the trail from Lehow to Broadway. In the meantime, an on-street system on Lehow will take bikers, via Lehow/Delaware/Rafferty Gardens, to the Wolf Camera site where they will be able to link up with the segment that will eventually take them under Broadway and eastward; a groundbreaking ceremony took place recently for this segment of the trail. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m. 4 • • •