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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-04-13 TAC MINUTESCity of Englewood , Colorado ENGLEWOOD TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING Minutes of April 13, 2006 The regular monthly meeting of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Vice -chair Anderson at 6:29 p .m . in the City Council Conference Room at the City of Englewood Civic Center. Members Present: David Ande rson, Cha ir Betty Goosman, Vice-chair Daryl Kinton Mark Craft Danielle Gregory 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 Commander Jeff Sanchez Approval of Minutes Vice-chair Anderson asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of March 9, 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 v isitors present. Election of Officers Director Kahm noted that City Counc il appointed Alternate Member Gregory to fill the remainder of Joe Christie's term as a regular member, which will expire on February 1, 2007 . Mr. Kahm asked for nominations for Chairperson of the Englewood Transportation Advisory Committee. Committee Member Goosman nom inated Committee Member Anderson; Mr . Anderson accepted the nomination. Mr. Kahm asked if there were any additional nominations; there were none; nominations were closed . Through a verbal vote of Members, Mr. Anderson was elected to serve as Chairperson . Mr. Kahm asked for nominations for Vice-chairperson. Chair Anderson nominated Committee Member Goosman; Ms. Goosman accepted the nomination . There were no additional nominations; nominations were closed. Through a verbal vote of Members , Ms . Goosman was elected to serve as Vice -chair. Chair Anderson reminded Members that, in 2005, ETAC requested that officers' terms be changed from one year to two years; the term limits policy for officers remained unchanged at two consecutive terms; Member terms were changed from two years to four years. Old Business There was no Old Business. New Business There was no New Business. Director's Choice • Regarding Sidewalk Missing Links, Dartmouth Ave. west of University Blvd., Director Kahm advised that staff presented ETAC's recommendation to City Council to add this section of sidewalk to the Missing Links Program and to prioritize this project as item no. one on the Sidewalk Missing Links list. Mr. Kahm stated that funds are available in the Public Improvement Fund (PIF) for missing links, and Council supported the recommendation. Construction will take place in the fall of 2006. Mr. Kahm noted that, although ETAC recommended prioritizing the north side of Dartmouth as item no. two, the possibility exists that the church may eventually redevelop and include sidewalk installation in their project; therefore, Council Liaison Tomasso suggested that the Zuni St. missing link be placed as item no. two to facilitate students at the Colorado's Finest Alternative High School. Mr. Kahm stated that he will recommend add itional funding be made available so that Zuni could also be included in the 2006 Missing Links Program. • Director Kahm stated he plans to propose that funding be made available in the PIF for 2007 to cover the expense of implementing a 25 mph speed limit for residential streets, which was approved by ETAC at the March meeting and recommended for City Council action. Mr. Kahm noted that it may or may not be approved by Council, depending on available funds. There was brief discussion regarding the City's budget process . • Traffic Engineer Vostry reported that, in spite of his attempts, he has not been able to make contact with 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. Mr. Vostry has not received a return phone call from Ms. Manning, however, he has received phone calls from five residents who have been contacted regarding the petition, and who, for various reasons, strongly oppose the request for parking on both sides of the street. Brief discussion ensued. • In response to Committee Member Craft's inquiry at the February ETAC meeting regarding visibility concerns, Director Kahm advised that the junction box in the alley behind Simon Center is owned by the Parks Division, and houses sprinkler/irrigation controls for Simon Center. The Parks Division obtained a quote of $6,500 to relocate the box 15 feet east of the alley. Mr. Kahm noted that there is no accident history at this location to indicate the box is causing a site problem for motorists. Because the City has not budgeted for this expense, and since the box is located on private property, Mr. Kahm suggested that Mr. Craft pursue his concern with the Englewood Housing Authority . Discussion ensued. • Director Kahm provided an update on a proposal to provide safer access for pedestrians crossing Lincoln St. between the Malley Center on the east side and the parking lot on the west side . Initially, the Malley Center Trust Fund Committee proposed a cul-de-sac mid-block on Lincoln, however the cost exceeded $100,000. Staff then suggested a crosswalk leading from the front door of the Malley facility with 2 a bulb-out at the curb to narrow the street, and, additionally, to install push button flashing lights for pedestrians, similar to those installed on Inca St. near Civic Center. Mr. Kahm noted that he is looking for a motion detection device to install on the lights so that the pedestrian button does not have to be activated. The Trust Fund Committee presented this proposal to City Council this week; Council agreed to consider supplemental funding of $13,500 to assist in the cost of the project. In addition to the $4,300 already expended by the Trust Fund Committee for engineering costs, the Committee will add another $11,000 to complete the project. Total costs are expected to be $24,500, excluding the engineering costs. Discussion ensued regarding concerns for pedestrians crossing mid-block on Girard Ave. adjacent to Malley Center. Mr. Kahm noted that, at this time, the Trust Fund Committee opted to put their emphasis on placing the crossing at the front entrance of Malley. Mr. Vostry stated that there is no accident history on Lincoln St. nor on Girard Ave. in the vicinity of the Malley Center. • In response to a request made at the March ETAC meeting, Traffic Engineer Vostry presented information for Members' consideration regarding making adjustments to the electronic speed signs on Oxford Ave. To better catch the attention of motorists, staff suggested reprogramming those devices with a blank screen, then your speed would be posted, and, if speeding, the sign would flash slow down along with your speed, similar to the electronic speed signs on Inca St. Members agreed with this plan. Discussion ensued regarding electronic speed signs posted on Logan St. and on Dartmouth Ave. • In response to Committee Member Craft's inquiry at the March ETAC meeting, Traffic Engineer Vostry advised that a right turn arrow has been placed on the pavement in the right hand lane on Floyd Ave. just east of Broadway to call attention to motorists that the right hand lane is right-turn-only at Lincoln St. Mr. Vostry stated that he will place a second turn arrow between the alley and Lincoln St. if he observes that motorists are still confused that the lane is right-turn-only. Brief discussion ensued. • Director Kahm discussed a recent accident that occurred on Elati St. at Amherst Ave. involving alcohol in which a vehicle flipped. Mr. Kahm advised that, in answer to residents' concerns, Safety Services will place a speed trailer at this location, after which a speed study will be conducted. Mr. Kahm stated that, in addition to possible speed concerns, a solid fence that runs along this roadway on the Barton Brothers property could possibly cause visibility problems. Traffic Engineer Vostry plans to speak with Barton Brothers, asking that they set the fence back away from the roadway on this curve, or perhaps replace it with chain link fencing. Additionally, Mr. Kahm stated they will be looking at traffic safety on the cul-de-sac on Amherst Ave., and will make improvements, as necessary . Mr. Vostry noted that this is the only accident on this roadway that has taken place over the past two years. Council Liaison Tomasso stated he has also received reports from residents of speeding along Delaware St. in early morning hours by people going to work at the RTD maintenance facility nearby. Commander Sanchez opined that speed studies would be the first step to determine actual speeds. Mr. Kahm stated that staff will study both the Elati and the Delaware neighborhoods and report the preliminary results to ETAC at the May meeting. • Director Kahm described the layout of Bates Ave. between Emerson and Clarkson Streets. This dirt roadway has a right-of-way width of only 20 feet, and has never been constructed as a standard street 3 because of structures that exist on the estate property on the northeast corner of Bates and Clarkson. New owners are renovating this property, and, additionally, are realigning the City Ditch that runs through the property. The two properties on the south side of Bates have also changed hands and are being redeveloped as one property. A resident in the area contacted approximately 95% of the residents in the neighborhood seeking a consensus to close Bates Ave. between Clarkson and the alley to the east; all but two of those contacted are in favor of the closure. If the closure takes place, Mr. Kahm stated that the roadway will be narrowed with placards and hazard panels; the right-of-way would remain for pedestrian and emergency vehicle access. Staff plans to advise City Council of this proposal in the near future. Mr. Kahm noted that property owners on the north and south corners have made improvements to open visibility for pedestrians. Mr. Kahm opined that the closure of Bates will be a great improvement from a safety standpoint. • Director Kahm reported that the City has received notification that RTD is looking for capital and service project requests. In the past, RTD has installed concrete pads and other similar projects requested by the City. Mr. Kahm suggested that, with regard to RTD's offer of providing service projects, perhaps this would be an opportunity for the City to request bus service for the Colorado's Finest Alternative High School, as ETAC discussed at the February and March meetings. Also mentioned was the need for a weekend route for the Kimberly Woods neighborhood, and bus services for an area on Belleview between Federal and Broadway. • Director Kahm advised ETAC that bus traffic continues to be an issue with residents on Tejon St. in spite of the City's efforts to work with Connex to eliminate the inconvenience and frustration of residents living in this area. Committee Member Kinton offered to speak with Bruce Abel, System General Manager for Contracted Services for RTD, regarding resolving residents' issues with Connex buses, and Mr. Vestry will make one more attempt, as well, to resolve these issues with Connex. Mr. Kahm opined that residents' concerns would be eliminated if only the buses would drive one block further east, to Raritan St., which is an industrial neighborhood, and continue north to Evans Ave. Mr. Kahm plans to prepare a memorandum to City Council outlining the industrial zoning stipulations and the rights of both residents and businesses in the area around the Connex facility. Discussion ensued regarding the noise from a nearby car shredder. Chairperson's Choice • To Chair Anderson's inquiry, Traffic Engineer Vestry advised that staff will be replacing the striping on the Broadway bridge, which has been worn away by traffic and the sanding process for recent snow storms. The striping to be applied will be temporary until after the microsurfacing project, which is scheduled for early summer, when a more permanent striping will be applied. Director Kahm noted that the City of Westminster, with whom Englewood has exchanged rotomilling for striping services for many years, has discontinued their lane striping function, and therefore, Englewood will now provide the majority of striping projects in-house, however, some will have to be contracted out. 4 • Mr. Anderson requested that a tour of the traffic control room be scheduled for the May ETAC meeting. As Committee Member Gregory will not be present at the May meeting, the tour will be scheduled to take place at the June meeting. • Mr. Anderson reviewed some points of conduct that ETAC has adopted, over time. I. Per the City Attorney, minutes must be kept for official meetings, including regularly scheduled monthly meetings as well as sub-committee meetings with three or more members present. Note that two members can talk, unofficially, about ETAC business outside of the regular meeting, however, if three members are present, it becomes an official meeting, and minutes must be kept with copy to the Recording Secretary. II. Notify the Recording Secretary or the Chairperson if you are not able to attend a scheduled meeting. III. Members should feel free to add items to the agenda under New Business by contacting the Recording Secretary or Chairperson early in the week prior to the regular meeting. New Business items can also be added at the meeting. IV. If New Business is presented at the meeting that was not included in the packet, particularly a topic with background reading material, then a vote will not be taken until the following meeting, unless Members vote unanimously to waive the restriction. V. When a motion is introduced, using Roberts Rules of Order, first formally state the motion, followed by a second to the motion, discussion takes place, followed by restating the motion, vote is taken. VI. Committee Members' Choice is the time to discuss any issues or questions you may have regarding ETAC concerns. VII. Members can vote on the minutes only for the meetings they attend. Committee Members' Choice Committee Member Gregory inquired with whom to speak regarding City Council Meeting Minutes containing the names and, particularly, addresses of residents speaking at Council meetings, which are then published on the City's web page as public record. Ms. Gregory expressed her concern that an individual's address is published for public viewing. Recording Secretary Wilks advised Ms. Gregory to speak with the City Clerk and, perhaps, the City Attorney. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. 5