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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-03-16 MinutesDraft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 4/20/2017 1 Minutes City of Edina, Minnesota Transportation Commission Community Room March 16, 2017, 6:00 p.m. I. Call To Order Chair LaForce called the meeting to order. II. Roll Call Answering roll call were commissioners Ahler, Brown, Koester, LaForce, Miranda, Olk, Olson, Richman and Ruthruff. Late arrivals: Commissioners Iyer and Kane. III. Approval Of Meeting Agenda Motion was made by commissioner Ahler and seconded by commissioner Brown approving the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion passed. Commissioners Iyer and Kane were absent. IV. Approval Of Meeting Minutes Motion was made by commissioner Ruthruff and seconded by commissioner Miranda approving the Feb. 16, 2017, minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. Commissioners Iyer and Kane were absent. V. Community Comments Keith and Liz Keller, 5107 W. 44th Street, addressed the ETC regarding parking restriction on W. 44th Street. Ms. Keller said parking is not allowed on W. 44th Street, which they agree with. In the past, to accommodate residents for family events that required on-street parking, the police would bag the no parking signs temporarily; however, residents recently found out that this service would no longer be provided. She said engineering staff recommended parking on Thielen Avenue but this is a short street with parking only allowed on one side that will be used by those residents and their guests at times when everyone are having guests. She said they offered to pick up the bags and return them to City Hall since they were told the service was eliminated because of staff shortage. Ms. Keller said they were representing several neighbors who couldn’t attend the meeting and that a letter was sent to staff by another neighbor. Planner Nolan said because this was a police department decision, staff recommended bringing the concern to City Council. VI. Reports/Recommendations A. Edina Community Circulator Chair LaForce said this item was on their work plan last year. He said Ms. Courtney Whited presented DARTS as a transportation option to the ETC on Dec. 15, 2016, and the decision was made to wait and meet again at a later date. Discussion • DARTS is recognized transportation gap filler. • DARTS in Hastings operates once weekly with 305 riders which exceeds the standard of 2.5 ridership per hour. • Handicapped services are provided. • The routes shown are proposed until feedback is received to help identify the best routes; routes can be customized. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 4/20/2017 2 • A six month trial period could be done. • Pilot in an area where most likely to have greatest success (western part of city or Southdale area). • Why wasn’t it approved when first worked on several years ago? The option worked on was no longer available. Motion was made by commissioner Iyer and seconded by commissioner Richman to write an advisory communication to the City Council recommending approval of the Community Circulator with a six month trial. The motion was amended to include forming an advisory working group to define the pilot methodology and success criteria All vote aye. Motion carried. Commissioner Brown volunteered to write the advisory and commissioners LaForce and Iyer volunteered to review it. B. Comprehensive Plan Update Planning commissioner John Hamilton thanked everyone for their feedback so far. He said the City Council decided to slow down the update process to make the Plan Update aspirational and inspirational, something lacking in the previous Plan. The following feedback of the current Transportation Plan was provided by commissioners: • It is auto-focused. • It has no measurable goals; set milestone for building out the sidewalk network, for example. • Include score card to track outcome. • It referenced roads frequently, plus other plans that should be included for integration purposes. • The City has no control over some streets; should they spend time on these? Planner Nolan said the Met Council requires them to minimally address regional roads in the Plan. • Helpful to know what is required so they can be aspirational. C. Passenger Rail Engagement Report Draft Request for Proposals (RFP) Planner Nolan said he is looking for input on the RFP that he is hoping to send out next week. Discussion • Are they violating the gag rule? No, the gag rule is applicable to the State, Met Council and regional but not to cities. • Was the SWOT Analysis from their December meeting included? Planner Nolan said he included a summary of it. • Regarding decision criteria and community engagement, planner Nolan said he expects the consultants to provide detailed information on these. • How will the consultants measure success in terms of residents’ participation? • Who are the stakeholders? The consultant will help to identify stakeholders. • Consultant should understand and be able to explain gag rule. • Provide examples of other communities that have upgraded tracks for passenger rail. Commissioner Brown volunteered to evaluate proposals, and be part of the interview and management teams. D. Additional Updates on 2017 Work Plan Initiatives No updates; remove item from the agenda. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 4/20/2017 3 E. Bicycle Benefits Program Commissioner Miranda said he was looking for approval or endorsement of the Bicycle Benefits Program from the ETC and/or the City. He said this would include sponsorship and paying for postage and printing costs. He said the program was established to incentivize people to bike and this is done through business participation who offers discounts to participants when they bike to their establishment. The program is well established in other parts of the metro area and across the country. Commissioner Miranda has four rides planned in Edina to promote the program – the first ride schedule for April 8, the Half-Mile Pizza Ride, is sponsored by the Morningside Neighborhood Association to Hello Pizza who signed on as the first business to participate in Edina. He is looking for sponsorship for the other three and asked if the ETC and/or City could sponsor the second ride. Planner Nolan will check to see if this is allowed but said the ETC does not have a budget and therefore would not be able to assist financially. The consensus was that the program was a good one that fits in with plans like Living Streets and the Bike and Pedestrian Plan, but staff will need to follow up on liability of sponsorship and endorsement. Motion was made by commissioner Iyer and seconded by commissioner Olson to endorse the Half- Mile Pizza Ride. All voted aye. Motion carried. F. City Code Changes Concerning Boards and Commissions For information purposes - no discussion. VII. Correspondence And Petitions A. Updated Transportation Commission Public Roster For information purposes - no discussion. Planner Nolan handed out copies of the letter Ms. Keller referred to regarding parking restrictions on W. 44th Street and explained that the police department decided to discontinue bagging no parking signs because of limited staff time and because they’ve been inconsistent in their practice. It was suggested that the police consider writing a policy because Ms. Keller made a compelling argument for the service. VIII. Chair and Member Comments Four new commissioners were welcomed to the ETC, commissioners Ahler, Kane, Richman and Ruthruff. Commissioner Ahler said she serves on a working group of the Energy & Environmental Commission and she invited the ETC to a monthly environmental series that they are hosting. Commissioner Iyer revisited the lack of snowplowing of the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail in Edina. Planner Nolan said the City of Hopkins is in a snowplowing trial phase with Three Rivers Park District for their portion of the trail. He said Edina’s portion will be discussed further. Commissioner Brown said at W. 56th Street and France Avenue, the Minnehaha Creek is signed incorrectly as Nine Mile Creek. Planner Nolan will follow up on this. IX. Staff Comments • Staff began the bidding process for the 2017 Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction; bids for Birchcrest A & Countryside B project came in lower than estimated. • Public Works staff will construct some of the 2017 sidewalks and crosswalks which will be a cost reduction from the PACS fund because staff time will come from the public works budget. • Construction began on the Courtney Field Pedestrian Bridge to connect the sidewalk from the Valley View Road roundabout to the trail in the park. Draft Minutes☐ Approved Minutes☒ Approved Date: 4/20/2017 4 • Staff is working on 2017 street sealcoating and maintenance plan which will include some bike lanes. • Seven firms expressed an interest in the Pedestrian Master Plan RFP. • The City Council gave permission to close the intersection at Dovre & Lincoln on Mar. 13 and to remove most of the existing controls including the peak hour controls. Traffic has been greatly reduced since the closure but they’ve spilled over into adjoining neighborhoods including cities of Hopkins and Minnetonka, and intersections at Blake & Vernon, and Blake & Interlachen. • The April 6 Comprehensive Plan training was postponed. X. Calendar of Events A. Schedule of Meeting and Events as of Mar. 16, 2017 For information purposes - no discussion. XI. Adjournment at 8:26 p.m. J F M A M J J A S O N D SM # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 3 NAME (Date) Ahler, Mindy 1 1 100% Bass, Katherine 1 1 2 67% Boettge, Emily 1 1 2 67% Brown, Andy 1 1 1 3 100% Iyer, Surya 1 1 1 3 100% LaForce, Tom 1 1 1 3 100% Janovy, Jennifer 1 1 2 67% Kane, Bocar 1 1 100% Miranda, Lou 1 1 1 3 100% Olson, Larry 1 1 2 67% Richman, Lori 1 1 100% Ruthruff, Erik 1 1 100% Koester, David (student) 1 1 2 67% Olk, Megan (student) 1 1 33% TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE