Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-17 Minutes1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS JANUARY 17, 2013 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL Answering roll call was members Braden, Franzen, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, Sierks, Thompson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member Iyer to approve the meeting agenda. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF DEC. 20, 2012 Motion was made by member Franzen and seconded by member LaForce to approve the minutes of Dec. 20, 2012. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS Traffic Safety Committee Report of Jan. 2, 2013 Section B.1. Director Houle stated that staff evaluated the request from the ETC to install stop signs to complete the basket weave and stop signs in general and they still did not meet warrants. He said staff does not recommend installing stop signs, but is recommending changing the direction of the yield sign from the north/south movement to east/west and, if the ETC recommends the stop sign, to install it on the east/west movement of traffic. Installation would be in February/March. Member Laforce asked what the rationale was for the east/west recommendation and director Houle explained that it is based on the flow of traffic which is more apt to continue flowing on the north/south movement and, there is less traffic on the east/west movement. He said they prefer to give the right-of-way to where there is more traffic. Member Janovy said the request for the stop sign was from a resident and asked if the requestor has been informed. Mr. Houle said it is customary for staff to call and inform requestors of the recommendation. Member Janovy said she appreciated the analysis and that she was comfortable with the yield sign as proposed in the report. Motion was made by member Janovy and seconded by member LaForce to forward the Jan 2 Traffic Safety Committee Report to the City Council. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Members None. 2 Bike Edina Task Force Received minutes of Dec. 13, 2012. Member Janovy said in addition to discussing their role at their January meeting, three residents who are interested in having a mountain bike trail at Braemar presented their idea. Living Streets Working Group Received minutes of Jan. 8, 2013. Member Thompson said they reviewed and made changes to the draft Living Streets Policy. He said most of the work is completed and in February, they would like to present it to the ETC for review and discussion. He said they would also talk about the possibility of dissolving the working group and form a committee that would be responsible for shaping the policy and holding public meetings to gather feedback. The committee could include ETC members, Councilmembers, members from other boards and commissions, etc. Transportation Options Working Group a. Presentation on Senior Transportation Options for Edina – Courtney Whited and Hope Melton Member Whited introduced Ms. Hope Melton, a member of the working group. Member Whited said the working group’s charge is: • To review current transportation options for Edina seniors aging in place; including volunteer driver services, public transportation, private commercial transportation, and non-motorized transportation, and identity the need for additional services as appropriate. • Review and make recommendations for additional services and infrastructure improvements to meet the transportation needs of Edina seniors aging in place. • To recommend partnerships and outside sources of funding to help meet the transportation needs of Edina seniors aging in place. • To identify other populations who may also be served by these measures. Member Whited and Ms. Melton said the group reviewed and evaluated five options for senior transportation in Edina. The following minimum guidelines were established to evaluate and rank each one on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not acceptable and 5 being meets all expectation(s): 1. No eligibility guidelines (senior, disabled) 2. Rider to any destination, for any reason 3. Service hours 4. Service area at minimum covers Edina, can also serve VA Hospital in Minneapolis, Methodist/Park Nicollet Clinics, Tria Orthopedics, University of Minnesota Hospital and downtown Minneapolis clinics 5. Wheel chair equipped vehicles 6. Cost per ride, one-way fare, and commitment to serve low income people 7. Paid drivers and/or volunteer drivers background checked and fully trained 8. Willingness to grow with rider needs and to coordinate with other program The following companies were evaluated and their scores were: 1. PRISM Express (People Responding in Social Ministry) - 39 2. VEAP Transportation (Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People) – 32.5 3. ITN (Independent Transportation Network) – 20.5 (not established) 3 4. Metro Transit public transit BE Line – not scored because they felt it would inaccurately tabulate a perfect score. 5. Streetcar (reviewed but not scored – listed as a future wish, if funding could be secured) They made the following recommendations: • Coordination of existing services models to serve the transportation needs of seniors in Edina. There is no set up fees or time needed. The programs are well established in the communities they currently serve. Additionally, potential funders embrace the fact that programs are coordinating and not duplicating services so that they are funding one entity for many needs versus many entities for individual needs. • Together, PRISM Express dial-a-ride and VEAP Volunteer driver transportation can provide the affordable, social services style of transportation that Edina seniors desire. PRISM Express can be set up to serve the general public in Edina and not just seniors like they have been doing in the City of St. Louis Park for the past one and a half year. • That the City charge a “transportation fee” of $3.28 per residency to housing developers, i.e., new housing being erected in the Southdale parking lot, similar to the Pedestrian and Cyclists franchise fee to help subsidize transportation options in Edina. Could also establish a “parking spot user fee” similar to City of Eden Prairie. Work on a City TDM. The City does need to put a line item in its budget for funds to pay for this service. Riders will be charged a suggested donation fee to ride, based on their stated monthly income. • Concerns were discussed if Edina was to go with a brand new transit option, i.e. ITN, that this would add another layer to an already fragmented transportation system. Additionally, because of the relatively high cost per trip, the ITN option appears to be set up to serve the financially advantaged population and not for the general public. • Consider competition for funding dollars & volunteers if establishing a brand new program(s) versus going with existing programs. Discussion Member Janovy asked what they learned about other volunteer services in Edina. Member Whited said there were a couple churches with driver volunteer programs but they have all frizzled out. She said they are hard programs to maintain. Member Janovy also asked about senior housing that have their own transportation. Member Whited said there are still a few but most are moving away from owning their own transportation because of costs and regulations and is contracting with existing services. She said they tend to be limited in their schedule to grocery shopping and eating out once weekly and this does not suit the needs. Member LaForce said he liked the criteria that was used and asked if they looked at the demand for the service, understanding that this was not part of their charge. They did not look at demand; however, member Whited said she works with the state’s demographer and a report was just published about transportation needs of seniors and the disabled that she can provide later on. Additionally, she said there used to be a Dial-A-Ride in Edina that frizzled out and those riders are most likely relying on friends, neighbors, family, Metro Transit and Metro Mobility. She said the seniors are making do with these options and are getting by going to necessary appointments like doctor’s visits. Ms. Melton added that they cannot volunteer in the community or socialize. Member Franzen asked if the fee would be used to fund the gap between $3.50 and $10.98. Member Whited said PRISM’s average riders pay $3.50 or $4.50 but their true cost is $10.98. She said they have a 4 funder that pays $5.00 per ride for those 60 and older and City of St. Louis Park pays $20,000 annually which is $5.00 per rider. Student member Schweiger asked how does a financially advantaged senior citizen gets around Edina and member Whited said there are private programs with concierge services that they pay to transport them, help with cleaning, cooking, etc. He asked why would they stop using the concierge service and use the one being recommended. Ms. Melton said they would not necessarily need to stop using the concierge service; however, they are discussing transportation unlike the concierge services that also offers cleaning, cooking, etc. Member Whited added that transportation cost is $25 each way in these programs versus $10 roundtrip. Member Iyer asked if riders would be able to schedule rides by calling a dispatch center and if the City would be involved with this. Member Whited said yes they would call to schedule rides but the City would not be involved except to the extent like St. Louis Park is in marketing the program. He also asked if there is a similar city that they could learn from and how they raised the funds. Member Whited said St. Louis Park would be a good example; she said it took five years for them to approve the program. Member Thompson asked about St. Louis Park’s funding and member Whited said it is an amount that is set aside because the program is a priority for them. Member Braden asked how was 55 and 60 established as a senior age and member Whited said the senior age is established by their funders. Member Braden asked if it could be increased and Member Whited said it is currently being discussed. Communications Committee No update. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS A. Correspondence relating to transportation issues No comment. CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS A. Chair report on 2012 Accomplishments The following are a list of the ETC’s accomplishments for 2012: 1. Living Streets a. Created the Living Streets Policy Framework 2. Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Fund a. Helped create ordinance for franchise fees and policy for implementing fund. 3. Safe Routes to Schools Comprehensive Plan a. Initiated study to be completed in 2013 4. Bike Projects a. TLC Bike Blvd Project b. Other miscellaneous bikeway projects 5. France Avenue Pedestrian Bridge Rescoping 6. Review of Capital Projects a. Tracy Avenue 5 b. Neighborhood Reconstruction Projects c. Gallagher Drive and Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail Improvements 7. Review of Traffic Safety Committee Reports 8. ETC Bylaws 9. Formation of working group a. Communications Committee Member Franzen asked about the use of sod versus hydroseeding. Director Houle said staff is currently doing research and they are favoring hydroseeding. Director Houle will share more with the ETC at the February meeting. Member Thompson said his term will expire Feb. 1. He said it was a pleasure serving and getting to know everyone. Member Janovy said she emailed questions to Director Houle because there has been discussion in the community about construction traffic and the impacts on neighborhoods. She said the Planning Commission has a subcommittee looking at residential reconstruction and they’ve had two public meetings and she believes traffic will be one of the issues and the ETC should be aware of this. She requested a detail report on the France Avenue Pedestrian project. Chair Nelson thanked member Thompson for his service and made the following comments: • He attended a City of Richfield public works department meeting regarding W. 66th Street. He said the City received funding for reconstructing the roadway and have set up a series of meetings through March to gather feedback. He said he plans on attending the meetings. W. 66th Street connects to the Southdale area. • Requested adding the Southwest Light Rail Transit to a future agenda for discussion. • Construction of the Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail will begin in 2014 and he requested adding this to the agenda. STAFF COMMENTS A. 2011 Neighborhood Reconstruction Survey Results Director Houle said member Iyer asked recently if staff had ever surveyed residents after projects were completed and the information that was handed out are the results of a 2011 survey of residents in the 2010 neighborhood reconstruction project areas. He said staff is planning on surveying residents in the 2011 neighborhood reconstruction project areas and would like feedback on the survey from the ETC and the communications committee. Member Franzen asked if staff has looked at using electronic surveys and Director Houle said he is open to this but would still need to send hard copies. Other feedback was observations made of residents’ responses. Director Houle gave the following updates: • The 2013 neighborhood reconstruction projects will bid in February or March. • Final plans for the France Avenue Pedestrian project will be submitted to MnDOT Feb. 4 and distributed to the ETC at the February meeting. Plan review time by MnDOT is approximately six weeks. • The 2013 ETC Workplan will be emailed to everyone tomorrow. • He attended a webinar hosted by Transit for Livable Communities on Best Practices on Pedestrian Wayfinding. He said staff is currently working on a wayfinding system for the 50th & France area and soon will be doing same for pedestrians and bikers. He will be attending another class and recommended that the ETC also consider attending. Chair Nelson said he has already signed up for the class. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned. ATTENDANCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE - 2013 NAME TERM JF MAMJJASOND Work Session # of Mtgs Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 Bass, Katherine 2/1/2014 0 0% Braden, Ann 2/1/2014 1 1 100% Franzen, Nathan 2/1/2016 1 1 100% Iyer, Surya 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Janovy, Jennifer 2/1/2014 1 1 100% LaForce, Tom 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Nelson, Paul 2/1/2016 1 1 100% Schweiger, Steven student 1 1 100% Sierks, Caroline student 1 1 100% Thompson, Michael 2/1/2013 1 1 100% Whited, Courtney 2/1/2015 1 1 100% Res.: fu submitted, Irmse A !son, Secretary 6