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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-19 Minutes 1 MINUTES OF CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CHAMBERS April 19, 2012 6:00 P.M. ROLLCALL Answering roll call was Members Bass, Braden, Iyer, Janovy, LaForce, Nelson, Schweiger, Thompson, and Whited. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Motion was made by member LaForce and seconded by member Thompson approving the revised meeting agenda – moving item 1A. Election of Chair and Vice Chair to after Approval of Minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 16, 2012 Motion was made by member Nelson and seconded by member Braden to approve the minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - REGULAR MEETING OF MARCH 15, 2012 Motion was made by member Thompson and seconded by member LaForce to approve the minutes. All voted aye. Motion carried. ELECTION OF CHAIR Member Thompson thanked outgoing chair Janovy for serving as the chair and nominated member Nelson. Member Nelson accepted the nomination. There being no other nomination, member LaForce motioned to close the nomination and approve member Nelson as the chair and the motion was seconded by member Bass. All voted aye. Motion carried. Chair Nelson thanked outgoing chair Janovy for her service and opened up for election of vice-chair. Member Janovy nominated member Bass and this was seconded by member Thompson. Member Bass accepted the nomination. There being no other nomination, member Laforce motioned to close the nomination and approve member Bass as the vice chair and the motion was seconded by member Thompson. All voted aye. Motion carried. COMMUNITY COMMENT – None. Andrew Kasid, 5401 Wooddale Avenue, a 42 year resident, said he has seen the TLC Bike Blvd plan and requested consideration of parking needs of neighbors and pedestrian safety. He asked that some parking be maintained on 54th between Wooddale and Kellogg. He said they’ve had issues with drivers not stopping at the intersection at 54th and Wooddale and have had police patrol from time to time and if parking is eliminated it would be a traffic concern for monitoring. Eileen Supple, 7332 West Shore Drive, said she is speaking as a resident and a member of the Edina Community Lutheran Church. (A letter was distributed to the ETC from the church.) She said they are excited about the bike path because they have a lot of bikers in the congregation, including a pastor who is a commuting cyclist but they are concerned with losing on-street parking that they have relied on for 64 years. She said they have avoided adding parking and does not want to add more surface that would cause run-off into the creek. She encouraged the ETC to look at share the road between France and Wooddale or to some other point to allow on-street parking. 2 REPORT/RECOMMENDATIONS TLC Bike Boulevard Project Presentation Mr. Houle said Mr. Mike Anderson, traffic engineer, with Alliant Engineering will be giving the presentation and explaining staff’s recommendation, and that Mr. Steve Clark with TLC is also in attendance and available to answer questions. Mr. Houle said an informational meeting was held on April 12. (A plan set was distributed to the ETC.) Mr. Anderson said the project limits have change since the February 16 meeting. He said the new Phase I project limits include Wooddale Avenue, 54th Street, Valley View Road and a southern portion of Wooddale Avenue connecting to W. 70th Street. The route will connect to bike facility on 44th Street, 70th Street and future bikeway that city of Minneapolis has planned for Zenith Avenue. Phase II was originally part of this grant but was eliminated due to construction cost and Phase I was extended down Wooddale Avenue over the pedestrian bridge and connect to 70th Street via Southdale Road and Cornelia Drive. The tentative schedule include City Council public hearing on May 15, submittal to State Aid early May with construction starting end of August and completion end of September. Mr. Anderson said the objective of the project is to provide on-street bicycle facility that will encourage increased bicycling and improve safety for cyclists and, while the goal is to have dedicated lanes for roadway with vehicles of 2000 or more, the challenge is meeting the specific design standards for the mostly State Aid roads governed by MnDOT and also adhering to the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MMUTCD). He said no variance is required from MnDOT; however, two Requests to Experiment are required from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Road treatments are as follow: 54th Street from France Avenue to Zenith Avenue: recommendation is a share the road designated by a bike boulevard pavement message, share the lane roadway signs, and two landscaped traffic circles and a recommendation to remove the stop signs at Beard and Drew Avenues. 54th Street from Minnehaha Blvd to France Avenue: recommendation is designated bike lanes with on-street parking on the south side and no parking on the north side; however, staff is considering a variance to have parking on Sunday mornings only. A variance would be needed because there is only 16 ft. of space and 19 ft. is required for parking. Removal of stop signs at Minnehaha Blvd is recommended and this is currently being studied. 54th from Wooddale Avenue to Minnehaha Blvd: this area is narrower and the recommendation is dedicated bike lanes with removal of on-street parking on both sides. Wooddale Avenue from Valley View Road to 50th Street: recommendation is advisory lane and an FHWA Request to Experiment because they would be using a dashed line instead of a solid line. Southern connection - Wooddale Avenue to 70th Street: the route is Wooddale Avenue over the pedestrian bridge to Southdale Road to 68th Street to Cornelia Drive to 70th Street. Cyclists would be guided by marked signs only. Member LaForce asked if the existing bridge would remain in place. Mr. Houle said staff is working with MnDOT to replace the pedestrian bridge over TH62 in the near future, including the ramps, but in the meantime there is a u-channel to assist with getting bikes up and down the bridge. Member Iyer said in this area it is a missed opportunity to combine with Safe Routes to School to connect to Cornelia Elementary. Mr. Houle said the project ends here because of limited funds and that he is working with Alliant on a design plan for when additional funding becomes available. Member Janovy said this is a good solution given the available funding and a plan to finish in the 2nd phase. Valley View Road from Wooddale Avenue to 62nd Street: share the road and a 4 ft. wide green painted sharrow because of the volume of traffic. The painted sharrow requires an FHWA Request to Experiment. 3 Valley View Road from 62nd Street to TH62: removal of center turn lane and dedicated bike lane. The project terminates here. The traffic signal at France Avenue and 54th will have bike detection and marking where bikes are to stop and the signal light will change automatically. Route Marking – Wayfinding: destination signs and route markers will be installed behind the curb along the corridor. Member Janovy said they will need to have a discussion on wayfinding signs before they are established. Discussion Member Janovy asked about the kind of paint that will be used and she also asked if there is data to support that the turn lane is needed? In reference to the paint, Mr. Anderson said it is about cost. He said they will be looking for a paint that is durable but will not be looking at high end paint because it is experimental. Regarding the center left turn lane, he said Engineering staff did a study this past December and it was determined that it was needed. Member Braden asked if the different section treatments will be intuitive for cyclists/drivers. Mr. Anderson said they are trying to be as consistent as possible and the treatments are similar to the ones in city of Minneapolis. Member Laforce does not think they are intuitive. Member Thompson said an educational component should be included to minimize confusion. He said this is similar to roundabouts where drivers were against them but have since learned how to use them. He said it is a good compromise. Member Whited said she had an incident this evening with one of her bus drivers and a cyclist who was going from one treatment to another and her bus driver did not see him. She asked how do you educate everyone. Member Janovy said she likes what has been done and that it will take a lot of education for drivers to know that they are to yield to cyclists and pedestrians. Mr. Clark said Edina and Mr. Anderson have done a good job. He said there were some challenges and they have looked at best practices. As a funder, he asked if they are making conditions better or more confusing and he said they are making it better. He said he has advocated for removal of the entire center lane but if there is a significant amount of turning then it should stay in place. He encouraged support of the project. Member Bass said it is not perfect for cyclist/drivers but it moves the City forward until they can achieve the ultimate goal. She said it should be clear that children under certain age should not ride in the streets. Member Thompson motioned to accept the project as presented with one caveat to consider the variance allowing parking on 54th Street between Minnehaha Blvd and Halifax Avenue on Sunday mornings only. The motion was seconded by member Bass. All voted aye. Motion carried. Gallagher Drive Roadway and Nine Mile Creek Regional Trail Improvements Presentation Mr. Houle said a petition was sent in by adjoining property owners two years ago requesting resurfacing of Gallagher Drive. He said this project will be done jointly with the Three Rivers Park District to include their on-street bike trail. Mr. Toby Muse, project manager with SEH presented the plan. Mr. Muse said the project boundary is Parklawn Avenue to France Avenue and that it is budgeted in the 2011-15 Capital Improvement Plan. He said the road is 42 ft. with concrete curb and gutter, 5 ft. sidewalks, no parking, ten commercial driveway entrances, no pedestrian crossings, no roadway lighting and five Metro Transit bus stops. He said the plan is to do a mill and overlay, narrow the road to 28 ft. (requires a variance) to include a 9 ft. boulevard, a 10 ft. bike trail, no on- street parking, relocating one bus stop and marked pedestrian crossings. Total project cost is $472,000 and funding will be mostly State Aid ($346,000), Three Rivers Trail ($120,000) and the balance from the City’s utility fund. An open house was held on March 27 and a public hearing is scheduled for May 15 with construction beginning early September and ending mid-November. 4 Discussion Onsite meetings took place with Metro Transit to determine proper placement of bus stops and meetings with the owners of Cedars of Edina regarding proper placement of pedestrian crossings because their pool, tennis courts and other facilities are across the street in another complex and this was also taken into consideration with the bus stop relocation. Staff was asked if bike parking was discussed and Mr. Muse said no. Mr. Houle they can include bike parking. Member Iyer said the meeting was attended by six Parklawn residents but the project is on Gallagher. He asked if a sample size is considered to determine moving forward. Mr. Houle said all impacted residents are generally invited to the informational meeting but staff does not look for a sample size to move forward. Streetlighting was asked about. Ms. Kelly Grissman with Three Rivers District said they do not light any of their regional trails; however, the local agency can provide lighting if they so desire. Member Janovy would like consideration for lighting, similar to the Promenade. Mr. Houle said because this is only a mill and overlay they cannot add lighting but they can install conduits for future lighting. Member Janovy asked if there will be a striped center line because at their last BETF meeting some members talked about having on-street bike lanes. Mr. Houle said the straight-away would not be striped but the curve would be striped. He said the trend is not to stripe lower volume roadways. No trees will not be impacted by project. Member Janovy motioned approval of the plan as presented with 1)the transit stops to be connected to the trail as described by Mr. Muse; 2)bike parking be included; and 3)installation of conduit for future streetlight. The motion was seconded by member LaForce. All voted aye. Motion carried. Transportation Options Working Group – Election of Co-chair Member Janovy said the bylaws require that this working group be chaired by a member of the ETC and member Whited has agreed to be the chair. Member Janovy nominated member Whited as chair and the nomination was seconded by member LaForce. Member LaForce motioned to close the nomination and it was seconded by member Bass. All voted aye. Motion carried. Chair Whited nominated Elin Schold-Davis as the co-chair and the nomination was seconded by member Janovy. All voted aye. Motion carried. Updates Student Member None. Bike Edina Task Force – Minutes of March 8, 2012 Member Janovy said a bike rodeo is scheduled for this Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m. to noon, at Cornelia School, and there is new feature on the website, BikeEdina.org with new articles every couple of weeks. Member Whited enquired about expansion of bike lanes on W. 58th Street as noted in the minutes. Mr. Houle will follow with an answer at the next meeting. Grandview Small Area Study Chair Nelson said the City Council unanimously approved the framework on April 17. He said he is not sure how they will be moving forward but eventually it will come back to the ETC. France Avenue Pedestrian Crossings Improvements Update Mr. Houle said they are designing the pedestrian crossings that were approved by City Council. He said the City Council discussed the need to have an urban landscape architect and WSB did a search of the area, including Wisconsin, and 5 LHB, Inc. seem to be a good fit. He said because of the size of the project it would be difficult to attract a national firm. He requested feedback from the ETC regarding the landscape architect and also stakeholders meetings which he would like to schedule in conjunction with the ETC meetings. Member Janovy asked if landscaping is included in WSB’s contract and Mr. Houle said yes. She said the City Council wants a strong urban design but they did not say what they were looking for and she does not know what this company can do. She said further that it makes her uncomfortable when a contract goes to individuals involved with the City. Mr. Houle asked if they would like to set up a working group for this project. Member Janovy said she likes the idea of the entire ETC being involved in the stakeholders meetings and also like a couple being part of the design group. Member Braden volunteered to be part of the design group. Living Streets Working Group Update Member Thompson, chair of the working group gave a presentation on Living Streets from its inception in Edina to where it is today. He said discussions started in early 2011, and in May, the City Council adopted a resolution supporting it. A working group was created that has met twice (Dec 8 and Mar 30) and on February 15 they held a policy development workshop. He said Living Streets creates a vision for the future that includes safe walking, education, aesthetics, green sustainability, solutions to traffic concerns, etc. Continuing, he said Barr Engineering was selected to conduct policy review, identify stakeholders, etc. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS – None CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBER COMMENTS Member Whited asked how to share articles with the group. She was told to email them to Mr. Houle for distribution. She volunteered to help with developing an education program for the public for the Bike Blvd project. Member Iyer said he would like to be part of the Safe Routes to School working group. Member Braden noted that the ETC has done a lot in the past year. Member Janovy said the BETF would love to have volunteers to help with education and this will probably be the same for Living Streets. She said Edina is part of Bloomington Health’s Safe Routes to School and they’ve just had their first meeting and could use more representation from citizens and ETC and suggested possibly setting up a working group. To echo what member Braden said, she said the Council has been very engaged. Chair Nelson said they had joint working session on Tuesday with the City Council to review the ETC’s priorities for the year. Member Thompson echoed what member Braden said. Member Bass thanked staff for their persistence in pursuing the France Avenue scope change. She said it is a huge win for residents. She thanked outgoing chair Janovy for her service and welcomed new chair Nelson. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Houle thanked the Mayor, City Manager, and member Janovy for their involvement with the France Avenue scope change. A group photo has been requested, probably to be posted to the website, and there is a release form for everyone to sign. A copy of the final bylaws was handed out. 6 ADJOURNMENT Member LaForce motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m. and the motion was seconded by member Janovy. ATTACHMENT Attendance Spreadsheet