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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Citizens Transportation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 4/7/2016 MINUTES CITIZENS TRANSPORTATION OVERSIGHT COMMISSION 5850 West Glendale Avenue Glendale, Arizona 85301 City Hall, Room B-3 April 7, 2016 6:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Schmitt, Chair John Geurs,Vice Chair Gus Woodman Frank Johnson Roberta Podzius Jack Nylund Don Brazier James Grose MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff McAffee OTHERS PRESENT: Debbie Albert, City Traffic Engineer Purab Adabala, Senior Transportation Analyst Patrick Sage,Transportation Planner Kiran Guntupalli,Transportation Engineer Jack Lorbeer,Transportation Planning Manager Michael LaBianca, HDR Laura Paty, HDR Kristin Darr, HDR Matthew Tauton, HDR Faisal Chowdhury, HDR I. Call to Order Chair Schmitt called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Chair Schmitt introduced new Commissioner Brazier, who was sworn in during the February 23rd City Council meeting. II. Approval of the Agenda Chair Schmitt called for approval of the agenda for the April 7, 2016 CTOC meeting. ACTION BY CTOC:Approval of the agenda for the April 7,2016 Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission as presented. (Motion: Commissioner Grose; Second: Commissioner Woodman; motion carried unanimously) III. Oath of Office (Item Added) Commissioner Geurs has been appointed to the position of Vice Chair. Chair Schmitt administered the Oath of Office for that appointment. 1 IV. Approval of Minutes from February 18, 2016 Meeting Chair Schmitt called for approval of the minutes from the February 18, 2016 CTOC meeting. ACTION BY CTOC:Approval of the minutes from the February 18,2016 meeting of the Citizens Transportation Oversight Commission as written. (Motion: Commissioner Woodman; Second:Vice Chair Geurs; motion carried unanimously) V. Call to the Audience Howard May, City of Glendale resident, observed that the electric lighting that is supposed to be provided at many bus shelters throughout the City is often not functioning, even after recent maintenance. Mr. May also commented that there are bus stops where the lack of paving, location of curbs, landscaping and the type and location of other material present a tripping/fall hazard for users, particularly disabled users. Mr. May has contacted Matt Dudley of Transportation with details on the locations and nature of these issues as well as addressing CTOC.The Commission discussed the consideration of including an agenda item on bus stop design and maintenance during a future CTOC meeting. VI. Commissioners and Staff Updates Commissioner Podzius commented that she attended the grand opening of the light rail extension along 19th Avenue on March 19th. Commissioner Podzius shared several observations, including that the event was well-attended, the project includes a well-designed park and ride lot at this new "end of line," and that generally business owners were relieved that the construction is complete. Commissioner Brazier also attended the light rail grand opening and displayed t-shirts and towels that were distributed at the event. Commissioner Nylund commented that a Glendale citizen asked him to look into the issue of homeless people living at the bus stops at the northwest corner of 59th Avenue and Bell Road and the south side of Union Hills north of 75th Avenue. Commissioner Nylund inquired as to the City's position and method for addressing homeless using bus facilities as sleeping shelters. Ms. Albert responded that ultimately this is a law enforcement issue, and staff will contact the police department regarding their approach to addressing this concern. Staff can also look for opportunities to incorporate elements into future bus shelter design that would discourage undesired activities such as sleeping. Commissioner Nylund added that there are panhandlers at the Loop 101 exits at 59th Avenue and 67th Avenue. Commissioner Nylund stated that he has seen these panhandlers dropped off by a car and felt that this was an organized effort. Commissioner Nylund expressed concern about the safety of this situation and asked about law enforcement of this issue. Ms. Albert stated that there are some codes which dictate where panhandlers can and cannot be. Commissioner Woodman stated that the March Bicycle Advisory Committee was cancelled, due to lack of a quorum. Chair Schmitt announced that the final meeting for the Glendale 2040 General Plan Update Steering Committee, on which he and Commissioner Grose participate, was held the night before (Wednesday April 6, 2016). 2 VII. Manager's Report Ms. Albert provided a status update/information on the following topics: • Update on transit facilities projects, including the completion of Arrowhead Transit Center complete and the status of the North Glendale Park& Ride • West Phoenix/Central Glendale HCT Study • Myrtle Avenue Improvements • Update on the ITS projects under design: 51st Avenue/Olive Avenue intersection; Maryland Avenue; Data Collection Citywide • Northern Parkway • Bicycle/Pedestrian project status, including amending JPAs for bike/pedestrian projects, and plan revisions for the Downtown Alley • Glendale Family Bike Ride • Staffing Changes Ms. Albert announced that she has accepted a position as the City Traffic Engineer and Mr.Jack Lorbeer will take over her current role related to the CTOC, beginning in May 2016. Commissioner Johnson asked for additional details regarding the downtown alleyway project. Ms. Albert explained that drainage issues and deteriorating pavement will be addressed and the alleyways will be made generally more appealing for pedestrian use. VIII. Glendale Transportation Master Plan—Project Update HDR Staff gave an update on the Transportation Master Plan for the City. Mr. LaBianca's opened the presentation by providing discussing the projects schedule and the overall project progress status. Mr. Chowdhury's presentation on the Glendale street system included the following: • Level of Service • Streets- project prioritization approach • Additional items: progression along Bell Road; Glendale Downtown traffic circulation; flashing yellow left-turn arrow signal phasing. Commissioner Podzius inquired if Glendale is working with adjacent cities regarding the traffic congestion along Bell Road. Ms.Albert noted that there is a separate Bell Road Corridor Committee which includes representatives from adjacent jurisdictions, and that Bell Road Corridor traffic management can be provided at a future meeting. Commissioner Podzius inquired if there were any plans by ADOT to add additional lanes to Loop 101. Ms. Albert replied that MAG will be looking at rebalancing the regional transportation plan due to savings on recent projects and that consideration of additional general purpose lanes on Loop 101 are expected to be part of the improvements considered. Mr.Taunton's presentation on transit project identification and prioritization included the following: • Transit performance data. • Changes to regional transit network. • Regional transit plans and programs. 3 Ms. Paty's presentation on bicycle and pedestrian project identification needs discussed: • Continuing building out bike facilities on collector streets. • Identifying additional crossing opportunities of the Loop 101 and waterways. • Consideration of other bicycle/pedestrian improvement recommendations—wayfinding, education, city staffing. • Exploring ways to incorporate all modes into primary transportation corridors. Mr. LaBianca closed the presentation by discussing the next steps for the Transportation Plan update, which involve prioritizing transportation projects that will be included in the plan, as identified through the assessment of existing and future conditions, the transportation system gap analysis, and concerns identified through the public outreach efforts. Chair Schmitt inquired as to how speed limits are established in Glendale and if the study is looking at consistency in speed limits. Ms.Albert commented that this is outside the scope of the study, but that staff can provide information regarding how speed limits are set within the city. Vice Chair Geurs stated that one cause of traffic congestion are the school busses that stop on various six-lane roads. Vice Chair Geurs noted that this not only causes congestion, but it is a safety issue. Mr. LaBianca replied the GESD Transportation Director is included on the stakeholder interview list, but that the team has not yet been able to meet with that representative. Chair Schmitt noted that maintenance crews often park their trucks on major arterials to clean the bus stops; however, this also causes traffic congestion. Ms. Darr's presentation included the following: • A list of events where the project team conducted public outreach for survey feedback • Key findings of the 397 stakeholder surveys completed and returned • List of public comments through March 31, 2016 on the surveys and the website Commissioner Nylund inquired about the survey response rate. Ms. Darr explained that typically it is challenging to compel citizens to complete surveys regarding general transportation issues, and that having nearly 400 surveys completed to date for this project is considered a fairly robust return. Ms. Darr added that the traditional public outreach approach focuses on holding project specific public meetings and inviting the public to attend, which likely would have resulted in lower response rate. The project team instead chose to focus on existing public events and stakeholder gatherings to provide information, distribute surveys and garner feedback,to actively engage the public where it is more convenient for interested citizens. Chair Schmitt thanked the HDR team for the update. IX. 59th Avenue and Olive Avenue Intersection Improvements Mr. Guntupalli noted that this intersection has experienced 166 crashes in the last five years. Mr. Guntupalli gave a presentation regarding the intersections improvements, which included the following: • Project Purpose • Existing Conditions • Safety Improvements 4 • Capacity Improvements • Funding • Progress Vice Chair Geurs commented that most of the pedestrians at this intersection do not use the crosswalk area to cross the street, which are both major safety issues.Vice Chair Geurs suggested relocation of the bus stop further north, closer to the classrooms, and to also add a crosswalk. Commissioner Podzius asked if the City could approach Glendale Community College for assistance in funding the project. Mr. Guntupalli stated that the project is on City right-a-way and therefore, it is the City's responsibility. Commissioner Nylund inquired if other intersections are being considered for similar improvements. Mr. Guntupalli explained that there are a limited amount of federal funds available and projects are addressed on a priority basis. Vice Chair Geurs wondered if the City had a basic design for bus pullouts that could be used at this intersection instead of conducting another design study. Mr. Guntupalli explained that there are standard elements to a bus pullout design; however, each location provides unique constraints and opportunities that require specific design considerations. X. Future Agenda Items Several items for consideration as future agenda items were discussed by the commissioners: • Evolution of CTOC, citizen transportation committees prior to 2001, and the potential expansion of CTOC's purvey to include city transportation issues beyond the GO program (staff memo). • Bell Road corridor committee/regional coordination. • City of Glendale process to establish speed limits (staff memo). • Major arterials: stopping of buses and maintenance vehicles. • City of Glendale bus stop design and maintenance. • Red light cameras (staff memo). Xl. Next Meeting Time The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in Room B-3 in City Hall. (Subsequent to the April 7 CTOC meeting documented in these minutes, the next CTOC meeting date has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 12). XII. Adjournment The ,- : -'• rued by consensus at 7:56 p.m. Thomas Schmitt, Chair 5