Athens in Motion Commission

Athens In Motion Commission Ad Hoc Meeting 11/5/2019, 4:30 PM Planning Auditorium, 120 W Dougherty APPROVED at 11/26 Meeting PRESENT: Carol Myers Lauren Blais Mark Ebell Aaron Redman Teresa Friedlander Jake Maas ABSENT: Craig Topple Roswell Lawrence James Barlament TPW Reps: Stephen Bailey Hillary Essig Guest: Allen Jones Called to Order at 4:32 Hillary presented the current process for roadway design and construction. It lacks adequate public outreach at each phase, and (because it was created in 2004) lacks acknowledgement of Complete Streets policy. Hillary passed out her new version, to be presented to the Mayor & Commission. Along with the new process, Hillary and Stephen will specifically propose looking at Jefferson River Road and Cherokee Road according to Complete Streets policy that all new paving projects must be “complete streets” unless those improvements would increase the total project cost by more than 20%. Several commissioners noted that Complete Streets projects could still be pursued even if the additional cost is more than 20%; it would just mean that the project was exempt from automatic CS consideration. Many worthy projects may include bike/ped costs that are over 20%. Teresa asked Hillary about the term “tactical urbanism.” These are pop-up projects that require fewer additional up-front construction costs but make substantial improvements in bike/ped safety. One example would be the temporary bike lanes on Barnett Shoals. Can we see breakdowns of construction costs? (Mark) Yes (Stephen). They can certainly be broken down by task. Mark opined that construction costs in ACC seem very high. Jake asked about the other possible exceptions to CS implementation listed in the CS policy adopted in 2012. Hillary acknowledged those but stated that this proposal focuses on COST. Jake suggested having a suite of resources for the other CS exceptions, as a practical matter, so that these considerations can be thoroughly vetted in the design process. Mark asked when we could discuss this with the M&C; Hillary and Stephen directed that we should not talk to the M&C about this new process until after the Tuesday 11/12 Work Session. Jake noted that we are asking the M&C to be more flexible at project initiation and throughout the design process, since projects will undergo changes. Hillary agreed. Carol told us that getting the M&C on e-bikes is crucial. Carol made a motion to formalize the new draft roadway design process Hillary was presenting, including the exemption threshold as set in the Complete Streets policy. Mark seconded. Motion passed unanimously. Adjourned at 4:57.