Metropolitan Planning Organization

1 of 10 TOM ROWLAND, CHAIRMAN 190 Church Street, N.E., P.O. Box 1519, Cleveland, TN 37364-1519 Phone (423) 479-1913 fax (423) 559 3373 http://clevelandtn.gov/index.aspx?nid=153 MPO Coordinator Greg Thomas, AICP gthomas@clevelandtn.gov MPO Executive Board WEDNESDAY, September 2, 2015, 11:00 O’CLOCK AM, 2nd FLOOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 190 CHURCH STREET NE, CLEVELAND, TN AGENDA 1. Call MPO Executive Board meeting to order 2. Approval of meeting minutes— August 5, 2015 p. 2 3. New Business a. 2016 TAP Grant p. 5 b. 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan update p. 9 4. Old Business---none 5. Comments by federal, state, local agencies 6. MPO Coordinator/staff comments p. 10 7. Public comments 8. The next regular MPO meeting date is Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 11 a.m. 9. Adjourn  2 of 10 TOM ROWLAND, CHAIRMAN 190 Church Street, N.E., P.O. Box 1519, Cleveland, TN 37364-1519 Phone (423) 479-1913 fax (423) 559 3373 http://clevelandtn.gov/index.aspx?nid=153 MPO Coordinator Greg Thomas, AICP gthomas@clevelandtn.gov MPO Executive Board WEDNESDAY, August 5, 2015, 11:00 O’CLOCK AM, 2nd FLOOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 190 CHURCH STREET NE, CLEVELAND, TN MINUTES 1. Call MPO Executive Board meeting to order --- Chairman Mayor Tom Rowland called the meeting to order and called the roll. The other MPO members in attendance were SETHRA Executive Director Bill Harmon, Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis, Cleveland Vice-Mayor George Poe, Joren Dunnavant of TDOT, and Russell Thress (Proxy for McMinn County Mayor John Gentry). Others in attendance included Donovan Chumbley (TDOT Local Programs), Janice Casteel, Brian Moran, David Sheely of the City of Cleveland, Greg Thomas (City of Cleveland/ Cleveland MPO), and Joyanna Love (Cleveland Daily Banner). 2. Approval of meeting minutes— July 8, 2015--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and called for discussion or a motion. D. Gary Davis moved that they be approved and the motion was seconded by George Poe Davis and approved unanimously. 3. New Business a. Public hearing and adoption of Proposed 2016-2017 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and Greg Thomas gave a brief staff report. Staff addressed the comments of TDOT and the federal agencies with respect to the UPWP. There were no public comments during the required review period. Chairman Rowland opened the public hearing and there were no comments from the public. A motion to approve the resolution adopting the UPWP was made by D. Gary Davis and seconded by Russell Thress and it was approved unanimously. b. Consider request to expand TDOT paving project limits on Keith Street--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and George Poe discussed this matter which  3 of 10 he had brought up before, noting that the paving was in worse condition on the north end of Keith Street. He had brought this matter to the attention of Representative Brooks who recommended that the MPO formally request the expansion of the TDOT paving project to include the north part of Keith Street as well (the portion north of 25th Street to Paul Huff Parkway). Greg Thomas noted the recommendation of the TCC, that came from Tad Bacon, that the resolution include a request that TDOT replace the traffic signal loops with radar for signal control during the repaving. A motion for approval of the amended resolution was made by George Poe and seconded by Bill Harmon and approved unanimously. c. 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan update--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and Greg Thomas gave a brief staff report. The only update was that that model review was continuing. Bob Rock at TDOT has retired and Chin Cheng Chen has taken over his duties and is reviewing the model with Scott Walker at Parsons Brinkerhoff. d. 2016 TAP Grant--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and Greg Thomas gave a brief staff report. Greg Thomas explained that this was the grant that had been applied for in the past, the enhancement grant. The TCC reviewed the eight possibilities and the sense of the TCC was that #2 the Gaut Street area sidewalk, #4 the Blythe Avenue sidewalk extension, and #8 ADA improvements. Greg Thomas briefly explained each of the top three project ideas. Gaut Street area sidewalks arose from complaint from neighborhood residents that children were having to walk in a ditch after they got off of the school bus. The Blythe Avenue sidewalk extension would complete the sidewalk loop around the neighborhood and connect the Family Services center and Blythe Bower Elementary School. The older sidewalks around the downtown are in need of additional ADA handicapped accessibility improvements. Greg Thomas said that staff would get with TDOT an come up with a proposal for the grant application for the September 2, 2015 meeting. Tom Rowland made a motion for approval and it was seconded by Russel Thress and approved unanimously. e. Passenger Rail Resolution--- Mayor Rowland commented on the recent correspondence that he had had recently and his appreciation that the State was on board in supporting the Amtrak extension idea. A motion for approval of the resolution supporting the extension of Amtrak passenger rail service through Cleveland was made by Russel Thress and seconded by Bill Harmon and approved unanimously. f. Bike Lanes on Keith Street--- Chairman Rowland introduced the item and Greg Thomas gave a brief staff report. The opportunity for bicycle lanes was reviewed by the City Manager and department heads. Based upon existing roadway conditions, the recommendation was that the bicycle lanes be striped in from Grove Avenue to near 17th Street, and from Raider Drive to Mouse Creek Road. A motion to approve was made by George Poe and seconded by D. Gary Davis. Approved unanimously.  4 of 10 4. Old Business---none 5. Comments by federal, state, local agencies--- Chairman Rowland noted as an informational item that he had spoken with Ray Rucker at TDOT Region 2 concerning speeds on North Lee Highway. A municipality is authorized to regulate speeds in such situations. 6. MPO Coordinator/staff comments--- none 7. Public comments 8. The next regular MPO meeting date is Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 11 a.m. 9. Adjourn  5 of 10 MEMORANDUM TO: MPO Executive Board and TCC FROM: Greg Thomas, AICP, MPO Coordinator DATE: August 25, 2015 SUBJECT: Transportation Alternatives Grant application In your last meeting several possibilities were examined for a Transportation Alternatives grant. Three of these ideas emerged from the TCC discussion as the most favorable based upon needs and funding criteria: Gaut Street area sidewalk improvements; Blythe Avenue sidewalk extension; and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements to the downtown sidewalk grid. Staff explored these alternatives with Neil Hansen at TDOT who is involved in the administration of this program. Based upon that discussion, staff concluded that a Gaut Street area sidewalk project would be the most promising. The proposed project limits would be on 6th Street at the terminus of the existing sidewalk at the parking lot for the sports field at the College Hill Recreation Center running generally west on 6th Street to Gaut Street, thence south on Gaut Street to Inman Street, and crossing Inman Street and running south on Dooley Street to an existing sidewalk connection to Wildwood Avenue. The total length is approximately 0.7 miles. There is existing sidewalk on about half of the 0.7 miles but curb and gutter is lacking in some locations so new sidewalk, curb, and gutter will be needed to ensure proper drainage along the route. Retaining walls and accommodation of transit stops are also needed, e.g. a bus shelter is needed in front of the Health Department. Improvement of the pedestrian crossing with crosswalks and pedestrian signals is needed at Inman Street, a State highway. Depending upon cost estimates, some portion of this scope would be included in the project grant proposal, being mindful of the need for logical termini and an upper cost limit which does not generally exceed $1M. This project would serve a low-income neighborhood where many residents need to walk or ride transit. It would connect with existing sidewalks, improving sidewalk and transit access to public housing sites, schools, social services, parks, heath services, shopping, and employment. The Gaut Street sidewalk was proposed by neighborhood Page 1 of 4  6 of 10 residents who stated that school bus riders and other pedestrians are basically now forced into a ditch on Gaut Street. A transit shelter has been sought by the health Department to serve its clients who ride the bus. The City of Cleveland has installed sidewalk along East Street at 6th Street at the northern limit of the proposed project (sidewalk exists at the southern limit).Sidewalk along Central Avenue is now under design and its eastern terminus is Gaut Street in the heart of this proposed project, providing an important connection to the central business district, government services, and Lee University. By providing needed sidewalk improvements, this project would facilitate the implementation of the transit stops on the Red Route recommended in the 2013 Transit Study. That study made recommendations for inbound and outbound stop locations for each transit route and proposed route. It recommended creating fixed stops in specific locations as opposed to the current practice that relies heavily on flag stops. The recommendations included stops near 6th and East Street (northern project terminus), Central Avenue (major intersecting street with new sidewalk under design), a pair of stops on either side of Inman Street, and a stop on Dooly Street near the Health Department and Wildwood Avenue (southern project terminus). Page 2 of 4  7 of 10 Page 3 of 4  8 of 10 Page 4 of 4  9 of 10 MEMORANDUM TO: MPO Executive Board and TCC FROM: Greg Thomas, AICP, MPO Coordinator DATE: August 25, 2015 SUBJECT: 2040 RTP update The modeling is advancing. The E+C (existing plus committed projects) network conditions should be ready to review in about 2 weeks. The next major step is to conduct a meeting for public input on transportation needs. Staff is planning an evening meeting in mid-October for this purpose. Public notice on this meeting will be forthcoming soon. Page 1 of 1  10 of 10 MEMORANDUM TO: MPO Executive Board and TCC FROM: Greg Thomas, AICP, MPO Coordinator DATE: August 28, 2015 SUBJECT: MPO Coordinators Report 2040 RTP update 1. Attended regional transportation meeting hosted by Thrive 2055 on July 23, 2015. 2. Opened SCI Exhibit, including transportation-related projects, at noon Rotary on July 28, 2015. 3. Attended statewide bicycle pedestrian conference call July 29, 2015. 4. Prepared MPO materials for August 5, 2015 MPO meeting. 5. Attended area transit stakeholders meeting in Chattanooga on August 11, 2015. 6. Completed MPO quarter PL billing and submitted to TDOT on August 17, 2015. 7. Conducted research and prepared concept for 2016 TAP grant application. 8. Prepared materials for September 2, 2015 MPO meeting. 9. Submitted TIP Adjustment 2015-02 on August 28, 2015 to add $5M in NHPP funds to TIP Project 6110, the National Highway Routes 3R Grouping. 10. Bicycle Pedestrian camera recording for counts on the 25th Street corridor was completed in August 2015 and that data is ready to be processed. 11. Continued development of a Bicycle Pedestrian “Big Concepts” map for long range transportation planning purposes. Page 1 of 1