Technical Coordinating Meeting

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 Technical Coordinating Committee WEDNESDAY, September 2, 2015, 10:00 O’CLOCK AM, 2nd FLOOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 190 CHURCH STREET NE, CLEVELAND, TN AGENDA 1. Call TCC 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 10 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 Technical Coordinating Committee WEDNESDAY, August 5, 2015, 10:00 O’CLOCK AM, 2nd FLOOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING ROOM, MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 190 CHURCH STREET NE, CLEVELAND, TN MINUTES 1. Call MPO Technical Coordinating Committee to order --- Chairman Tommy Myers called the meeting to order. Other TCC members present included Jonathan Jobe, Janice Casteel, and Brian Beck of the City of Cleveland, Joren Dunnavant of TDOT, Tad Bacon of Cleveland Utilities, Chad Reese of the RPO, Bently Thomas of Bradley County, Robert Varnell of CUATS, Greg Thomas City of Cleveland/Cleveland MPO. Others in attendance included Brian Moran of the City of Cleveland and Joyanna Love (Cleveland Daily Banner). 2. Approval of meeting minutes— July 8, 2015--- Chairman Tommy Myers introduced the item and called for discussion or a motion. Brian Beck made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Robert Varnell and approved unanimously. 3. New Business a. Report to TCC Public hearing and adoption of Proposed 2016-2017 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)--- Chairman Myers introduced the item. Greg Thomas reported that the MPO had addressed all of the comments from TDOT, FHWA, and FTA to the satisfaction of those agencies, and there were no public comments. Tad Bacon had a question about the language on “cycle counts”, if that referred to vehicle counts rather than bicycle counts; Greg Thomas reported that the FHWA reviewer interpreted this section to refer to bicycle counts and the language was changed to address that concern. Motion to approve by Brian Beck and second by Greg Thomas. Approved unanimously. b. Recommendation concerning MPO request to expand TDOT paving project limits on Keith Street--- Chairman Myers introduced the item. Greg Thomas reported that this had been brought up by Mr. Poe in the last MPO meeting. The  3 of 10 TDOT 2016 paving was to run from Grove Avenue to 25th Street but the part north of 25th Street to Paul Huff Parkway would not take place until later. Tad Bacon asked how it affected other projects. Tommy Myers clarified that it would be 100% TDOT funded. Robert Varnell made a motion to approve and agreed to amend his motion with an additional recommendation from Tad Bacon that the traffic signal loops be replaced with traffic signal radar by TDOT as they do the repaving which would otherwise necessitate replacement of the traffic signal loops. The motion and the amended motion were seconded by Brian Beck. The amended motion was approved unanimously. c. 2040 Long-Range Transportation Plan update--- Chairman Myers introduced the item. 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 Potential Project Guidance-- Chairman Myers introduced the item. Greg Thomas pointed out the eight potential project ideas (see below) as contained in his memo and asked for the TCC to evaluate and rank them. There was consensus that the sidewalk needs in the Gaut Street area, and Blythe Avenue, and handicapped access ADA type projects. Robert Varnell mentioned that there were potentially more funding sources for State routes, like South Lee Highway---the Multimodal Access Grant program might be a good resource for that. Greg Thomas would report to the MPO the “sense of the committee” that a project should be developed from the reported needs in the Gaut Street area, and Blythe Avenue, and handicapped access ADA type needs. 1. Installation of all or part of the bicycle and pedestrian facilities proposed under the most recent Multi-modal Access Grant application and Federal Lands Access Program grant (Peerless Road south of 25th Street to 20th Street and Keith Street; the blocks around the Post Office encompassed by 17th Street 20th Street, Georgetown Road, and Keith Street). 2. Install sidewalks near College Hill—Gaut, Lang, and Sixth Streets. This was requested by citizens at meeting at College Hill. The citizens said that kids were getting off the school bus and having to walk in the ditch to get home. (note: need to look into a future intersection improvement near Vest”s Grocery) 3. Install and /or upgrade sidewalks on South Lee Highway from near Grove Avenue to just past Victory Drive. Sidewalks in this area generally either do not exist or are substandard. Several neighborhoods and apartments/motels would be served by these sidewalks. This responds to request from Councilman McKenzie. 4. Blythe Avenue Sidewalk Extension---this responds to a request from citizens and Councilman Estes. The extensions would connect the Family Resource Center to  4 of 10 Blythe-Bower School and make a continuous loop of sidewalk around the neighborhood with the completion of the already-awarded 2013 Multi-modal Access grant project. 5. Install sidewalks on 25th Street in area under study by MPO, basically between Candies Lane and the Greenway 6. Install Sidewalks on Paul Huff Parkway per citizens requests 7. Install bus stop/bus shelter improvements with needed pads and sidewalk improvements at key locations along bus routes 8. Install needed ADA sidewalk improvements along with needed sidewalk replacement in older sidewalk areas e. Passenger Rail Resolution--- Chairman Myers introduced the item. Greg Thomas recounted the history of gathering support for an Amtrak extension that would come through Cleveland. Janice Casteel made a motion in support which seconded by Tad Bacon and it was approved unanimously. f. Bike Lanes on Keith Street--- Chairman Myers introduced the item. Greg Thomas reported that TDOT offered the opportunity to stripe in bike lanes when they did their repaving of Keith Street. The City Manager and the department heads reviewed the opportunity along with existing road conditions. The basic proposal is that bike lanes would be striped in from Grove Avenue to just north of 17th Street (the greenway connection from the sidewalk on the north bound side could become sort of a “slip ramp” to the greenway); and the bike lanes would be striped in from raider Drive north to Mouse Creek Road. A motion to approve was made by Robert Varnell and seconded by Janice Casteel and it was approved unanimously. 4. Old Business---none 5. Comments by federal, state, local agencies---none 6. MPO Coordinator/staff comments---none 7. Public comments 8. The next regular TCC meeting date is Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 10 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