Parking Commission.

411 West First Street City of Duluth Duluth, Minnesota 55802 Minutes Parking Commission. Friday, December 6, 2019 7:30 AM Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commission Vice President Jessica Sterle motioned that the November 2019 parking commission meeting minutes be approved as presented. Commissioner Em Westerlund seconded the motion, which was approved 4-0 (two commissioners had not yet arrived at the meeting by the time the vote was taken). ON-STREET ADA PARKING ZONE REQUEST Mr. Bauer presented an on-street ADA parking zone requests for approval. He stated that he had visited the site and that he recommended the request for approval. Commissioner Westerlund motioned that the request, for 310 North 54th Avenue West, be approved. Commission Noland Makowsky seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. FOLLOW-UP ON 2ND AVENUE WEST PARKING CONFIGURATION DISCUSSION Mr. Bauer reintroduced a public proposal to convert 2nd Avenue West to west-side-only parking on the 700 North block that had been tabled in the November 2019 parking commission meeting. He stated that the resident who had requested the change, Stephanie Lemonowsky, had been in communication with the city’s street maintenance and engineering divisions since the previous commission meeting regarding repairs to the street that would address the root problem of water runoff causing ice flows. Mr. Bauer stated that the parking division still did not recommend the requested configuration change, due to the challenges such a change would pose to street maintenance crews. Commission President Andy Goldfine stated that the city’s street maintenance and planning divisions should address the root causes of the problem. Commissioners Westerlund and Dennis Jensen expressed concern with the abilities of street crews to properly remove snow should the change be made. Commissioner Westerlund motioned that the proposal to convert the street to west-side-only parking be denied. Commissioner Sterle seconded the motion to deny, which was approved 6-0. Commissioner Westerlund suggested that the city’s engineer be invited to the next parking commission meeting to discuss other options to address the issue. PROPOSAL TO ADJUST PARKING CONFIGURATION ON EAST 2ND STEET NEAR ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL City of Duluth Page 1 Parking Commission. Minutes December 6, 2019 Mr. Bauer presented a proposal to adjust the parking configuration on 2nd Street from 6th Avenue East to 12th Avenue East. He stated that the request had been generated by St. Luke’s Hospital through the city’s planning division. He stated that the request was related to upcoming redevelopment and expansion plans at St. Luke’s and involved the elimination of 50 on-street metered parking stalls. Mr. Bauer stated that the western three blocks of the project included the loss of four stalls due to pedestrian crossing enhancements at intersections that would improve safety and that the eastern half of the project involved the loss of 46 stalls due to the expansion of the hospital campus. City of Duluth Senior Transportation Planner Kris Liljeblad stated that the planning division had performed a usage survey of the area that indicated very high demand for the on-street stalls. Commissioner Sterle inquired whether the neighboring residents were concerned about the proposed on-street parking loss. Mr. Liljeblad stated that no input had been gathered from the other area stakeholders. Commissioner Westerlund inquired whether a proposal was included in the project planning process that would mitigate the proposed on-street parking loss. Mr. Liljeblad stated that such mitigation had not been studied. St. Luke’s Hospital Vice President of Support Services Michael Boeselager stated that the proposal was for both aesthetic and sound mitigation purposes. Dan Hinzmann, an Associate with SEH, Inc., St. Luke’s consultant on the project, stated that a portion of the project included greenspace that would help mitigate noise from the helicopter pad associated with the project, as well as a walking path that would line up with the existing public sidewalks. Commissioner Sterle stated that the parking commission should have been provided more time to consider the proposal, indicating that the short timeline forced the commission into a premature decision. Commissioner Makowsky inquired whether the item could be tabled until the January commission meeting. City of Duluth Senior Engineer Duncan Schwensohn indicated that the project timeline required an immediate commission decision. Mr. Bauer inquired whether fees would be charged to public parkers in the parking ramp included in the project. Mr. Boeselager replied that the facility would feature paid parking. Mr. Bauer stated that the parking division recommended approval of the western portion of the parking configuration change but was very concerned about the public impact of the eastern portion of the proposal. He stated that public feedback should have been gathered regarding the parking impacts prior to the proposal to the commission. The commission separated the greater proposal into two portions, one for the western segment and one for the eastern. Commissioner Westerlund motioned that the proposal to eliminate the four stalls in the western section be approved. Commissioner Makowsky seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. Commissioner Jensen motioned that the elimination of the 46 stalls in the eastern section of the project zone be approved. Commissioner Westerlund seconded the motion, which was approved 5-1 (Makowsky dissenting). PROPOSAL TO PROHIBIT PARKING ON 44TH AVENUE WEST FROM GRAND AVENUE TO THE SOUTHERN TERMINUS Mr. Bauer presented a proposal to prohibit parking on 44th Avenue West from Grand Avenue to the southern terminus. He stated that the request had been generated by Acme Tools, who had noted access and safety problems resulting from parking associated with the recent opening of a new Taco Bell location on the avenue. He stated that the roadway was relatively narrow and that vehicles City of Duluth Page 2 Parking Commission. Minutes December 6, 2019 parked on it could obstruct other vehicles from safely passing through the roadway. Mr. Bauer stated that he had consulted with all stakeholders on the avenue and that all were in agreement with the proposed change. Commissioner Jensen motioned that the proposed change be approved. Commissioner Swor seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. ANNUAL ADA ZONE STATUS UPDATE Mr. Bauer presented the parking division’s annual report on on-street ADA parking stalls. He stated that there were currently 247 ADA parking zones in Duluth. He stated that in the past year 50 zones had been added and that 22 had been removed. OFF-STREET PARKING UPDATE Interstate Parking Company Duluth Operations Manager Doug Melander provided an update on off-street parking operations. He stated that the parking facilities had been cleared of snow following the recent snow event and were in good condition. ON-STREET PARKING UPDATE Mr. Bauer provided an update on on-street parking operations. He stated that parking staff were assisting snow crews as needed to complete snow removal following the recent major storm. He stated that new parking kiosks had been installed in the phase two section of the Superior Street redevelopment and that final programming was in progress. Mr. Bauer also stated that reinstallation of parking signage in the phase two section had been requested of the engineering and streets maintenance divisions. APPROVAL OF 2020 DULUTH PARKING COMMISSION MEETING DATES Mr. Bauer presented proposed 2020 Duluth Parking Commission meeting dates. Commissioner Jensen motioned to approve the meeting dates. Commissioner Swor seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no additional public comments. ADJOURNMENT City of Duluth Page 3