Everett Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

TAC MINUTES January 15, 2015 In attendance: Members Staff Guests Victor Harris Corey Hert, Public Works Keri Moore (Sno. Health District) Tom Norcott Jeffrey Marks, Public Works J.T. Dray Tim Miller, Public Works William Weber Mike Braley, Police Ed Koltonowski Trevor Townsend, Police Paul Roberts, City Council 8:15 a.m. Victor Harris called the meeting to order.  M/S/P approving the November 2014 meeting minutes. Election of 2015 TAC Chair and Transfer of Gavel  Bill Weber was nominated and seconded, then accepted as 2015 TAC Chair. Announcements & Requests to Add Agenda Items  Keri Moore asked for an update about the Hawthorne Safe Routes to School grants. Corey Hert said that the grants have been approved and adverts will be going out later this year, in the March to April timeframe. He predicts construction to start during the summer, when school is out for the season. There will be 680 ft of sidewalk created, along with signage and striping.  Edward mentioned the parking along California near the soccer arena. He stated that parking has been removed, but a lack of signage to let people be aware of this change. Corey said sandwich boards could be posted to alert drivers.  Edward also said the flashing “don’t walk” light at California and Wetmore was not working. Corey said he will have it checked out.  Tom Norcott asked if pedestrian signal pushbuttons were monitored using the Central System. The response was that some were, while others were not – it depended on whether or not the intersection was already tied into the system. Citizen’s Comments  None. Engineering Report  Tim informed the committee that the detour route for the Broadway Bridge replacement project was under construction. He said that the contractor was held up by signal modifications and needed to order equipment; the signals need to be in before pavement  striping can be done. The City is assisting the contractor during this process. Tim predicted the closure of the bridge would happen within the first part of February.  Tim informed the committee of WSDOT’s plan to replace bridge expansion joints along I-5 over the various sloughs (Union, Steamboat, Ebey). He stated there are 41 expansion joints that will be replaced, as they are between 20 – 30 years old. Closure of I-5 will be needed in order to complete the project. Tentatively, lane closures will be mainly at night. Overnights and weekends; 16 weekends SB, 10 weekends NB. Projected duration is from January to July 2016. Tim said that WSDOT will do some big public outreach, and will provide up to 3 weeks notice of lane closures on the weekends. Police Report  None.  Victor asked if there were any special events coming up. Sgt. Braley stated they have had a few requests, but they are months out. One is for a half-marathon.  J.T. asked if Everett Police have any authority on I-5. Sgt. Townsend and Braley commented that the City can help with enforcement as drivers come through the city, that we have a mutual aid agreement with State Patrol.  Some discussion ensued about the need to fill vacancies within the Police department. Transit Report  No representative from the department was present.  Tim Miller stated that he had heard that Transit was planning to take out the articulated buses and go back to single coaches.  There was a discussion about safety near the bus stop on 15th and Broadway. It was noted that people were coming off the bus and crossing the street without a cross signal. A possible solution may be to move the stop to 16th and Broadway, as there is a crosswalk and cross signal at the location.  J.T. asked if Transit could create bus bulbs along Broadway. Tim said Transit would need to coordinate with utilities.  J.T. also mentioned that more CT buses operate on Broadway than Everett Transit, and that bus bulbs could work for CT, too.  J.T. mentioned that the TAC was asked to come together in August to discuss the review of Transit operations, yet no such review took place. J.T. expressed that there is a lack of continuity with Transit representatives at TAC meetings. He would also like to talk more about the ETA system, in that it works in some respects, but not all.  J.T. expressed frustration in that there has not been any opportunity to read the transit portion of the comprehensive plan update, much less discuss it.  Some additional discussion centered around bus numbers between transit organizations and how they are represented on signs. Agenda Items: Item 1: Broadway Bridge Detour Implementation  Corey Hert talked about the detour set-up for the Broadway Bridge. He stated that California and Cedar have been striped. He also said that the contractor is about 25% into the detour. There have been some removal of signs as well. Corey stated that he felt the detour would add another 1 to 2 minutes to a trip, though it will be tough at the start, until drivers figure it out. Item 2: Three Safety Project Grant Awards  Tim Miller informed the TAC that $2 million has been awarded for projects. 1) Everett Mall Way signal improvements to address pedestrian issues; 2) Broadway, 10th – 19th curb ramps; 3) Stop sign and Yield sign replacement throughout the city. 2016 may include a new guardrail project. Item 3: Transportation Element Update Schedule  Tim handed out a schedule displaying the project timeline and subject matter that the consultant will cover for the update. In particular, he pointed out that the refined needs assessment will be brought to the TAC at the April 16th meeting. Item 4: Lowell Snohomish River Road Speed Limit Revision  Tim requested the TAC’s concurrence on adopting a faster speed limit along a stretch of the Lowell Snohomish River Road. He presented a slideshow detailing current conditions and research into increasing the speed limit. The TAC concurred with the new speed. Meeting adjourned at 9:50 am The Next Scheduled Meeting is February 19, 2015