Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation/ City Interdisciplinary Transportation Team Meeting Wednesday May 14, 2014, 7:10 pm to 10:30 pm Meeting Minutes Attendance CACT Members Present 1. Paul Baldino 2. Hal Morgan 3. Andrea Caumont 4. Doug Devereaux 5. Kent Taylor City Staff Present 1. Paul Stoddard 2. Kirsten Munz 3. Captain Richard Campbell Council and Planning Commission Liaisons Present 1. Karen Oliver Agenda 1. Resident Petitions 2. Traffic Calming a. Pennsylvania Ave b. W Cameron Rd, W Greenway Blvd, W George Mason Rd c. Parker Ave / Kent St d. Ellison St e. Whittier Park 3. Meeting Minutes Approval, April 2014 4. Downtown Small Area Plan 5. Neighborhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Program Update 1. Resident Petitions None. Page 1 of 5 2.a. Traffic Calming – Pennsylvania Ave Stoddard described the process that had been followed to date, including the original petition by the neighborhood, initial neighborhood meeting, and data collection by staff. Stoddard also described the staff recommended solutions, consisting of curb extensions, a crosswalk and the intersection with Fulton Ave, the elimination of parking along the bend leading to Great Falls St, and the installation of speed feedback signs. Members of the neighborhood, staff, and the CACT discussed the various components of the staff recommended solutions as well as other potential traffic calming measures. During the conversation, members of the neighborhood expressed the following thoughts. Traffic Calming Solutions Supported by Members of the Neighborhood • Speed tables o Especially a raised pedestrian crossing at the intersection with Fulton Ave o Support for textured surfaces • Additional signage o Warning signs to travel no faster than 15 mph around curve o Children at play signs o Through truck restrictions • Addition of pedestrian-scale lighting at intersection with Fulton Ave • Need for traffic calming to address the small percentage of motorists that are speeding • Willing to give up some parking to install traffic calming • Desire for lower speed limits, perhaps 20 mph. • Desire for a crosswalk at the curve o Staff explained that they could not currently install a crosswalk at this location because there would be no ADA connection on the north side of the street. A path to the W&OD Trail would require coordination with the NVRPA and such coordination would delay implementation of traffic calming solutions. • Desire for though traffic restrictions o Staff explained that the traffic calming program is focused on “speed control” and getting motorists to operation at a safe speed. “Volume control” measures often have the effect of pushing problems onto other streets, which is not the intent of the program. Concerns Expressed by Members of the Neighborhood • Do not want to lose on-street parking. o Concern that people accessing the W&OD Trail will park further down Pennsylvania Ave. o Concern about overflow parking from commercial areas. o Concern about loss of parking in front of houses with accessibility needs. • Concern that proposed traffic calming measures are too expensive and or too much for this street. Preference for signs and striping. • Do not think that narrowing street with curb extensions will slow traffic because the road is already very narrow because of parked cars Page 2 of 5  • The installation of a traffic light at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and W Broad St will have an uncertain impact of motorist behavior along Pennsylvania Ave, making it difficult to plan traffic calming. Following the conversation, the CACT passed a motion directing staff to develop a new solution, solicit community feedback, and bring the new information back to the CACT for its review and recommendation. The motion passed 4-0, with Caumont abstaining. 2.b. Traffic Calming – W Cameron Rd, W Greenway Blvd, W George Mason Rd Baldino described the process followed to date, including the petition for traffic calming along W Cameron Rd; the CACT’s decision to set the study area to include W Greenway Blvd and W George Mason Rd; and the neighborhood meeting held on April 9, 2014. Stoddard provided the staff analysis of the meeting, described the options available to the CACT, and recommended a course of action. The options and recommendation were: 1. Dismiss the request because the 25 percent participation requirement was not met for the designated study area. 2. Re-define the study area to include only W Cameron Rd, and make a determination that sufficient support exists to proceed with the case. 3. Re-define the study area to include only W Cameron Rd, and make a determination that sufficient support does not exist to proceed with the case. Based on the comments made at the meeting and the CACT’s previous discussions about the need to evaluate all streets in the neighborhood, staff recommends dismissing the case because the 25 percent participation requirement was not met for the designated study area. At the same time, staff recommends allowing the petitioner to resubmit the request. Upon receipt of the request, the CACT could host another neighborhood meeting, provided that the petitioner can demonstrate that the participation requirement is likely to be met. There was a discussion among the CACT, staff, and the petitioners about the process for resubmitting the request, what would be needed to advance the case, and whether the study area could be redefined. The CACT came to an understand that the study area established was the appropriate one, that the request could be resubmitted, and that the CACT would hold another public meeting if the petitioner could identify a block captain for each street in the study area. The CACT passed a motion 5-0 to dismiss the case with the hope that the petitioner could identify a block captain for each street and resubmit the case. Page 3 of 5 2.c. Traffic Calming – Parker Ave / Kent St Staff explained to the CACT that it expects to hold a meeting with the Council transportation team and a subsequent meeting with the neighborhood to set expectations for the engineering and construction phases of this case. In particular, staff noted that while more than 67 percent of the neighborhood supports the proposed traffic calming measures, some members of the neighborhood oppose the proposed measures, so some opposition should be expected. If engineering and construction stay on schedule, construction could be expected to begin in the spring of 2015. 2.d. Ellison St Stoddard explained that he has reached out to the property owner of the adjacent shopping plaza. He and the property owner have exchanged voice mails, but have not yet been able to schedule a conversation to discuss the situation. 2.e. Whittier Park Munz reported that she evaluated the neighborhood’s request for pedestrian crossing signs near the intersections of Whittier Circle and Rolling Trace. Previous data showed that only 100 cars per day were traversing the intersection and were traveling at low speeds. Based on this data and direction from the City Manager’s office to avoid sign clutter and the overuse of signs, staff is preparing to make a recommendation that no signs be installed. 3. Meeting Minutes Approval, April 2014 The CACT approved the April 2014 minutes by a vote of 4-0 with Devereaux abstaining. 4. Downtown Small Area Plan Stoddard provided an overview of the plan including the development vision and the mobility chapter. The CACT discussed the chapter and agreed to provide final comments shortly after their June 11, 2014 meeting. During the discussion, the CACT discussed the following: • Keep the commercial and mixed-use development on one side of Broad Street and the Core Entertainment Area on the other side is a very good idea, because it avoids some of the difficulties of strengthening pedestrian connections across Broad Street. • The use of infill development instead of a complete rebuild of the Core Entertainment Area is a major improvement over previous planning efforts. • The plan needs to show more bicycle infrastructure. • Pedestrian access should be made a priority, especially for connecting to the Metrorail stations. • The cost of automobile parking and the need for automobile parking need to be considered to support infill development. Page 4 of 5  • The CACT wondered what effect the use of the Kaiser garage has had. 5. Neighborhood Traffic Calming (NTC) Program Update Stoddard presented a draft timeline for updating the NTC program, with milestone deliverables for upcoming CACT meetings. Baldino noted the importance of adding a conversation about what the City is trying to achieve through the traffic calming program. The CACT discussed the problems the group and staff are having keeping up with the volume of traffic calming cases. The CACT directed staff and Baldino to prepare a letter to City Council advising them on the status of the NTC Program including the following points: 1. The current program involves a three year process, with 1 year for each of planning, engineering, and construction. 2. With current resources, the CACT and City staff can only handle two cases at a time. This capacity could be increased with additional staff resources. Reference to the CACT’s annual report that recommended additional funding for traffic calming in the FY 2015 budget. The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability call 703 248-5041 (TTY 711). Page 5 of 5