Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION (CACT) Wednesday, June 9, 2021, Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. DRAFT MINUTES 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:05 pm 2. Reading of Virtual Meeting Notice: This meeting was held via electronic communications using ‘Microsoft Teams.’ This meeting was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2-3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. Roll Call:  CACT Members: Dave Gustafson (Chair), Jason Garman (Vice Chair), Arthur Agin, Doug Devereaux, Jessica Hegenbart, Andrew Olesen  City Staff: Jeff Sikes (CACT Staff Liaison), Cameron Gahres, Ana Mazidi  City Council Liaison: Councilman David Snyder  Planning Commission Liaison: Melissa Teates  Student Representative: Katie Teague, Annie Moore  Public: None 3. Public Comment: Jeff reported that no public comments were received in writing, and no members of the public offered comment during the meeting. 4. City Council and PC Liaison Updates: Councilman Snyder provided an update on the following items:  NVTA: The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority approved a Transportation Technology Strategic Plan, covering technologies such as electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles; issues such as safety, equity, and sustainability; and criteria such as congestion relief, among others.  NVTC: The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission advanced to the next phase of the Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit plan unanimously.  Jason asked what stage of planning/development this represented and if the operator is known; Councilman Snyder said that it is approaching preliminary design and the operator has not been determined yet.  Art asked what spurred movement on the project recently; Councilman Snyder replied that all jurisdictions involved, including Fairfax County, recently got on board with advancing the project. Art also expressed concern about the route in the West Falls Church area (which is currently not envisioned to leave Route 7 to go to the Wets Falls Church Metro station) in the context of WFC- area development projects.  Melissa gave a brief update on the Smartscale application for S Washington St, as well as on the West Falls Church development plans, lot line adjustments, and the festival street extending through to the Fairfax County parcel.  Art asked about the festival street and concerns about cut-through traffic to Metro. Melissa responds that while it may not be able to be stopped completely, there will likely be faster routes for vehicles than the festival street, and traffic calming can further reduce incentive for drivers to cut through.  Art asked about the City’s ownership of the Virginia Tech property. Melissa replied that the City’s lease with Virginia Tech requires that a certain amount of graduate-level education be provided on the site, and that the university has a purchase option on the property. 5. April Meeting Minutes: No further comment received on May 2021 meeting minutes. 6. Action item: Protected Bike Lanes Recommendation and Environmental Sustainability Council joint meeting follow-up: Andrew presented the draft recommendations for protected bike lanes, delineating between readily implementable lanes and opportunities for critical links to be made.  Doug asked about different types of bike lanes, corresponding widths, and applicability to certain environments.  Jess asked about S Oak St and coordinating with the traffic calming underway. Andrew suggests it may be an opportunity for a cycle track given the lack of on-street parking on one side.  Jason asked about Annandale Rd and laments the difficulty of a bike lane connection between S Washington St and Hillwood Ave. Cameron adds that the roundabout proposal for the S Maple St / W Annandale Rd intersection is under review.  Art asks about elevating Park Ave to a higher tier on the recommendations list. Andrew cites the bike boulevard plans but agrees we can propose a better bike infrastructure solution. Dave agrees that it would be great to have a continuous facility from the State Theatre to Founders Row. Jeff adds that the great streets proposal for Park Ave does not, as of now, include bike lanes, and that there is decent demand for street parking in the area. There was general agreement of the committee that providing a bike lane may be a greater good than a lane of parking but understands that parking will be a hot topic.  Andrew to add definitions such as road diet, additional information about S Oak St, and elevating Park Ave on the recommendations list. Doug motions to adopt with those edits, Jess seconds, motion passes 6-0. 7. Action Item: Great Falls/Little Falls/W Columbia Neighborhood Traffic Calming Proposals: Jeff presented the latest efforts and neighbor votes on the traffic calming projects. Dave gave a brief history of the project progression and extensive efforts to reach all neighbors. Doug motions to issue CACT approval of the project, Jess seconds, motion passes 6-0. 8. Discussion Item: New Lower Speed limits law: Jeff reviewed the text of the bill. It requires a local ordinance and defining an engineering/evaluation process, though the study requirement is vague.  Andrew suggests that the City could consider dropping all/most roads to 20 mph given the residential/neighborhood character of most City streets, to reduce average speeds with minimal travel time impact.  Jeff says there may be an ability to trial reductions for 60 days. Ana mentions consideration for potential roadway capacity reductions due to lower speeds.  Art agrees with Andrew and says we should be approaching this from an “exclusion list” perspective (“What few streets can’t/shouldn’t be reduced to 20 mph”) rather than an inclusion list where the City would select only a few streets to reduce.  Jason asked about the ability for the City to change the S Washington St speed limit given its US Highway designation and discussed how the 85th percentile speed standard for determining speed limits has come under more questioning of late in general urban transportation planning circles.  Dave mentions that historically CACT felt that money and staff time were better spent on traffic calming than speed limit reductions. He is interested in learning more about the efficacy of only changing speed signs on reducing speed, and how enforcement would play a role.  Jess has met with sheriff to discuss traffic enforcement and believes they would have valuable input on this issue. There was general discussion on school zone speed signage/marking improvements and engaging DPW and sheriff on creative signage/markings. Jess to contact police department for potential further discussion. 9. Discussion Item: Sidewalk and Accessibility Program Recommendations: Dave presented the latest version of the letter to Council on the sidewalk program.  Art suggests working to identify walk routes to school that are not necessarily confined to the school’s walk zones; Dave agrees.   Motion to send letter to Council with edit to add criteria of whether the project would improve walkability to one or more schools to the Local Benefit section. Jess motions, Doug seconds, passes 6-0. 10. Information Item: W&OD Trail Crossings: Short review/discussion of the W&OD trail crossing designs. 11. CACT Tracking Sheet: There has been some identified overlap with the meeting minutes process. Doug and Dave will work to streamline/update the tracking sheet. 12. NTC Updates: Jeff updated on the S Lee St / S Oak St neighbor meeting and upcoming stop sign study, as well as the Grove Ave speed humps project, where Mill Creek is funding 3 as part of the Founders Row agreement and the City is looking to und a 4th speed hump.  Jess asked about Greenway Downs status. Jeff replied that the traffic counts were completed and that the grant is in process, with a VDOT meeting needing to be scheduled. 13. Staff Report: Jeff updated on City staff’s gradual return to the office on a roughly 2x/week basis. 14. Member Reports: Art asked about an August meeting, which is usually a break. Dave recommends keeping the break given the possibility of Council engagements in that timeframe. 15. Adjourn: Jason motions to adjourn, Jess seconds, motion passes 6-0 at 10:25pm.