Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation

CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION (CACT) Minutes: Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 7:02 p.m. 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, Jessica Hegenbart, Andrew Olesen, Annie Moore (student liaison) ● City Staff: Jeff Sikes (CACT staff liaison), Ana Mazidi (DPW), Cameron Gahres (Planning) ● City Council: Councilman David Snyder ● Planning Commission: ● Public: Paul Baldino, Jack Kreul, William FitzGerald 3. Public Comment: Jeff reported that no public comments were received in writing. Eighth graders Jack Kreul and William FitzGerald provided comments on a community bike lane project they are undertaking. They surveyed their classmates to gain insights on bicycle use, roads where bike lanes would be helpful, and health/safety values of implementing bike lanes. They will provide their results to CACT for further review and will review CACT’s recommendations on safe routes to school for further input. 4. City Council and PC Liaison Updates: Councilman Snyder discussed the following items: ● NVTC: Metro budget is currently under review; budgeting process/strategy is very dependent on current federal funding and likelihood of future federal funding ● NVTA: Approved performance measures for next long-term plan; major determinant in which projects receive funding. Some jurisdictional disagreements on transit/bike/pedestrian vs. highway funding. The next meeting is tomorrow to further discuss the performance measures. ● ARPA: Council increased Dec. 9 funding to $300,000! ● Founders Row II: Further discussion scheduled for next Council meeting; unclear on prospects for approval ● One City Center: up for discussion/potential vote on first reading next Monday. 5. November Meeting Minutes: No comments or changes to meeting minutes. 6. Discussion Item: Goal Setting for Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program Update: Paul Baldino, former CACT chair, shared the last revisions to the NTC program and potential next updates: ● At the time of the 2015 revision, Paul benchmarked other neighboring jurisdictions as well as communities around the country of similar size. ● Jeff asks about keeping the program focused on traffic calming vs. more of a complete streets approach. ● Jess agrees and cites Arlington as having many good examples; and Art agrees and cites the Greening Lincoln Ave proposal as comprehensive in including utility undergrounding, etc. ● Funding is more readily available now than it was then; the next challenge is staffing. Paul suggests potential for contract project managers to supplement staff. ● Art also cites the time from conception to the start of implementation can be years when the work itself only takes a few weeks. ● Paul also recommends considering the tactical urbanism paper from CACT in January 2021 as a template to speed up the engagement process; Andrew agrees but it can still come back to staffing.  ● Jason reviewed the October meeting minutes to integrate the Great Falls/Little Falls project lessons learned into the discussion. ● Jeff asks about the prospects of saving the existing plan vs. starting over; Dave says that the information-gathering process at this point should inform the decision but agrees saving pieces that still pertain would be valuable. ● Dave and Art discussed the flow chart from resident request to implementation and needing to focus on streamlining that process. ● Jeff discussed the potential pitfalls of data-driven criteria given the low instances of crashes and lack of available traffic and pedestrian data. Often other political considerations or high-profile requests can supersede the NTC process. ● Dave suggests utilizing the tactical urbanism/light solutions during community engagement as demonstration to streamline process and address concerns about only seeing plans once before asking residents for votes. ● Jeff, Art, and Jess discussed revisions to the approval process and voting shares required for approval on projects. This is likely to be a major point of discussion in a potential plan revision. Paul, Art, and Andrew also discussed concerns with the NOVA Parks letter to residents bordering the dual-use trail about encroachments, objects in the drainage ditch, etc. Also, on the crossings, the bollards around the street crossings are intended to be temporary; however, the full implementation of the crossings is likely delayed, and so the bollards may need to be modified to account for their longer-term use. 7. Discussion Item: Identifying Suggested Pedestrian Improvements for CIP/ARPA funds: Jeff mentioned requests on Noland St and S Lee St and there may potentially be some in Greenway Downs with the NTC project. Andrew and Dave mentioned the following segments: ● Great Falls Street (east side) between Lincoln Avenue and the W&OD trail ● Broad Street near Bedo’s Leatherworks ● Lincoln Avenue (north side) east of Yucatan Street ● Oak Street (east side) south of Lincoln Avenue ● Great Falls Street between the W&OD and Virginia Avenue (widening existing) ● Little Falls Street between the W&OD and City Hall ● East Broad Street and East Fairfax Street (square up intersection to shorten crossing) Dave asks about best methods for CACT to track these and prioritize. Dave also suggests a repository for poor transportation user experiences (poor sightlines for pedestrians at an intersection, etc.). Ana will look into past efforts documented in DPW. Dave will also send a 2019 CACT report on spot improvements. On Park Avenue and Maple Avenue, Ana said a tactical urbanism plan is in the works to shorten the walk distances. 8. Information Item: Update on Proposed Seven Corners Ring Road: Jeff provides a brief update on item recently before Council. Art brings up past lack of communication from the County to the City in past efforts and suggests a presentation from the County. Councilman Snyder also discussed the City’s support for the County to seek funding but not supportive of the current plan and lack of engagement. Jason and Art discussed route replacement and Andrew discussed the Capital Trails Coalition plan of a trail along Route 50 from the National Mall to Fairfax City and that Seven Corners is one of the most challenging segments. 9. Information Item: Final CACT Comments on Proposed Founders II Development: Final comments were submitted to Council. 10. NTC Updates: Jeff provided the following updates: ● South Lee / South Oak - light solutions in process; right of way reviews for signage placements are being conducted. The South Oak bridge is also scheduled for construction in CY2022. ● Greenway Downs - concept plans ready for community review next month 11. Staff Report: No staff report. 12. Member Reports: Jason discussed the certificate of occupancy issue with La Tingeria. Art agreed that the response seemed to be disproportionate. Jeff updated on the City’s working with the business owner, the EDA, and the residents on a solution and that it is an evolving situation. Dave will draft an annual report for review in January. 13. Adjourn: Jason motions to adjourn at 9:45 p.m., Dave seconds, motion passes 5-0.