MPO Technical Committee

MPO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKSHOP – COMPLETE STREETS August 24, 2016 9:00 a.m. MPO Office 100 West Broadway 2nd Floor Farmington, New Mexico  AGENDA FARMINGTON METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKSHOP AUGUST 24, 2016 9:00 AM This workshop will be held at the MPO Office, 100 West Broadway, 2nd Floor, Farmington, New Mexico. ITEM PAGE 1. Call meeting to order 2. Approve the minutes from the April 26, 2016 Technical Committee Special 1 Workshop. 3. Review the draft document, make final edits and consider recommending approval of the Complete Streets Design Guidelines to the Policy Committee. Presented by: Duane Wakan 4. Business from Chairman, Members, and Staff 5. Business from the Floor 6. Adjournment ATTENTION PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact the MPO Administrative Aide at the Downtown Center, 100 W Broadway, Farmington, New Mexico or at 505-599-1466 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the MPO Administrative Aide if a summary or other type of accessible format is needed.  MINUTES FARMINGTON METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION SPECIAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKSHOP April 26, 2016 Technical Members Present: Bill Watson, City of Aztec Teresa Brevik, City of Bloomfield Cindy Lopez, City of Farmington David Sypher, City of Farmington Andrew Montoya, Red Apple Transit Fran Fillerup, San Juan County Technical Members Absent: NMDOT Representative Staff Present: Duane Wakan, MPO Planner June Markle, MPO Administrative Aide Staff Absent: Mary Holton, MPO Officer Others Present: John Armenta, Farmington Electric Larry Hathaway, San Juan County Bil Homka, City of Aztec Terri Kennedy, Citizen, Place Matters Member 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Fillerup called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m. 2. APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 16, 2016 SPECIAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKSHOP Ms. Lopez moved to approve the minutes from the March 16, 2016 Special Technical Committee workshop. Mr. Montoya seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. 3. COMPLETE STREETS Subject: Complete Streets Prepared by: Duane Wakan, MPO Planner Date: April 19, 2016 BACKGROUND or PREVIOUS WORK  Complete Streets are a means of designing a roadway so that it accommodates all modes of travel, including driving, walking, biking, and transit.  Staff has worked with the Complete Streets Advisory Group (CSAG) on content, 1  and design guidelines for the FMPO planning area.  The Advisory Group held its last meeting on October 1, 2015 and reviewed the draft Complete Streets Design Guidelines document.  Staff made editorial revisions based on input from CSAG members. Works cited and minor grammatical errors will be corrected or updated on an ongoing basis.  Special Technical Committee Workshops were held on February 24 and March 16 to review and provide edits to the draft Design Guidelines document. CURRENT WORK  Complete the final draft review of the Design Guidelines document.  Seek recommended approval by the Technical Committee on May 11, 2016. ANTICIPATED WORK  Provide editorial updates per recommendations from the Technical Committee.  Seek approval by the Policy Committee on May 26, 2016  Publish final document and distribute to entities  Create a regional Complete Streets resolution for regional consideration and adoption. ATTACHMENTS  The updated draft Complete Streets Design Guidelines document will be available for review on April 22, 2016 on the MPO website http://www.fmtn.org/DocumentCenter/View/6835 . Latest edits are shown in red text. INFORMATION ITEM  Complete the final review of the draft Design Guidelines document. DISCUSSION: The Technical Committee members and Mr. Wakan discussed the two options for the chapter on Intersection Design. The original one (black text) was proposed by Staff and the second one (red text) was written by the City of Farmington, Charlie Trask and which are very different. At the last special workshop, the Intersection Design section offered by Mr. Trask was considered too technology for inclusion in the Design Guidelines document and recommended a version in “layman’s” language. Mr. Wakan has not had time to re- write this section and proposed that a new modified chapter, merging the two current versions, be undertaken during this meeting. The Technical Committee members thought that trying to rewrite this chapter from scratch during the meeting would be too time-consuming and recommended this be taken away and done individually as homework. The Technical Committee was hoping to have a complete draft of all the edits and updates prepared for the meeting that they could respond to. 2 After discussion, it was decided to review the edits already made to the document from discussions at the previous two special workshops. Review of Current Document Edits The current edits/changes are shown in red text on the April 2016 draft. New paragraphs/sections, not yet reviewed by the Technical Committee, are in blue text. Any items previously recommended for deletion were deleted and are no longer shown in the draft document. The Technical Committee asked that all new paragraphs/sections be provided to them beforehand to allow them time to review. Executive Summary Page - …overall transportation network, planners and engineers in many cases, have focused too heavily on its importance without considering other modes of travel. Examples… - A need has been expressed to promote full spectrum outcomes from sensible, innovative and coordinated efforts in regional… - Some solutions may reduce capacity as a trade-off to safety, aesthetics and economic vitality. Downtown streets and school zones may require… - In May of 2012, Farmington MPO staff invited the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute (WALC) to the region. Led by a walkability expert, they educated local elected - economic/business and community activists for use by local governments, developers and the general public. The grassroots nature… The section below is a new paragraph to address return on investment. With very limited funding, we need to address how we target appropriate projects that impact and are valuable to the entire region: - With the time, interest and momentum in complete streets and the scarcity of Federal funds and programs that specifically target complete street projects, wise investment strategies will need to be deployed to ensure complete street projects benefit the broader community. Measures such as economic activity, improved safety and the investment dollars that come from the private sector in surrounding land-use and development will need constant measurement to ensure a return on investment across the region. In a report entitled Growing Wealthier, authors note many communities are seeing the economic benefits of smart growth strategies and projects. In Dallas, Texas, for example, downtown retail sales rose 33% just one year after the light rail system began operation. In Portland, Oregon, a $100 million investment in streetcars helped attract $3.5 billion in private investments, and in Denver, Colorado, home values within a half-mile of Southeast light rail stations line rose 18%, despite an overall decline of real estate values elsewhere in the city. (Kooshian, Chuck & Winkelman, Steve. Growing Wealthier– Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity, 2011) Although our region may not specifically merit large-scale rail projects, the need for careful planning and pre-construction performance tracking will be critical to measure a return on investment. Page 1 - Public Health - Activity, improvements to the Red Apple transit system and the design of bus stops would occur simultaneously. The mild climate in the Four-Corners region allows for outdoor activity for much of the year. - Protecting public health has usually been approached through zoning and engineering practices which provide water and sewer, and which separate noxious land-uses from public spaces and neighborhoods. Page 2 – Public Health - In spite of these unwelcomed regional, state and national statistics, health care premiums… - …vaccinations that all but eliminated most infectious outbreaks. Collaborative success 3  was short lived as planners shifted focus to suburban growth patterns, federal and state engineers on standard design solutions and public health on individualized health care models. New MAPS graph and information to address new research on public health and active transportation: - Budding research in the topic of public health and active transportation are beginning to measure the impacts that a well-designed neighborhood has in public health. Phone Apps such as Walk-Score and the 15-item MAPS-Mini Tool are measuring the activity levels of person who live or work in all types of neighborhood settings. - Healthy lifestyles are enhanced when there is access to transit, buffered sidewalks, dedicated bike-lanes and affordable housing. When communities lack these basic features, household… Page 3 – Public Health - The Farmington MPO was involved in the Safe Passage Initiative which was comparable to a Health Impact Assessment. - According to the National Association of County & City Health Officials, an HiAP facilitates system changes which influence how decisions are made and implemented by local… Page 4 – Safety Info-graphic to show percentage improvement with different metrics after the road diet was implemented on Stone Way in Seattle (new chart & paragraph). Technical Committee members thought this section focused too heavily on bikes. New paragraph added: - The added benefits for motorist is that they no longer need to content with an adjacent lane of traffic, which in our region might mean driving next to large trucks and vehicles which impede sight and distract us from an adjacent cyclist or pedestrians. - These added features may calm traffic and ease the motorist through the corridor. Additional benefits include… It was recommended to add a picture here that would depict separation of the parked vehicles from the travel lane and which would better illustrate vehicle safety. Another suggestion was to add a sketch or illustration here that would more clearly show the changes implemented with a road diet. Page 5 – Safety - When making decisions on whether to grant children the ability to walk to school, most parents cited traffic danger as the number one concern (IS THIS CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT DOC?)... - Motorist might feel compelled to navigate streets at slower speeds to accommodate multi-modal travelers. The bottom 25 mph zone, accommodates four-wide travel-lanes, no opposite directional lane barriers, and no facilities for cyclists or transit users. A motorist will feel compelled to navigate this street at or above the posted speed limit. Without a posted speed sign, the average motorist might navigate this street at an excessive speed. - The population in the rural parts of the Farmington MPO make up more than 28% of the overall population in 2010 with that percent projected to grow slightly by 2040. (CITATION HERE) 4 Page 7 – Aesthetics This change was to clarify how the funding is spent (55% of current funding is going to the construction of new roads which is only 1% of the roadways; 45% of the remaining funding goes for maintenance of the remaining 99% of the roadways). We should be rehabbing and maintaining what we have and not building all new: - They found an unbalanced approach with respect to how federal funding is programmed and allocated for maintenance and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure vs. new road construction spending. The report stated that from 2009-2011 states spent forty-five percent of all road construction funds on preservation and rehabilitation projects, which makes up 99% of the total roadway nationwide. The remaining fifty-five percent of funds went to new construction projects which make up around one percent of the nation’s roads infrastructure. “As a result of these spending decisions, road conditions… Page 8 – Aesthetics Reference to City of Aztec in concept sketch deleted: - Landscape architects help conceptualize street configurations incorporating Green Storm Water Infrastructure (GSI) into plans found in the region. Page 9 – Aesthetics These are additions that Staff plans to address in the final draft: - EXPAND AESTHETICS TO INCLUDE MORE RURAL AREAS; SHOW DIFFERENCES BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL - ADD IMAGE OF FOOTHILLS (PASTORAL SETTING), ARROYOS, OTHER HERE - INCLUDE A PARAGRAPH ON ENHANCING MEDIANS; ADDING TREES, USE OF SHOULDER DRESSINGS, MULTI-USE PATHS, MAYBE SOME STORM WATER FEATURES, ROUNDABOUT Page 13 – Network Connectivity - Creative solutions should consider the use of existing easements, alleys, cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets as a means of connecting walking/biking/equestrian opportunities. Need to change the graphic. Colors are too similar for the arterial road and the local street. Need to provide better differentiation in the colors to make the differences more obvious. Page 15 – Network Connectivity - the Animas Mall and government centers in Aztec, Bloomfield, and Farmington. Future considerations should consider park and ride destinations whether formalized or informal, bike routes and walking destinations. Red Apple Transit has been making efforts to connect transit riders to important nodes such as parks and other destinations. Early coordination and buy-in from government agencies will be necessary to make sure long- range visions and plans are made readily known across departments from each entity. Page 16 – Multi-Modal The Red Apple information will be updated with data from the MPO intern as well as a full-year of ridership data available through Mr. Montoya and Ride Right. - NEED TO ENLARGE THE SIDEWALK PHOTO AT LEFT; - CHANGE GRAPH AT RIGHT TO FOCUS ON RED APPLE RIDERSHIP (ANDREW TO PROVIDE DETAILS); 5  - ILLUSTRATE COMMUNITY MOVING TOWARD MORE MULTI-MODAL & ALSO NEED TO ADDRESS VEHICLES IN THIS SECTION (BALANCE) - Recent transportation behaviors illustrate the end of the “Driving Boom” (BE COUNTY SPECIFIC). ADD QUOTE FROM LOCAL CHAMPION—CSAG-G. MCCULLOCH? Page 17 – Multi-Modal - “This study shows...a trend of Americans who are returning to walkable cities and suburbs with multiple transportation options that include vibrant public transportation“. (WHAT STUDY? DELETE THIS PARGRAPH??) Notes/Considerations shown on the back of Page 17 that still need to be incorporated into the document: - FOCUS IS ON MILLENNIALS/SENIORS...ADD SOMETHING LIKE, TRANSIT RIDERS ARE COMPRISED OF ALL TYPES OF RIDERS—DAILY WORKER, COMMUTER, CHOICE RIDER, TOURIST, DISABLED SENIOR, AND LOW INCOME… (ANDREW) - ADD INFO ON MOTORIZED VEHICLE TO PROVIDE BETTER BALANCE; WHAT ARE WE DOING LOCALLY/WHAT ARE WE LACKING (IDENTIFY LOCAL PROJECTS AND THEIR IMPACTS) - DO NOT WRAP THIS UP IN MULTI-MODAL—MAYBE ADD MORE DETAIL IN EXEC SUMMARY - BREAK DOWN THE 4 BASIC MODE SPLITS; COMPARE NATIONAL PICTURE TO LOCAL - A good transit stop will tie into the existing roadway network as well as other modes such as bike lanes and sidewalks. DOES NOT TIE INTO REST OF SECTION—DELETE? This is the end of the updated edits/revisions made to the current Design Guidelines draft document. The Technical Committee had some discussion and offered some preliminary comments for the Intersection Design section: Intersection Design Discussion Below are some of the discussion points on the two Intersection Design drafts:  The sheer size and scale of many of the intersections in the region (US 64 in Bloomfield; NM 516 and US 550 in Aztec; rural example with NM 516 and CR 350 in Flora Vista); important for state to see and recognize the need for retrofits;  Scale section back and make more general; address small changes that could alleviate some of the issues;  Good illustrations depicted in the section titled, Intersection Sight Distances (Trask version);  Intersection Design title is fitting with the Trask version as he addressed “how” to design an intersection; a more general, less technological chapter could maybe be titled “Ideas for Intersections” or “Complete Streets Intersection Alternatives;  Consider how an intersection should look, function, or be designed for Complete Streets; 6   Countermeasures for the larger intersections – how make them safer for pedestrians/bikes; not specify where these might be needed, just simple improvement ideas;  Visual on Page 28, Applying the Design Guidelines” was useful; have worked on a variety of road links and road types and need to consider the variety of intersections and how to design them for Complete Streets; could the different intersection types be added to this visual?  Not every intersection needs a countermeasure; consider alternative concepts that fit with a complete street; consider a package of tools and multiple solutions/options (roundabouts, medians, signals, other), but don’t write a proposal for every possible intersection combination;  Introduce fact that intersections are another design factor to be considered with Complete Streets; keep the section short; for additional information/guidance specific manuals can be referenced. Mr. Wakan will make the recommended changes and re-write the Intersection Design chapter, and then provide them to the Technical Committee at least two weeks in advance of scheduling the next meeting to allow the members time to review the edits before holding the next workshop. Mr. Wakan introduced Mr. John Armenta, Electric Engineering Manager for the City of Farmington. Mr. Armenta spoke on the rate increased that was successfully adopted several years ago. The increase was needed to fund the maintenance of and begin replacement of the aging infrastructure. Replacement of the electric poles has surpassed communications and they now need to detach their equipment from the old poles and reattach to the new poles. Mr. Armenta said he is also concerned with the number of power poles planted directly in the middle of sidewalks. He is interested in getting these issues corrected and wants to coordinate with other city departments so that all necessary work in one area is completed at the same time. Mr. Armenta was supportive of finding ways to work with Complete Streets concepts and of enhancing the aesthetics of the City. Mr. Armenta said the cost to underground the electric on 20th Street from Clayton Avenue to Sullivan is $3,000,000. He noted that the largest cost of this type of work is the trenching. There are concerns with putting water lines in with power, but the most important factor when installing underground utilities is to do it well the first time. 4. BUSINESS FROM THE CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS AND STAFF There was no business from the Chairman, Members and Staff. 5. BUSINESS FROM THE FLOOR There was no business from the Floor. 7 6. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Fillerup adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m. ___________________________ ___________________________ Fran Fillerup, Chair June Markle, Administrative Aide 8