Public Improvement and Transportation Committee

MINUTES PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT/TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE MEETING August 8, 2022 11:00 AM On Main, City Hall MEMBERS PRESENT: Schafer, Labat, Lozinski MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Director of Public Works/City Engineer Jason Anderson OTHERS PRESENT: None Call to Order. Schafer called the meeting to order at 11:00 am. 1. Approval of the Minutes. MOTION BY LOZINSKI, SECONDED BY LABAT to approve the minutes of the June 28, 2022 Public Improvement/Transportation Committee meeting. ALL VOTED IN FAVOR. MOTION PASSED 3:0. 2. On-Street Bike Lanes on State Aid Streets. Early this year the City completed Project Z88-State Aid Mill and Overlay. Upon project completion, MnDOT District 8 staff reviewed our project for final approval. District 8 staff noticed that our on- street bike lanes appeared to be out of compliance with State Aid rules and asked that we review. Most of our on-street bike lanes do not meet minimum standards for State Aid routes because each roadway use meets the minimum threshold for width. The parking lane, bike lanes, and driving lanes cannot all be at minimum width, and in our situation, we oftentimes are at all minimum widths. To resolve this issue, the City is presented with five options: 1: Widen streets to allow more space. 2: Keep bike lanes painted as they are today. Apply for a variance through State Aid. 3: Remove parking from one side of the street and re-stripe the bike lanes. 4: Remove the dedicated bike lanes and paint shared lane markings, otherwise known as “sharrows”. 5: Remove bike lane striping altogether. Options 1, 3, and 5: - would not be recommended by City staff. Option 1 would require extensive curb, gutter, driveway, utility and pavement cost and it is cost-prohibitive. Option 3 would require significant parking removal in fully-established residential neighborhoods. Option 5 is a step backward from our goal of achieving “complete streets” that create transportation corridors that are safe, functional, and aesthetically attractive for all users. Option 2: Keep bike lanes and seek variance - The benefit of keeping the on-street bike lanes is that bike lanes are the most preferred option for protecting space for bicycle users because it identifies space that can only be used for bicyclists. A motor vehicle should not be driving in the bike lane unless the vehicle needs to cross for turning or parking movements. The negative of leaving this arrangement is that our vehicle driving lanes are quite narrow and they force vehicles to drive closely past bicyclists and opposing traffic. Keeping this arrangement would require a variance to be granted by a statewide board that is comprised of public officials and engineering staff. There is no guarantee that this board will agree to grant our variance. A typical layout is included in the packet. -1- Option 4: Remove the dedicated bike lanes and paint shared lane markings - The benefit of this option is that the streets can be re-striped in a manner that allows for more space in the driving lanes, and more space in the parking lanes in many situations. The idea in this situation would be to paint driving lanes that are 14-FT wide and parking lanes that are generally 8-FT wide. We then paint a bike symbol with two chevrons in the driving lane (11-FT from the curb) and ensure that streets are signed as “bike routes” and not “bike lanes”. This designation serves as a reminder to the traveling public that this is a bike route and that the road must be shared. In many instances in Marshall, these routes have limited parking and bicyclists will typically choose to travel closer to the curb. A typical layout is included in the packet. City staff would recommend to stripe in accordance with Option 4 with shared lane markings. This option will make the streets feel more comfortable to the vehicle drivers while also fully accommodating parking and calling attention to bicyclists on the streets. Staff believes this arrangement to be a good compromise to continue to meet our objectives in achieving “complete streets” while also meeting minimum State Aid standards for typical lane widths. MOTION BY LOZINSKI SECONDED BY LABAT to stripe in accordance with listed Option 4 to a shared-lane arrangement. ALL VOTED IN FAVOR. MOTION PASSED 3:0. 3. ST-009 – Review/Recommend Final Street Layout and Streetscaping Scope. Staff and PI/T Committee members have spent considerable time working with Bolton & Menk staff and the Downtown Business Association (DBA) regarding the reconstruction of N 3 rd and W. Lyon Streets for 2023. Numerous topics have been discussed, including: parking, lane widths, sidewalk and ADA standards, streetscaping, Main/3rd traffic signal, dedicated pedestrian signal (HAWK system), and many other more detailed topics. Attached to the packet is the layout that city staff would like approval to move forward with for final design. The layout includes a one-way N. 3rd Street from W. Main Street to W. Lyon Street, a two-way W. Lyon Street from E. College Drive to N. 5th Street with angle parking on the “north” side and parallel parking on the “south” side and a two-way N. 3rd Street from W. Lyon Street to W. Redwood Street with angle parking on the “east” side and parallel parking on the “west” side. Because the traffic signal isn’t needed for N. 3rd Street, the signal heads that face N. 3rd Street today would be removed. The signal heads that face W. Main Street would remain and the signal would remain in place to serve pedestrians that would like to cross W. Main Street from either side of the N. 3 rd Street intersection. Note that a median is being proposed on W. Main Street on the “south” side of the intersection to provide for additional pedestrian safety. Included in the layout is a streetscaping design. Staff would like to continue the discussion with the City Council regarding streetscaping, and no decision is being requested for today. We are only discussing the layout, which includes curb locations, street widths, and traffic control. City staff believes that this is a good compromise layout. MOTION BY LOZINSKI to move forward with the layout as presented contingent on letter of support from Downtown Business Association, with streetscaping elements to be recommended for approval at a later date. THE MOTION WAS SECONDED BY LABAT. ALL VOTED IN FAVOR. MOTION PASSED 3:0. Adjourn. MOTION BY LABAT SECONDED BY LOZINSKI to adjourn the meeting. ALL VOTED IN FAVOR. MOTION PASSED 3:0. Meeting adjourned at 11:53 am. Respectfully submitted, Lona Rae Konold, Administrative Assistant -2-