Public Works / Traffic / Transit Committee

Chris Jenkins, Director Justin Messer, Assistant Director PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION , Cemetery Department Stan Rogers, Director Engineering Services Aaron Carroll, Director Solid Waste Collections Department Tim Garrett, Director Solid Waste Processing & Disposal Department Lee Stone, Director Public Works Garage Department Joe Krinke, Superintendent Streets & Drainage Department Chad Hampton, Director PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSIT COMMITTEE AND TRAFFIC COMMISSION February 10, 2021, 10:00 a.m. Sam King Room ‐ 601 Broad Street PRESENT: Commissioner Mark Cochran Commissioner Bill Collins Commissioner Bony Askew Mr. Sammy Rich, City Manager Mr. Chris Jenkins, Public Works Director Mr. Justin Messer, Assistant Public Works Director Mr. Aaron Carroll, Engineering Services Director Ms. Kathy Shealy, Transit Director Maj. Rodney Bailey, Rome Police Dept. Ms. Toni Rhinehart, Finance Director Mr. Art Newall, Planning Director CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Cochran called the meeting to order. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the December meeting were approved by common consent. POLICE REPORTS Maj Bailey presented the accident report. He noted there was an 8% reduction in crashes in 2020 accidents. We hope that trend will continue. Everything else seems to be in line. There is an uptick in DUI enforcement because we have added another officer on night shifts. Following too closely remains the number one citation followed by Failure to Yield. Commissioner Cochran asked if he could provide a five year history of accidents wit pedestrians injured in the mid‐block crosswalks on Broad Street. 200 Vaughn Road • PO Box 1433 • Rome, Georgia 30162‐1433 Phone: 706/236‐4466 • fax: 706/236‐4532 TRANSIT Ms. Rinehart presented the November financial report. She noted transit is still going through a transition period since losing the tripper service in 2019. The budget for 2020 was our best estimate of what we could expect and the Transit Plan was not done until 2020 so we hadn’t implemented those changes as yet. Currently we have Main Line and Paratransit. She noted investment income is down for the year. Ms. Shealy noted we are still receiving advertising revenue but it is very reduced. She and Mr. Eidson had discussed doing an RFP for advertising to bring in new revenues. She noted that much of the reduction in advertising is likely due to budget constraints during the pandemic. Much of the existing advertising has been on the buses for five years or more so it’s time to revisit this area. Mr. Rich asked if we still had an agreement with Jackie Moreland of Hype, Inc. Mr. Shealy affirmed there is still an agreement with Ms. Moreland. Under grants, Ms. Rhinehart noted that we have received funding through October but still have some due that will be coming in . She added that the November Statements are not a good snapshot of year end. Ms. Shealy added that a lot of the funding has been transferred to 100% funding under the CARES Act. Ms. Rhinehart reported that Main Line expenses are in line with 2019. Paratransit revenues were ups up $119,000. Ms. Shealy added that with the pandemic we did not cut services but did block off seating for social distancing. Ridership was down for a time but it is picking back up. Commissioner Cochran asked when we will fully implement the new Transit Plan. Mr. Rich said as soon as practicable. We still need to hire an Assistant Director for Ms. Shealy which will help. Ms. Rhinehart added that several of the recommendations involved area colleges so it was difficult in 2020 to address those. Commissioner Cochran asked if we are still waiting to sell excess buses. Ms. Shealy replied we are waiting for permission from FTA. Mr. Jenkins added there were eleven applicants for the assistant position, so that should be filled soon. Commissioner Collins asked where we are with the Transit Consultant that was hired to perform a study and would where that stands. Mr. Rich said Warren Associates has provided us with an official study and plan, but we need get an Assistant Director in first per their recommendation. Ms. Shealy noted we have had a problem with purchasing additional buses, because the larger bus delivery is being delayed from 14 to 16 months. She added we can get the smaller buses in as little as 4 to 7 months so are looking into purchasing them. We continue to hire and train drivers. OLD BUSINESS Turner Chapel Road Traffic Calming Request Mr. Jenkins reported on a request for speed humps on Turner Chapel Road, that came through Commissioner Davis on behalf of a resident. Because this is a cut through road Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, February 10, 2021 Page 2 of 5  from MLK Jr. Blvd. to the GA Loop 1, with a lot of traffic, speed humps can be disruptive and noisy for residents. For this reason, Mr. Jenkins proposed a speed detection device with a speed indicator for motorist’s speed. The one we procured will also give us helpful data. We did a speed study on this road that didn’t show a significant speeding problem so this device will help us to see what is actually going on. We ordered two of these signs at $5000 each. As soon as we put one up, we expect other neighborhoods will want one. The County is using this and has been very happy with it. The resident is pleased with this solution. Mr. Jenkins added that he will update this Committee once we have collected some data. Atlanta Gas Project Update Mr. Carroll reported that Atlanta Gas Light has made some progress on Shorter Ave in West Rome. They have found the soil under Shorter Ave is very bad which has presented difficulties. They have had trenches caving in and they have encountered an old underground AT&T vault that hadn’t been marked near the Wishy Washy Laundromat at 1904 Shorter Avenue. They are having to back fill Shorter Avenue with a different technique than they had originally planned and will not be able to make their target completion date of February 21st. As soon as they get to routing around the AT&T box they will likely have to get Shorter Avenue down to one lane for a time. He noted that Martha Berry Hwy has much better soil so they have already gotten about 250‐feet of pipe laid there so some of the plates should be taken up there within the week. They are making the bore under Burwell Creek and should punch out with their pilot hole today or tomorrow, which has required closing the trailhead there. They are still on point to open that trailhead back up by March 1st although it will have to be closed again at a later date as they make their trench connection off Riverside Parkway down into the parking area. The trailhead at Mount Berry was opened as promised on February 27th. They are continuing to work in that area but are doing a very good job keeping a flagman on site who will direct people to park back at the Post Office. When the project is complete, we will have double the parking and some green space large enough for picnic tables at the trailhead. They will start their bore under the railroad and up to the ECO center this week. He is working with them to find a technique that will minimize the steel plates when the construction begins along Charlton Rd. Commissioner Cochran asked if the AT&T vault was abandoned. Mr. Carroll replied that it was full of water and had an old conduit connected to the vault that they claim is still connected and in service. Commissioner Collins asked when the project will be impacting Charlton Street. Mr. Carroll stated they are scheduled to be there from May 2nd through July 2nd, but could be there sooner than that. Commissioner Collins asked what the possibility of having a sidewalk constructed on Charlton from this project. Mr. Carroll stated there is only 5 feet of right of way and most of the terrain is not level, and Atlanta Gas would not be interested in performing work that is outside their project work zone. If we were to construct the sidewalk, we would first have to tear up all the curb and gutter, which would be a Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, February 10, 2021 Page 3 of 5  tremendously expensive project. Mr. Carroll added that he will work with Atlanta Gas to ensure the public gets as much advanced notice when the project will impact traffic with lane closures. Commissioner Askew noted that he witnessed the contractors delaying their morning clean up much later than scheduled. Mr. Carroll stated they are supposed to be out of the road by 6:00 AM. It would be best to report this type of issue to GDOT. NEW BUSINESS Broad Street Improvements Mr. Jenkins reported there are three items in the downtown area we have identified for needed improvements that this committee discussed last year. They are as follows: 1. Pushouts and Curbs – at the intersections of Broad Street and 2nd Avenue and Broad Street and 3rd Avenue. The brick pushouts , the curb and the handicapped ramps are in bad shape from large trucks clipping them when making turns. Mr. Carroll put together a project to get these areas repaired. We put it out for bid and the contract was awarded to Spriggs Construction. Work is scheduled to start this week but may be delayed due to rain and should start by next week. The project will include the curved pushouts at Mitchell Plaza, in front of the History Museum, a portion of the median going back up 3rd Ave. and at 2nd Avenue and Broad Street at the former Magretta Hall and on the opposite side of 2nd Avenue by Blue Sky. 2. Pressure Washing‐It has been several years since we pressure washed the south bound side of Broad Street and this year we want to pressure wash the northbound side from the 100 block to the 500 block. This was budgeted in our capital budget for this year. We hope this time to use concrete sealant to see if it gives us more time between pressure washings. Our goal is to eventually purchase a pressure washing machine similar to those that are used in parking decks. They are very expensive, but it would be nice to have this for downtown and the parking decks. 3. Lighted Crosswalks‐ The DDA Board originally expressed an interested in purchasing lighted crosswalk signs but after finding the cost prohibitive, referred it back to Public Works. Mr. Carroll then reviewed available signage with flashings signals and tested a demo sign at each block on Broad Street. Mr. Carroll noted they are not warranted by with the state’s Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and we are not required to make this change. Mr. Jenkins added that he has $58,000 approved in the budget for the signs but does not recommend them at this time. Mr. Carroll feels we should take more time to study them before taking any action because they could give motorists and pedestrians alike a false sense of security and he doesn’t want to create new problems. We added LED lighting in the median to illuminated pedestrians for motorists which has been very effective. He added that we don’t have a history of pedestrians getting hit while crossing. Commissioner Askew asked if there is a possibility of some sort of motion detector for these lights to come on as a Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, February 10, 2021 Page 4 of 5  pedestrian enters the crosswalk? Mr. Carroll said we do have some detectors like that in the pavement at Redmond Regional Medical Center and the Doctor’s offices across the street, so we could conceivably adapt those to serve this purpose, but we still have concerns with vandalism or pedestrians playing with the lights. Commissioners Askew and Collins both agreed that further study is needed. S.R. 20/Callier Springs Rd. ‐Traffic Signal Permit Upgrade Mr. Carroll reported that for two years we have been trying to get a protected left turn for residents coming off Chulio Rd. on to Hwy 411heading towards town. We have finally gotten the permit revised from GDOT to revise that signal. They will be providing materials and we will provide the labor for the upgrade. We are waiting for the materials to become available but we will report back when we know the installation date. Unity Point Mr. Jenkins reported the Unity Point Project was started in 1996 when the Olympics were in Atlanta, and was managed by Mike Lovely and the Recreation Department. High waters caused considerable damage and erosion since. In 2013, we had a SPLOST project to stabilize it. Mr. Milam sent out an RFP for it at one point in time for proposals. The SPLOST Project asked to reestablish and stabilize the bank of Unity Point and preserve what was established there years ago. Mr. Rich reached out to a design engineer in Dalton with CTI who has been designing bank stabilizations for Unity Point. Staff will meet with him today to discuss this with him and present questions we have. The project is moving forward and updates will be provided to this committee periodically. Commissioner Cochran has asked if there have been preliminary designs. Mr. Carroll replied that he has submitted plans to the state for review. What he is proposing is stabilizing the bank with rip wrap and trees first. Any future enhancements will be discussed after that has been achieved. Commissioner. MONTHLY REPORTS Departmental Reports The departmental reports were distributed for review. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully Submitted, 0 DUJDUHW+ROOLQJVZRUWK Margaret W. Hollingsworth, Secretary Public Work Committee/Transit Committee/Traffic Commission Minutes, February 10, 2021 Page 5 of 5