Complete Streets Advisory Board

SARATOGA SPRINGS COMPLETE STREETS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 3, 2017 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL ATTENDEES: STEVE GODLEWSKI, COLIN KLEPETAR, DOUGLAS HALLER, MAUREEN ROBERTS, TED OROSZ, AND ROB WRIGHT. STAFF: TINA CARTON ABSENT: KEN GREY PUBLIC: NONE MEETING MINUTES ARE NOT A WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSCRIPT. CALL TO ORDER: Steve Godlewski called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. He formally introduced Ted Orosz as a new member. Board members all introduced themselves and gave a brief bio on their roles, professional background, and interest in Complete Streets. PUBLIC COMMENT-15 MINUTES None APPROVAL OF MINUTES-07/06/2017 Approval of the meeting minutes was postponed to next month’s meeting. UPDATE ON COMPLETE STREETS WORKSHOP Tina Carton gave an update on the status of the complete streets workshop. Kate Maynard has been working with CDTC and Ithaca to present information to City Council on current funding opportunities as well as processes that other municipalities finance and plan complete streets improvements. Originally planned as a stand-alone workshop, the workshop was re-imagined as a City Council presentation tentatively schedule for the 8/15 City Council meeting. The City has been struggling with scheduling Ithaca’s participation. When Tina Carton finds out more information, she will update the board. The Complete Streets board would like a formal role at the City Council presentation. Since City Council members so not always know the members and their roles, they would like to be introduced to the 1 Council at the presentation. They also would like Kate Maynard to consider having the chair of the board, Steve Godlewski, moderate or introduce the speakers. UPDATE ON COMPLETE STREETS PLAN Steve Godlewski first gave historical background on the Complete Streets Plan for the new board member. He then updated the board that the updated plan is currently on hold pending DPS, DPW, and Finance departments understanding of the cost implications from moving from should to shall. Tina Carton asked if the costs could be taken from a Cost Estimating Guide for Road Construction. Steve and Ted stated that this should be explored. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR PROJECT First Tina Carton updated the board that a draft RFP had been distributed to DPW and DPS for final engineering to create the build drawings for the Downtown Extender. Developing final engineering for the Downtown Extender (Lake Avenue to Congress Park and Congress Park to Railroad Run Complete Street improvements) was proposed at the May 24th Complete Streets Coordination meeting to assist City departments implement “shovel ready” improvements in this corridor. Funding for the engineering of this corridor would be paid through the Mayor’s 2017 Complete Streets Capital budget line. Tina Carton will be discussing the timing of the release of this RFP with the Mayor. Tina Carton also updated the board on the status of the Downtown Connector. She completed all necessary DEC paperwork and expects the contract to be finalized shortly. She also is working on final touches of an RFP to be released to the pre-approved LDSA consultants. It is currently being reviewed by the DOT and Wayne Bonesteel, engineer from Rensselaer County. UPDATE ON GEYSER ROAD TRAIL Tina Carton update the board on the eminent domain proceedings at the recent public hearing at the August 1st City Council meeting as well as the recent offer of a land donation by Saratoga Eagle and Slack Chemical. As part of the public hearing, GPI presented information on the objectives of the trail and how the proposed land does not provide a viable alternative to the current route of the trail – it does not meet the project objects, additional property is needed to complete trail segments, the City does not have funding for the necessary engineering of the new route, barriers related to the railroad crossing, loss of state funding, etc. Members of the board expressed interest in speaking in support of the project objectives. DISCUSSION ON STATION LANE PROJECT TRANSPORTATION STUDY The chair of the planning board requested the CSAC to provide formal comments on the Transportation Impact Study for the proposed Station Park at Saratoga. The board was pleased that the planning board requested their input on the process. Steve Godlewski and Ted Orosz gave background to the board on interpreting the tables and acronyms in the document. The board reviewed the recommendations for improvements and discussed in length the impact study. The discussion concentrated on the need to connect this new neighborhood to downtown safely for pedestrians and cyclists. The board also discussed the proposed roundabout and questioned the recommendation for right turn lanes at the intersection of West Avenue and Washington. The board will be working on writing formal comments for the August 10th Planning Board meeting. These will be emailed to Tina Carton who will consolidate them for the board. 2 The board also requested a sit down with the developers to review the plans and provide input. OTHER BUSINESS No other business was discussed. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. NEXT MEETING: SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 7TH AT 5 PM IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 3