Complete Streets Advisory Board

SARATOGA SPRINGS COMPLETE STREETS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 11, 2018 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL ATTENDEES: STEVE GODLEWSKI, COLIN KLEPETAR, DOUGLAS HALLER, KEN GREY, ROB WRIGHT, TED OROSZ, AND MARY LYNN BRADLEY. STAFF: TINA CARTON ABSENT: NONE PUBLIC: NONE MEETING MINUTES ARE NOT A WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSCRIPT. CALL TO ORDER: Steve Godlewski called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT-15 MINUTES None APPROVAL OF MINUTES-11/01/2017 Meeting minute approval was moved to the next meeting. INTRODUCTION OF MARY LYNN BRADLEY The CSAB welcomed a new member, Mary Lynn Bradley, to the committee and each member gave a brief update on background as well as experience with the CSAB. DISCUSSION WITH PETER MARTIN Peter Martin started the discussion by thanking the volunteers in the city and their valuable work. He described lessons learned so far as Commissioner of Public Safety. The committee then discussed the Capital Budget’s shared Complete Streets Budget line of $150,000 and how to best coordinate between departments. Peter Martin laid out his goals for 2018 which included progress on larger projects such as the Downtown Connector, progressing connections from Saratoga Springs to the Zim Smith trail, completion of the Geyser Road Trail, future Palmertown Trail connections, and progressing complete streets through projects in the City. Peter Martin stated his commitment to Complete Streets and looks forward to the positive impacts it will have on school children and the elderly. Other potential projects to 1 focus on in 2018 include the Glenn Mitchell connection, East Avenue connections, Ray Watkins and Stonequist accessible walk ways, increasing public transportation connections, and making downtown less reliant on downtown parking by creating opportunities through the use of satellite lots. Ted Orosz questioned the City’s current 25 mile an hour speed limit on residential streets and asked the commissioner if he could consider slowing the speeds down. Peter Martin explained that this would need a legislative act. Steve Godlewski stated that Malta had recently been successful with having a new state law passed giving the Malta Town Board the discretion to set speed limits on roadways within the town's jurisdiction. The committee hopes that the City could look into this for Saratoga Springs. Colin Klepetar asked what the City needed to do in order to begin to use pedestrian crossing signs in the middle of streets. There are various intersections in the city that would benefit. Tina Carton stated that pedestrian crossing signs were recommended by Creighton Manning as part of the Pedestrian Safety Study. Tina Carton encouraged Commissioner Martin to have the Pedestrian Safety Toolbox adopted by the City. Ken Grey then spoke of the need to additional Complete Streets education to residents and schools. He would like to ensure that we plan and create paving and stripping schedules with Complete Street improvements in mind. Doug Haller questioned if the City will need to hire a traffic engineer on staff in order to make these improvements and to expedite the process. The committee then discussed the use of consultants versus in house staff. Steve Godlewski discussed the update to the Complete Streets Policy proposed last year. Peter Martin explained that he was under the impression that it stalled due to the question of cost of implementation. He then introduced john Daley, his Deputy Commissioner who joined the meeting. UPDATE ON USE OF MAYOR’S COMPLETE STREETS FUNDING: DOWNTOWN EXTENDER Tina Carton then stated that she would give an update on the consultant submissions for the Downtown Extender. Steve Godlewski recused himself from the discussion and left the room. Tina Carton then described the two responses that the City received for the RFP and discussed possible directions forward. OTHER BUSINESS In 2018, the committee agreed that monthly meetings will be held on the second Thursday of each month in the City Council chambers. At the last meeting of the CSAB, Steve Godlewski stepped down as the chair of the committee. The committee voted on a new chair and co-chair. Ken Grey was nominated as chair by Steve Godlewski. Ted Orosz seconded. Ken Grey was elected unanimously. Rob Wright nominated Ted Orosz as co-chair and Steve Godlewski seconded. Ted Orosz was unanimously approved. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m. NEXT MEETING: SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 8TH AT 5 PM IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS. 2