HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-10-08 MinutesMembers present:
Public/Staff:
City of Fayetteville
Sidewalk and Trails Task Force
Minutes
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
City Administration Building, Room 326
Bob Davis, Laura Kelly, Jennifer Tracy, Richard Covey, Nancy
Allen, Scott Mashburn, Craig Mauritson
Steve Hatfield, Ginty Apperson, Terry Gulley, Jeanny Romine,
Deana Lambert, Chuck Rutherford
Meeting called to order by Bob Davis.
Laura Kelly made a motion to approve the August minutes, Scott Mashburn gave a
second and the motion passed.
Steve Hatfield introduced two new Sidewalk and Trails Task Force members, Craig
Mauritson and Scott Mashburn.
Scott Mashburn introduced Deana Lambert and Jeanny Romine who were invited to
present Sidewalks and Trails from the Perspective of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Deana Lambert is a graduating senior from the University of Arkansas and has lived in
Fayetteville for over four years. She has been legally blind all of her life as a result of
cataracts. She has traveled with the assistance of a guide dog as well as a cane. She
reported that she has found Fayetteville, particularly the U of A campus area, to be very
pedestrian friendly. She has found the sidewalks to be adequately wide and also well
maintained.
Deana reported that the quality and maintenance of sidewalks is very important to blind
pedestrians, especially when traveling with a cane. Uneven surfaces and cracks in the
sidewalk can create problems with the cane getting caught. Deana expressed satisfaction
with Fayetteville's curb cuts, however she has experienced some difficulty as the
sidewalks approach the street because the cuts tend to be small and flush, making it
difficult to differentiate when sidewalk ends and the street begins. She has found the
truncated domes on West Avenue and Maple Street to be very helpful in alerting blind
pedestrians of approaching curb.
Deana would like to see Fayetteville install more sidewalks, especially in residential
areas and in the financial district towards Springdale. She has noticed a serious need for
accessible sidewalks on College Avenue.
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Deana briefly mentioned audible pedestrian signals and discussed the various features
available with these devices. Her experience with these signals has been very positive
and she is happy that Fayetteville is looking into this possible option for the future.
Jeanny Romine has been a resident of Fayetteville for twenty-three years. She began her
presentation by speaking about the changes she has noticed taking place in our city over
the past two decades. Two of the major changes have been the volume and aggression of
automobile traffic. Jenny also spoke about the lack of uniformity and consistency in the
design of Fayetteville's wheelchair ramps and the difficulty this can create for visually
impaired pedestrians when approaching a street. She suggested an increase in visual cues
being used to make automobile traffic aware of approaching pedestrians.
Deana raised the question of where Fayetteville is planning to install new sidewalks in
the near future. Terry Gulley answered by giving a brief update on the city's plans. They
are currently constructing sidewalk along the north side of Rolling Hills Drive. This will
be followed by sidewalk construction near Root Elementary on Hammond Street. Jeanny
asked whether these sidewalks would include truncated domes and Teny answered that
there are plans to include truncated domes with most of the new sidewalks. The
pedestrian crossing at Rolling Hills Drive and College Avenue will include pedestrian
lamps at all four corners of the intersection. The crosswalks will also include
thermoplastic striping, which will provide a raised surface that will be easily recognized
by the cane of a visually impaired pedestrian.
Steve Hatfield gave an update on Center Prairie Trail. The progress of this trail has been
slowed due to issues involving other projects, which have required more immediate
attention. The construction plans for Center Prairie Trail are approximately 95%
complete. They are working to address a serious drainage problem on the Mountain
Street right-of-way, which falls off the side of the trail corridor about 30 feet Final
research is being done on the Center Street crossing and what options remain within
budget and allow for a safe crossing at this area. This project should be ready for bidding
within the next 30 days.
Steve Hatfield gave an update on the West Mud Creek Trail. Sweetser Construction has
the contract on this project and they seem to be progressing well. They are currently
working on the installation of drainage structures. They have started the approaches next
to Mali Avenue. The estimated completion of this project will be January of 2004.
Terry Gulley gave a progress report on completed and in progress sidewalk projects. As
of October 2003, sidewalk construction has been done on nineteen different streets
throughout Fayetteville. Some recent sidewalk projects include Rolling Hills Drive,
Lunsford Avenue, Hammond Street, and Austin Drive. The city has currently completed
11,952 linear feet of sidewalk. In addition, 22 access ramps have been installed as well
as 5,063 feet of curb and 10,767 feet of driveway approaches.
Steve Hatfield gave an update on the Lake Fayetteville Trail Spillway Bridge. Plans and
specifications have been completed for 3,000 linear feet of trail and a 247 foot bridge that
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will cross just below the spillway at Lake Fayetteville. This will connect the softball
complex on the north side of the lake to Veteran's Memorial Park on the south side. The
city has applied for a $250,000 grant which, if awarded, will be used for this project.
Laura Kelly gave an update on Federal Funding. The Surface Transportation Extension
Act was recently passed in Congress which will provide funds, but only for a five-month
period. This is a crucial time for citizens to become involved by contacting their State
Representatives and making it known that there is a need for the allocation of funds to
include transportation enhancements.
Steve Hatfield gave an update on Walker Park and Senior Center Trails. APAC-
Arkansas, Inc. will soon begin working on these projects. The trail near the Senior
Center will be approximately 2,500 feet long. The trail parallel to the creek, through the
park, will be about 3,500 feet long. Both trails will include curb cuts and ramps at every
street crossing. The estimated completion for these projects will be sometime early this
winter.
Other Business — Laura Kelly suggested adding a presentation regarding requests for
additions and clarifications to the Arkansas State Driver's Manual to next month's
agenda. Steve Hatfield mehtioned a suggestion made by Scott Mashbum for a New
Member Information Packet. He will begin working on this in the near future.
The Sidewalk and Trails Task Force has four Community Citizen at Large openings for
terms ending 12/31/05. The application deadline for these positions will be November
21, 2003.
Meeting adjourned.