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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-02-12 MinutesCity Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 1 of 12 Member Aldermen Mayor Dan Coody Ward 1 Position l — Brenda Thiel a e ev 1 le Ward 2 Position 2 —Nancy Allen City Attorney Kit Williams Ward 3 Position 2—Robert Ferrell Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan City Clerk Sondra Smith i ARKANSAS City of Fayetteville Arkansas City Council Street Committee Meeting Minutes February 12, 2007 A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on February 12, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. MEMBERS PRESENT: Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Chair; Alderwoman Nancy Allen, Alderman Robert Ferrell; Alderwoman Brenda Thiel Staff Present: Ron Petrie, Chris Brown, Mayor Dan Coody, Gary Dumas, Susan Thomas, Paul Becker 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lioneld Jordan. 2. Presentation of the preliminary findings of the Fayetteville Expressway Economic Corridor study to improve access to the Regional Commercial and Medical Facilities near the Fulbright Expressway Ron Petrie said in 2004 this administration made the determination that improvement of the access into our regional commercial and medical facilities near the Fulbright Expressway was a high priority. Mayor Coody took a lead role in this project and after several visits to Washington D.C. and meetings with our legislative delegates and local officials he was able to secure $9 million in Federal funds for the project. Mr. Petrie asked that Mayor Coody introduce this item. Mayor Coody said the appropriation was for $11 million, of which the City had to match 20%, resulting in a net of $9 million. This money will be reimbursed to the City as we do the work through the Arkansas State Highway Department, which acts as the conduit for the Federal government. Carter Burgess, the firm that won the bid to do the work, has been developing possible plans to address the "choke points" for the traffic in this area to make the flow easier and sustain the economic core. He said the City gets roughly 40% of our income from the Mall area 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 2 of 12 and another significant percentage from the CMN Business Park so it is important to maintain good access to the area. At this point Mayor Coody gave the floor to Carter Burgess for their presentation. James Arbuckle, Carter Burgess, said he is the project director for this project. He said that the project manager is Kip Guthrie and the lead traffic engineer is Brian Vines. Mr. Arbuckle said the purpose and mission of the Carter Burgess study is to enhance economic growth opportunities in the study area by providing multiple access points and streamlining traffic operations on adjacent facilities with consideration for pedestrians and esthetics. To that end, there are a number of objectives they are out to accomplish. In reaching three of those objectives they have obtained traffic data, solicited comments from the public around the study area and developed conceptual alternatives which he will now present to the Committee. He explained that these ideas are very preliminary and conceptual and are open for discussion. He defined the study area as within the boundaries of I540 to the west, Fulbright Expressway to the south, North College to the east and Great House Springs Rd. and Main Drive to the north. He noted that access to this area occurs through two north/south corridors: North Gregg Ave. and College Ave. The only access directly into the area from the east/west is from Joyce Blvd. He displayed a map showing all the locations from which they obtained traffic counts. He said they collected turning movement counts at 24 different intersections. These counts were taken in the late fall prior to the shopping season because they wanted to get "normal" counts. The counts were taken at the morning peak traffic times, the afternoon peak traffic times and at noon. In addition to this they set tubes out and did 24- hour counts at 85 different locations. They also targeted a Friday between the hours and 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to get a feel for some of the peak demand on the area during prime shopping times. He said that they found that their counts were generally in line with the counts done by the Arkansas Highway Dept., although there was some difference in the area along North College, just north of where the Fulbright/College merge occurs. He pointed out that on the Fulbright Expressway, just east of the I-540 split the traffic runs about 36,000 cars per day. In order to put this into some perspective, he explained that in traffic engineering the ability of a facility to operate efficiently is ranked on a level of service scale. The level of service scale runs from A (the best conditions) to F (basically a total breakdown, traffic is bottled up and the driving public experiences a tremendous amount of travel delay). He said that traffic on North College between Fulbright and Joyce is currently at 58,000 vehicles per day. He said that considering its current geometry that area will ultimately break down at around 80,000 cars per day. So the area is well on its way to that limit. He said Carter Burgess felt it was very important to get public input regarding this project so they initiated a citizen survey in the fall of 2006 via a website and signs in the area soliciting comments. He said a survey is considered a tremendous success when 150 responses are received. Carter Burgess received 826 responses to this citizen survey. He said 72% said they live in Fayetteville and 28% work in Fayetteville. He said the survey results indicated that the primary purpose for visiting this area is for shopping. In response to the question about what part of the area is most difficult to access, a large number said they find it most difficult to access I540. Another 20% said they find it most difficult to access Joyce and 10% found it most difficult to access the Walmart/Old Navy/Kohls and Target area. There were more survey questions and responses which Mr. Arbuckle briefly reviewed. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 3 of 12 In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, Mr. Arbuckle said he was not surprised by the response that shopping was the primary purpose for visiting the area. James Arbuckle said they took the results of the survey and came up with hot spots that need some attention. Those three areas are Joyce and North College, northbound North College to westbound Fulbright (as well as people coming from I540) and better access to the south side of the business park area and potentially a direct connection between North Hills and Steele. To verify the results of the survey, the firm also looked at travel delays in the area. They went to the hot spots and looked at the traffic numbers and the travel delay experienced. He explained that travel delays in range of 30 seconds are indications that facilities are beginning to not function well. He said at Joyce and North College travelers were experiencing delays of over 60 seconds. He noted some breakdowns and delays along Milsap and in the area of North Hills and Steele the ramp is in a breakdown situation where travelers are experiencing delays of over 60 seconds. Carter Burgess has tried to address some of the deficiencies they noted in these areas, looking at over sixty different alternatives. After meetings and discussion with City staff, four fairly solid alternatives were selected. Based on comments received from the Arkansas Highway Dept., Carter Burgess tweaked the concepts and will now present them to this Committee. He reviewed the alternatives for the area of North College and Joyce Blvd. He said one concept that appears to be worth exploring is called "continuous flow interchange". He said that the Arkansas Highway Dept. has a contract with a consultant who is looking at this type of intersection. He asked Ron Petrie to talk about what they are doing on that project. Ron Petrie said after Carter Burgess was placed under contract, the City was contacted by the State which had hired a consultant with an idea that is new to Arkansas. They are interested in utilizing this idea in some specific areas where they think it would be effective. He showed a computer program model of the existing conditions during peak hours, showing long lines, or stacking, of cars waiting to make a left turn. The model then presented the proposal for a "continuous flow intersection". The movement is pushed back away from the intersection, allowing movement to occur while other movements are occurring. The resulting stacking is much less. Alderwoman Thiel expressed a concern about traffic on I540 trying to get over to the right lane to turn on Joyce. She wondered if this would address that problem. Ron Petrie said that would always be a problem. He said in this model they will be merging a lot quicker. He explained that the striping would be moved back further to the south to allow for a longer merge lane. He said this model is conceptual only. The project is not yet funded by the State but they are very interested in this intersection. Alderman Ferrell said he sees the merit in this but with the growth that we are experiencing, he wondered how this compares to other remedies as a means to address the future needs of this intersection. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 4 of 12 Ron Petrie said on this particular concept, Carter Burgess has forwarded the projected 2025 traffic counts to the State to come up with that answer. They have the answers for the other options to be presented tonight but not for this one. He said this will buy some time, possibly 10 to 20 years before costly and significant improvements will need to be done. Gary Dumas said there will be four different areas of improvement in this overall project. Each improvement will affect the other areas. The goal tonight is to choose the four areas to look at and from that Carter Burgess will select some affordable projects to do and see how those affect the flow at each of the other intersections. That will help in the final selection of what improvements to make. James Arbuckle said they will provide the information to the highway department and let them take a look at some of the projections of traffic to see how well that particular alternative will handle that traffic. We will have some feel for what this can do very shortly. Moving on to the Fulbright and North College area, they took a look at a roundabout in this area. He noted that 15,000 cars in each direction make for an interesting operation characteristic of a roundabout. Another alternative was looking at an at -grade intersection with College that comes to the south, trying to provide a left hand move that actually bridges over east -bound to north -bound Fulbright and then south -bound to west -bound, then coming into Mall Ave. and tying back into Fulbright Expressway. He also mentioned two further alternatives: one that the highway department would typically do, with right exits off College, tying back onto Fulbright and a second with a left -bound move to access Fulbright. During this study, Carter Burgess looked at ideas that might help divide up and distribute traffic so that it is not all coming to one point. He talked about the potential extension of Sam Boulevard up through Vantage to Joyce. This alternative would help traffic coming up to Joyce and heading east. He explained how this could be accomplished. To the west, they looked at the area around North Hills and Steele Blvd. A number of alternatives were reviewed. He mentioned one alternative would connect North Hills with Steele with a crossover. There would need to be some significant reworking of roadways to accomplish this and some issues through which to work. Another alternative is taking Fulbright over a cross street that could be provided. They also looked at what is called a single point urban interchange. He described this and showed an example to the Committee. Moving the focus over to the west side of the study area, they looked at some of the issues along there. One issue is accessing Fulbright Expressway while traveling north on I540 and also accessing Hwy 112. With the I540 study done a few years back, the highway department looked at some alternatives and Mr. Arbuckle reviewed those alternatives. He said the mission for his firm was to try to provide multiple access points to the commercial area, determine if there is a way to provide access from the west and look at some potential north/south connections. They took a stab at this conceptually and he presented a possible plan to the Committee. He explained that the cost for this alternative would be around $100 million. After presenting all the options, he asked for some confirmation from the Committee that Carter Burgess is moving in the right direction and some input relative to the alternatives presented and whether they should move forward from here. He said in their contract they have agreed to 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 5 of 12 take a conceptual alternative, once it was agreed upon, and plug that alternative into an operational model and look at how traffic would be redistributed because of the alternative. Alderwoman Thiel asked if we have any idea of price for the Joyce/College interchange coming from the State. Ron Petrie said staff has been told it is approximately $4 million. He said this project is separate from the overall project. However, whether it is something the Committee likes or dislikes should be relayed to the State. In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, James Arbuckle said that the cost estimates he has given in this presentation are figured at a conceptual level and are based on this year's numbers. In response to a further question from Alderman Ferrell, James Arbuckle said the continuous flow intersection that the State is interested in bringing to Joyce and North College is a relatively new concept. It has been studied and the Highway Dept. is looking at it for around ten locations around the State. He said he understands that because of the study Fayetteville is doing in this area, the State escalated this particular location up in priority so that it could be going on concurrently with our projects. Alderwoman Allen said she felt it was a great presentation with good graphics. She said since we cannot do this entire process, she thinks it is important to look at what can be done now that will work with what can be done in the future, rather than just doing "band aid" improvements. In response to a question from Mayor Coody, Gary Dumas said there has been some discussion with the State on possible cost sharing on the Joyce Blvd./Hwy 71 intersection as a pilot project and they have said there is no funding right now for this. However, he believes if we do other improvements on State roads in our area (which all of these are) we do have a reasonable argument to ask them to do this for no or minimal contribution. Mayor Coody said none of this would be possible without the Federal earmark, without the teamwork involved. He said Senators Lincoln and Pryor, Congressman Boozman, Van Scoyoc, the staff here, the University, the taxpayers, and others have all pulled together to get us where we are. Gary Dumas said if the Committee thinks the final four options are the appropriate options to look at (continuous flow intersection, single point intersection, overpass at Steele and North Hills, the College/Fulbright issues and the western improvements), Carter Burgess can, with the modeling process they have, go back and figure out what is the biggest bang we can get for our available resources. He did mention that a large part of the west side improvements are in Johnson. It would be up to this Committee, and ultimately the Council, whether we want to make improvements in Johnson. Some of the improvements are extraordinarily expensive. But this area is the next mall area and something we have to look at very seriously. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 6 of 12 In response to a question from Alderman Jordan, Gary Dumas said if the Committee likes these four projects then Carter Burgess will go back and break them down. For example, the left turn off College onto Fulbright, which is an incremental piece of one project, might be affordable within the resources we have. Perhaps the continuation of Van Asche from Gregg Ave. to 112 might be something that is affordable. They will balance these projects out with the cost benefit and how much traffic can be moved from one area for the most benefit. Alderwoman Thiel said she believes Carter Burgess is moving the right direction. Alderwoman Allen agreed with Alderwoman Thiel. Alderman Ferrell also agreed. He wants to see more metrics but also wants to get more feedback from the citizens. He doesn't want to go beyond the point of no return. He said it was a great presentation. Alderman Jordan said he wanted to thank Mayor Coody and the staff for the work that has been done in bringing in this money. Alderman Jordan opened the floor to public comment. Brian Teague said he noticed a couple of roundabouts were drawn up and wondered if Carter Burgess deems these to be unfeasible. James Arbuckle said if there is a sufficient amount of traffic, you have to look at how effective a roundabout is. Roundabouts are a traffic calming measure and help provide smoother flow in some situations but he thinks they are efficient for only a limited amount of traffic. He said some of the alternatives they have looked at have roundabouts in them and they will look at those and how they operate. In response to a question from Mike Johnson, James Arbuckle said that the Arkansas Highway Dept. has long range plans. One of the alternatives shown to the Committee tonight was something the highway department has been considering in one particular interchange. The issue is what we might spend today to accelerate something that the highway department may not have in their plans for 10 years. He said it comes back to discussions the City has with the highway department regarding matching agreements and priorities. He believes the City can "piggy back" on plans the highway department has and cost share. Gary Dumas said on Mayor Coody's most recent trip to Washington D.C. to discuss this with our delegation, we took this package to them, asking for Federal contribution to go along with developer contributions. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 7 of 12 David Nelms asked if there is a way the proposed continuous flow intersection addresses the access to I540. James Arbuckle said that intersection plan does not address access to I540. Kip Guthrie said the highway department and the firm which is doing the study for them have looked at the necessity for the U-turn movements. That is still being investigated. In response to a further question from David Nelms, James Arbuckle said at this time it is correct that the continuous flow intersection does not address access to I540 without taking the other projects into consideration. The continuous flow intersection focuses on efficiently moving traffic through that intersection. There being no further public comment, Alderman Jordan brought the discussion back to the Street Committee. The Committee agreed that staff should continue with the four projects discussed. 3. Continued discussion of the Zion Road conceptual drawing as presented at the February 5, 2007 Street Committee Meeting. Ron Petrie said this item was tabled at the last Street Committee meeting. Staff was not asking for any specific approvals. The question regards the width of the street. He said Alderman Ferrell wanted to discuss the issue in a little more detail before moving forward. Chris Brown said the approved cross section that went to the voters was a 44 ft. wide street with 6 ft sidewalks on each side. The cost for that is estimated at about $2.5 million. A second option, narrowing the road to 38 ft. with a trail on the north side was also presented. The difference is cost between the two options is about $150,000. Alderwoman Thiel said most bike riders would prefer to stay on the street. They don't want to use the trail because it is more dangerous. That was the advantage of the wider street and she said she favors that concept. Alderman Ferrell said he had spoken with Alderman Rhoads and both prefer the wider section. Alderman Thiel moved that staff pursue the 44 ft. wide street plan with a ]Oft. trail. Alderman Ferrell seconded the motion. In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, Ron Petrie said the money for the trail would come out of this project. He said we are under budget for the project and the question is whether to build a sidewalk or a trail. We are talking about four feet of additional concrete. Right now we have that money coming out of the project funds. He said the bulk of the projects have 6 ft. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 8 of 12 sidewalks. It is only because of the specifics of this project that the money for the trail will come out of the project funds Alderman Ferrell asked if the money for the trail will come out of the street fund on all of the projects where the trail is going to be built with the street Ron Petrie said that will be the Council's decision and the decision will have to be made on a case-by-case basis. He said he only knows of one other instance where that scenario will be encountered. Gary Dumas reminded the Committee that this Committee adopted a cross section which showed 14 ft. outside lanes to accommodate bicycles and cars. That is an expensive cross section because the extra 3 ft. for the bike lane is built the same way the street is built. It will be significantly cheaper on occasion, where there is an appropriate application to move the 6 ft. bike lane to a trail. There was some further discussion about the costs involved in trails versus street sections and the cost differences in building the bike trail on the outside of the street rather than inside. Alderwoman Allen suggested tabling this discussion until more input can be given by Alderman Cook, who is a cyclist, and by the Parks Division. Mayor Coolly said the map shows the trail extending from Memorial Park all the way to the west toward the intersection. He asked Matt Mihalevich (City Trails Coordinator) if we need a trail there, if there is a future trail plan for that or if that section might go back down to a sidewalk cross section. Matt Mihalevich said he thought that was possible. The section between Vantage and the Memorial Park entrance needs the trail. Mayor Coolly suggested that once you get to Memorial Park, the trail could be reduced to a sidewalk the rest of the way. That would save some money. Alderman Ferrell said he can visualize that and agrees with his. Alderwoman Thiel withdrew her earlier motion to allow for a change to be made. Alderman Ferrell moved that staff pursue the 44 ft. wide street plan with a ]Oft. trail between Vantage and Memorial Park with the trail being reduced to a 6 ft. sidewalk before Vantage and after the entrance to Memorial Park. Alderwoman Thiel seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public discussion. There was none. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes February 12, 2007 Page 9 of 12 4. Continued discussion of the conceptual drawings for the Rupple Road widening between Wedington Drive and Persimmon Street as presented at the February 5, 2007 Street Committee Meeting. Mayor Coody read a paragraph from a letter from Westside Village (John Nock's group). It read "pursuant to recent requests by members of the mayor's staff and specifically Alderman Jordan regarding extending the timeline for the developer's road impact fee, we as a development team have elected to extend the current amount stated on the letter of credit to September 2009. This extension shall be granted upon the agreement that the City will widen the specified section of Rupple as a four lane and build within the 2009 timeline". Mayor Coody thanked Mr. Nock and Alderman Jordan for this extension. Alderman Jordan said everyone - John's staff, city administration - worked to get this done and he thanked everyone who worked on it. He said he has talked to Alderwoman Lucas about this and they both believe we should build the road right, with a boulevard. A boulevard is safe for the children and he would recommend we go ahead with that. He thanked John Nock for extending the time to 2009 so the $150,000 in available for this project. Alderwoman Allen agreed we should do it right the first time. Alderman Ferrell asked if the actual amount is $150,000. Ron Petrie said the existing letter of credit is for $114,256. From Westside Village, $93,540 will be due as the phases build out. Gary Dumas said that according to the current contract being extended by Mr. Nock, the letter of credit increases every year based on a CPI. In response to a question from Mayor Coody, Ron Petrie said with the 9 ft. wide section in the middle you will have a limited area that could be utilized as a turn lane. You will lose the island when you do that. On the conceptual drawing, this turning lane is only allowed at some of the main entrances. At other entrances there will be no stacking distance built in, though some will have a very limited turn lane for perhaps one or two cars. Alderman Ferrell said as long as the money is available, he agrees with the boulevard concept. Alderwoman Allen moved that the Rupple Road concept plan with a boulevard be approved. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ferrell. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Febmary 12, 2007 Page 10 of 12 A member of the audience said his business is in the strip mall in Wedington Plaza. When he put his business in there, Rupple Road was still in the conceptual stage. He talked about the lack of width of the road. He said if the streets aren't done correctly now, there will be a need for another fire station to the west in 15 years because the trucks won't be able to make the 5 minute response time. He is happy to see the Committee make this decision. There being no further public comment, Alderman Jordan brought the discussion back to the Committee. With a motion and second on the floor, Alderman Jordan asked for a vote of the Committee. The motion passed unanimously. In response to a question from Alderwoman Thiel, Alderman Jordan said we have envisioned Rupple Road as a boulevard going both north and south. We are supposed to get some help from developments on the south side but on the north side we have to wait. Ron Petrie said the northern connection is not in this bond program, although the southern connection is. When we get the full cost for Mt. Comfort then we will need to make a final decision on whether we want to build the portion of Rupple south of Mt. Comfort. We won't have the funds to do that in this bond issue, but we will evaluate it. Mr. Petrie asked the Committee for direction on whether they want engineering to begin on this project immediately. He said if we want to begin engineering right now, we'll have to hire an engineer to do it. He said we would like to do the project in house, as we did the first half, but we don't have the manpower to do it right now. It will be probably six months before staff could begin the project. Doing the project in-house could save from $75,000 to $100,000. In response to a question from Alderman Jordan, Ron Petrie said usually about 15% of the construction is factored in for hiring an engineer. These dollars have that 15% factored in. He said it is his opinion that it is critical that this project be done prior to doing the southern connection to Hwy. 62, which is several years down the road. Alderman Jordan asked if are going to be able to get everything done by September 2009 if we wait 6 months to start. Gary Dumas said he believes the modified agreement will be to have the project started by 2009. John Nock said delaying the project for too long will keep the entire area under construction for much longer and won't help to stabilize the area. They would like to keep some time pressure in the agreement. He said they are not asking that the project be done in 2009 but that it be moving forward. Alderman Jordan said he would recommend we move forward as quickly as possible. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Febmary 12, 2007 Page 11 of 12 In response to a question from Alderman Ferrell, Ron Petrie said it would take 6 months to begin the design for the project if it is done in-house. The design itself would probably take 6 months and construction would also probably take 6 months. In response to a question from Alderwoman Thiel, Ron Petrie said if we hire an outside engineer, we would probably be gaining about four months, after you factor in the RFP process. The Committee agreed that it would be best to do the project in house. 5. Presentation and discussion of a street cost share with the Seven Hills Homeless Center to upgrade approximately 630 feet of a 20' wide driveway to the 24' wide public street (This item was tabled at the January 11 and February 5, 2007 Street Committee meetings). Ron Petrie said this matter has been discussed on several levels. He said the City owns 19 acres off Huntsville Rd., just to the west of 15th St. He said the Seven Hills construction has been ongoing for some time. At the time the development came through, the plans included a private driveway going to their facility. Since then the Council has approved the sale of 8 acres to Habitat for Humanity and we are looking at improving the driveway into a public street. He said staff has been working with Seven Hills for quite some time to get the cost to a reasonable number. He said he would like to correct the agenda item itself. it reads a 24' street but they are actually looking at a 22' street. The change is due to some proposals which have been reviewed. Habitat for Humanity is planning a low impact development. The street will not have curb and gutters but will have bioswales and some other unique things that we will be looking at as a pilot project. He said they are proposing to use money ($150,000) left over from the Kings Road project. Mayor Coody proposed another option for funding. He said the old Sang Senior Center building was purchased with CDBG funds and is no longer being used. If the building is sold, the funds can only be used for CDBG purposes. The building just appraised for $268,000. Ron Petrie said the only issue with that is the timing. It would have to be a reimbursed expense. Alderwoman Thiel asked for and received assurance from Yolanda Fields (Community Resources Director) that this would be acceptable to the Federal folks. She further asked if this street would be too narrow for a cross street. Ron Petrie said it is something to consider. He said the concept staff has seen also shows access to Morningside in a couple of different locations. There are plans on that project to make those connections. So at this point, we are looking at four or five different ways to get in and out of this area. In response to a question from Alderwoman Thiel, Mayor Coolly said that the two II' lanes planned here are the same width as the lanes on Gregg Ave. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes Febmary 12, 2007 Page 12 of 12 Alderman Ferrell asked how long we have been out of the Sang Center. Gary Dumas said he believes it has been six months, maybe a little longer. Alderman Ferrell said he thinks it would be a good idea to get this area off on the right foot and it will look nice. This street will enhance the project. Alderman Ferrell moved that this upgrade from 20' wide private drive to 22' wide public street be approved. Alderwoman Thiel seconded the motion. Ron Petrie said this item will go to the City Council probably in March. At that time staff should have a better idea of the funding options. Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment. There being none, he brought the discussion back to the Committee. With a motion and second on the floor, Alderman Jordan asked for a vote of the Committee. The motion passed unanimously. 6. Scheduling of the next Street Committee Meeting The next Street Committee meeting was scheduled for Monday, March 12, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org