HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-06-18 MinutesCity Council Street Committee Minutes
June 18, 2007
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Member Aldermen
Mayor Dan Coody Ward 1 Position l — Brenda Thiel
V10
Ward 2 Position 2 — Nancy Allen
CityAttorney Kit Williams � 1 Ward 3 Position 2—Robert Ferrell
Ward 4 Position 2 - Lioneld Jordan
City Clerk Sondra Smith ARKANSAS
City of Fayetteville Arkansas
City Council Street Committee
Meeting Minutes
June 18, 2007
A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on June 18, 2007 at 4:30
p.m. in Room 219 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
Other Council Members Present: Alderman Kyle Cook; Alderwoman Lucas
Staff Present: Ron Petrie, Chris Brown, Tim Conklin, Gary Dumas, Paul Becker, Dan
Coolly
1. Call to Order
Chairman Lioneld Jordan called the meeting to order. Because of the size of the crowd
gathered for the meeting, the decision was made to move the meeting to Room 219.
2. Approval of the minutes of the May 31, 2007 Street Committee meeting
Alderman Ferrell moved that the minutes to the Street Committee meeting held on May 31,
2007 be approved as submitted Alderwoman Allen seconded the motion and it passed
unanimously.
3. Discussion of the Widening of Arkansas Highway 16 (Wedington Drive) between
Meadowlands Drive and Double Springs Road
Alderman Jordan discussed the facts regarding this issue. He said about three years ago the
State met with the constituency in the area of Wedington Drive. At that point he understands the
State plan was to build a five -lane road with a continuous turning lane. Now that the design has
been changed, it is to be a four -lane road with no continuous turn lane but with turning lanes at
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certain intersections. He said he has received quite a bit of opposition to this plan. He said he
has talked with the Mayor and they have a proposal to present to the Street Committee. After
Street Committee discussion, the floor will be opened to public comment. He asked that speakers
be courteous. He said he understands that emotions may be a little on edge right now but we are
here to try to work this out and if we work together, we can do that. He asked that speakers be
brief and concise when they come to the microphone. He said the first proposal he wanted to
throw out to the Street Committee is to reinstall the five lanes that were promised to the residents
in that area. That will cause the bike lanes to go away according to Joe Shipman of the Arkansas
State Highway and Transportation Department. He said when all is said and done, it will be the
State who will make the final decision but the City can make a recommendation. To address the
situation with the bike lanes, he suggested that instead of a six-foot wide sidewalk we could go in
with a ten -foot multi -use trail on both the south side and the north side of the road. This would
hook up with the trails system coming from the south and from the north. Pedestrians can walk
on it and bicyclists can also use the trail. He said this might not suit everyone in the room but it is
something that is workable.
Mayor Coody said back in November 2004 some staff came to him to discuss some of the
streets in town with which we had been having problems, particularly those with continuous turn
lanes. As an example, on Hwy. 265 south of Hwy. 45 has a continuous turn lane and we had
received a lot of complaints from area residents about the expanse of concrete and people
merging and all trying to turn at the same time. The staff discussed the City policy of not having
continuous turn lanes, yet having bike lanes on our streets. Staff suggested that we ask the State
for some kind of change to this project to make long, generous turn lanes at all the major
intersections. This would give us room for bike lanes and everyone gets the chance to turn out of
traffic in a safe turn lane. The State made those changes. He said though the Highway Dept. was
working on these changes, he said he and the Street Committee learned that they were actually
being made at about the same time the residents did. He said he asked Frank Vozel at AHTD
why they didn't do a second public meeting after the change in design was made and was told
that since there wasn't a change in the right-of-way, they didn't feel a need to do another public
hearing. Because of a change in the city engineer's position between the time of the request and
the present, word did not get from staff to administration and the Council that the change had
been made. He said he knows that since the word has gotten out that the changes were taking
place, there has been a lot of opposition about the bike lanes and not having a continuous turn
lane. He said neither plan is a perfect plan — either the continuous turn lane or the four lanes with
turn lanes at all the intersections. The safest street you can have, according to all the statistics he
has seen, is some kind of divided median design that prevents traffic from taking a left at every
opportunity. Since that is not an option, any other plan we do will not be as safe. Another
consideration back in 2004 was that the development on Wedington Drive wasn't going to be
strictly commercial and the access management was going to be much more controlled than at a
lot of places, such as College Avenue where you have more curb cuts than you have curb. Tim
Conklin with our Planning Division has assured us that the development out there isn't going to
produce a tremendous need to make left turns and have the resulting conflicts. However, he said
that if everyone decides that they would rather have the continuous turn lane and not turn lanes at
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intersections, administration will do what it can to accommodate that. He said he is sorry about
all the angst that has been going on about this. He said many folks have been stirred up and it is
unfortunate because he believes this issue can be solved without a lot of emotional output. He
agrees with Alderman Jordan that we can all be polite and work together to accomplish our
goals. He said he appreciates the Street Committee and everyone present getting together to
make something work for the benefit of the entire community. He said he is here to take any
"beating" anyone wants to give him for the letter send to AHTD in 2004 and will listen to any
complaints anyone has.
Alderman Jordan asked for comments from the Street Committee.
Alderman Ferrell said this is not the first time we seemed to have some informational lapses.
For clarification, he asked what the process is or should be. Since these are State highways he
knows they are done differently than City streets but he asked if the Street Committee would be
advised of plans or changes when the State says it looks like they will be moving forward on a
project.
Alderman Jordan said after tonight he thinks the Committee will be advised more regularly.
Mayor Coody said that the changes were made by the State and they sent the changes to the
staff after they were designed. He doesn't know what the exact time lag was between the City's
request and the actually changes and when all the design work got done. But then we had a
transition from a previous city engineer to a new city engineer and those communications got
lost in the jumble. This should have come to the Street Committee for review but did not. He said
anytime we have communications with the State now, everybody is copied on the
correspondence. He said all the regular Street Committee meetings since then have been very
informative and the staff has been doing a very good job on keeping everybody informed.
Alderwoman Thiel said she would like to hear from the public before she makes any decision.
She said obviously one plan has been started and that seems to be where the friction is. She said
it is possible we have some real misinformation about what the citizens do want, what type of
roads they want. Maybe this is something we need to look at again. If people absolutely don't
want bike lanes, want continuous turn lanes throughout town, she thinks we need to address that
in our whole 2025 Plan and look at everything a lot differently than we are now if that's where
we're headed.
Alderwoman Allen said Alderman Jordan's proposal seems to make a good deal of sense in
terms of a compromise as to where we are at this point. But before making a decision, she agrees
with Alderwoman Thiel that she would like to hear the comments from the citizens and see the
full picture. This may not be something that can be decided tonight. We might have to go back
and look at some things again.
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Alder -woman Lucas said she wants to make sure that everyone understands that we have moved
along with this street and we are limited with what has already been built. We can't make a lot of
changes in it. There is not much change that can be made in the width. But Alderman Jordan's
proposal seems reasonable to her.
Alderman Cook said he just wants to hear what the people have to say.
Mayor Coolly said there are basically three options. He said administration has been talking
with the State and they appreciate Joe Shipman's help on all this. The three options are: 1) do
nothing and leave the design as it is with turn lanes at all intersections, a traffic signal at Double
Springs Rd. and other traffic signals coming on-line as the traffic warrants; 2) scrapping the bike
lanes and taking those widths and putting them together in the middle of the road for a
continuous turn lane. That would create four through -travel lanes and one continuous turn lane
with a six-foot concrete sidewalk; 3) five lane, continuous turn lane but instead of a six-foot
concrete sidewalk, having a ten -foot asphalt sidewalk (which would be more or less the same
price as the six-foot concrete sidewalk) allowing for more bicycle and pedestrian activity. He
said as gas continues to skyrocket, we're going to see more and more people using bicycles all
around town. In response to a question from the audience, Mayor Coody said option #1 includes
a 4 -ft. bike lane on either side and four 11 ft. travel lanes, with turn lanes at all the intersections.
He asked Ron Petrie to confirm how many turn lanes are planned.
Ron Petrie said there are five individual intersections and a length of continuous turn lane
proposed to the west of Meadowlands.
Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment.
Bob Hamilton said he lives on North 54th Ave. and has lived there about fifteen years. He has
seen the growth of the subdivisions and number of houses out there. The traffic is tremendous at
this point in time. From 6:45 a.m. until almost 8:30 it is a race track, with the same thing in the
evenings. To try to turn across the traffic even now is very dangerous. To try to cross against two
lanes of traffic and nothing to turn into is asking for more accidents. He said he would prefer to
have a continuous turn lane out to Double Springs but he also feels that the bicyclists and
pedestrians have rights also. He thinks the proposal to have either the six- or ten -foot
sidewalk/trail is an excellent compromise. With all respect to the police, in fifteen years he had
never seen a ticket given on Wedington until the construction started. The speed of the cars that
go by there is unbelievable. He said he believes we need the turn lane.
Stan Johnson said he is a life-long resident of Fayetteville and a bike rider. He said he is in
favor of the compromise offered by Mr. Jordan. It's bound to make it a better place to live.
Carolyn Kent said she lives on West Hwy. 16. She said it wouldn't matter to her if the Highway
Dept. told her that the four lanes is safer. She said only the people who drive the highway every
day, morning and night could possibly know how dangerous it is. She said it is a very dangerous
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highway. She said she is in favor of Alderman Jordan's proposal. She said she will never be in
favor of a four lane highway
Mayor Coody said he wanted to be perfectly clear. What has been planned to be built is the four
lane with the turn lanes at the five or six intersections. But if the Street Committee decides to go
ask the State to add all those turn lanes up, take out the bike lanes and make a continuous turn
lane, he believes the State will work with the City to get that done.
Carolyn Kent said it is her understanding that in the beginning it was to be a five lane. She
asked why it was changed.
Mayor Coody again explained about the basic City policies (regarding street cross sections)
that the staff came to him with and with which he concurred. Staff suggested that instead of
having a continuous turn lane and replicating some of the problems we've had with other
continuous turn lanes in town, to make good, serious turn lanes at all the intersections and have
bike lanes that would promote the alternative transportation plan that the City has put in place
and which the City Council supports. The State obviously concurred also. He said he doesn't
believe the State would design a highway system they thought was dangerous. As a matter of
fact, the design (four lanes with turn lanes) is exactly what we are doing on some other streets
being built right now. However those streets don't have the traffic count that Wedington has.
Though staff and the State concurred with the alternative design of four lanes with turn lanes,
there has been so much outcry, the city wanted to revisit the issue. He believes the State will
work with us to change it back to a five lane, working within the existing curb -and -gutter and
storm sewer systems they have already started to put in place.
Don West said he lives on N. Dartmouth on the west side of Fayetteville, just off of Hwy. 16.
He said he does support the four lanes with the bike lanes on the side but he is willing to go with
option #3 with the five lanes and a separate bike trail. He said he prefers the four lanes because
of the danger for bikers when the conditions are like they are on College. Another benefit of
having the bike trails in the area is that they will encourage people to use alternative forms of
transportation. He uses bikes daily, either training or as transportation throughout town. He
would like Fayetteville to continue to support having trails throughout town. There are many
health benefits involved with having bike trails, making people more active.
Jerry Bailey said he lives on S. Mashburn. He thinks it is a disgrace that we are even debating
bike lanes. With childhood obesity, heart disease, global climate change, a failed energy policy, a
debate on bike lanes shouldn't even come up. He said one of the therapies that some of the
soldiers with injuries returning from Iraq are involved in is sports, especially cycling, because
it's one of the few sports where they can get out on the road and get some adrenaline going and
get the wind in their hair. He hopes the option for the bike lanes to be on the sidewalks doesn't
mean that the cyclists are going to have to stop at every intersection, because that wind in your
hair isn't going to exist if you have to stop at every block for crossing traffic. Bikers belong on
the road just like the vehicles.
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Laura Kelly said she lives on S. Washington. She said she has experienced the frustration and
impatience of trying to make a left turn across two lanes of oncoming traffic. There's no
guarantee a break will ever come and you start to gamble with shorter and shorter gaps between
oncoming traffic. She is confused about why it would feel safer to be sitting in a continuous turn
lane waiting to cross that traffic than sitting in a protected turn lane where the light is going to
give you a free left turn, though maybe not at your driveway. She said there may be some
residents who are highly inconvenienced and their voices matter. But when we all came together
to speak at the master planning sessions, and we all took part as citizen members of sidewalk and
trails committees and Planning Commission members, we formed the kind of policies that create
a beautiful and livable city, such as no continuous turn lanes and including multi modal transport
in all future road enhancements. The Federal highway department no longer promotes parallel
side paths because the number of curb cuts and the instances of cross traffic make them one of
the most dangerous places for a cyclist. The Federal highway department strongly promotes five
feet minimum bike lanes within the curb -to -curb right-of-way. She said she has ridden her bike
on Crossover many times. She attends meetings in Springdale and will be there whether there are
bike lanes or not. She is taking up one twentieth of the space of a car and though she may create
an inconvenience to motorists at times (for which she apologized) she said she is also a slow car
driver. She said her 16 -year-old son now drives and she is very grateful for protected left turn
lanes and is very nervous about continuous turn lanes. She said she has worked hard with the
City to help develop the Fayetteville Alternative Transportation and Trails Plan to help allow for
sustainable transportation to have a place in our future as gas prices continue to rise. She would
like to see that plan and the proposed cross sections respected as the citizens of Fayetteville have
worked hard to create it.
Janice Jackson said she lives on Hwy. 16 West. She has lived in Fayetteville since 1964 and has
lived on Hwy 16 since 1981 and there have been a lot of changes. She said she definitely
supports the turning lane and it is very important to her that it is supported. She was surprised to
read that there would be no continuous turn lane. She said she and neighbors should not have to
read the paper to know what goes on in Fayetteville. She doesn't think we need six feet of
sidewalk or seven feet of green space on each side. She said there are very few bicycles on Hwy
16. There are three red dirt pits out there with dump trucks going back and forth as fast as they
can to get their loads. She wondered about the percentage of citizens who ride bicycles. She said
there are trails all over Fayetteville. She said there are many more streets that need to be taken
care of and we need to think of the safety of citizens.
Dave Sowder said he is a member of the citizens group that circulated the petitions to get this
change made. He spoke about an accident he had been involved in on this street. He said it is not
the intent of those signing the petitions to attack anyone at City Hall. They feel that overall City
government is doing a good job. But on Sept. 2004 during a three hour meeting they were
guaranteed that this was the highway they were going to get. This is not a debate of bicycles
versus vehicles, it is all about safety. He said everyone who rides a bicycle should have a
concern about the safety of bicycle lanes. He said when those lanes are out there on the aprons of
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the highway with all the dump trucks that are out there with their extended mirrors, the bicyclists
don't have much room. He said he had contacted Jonathan Barnett with the State Highway
Commission about this and received a call back from Mr. Barnett after Mr. Barnett had spoken
with Mayor Coody. He said it sounded like they had a good, constructive conversation and as a
result we are headed toward resolving this. Mr. Barnett called Mr. Sowder back on June 1 and
asked if his group would follow the process, come down to City Hall and meet with the Street
Committee to explain their position and try to get a recommendation from the Street Committee
and the City Council and if everyone agrees on the solution, to have Mayor Coody write a letter
to the Highway Dept. He said if we could find a way to take a short cut in that process, the
group would welcome that. He also added that the Federal manuals used to design highways
state that continuous turn lanes can improve traffic flow by 40% to 60%. The safety of those turn
lanes usually decrease the number of accidents by 70%. He also said that in 2004, the Federal
Motor Carriers conducted a study of 4000 fatality accidents involving heavy trucks. They wanted
to know on what area of the roadway those accidents occurred. He said 60% to 70% of the
accidents were on the roadway itself or the apron of the road. However, none of the accidents
occurred in the center. continuous turn lanes.
Ron Wright, Superintendent of Schools at Farmington said the majority of the road -widening
project being discussed is within the Farmington School District, even though it is in Fayetteville
city limits. He said Farmington has four buses that travel between Double Springs and where the
Farmington boundary meets the Fayetteville boundary, just east of 51" St. He said they have
buses that have to make left hand turns in areas that are not at the major intersections.
Farmington is concerned about the traffic flow there and the safety of the students who drive and
the parents who drive their children back and forth to school via Hwy. 16. He said he agrees with
Alderman Jordan's opening comments. He believes we can come to a good compromise. He is
all for bikes and he believes we can come to a compromise to satisfy the bike riders. But he
believes safety comes first. On a secondary note, about half of the City of Farmington has five
lanes with a turn lane and the other half has four lanes. There is currently a widening project
occurring because having the middle lane for turning is such a superior system. There are many
fewer accidents in the area with the turn lane than in the area without. His concern is for the
safety of the students and all the patrons who live in that area and he will support one of the
options that provide a continuous turn lane.
Joshua Thompson said he lives on South School. He said he and his friends started a bicycle
recycler because they believe that cycling is a solution to climate change. He said he rides every
day, whether it is 100 degrees or 4 degrees. In regards to safety he said what he has heard
everyone speaking about is that one really fast car, the car that hits all the other cars. At any
speed that car is dangerous. For a cyclist, at any speed that car is lethal. On a bike trail the cyclist
might be safe when he is going with traffic, but if he has to cross that street (and here he would
have to cross five lanes of fast moving traffic) that increases the risk the cyclist takes. He would
feel much safer in a bike lane. He is part of the traffic and belongs there. One of the problems
they have is that cars don't respect the cyclist's right on the road. When we speak of safety,
we're talking about speeding traffic. Maybe we should just slow the traffic down on that
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highway and the accidents that occur would be much less damaging for those involved and less
lethal for the few cyclists on the road. He said we're not really talking about how many cyclists
are on the road. If there is one bike on the road and one car hits him, that rider is probably going
to die.
Luke Faupel said he lives on North Jackson Drive. He said he would like wide bike lanes.
Karen McSpadden said she lives on North Jackson Drive as well. She said she is really
supportive of bike lanes in our community and our alternative transportation plan. She thinks
when you look at the cities that have received livability awards year after year, alternative
transportation planning is huge and the livability of the City depends on that. She would
appreciate the Committee keeping the long view in mind.
Bradford Bowen is a resident a Fayetteville and a daily bicycle rider. He has been car -free since
2004. He said that taking your life into your hands every day when you go to work kind of
makes you think about the greater picture. He said when he was recently riding on Hwy 16 he
was getting edged by the really fast dump trucks that keep going by with their loads of dirt. Once
again, it is a speed issue. Traffic is traveling extremely fast on that road, going faster than they
need to be going. In regards to the bike lanes being there, there are bicyclists on the road and it is
a matter of making people aware of what the bicycle laws are: that the bicyclists have the same
rights on the road. The Arkansas Legislature passed a new law this past session that allows for
three feet when passing a bicyclist. There is a $100 fine attached to this. If you cause an accident
with a cyclist it is a $1000 fine. He said he would like to see as many bike lanes in town as
possible. He would like to see our alternative trail system mature and grow. As of right now we
have a lot of small parts that don't connect yet. He knows the City is working hard on that. He
likes the work he sees on Hwy. 112 by Agri Park which makes a good north/south corridor. Hwy
16 would be a good east/west corridor to have as well with some connectivity. He is looking
forward to seeing that sooner rather than later.
Patty Mitchell lives on N. Willow. She said she has more questions than answers right now. She
wondered what would be in the middle of the street as it is planned now — concrete meridians or
possibly a boulevard?
Mayor Coody said the plan right now is four lanes, two going each way, with turn lanes at the
major intersections. There is no divided median anywhere. He said fifth tum lanes are most
handy and useful where you have a lot of curb cuts and a lot of left turning action across traffic.
But where you have few curb cuts and very little left turning action, a fifth lane can be more
dangerous than it is worth. There is that balance, for example on College Avenue, where
everybody wants to take a left every ten feet. A fifth lane is required in a situation like that. But
in undeveloped areas (it is debatable how developed Wedington is and will be in the future with
the access management plan) there's less left turning action. Right now there is no median
planned for separating those four lanes. In response to a further question from Ms. Mitchell, he
confirmed that you would be able to turn left anywhere along the road.
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Ron Petrie suggested that, for those who have come in late, it might be good to make sure they
know we're still talking about Wedington.
Alderman Jordan said the Hwy 265 discussion will be after the Wedington Drive public
hearing. He asked if anyone needed to hear the proposal for Wedington again and received an
affirmative. He again explained the proposal of a continuous turn lane down Wedington,
removing the bike lanes from the street and changing the six-foot sidewalk to a ten -foot multiuse
trail on each side, connecting with the current trails from the south and from the north.
Sue Madison commented on continuous turn lanes wherever they are. She said she has heard
them referred to as suicide lanes. In fact, the Arkansas Highway Dept. is using Federal funds
from the Aid & Safety fund and they can only use that fund when it enhances the safety of the
highway. Therefore, the Highway Dept. builds the continuous turn lanes to improve the safety of
the road or they would not be able to use the money they are currently using.
Valerie Bandera lives on Fieldstone. She said commercial development is occurring on
Wedington and she anticipates that it will continue on down Wedington. The current proposal is
not anticipating large scale commercial developments or large scale residential developments
which will need left turn lanes. That is why she really supports the five lanes and she particularly
likes Alderman Jordan's proposal.
Virginia Martin said she is one of the people who participated in getting the petitions and said
she would like to read a portion of the petition for those who are not aware of what it says. She
read, "We do wish to change Hwy. 16 back to the continuous turning lane. As user of the State
highway we feel if our tax monies are used to create a highway built at Mayor Coody's request it
will result in property damage, serious injuries and death." She also read, "More and more
continuous turning lanes are being built all over Arkansas and the United States to avoid rear end
collisions. Arkansas puts turning lanes all over this state paid for with monies which are using
Federal funds." She said to get signatures on these petitions, people went door to door. The
petitions were also placed in businesses along Hwy. 16 and other places. From all accounts,
almost 98% of the people who were contacted signed the petition. We have already surpassed the
estimated amount of travel on Hwy. 16 for 2025. So it is very important that we consider this.
She is in favor of option three. She presented copies of the petitions showing 1935 signatures and
she said that more were coming.
Annie Littell lives on E. Johnson Street. She said she is not opposed to the safety of people in
cars as well as on bicycles. She thinks the needs should to be balanced. She said there seems to
be a lot of research on which way to go, with or without the turning lane. She is concerned about
the bike lanes being changed to something that is more like the sidewalk, although it sounds like
it is plenty wide enough in the new proposal. But if you try to ride on a sidewalk, you are in very
grave danger because cars are not looking for vehicles on sidewalks. They are only looking for
vehicles in streets. So you run a serious risk of getting hit by a car as there are more driveways
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and curb cuts. She said she hates to see the bike lane changed to something more like a sidewalk,
although it is being called a trail. Just because there aren't many bicycles there now is no reason
not to make sure that they can be there and that they are safe. She is a bicycle rider and she
would like to be able to ride to Lake Wedington someday on a safe trail. She thinks if we make a
safe place to ride bikes we'll see more and more people doing it. However many lanes we have,
she would like for us to somehow make it as safe for bicycles as we possibly can.
Craig Mitchell said he is a Fayetteville resident. He handed out a letter from a friend to the
Committee. The friend lived in Farmington when they were talking about doing a five lane there
with a continuous left turn lane. He did some research and found information comparing a
median to a continuous left turn lane. The information he found said that there are about 30%
more accidents with a continuous left turn lane. There were also 78% more pedestrian fatalities
with a continuous left turn lane. He said he agrees that if you have four lanes and you can turn
anywhere and there is no middle lane, it sounds very dangerous to him. But that is what a median
is all about. He said he really doesn't understand the design of four lanes with no median and no
double yellow line. It sounds like an unsafe design and he thinks there is a better way to do it. He
suggested doing away with the bike lanes and taking the extra space to make a median. It is by
far the safest design according to his research. Some people will have to make U-turns to get to
where they are going but it works within the curb width we currently have. Unfortunately it does
mean a side path for the bicycles, which is not the cyclists' preferences, but he thinks it would be
a good compromise.
Matt McIntosh said he lives on N. Rockcliff. He asked for clarification about the compromise
plan. He asked if the cyclists will lose right-of-way at every cross street.
Alderman Jordan said he would say that would be correct.
Alderman Cook said that bicycles have legal access to the road. So whether there is a four -foot
wide area for them to get off out of the main flow of traffic or not, the bicyclist still has the same
access. So saying that we are going to have a ten -foot sidewalk on the side of the road doesn't
say the bicycle has to be on the side of the road.
Joyce Hale said she lives near Wilson Park but owns property out on 51st Street so she does
frequently travel the area being discussed. She can't bring out any new point that hasn't been
thoroughly discussed except that she is concerned about loosing the incentive for creating
auxiliary streets. If we have continuous turn on any stretch down the highway, it doesn't do a lot
in promoting depth of commercial development. She thinks if we would have designated turn
areas less frequently, we would see through the demand of additional commercial development
an opportunity to provide it in a greater depth. In City design we are really trying to create more
compactness and the opportunity for greater density. Not only does that have great affect in
utilities, but instead of having long streams of traffic trying to turn on to one corridor, you would
be able to have that corridor remain more as the thoroughfare and put most of your waiting
traffic off on auxiliary streets. She would like to see that this opportunity is still continued.
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Doug Frueger lives on Bel -Air. He said he is new to cycling and not only has a bicycle but a
tricycle. He said it is a beautiful machine but he needs a little extra room compared to other
cyclists. Safety has been one of the more important things on his mind whenever he takes it out
on the road. He can only speak for himself and not for all cyclists but he prefers something
separate from the road, a dedicated bicycle lane that's off to the side of the road where he is not
going to be mixing into traffic continually.
Dot Neely is a resident of Ward 1 on Mission. She said she is here to speak on behalf of herself
as a private citizen and also on behalf of the Sierra Club. She echoed the comments of Luke
Faupel and Karen McSpadden in that in the long run cyclists have a right to the roadways and the
bike lanes marginal to the traffic lanes are the best option to pursue. She said she has observed
that five lanes with the center continuous tum lane seem to become raceways. She spoke about
an accident in which a family member was involved in the center turn lane on College Ave. She
said as the City is growing and the volume of traffic increases, these decisions have to be
weighed carefully. She understands that around a certain threshold of population density, the
center turning lanes are the optimal choice but above a certain level of population density they
become increasingly more often suicide lanes. She said she supports bike lanes marginal to the
lanes of traffic.
Matt Mihalevich, Trails Coordinator for the City of Fayetteville, said he wanted to let the
Committee know he got twenty-six e-mail messages through the City's website in support of the
bike lanes on Hwy. 16 West and asking that their voices be heard.
Scott Mashburn said he serves on Fayetteville's Sidewalks and Trails Task Force. This task
force has adopted the Fayetteville Alternative Transportation Plan. He said the 2025 Plan
suggests that streets have bicycle lanes. He supports this and going on with what we have
planned. Since there has been a lot of debate on both sides of this issue about the safety of a
continuous turn lane as opposed to having a protected center turn lane at stoplights, he asked if
the representative from the State Highway Dept. might like to comment on this issue and educate
everyone on what is perceived to be the safest option.
Joe Shipman, District Engineer for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Dept. said
that as Sue Madison said earlier, the State spends Federal highway funds around the state to add
turn lanes for safety because they have been found to decrease the rear -end accidents.
Mayor Coody said if you don't have any reason to take a left turn, what good does the five lane
do? He said it seems that the more opportunity you have for left turns, the more important the
center lane would be. The less opportunity you have, then the less the importance of a center turn
lane because there is no reason to turn.
Joe Shipman said that is true. He said the number of drives comes into play and the type of
activity in those drives when you look at turn lanes. Part of it depends on what the City may
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project to be developed along Hwy. 16. That is something the City is in a better position to know
than he is.
Mayor Coody asked Tim Conklin to speak about the City vision for the development on
Wedington Drive.
Tim Conklin said in looking at the growth in that area over the last ten or fifteen years we've
seen commercial nodes or activity areas. We are seeing significant development at Rupple Road
and Wedington with the Links which was approved recently by the City Council. There is also
development at Double Springs and at Broyles Road. We have had some very intense
development. From a land use pattern, staff has now been recommending to the Planning
Commission, and the Planning Commission has been recommending to the Council to have
commercial zoning the entire length from I540 to Double Springs Rd. concentrated in these
activity nodes. The Council has pretty much stuck with that plan.
Mayor Coody said the development nodes are going to be at the intersections and between
intersections there would be much less.
Tim Conklin said we are typically seeing lower density residential there. He said they have
amended the Master Street Plan to designate higher level roads like Broyles Road to receive the
traffic, versus the smaller residential streets.
Rob McHarris has an acre and one half next to the Catfish Hole that he just bought and got
rezoned. At first he really wanted the five lanes but after hearing discussion he would just like to
do what is best in the long run even if it takes another week or two to research and make
decisions.
Steven Black lives on Township. His family business is Westwood Gardens on Wedington
Drive. He is very much in support of either option two or three with the five lanes for all the
reasons already mentioned. He said he and the Catfish Hole have a very similar problem in that
they sometimes have an elderly clientele leaving the business and trying to make a left turn back
into Fayetteville. These drivers get dump trucks on their tail end horns going off, etc. and they
really need a turning lane right there. He doesn't have a strong preference about the six-foot
sidewalk or the ten -foot sidewalk but has a very strong preference for the five lanes.
Steve Jackson said he lives on Hwy 16 West. He prefers the five lanes with the turn lane in the
middle.
Heather Carr lives in the newly annexed area on Blue Jay. She wants the five continuous lanes.
She said tax dollars will pay for this and our taxes need to go where they are supposed to go.
Mayor Coody said earlier someone asked if there was some way we could expedite getting a
letter to the Highway Dept. Instead of going from here to a scheduled City Council meeting,
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there are six City Council people at this table so the aldermen are in a position to be able to take
a vote. He feels that if the option presented wins a majority here, the rest of the Council would
probably go along with it.
Alderman Ferrell said if all it took was a letter from the administration to change it from five
lanes to four, he sees no reason why a letter from the administration could not change it from
four lanes to five.
Mayor Coolly agreed. He said the difference is that he as mayor cannot override City policy but
the City Council can. The City policy is not to have continuous turn lanes and to build bike lanes.
If the City Council wants him to send a letter back to the State saying that we want to do the
continuous center turn lane, he will do that and a letter will be in the mail tomorrow afternoon.
Bill Nottencamper said he has lived off Hwy 16 since the mid -sixties. He said presently there
are over seventy places to turn off on this highway. He personally knows people who have been
killed on this highway. A continuous turn lane would separate the east and west bound lanes and
might separate them enough to avoid a head on collision. He supports the center turn lane.
Joe Shipman of the Highway Department said there are a couple of things that would need to be
done if the City desires for the State to proceed with looking at a five -lane section. The City
would first need to indicate their desire. Secondly, the MPO (Metropolitan Planning
Organization) has a heritage trail that is involved in this and we need to work with them to
clarify that there is not a problem from their end. The brief look that was done last week
indicates that the trail would fit. The money is a little iffy. If there is additional cost to the project
(ten -foot multiuse trail versus six-foot sidewalk) the State would probably look to the City to
help with that. Because the State is under contract, they would have to do some negotiation with
the contractors.
Jim Bemis said he is 100% for the compromise. He said he is in the slow lane at his age and one
of the things he hasn't heard tonight is the use that the older folks can make of the trails created
by this compromise. He also teaches part time and he knows that the youth will make excellent
use of the trails system.
Jennifer (last name inaudible) said she lives in Fayetteville. She asked if the side bike lane in
option 3 is built if the money would come out of the task force and parks current budget or if it
would be part of the State funding for this highway. She said we are right now averaging about
five miles of trails in other areas of the City which are used by a lot of pedestrians, cyclists,
walkers, joggers, etc. She's not sure it would be good stewardship of our money to immediately
put funding towards this project.
Alderman Jordan said from what he understands it would cost about a dollar a foot less to build
the ten -foot multiuse trail than the six-foot sidewalk. That figure has not yet been verified by the
State.
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Ron Petrie said that figure is using estimates. He said he doesn't have the actual cost that the
State has.
Alderman Jordan confirmed that if there is additional cost it would come out of City money.
We would have to discuss where the money would come from.
Mayor Coolly said the cost of a six-foot (concrete) sidewalk is about $22 to $23 a linear foot.
The cost of a ten -foot asphalt trail would be about $1 a foot less. According to the City's
estimates a ten -foot asphalt trail would cost about $18,000 less than a six-foot concrete sidewalk.
But that would be for the State to negotiate and they may come up with numbers that are very
different. We are hoping that it will basically be a wash. If it is less, the State will get the benefit.
If it is a wash, we both come out the same. If it's more, then the State will probably come to us to
ask for money to make up the difference. At that point the City Council could decide whether to
do a ten -foot asphalt trail or a six-foot concrete sidewalk, depending on what the price difference
might be.
Jennifer (last name inaudible) said with that in mind she is in favor of the designated turn
lanes.
There being no further speakers, Alderman Jordan closed the meeting to public comment and
brought the discussion back to the Committee.
Alderwoman Allen mentioned the possibility of intermittent green spaces in the road as was
suggested in a handout someone gave the aldermen. She wondered if that might be something we
could consider the cost for. She thought it might cut back on the idea of it being a suicide lane.
She said she would like to know a little more about that and how it would work.
Alderwoman Thiel said what is represented in the handout is actually a boulevard. Her
understanding is that the option of a boulevard was not given to us. That is the reason it is not
being considered now.
Alderman Jordan agreed that that is correct.
Alderwoman Allen said she was thinking further down the road. If this becomes problematic,
we could consider doing some intermittent green spaces.
Alderman Jordan said in a lot of cities he has studied, in Florida, California, Oregon and places
like that they have gone back in where they've had a continuous turn lane and have created what
they call refuge islands at strategic places in the road. These are small islands that break up the
highway a little bit but it doesn't interfere with the turn lanes. It takes about sixteen seconds to
cross four lanes of traffic. If you are a pedestrian trying to cross that road and if you have a
refuge island, you can cross and get to the center in about eight seconds and wait on the traffic
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before you cross on. We don't have any studies on that design. At this point, what we have
before us is what the State is working with. The road is laid out at a certain width and that's
already there. If we do the continuous turn lane, we can go back later and put something like this
in to make it safe for pedestrians.
Mayor Coolly said that Conway is tearing up some of their fifth lanes and putting in boulevards
so it is possible for cities to go back and retrofit.
Alderman Jordan said the reason why some of this was not presented tonight is that when he
visited with State officials they already had their design in place. We are working with a certain
width and it is what it is right now.
Alderman Ferrell said it seems to him that the residents that live along Hwy. 16 much prefer the
five lanes with a center turn lane although we had comments from people all over the City. He
said he likes the idea of coming up with a compromise situation. He believes there were almost
2000 citizens who signed the petition stating they want the five lanes. He said he salutes the
citizens who came out tonight to have their voices heard, whichever side they were on. He thinks
that both sides were heard. He said he is in favor of the five lanes but he thinks Alderman Jordan
has offered a way to do what the citizens who live in the area want and to be able to have
alternative transportation.
Alderwoman Thiel said she still refers to these fifth lanes as suicide lanes because after it
became legal to actually accelerate in those lanes as well as using them as turn lanes, there have
been a lot of people who have had head-on's. She much prefers that we continue with what we
have been looking at in the City, which is boulevards when possible and at least turn lanes
without continuous turn lanes. She hopes everyone fully understands that this would be four
lanes with six turn lanes. But she also looks at those who supported the plan several years ago
who live out there. There are lots of people who live out there who want a continuous turn lane
all the way. Also, there have been many who spoke who want to keep the bike lanes on the
street. But several of them felt that the compromise Alderman Jordan presented was a good one
because at least they would have the ability to ride on this trail on both sides, which will tie into
continuous trails on both the south and north. So she will probably support the compromise of a
continuous turn lane with ten -foot multiuse trails. If that comes back to us with a budget
adjustment somewhere, she will continue to support the ten -foot trails rather than going back to
the six-foot sidewalks.
Alderwoman Allen said she certainly thinks we need to be looking to the future. And while this
feels like it is set in cement, she doesn't think it is. She thinks there will still be some options. If
we should come up with more money she would like for the City to be looking at alternative
transportation if we see ways to do that in the future. But she certainly likes the idea that this is a
way for us to hook up the trails and overall she is very much in support of Alderman Jordan's
proposal.
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Alder -woman Lucas said she is in favor of the compromise. She said we are just going to have
to re -stripe the road if we do this so it won't be a cost difference. She likes planning for the
future and she wants a lot of traffic control or access management out there so that we don't have
a strip and she would like everyone to keep that in mind when projects come forward because it
is a very dangerous highway.
Alderman Cook said he thinks it is funny that everybody's comments had stats to prove their
point of view tonight. Stats can go either way and prove anyone's point of view. He said he is
chair of the Sidewalk and Trails Committee and they worked laboriously (as did many before
him) on our Fayetteville Alternative Trails and Transportation Plan. About two years ago they
studied the street cross sections and that committee overwhelmingly supported the wide outside
lane with roughly four feet of bicycle access. That discussion centered around the fact that it is
safer for the bicycle to be on the street as opposed to off the street because of all the curb cuts.
He said bicycles have the same lawful access to the road as any vehicle does. He said it is also
funny that he heard it said tonight that everybody loves bicycles but they just don't want them on
the roadway. He would hope that people would be respectful of the bicycles that are out there.
He said he would much prefer a boulevard rather than the original cross section we have in place
now. While he would rather have the bike lanes on the road, he will support the compromise.
However, he would hope that we will move forward with the policy that we have in place (which
shows the bike lanes on the roadway).
Alderman Jordan said having heard from everyone, he wanted to say how he had arrived at his
decision. It was a difficult decision for him as he has always supported alternative transportation
in the City. He said he had a multitude of citizens telling him that they felt they were going to get
one thing and now they were getting something else and they wanted to know why. He said he
didn't know why and couldn't tell them. He felt that since the people had been promised one
thing, it was the City's obligation to deliver that. So he determined that we should go back to the
continuous turn lane. Although he thinks that we will find that the islands and some of the
boulevards are probably somewhat safer. When he talked to the State people they said they had
already designed this and it is only so wide. In going back to the continuous turn lane, he did not
want the bicycle coalition to feel they had been completely left out so he thought about the ten -
foot multiuse trail rather than the six-foot sidewalk. Although that might not suit everyone, he
wanted people to understand that this was a long, hard decision for him and probably for
everybody on this Street Committee.
Mayor Coolly said it is his understanding that two things have to happen. One is that the State
needs to visit with the Federal officials about making the change. He understands from Mr.
Jonathan Barnett that he would be glad to run interference for us on this. He feels like this is
doable. The other part is getting approval from the Metropolitan Planning Organization. Mayor
Coody promised that he would do that since it is more regional and local. He feels certain they
will work with us. He said he feels both hurdles can be overcome relatively easily.
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Alderman Ferrell moved approval of Option 3, Alderman Jordan's compromise of four lanes
with a fifth continuous turn lane and ten foot multiuse trails on both the north and the south
side of the highway. Alderwoman Thiel seconded the motion.
Alderman Jordan wanted everyone to keep in mind that we may have to go back in and look at
the road if it becomes problematic, possibly put some refuge islands in.
Ron Petrie said in the areas where we have the fifth lane where it widens out as originally
proposed, there is only two feet of green space. It is his understanding that this proposal will
reduce that part of the trail to eight feet in those areas. He asked for confirmation of this. He said
otherwise there will be additional cost because we will more than likely be purchasing additional
right-of-way and widening to the outside.
Mayor Coolly said essentially the ten -foot sidewalk will go down to eight feet at the
intersections.
A vote was taken on the motion and second on the floor and it passed unanimously.
It was determined that with six of the aldermen present and voting in favor of this option,
there would be no need to go to the full Council with this item.
Mayor Coolly said he will get the letter in the mail tomorrow (June 19).
4. Discussion of the widening of Arkansas Hi2hwav 265 (Crossover Road) between
Mission Boulevard and the northern Fayetteville City Limits
Ron Petrie gave some background information on this item. He said on the Master Street Plan,
Highway 265 is considered a principle arterial and he showed a drawing from the Master Street
Plan showing a principle arterial. This street cross section shows 110 -ft. of right-of-way, 20 -ft.
median and two 28 -ft. wide streets. Approximately a month ago the Highway Department had a
public hearing at which they showed two different cross section proposals for Crossover and
asked for public comments. He wanted to remind the Committee of what exactly was proposed.
One option is something very similar to our principle arterial street (he showed a cross section).
He said this came out of their environmental study and the median width is not exactly what the
State showed. He said he believed they showed 16 -ft. median at the public hearing, two lanes
with a bicycle lane and 3 ft. of green space and a 5-11. sidewalk. The other option was with a
continuous turn lane, bicycle lanes on both sides of the street, 3 ft. of green space and 5 -ft.
sidewalks. He said he had information regarding the safety of each option and said he could
answer any questions the Committee might have.
Alderwoman Thiel asked what the difference in the width of alternative one versus alternative
two.
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Ron Petrie said with the five -lane they are showing 110 ft. of right-of-way. The other option
also shows 110 ft. of right-of-way
In response to a further question from Alderwoman Thiel, Ron Petrie agreed that it is his
understanding that both options are the same width. He also said there are 4 -foot bike lanes on
both options.
Alderwoman Thiel said the only difference really is a continuous turn lane rather than a
boulevard with turn lanes.
Ron Petrie said in looking at the plans he has it looks like you are replacing the center lane with
a median on one option.
Alderwoman Thiel asked if she was correct that if there was a median there would be turn lanes
where there are intersections.
Ron Petrie said that is correct. He said he has the plans for the boulevard section and can flip
through them and find answers to specific questions.
Alderwoman Thiel asked how many designated turn lanes there are with the boulevard option.
Ron Petrie said he doesn't remember exactly. He said there are many more than the six in the
Wedington Road plans.
Mayor Coody said there are plans for breaks in the medians for intersections and if they chose
the boulevard/parkway alternative, the City will be working with them to fine tune that. They did
not have a cut through at East Zion Road where the Elks Lodge and Nelson Berna Funeral Home
are but we have sent a letter to the State asking for a turn lane to be put in there because of the
development expected on the east side. What is proposed is not the final product. They just have
to decide which option they are going to go with and then get down to the final design.
Alderwoman Thiel asked for clarification regarding whether this design was the one on the
bond issue.
Ron Petrie said the actual bond issue included $7.7 million to cost share. The actual packages
that we handed out to the Council did not show a cross section. We did not present any specifics
to the Council. Certainly we have the existing adopted policy which is the Master Street Plan but
that is all.
Mayor Coody said it was mentioned as a principle arterial and the principle arterial is listed in
our Master Street Plan as a boulevard.
Ron Petrie said he has now counted and there are twenty proposed curb cuts.
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Alderwoman Allen wondered if we know anything about what is going to happen at the
Springdale end of this highway.
Mayor Coolly said the proposal is to continue it as a boulevard on through Springdale. The
Metropolitan Planning Organization has representatives here and could answer more specifically
if the Committee is interested in more detail.
John McLarty, the transportation planner with the Regional Planning Commission, the MPO for
this area said he talked to Patsy Christy with Springdale today and she said they are supportive of
the boulevard concept (as well as the bike lanes) up through the Springdale portion of this. This
is a major arterial not only for Fayetteville but it will carry traffic all the way up to the northern
end of Springdale. All the reports indicate that the median, if you can do it, is good access
management. The median design is safer than the continuous turn lane, especially if you
accompany it with access management. Something key to this area is that it continues to move
traffic. If you limit the driveway cuts and keep the median in place, it will continue to carry
traffic into the next decades so we won't be here in 20 years thinking of six lanes for Hwy 265.
Alderman Ferrell said when he attended the last public hearing for Hwy 265 in Fayetteville he
asked the State highway people if Springdale had planned to put a divided median in their
highway. They said Springdale hadn't decided what they were going to do — whether they were
going to follow the same route and/or whether they were going to put the divided median in
there. That was in early May. He asked if"supportive of the concept" is a commitment to do this.
John McLarty said he can't speak firmly for Springdale. He did talk to Patsy Christy, their chief
planner today and she said they are supportive of this alternative. He said to bear in mind that
they have the portion of the project from Zion Road to the north to their Hwy 412. From Hwy
412 up to Randall Wobbe Lane is already a four -lane and is not being considered for
improvement at this point. He said their policy is to lean toward the median because study after
study shows that option is safer. There are two alternatives for the road north of Randall Wobbe
in Springdale — one is a brand new location and one is using the existing highway. They need to
get that worked out before they make a firm decision because of the number of curb cuts. Even
though the median is a safer facility and it moves traffic better, you do have the issue of access to
property along the way. When you have a lot of existing driveways, it becomes very much a
local issue. They may end up in a couple of weeks or months with a similar meeting to this. But
as of today, they are favoring the median concept.
In response to a further question from Alderman Ferrell, John McLarty said that the road from
Hwy 412 up to Randall Wobbe is already an established four lane with curb and gutter so there
are no plans that he knows of to go in and expand that and make room for a median or a center
turn lane. He said the 2030 Plan for Northwest Arkansas was the regional consensus of the entire
two counties (County governments and the local cities). They passed a policy recommendation
for the boulevard concept based on safety and moving traffic and with access management
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techniques applied along those corridors, especially corridors as significant as Hwy 265. The
MPO has submitted a formal comment to the Highway Department supporting the boulevard
concept and the bike lanes. That letter was submitted about two weeks ago. AHTD is now
considering comment from the cities and citizens through that process. This hearing will be part
of that consideration.
Alder -woman Lucas asked if the cost of alternative one and alternative two would make a
difference in how much the City would have to contribute as a cost share.
Ron Petrie said the City has committed by resolution to spend $7.7 million. The State is aware
of that. From a staff perspective, this has been mentioned to the State many times.
Alder -woman Lucas asked if the State was looking at the cost of this as a boulevard when we
committed the $7.7 or if this is something new we came up with ourselves.
Mayor Coolly said the boulevard design has been discussed with the State since the beginning
of this. Of course there aren't any firm bids in, so the cost may vary. But it doesn't matter how
much the final number is, we're still in this for $7.7 million. If there is any cost savings, the State
will take it.
Alderman Ferrell asked who will assume responsibility for the cost of maintenance if the
median is put in the middle of the highway.
Mayor Coolly said the City probably would.
Alderman Ferrell asked if Mr. Petrie can give him an idea of how we would take care of the
traffic for Elks Lodge and Nelson Berna Funeral Home. He understands a letter has been sent but
he said they are not certain how they would ingress and egress north and south on Hwy 265.
Ron Petrie said if the State adds the curb cut, that curb cut will address the issue. We don't
know for sure what they will do but they have committed to review it and there is a strong
possibility that they will add it. If that is not done, traffic would either have the option to go up to
the next road (approximately'/4 of a mile for 1000 ft.) to the north and make a U-turn and go
back to the south or to continue down East Zion and go to the light planned to be installed at
Hearthstone to take a left.
Alderman Ferrell asked if with the proposed cut the people would have to travel alongside of
Hwy 265 on a frontage road to get to Hwy 265.
Mayor Coolly said they have talked to the State and feel certain they will work with us on this.
Basically there would be a cut in the median at East Zion Road just like any other major
intersection. He said the Elks Lodge is just 20 ft. south of East Zion and Nelson Berna is twenty
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feet to the north so there would be a wide enough cut in the median there to accommodate the
expected development out there
Alderman Ferrell asked if there is any idea what the cost will be to maintain this median on an
on-going basis.
There was no audible response.
Alderman Jordan opened the floor for public comment, reminding citizens that each person
gets one trip to the microphone. He asked that everyone be brief and courteous.
Jim Edgar said he is president of the Springdale/Fayetteville Elks Lodge located at 4444
Crossover Road. He said they support a continuous center turn lane on Crossover Road. He said
safety is their major concern. They are a fraternal organization dedicated to Americanism,
community service and providing services for our vets. Their facility is located on nine acres and
has a full service restaurant, lounge, two swimming pools, a playground, an 18 -hole miniature
golf course, a beach volleyball court, a fishing pond and RV hookups. He said he is representing
1,230 members that use this facility, not counting spouses, children or guests. They are open
seven days a week and the facility has a high volume of traffic that is accessed from a high
volume highway (Crossover Road). Those using this facility need a safe and practical method to
enter and leave from Crossover Road. Their vendors have large semis that need easy access.
Even the City of Fayetteville, when they use the Elks parking lot for the annual recycling
program needs to be able to enter the facility safety, as do the people bringing trailer loads of
material to be recycled. He said they could not emphasize the concern for safety strongly enough
in this high volume traffic area and that is why they ask that a continuous turn lane be provided
in front of the lodge.
Alderwoman Thiel said that Mr. Edgar spoke about a continuous turn lane in front of their
facility. She asked if he was advocating a continuous turn lane along the entire highway or only
in front of their facility.
Jim Edgar said they are concerned about entering and exiting their facility.
Eva Madison, president of the Candlewood Property Owners Association thanked everyone for
the opportunity to meet today. Many of them were unable to provide comment during the
Highway Department's comment period and they are very grateful that the City has allowed
them this opportunity. She said she is here on behalf of at least 180 people that live in
Candlewood. She said they are very concerned about the current design of the Hwy 265
expansion. Right now the impact it will have on their subdivision entrance is devastating. The
entrance to Candlewood along Hwy 265 is beautiful and they like to think it adds to the beauty of
the City. The developers of Candlewood spent in excess of $200,000 on the entrance and the
neighbors have spent at least $50,000 to maintain and improve the entrance over the past several
years. She passed out pictures showing a large custom stone sign. She mentioned custom gas
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lanterns in the entrance median involving electrical and gas lines and stone walls on either side
of the entrance. There is also a large expanse of patterned concrete and a significant amount of
landscaping with an irrigation system and several mature trees. Under the current plans for Hwy
265 it appears the idea is to remove what is beautiful about their entrance and replace it with
concrete and asphalt. The mature trees will be ripped out. Large sections of the patterned
concrete will be ripped out and the Highway Dept. will replace it with asphalt. Even if they
replaced it with new patterned concrete, which they are in the process of looking at, the
appearance will be impossible to duplicate. A sidewalk will be cut through the median,
disrupting the gas lines and possibly forcing removal of one of the trees and several of the
shrubs. All of the landscaping at the corners of the stone walls will be ripped out and sidewalks
will be constructed directly against the stone walls. She said these are just the big items. The
Highway Department has indicated that they will compensate the group for whatever they take,
but money cannot fix the situation. Money will do no good when the entrance is nothing but
asphalt and concrete. This impact can and should be avoided and she offered some suggestions in
hopes of finding a way to protect the entrance. On the proposed design she distributed she said
the sidewalk and entrance median is unnecessary and illogical and should be completely
eliminated. This small but disruptive piece of sidewalk is intended for someone traveling along
the sidewalk on Hwy 265 and intending to cross Candlewood Drive but sidewalk does not follow
the natural flow of Hwy 265. She continued that the impact on the patterned concrete could be
minimized if the existing curb cuts remained where they are. The plans call for a widening of the
curb cuts, presumably so that Candlewood could serve as more of an on-off ramp from Hwy 265.
But Candlewood is a residential street where the speed limit is 25 mph. The Highway Dept. has
indicated that the speed limit along Hwy 265 will likely remain at 45 mph. The idea should be to
encourage cars to slow down before they enter the residential area, not to off -ramp onto
Candlewood at a high rate of speed. But these fixes are only a small part of the problem. All this
impact could be avoided if the required right-of-way were reduced. When Candlewood was
proposed in 1999 the Highway Dept. had already announced its plans to widen Hwy 265. As a
result the developers, working with City planning staff, allowed room for this expansion. Thirty-
three feet of expansion room was left from the existing edge of Hwy 265 to the beginning of the
Candlewood entrance. This was more than enough for the expansion from three lanes to five
lanes but then the City changed the rules. The City decided that this side of Hwy 265 needed a
grassy median and two dedicated bike lanes, requiring considerably more right-of-way. It is this
additional unexpected right-of-way that has such a profound impact on their entrance. She said
they do not oppose the grassy median but the median requires additional right-of-way. Although
the pictures show that either option requires 110 ft., because there would be a turn lane at
Candlewood Drive, it would require additional of right-of-way to have the grassy median as
opposed to the center turn lane. She said that based on the Highway Dept. numbers, the grassy
median will cost a half million dollars more. She said they will sacrifice a large part of a
$250,000 investment and in return get concrete and asphalt, so to them it is not really worth the
extra expense. With regard to bike lanes, the Candlewood residents are opposed to the bike lanes
and not only for the impact they will have on their entrance. While the image of everyone riding
their bike to work may sound like a great idea, they believe based on the research they have
conducted that it is very unrealistic. They do not oppose alternative transportation but want to
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make sure we are asking the right questions before deciding to spend money like this. At a time
when sales tax revenues are down in the City, we should be spending money wisely. The
Highway Dept. has said the bike lanes will cost $860,000 for the piece from Hwy 45 to Zion
Road. That is $330,000 for the construction and $530,000 for the cost of the acquisition of the
additional right-of-way. She feels the money could be better spent on roads and sidewalks. She
mentioned the safety issues of biking alongside a big truck down a state highway. She said
studies indicate that bike lanes alongside traffic are only safe where the speed limit is 25 mph or
less. After that the fatalities increase. She talked about some much larger cities and the fact that
they are now taking out some bike lanes on road ways. She talked about her brother who uses a
bike and public transportation to get around in Philadelphia. She said he would not ride a bike
along Hwy 265 in a dedicated bike lane. She questioned whether the bike lanes are needed and
how many people actually use them. She talked about percentages of people who ride bikes to
work according to the latest census and questioned whether, even with the rising cost of gas,
people are going to turn to bikes to get around. She believes that public transportation and
sidewalks are going to be used by more people. She talked about priorities and said enhancing
our city's beauty through landscaping and tree preservation has always been important in
Fayetteville and Candlewood's entrance is an example of how Fayetteville citizens have made
this a priority. In this instance however, the City wants to rip out landscaping and mature trees to
make way for more asphalt and concrete. She said that many in City government believe that in
approving Question 3 last September, the citizens somehow affirmatively endorsed the concept
of bike lanes on Hwy 265. As someone who voted for Question 3 she finds this baffling. She said
the ballot title for Question 3 made clear that the issue was roads. There was no mention of the
bike lanes and no reference to any of the City's plans that included bike lanes. She concluded
that we should accommodate the small number of bikers out there by letting them use the
sidewalks and thus save the beauty of their entrance.
Lynn Rodgers said she lives off Crossover Road. She said she is in support of the boulevard
plan. She said we have about 750 ft. of frontage on Crossover and as it is right now, it is very
dangerous to get out in front of her house to go left or right. She said she shudders to think of
what it would be like to get out in traffic if there was a dedicated turn lane with five lanes of
traffic. In addition there are drivers who get in the turn lane at Old Wire and drive 45 mph in the
turn lane to turn on Township. She said she knows the boulevard wilt be safer for her and her
husband to get out of their house. In addition, she spoke to the question about who would
maintain the medians. She said if the medians were planted with native grasses and wild flowers,
they would not need trimming or cutting. Leaving them as wildflower medians would be an
alternative that would not cost as much money.
Jerry Jones said he also supports the boulevard. He said when he went to the first Highway
Dept. meeting he had mixed emotions but after he saw the pictures and how beautiful the
boulevard would be, it helped change his mind. However, his main issue of concern was the
safety issue. He said he has lived on Crossover Road for twelve years and you have to live there
to really realize how dangerous it is. He said this is also about compromise and about sacrifice.
He said he lives on Crossover just north of Township. He said if there is a boulevard put in, it
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will affect how he and his wife get out of their driveway because they would only be able to turn
right. But he said this would be alright in order to have a safer highway. He thinks the boulevard
would give added protection and much needed safety and from his perspective, he would urge
the Committee to vote for the boulevard. He said that he does believe a 5 or 6 foot sidewalk is a
little wide. He said we should take as much highway as needed to make it safer but take it out
equally on both sides of the road. As a property owner, he just asked that it be fair.
Jerry Bailey, on Mashburn said he had heard a lot of me, me, me and no compromise. He said
we definitely want to make sure people have access but there are plenty of places where there
doesn't need to be concrete. He said there needs to be compromise here. He said one of his
concerns is that the sidewalks are usable. He said maybe the reason no one uses them now is that
they feel unsafe. Where the sidewalk is newer and further away from the street, people feel safer
and will use it. In regard to bicyclists, he said we heard with Mud Creek and the bridge that no
one would use them but there's so many people there now that it's almost like another city. He
believes if you build it properly, they will use it. He said he does bike to work and he asked that
everyone's voice is considered in this. He asked that we all stop pointing the finger and start
working together with this.
Don Rest, representing the Ozark Off-road Cyclists and the International Mountain Bike
Association addressed some of the concerns expressed earlier regarding the Candlewood
subdivision. He said he agrees that bicycling is dangerous but so is driving your car. A lot of
things in life are dangerous. But it is all about managing risk. He feels it should be up to each
citizen to accept whatever risk there is if you offer a bike lane. Though the number of people
who use bikes may be small, he felt you have to consider the possibility of more people using the
trails in the future as the city grows. As more trails are being built, more people are using them.
He agrees there should be more public transportation to offer people more ways to get around
town without having to use their vehicles. He agrees that using money for bike trails is expensive
but you have to ask yourself if the benefits outweigh the risks and he thinks in this situation that
it is worth spending extra money to have bike trails. He said he does support the median and the
bike lanes.
Scott Berna said he lives on East Meandering Way which funnels onto Hwy 265 where it is five
lanes. He owns the Nelson Berna Funeral Home which is in the area we are discussing. He said
he isn't sure what the answer is on the five -lane continuous turn lane. He said he taught a sixteen
year old boy how to cross it which will cause you to turn gray. He said he is on that road
everyday but he isn't sure that the center median is the answer either. When his business was
built four years ago, because of the limited development of East Zion they were asked by the
City to make sure to funnel traffic out of their property onto Hwy 265. So the building is
designed to take funeral processions out on Hwy 265 rather than onto East Zion. To make a curb
cut at East Zion is not sufficient. He will have to change the way customers exit from his
building.
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Mayor Coody said after he and Mr. Bema visited, staff went out and visited the property. He
said we are talking to the State about pulling the boulevard section back on both sides for enough
length to make ingress and egress from both properties (Nelson Bema and the Elks Lodge) off
Zion Road acceptable. He said he feels certain the State will work with us to make it work.
Scott Berna said he is fine with whichever option is chosen as long as this situation is rectified.
He said he cannot take a funeral procession half a mile down the road to make and U-turn and
come back.
Mayor Coody said they have talked to the State about that very issue. He said this isn't the only
situation. Staff has also talked to the Highway Dept. about the entrance at Candlewood and they
have suggested tweaking the design in such a way that if they chose the boulevard design the
impact is minimized. There are also some other intersections and issues staff have been talking to
the Highway Dept. about. The first order of business is for the Highway Dept. to decide what
they want to do. If they decide to do the boulevard/parkway design, we can work with them to
tweak some different areas to make it work for everyone.
Scott Berna said in business he tries not to create a precedent and if we change a design for one
business and someone else comes and wants a change you have created an issue. But in his
situation, he has to have relief.
Greg Mitchell said he is in favor of the boulevard. He said no one has mentioned the Botanical
Garden which ties into the great trail around the lake. He thinks this adds an extra impetus to
having the bike lanes on Hwy 265. He said if you put in five lanes, you are encouraging strip
development. There can still be development without curb cuts every twenty feet. It is just done
differently so you end up with a safer design, which is the bottom line.
Bob Caulk said most of the reasons he was going to give for his position have been stated by
others. He is for the boulevard design and very much for bike lanes. He said usage of bike lanes
is limited around here in his opinion by the fact that we don't have them so you can get all the
way around. The more we build them out, the more they will be used. He said he finds in order
to ride his bicycle he has to drive his car ten minutes to get to a trail where he can ride his bike.
Jim Jordan lives on Firewood Drive in Candlewood. He wanted to apologize for his outburst
earlier. He said this is very important to him. He also wanted to talk about Hwy 265 and what is
going on down the road. He said south of Hwy 45 people get in the center lane to travel at 45
mph all the way to the light to take a left. He said they also get in the center lane at the bottom of
the hill where the convenience stores are to drive and take a left at Township. He said he has
called the Police Department and asked them to keep an eye on this and they do the best they
can. He thinks the City really needs to look at this. He also said there is already a traffic problem
coming through Firewood in Candlewood coming from east down Township. If this proposal
goes through and more frontage is taken off the Candlewood property, there will be a traffic
problem at the intersection of Candlewood and Hwy 265.
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Alderman Ferrell asked Mr. Jordan if he thinks the problem of people getting into the center
lane and driving for extended period of times is a law enforcement problem or a design problem.
Jim Jordan said it is a law enforcement problem because there is a law against it.
Dot Neely said she wants to speak in favor of the boulevard plan for Hwy 265. She said she had
faith that the City, in looking to the future would take some things into consideration, such as the
Elks Club access and the funeral home access and the care the Candlewood residents have taken
to beautify the entrance to that neighborhood. She said it is a very positive thing to have that
addressed up front and to know the City is looking ahead with the Highway Dept. She said it is
encouraging to know the City is looking toward compromise in this area to adjust the boulevard
plan where it is deemed necessary.
David Peeper said he is a resident of Candlewood. He said he would like to talk about the bike
lanes. He said bicycles and speed do not mix. He said London is currently running
advertisements in an attempt to get people to slow down and a chart showing how many people
die because of speed related accidents. He reviewed some information regarding the relationship
of the speed of a car to the possibility of a fatality if there is an accident involving a pedestrian or
bicyclist. He said there is a possibility for a trail in Fayetteville instead of the bike lanes. He said
there is a power line that runs less than 1/3 of a mile from Hwy 265 which parallels the street
from Springdale to Vandergriff School. It accesses three subdivisions with a minimum number
of street cuts. This goes between neighborhoods and hits the main streets going in and out of
those subdivisions without hitting major streets and driveways constantly. He asked that the City
consider alternative routes for bikes under that power line easement right-of-way. He felt the
expense would be minimal and we would have a north south route parallel to Hwy 265 that
meets the requirements of the bicyclists for alternative transportation as well as providing trail
access for the majority of Fayetteville residents.
Mayor Coody said this was an interesting proposal and asked Mr. Peeper to give copies of his
information to Matt Mihalevich, the City's trails coordinator who was in the audience.
Laura Kelly said she lives in South Fayetteville. She shared some statistics that seem to prove
that cycling is perceived as dangerous. She is not arguing the point that it seems dangerous and
isn't asking anyone to ride their bikes on Hwy 265. But for some reason more and more people
are bicycle commuting every year and they do ride on the roads because the roads go where they
need to go, which are all the same places they would go in a car. The trail network is fantastic
and it is true recreational cycling is also fantastic, but that is another issue. She supports trails
wherever possible. But the current statistics show that the average cyclist has a slightly better
fatality rate hour for hour (not mile per mile) than the average passenger or driver of an
automobile. If you restrict the population to the cyclists who have had some bicycle training,
they have only a 20% chance of fatality as compared to anyone in an automobile. She said she
isn't sure why she is safer on her bicycle because she doesn't feel safer. It has something to do
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with stereoscopic hearing and uninterrupted vision, better lateral mobility and being a smaller
target. But the facts are there
Patty Mitchell, lives on North Willow and she said it was originally their plan to bring
information from the Transportation Research Board manual which explains that a boulevard
option is much safer. She said she would recommend that the Committee ask the city engineer to
give them statistics on the safety of one option versus the other. The safety issues of a boulevard
plan would be enough to convince her that it is the way to go. Regarding bicycle lanes she said it
looks like bike lanes are included on both options. She mentioned that she has been a part of
several studies and one of the questions that keep coming up on these studies for bicycles is, if
you choose not to ride your bicycle to work at this time, why do you not. The highest response to
that question is because it feels unsafe. Part of that unsafe feeling is the lack of safe places to go
in order to get where you need to go on a bike. The Dover Kohl study involving citizen input
brought out issues of boulevard streets, more green space, more sidewalks and more bikeways.
She is happy with the 2025 Plan and hopes the City continues along that path and approves the
boulevard plan.
Bill Baker said he lives on Hearthstone and Copper Creek. He said he thought a couple of things
needed to be considered. He lives right across the street from the Botanical Garden and he
believes we need to think about a light there. Another thing that needs to be considered is
slowing the traffic down. He can't imagine riding a bike with traffic going 45 mph. He said he is
a supporter of the boulevard but he can't imagine anyone getting paid enough money to mow the
median with the traffic going on four lanes. He said this area is exploding and he feels we need
to slow the traffic down and consider exit lanes.
Mayor Coolly said this is a State Highway and he asked Mr. Shipman if there is a chance that
the 45 mph speed limit sign could move north so that before people top the hill (coming from
Springdale) they will start slowing down.
Joe Shipman said it would have to be reviewed.
Mayor Coolly said with regard to maintenance of the median, there are varieties of grass that are
thick and don't get more than a few inches tall. These varieties do well in this part of the world
and a lot of people are starting to use them because they are maintenance free. So there are some
options there that can be considered.
Karen Reese said she lives on Maple Street. She said she supports Option 1 — the boulevard
option. She said she wishes we had that option on College. She said the turning lane on College
terrifies her every day. She thinks the continuous turning lane is a very bad idea. Also, she
understands the struggles the Candlewood neighborhood is going through and hopes the plan can
be tweaked for them so they can enjoy their investment because it does beautify Fayetteville.
However, she does feel the bike lanes are crucial and there is a big difference between
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recreational biking and using it as a mode of transportation. She hopes the bike lanes will be kept
in place
Coleen Gaston said she lives east of Hwy 265 off Old Wire Road. She came to the meeting with
three 13 -year old boys who are very supportive of having bike lanes anywhere they can get them
in Fayetteville. They have a number of friends who live in the neighborhoods around Hwy 265
and Old Wire. Those kids would love to be riding their bikes any place they can. As a mother she
is not thrilled about them riding on Hwy 265 but she thinks as a community we have got to start
moving in the direction of making the option available. The more we make the option available,
the safer it will be. She also thinks by having a boulevard on Hwy 265 we will be able to slow
the traffic down a bit and make it safer for cyclists and people who live in the community. The
stretch of roadway we are talking about is primarily residential except for the major
intersections. By having the boulevards in the residential areas of Hwy 265 she thinks it will help
to preserve the character of those neighborhoods.
There being no further comments, the discussion was brought back to the Street Committee.
Alderwoman Allen said we have addressed the concerns of the funeral home and the concerns
for the Elks Club. She wondered if we could talk about how we might be able to assist the
Candlewood development.
Mayor Coolly said he and Joe Shipman discussed this. He said the Highway Department does
not have a finished plan right now. It is only a concept. The concept is flexible as far as the
whole project goes and Candlewood is no exception. They mentioned that they could change the
arch of the sidewalk, move the sidewalk more to the west to keep it away from the nose of the
island there. He said there are options but the State is not going to get serious about finding what
all those options are until they make a decision about which plan to use. Once they make that
decision, he feels certain they will be working with the City because they have already come up
with some suggestions on how to solve some of these issues. He spoke about a recent article in
the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that discussed the rise in gas prices. He said they interviewed
people who said they just can't afford to drive cars anymore and they use their bikes. The article
talked about the dramatic increase of ridership because people are getting to where they want to
rely on cars anymore.
Alderwoman Allen said a lot of people speaking have favored the median. She said she has also
received a lot of letters regarding the Candlewood situation and just wanted to see that addressed.
Alderman Ferrell said this is a State highway. He said he was a strong supporter of the bond
issue vote but said the ballot issue did not mention bicycle lanes. He said $860,000 is a lot of
money. He said he doesn't have anything against bicycles but talked about a recent experience he
had with the speed of the traffic here and said it is a concern to him. He said this is not a me, me,
me deal but a we, we, we deal. He said he has citizens all over his ward talking to him about not
wanting the same things that other people want. He said he understands that the bicyclists want
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bicycle paths and bicycle lanes. However he said he has people in his ward who don't want the
front of their place torn up and would rather have the five lanes. He talked about the maintenance
of the median and he felt it would be a recurring expense for the City. He said he finds us being
reactive instead of proactive when we plan. He said the concerns of the funeral home and Elks
are being looked at. He said it might be that we might have part of the highway one way and
some another. He said he is willing to take a look at it.
Alderwoman Thiel said she thought it was interesting that someone who was in support of a
five lane with continuous turn lane was also speaking about how dangerous the section between
Huntsville and Mission is because people are using it as an acceleration and traveling lane and it
is a five lane with continuous turn lane. She said she represents that area of town and she gets a
lot of complaints about how dangerous that turn lane is for those who live there. Speeding is a
problem but we have only so many police officers and they certainly do a good job out there. She
said she doesn't believe there is a question regarding the safety of the boulevard as opposed to
the continuous turn lane. She believes the boulevard is safer. She said we are actually talking
about two different issues: we're talking about the median but we're also talking about bike
lanes. She said we have the option of a boulevard with bike lanes or a five lane without bike
lanes and they both equal 110 ft.
Alderman Jordan said the five lane option also has bike lanes.
Alderwoman Thiel then questioned what the issue is from Candlewood about the bike lanes.
Are we talking about reducing it down even more and having another option?
Alderman Jordan asked if Eva Madison would come up and address that question.
Eva Madison said from what she understands, it is the City which requested the bike lanes.
Since the lanes were specifically requested by the City, the City can change its position on that
just as it is doing on the Wedington piece. She said this is not the Highway Department saying
we must have bike lanes. That is why her group is now coming before the City as opposed to
continuing to work with the Highway Department. She said the two options provided by the
Highway Department included the bike lanes because that is what the City asked for.
Alderman Jordan said with the Wedington situation, there was only 54 ft. to work with. This
project is just now coming into design and that is why it is so important that we can talk about
this and get the issues out now because we can do some things here.
Alderwoman Thiel said she hopes there is some way we can continue to support what we have
supported in our 2025 Plan and our adoption of our street sections where we do have the
boulevards and bike lanes.
Alderwoman Allen said she supports the boulevard.
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Alderman Ferrell said he has tried to be proactive and tried to get answers but couldn't get
answers. He said the government of Springdale has not voted yes to go with the boulevard or
with what they are going to do on the other side of the existing road. He said he doesn't know
why we couldn't take a look at the gentleman's idea of the alternate route for the trail. Anything
is worth consideration. If there is existing easement under the power line right-of-ways, he
wondered if it is something we could look at.
Alderman Cook said we have made many policy decisions on boulevards. He said we have our
2025 Plan which talks about boulevards, sidewalks and bike lanes. The street cross sections we
have revised include that. We have made several policy decisions that include that (boulevards
and bike lanes) so it is no wonder that the City asked the State to include those amenities.
Alderwoman Thiel said she agrees that the idea of the trail is not a bad idea but there is the cost
of the trail. She asked Mr. Shipman if the $860,000 would be deducted from the amount that the
City has committed if there is that savings.
Joe Shipman said that amount is the cost for just adding the bike lanes. That is an additional
right-of-way and construction estimate for that additional work. The City has committed to 50%
of the project up to a maximum amount at this point. That is whether the bike lanes are in there
or it is a boulevard or five lanes. As he understands it the estimate on the project is much more
than the $15 to $16 million of which the City's maximum would 50%. But it would be a savings
to the overall project and we would all share in that savings if that were the case. He also
mentioned regarding the Candlewood and other sections, the typical section shows 110 ft. of
right-of-way. That is for a perfect location where there are no major cuts or fills. But at the major
intersections there is a provision for the widening of the roadway when there is a boulevard so
that vehicles can make U-turns in that. That allows for a little more pavement there.
Alderwoman Thiel asked if he is saying there couldn't be very much tweaking on this because
of the addition of footage.
Joe Shipman said the public meeting on this was held in early May and the comment period
ended May 25. Because of the comments they have received and continue to receive, the
comment period has been kept open. In fact, information from tonight's meeting will be
incorporated into those comments. They are hoping that the City will speak in one voice as to
what the needs are for the City of Fayetteville.
Alderman Ferrell asked if Mr. Shipman has an idea of when we will get the feedback on the
comments that have gone in to Little Rock.
Joe Shipman said Brenda Price with the Environmental Division is the one who heads up those
public meetings. She is here this evening.
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Brenda Price said they have a preliminary synopsis of the results of the comments. She said in
regard to the public opinion surveys taken, they asked people if they preferred the center grass
median (H-1) or if they supported the center turn lane (H-2). She said almost 350 people were in
support of the median concept and almost 190 in support of the center turn lane concept.
Alderman Ferrell asked if that was the meeting as well as the subsequent comments that have
come in since.
Brenda Price said that it was a total of all the comments received.
Alderman Ferrell asked if there will be a date when comments are closed.
Brenda Price said the official date has passed. They have done this synopsis based on that date.
They are still receiving comments and still look at those comments and have taken them into
consideration. But the synopsis was based on the actual comment period that was announced at
the meeting.
Alderman Ferrell asked if the numbers only include comments up to May 25.
Brenda Price said the period was extended for about a week because they were getting so many
additional comments by e-mail and other methods. But at some point they have to draw the line
and say we need to go forward. These numbers are a total of what was received up until the first
part of June. The support that was expressed in the comments was in favor of the median. There
were also almost 190 comments supporting the inclusion of the bike lanes and only 15 opposing
the inclusion of the bike lanes.
Mayor Coody said the Elks Lodge did send out an e-mail to all 1200 of their members asking
them to get active and oppose the median and support the continuous turn lane. That was before
the City talked to them and said we think their problem can be fixed. Some of those comments
may have been in reaction to that blast e-mail from the Elks. As far as being reactionary, the
State did draw this up and asked for the City's comments. That's when we started making the
comments about places like the Elks Lodge and Candlewood. He said he does want a boulevard
and one of the reasons he wants it is that the citizens of Fayetteville want it also. He said it has
been in our Master Street Plan and the community wants more green and more boulevards and
safer highways. He said there is no argument that divided highways are safer. He said another
factor is that beautiful streets make beautiful cities. He said world class cities (and we want to be
a world class city) all include beautiful and safe streets. If we say we are just going to go with the
cheapest, fastest, most convenient common denominator, we won't achieve Fayetteville's
potential and will disappoint a lot of our citizens. As far as Candlewood, he feels certain there is
a way to make this work. He said he wanted Matt to have the drawing (about the possible trail
under the power line) so we can look and see if there are any options there. If anyone comes up
with a better idea than what we have seen, we will check it out.
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Alderman Ferrell said he knows the Mayor has been a proponent of the boulevards. Part of his
problem with it is that although they are nice and pretty, he thinks we are charged by the tax
payers with trying to lay down as much safe, drivable surface for the money that we can. When
we put huge sidewalks and bike lanes and keep adding, you're going to get a lot less per linear
foot than you would if you did it in a nice but not "we've got all the money we need to do this"
type fashion.
Alderwoman Lucas said as has been said before, boulevards are safer. She said this is not a high
commercial area so if we can address the needs of the funeral home and Elks Lodge she believes
that is the safest way to go.
Alderman Jordan asked if the Street Committee thinks it would benefit us any to meet again
about this before we make a final decision. He said some of these things can be discussed with
the Candlewood neighborhood in the mean time.
Mayor Coolly said it is his understanding that the State wants a decision from the City about
whether we support the H-1 or H-2 design. Once we make a decision on that and they make a
decision on which one they are going to go with then we can get down to the details of the plan.
Alderwoman Thiel asked if there is a time limit.
Alderwoman Allen said she doesn't think we can do anything about addressing the problems
until we have made a decision about what we're going to do.
Alderwoman Allen moved that the Street Committee accept the median option (H-1).
Alderwoman Thiel seconded the motion.
Alderwoman Thiel asked it this would go on to the City Council.
Mayor Coolly said he assumes it would. He said if there is a majority of the City Council here
who support it then it would be a majority of the City Council.
Alderman Jordan asked if we are within the legal parameters to do that.
Mayor Coolly said all the State is looking for tonight is a letter from the mayor with City
Council support.
Alderman Ferrell said he would like to take it to the City Council.
Mayor Coolly said if the City has a policy of supporting "x", he feels comfortable supporting
"x" if the City Council has already made the determination that is what it wants. And that is the
letter he sent two and a half years ago on the Wedington issue. But in order to reverse City
policy, he does not have the authority (nor does he want to reverse City policy) without the okay
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and approval of the City Council which is the policy making body. So if the policy is bike lanes
and boulevards, he feels comfortable supporting that. If the idea is to reverse that policy, the City
Council will have to tell him to reverse it. That's the difference.
Alderman Jordan asked the two aldermen present who are not a part of the Street Committee if
they wanted this to go to the City Council or if they feel comfortable supporting it tonight.
Alderman Cook said he has made his comments.
Alder -woman Lucas agreed.
Alderman Ferrell said he thought we were going to discuss the idea of taking a look at power
line right-of-ways where we already have existing right-of-way.
Matt Mihalevich said we do not necessarily have right-of-way. Just because SWEPCO has a
power line does not give the City access for a trail. We would still have to deal with individual
property owners throughout that entire corridor. He agrees that it would make a really good trail
corridor and he would like to look at it and add it to the master plant.
Alderwoman Thiel said with the Wedington issue it seemed that everyone was all right with the
Committee voting on it without bringing it to the full Council. But with this issue there is some
concern about that. She said she has no problem with the Committee voting on this and sending
it forward to the full Council as a resolution that makes it very clear to the public what we are
asking the mayor to do.
Alderman Jordan said it can be thrashed out at the Council level and this gives us a couple of
weeks for more comment.
Mayor Coody said that suits staff.
A vote was taken on the motion on the floor to support Option H-1 and send it to the full
Council. The vote was 3 to I (Alderwoman Thiel, Alderwoman Allen and Alderman Jordan
voting yea and Alderman Ferrell voting no). The motion passer.
Ron Petrie asked if there was a specific Council meeting on which the Committee would like to
try to get this item.
It was determined that Alderman Jordan would add it to the July 3, 2007 City Council agenda.
5. Scheduling of the next Street Committee meeting.
The next meeting of the Street Committee was scheduled for July 2, 2007 at 4:30 p.m.
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