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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-08 MinutesMayor Dan Coody City Attomey Kit Williams City Clerk Sondra Smith aye evi le ARKANSAS City Council Street Committee Minutes September 8„ 2005 Page 1 of 5 Member Aldermen Ward 1 Position 1 - Ward 2 Position 2 Ward 3 Position 2 Ward 4 Position 2 - Robert Reynolds — Don Man- - Robert Ferrell Lioneld Jordan A meeting of the Fayetteville City Council Street Committee was held on September 8, 2005 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. MEMBERS PRESENT: Alderman Lioneld Jordan (Chair), Alderman Robert Reynolds, Alderman Bobby Ferrell, Alderman Don Marr Other Council Members Present: Aldermen Kyle Cook, Shirley Lucas and Brenda Thiel Staff Present: Ron Petrie, Gary Dumas, Tim Conklin, Susan Thomas, Steve Davis Chairman Lioneld Jordan brought the meeting to order. Because of the many audience members who were in attendance for discussion of Item 4, the decision was made to move it to the top of the agenda. Item 4. Discussion of Gregg Street Extension Project and the purchase of property located adjacent to the west side of Gregg Avenue and north of Holly Street to allow for the relocation of Gregg Street. Mayor Dan Coody passed out a map of a proposed change to the project design. He stated that he is looking for a solution that will be acceptable to the Street Committee, the neighborhood, and the University of Arkansas. He stated that a neighbor on Gregg Street had first brought this design idea to Ron Petrie and staff felt that it made sense. With some modifications, and combining it with other plans, it appeared to have a great deal of merit. Mayor Coody discussed some of the concerns with the current plan, such as the division of one geographic area into two neighborhoods, the basic concern of traffic flow, and the concerns regarding vehicular and rail traffic crossings. He stated that he felt this new option will address many of those concerns. He pointed out that input is still being requested and he particularly wanted to hear from a representative of the University regarding their concerns. Chairman Jordan asked for comments from the public. Mike Johnson, a representative of the University of Arkansas, stated that the new proposal takes care of all the concerns they had with the project. There was further discussion from audience members with comments both for and against the plan being proposed. Several concerns were expressed regarding traffic flow in residential areas. One audience member felt that the University should help with cost since they are actively recruiting and planning for more students to attend the University. Several residents said they would like to see the major intersection be north of North Street as opposed to making a jog through Adams. Several citizens stated that they liked the addition of necessary infrastructure and the attention given to the historic bridge restoration. There was concern expressed that this night's meeting was not attended as heavily as the previous meeting, where 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes September 8„ 2005 Page 2 of 5 the prior plan was approved by the citizens. There was also concern about the effect of building the railroad bridge on the surrounding property. Mayor Coody addressed some of the citizens' concerns and stated that there is a need to address the issue and this is the opportunity to do that. He stated that he saw three overriding reasons to accept the new proposal. First, the other plan does not divert enough traffic from the Wilson Park area, because it is still too easy to take this route. Second, it takes so much traffic straight to Arkansas Avenue and Maple Street. And third, it helps to eliminate the possibility of anyone being killed accidentally between vehicular and train traffic. Mayor Coody stated that he felt the third reason was the supremely overriding reason to reconsider this project. Chairman Jordan closed the floor to public comments and asked for the Street Committee's thoughts on the matter. Alderman Don Marr stated that there were things about the plan that he did like; namely, that it does not go through a neighborhood, and that it stays close to the railroad tracks. He stated that the issue was trying to remove local streets from functioning as collector or arterial streets, and that the concern with North Street was the stacking issue. Alderman Marr stated that at the Ward Meeting, which had approximately 90 people in attendance, the one issue all seemed to agree upon was connectivity. He stated that he did not like the cul-de-sacs at Wilson and that everyone had agreed that these should remain neighborhood streets. Another item that everyone agreed on was minimizing the crossings at the railroad tracks. This was one aspect of the new proposal that he did like. He stated that he understood that all of the options would affect someone and that there was no way to make everyone happy with any of the proposals. He stated that the Ward wanted connectivity and traffic out of the neighborhood and that they did not want the neighborhood divided. He stated that it was no different getting to this economic center of culture and entertainment, which also collects taxes for the City and differentiates the City, than it was getting to the Mall. It is an economic access point. He stated that there should be a way to do that without destroying where people live. He said he wants to solve the issue and wants assurance that if one plan is approved, we won't have another plan come up because someone has thought of something else to add or change. He questioned Ron Petrie on the estimates for the North Street crossing. He asked if it is a legitimate, realistic number with which staff is comfortable. Ron Petrie said he had two engineers do the estimates separately and he reviewed both estimates. They were both very close to this $2.3 million number. This estimate also includes installing temporary parallel railroad tracks to be used while the bridge is being installed. Alderman Kyle Cook stated that his main concern is bringing the Gregg/North Street intersection further north. He stated that he agrees that the City needs to do some improvements on West Street since it is a high pedestrian area and is unsafe considering that there are no sidewalks in that area. He stated that he struggles with the intersection of Maple and Gregg, and that if the decision was made to do any improvements or widening in the future, it would be difficult. He addressed the issue of the cul-de-sacs, stating that the people had emphatically spoken at the last meeting that they do not want to reduce the connectivity in Wilson Park. He spoke to the needed traffic -calming measures and stated that he does not feel that three stop signs is a sufficient traffic -calming effort. He stated that though it would help, not everyone will stop at stop signs and it could increase a false sense of security. He feels there are better ways to create traffic calming. He stated that he agrees with Alderman Marr that there are both good and 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes September 8„ 2005 Page 3 of 5 bad points in the new proposal and also stated that there were good and bad points to the previous plan. However, his point was that the people had agreed on the previous plan on three separate occasions. Alderman Marr spoke regarding an item he had brought up at the last Street Committee meeting where a developer in town who owns a piece of property where their proposed development, if built, could make the acquisition of land for the City's street project more costly. He stated that he appreciated the mayor, bringing the issue forward so it could be resolved for that development. If we decide to go forward with one plan, we know a piece of land we're going to need. If the voters don't approve the bond issue, the land can be easily resold. Alderman Kyle Cook stated that the issue is not just getting traffic out of Wilson Park. The issue is also one of looking forward toward the next thirty years. If the City widens Gregg Street from North to Johnson to four lanes, it becomes a major entrance to the City. Alderman Cook felt that the question is how to deal with that traffic. Alderman Robert Ferrell stated that he is very interested in the comparison in cost of the two plans and stated that he would like to see an across-the-board comparison of the plans with the aesthetics removed from the second plan. He questioned how many structures or buildings would have to be removed and was told by Ron Petrie that he estimated four removals. Alderman Ferrell stated that he understands that after numerous meetings with constituents a consensus had been reached on a plan. However, when the Mayor showed him the new proposal, he was pleased with the North Street avoidance of the railroad crossing. He asked the Ward 2 aldermen whether they could see any common ground for a resolution where the plans could be dovetailed. Alderman Reynolds stated that although they do not like the cul-de-sacs, if they were put in only temporarily until the traffic pattern is changed and were removed afterwards, it could be acceptable. He stated that he used the Wilson Park route four times in one day, but if he had the option of this route to go north, he would have taken it. He emphasized that he does not like to go by Wilson Park because of the children, walkers and bike riders. He feels that something has to be done and since this option takes out fewer structures, if it is something the Street Committee can agree on, he is in favor of it and thinks it should go to the voters. Alderman Don Marr asked that people have an open mind, because the new proposal does address some of the policy issues that have been discussed. He felt that more time is needed to get more feedback from the Ward meetings, and asked when the Committee felt that they would have an agreed upon plan to put before the full Council. Alderman Reynolds stated that he would like the Ward 2 aldermen to have a Ward meeting and come back with an "either-or" affair and that would be one of the plans that they would take to the voters. Mayor Coody stated that the whole plan is conceptual and if there is a better way to make any of the plan work, he would like to entertain that. He addressed some of the concerns put forward by the alderman and the public and stated that if there was another way to achieve the goal without the cul-de-sacs and other items objected to, he would like to hear them. The three stop signs are suggestions only. He agrees that the traffic calming policy the City has should be redone because it doesn't work very well. He pointed out that with the savings achieved by the new 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes September 8„ 2005 Page 4 of 5 proposal, many needed improvements could be done to the area, such as improving the bridges and improving Dickson and Gregg Streets. He pointed out that the new proposal is the culmination of many suggestions. Ron Petrie asked if the Committee wished to discuss the purchase of property on Gregg. After discussion it was decided that it should be tabled until the next meeting. Item 1. Approval of the proposed cross-section for the Rupple Road cost share with the developers of the Clabber Creek Subdivision, Phases 3-5. Ron Petrie stated that the idea of the cost share was approved at a previous Street Committee meeting. He stated that, in order to move forward, it is necessary for the Committee to approve the plan of a four lane street, 10 foot boulevard, 10 foot greenspace and 6 foot sidewalk. He stated that when this is accepted, the developer would provide a cost estimate to do the work and that would be brought to the Committee. He stated that it was originally estimated at a little over half a million dollars for the cost share, but it is anticipated that cost will be higher. There was considerable discussion about the fact that this corridor had been on the master street plan since the early 1990's and that much had been done to protect the corridor. Ron Petrie stated that he felt that the plan should be looked at from a long-range perspective and that a north/south and east/west major grid is very necessary in the western section of the City. There was further discussion of the necessity of the project and just how that should best be accomplished. Alderman Jordan stated that with another 1200 units being built over the next three or four years, it is imperative that the situation at Rupple Road be addressed. He felt that a failure to consider the north/south and east/west corridors in that area would cause the City considerable trouble in the next five years or less. He stated emphatically that he feels that Rupple Road needs to be a Principal Arterial Street and that it needs to go all the way from 62 to the Mall. There was further discussion as to the best way to accomplish the goal of addressing the problem, after which the item was tabled until the next Street Committee meeting. Item 2. Amendment to the Master Street Plan to reclassify Rupple Road from a Minor Arterial Street (90 feet of right-of-way) to a Principal Arterial Street (110 feet of right-of-way. A motion was made to amend the Master Street Plan to reclassify Rupple Road from a Minor Arterial Street to a Principal Arterial Street. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Item 3. Reconsideration of the proposed cost -share with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for the Garland Avenue Bridge Replacement over Town Branch Creek. There was some discussion regarding the cost of this proposal and it was felt that the money from this bridge should be applied instead to Dead Horse Mountain bridge. A motion was made that the Committee approach the State with the idea of rededicating the money from the Garland Street bridge and using it on the Dead Horse Mountain bridge. The motion was seconded and it was passed. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org City Council Street Committee Minutes September 8„ 2005 Page 5 of 5 Item 5. Presentation and discussion of the Rupple Road and Persimmon Street intersection cost share proiect. A motion was made to approve the cost share project, was seconded and passed. Chairman Jordan requested that Ron Petrie make a presentation at the next Ward meeting and the Committee agreed that this should be done. Item 6. Discussion of the proposed street improvements to be included in the 2006-2010 Capital Improvement Plan. Steve Davis stated that Staff is putting all of the Capital Projects that have been submitted through a twenty item ranking system which will help to rank them in priority of need, with primary focus on public safety, transportation, and the type of projects that provide the most benefit to the citizens. He stated that around 160 projects have been proposed and Staff expected to start the process next Tuesday. There was some discussion regarding what projects should be on the list and where greenspace and amenities would be ranked in the process. Mr. Davis stated that Staff should have something to bring to the Street Committee by September 29th, and that he would have a copy of it for the members to review before the next Committee meeting. He informed the Committee that there is a Budget Briefing scheduled for September 15, at 6:00 p.m. Item 7. Scheduling of the next Street Committee Meeting. The next Street Committee meeting was scheduled for October 6, 2005. 113 West Mountain 72701 (479) 521-7700 (479) 575-8257 (Fax) accessfayetteville.org