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HomeMy WebLinkAbout67-14 RESOLUTIONRESOLUTION NO. 67-14 A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE CITY COUNCIL'S AGREEMENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAYOR JORDAN, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR JEREMY PATE AND CITY ENGINEER CHRIS BROWN CONCERNING THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY 16W AND I-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS AND THE HIGHWAY 62 AND I-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, the Fayetteville City Council thanks the Arkansas Highway Commission and the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for their plans and commitment to improve the I-540 interchanges with Highway 62 (MLK) and Highway 16 (Wedington); and WHEREAS, the City Council also thanks the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for providing us an opportunity to comment upon the proposals and for its willingness to listen to local citizens, business, government concerning these two vitally important highway improvements. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby reports that it has studied the current proposals for the I-540 interchanges with Highway 62 and Highway 16 as well as the analysis of suggested improvements by Mayor Jordan, Development Services Director Jeremy Pate and City Engineer Chris Brown and hereby have determined that the suggested changes by the City of Fayetteville Administration are reasonable and pragmatic and should increase safety, diminish congestion, better accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic through these interchanges. Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby requests that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Division incorporate as many and as much of the City of Fayetteville proposals (attached as Exhibit A) into its final design as are feasible and practical. PASSED and APPROVED this 1st day of April, 2014. APPROVED: 1 ELD I ' AN, Mayor ATTEST: Exhibit A To Resolution NO. The Fayetteville City Council supports the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department in its efforts to improve the interchanges at Highway 16 and Highway 62 along 1-540, but requests that the following comments be considered during the design: 1) Provision of bicycle and pedestrian access across 1-540: Due to the volume of traffic and increased number of lanes proposed, a shared use trail on one side of the roadway at both interchanges is preferred over traditional bike lanes. 2) Use of Median for Access Management. Medians for access management are recognized as an important feature for safety and traffic management. However, the limitation on access should be balanced with providing existing and future businesses with adequate provisions for the public to enter and exit their property: a) Consider a signalized median break at Hwy 16 and Tahoe Circle, to provide access for both vehicular traffic and pedestrians onto and across Highway 16. b) Consider an additional median break on Highway 62 at the eastern entrance to Wal-Mart, and additional cross connections between businesses near the Highway 62/1-540 interchange to minimize u -turns and long "out of the way" travel distances. 3) Conversion of Shiloh Drive from Persimmon Street to Highway 16 from 1 -way traffic to 2 -way traffic: Allowing traffic to use Shiloh to access the right turn loop ramp at Highway 16 will potentially reduce the traffic on Highway 16. 4) Transit Accommodations: Transit routing should be considered and the Department should engage Ozark Regional Transit and Razorback Transit for their input. 5) Highway 62 Interchange: The loop ramp option is preferred over the flyover option. The City Council requests that these comments, supplemented by additional detailed comments provided by City Staff and the Mayor, be incorporated into the final design for the Highway 16 and Highway 62 interchanges. AGENDA REQUEST FOR: COUNCIL MEETING OF April 1, 2014 FROM: CITY COUNCIL MEMBER Alan Long ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION TITLE AND SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE CITY COUNCIL'S AGREEMENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAYOR JORDAN, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR JEREMY PATE AND CITY ENGINEER CHRIS BROWN CONCERNING THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY 16W AND I-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS AND THE HIGHWAY 62 AND I-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS APPROVED FOR AGENDA: City Attorney Kit Williams (as to form) 14/Ck "07 Date .31/7,3(xi Date Williams, Kit From: Long Ward 4 <Iongward4@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 12:12 PM To: Williams, Kit Subject: Fwd: I-540 Interchange Comments Kit, can we fashion these comments into a positive resolution to send to the Arkansas highway department? Alan T Long City of Fayetteville, AR City Council, Alderman- Ward 4 wa rd4 pos2@favetteville-ar.gov Begin forwarded message: From: "Pate, Jeremy" <jpate@favetteville-ar.gov> Date: March 25, 2014 at 11:58:20 AM CDT To: Alan Long <Iongward4@gmail.com> Cc: "Marr, Don" <dmarr@favetteville-ar.gov>, "Brown, Chris" <cbrownc fayetteville-ar.gov> Subject:1-540 Interchange Comments Alan, Below are some of the comments that we have or will articulate to the AHTD related to the interchange improvements with Wedington and MLK, Jr Blvd. These are not intended to be all-inclusive, as we are still working through the drawing review, but they should provide a good sense of the major items that we want the Department to consider as they continue working on design drawings. Provision of bicycle and pedestrian access across 1-540 is a major goal. The lack of adequate bicycle and pedestrian connections currently is a significant safety issue, and has been a source of numerous public comments. Due to the volume of traffic and increased number of lanes proposed, the City recommends that a 16' shared use trail be constructed on one side of the roadway at both interchanges, to separate bicycle/pedestrian movements from vehicular movements. It is intended that this 12-16' wide shared use trail be constructed within the same right-of-way as is currently proposed, and the proposed bicycle lanes and sidewalks be removed, with adequate crossings installed to provide for safe movements. - The City is supportive of access management in this area to reduce turning conflicts and crashes. However, the limitation on access should be balanced with providing existing and future businesses with adequate provisions for the public to enter and exit their property. This may require more local cross -access connections to make the traffic movement flow efficiently. Hwy 16/112S (Wedington) Interchange Comments • The City understands the value of access management, but is also concerned with adequate access to both commercial establishments and residents. • Consider a median break at Hwy 16 and Tahoe Circle. The City recognizes the need for a traffic signal at the offset intersection of Tahoe Place & Marvin Avenue with a pedestrian phase to safely accommodate citizens wanting to cross this busy arterial. This was a clear desire of citizens from a public input process recently conducted by the City of Fayetteville for Wedington Drive. • The City would like the Department to consider converting Shiloh Drive to a two-way street from Wedington Drive to Persimmon Street, to assist with traffic movement that will be greatly affected by the median. • The City prefers a multi -use trail on the north side of the Wedington, which should be physically separated from vehicle traffic to safely cross 1-540, rather than separate bike lanes within the traffic. The 16' wide path should extend to both ends of the project, separated from the road by a parapet wall across the bridge, with a 12' wide path on the roadway portions. Wedington Drive houses a great number of students and others that travel to the University across 1-540. • Transit routing should be considered and the Department should engage Ozark Regional Transit and Razorback Transit for their input. Hwy 62 (MLK Jr. Blvd) Interchange Comments • The City is concerned with the flyover option's impact to adjacent businesses and properties. The solid retaining wall access ramp rising above the existing properties onto the flyover bridge will block all access and visibility for these properties. If the flyover option is the chosen option, the following should be considered: o Increasing the steepness of the ramp to reduce its length along Hwy 62. o Provide for better access to Wal-Mart, to avoid creating a congestion problem at Hwy 16/One Mile Road intersection. The City would like further discussions before moving forward with cutting off the main access driveway to the Wal-Mart Supercenter. If this is not resolved with a signalized intersection and appropriate turn lanes, certainly improvements to the Finger Road access should be implemented and more detailed analysis of the One -Mile Road should be further undertaken. o Mitigate some of the loss of highway access from existing businesses and residents by adding cross connections between businesses, to reduce the need for vehicles to travel long distances in many cases that appear to be minor compared to the risk of additional right of way damages. Minor cross - connections will also reduce the number of u -turns, providing for better operations at the Highway intersections. • Loop ramp option — consider adjusting the loop design speed and/or additional acquisition to eliminate the need to move the main lanes on 1-540 • The City prefers a multiuse trail on the north side of the Hwy 16 if the flyover option is chosen or on the south side if the loop option is chosen, which should be physically separated from vehicle traffic (e.g. concrete parapet) to safely cross 1-540, rather than bike lanes. The 16' wide path should extend to both ends of the project, separated from the road by a parapet wall across the bridge, with a 12' wide path on the roadway portions. • Transit routing should be considered and the Department should engage Ozark Regional Transit and Razorback Transit for their input. Please let me know if you have any questions. Jeremy C. Pate Development Services Director City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Please save my new email address: ipate@favetteville-ar.gov 2 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE CITY COUNCIL'S AGREEMENT WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MAYOR JORDAN, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR JEREMY PATE AND CITY ENGINEER CHRIS BROWN CONCERNING THE PROPOSED HIGHWAY 16W AND I-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS AND THE HIGHWAY 62 AND 1-540 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS WHEREAS, the Fayetteville City Council thanks the Arkansas Highway Commission and the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for their plans and commitment to improve the I-540 interchanges with Highway 62 (MLK) and Highway 16 (Wedington); and WHEREAS, the City Council also thanks the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for providing us an opportunity to comment upon the proposals and for its willingness to listen to local citizens, business, government concerning these two vitally important highway improvements. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby reports that it has studied the current proposals for the I-540 interchanges with Highway 62 and Highway 16 as well as the analysis of suggested improvements by Mayor Jordan, Development Services Director Jeremy Pate and City Engineer Chris Brown and hereby have determined that the suggested changes by the City of Fayetteville Administration are reasonable and pragmatic and should increase safety, diminish congestion, better accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic through these interchanges. Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby requests that the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Division incorporate as many and as much of the City of Fayetteville proposals (attached as Exhibit A) into its final design as are feasible and practical. PASSED and APPROVED this 1St day of April, 2014. APPROVED: ATTEST: By: By: LIONELD JORDAN, Mayor SONDRA E. SMITH, City Clerk/Treasurer Williams, Kit From: Williams, Kit Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 6:51 PM To: Smith, Sondra; Schoppmeyer, Martin; Long, Alan Cc: Brown, Chris; Marr, Don Subject: RE: April 1 City Council Meeting Proposed Walk On for the Agenda Marty, Chris Brown informed us at the Mayor's staff meeting this morning that the comment period for AHTD would expire before your April 15th meeting. Thus, if the City Council wishes to express its opinion on these interchanges during the normal comment period, it must act tomorrow evening. I so informed Alan, and he decided to go forward to help support the Administration's positions. I asked Sondra to notify everyone ASAP so you would have some time to consider this before your meeting. Kit Williams Fayetteville City Attorney 479.575.8313 From: Smith, Sondra Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 5:37 PM To: Schoppmeyer, Martin; Williams, Kit; Long, Alan Subject: RE: April 1 City Council Meeting Proposed Walk On for the Agenda Hi Marty I did not speak to Alan. Kit has been working with Alan and brought the agenda request in and asked that we email it. Alan can you or Kit answer Marty's question about the proposed walk on. Thank you! Office of the City Clerk Treasurer Sondra E. Smith CAMC, CMC City Clerk Treasurer 113 W. Mountain Street, Suite 308 Fayetteville, AR 72701 479.575.8323 ssmith(cr�fayetteville-ar.gov Website! Facebook !Twitter 1 YouTube ARKANSAS yettev lIe-ar.g v 1