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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Transportation Advisory Committee - 06/25/2012Transportation Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, June 25, 2012 Call Meeting to Order - Mr. Curtis A. Rock, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of May 28, 2012 were approved. III. Presentations and Discussions - a. Introduction of New Traffic Captain: Mr. Cardenas introduced Capt. Mark Gutierrez and said he is the new Traffic Captain. Mr. Cardenas said usually the supervising officers are in a rotation basis. He said Capt. Vesely is now the Patrol Captain and stated Capt. Gutierrez was in charge of the Delta District. Capt. Gutierrez said he is still learning the job and there is a lot to learn. He has been with the Police Department for 20 years, his son just graduated from the last Police Academy, and he is with the Police Department as well. Capt. Gutierrez stated he is happy to be here and is happy to be part of the traffic division. b. Monthly Traffic Fatality Report: Capt. Gutierrez reported three (3) new fatalities, which brings the total to thirteen (13) for year 2012. c. Monthly Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Report: Ms. Arnold reported the committee is working with city staff and Planning to make sure accommodations are made when possible for bicycle and pedestrian safety within traffic. Ms. Arnold said the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee is looking at future activities with the Safe Passing ordinance. They are looking at the next step, which is how the community communicates with the public about the Safe Passing ordinance and various things that can be done to take care of this. They are also discussing the possibility of looking into other cities in the State of Texas that have helmet requirements for juveniles riding bicycles in their communities. She said they would be researching whether or not this is something Corpus Christi wants to explore and pursue. Ms. Arnold said they are following up on some questions and issues brought up by the City Council members when the Safe Passing ordinance was approved. She said this is in terms of that activity and future activities to insure the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians on the roadway. Mr. Jacobi asked to balance the education side and have an educational component aimed at bicyclists as well. He said that every day you see bicyclists violating traffic laws. Ms. Arnold said they spent some time at the last Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee meeting discussing a complete education campaign out to the community. d. Police Department Traffic Enforcement Complaints: Capt. Gutierrez reported nine complaints for the month and six of them were speeding related. He said they try to get to them as they can. Capt. Gutierrez stated they are focusing on the parking violations now and maybe that is why there has been a drop on the traffic enforcement complaints. e. Top 20 Traffic Accident Locations for the Month: Capt. Gutierrez reported the number one location for the month of May is at the 2500 block of US- 181 -FWY SB with four accidents. He said another location with four accidents is SPID. Capt. Page 1 of 5 Gutierrez commented since he started they have been focusing their efforts on the top 20 traffic accident locations for the year. He said this is where they are running their enforcement as far as speeding and reckless driving. They have been making a significant impact and you can see that by the number of tickets they started giving at the very beginning of this project. Capt. Gutierrez reported the Police Chief mentioned that on his way to work he has seen motorists driving a little bit slower. Mr. Rock commented that he also has noticed that motorists have been driving a lot slower on SPID. f. Urban Transportation Plan Amendments 1. Discussion and Possible Action of Northwest Area Proposed Collector Street Amendments: Mr. Payne said the property owner has requested that the city consider removing a collector street showing on the Urban Transportation Plan. The collector street has not been dedicated or built and is located about 1000 ft. west and parallel to US -77. Mr. Payne stated there have to be collectors that bring traffic strategically into the arterial system. He said they looked at this and the two collectors on the plan are spaced only 1000 ft. apart, which does not meet their standards. The staff mentioned the spacing is a 1 /a to 1 /2 mile, these two collectors are less than 1 /a mile apart; consolidation into a single collector would meet city standards. They are recommending consolidating the two collectors into a single collector street approximately midpoint between County Rd. 69 and US -77. Mr. Jacobi inquired if the City of Corpus Christi owns the property where the collector street would go. Mr. Payne responded no, the property owner is going through this plating process. Mr. Weckenmann asked about the current zoning in this area. He inquired if this is the same as proposed in the Comprehensive Plan and what kind of development is it and whether this is sufficient with the single collector. Mr. Payne stated as far as the plan is concerned they are showing a strip of commercial all along this area between this collector and the freeway. Mr. Rock requested Mr. Cardenas' input regarding this item. Mr. Cardenas inquired about the type of collectors that are being deleted. Mr. Payne said they are c- 1 collectors. Mr. Cardenas stated the two collectors are splitting traffic and are being combined with the new one; therefore, it might be a c -2 or above to hold more traffic. He said a c -1 is more of a residential or neighborhood collector and a c -2 or c -3 is more of a business collector. He would recommend a c -2 or c -3 that would provide pedestrians and bike lanes. This would accommodate the local residents to the Wal -Mart and business district. Mr. Payne said a c -3 would be the choice here. Mr. Rock asked the difference between a c -2 and c -3 collector. Mr. Payne responded the c -2 is two lanes and a center left turn lane and a c -3 is four lanes. Mr. Weckenmann said his only concern, just to follow -up, is precisely like Williams Dr. and McArdle Rd. In these cases, they do not carry much traffic away from the SPID service roads. He would prefer not to create the same situation here. If there was more development, like giving people alternate ways in and out of these locations that is attractive enough to use versus over reliance on the service roads. 2. Discussion and Possible Action to Recommend Re- designation of County Rd. 52 between US -77 and Callicoatte Rd. from an A -2 Arterial to an A -1 Arterial: Mr. Payne said the property owner has requested the city to consider the re- designation of County Rd. 52 from an A -2 arterial with 100 ft. of right- Page 2 of 5 of -way, four lanes and a median between US -77 and Callicoatte Rd. to an A -1 arterial. He said this is the next step down; 5 ft. narrower, 95 ft. of right -of- way and a center left turn lane and no median. He said this is from US -77 east to Callicoatte Rd. Mr. Payne stated they would be going to the Planning Commission to recommend changing most of this area to light industrial. In the process of getting this tract of land platted, he had to dedicate enough right - of -way to build a 450 ft. road, 110 ft. wide and 79,000 dollars worth of money. In 2005, the City of Corpus Christi contemporaneously with the completion of US -77 completed the 450 ft. road. They did not build the median and did not put in sidewalks. In 2003, they purchased 27 acres from Mr. Harmand and they would like to expand the business behind the existing facility. Mr. Massey said people with trucks and trailers go down and turn around in an opening in the median and come back the other way on what would be County Rd. 52. Mr. Cardenas said Mr. Massey is right, where there is an industrial use area the medians make it very difficult for the heavy trucks. Tight radiuses and the curb cuts make it very difficult and the continuous left turns assist in making the turns into their businesses without disrupting the flow of traffic. He said we see this in most of our industrial areas. Furthermore, this section near Calallen is also a connection to areas that are soon to develop near Leopard St. where he would like to see a more bike friendly type of atmosphere. He would also ask for a wider shoulder at the same time to allow more bicycle traffic to get from Calallen to Annaville as a connection. However as far the median is concerned in industrial usage, there is not a benefit to those medians; the benefit is the continuous left turn lane. g. City of Corpus Christi Staff Written Follow -up to Council Members as a Response to Council's Request to Staff to Update them and Continue Efforts to Include Bicycle and Pedestrian Activity when Planning for and Maintaining Streets: Mr. Cardenas said this is an informal staff memorandum that came from the Planning Department and went through Oscar Martinez, Assistant City Manager, to the City Manager. This includes the Planning efforts of hike and bikes and cycling to the Urban Transportation Plan and Master Plan. Mr. Cardenas read the last two paragraphs of the memorandum to the committee. He said as of 2012, City staff has not participated in a policy or implementation evaluation of the current Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. As part of the Hike and Bike Master Plan evaluation of current plans and policies is an integral task and will be conducted with internal stakeholders (i.e. City departments ft boards), governmental entities (i.e. MPO, RTA, TXDOT, etc.), and external stakeholders (community groups, etc.). Therefore, in preparation of the next phase of the project, staff has already established contact with community stakeholders (i.e. Bold Future) and City boards (i.e. Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) ft TAC Subcommittee on Bicycles and Pedestrians). As part of the next phase, evaluation of existing policies will include the role of street maintenance, route expansions, and updating the current policy statements of the City as appropriate to scope and specific plan. This will include the incorporation of the policies, projects, and methods supplied by the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan provided by HDR, Inc. Mr. Cardenas said this is saying we are included in the hike and bike and bicycle efforts in the Urban Transportation Plan. He said boards like this one and the Page 3 of 5 subcommittee would be involved in any of the planning or any changes to the Urban Transportation Plan. Mr. Cardenas stated this is like what Mr. Payne just did with some of the changes to the Urban Transportation Plan, as far as planning and development is concerned. Mr. Rock asked if there is a map where we could see the current plan on the city's website. Mr. Cardenas said yes, there is one on the city's website and the MPO's website also. h. Educational Signs for "Safe Passing" Ordinance - TAC Signs and City of Corpus Christi Signs: Ms. Arnold said this is something she brought up at the last meeting. She said this is to see where some signs might be out there. Ms. Arnold stated maybe they could come up with a simple clean graphic that would be able to educate the community and cyclists regarding this ordinance. Ms. Arnold said she had noticed a few TAC signs around town, which might be an easy opportunity to upgrade the signs at a minimal cost to meet that need. Since then she had a meeting with Mr. Cardenas and he has the ability to help with about 10 of the largest City of Corpus Christi traffic signs that would be able to serve this need. Right now, they are working on identifying some sort of a graphic that could be put on a sign that very clearly and immediately conveys the message. She is looking at some corridors and conducting research on what other cities and states that have passed the same ordinance are doing, and what they have created. Ms. Arnold mentioned that she is following up on Mr. Cardenas request to identify two or three routes that would be logical places to install some of these signs. In addition, she is working with the RTA and their advertising vendor about creating the same graphic, once it has been approved to place it on city signs. She said once approved, they can be placed on some of the bus benches that do not have advertising. L Unified Development Code (UDC) - None j. Discussion on the No Cell Phone Use While Driving with Possible Action Taken to Continue Discussions: Mr. Jacobi said since the last TAC meeting, the 38 and 39 states have adopted the no cell phone use while driving. He said the two states are Alabama and Ohio. Mr. Jacobi said he read the latest report from the National Highway Transportation Safety Board and stated that texting is equivalent to being drunk. Mr. Jacobi talked about a study on USA Today regarding a simulator that is taken to the schools to demonstrate kids the consequences of texting and driving. He said they get the kids with driver licenses to drive and at some point, they are sent text messages they need to reply. Mr. Jacobi said while texting they would be put through some situations where they need to respond and every single one crashed. He said they could not respond to simple things, like a dog running across the road. Mr. Jacobi stated that he hopes we can continue talking about this and he knows is coming whether we want to or not. Mr. Rock said he personally does not have a problem discussing this item; it is very informative and educational. He would keep it on the agenda to discuss it, whether we move forward with anything or not. That is to be determined by some sort of a vote. Ms. Cudd asked if a motion is needed to keep this item on the agenda. Mr. Rock responded a motion is not needed to keep it on the agenda. Mr. Rock mentioned Mr. Jacobi would be the person appointed to bring the statistics each month for this item. k. One -way Traffic Issues on South Shores to Montclair Elementary - Item tabled for next meeting. Page 4 of 5 Discussion of Speed Limit Change on McArdle Rd. from Everhart Rd. to Staples St.: Mr. Price said he brought up this item last month; therefore, studies could be conducted to find out the speed limit motorists are driving in this area. He said the speed limit on McArdle Rd. from Ayers St. to Everhart Rd. is 30 mph. Mr. Price mentioned from Everhart Rd. to Staples St. on McArdle Rd. it goes from a two -lane road to a four -lane road and the speed limit still 30 mph. He said behind the mall is 35 mph but until you get there it is 30 mph. He said most four -lane roads are a little faster than 30 mph. Therefore, he wanted to question maintaining the 30 mph speed limit. Mr. Cardenas said yes it could be maintained at 30 mph speed limit and put up more signs if needed and get more enforcement to maintain the 30 mph. Mr. Cardenas said he would be conducting a speed study to see what people are driving between Everhart Rd. and Staples St. He said the studies would be conducted this summer. m. Discussion of election of TAC Officers with Possible Action Taken: Mr. Cardenas mentioned the election of the chairperson and co- chairperson is due to the appointment of three new TAC members. IV. Staff Recommendations requiring Committee Review for Recommendations / Actions - a. Appointments to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee: None b. Recommendation to Consolidate Two North -South Collectors between County Rd. 69 and US -77 into Single Collector with Possible Action Taken: Mr. Weckenmann motioned to approve the recommendation to consolidate the collectors into a single collector. Mr. Price seconded. Motion passed. c. Recommendation to Re- designate County Rd. 52 between US -77 and Callicoatte Rd. from an A -2 Arterial St. with 100 ft. of Right -of -Way, 4 Lanes and a Median to an A -1 Arterial with 4 Lanes and a Continuous Center Left Turn Lane with Possible Action Taken: Ms. Cudd motioned to approve the staff recommendation to re- designate County Rd. 52 between US -77 and Callicoatte Rd. from an A -2 Arterial to an A -1 Arterial which will take out the median. Mr. Villarreal seconded. Motion passed. d. Motion to Continue Discussions with the No Cell Phone Use While Driving with Possible Action Taken: Committee decided no action was needed to continue discussions with this item. e. Motion to Re -elect Mr. Curtis A. Rock as Chairperson to Transportation Advisory Committee with Possible Action Taken: Ms. Cudd motioned to re -elect Mr. Curtis A. Rock as Chairperson to Transportation Advisory Committee. Mr. Villarreal seconded. Motion passed. f. Motion to Elect Vice -Chair to Transportation Advisory Committee with Possible Action Taken: Ms. Cudd motioned to elect Mr. Edd Price as vice - chairperson to Transportation Advisory Committee. Mr. Villarreal seconded. Motion passed. V. Identify items to be placed on a future agenda - None VI. Public Comment - None VII. Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. Page 5 of 5