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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Transportation Advisory Commission - 09/28/2009 RECEIVED Transportation Advisory Committee FF;B MO Meeting Minutes Monday, September 28, 2009 tCITY SECRETASY'S OFFICE Call Meeting to Order - Mr. Bill Green, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 2:31 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes - Minutes of August 24, 2009 were approved. Ill. Presentations and Discussions - a. Monthly Traffic Fatality Report: Sgt. Pena reports one fatality in September on the 4500 block of South Padre Island Drive involving a motorcycle. The accident was a one vehicle crash. b. Monthly Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee Report: Ms. Karen Beard begins with a brief overview of the topics the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee has discussed. One topic of main concern is the Urban Transportation Plan and getting it on board with the Texas Manual of Uniform and Traffic Control Devices. Mr. Charlie Cardenas informs the committee that he recently spoke with a Be Kind to Cyclists advocate, Mr. Fred Ramirez, and together reviewed the Urban Transportation Plan and where it relates to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Mr. Cardenas notifies the TAC that Bob Payne, as part of his presentation today, has already addressed changes that need to be made. Mr. Green inquires on the membership of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee. Ms. Beard responds that there is full membership and no new appointments necessary. She notifies the committee that a small group of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee will meet soon to update the Bylaws. Once the Bylaws have been updated, they will be brought to the TAC for approval. b. Discussion on NAS representation on the committee with possible action to be taken: Mr. Green begins by welcoming Daniel Reynolds, NAS representative. He expresses his concern on the amount of missed meetings. However, Mr. Green explains that the committee wanted to make sure the absence was not intentional and that there was still interest in the works of this committee. Mr. Reynolds apologizes for the confusion in the change of command at NAS and expresses that he is pleased to serve on the committee. c. Street striping in Kings Crossing, specifically Strasbourg Drive: Mr. Glenn Jones clarifies the issue on Strasbourg Drive. He informs the TAC that the speed limit on Strasbourg is (30) thirty miles per hour and recalls Mr. Page 1of6 SCANNED Cardenas stating pavement markings on the street is a method of controlling speed. Mr. Jones expresses that Strasbourg Drive is a very busy access road into the Kings Crossing subdivision and currently there are no pavement markings. He has witnessed vehicles speed and drive anywhere from the middle of the road to right along the curb. Mr. Jones would like to see the possibility of having the roadway striped to fix the problem. Mr. Cardenas informs the committee that some of the methods traffic engineer's use is to stripe the roadway or narrow the lanes. This gives the driver an impression that they are confined, tend to be more aware and slow down their speed. Mr. Cardenas informs the committee that the city currently has a striping contract and will get with the City's Street Department to see the possibility of adding Strasbourg to the contract. Mr. Jones suggests striping the entire length of Strasbourg from Staples Street to Marseille Drive, but is open to the thoughts of the Traffic Department. Mr. Cardenas adds that there are currently several speed humps on Strasbourg and believes it is feasible to stripe Strasbourg. Some things that need to be looked into by the Traffic Engineering Department are the turning movements and location of any on-street parking. With any striping, Mr. Cardenas also mentions that crosswalks are updated, if needed. Mr. Green questions whether Strasbourg is a commercial or a residential collector. Mr. Cardenas responds that it is a residential collector and based on the Urban Transportation Plan, there should be center lane and outside lane markings. Mr. Cardenas will return the topic to the committee when the striping is in or scheduled. d. Whataburger Way: Mr. Cardenas informs the TAC that Whataburger Way was part of the Whataburger complex near Gollihar Road and Staples Street. At the time, Whataburger brought to the attention of City Council, Transportation Advisory Committee and Development Services to close down a portion of Whataburger Way for their development and parking issues. However, recently Whataburger changed their headquarter location from Corpus Christi to San Antonio. Exactly what happened to Whataburger Way after Whataburger moved away is unclear. Mr. Jones states that he only wanted an update of Whataburger Way, as to who owns it, is there an issue with it, or is there any maintenance that needs to be done. Basically, is the city going to close the street or not. Mr. Cardenas states that legally Whataburger Way has been closed by City Council, but no barricades or physical structure actually says it is closed. Mr. Green states that typically when there is a street closure, the right of way reverts to the adjoining property owners half and half. Obviously there are conditions of the closure and it is possible that the entire right of was given back to the Whataburger property interest. Mr. Green understands that City Council gave the approval for the street closure, but his question for staff is to go back and investigate whether those conditions of the street Page 2 of 6 closure were met by Whataburger. If they have not, then the street closure has not occurred. Mr. Bob Payne comments that the right of way was purchased by Whataburger, and according to the city Whataburger has met all the requirements. There was a point in time between different directors, where the city did not require re-platting as part of a street closure, but now the city does. Mr. Payne states that Whataburger did purchase it from the city, and suggests putting everything in chronological order. Mr. Green requests that Mr. Cardenas place this back on the agenda with a staff report. e. Briefing from Corpus Christi Police Department on speed enforcement and on the top ten dangerous intersections in Corpus Christi: Police Department not aware of presentation. Mr. Green expresses the importance to have someone from the police department present to give more of an insight and be part of this discussion. He suggests that along with the top ten intersections, there may be some geometric issues inplay that are more of a technical nature, not just a matter of enforcement. Mr. Green urges representatives from TXDOT and the city correlate together on how to reduce accidents at these intersections. Mr. Cardenas states that it comes with the territory; more traffic yields more accidents and discusses possibly moving to a percentage of accidents based on the traffic volume instead. Mr. Green agrees that this approach might be better in identifying other intersections around the city that may have a higher percentage rate of accidents. Along with the percentage of accidents, Mr. Green would like to see the time frame of day where the most accidents occur. Mr. Jones expresses that more of a police unit presence at these intersections might help the issue. Ms. Beard articulates that education is the key because she is appalled at how often the community is previously warned about the Click It or Ticket campaign, yet the numbers of those ticketed continues to be high. Mr. Green expresses that part of the responsibility of the TAC is to advise the city council how the city can improve public safety in the transportation system. He explains that the higher volume of traffic, the slower the travel speed becomes and believes the geometric layouts, time of day the accidents are occurring, and the 85th percentile speed to identify if there are any structural changes that can be made to improve public safety or enforcement issues that can help. Mr. Green suggests that in concert with the police department and TXDOT, the committee can revisit this question when staff is ready to make this presentation. Mr. Green requests that Ms. Rebecca Pena keep this on the list of items the TAC wishes to revisit. f. Cimarron Boulevard speed study from Wooldridge to Yorktown: Mr. Cardenas informs the committee that with all new roadway widening, Page 3 of 6 traffic patterns will change. When a roadway goes from a two lane roadway with one lane in each direction to a four or five lane roadway, speed will increase. Mr. Cardenas states that drivers are not following the posted speed limit of (35) thirty-five miles per hour on Cimarron Boulevard. The Traffic Engineering Department needs to conduct a speed study on this roadway. Mr. Cardenas explains that normal traffic engineering practice is to set the speed at the 85t percentile, meaning 85 percent of the vehicular traffic is traveling at that speed. Mr. Green suggests amending the consultant services contract and having the consultants do the speed study six months after the commissioning of the roadway. Another issue concerning Mr. Green is whether the speed study takes into account the amount traffic friction points and keeps these in consideration when determining 85th percentile speed. g. No Parking on Ocean Drive to accommodate bicycle lane: Mr. Cardenas begins the discussion on the issue with parking on Ocean Drive. Currently the city would like to designate this lane as a bicycle lane by city ordinance and only allow parking for emergency vehicles and service vehicles, such as AEP. Designating no parking on Ocean Drive, from Texas ABtM University to Furman Street will be taken to city council for approval. Ms. Veronica Ocanas explains that when this goes to council, there will be two public hearings before city council takes action. If this passes through city council, the proper regulatory signage would need to be erected and a city ordinance would need to be created designating this section of Ocean Drive as a bicycle lane. Mr. Green questions whether the current bicycle transportation plan designates Ocean Drive as a bicycle travel way. Mr. Cardenas states that it does designate it for future use as a hike and bike trail. Mr. Green questions whether the residents have been notified, since in the past, residents have used the shoulder for parking. Mr. Cardenas informs Mr. Green that the notifications have not been sent, pending the draft of the agenda item and confirmation of public hearing date. Ms. Beard states that there are two things that are not compliant. Bicycle lanes cannot be used as a parking lane and the signage currently displayed are warning signs not regulatory signs. Mr. Green questions whether a public hearing is necessary from TAC before making a recommendation. Ms. Ocanas responds that the TAC gives the recommendation and the public hearings are held at city council. IV. Staff Recommendations requiring Committee Review for Recommendations/Actions - Page 4 of 6 • • a. Motion to direct staff to draft an amendment to remove the incumbent security officer at the Naval Air Station as a member of the Transportation Advisory Committee: Mr. Jones moves to withdraw the motion. Ms. Beard seconds. Motion withdrawn. b. Recommendation to City Council to designate no parking along the Ocean Drive bicycle lane: Mr. Green states for the record that he would like to have a public hearing to hear the viewpoints of the community before TAC makes a recommendation. Item tabled until staff has an exhibit and the public has a chance to comment. c. Recommendation to City Council to update the Urban Transportation Plan: Bob Payne, representing the City's Development Services Department, gives an overview of the update to the Urban Transportation Plan as presented in the June 2009 TAC meeting. Mr. Green opens public comment on Item IVc. Tim Clower Et George Clower with Clower development company at 415 Starr Street states that they are planning on a 60 acre shopping center at the corner of Ennis Joslin and South Padre Island Drive. Mr. Clower addresses a few concerns with the Williams extension, which he is currently working with Bob Payne on. Public comment closed. Mr. Green entertains a motion of a recommendation of approval for consideration by the planning commission and city council for an update to the Urban Transportation Plan with a stipulation of including the bicycle way path so noted. Motion passes. V. Identify items to be placed on a future agenda - • Wal-mart at Parkdale update • Time frame of the Cimarron speed study -Wooldridge Road to Yorktown Boulevard • Strasbourg Drive striping update, when complete • Red light camera update • MMS agreement update • Top 10 intersections, when staff is ready to present information • Cell phone signage update • Whataburger way update • Daniel Carrizales presentation on TAC webpage • HDR, Inc Presentation on Traffic Signal Coordination Plan • Update on the terms of office Page 5 of 6 VI. Public Comment - Mr. Green opens public comment on Item IVc - Recommendation to city council to update the Urban Transportation Plan. Mr. Clower Et George Clower with Clower development company at 415 Starr Street states that they are planning on a 60 acre shopping center at the corner of Ennis Joslin and South Padre Island Drive. Mr. Clower addresses a few concerns with the Williams extension, which he is currently working with Bob Payne on. Public comment closed. VII. Adjournment - Meeting adjourned at 4:36 p.m. Page 6 of 6