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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-MATC-2018-05-31 MOBILITY, ACCESSIBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES PRESENT: Chair Lerner Commissioners (8) Barden, Reed, Brylinsky, Lyczko, Roberts, Chang, Powers OTHERS PRESENT: Information Management Specialist - Myers Chief of Staff - Cogan CC Liaison – Nguyen Supt. of Public Works – Thorne Director of Engineer - Logue EXCUSED: Commissioner Parkes CC Liaison McGonigal Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. 1.1 Agenda Review: No changes 1.2 Review and Approval of Minutes Approval of the April 23, 2018 Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission Meeting Minutes – Resolution By Commissioner Brylinsky: Seconded by Commissioner Powers RESOLVED, That the minutes of the April 23, 2018 Mobility, Accessibility, and Transportation Commission meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously 1.3 Meeting Protocol and Etiquette: No discussion 1.4 Statements from the Public: Dave Nutter, City of Ithaca addressed the commission related to bikes and bike boulevards. He encouraged the commission to consider improvements that could be made to extend the bike boulevard on East/West Court Street east to the Cascadilla Trail and west to the Cayuga Waterfront Trail; Spencer Road would be another good location for a bike boulevard. He also voiced concerns about bikes on sidewalks and the dangers they pose to pedestrians and wheelchair users, and the need to repaint/restripe all bike lanes around the city. 1.5 Commission Response: Chair Lerner asked Mr. Nutter to share a written summary of the major points presented with commission members for potential follow-up. Date: May 31, 2018 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Common Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall Public Safety and Information Commission May 31, 2018 2 Commissioner Powers expressed her support for extending the bike boulevards throughout the City. Introductions Part 2: Chair Lerner asked commissioners to introduce themselves since a couple of members were absent from the first meeting. Communications: Chair Lerner stated that the discussion with Alderperson Mohlenhoff on communication between the four commissions, city staff and open meetings law will be deferred to a future meeting. Chair Lerner reminded everyone that the commission is a public body and as such governed by New York State Open Meetings Law. He stated that he wanted an organized and efficient way to store input from the public and from commission members on topics of potential interest to the commission. Information Management Specialist Myers has a filter set up with her e-mail that will sort messages with the word “keeper” or “keepers” in the subject line; use the email mat@cityofithaca.org. Public Works Overview: Supt. Thorne provided the following information on the Department of Public Works: Water and Sewer Division: The city’s water and sewer system was designed to last 100 years; that time span has passed and then some so a lot of repairs need to take place. One of those systems is on East State/Martin Luther King, Jr. Street and this summer work is underway to replace all the underground infrastructure causing traffic delays and frustration for motorists. Engineering Division: Director of Engineering Logue explained that there are 7 other engineers in the Engineering Division that includes a Civil Engineer, two Assistant Civil Engineers, one Bridge Engineer, one Sidewalk Program Manager, one Transportation Engineer, and one Assistant Transportation Engineer. He explained that about 60% of the department’s work relates to capital project management. That includes seeking funding, design, and construction of streets, bridges, trails, and city buildings etc. Other work of the department includes:  Right-of way management and permitting Records management for the city’s infrastructure Oversight of the various modes of transportation (bikes, buses, cars, sidewalks, train, and some assistance to TCAT although they run, for the most part, without a lot of assistance from the city.  Pedestrian infrastructure  The Sidewalk Program including strategic review of the sidewalk system - where sidewalk is missing, long-range planning, inventory and prioritization of work Public Safety and Information Commission May 31, 2018 3  Not a lot of work is done with trucks and freight other than creating/maintain loading zones which are a key part of the economy of the community  Bike infrastructure in conjunction with the Planning Department i.e. where, what, design, and paths  Vehicular traffic in general - traffic control, signals, design; a lot of the work is regulated by state laws  Coordination with the Planning Department related to land use development (for example, currently in the waterfront district there is a lack of infrastructure for transportation there so how can that be improved)  Improvements to bike and pedestrian facilities for new development (the Board of Public Works oversees those on city property; whereas the Planning and Development Board oversees the infrastructure on private property)  Coordination with New York State Department of Transportation - Routes 13 and 79; their offices are remote so they rely on the city to be their eyes and ears as far as work needed  Traffic calming program - there is process to receive requests which are then studied and prioritized for construction A brief question and answer time followed. Parking Division – the Department of Public Works is responsible for all on street- parking enforcement as well as recommending parking rates for garages and on street parking that goes to the Board of Public Works for approval. The staff of the Parking Division work closely with the city’s engineers related to the creation of loading zones in new areas and maintenance of the old garage structures. The Parking Division also oversees the management of the Commons. Streets and Facilities – this division is the construction arm of the Department of Public Works. Staff are responsible for repairs to buildings, parks, streets, routine repairs, and maintenance; with the largest amount of work related to the maintenance of all city streets, snow plowing, sidewalk repairs outside of the city’s sidewalk program, and bridge repairs (city crews can only make minor repairs to the bridges; they’re not permanent but in the long term will help maintain them for continued use a little longer). The Department of Public Works is responsible for the oversight of the department’s operating budget and capital project budgets. Both of these budgets drive and limit the work of the department. The money for the operating budget is raised from property taxes and parking revenues; it pays for salaries and routine maintenance. Annual Work Plan/Chair’s Comments: Chair Lerner explained that commissioners were paired off to begin to research various topics. When the commissions were originally created, the plan was that there would be a discussion at the May meeting about the commission’s annual work plan. Over the last month it's become clear that’s not an option because each of the 4 pairs found that things took longer and the process moved slower than anticipated. He suggested that the pairs keep going with their research topics and to determine what the next steps and topics for agendas should be at next month’s meeting. Public Safety and Information Commission May 31, 2018 4 Each pair of commissioners presented a brief 10 minute overview of the results of their research on the following topics: Bicycles: Commissioners Sarah Barden and Megan Powers Commissioner Barden stated that they were tasked with finding out what the legacy items were from the former Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Council (BPAC) so they met with the former chair, David W est. They found out that the City has a bike plan which was drafted in 1997 and is used to guide engineers in decisions. In addition, the funding was not there to implement components of the plan as comprehensively as recommended. They also met with Hector Chang (current MATC commissioner) who works for Bike/W alk Tompkins - Ithaca Car Share who is creating a bicycle plan blueprint through a grassroots approach to be used as a guiding document for future decisions. They have plans to meet with Fernando d’Aragon, Tompkins County Transportation Council. They suggested that the commission investigate what projects are currently underway in the City and whether there is work that the commission might assist with or whether the time might be better spent on strategic planning for the future. Parking - Commissioners Peter Parkes and Theresa Lyczko Commissioner Lyczko reported that they met with Superintendent of Public Works Thorne, Chief of Staff Cogan, and Director of Parking Messmer. They found that maintenance of the city’s parking garages is a big concern, and that it is important to know all the multiple stakeholders that would be affected (i.e. residents, businesses, hotels, and commuters) by any changes so as to have an understanding garage use in an effort to find possible solutions for their future. She explained that staff would like help from this commission to find the best practices from other cities that might work here, and what role it could play in terms of a long term and more strategic parking plan. Chair Lerner stated that Supt. Thorne plans to develop a large scale comprehensive parking plan for the City of Ithaca that will be used as a guide over the next decade. This commission needs to think about what questions the study should try to answer. ADA Issues - Larry Roberts and Sarah Brylinsky: Commissioner Roberts reviewed the history of the Disability Advisory Council and how their recommendations were developed to be used as a tool for the new commissions. The most important one concerns the need for the City to hire an ADA Coordinator whose primary job would be to ensure that ADA law requirements are met by the City of Ithaca, and be a resource for city staff and the public. He further explained that when the ADA law was passed in 1990 it required the City of Ithaca to develop an ADA self- assessment (this was a requirement for all municipalities). That self-assessment has not been updated since 1992; Chief of Staff Cogan has a copy. The DAC recommended it as a place to start in order to have clear data of where the City is now versus where it should be or was in 1992. It will be important for this commission to push the City to complete a current self-assessment. Other topics that should be reviewed and discussed include emergency preparedness, a downtown accessibility map, universal design, wayfaring, accessibility and technology. Public Safety and Information Commission May 31, 2018 5 Chair Lerner suggested that it might make sense to have a longer and more comprehensive discussion of ADA Law, Universal Design, the City’s self-assessment, the ADA Coordinator position, and the other recommendations from the Disability Advisory Council in a more systematic way. Snow Removal - Bill Reed and Hector Chang Commissioner Reed recommended that this issue be dealt with before the coming winter season. He explained that the original city law on snow removal has not been updated since 1992. The issue that comes up the most is that it has been subjective as to how it is applied, and could the current law be clarified to make enforcement clearer and less subjective. It would be good for our commission to look at other communities’ sidewalk snow removal processes and make an assessment as to whether or not there are other and better ways that it could be done in the City of Ithaca. Meeting Wrap-Up: Chair Lerner stated it is clear that each pair of commissioners has more they can work on related to the topic they were assigned. He is content to leave the topic pairing assignments as they are; unless someone wants to make any changes. Next meeting - similar plan as this meeting with the second half of the meeting providing time for reports on assigned research topics, and another large presentation during the first half of the meeting. He will reach out to the Director of Planning and Development to see if they might be available for the June 25 th meeting. Feedback on today’s meeting and process: Overall, everyone felt the meeting went well; they liked the fast pace and the timekeeping. Timekeeping helps to control the length of time each item is discussed and aids in keeping the discussion focused. Microphones will be used at the next meeting. Next Meeting Monday, June 25, 2018 – 6:00 p.m. Adjournment: On a motion the meeting adjourned 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Sarah Myers, Information Management Specialist