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Minutes for the Master Street Plan Committee meeting on December 11, 2014
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Members present: Mike Cameron (arrived at 3:10 p.m.), Marvin Day, Ann Garner, Eugene Holloway, Ben Owens (chair), Bill Smith (arrived at 3:15 p.m.) and Garry Tate
Members absent: Jim Abel, Josh Brown, Robin Nix, Sr. and John Street
Mr. Tate motioned, seconded by Mr. Cameron, to approve the minutes from the December 3, 2014, meeting. All voted aye.
Discussion was had concerning the Master Street Plan map.
City Planner Otis Spriggs questioned what the proposed right-of-way width for minor arterials. City Engineer Craig Light stated the preferred is 90 foot, but 80 foot could be negotiated. Mr. Spriggs then asked if there would be problems in terms of preservation around the area of the Medical Mile and Washington Avenue due to the right-of-way width. He explained there is limited right-of-way in that area. He further explained it’s okay in the west end because there is a lot of vacant land, but the center of the core area may cause problems. Mr. Light stated the language indicates the preferred is supposed to be used except in cases where the city staff find unusual conditions may occur, which allows for the use of a secondary design. He further stated they added language on page 8 that states the city may require less right-of-way if it’s demonstrating that the section is adequate.
Mr. Day noted at the last meeting the committee agreed to accept less right-of-way as long as it is approved by city staff and City Water & Light, but that part of the language was left out of the Master Street Plan text on page 8. Mr. Light stated he will add language to the second paragraph on page 8 stating reductions in right-of-way must be approved by the city engineer and the Engineering Services Director at CWL.
Discussion was then held regarding the changes that were made to the text based on the committee recommendations from the last meeting.
Chairman Owens stated at the last meeting JETS Director Steve Ewart asked that consideration be given in the future to public transit on the roadways. Mr. Light explained he has a list of recommendations that the committee will make for future study or addition to the plan and that is one of the recommendations. Other recommendations include transit planning, the bicycle plan, a sidewalk plan, an access management plan and some corridor-specific planning.
Bicycle lanes were discussed. Mr. Light stated the design standards show bike lanes, but they need to determine the specific facilities they want the bike lanes to be on in the future. He noted they have time to work on the bicycle plan over the next six months. Mr. Smith explained the MPO is currently revising what their street-based transportation is, so it’s a waste of time to make a plan with recommendations until the MPO has finalized their plan. MPO Director Patrick Dennis added they are looking at a 60-90 day extension of the study, so it’ll be the end of February at the earliest before they get the study’s recommendations. Mr. Smith suggested finalizing the Master Street Plan with the understanding that the bicycle plan will be revisited in the next cycle of the updating of the Master Street Plan.
Mr. Holloway referred to discussion at the last meeting concerning shared travel and bicycle lanes and asked if the designation of shared travel and bicycle lanes should be striped now while updates are still being made to the bicycle plan. Mr. Light stated he doesn’t think that’s necessary because travel and bicycle lanes are currently being shared. He noted the discussion from the last meeting referring to shared travel and bike lanes was in reference to local streets.
Mr. Light then stated Mr. Spriggs recommended adding language to the Master Street Plan text that discusses cul-de-sacs. Generally, only 50 feet of right-of-way is required, but that is not included in the local street description. He stated he will add that language to the text. Mr. Day motioned, seconded by Mr. Tate, to add language on page 17 to the local streets category under the design standards that indicates cul-de-sacs should have a standard right-of-way of 50 feet. All voted aye.
Mr. Light clarified that the transit plan should also be included in the list of recommendations from the committee. Mr. Ewart stated there’s a good chance in 2015 they will be hiring a consultant to do a transit development plan that could help with the Master Street Plan process. He added they hope to have that plan done by October to be included in the 2016 budget process.
Mr. Light then questioned whether the committee would like a sub-committee to develop a sidewalk plan, so they could develop a clear picture of where they would like sidewalks in order to get right-of-way. He also added that another recommendation will be an access management plan. He explained these are all part of recommendations for future work. Mr. Smith motioned, seconded by Mr. Tate, to accept Mr. Light’s list of recommendations for future work to be included in the Master Street Plan. All voted aye.
Mr. Tate motioned, seconded by Mr. Smith, to approve the proposed Master Street Plan. All voted aye.
Chairman Owens noted this will be the last meeting for this committee. Mr. Cameron commended the staff for their work with the plan. Mr. Holloway agreed.
Captain Scott Roper asked that final copies be sent to the committee members. Mr. Light stated he will send that out to everyone. He added Mayor Perrin has indicated he would like public meetings to begin in January, so the public can comment on the plan before adoption by the City Council.
With no further business, the committee adjourned.