2016 01-041
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
Monday, January 4th, 2016 – 3:30 pm
Council Chambers - Meridian City Hall - 33 East Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho
1. Roll Call:
Ryan Lancaster Bryan Leisle ___ David Zaremba (ex -officio)
Darrel McRoberts Ryan Hall ___ Shawn Martin (ex -officio)
Stephen Lewis Jack McGee ___ Toni Tisdale (ex -officio)
David Ballard Lance Baumg artner ___ Margaret Havey (ex -officio)
___ Tracy Hopkins ___ Mark Wasdahl (ex-officio) ___ Miranda Carson (ex-officio)
2. Adoption of the Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes from December 7th, 2015 Meeting
4. Old Business Items
a. Transportation Projects Update (memo attached; C. Hood)
5. New Business Items
a. Election of Officers for 2016
b. City Commissions and Committee Formation and Function Changes (Ted
Baird)
c. Meridian Police Department Status Report (Sgt. Stacy Arnold)
d. School Zone Speed Limits (memo attached; C. Hood/Ted Baird)
e. Staff Communications (memo attached; C. Hood )
f. Election of Officers (T. Hopkins)
6. Future Meeting Topics
a. COMPASS Freight Study
b. Eagle Road Speed Limit Update
c. Speed Limits on Ten Mile Road
d. VRT Transit 101
7. Next Meeting Date: February 3rd, 2016
8. Adjourn
1
TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
Monday, January 4th, 2016 – 3:30 pm
Council Chambers - Meridian City Hall - 33 East Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho
1. Roll Call:
Ryan Lancaster Bryan Leisle ___ David Zaremba (ex -officio)
Darrel McRoberts Ryan Hall ___ Shawn Martin (ex -officio)
Stephen Lewis Jack McGee ___ Toni Tisdale (ex -officio)
David Ballard Lance Baumg artner ___ Margaret Havey (ex -officio)
___ Tracy Hopkins ___ Mark Wasdahl (ex-officio) ___ Miranda Carson (ex-officio)
2. Adoption of the Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes from December 7th, 2015 Meeting
4. Old Business Items
a. Transportation Projects Update (memo attached; C. Hood)
5. New Business Items
a. Election of Officers for 2016
b. City Commissions and Committee Formation and Function Changes (Ted
Baird)
c. Meridian Police Department Status Report (Sgt. Stacy Arnold)
d. School Zone Speed Limits (memo attached; C. Hood/Ted Baird)
e. Staff Communications (memo attached; C. Hood )
f. Election of Officers (T. Hopkins)
6. Future Meeting Topics
a. COMPASS Freight Study
b. Eagle Road Speed Limit Update
c. Speed Limits on Ten Mile Road
d. VRT Transit 101
7. Next Meeting Date: February 3rd, 2016
8. Adjourn
5
4a. Transportation Projects Update
Memo
To: Meridian Transportation Commission
From: Caleb Hood, Planning Division Manager
Date: 12/30/2015
Re: January Transportation Projects Update
Below is a summary/update on some of the transportation and roadway projects City Staff
has been involved with recently. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather highlights some of
the more important activities that have recently transpired (or are about to occur) in the
transportation realm. Staff will be at the January Commission meeting to discuss some of
these topics in more detail. Please feel free to contact staff should you have any
comments, concerns, or questions on any of these projects. New information is in bold .
KEY ACHD PROJECTS:
Franklin, Black Cat to Ten Mile Road: This is a Federal Aid project, programmed for
construction in 2016-2017 with the Franklin/Black Cat intersection. The project will widen
Franklin to five lanes including curb, gutter and sidewalks. Low-impact storm drain
techniques. As part of the scoping of this project, the City requested detached sidewalks, a
center median, lighting, and reclaimed water is included with the project. A (landscaped)
center median is no longer part of this project. Right-of-way acquisition phase in process.
Ustick Corridor: There are several projects in the design and right-of-way phases along
Ustick Road. There are plans to design and construct projects at the Ustick/Meridian
intersection, and roadway widening projects for the segments between Locust Grove and
Meridian and Meridian to Linder. In the 2015-2019 ACHD IFYWP, these projects are
programmed for construction in 2018/2019. In the recently adopted 2016-2020 IFYWP, the
Ustick corridor projects advance to 2016-2018.
Pine Ave, Meridian to Locust Grove: This project, to improve Pine between Meridian Road
and Locust Grove, is planned for construction in 2018 in the adopted 2016-2020 IFYWP.
The City and MDC want to partner with ACHD to ensure the design and construction of
Pine Avenue is consistent with the communities’ needs. Because Meridian Public Works is
planning to do sewer improvements in Pine, the roadway between Main and E. 6 th will be
re-built. Establishing a Cost Share Agreement with ACHD and a project agreement
between the City and MDC will need to occur.
6
E. 3 rd Street Extension: When ACHD adopted the 2014-2018 Integrated Five Year Work
Plan, E. 3 rd Street, from Carlton to Fairview, was listed as a project in the Economic
Development Program. This project was split into two phases by ACHD – north (phase 2)
and south (phase 1) of Carlton. In the 2016-2020 IFYWP, phase 1, between Franklin and
Carlton, is in PD.
Meridian Road, Cherry to Ustick: Project includes widening Meridian Road to 5 lanes with
curb, gutter, sidewalk and bike lanes. Construction is planned for 2020 in the adopted
IFYWP at a cost of $4.387M. The project kick-off meeting was held on December 17 th .
Linder Road, Franklin to Pine: Widen Linder Road to 5 lanes with curb, gutter, sidewalk and
bike lanes. Project includes upgrade of the railroad crossing and a safe routes to school
request. Construction is planned for 2019 at a cost of $3.425M.
Cherry Lane, Linder to Meridian Road Lighting: Using federal funds, ACHD is working with
Precision to design roadway lighting for approximately one mile of Cherry Lane. The City is
providing a local match. The PS&E Package should be submitted by mid to late
September. The federal funds have shifted from 2016 to 2017 for project construction.
Victory Road and Amity Road Bridge Projects: Two bridges are being replaced, one on
Victory and one on Amity. The bridges are located within one mile of each other,
approximately ¼ mile east of Ten Mile Road. Construction is scheduled so that one bridge
remains open while crews work on the other; Victory is being worked on first. Victory is
currently closed in this mile. Irrigation work started the week of December 21 st .
Construction should be complete by May 1, 2016. C&A Paving is the contractor.
ACHD COMMUNITY PROGRAM PROJECTS
2016 Construction:
• Fairview, E. 3 rd Street to Locust Grove – Sidewalk on both sides of the street.
(December 2015; $230K)
• Black Cat, Moonlake to Ustick – Sidewalk on one side of Black Cat and a ped
signal. (February 2016; $150K)
2017 Construction:
• W. 1 st , Broadway to Pine – Sidewalk for two blocks near Meridian Elementary.
• W. 4 th , Broadway to Maple – Sidewalk on one side near Meridian Elementary.
ITD PROJECTS
Meridian Road Interchange (IC): The IC and I-84 mainline widening contract for
construction was awarded to Concrete Placing Company for $50.8M. Construction began in
April 2014. The new interchange will reduce congestion, improve safety and make way for
a fourth lane on I-84. The City, ITD and the contractor entered into a change order to install
a barrier rail design feature over I-84 as well as landscaping. On Monday, December 14 th ,
all lane restrictions were removed and the interchange was fully opened on
December 15 th .
7
SH-55 (Eagle Road): Design work began to add an additional northbound and southbound
lane to Eagle Road, between River Valley and I-84. From River Valley to Franklin, The
Village developer (CenterCal) is making improvements via a STAR agreement with the
State and ACHD. Portions of sidewalk, a designated right-turn lane onto westbound I-84,
and other related improvements will be included. CenterCal will be constructing this project
in 2017.
US 20/26: On December 21st, the fourth meeting of the US 20/26 Task Force was held
to discuss strategies for adding capacity to Chinden Boulevard. A draft FAQ sheet
and data was shared with the TF. The next meeting will be held on Monday, January
25 th .
PATHWAYS
Rail with Trail: In the fall of 2012, the City applied for an $85,000 grant to study the Rail with
Trail (RWT) pathway crossing of streets (7 crossings; Black Cat to Locust Grove).
Currently, there are $75,000 in FY2016 for design and $500,000 in FY18 and FY19 for
pathway construction in the Regional Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
MDC PROJECTS
Idaho Avenue Placemaking: A potential placemaking project on Idaho Avenue, between
Main and 2 nd Street is being discussed. Both the City and MDC have budgeted $15,000
towards “right-sizing” Idaho Avenue in this block. City Staff has developed some concepts
that were shared with the MDBA, the business owners along Idaho, and City Council. A
preferred concept was submitted to ACHD for approval. Cost estimates and partnership
opportunities are being developed. It is anticipated that the installation will occur in the
spring of 2016.
OTHER
Transit: The Meridian Saturday Fun Bus service was discontinued in September. VRT is
working to establish a committee to determine what a similar service could look like for the
summer months. Training and regional planning will continue.
Parklets: In other cities throughout the US, parklets (on-street parking areas converted to
public seating/use areas) are becoming more and more popular. Some businesses in
downtown Meridian are interested in installing parklets. City staff is working with ACHD on
an agreement for parklet standard construction and use. Hopefully, this tool can be
available to businesses downtown in the near future.
ACHD 2016 CIP Update Task Force: Every four years ACHD updates its 20-year Capital
Improvement Plan (CIP). The Task Force (TF) is made up of city staff, ACHD
Commissioners, members of the CICAC, as well as commercial and residential developers.
The CIP Updated kick-off meeting was held on January 29 th , and they meet monthly. The
TF is currently discussing service areas, Level of Service standards, existing deficiencies
and elements of roadway projects that should be eligible for impart fee expenditures. This
group and the process to update the CIP will go on well into calendar year 2016.
8
ACHD-City Joint Meeting: A joint meeting with the ACHD Commissioners was held on
Tuesday, December 15 th at 9:30 am at City Hall. Topics for the meeting includes: Rail
Corridor, US 20/26, Streetlights and Truck Routes/W eight Limits. Staff will provide a brief
summary of the joint meeting during the January 4 th meeting.
Transportation Alternative Program (TAP): Potential TAP projects were discussed
with the TC during the last couple meetings of 2015. During the December meeting,
the TC requested a summary of the TAP applications and potential fallback
projects/applications. For 2015 the City applied to COMPASS for one TAP
application: a pathway segment in north Meridian, between Black Cat and Ten Mile.
The Rail with Trail corridor is also a top priority as is supporting the safe routes to
school coordinator positions. Alternative or potential fallback projects have not been
identified by staff. However, after a scope is developed, it is envisioned that
additional improvements to Eagle Road/SH-55 will be a priority.
9
5d. School Zone Speed Limits
Memo
To: Meridian Transportation Commission
From: Caleb Hood, Planning Division Manager
Date: 12/30/2015
Re: School Zone Speed Limits
During the December Commission meeting a question was asked about the City’s established
school zone speed limit. City Staff has looked into the issue and City Code does not set a default
school zone speed limit. ACHD policy does not have a standard/default school zone speed limit
either, but the City of Boise does – 20 MPH. There is no speed limit minimum or maximum in Idaho
Code §49-658.
10
5e. Staff Communications
Memo
To: Meridian Transportation Commission
From: Caleb Hood, Planning Division Manager
Date: 12/30/2015
Re: Staff Communications
Below are relevant e-mail correspondences since the December meeting.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Caleb,
A gentleman came in asking how he can go about looking into putting a speed bump in a
specific vicinity. I took his name and number and let him know that you would give him a
call and talk with him. His name is John Magdlin and his number is XXX-XXXX. The street
of concern is Darrah Drive.
Thanks,
Machelle
For sure. Let’s plan on February 1 st . We should have materials out to you very early in
January.
From: Caleb Hood [ mailto:chood@meridiancity.org ]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2015 11:38 AM
To: Ryan Head
Subject: RE: IFYWP Request Format - FOR YOUR REVIEW
Thanks, Ryan. Do you want to pencil in your kick-off meeting with Meridian now? February
1st or March 7 th at 3:30 pm are the next couple of meetings available. Do you think either of
those dates work for you?
Caleb
From: Ryan Head [ mailto:RHead@achdidaho.org ]
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2015 10:26 AM
To: Caleb Hood; Karen Gallagher
Subject: RE: IFYWP Request Format - FOR YOUR REVIEW
11
Caleb:
Great input. That is a good addition to add miscellaneous to the column heading. My intent
would be to give you the GIS #’s. That is primarily for our benefit to track year to year. No
need for you to do that work. The only thing I would be ask you to do is fill in the first
column with the ranking for the new year. Most likely, this will be fairly stable from year to
year, with the exception of projects being completed. That said, if the City really wants to
shake up the priority of the projects from year to year, it most certainly can do that within
the first column. We would also ask the City to add any new projects to list and prioritize
those. I hope that make sense.
My intent is to come out and explain this in person once the kick-off letters go out. Your
input on the format is much appreciated and gives me some adjustments as I prepare the
kick-off letters. Thanks again.
Karen:
Any other thoughts?
Ryan Head AICP
Supervisor, Planning & Programming
Ada County Highway District
3775 Adams Street
Garden City, ID 83714
(208) 387-6234
www.achdidaho.org
"We drive quality transportation for all Ada County -- Anytime...Anywhere!"
From: Caleb Hood [ mailto:chood@meridiancity.org ]
Sent: Friday, December 11, 2015 3:39 PM
To: Ryan Head; Karen Gallagher
Subject: RE: IFYWP Request Format - FOR YOUR REVIEW
Ryan,
Thanks for sharing this and asking for feedback. This format would work pretty well with
what we currently send to ACHD each year. I don’t really see any issues with what you
have, but you might consider slightly tweaking the heading in the last column to capture
any “miscellaneous” comments/info that might help with flexibility. Also, would you give us
the GIS # or do we generate that? Finally, it looks like you won’t be asking us to rank all
projects (existing/previous requests and new) each year, but just new/additional projects
we request. Is that right?
Thanks again for asking.
Caleb
12
From: Ryan Head [ mailto:RHead@achdidaho.org ]
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 12:46 PM
To: Caleb Hood; Karen Gallagher
Subject: IFYWP Request Format - FOR YOUR REVIEW
Karen and Caleb:
I wanted to reach out to you two in preparation for this upcoming IFYWP request cycle. We
are trying to make some improvements to the process and I wanted to get your opinions as
the ones who would be most impacted on the proposed changes. I have attached
templates for two reports we are considering. I would send these out to you all at the time
we send the kick-off letters to your agency. This is the letter sent out in January of each
year. A description of the reports follows:
- Project Status and 2016 Request List – ACHD is proposing this report to assist in
tracking City requests from year to year. One of the challenges we have faced is
when projects change name or description from year to year, it creates a significant
workload issue figuring out how projects compare to previous years requests. This
report would be populated primarily by me before sending it out to you with previous
years requests, ACHD GIS numbers, IFYWP or scoping descriptions, and a current
status. ACHD would only ask that the City add any new projects to the list and
populate the 1 st and last columns. I would send this to you in Excel format, so it
should be a pretty simple effort. The intent would be that the City submit its
requests in this format going forward. Please let me know if you feel like this
format is too rigid and does not provide you with the flexibility you would like to have
in the request process.
- Additional Requests Within Jurisdiction Report – This report is intended for
information purposes to the City and/or School District. The goal here is
transparency so you all know what other entities have requested within your
boundaries. My hope is this will facilitate additional cooperation/coordination
between you all and your respective School Districts.
Your thoughts are appreciated. If you could have your thoughts to me by December 15 th , it
would give me time to prepare these reports in anticipation of a January 4 th kick-off. Please
give me a call if you would like to discuss.
Ryan Head AICP
Supervisor, Planning & Programming
Ada County Highway District
3775 Adams Street
Garden City, ID 83714
(208) 387-6234
www.achdidaho.org
"We drive quality transportation for all Ada County -- Anytime...Anywhere!"
13
Amy,
Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll let Sgt. Arnold respond with more details if necessary, but what I’ve heard
from police about Eagle Road can be summed up with really three concerns (I think) – not all of them may
be speed related. Here is what I’ve heard recently: 1) the left turns at The Village and the number (and
severity) of accidents those cause; 2) the posted speed limit and what drivers can actually drive, especially
during peak times – there seems to be a high disparity between what drivers expectations are (eg – some
think they should be able to drive the speed limit even though traffic flows don’t really allow); and, 3) the
still high volume of rear-end crashes along the corridor (may be tied to #2, but also could correspond to
inattentive driving.) While the overall number of crashes are down since the medians went in, there are still
quite a few rear-end crashes.
When you all are ready to discuss further, I’d propose we (you, me, Sgt. Arnold and whoever else from ITD
you want) sit down and look at your analysis and findings/recommendations and then we can decide what
to take to the Meridian Transportation Commission. If we can do this sometime in the February-March-April
timeframe that would be great, if not sooner.
Thanks again and let me know if you need anything else to move this forward.
Caleb
From: Amy Schroeder [ mailto:Amy.Schroeder@itd.idaho.gov ]
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 7:47 AM
To: Caleb Hood
Cc: Erika Bowen
Subject: RE: Speed limits on Eagle Road
Good morning Caleb!
Please forgive me for my tardy response.
Do you have any specific information about the concerns that the law enforcement has…? We’d like to
know what they are experiencing so that we can be sure that we are on the same page…
Ryan Lancaster was researching this for us earlier in the year, but was pulled away to focus on
statewide issues instead. And with the D3 Traffic Engineer position being vacant for such a long period
of time, this has not been advanced as much as we would like.
I have spoken with Erika about the request and progress of the study and I can send her the
information we have so far, and we will get this scheduled a little higher on the list. We’d be glad to
pre-meet with city staff and present at a future commission meeting when we have a little more
information to share.
From: Caleb Hood [ mailto:chood@meridiancity.org ]
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 11:51 AM
To: Amy Schroeder
Cc: Stacy Arnold
Subject: RE: Today's meeting...
14
Amy,
During the Meridian Transportation Commission meeting yesterday speed limits on Eagle Road came up
again. When you were here in April, you mentioned some possible changes to speed limits. Are you ready
and available to follow-up with the City? Although more serious crashes along Eagle Road in Meridian are
down since the medians were installed, our Police Department Traffic Team remains concerned about the
volume of crashes. Have you had a chance to do some more analysis and look into the potential to
implement variable speed limit signs? If you would, please consider attending an upcoming Meridian
Transportation Commission meeting to update them from ITD’s perspective. The Commission meets the first
Monday of each month at 3:30 pm at Meridian City Hall.
If you’d like to discuss with City Staff before meeting with the Commission, that is great. Sargent Stacy
Arnold leads the Traffic Team and is copied on this e-mail. I would like to be part of the meeting too and am
happy to set something up with all of us if you believe it appropriate.
Thanks Amy!
Caleb