2017 06-05Meeting Minutes
Meridian Transportation Commission
June 5, 2017
Council Chambers — Meridian City Hall • 33 East Broadway Ave., Meridian, Idaho
1. Roll Call
(Meeting called to order at 3:32pm and roll taken)
o Tracy Hopkins p Vacant X Luke Cavener (ex -officio)
X Ryan Lancaster X Ryan Hall X Shawn Martin (ex -officio)
X Stephen Lewis p Vincent Koontz X Toni Tisdale (ex -officio)
X David Ballard X Lance Baumgartner o Rhonda Jalbert (ex -officio)
X Brent Knezacek X Erika Bowen (ex -officio) o Miranda Carson (ex -officio)
Others Present: Ted Baird, Josh Saak (ACHD), Marc Danley (ITD), Amy Schroeder (ITD) and
Caleb Hood
2. Adoption of the Agenda
Commissioner Lewis motioned to amend the agenda by moving item 5C to 5A; second by
Commissioner Hall — all ayes — motion carried.
3. Approval of Minutes from May 1, 2017 Meeting
Motion by Commissioner Lewis to strike through one duplicate item (5E, US 20/26), under
Future Meeting Topics on page 5 and then approve the May I st minutes as amended; second by
Commissioner Baumgartner — all ayes — motion carried.
4. Old Business Items
a. Ustick Elementary Walk Zone (Josh Saak, ACHD)
(Shawn Martin, not Josh Saak, gave the update.) Mr. Martin began with a brief explanation of
actions taken by ACHD. In April, ACHD did pedestrian counts at two intersections;
Grenadier/Granger and Grenadier/Spearfish. At Grenadier/Spearfish it was noted that enough
pedestrian traffic was evidenced, and for safety purposes, two crosswalks were installed at both
the north and south ends of Grenadier. Work was completed on May 2nd. The minimum
number of pedestrian crossings for a crosswalk is approximately 10 people. There were not
enough pedestrian crossings at Grenadier/Granger so no crosswalk striping was installed. The
floor was opened for questions and answers. Discussion took place and the issued closed.
(Ex -Officio Carson and Ex -Officio Jalbert arrived during this agenda item.)
b. Transportation Projects Update (memo attached; C. Hood)
Prior to his update, Mr. Hood mentioned a few noted changes to the Roll Call section of the
agenda; a new Commissioner Vincent Koontz has been appointed, but was unable to attend
today's meeting. Mr. Hood congratulated Commissioner Baumgartner for his recent graduation
and service to this Commission. Finally, Mr. Hood mentioned that he has tried to reach out to
Mr. Leslie, thanking him for his service and continuing on the Commission, but has not received
a response. Commissioner Leslie's seat is therefore currently vacant; if anyone has a suggested
replacement they should have that person apply through the Mayor's Office.
Mr. Hood shared a few handouts for the Commissioners to review, the Ada County Bike Map
from ACHD. He also shared a flyer of Boise's Transportation Action Plan (TAP) and a report
on Transportation Infrastructure in Idaho that he received at a recent conference.
Mr. Hood continued with the transportation updates in the memo beginning on page 6 of the
packet. He reminded the Commission that he will not review all items and that new
information is in bold print. Mr. Hood also reiterated that if the Commission has questions or
would like clarification on any item to feel free to interrupt him. Mr. Hood called the
Commission's attention to page 8, with the US 20/26 item and noting that several new projects
have been added to the Regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which can be
reviewed under Staff Communications on pages 18-19 of the packet. Although, not noted in the
memo, Mr. Hood also mentioned the US 20/26Task Force meeting that is happening later in the
month of June to discuss and show support to the ITD Board of the potential changes to the
ITI P.
Starting on the bottom of page 8, under the Transit heading, Mr. Hood highlighted that VRT will
be at the next Transportation Commission meeting to discuss ridership numbers and an update
on the Lifestyle Transit Service they're calling Harvest Transit.
The last project highlighted was Eagle Road, Bike -Ped on page 9.
Mr. Hood opened the floor for further discussion. No discussion was had.
5. New Business Items
a. Meridian Police Department Status Report (Sgt. Stacy Arnold)
(Topic was not reviewed as Sgt. Arnold was not present. The item will be kept on the agenda
for future updates.)
b. US 20/26 Corridor Update (Marc Danley and Amy Schroeder, ITD)
Mr. Marc Danley introduced himself and began with a brief overview of the actions taken over
the last year since his previous presentation to the Commission on the 20/26 corridor study.
Several micro -simulations have been conducted at the intersection of Linder and 20/26 to
prove the viability of full access in that area. One of the major changes was the addition of a
partial CFI at the Eagle intersection on 20/26. Significant analysis was done on several
'nters ctions within the corridor. The half CFI was determined to be the preferred alternative
d a roposed and drafted in the Environmental Assessment (EA). The draft EA was
produced and published for public comment and public hearing meetings were held March 7th
and 9th. The public comment period ended on March 3 ISt. Several hundred people attended the
meetings and approximately 70 comments were submitted. Mr. Danley then provided and
reviewed a handout. Mr. Danley transitioned the discussion to Ms. Schroeder to review the
phasing of the project.
Ms. Schroeder began by directing the Commission to the backside of the handout and walked
through the information. The phasing plan is published in the Environmental Assessment (EA)
and hasn't changed since the draft was distributed. The plan is to expand 20/26 to 4 lanes then
to 6 as the need arises. Work will begin in areas of the most congestion starting at the east end
of the corridor; in Meridian this is at Eagle Road moving west. The ITIP details the specifics of
the multiple projects that will occur. Changes in the phasing will be assessed throughout the
project as work is conduct, adjustments will be made based on need and congestion volumes.
During the widening project standard intersection improvements will also be addressed.
The first phase of the widening project is programmed in the ITIP which is part of a state-wide
competitive program addressing safety and mobility. The one mile segment between Locust
Grove and Eagle Road was a high priority and the intent of ITD is to widen this section to 4
lanes. ITD will purchase the right-of-way on the south side of the corridor and construct the
additional lanes and include the necessary sound and safety features. Work is scheduled for
2021 and ITD has begun the design phase of the project and has selected Parametrix as its
design partner. Ms. Schroeder walked through additional Strategic Initiatives and highlighted,
potential changes in the ITIP.
The floor was opened for questions, which were asked and answered by both Ms. Schroeder
and Mr. Danley.
c. Eleven vs. Twelve Foot Travel Lanes (Josh Saak, ACHD)
Mr. Saak did a brief introduction of himself as a traffic design engineer at ACHD. The purpose
of his presentation was to address the concern of the Commission on how ACHD designs it
arterial lane widths within the county, specifically in Meridian. Mr. Saak began by presenting a
high level review of the federal highways administration and ACHD policies, the tools used by
ACHD to determine lane widths and finished with some recommendations.
ACHD uses the ASHTO Green Book, which is a policy on roadway geometric design. It is a
collection of standards and best practices and is used throughout the US when designing
roadways. It is similar to a "cookbook" and represents a guideline with a wide variety of
acceptable values that allows flexibility to the design engineer in developing roadways. ACHD
tends to put wider lanes on the right side of the roadway, instead of the inside. Striping
determines lane width, and is measured centerline to centerline of the stripe. ACHD deals
primarily with, arterial, collector, and local roadways and pulls their guidelines directly from the
ASHTO Green Book. Rural vs. urban roadways lane widths are adjusted within guidelines based
on several factors; including but not limited to: multiple access points, access for heavy vehicles
(multiple axels), rumble strips, crash data etc. ACHD roadways currently have 1-3% of heavy
vehicle traffic, but the guidelines allow for adequate flexibility that doesn't significantly affect
operational efficiency.
ACHD's policies regarding lane width are based on urban cross-sections and on the adoption of
the Livable Street Design Guidelines adopted in 2009. ACHD's opinions are based on
established literature, land use characteristics, traffic studies and crash studies. ACHD does not
see significant differences between lane widths of I I vs 12 feet as it relates to the impact on
safety and capacity.
The floor was opened for discussion and Mr. Saak stood for questions which were answered.
d. Staff Communications (memo attached; C. Hood)
Mr. Hood directed the Commission to the Staff Communications topic starting on page 10 of
the packet. Mr. Hood updated the Commission that Commissioner Ballard and Hall were
reappointed and will continue to serve. Commissioner McGee has decided to step down and
was thanked for his service. On page 11, COMPASS has produced an interactive tool that
shows bike/walk routes and other points of interest, it is similar to the ACHD tool. On page
12, is a communication flyer from ACHD. They are hosting an open house to update its
Roadways to Bikeways Master Plan at bpm on June 5th. On page 13, Toni Tisdale provided the
draft information on the Regional TIP. This information will be available via the web later in the
month. This is a draft so changes are expected. Updates will be provided as they become
available.
Mr. Hood stood for questions and provided answers. Mr. Hood will check on Mr. Leslie's
appointment for 2018 with Mr. Simison from the Mayor's Office. Mr. Baird will check the by-
laws and provide a clarification update on the purpose of this Commission, next month.
6. Future Meeting Topics
Chairman Ballard asked for any additional agenda topics. New school sites, presentation to be
coordinated with Ms. Carson, and the draft 2019-2022 TIP were requested to be added to the
August agenda. An update from VRT about the Harvest Transit service was mentioned
previously and VRT can attend in July and then again in October to discuss fixed -route options.
a. Meridian Road Speed Study (July)
b. ACHD Roadways to Bikeways Plan and Projects (July; cont. from May)
c. VRT Transit 2.0
d. Master Mobility Map
7. Next Meeting Date: July 3, 2017
8. Adjourn
Motion by Commissioner Lewis and second by Commissioner Knezacek to adjourn — all ayes —
motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 5:1 1 p.m.
(AUDIO RECORDING AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST)
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