2013 Transportation Commission Annual Report~ Date: December 2, 2013
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Transportation Commission
-Ryan Lancaster, Chair
-Tracy Hopkins, Vice Chair
-David Ballard
-Jo Ann Bujarski
-Micah Gale
-Stephen Lewis
-Jack McGee
-Pat Morandi
-(Vacant]
RE: 2013Annual Report
The Transportation Commission was formed by the City Council on February 26, 2013 with Ordinance
no. 13-152 replacing the City's Traffic Safety Commission and Transportation Task Force. On May 22,
2013, nine Commissioners were appointed through Resolution no. 13-925. The Commission meets on
the first Monday of each month in the Council chambers. Councilman David Zaremba and
representatives from ITD -District 3, ACRD, COMPASS, Valley Regional Transit (VRTj, and Joint School
District No. 2serve as ex-officio members. Planning Division Manager Caleb Hood provides staffsupport
and Ted Baird, Deputy City Attorney, provides legal guidance. Additional City staff has interacted with
the Commission from time to time.
The Commission first meton Monday June 3, 2013. Commissioners lancasterand Hopkins were elected
Chair and Vice-Chair of the Commission. Commission Bylaws were approved by the Commission on
September 9, 2013.
Valley Regional Transit, ACRD, COMPASS, ITD -District 3, and Joint School District No. 2 made
presentations to the Commission to familiarize the Commissioners with the services each agency
provides and their responsibilities. Monthly transportation project updates are provided to the
Commission by Caleb Hood.
The Commission was presented with, and provided input on ACHD's Five-Year Work Plan, VRT Bus
Routes and planning, COMPASS' Regional long-Range Transportation Plan update, potential City
Transportation Alternatives Program projects, and ACRD Wayfinding programs.
Monthly updates on transportation projects that were in planning, design, or construction stages were
provided to the Commission by City Staff.
'~`'~ Technical recommendations were provided by the Commission to the City Council or transportation
agencies on a number of topics. Golf Carts on public streets in the Spurwing Subdivision and other
,~ streets within the City was one of the first topics discussed by the Commission. A review of Idaho code
revealed a potential conflict between a City ordinance allowing Golf Carts on some public roads. The
Commission recommended that the City Council eliminate the ordinance allowing Golf Carts and
considersun-settingthe practice in the two communities where Golf Carts are currently allowed.
The Meridian Police Department approached the Commission with concerns about posted speed limits
and safety on SH-55 (Eagle Road) and SH-69 (Meridian Road). A letter was sent to ITD District 3
requesting engineering studies on the two highways and for ITD to present the study results and
recommendations tothe Commission at a later date.
Concerns about pedestrian safety near the Scentsy complex were also brought to the Commission by
the Police Department. Due to Scentsy policy, employees that smoke had to cross Pine Street to smoke.
Due to traffic volumes on the road, there were safety concerns. The Commission recommended that
the Mayor's office contact Scentsy regarding their policy and the potential safety implications.
The Commission heard a citizen concern about cut-through traffic on Woodbury Drive between
Meridian and Linder Roads and asked ACRD to conduct a traffic study to determine if the street is a
candidate for traffic calming measures.
A widening project on Franklin Road between Ten Mile and Black Cat Roads was proposed to include a
landscaped median. Concerns about access to existing driveways being limited by the proposed median
were brought to the Commission from individuals on behalf of the Ten Mile Christian Church. After
listening to the concerns and support for the medians from City Staff and ACRD, the Commission made a
recommendation tothe City Council to proceed with the design of the medians.
ACRD reported to the Commission that they had recently counted pedestrian traffic across Main Street
at Williams and King Streets. At the time of the presentation to the Commission, ACRD was considering
to enhance the crossing at King Street and to not restripe the crosswalk at Williams Street.
Commissioners Ballard and Lewis and have been involved in strategic planning for Valley Regional
Transit's PublicTransportationOperations Plan and Budget forservice in the City. Their involvement will
continue into 2014.
The Commission also received briefing on Staff Communications with citizens or businesses regarding
transportation related topics and was given the opportunity to provide thoughts, suggestions, requests
for more information, orto discuss the topics.
The Commission is grateful for the opportunity to provide service to the citizens of Meridian and to
actively shape the transportation systems of our City.