Session 06-06 a meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order by Chair Marquardt at 5:31 p.m. on August 15, 2006 at the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers located at 491 E. Pioneer Avenue, Homer, Alaska.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Mary Calhoun, Kurt Marquardt, Steve Smith, Doug Stark

ABSENT: Fred Pfeil (excused)

STAFF: Deputy City Clerk Johnson

AGENDA APPROVAL

Mary Calhoun requested NEW BUSINESS Item A be removed as it is not intended for the committee, only commissions.

SMITH/CALHOUN - MOVED TO APPROVE THE AMENDED AGENDA.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

SYNOPSIS APPROVAL

A. July 18, 2006 Synopsis

The synopsis was approved by consensus of the Committee.

PENDING BUSINESS

A. Traffic Calming – Homer Area Roads

The Committee discussed liability issues of signing and insurance for traffic calming methods. Input from a legal perspective is desired. A mechanism similar to the LID process was suggested to allow homeowners to petition for traffic calming. The TAC could hold a public hearing and make recommendations to City Council. Traffic calming is a transportation and road issue and the TAC should have the chance to participate. It will save the Council time and work.

CALHOUN/SMITH – MOVED TO TABLE THE TRAFFIC CALMING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL TO THE MEETING IN NOVEMBER.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

B. Boulevards – Homer Area Roads

The proposed list of boulevards was reviewed and the following suggestions were made:

· No boulevard designations on State highways – sole transport corridor

· No boulevard designation of the Spit Road – there is a bike path and rip rap on both sides

· Lake Street is the one way to get to the Sterling Highway from East End Road

· Pioneer Avenue as a boulevard needs to retain the middle turn lane

· Main Street and Heath Street logical boulevards but may not fit into the existing ROW corridor

· Waddell extension from Lake Street through Town Square to Main Street using a portion of Hazel Street would make sense as a boulevard

· ROW on Bunnell Avenue may not be conducive to a boulevard

· Trees every 30 ft. is impractical on the Spit

· Strike last sentence of boulevard document - “each Homer boulevard shall have distinct design elements which coordinate with the associated theme district”

· Visual connectivity is desired

· A boulevard doesn’t mean one idea – it is more about connecting themes

· Sterling Highway from the north city limit to Kachemak Drive would be the #1 candidate for a boulevard. DOT takes note of what the community wants.

· Plantings in the medians are desired

John Velsko, city resident, said Highland Drive has become a major arterial. Although the road is a dead end those that benefit from it are those that front it.

The Commission discussed the definition of boulevard and noted a previous document defined boulevard as having two lanes and on-street parking. Parking lanes will fit in some areas, but not others.

Chair Marquardt requested specific amendments from the Committee and continued discussion to the September agenda. Carey Meyer will be asked to be present.

C. 2007 – 2012 Capital Improvement Plan

Doug Stark explained the proposed CIP for the joint use of the library. It will not impact the library’s space as it adds 1,600 sq. ft. to the existing building. A public hearing will be held by the Library Advisory Board on September 5^th.

It was suggested the committee choose transportation issues. There is $2.6 billion in capital improvement budgets, an unprecedented amount of money. The committee discussed choosing a major project to take advantage of the massive wave of money.

Suggested projects were:

· West Hill sewer

· Kachemak Drive

· Sterling Highway road repair – Anchor Point to Homer

John Velsko, city resident, lives on Highland Drive. In the Planning Commission minutes he saw the extension of Highland Drive was being addressed. He thought the connection would be later rather than now. He is not opposed to connecting the road, but Highland Drive now connects to Sprucewood Drive. Twenty years ago residents formed a LID for road improvements on Highland Drive. At that time the City Manager lived on Upland Court that required Highland Drive for access. He believed he didn’t have to pay for road improvements to Highland Drive because it was a dead end road. The residents on Highland Drive paid more money than they should have with the understanding it would not be a through road. The road is now configured as an east/west corridor, but the curves slow traffic down. The Public Works Director wants to take out the curves in Highland Drive to conform to arterial road standards. He also wants to do the same thing from Rogers Loop on through. The residential area will be turned into a road for truck traffic to access West Hill. Mr. Velsko would like to see the TAC weigh in before someone is forced to do something stupid. In talking with the City Manager and Councilmember Shadle there is no conception of what is going on. They think the roads will be miles apart. We have one road to the north and an east/west corridor. He said we need to take care of the one we have.

Steve Smith said the road was intended to be designed and reconstructed to the city boundary. When the RFP was put out for design they mislabeled where the extended project was. The City decided against paying additional money to continue the design for the 1,300 to 1,500 ft. to the city property. Phil Shealy made that decision. The road was intended to go up to hook up with Mountain Park. Phil Shealy’s road was in the LID and was removed because the ROW was on a bluff. When the design survey determined there was only 20 ft. of level ROW it was scrapped as it was impractical to build. Mary Calhoun pointed out Highland Drive was done through the HARP program at a cost of $20 per front foot.

It was noted Public Works Director Meyer brings Highland Drive up at every meeting. The Homer Area Transportation Plan shows it as an east/west extension, but it is not a priority. There is a big ravine to cross to make Highland Drive go through. It will be an expensive project. If the Public Works Director is pushing the extension of Highland Drive he needs to talk to the TAC.

Mr. Velsko said the extension will be a significant cost and he doesn’t think the neighbors will like it. They are already complaining about the traffic. The developer wants to subdivide a 20-acre parcel to make 5-acre parcels and dead end the road to prevent dense development. If he has to build and connect a road to City standards he will need more dense development. The City needs to take a step back and prevent the destruction of the last remaining areas for wildlife. Mr. Velsko likes seeing moose and black bears in his yard.

Public safety personnel consider cul de sacs as the worst case scenario for response to emergencies. There are a lot more layers of the Homer Area Transportation Plan than meet the eye. The plan can always be amended.

The Committee requested the Maintenance Map be available at all TAC meetings.

Any recommendations for model extensions meet with fierce resistance from the affected residents. It was noted the TAC can make recommendations based on the best interests of the City at large without suffering the political ramifications.

Doug Stark has come to the conclusion that Fairview Avenue should go through. Although it doesn’t parallel Pioneer Avenue it goes up and accesses a large neighborhood close to the hospital. The same is with Shellfish that provides a cut off from East Hill and connects to the roads that go to the hospital. If an ambulance loses 4 minutes to the hospital there can be important ramifications. Everyone above Pioneer Avenue can access the high school and hospital without accessing an arterial. If it goes all the way to West Hill Road it would be even better.

CALHOUN/SMITH - MOVED TO APPROVE THE LIST ON PAGE 43 WITH THE INSERTION OF KACHEMAK DRIVE WITH SEPARATED PEDESTRIAN PATHWAYS INTO ITEM 2 POSITION ON THE PRIORITY LIST FOR ADOT, LEGISLATIVE REQUEST AND FEDERAL PRIORITY.

This satisfies the big ticket item for the legislature to consider. Water and sewer will most likely be addressed before DOT considers the project.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

MARQUARDT/SMITH – MOVED TO ADD MAIN STREET FROM PIONEER AVENUE TO BUNNELL AVENUE WITH CURB AND GUTTER AND SIDEWALK AS ITEM 3.

This is considered a high priority.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

Williamsport Pile Bay Road was discussed and the State’s intent to place it as a priority. Fairview Avenue was discussed and the consensus was the City should pick up the financial portion and not ask property owners to participate, as it would become an arterial.

SMITH/CALHOUN - MOVED TO SWITCH LAND ACQUISITIONS FOR NEW ROADS AND FAIRVIEW MAIN TO WEST HILL AND MAIN TO EAST END.

The Committee discussed the funding as it is a City street rather than a State street.

SMITH/CALHOUN – MOVED TO AMEND TO REMOVE FAIRVIEW MAIN FROM THE ADOT AND MOVE IT TO LEGISLATIVE REQUEST PRIORITY LIST #2.

There was no additional discussion.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECITON. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

The CIP list will be forwarded to City Council.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Mariner Park

1. Request from Economic Development commission for Recommendations for Best Use

This item was removed from the agenda.

INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS

A. Question of the Week Re: HARP, Signal Light

The Committee discussed the responses and their lack of a representative view of the entire community. The results of the City survey in 2002 indicated the need for a Fred Meyer and signal at Lake and Sterling as top priorities.

The Committee will continue to pursue specifics about intersections and make recommendations to City Council after careful consideration and thought.

The continued funding of the HARP will be decided through a ballot proposition with three proposals:

· Shall the program be continued or eliminated

· Shall the program be used for new roads

· Shall the funds be used for both trails and roads

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There was no public.

Steve Smith said he hopes the input on adding projects to the CIP list will make it to the City Council in a way that expresses strong support for the projects.

The Committee discussed the Sterling Highway from Homer to Anchor Point. The DOT evaluates with the three R’s: rehabilitation, reconstruction, or realignment. The highway qualifies in every way to make the realignment due to the number of deaths.

STARK/CALHOUN - MOVED TO RECONSIDER THE CIP LIST.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

CALHOUN/SMITH – MOVED TO PUT ANCHOR POINT TO HOMER ON THE STERLING HIGHWAY REALIGNMENT AS #1 ON THE ADOT LIST BECAUSE THE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS IT UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE DRIVING PUBLIC.

The Committee discussed the importance of a memorandum as backup to highlight reasons of the priority items.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

STARK/SMITH – MOVED TO ADD AS #2 ON THE AREAWIDE LIST THE REALIGNMENT OF THE STERLING HIGHWAY THROUGH COOPER LANDING.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

SMITH/CALHOUN – MOVED TO ADD THE ANCHOR POINT TO HOMER REALIGNMENT OF THE STERLING HIGHWAY AS #1 PRIORITY ON THE AREAWIDE AND LEGISLATIVE REQUEST AND TO MOVE WILLIAMSPORT PILE BAY TO #3.

VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

Transportation Advisory Committee Capital Improvement Plan Priorities:

ADOT – priority list 1. Homer to Anchor Point – Sterling Hwy. Realignment 2. Kachemak Drive with Separated Pedestrian Pathways 3. Main St. from Pioneer Ave. to Bunnell Ave. with Curb and Gutter and Sidewalks 4. Homer Intersection Improvements 5. Land Acquisition for New Roads 6. Spit Trail 7. Williamsport-Pile Bay Road Rehab

Legislative Request – Priority list 1. Homer to Anchor Point – Sterling Hwy. Realignment 2 Fairview Main to West Hill and Main to East End 3. Williamsport-Pile Bay Road Rehab 4. Kachemak Drive with Separated Pedestrian Pathways 5. Main St. from Pioneer Ave. to Bunnell Ave. with Curb and Gutter and Sidewalks 6. Homer Intersection Improvements 7. Spit Trail

Areawide 1. Homer to Anchor Point – Sterling Hwy. Realignment 2. Sterling Hwy. Realignment through Cooper Landing 3. Williamsport-Pile Bay Road Rehab 4. Kachemak Drive with Separated Pedestrian Pathways

Federal Priority 1. Williamsport-Pile Bay Road Rehab 2. Kachemak Drive with Separated Pedestrian Pathways 3. Spit Pathway 4. Homer Intersection Improvements

The Committee noted the massive statewide support for the Williamsport-Pile Bay Road. The road was impassable in early July after the heavy rains.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before the Committee the meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for September 19, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers.

________________________________

JO JOHNSON, DEPUTY CITY CLERK

Approved: ________________________