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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/1999 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MONDAY, MAY 17, 1999 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 17, 1999, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Maine presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Maine, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg and Simmons. Councilor Leiken was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Follow-up Discussion. Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett and Public Works Director Dan Brown presented the staff report on this issue. The council has expressed an interest in having a follow-up discussion from the joint meeting of May 1, 1999. Staff has prepared a list ofBRT issues and questions for council consideration for this discussion. . On May 1, 1999, the council and LTD Board met in ajoint meeting to discuss resolved and unresolved issues pertaining to a BRT pilot corridor in Springfield's planning area. At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that Springfield would submit a list of issues and questions.needinganalysis before the council can approve a conceptual pilot corridor through Springfield. The staff report contained a BR T list of issues and questions. Mr. Barnett provided examples of what funding might be provided for by L TD, such as a study. Mr. Barnett said LTD would like certain milestone goals at which council will endorse concepts and stay on the proposed schedule. Mr. Brown said LTD would like to have preliminary council approval by a date certain. Mr. Brown discussed the final approval dates and issues related to timetables and schedules. Mayor Maine discussed the narrow timeline and components that go into the plan at certain stages. She also discussed the engineering position and was not clear regarding stated conditions being considered in relation to the hiring of the position. Councilor Simmons said we may need clarification regarding the questions and then consider the time frame. He said we might be able to make the October date. He also said it seems that the District has focused on a desirable alternative. Councilor Fitch asked about the list of questions. Mr. Barnett said the ODOT list is not yet complete. Mr. Barnett said L TD staff should have received the information packet at the same time council received their information via the agenda packet. . Councilor Lundberg said the questions were reflective of her concerns. She discussed the Renaissance Corporation development along with future visions for the downtown area. She commented on questions and a possible order the questions can be listed in. She also Work Session Minutes May 17, 1999 Page 2 . discussed the possibility of placing the responses and answers t~ these questions in a priority order that would make sense. Councilor Simmons said the questions go beyond the scope of the first phase. He said it might be possible to review how these issues fit into the process regarding the first phase, along with reference being made to the second and third phases of the proposed project. Mr. Barnett said the list could be separated out, although, the list represents the entire project and the questions at hand. Mayor Maine said she would like a comprehensive list of questions for phase one and two. Councilor Simmons discussed what would fit in phase one and phase two of the project. He said there are critical issues that need to be addressed. Mayor Maine discussed travel time as it related to both walking time to the bus stop in addition to actual travel time on the bus. She discussed transportation congestion projections and peak travel times. Councilor Simmons discussed the current express service and commented on building on the existing system for a faster system. He said data was needed in order to make good decisions. . Mayor Maine said she had thought of additional design questions as they related to phase two. She also raised the issue of the need for appropriate parking in order to meet the needs of a park-and-ride system. She discussed conveniences of park-and-ride and noted that it needed to be a convenient system in order to be well utilized. She again discussed the need for ample parking availability. Councilor Fitch said she was looking for feedback. She recapped that the BRT concept, in general, is one that is embraced but there are concerns and questions that need to be addressed before the council can make a decision and endorse the project. Mayor Maine said we are getting to the stage where we are seeing details and need answers / clarification. Councilor Ballew discussed concerns regarding placement of the BRT. She discussed roadway use and ridership and asked about traffic impacts of the feeder buses. Councilor Hatfield said most of the concerns have been addressed. He discussed the corridor, bike lanes and also said he supported mass transit. He said he had a hard time calling the system rapid when there is a thirty to forty minute load and unload time. He said the stops should be further apart in order for the system to be "fast." Parking and traffic impact patterns were also discussed. Mayor Maine said it is important to get the needed information. She further discussed the engineering position. She said data and additional information / facts were needed for both BRT and for livability issues in our community. She said she encouraged the Traffic Department to continue gathering data regarding transportation needs in Springfield. . Work Session Minutes May 17, 1999 Page 3 . Council further discussed the corridor, services, economy and cost saving issues. The group talked about the need to identify what types of things would be enhanced and what things will be eliminated. Mr. Mirza answered questions from council and fur1;her discussed BRT. 2. Springfield Station Site Finalists Update. Senior Management Analyst Cynthia Pappas presented the staff report on this issue. The Springfield Station Steering Committee recommends conducting an environmental assessment (EA) on Sites A, G and I. An EA is required for a federally funded project of this magnitude. The purpose of the EA is to determine possible adverse impacts of the station project on the surrounding environment and to identify mitigation strategies, if needed. An EA takes approximately four months to complete. The resulting information will be reviewed by the Federal Transit Administration. During the past year, the Springfield Station Steering Committee has carefully reviewed possible sites for the Springfield Station. As a result of extensive public involvement, three sites have risen to the status of "finalist" for the purposes of proceeding with the next phase of the study: to conduct an environmental assessment. The three sites include: 1) Site A - the current station; 2) Site G - the U.S. Bank building block; and 3) Site I -located on the south side of South A Street, between 4th and 5th Streets. . Cynthia Pappas introduced Mary Murphy, chair of the Downtown Station Steering Committee. She said the steering committee has met for about 14 months and discussed results of committee efforts. She discussed the three sites recommended and also discussed the federal funding process. Ms. Murphy discussed the different sites proposed. She said Site A was somewhat outgrown but no future growth or development was available. She said Site G seems to be a good site. She said the site is close to Springfield City Hall and the Springfield Library. She said the issue of displacing one business has remained neutral at this point. Councilor Simmons discussed evaluation of the existing station, the parking lot and associated issues, property owners and their willingness to give up property, a build and no build option and other issues. He said all things should be considered when making an evaluation. Ms. Pappas provided background on the project and said the study started out with 19 sites. Ms. Murphy discussed the environmental assessment and review of all three sites. She said it would include review of the environmental impact, displacement of businesses and entrance and exit issues Councilor Fitch said she supported review of the sites. She said taking parking from the Library is not a good option. Another issue discussed was the dislocation of a bank and comments regarding the desire to keep downtown active and populated. Ms. Pappas said the Steering Committee had expressed similar concerns. . Mayor Maine said the station should be an attraction for downtown. Without appropriate parking, the site would be unacceptable. She said there was a need to have the appropriate Work Session Minutes May 17, 1999 Page 4 . space to accommodate those that are attracted to and want to utilize the service. This factor is imperative to the site location. Councilor Ballew said the three sites are acceptable to forward on for further review. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:04 p.m. ~~~ Mayor ATTEST: .~ City Recorder ., lJ~ . .