HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/22/2008 Work Session
City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2008
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session near the intersection of Bob Straub
Parkway and South 58th Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, September 22, 2008 at
approximately 5:35 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston, and Woodrow.
Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City
Attorney Joe Leahy, City Attorney Matt Cox, Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy
Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Pishioneri was absent (excused).
1. Field Trip to Bob Straub Parkway.
The following was included in the agenda packet for this discussion:
Bob Straub Parkway is currently under construction. Lane County chose to control the
intersection with Mt. Vernon Road with two-way stop signs. Councilor Woodrow and nearby
residents anticipate difficulty using the intersection as designed and request the installation of a
traffic signal. Lane County staff concludes that a traffic signal does not meet the requirements of
the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices as adopted by the Oregon Highway
Commission.
· Verify ifMt. Vernon Road is a City of Springfield street or a Lane County road.
Response: Mt. Vernon Roadfrom South 5"h Street eastward to the Weyerhaeuser haul
road is shown as a city street in the City's GIS data base. Springfield Public Works
Department regularly maintains and recently repaved this street. Mt. Vernon Road from
Jasper Road to South 5"h Street is shown as a county road in the city's GIS data base.
· How much time and staff work would be involved in putting together an IGA with Lane
County to take over jurisdiction of the Bob Straub Parkway and if Lane County would be
willing to transfer jurisdiction of the intersection. Response: Staff is investigating these
options and will develop a briefingfor later discussion.
· Provide the distance ofBSP from Mt. Vernon to Jasper Road. Response: The distance
from Mt. Vernon Road to Jasper Road is approximately 1.3 miles. Please see Attachment
A.
· Take traffic counts on BSP while the traffic is diverted from Jasper Road to BSP in
August (when improvements are being made to Jasper Road). Response: Traffic counts
were taken on BSP north of Mt. Vernon Road on Tuesday, August 26, 2008. Southbound
traffic peaked at 477 vehicles from5pm to 6pm and totaled 3,859 vehicles for the 24
hours period. Northbound traffic peaked at 312 vehicles from 2pm to 3pm and totaled
4,1 87 vehicles for the 24 hours period. The peak bidirectional flow was 744 vehicles
from 5pm to 6pm. The bidirectional flow was 7,404 vehicles for the 24 hour period and is
lower than the County estimate used in the signal warrant analysis of 7,771 vehicles per
day. Counts were also attempted at the southern end of BSP but were not successful. The
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
September 22, 2008
Page 2
fasteners that hold the tubes in place came loose due to new, soft asphalt and higher
speeds.
. Pursue staff recommended options. Response: Staff has asked Lane County staff about
installing intersection warning signs (Option 3 in Attachment B) and adding extruded
curbs to narrow the pedestrian crossing distance across BSP (Option 9 in Attachment
B). Lane County staff are evaluating these measures at this time.
The vicinity map shows the general area and identifies the distance a driver needs to safely stop
on a wet roadway while decelerating at a comfortable rate. Drivers who are stopping due to a
road hazard will decelerate faster than the "comfortable" rate and will need less distance to
complete a stop.
Mr. Barnett discussed the options as outlined in the agenda packet. He noted several options that
had been presented to Lane County, but had been denied. A speed study had been conducted
several hundred yards north of the intersection and it was determined that the average speed at
the intersection was about 50 miles per hour.
Discussion was held regarding future development in the Jasper/Natron area, other proposed
intersections along the Bob Straub Parkway, and their impact on the traffic.
Mr. Barnett said staff would be seeking direction from Council on which was most important at
this intersection: vehicular safety or pedestrian safety. The County was not interested in
providing pedestrian safety at this time.
Mr. Barnett led the group out to the intersection. Several pedestrians were observed as they
crossed the intersection. Discussion was held regarding the speed of the vehicles and the
difficulty in crossing. It was also noted that one of the city's fire stations would be using this
intersection, especially if it was moved closer to this area as proposed.
Mr. Grimaldi said staff could bring this back to Council for further discussion during a regular
work session on October 13.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 pm.
Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa
Attest:
t::o~
Amy Sowa .
City Recorder