[Council Communication]  [Attachments]

Council Communication

Title:	Public Hearing and Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing and Ordering the Formation of the Nevada Street Local Improvement District for Sidewalk and Traffic Calming Improvements to W. Nevada Street from Helman Street West to the Billings Ranch Subdivision.
Dept:	Public Works Department
Date:	September 7, 2004
Submitted By:	Paula Brown
Reviewed By:	Mike Franell, City Attorney
Approved By:	Gino Grimaldi, City Administrator
0000000000000

Synopsis:
For the past several months, staff has been working with the Nevada Street neighbors to complete the concept and engineering designs for the installation of sidewalks, pedestrian safety improvements and associated traffic calming elements to Nevada Street from Helman Street to the Billings Ranch Subdivision. There have been significant differences of opinion regarding the need for traffic speed reductions and amount of traffic calming elements necessary to improve safety.

The final plan was developed in conjunction with the entire Nevada Street neighborhood, but with additional weight being given to those who reside on Nevada Street, receive the benefit and corresponds to those that are within the proposed LID boundary. This plan represents a lot of work on the neighborhood's part, a great deal of compromise of personal feelings, and a well thought out decision. This project will greatly improve pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety along Nevada Street by slowing traffic on this wide street. The project will improve the pedestrian useage within this busy neighborhood, which provides access to Helman School, the Dog Park and the Greenway multiuse/bikepath.

The attached resolution authorizes and orders the formation of the LID and construction improvements to Nevada Street including sidewalks, curb extension planter areas, pedestrian safety improvements, drainage and associated improvements. The resolution also authorizes the city to borrow money and issue and sell notes for the purpose of providing interim financing for the actual cost of the local improvement. The proposed LID boundary includes lots fronting on Nevada Street from Helman Street west and includes the new Billings Ranch Subdivision as depicted on the map attached as Exhibit A.

Recommendation:
Staff recommends that Council hold a public hearing to listen to comments and concerns regarding the intent to form the Nevada Street Local Improvement District for sidewalk and traffic calming improvements. If upon completion of the public hearing Council determines a need for the local improvement district, staff recommends that Council form the LID by Council initiative in accordance with AMC Section 13.20.020. As such, staff recommends Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing and ordering the formation of a Local Improvement District for the Nevada Street Sidewalk and Traffic Calming Improvements.

Fiscal Impact:
The total project estimate is $173,500. Under resolution 99-09 the City is obligated to pay a majority of sidewalk, street improvements related to traffic calming and engineering costs.

The following is a breakdown of the City's obligation under this recommendation:

Estimated Construction Cost (includes contingency) Engineering and Administration		$148,500 25,000
Total Project Costs		$173,500
0
City Participation in LID per resolution 99-09
000Sidewalks and Traffic Calming (60% of $148,500) 000Engineering (50% of $25,000)		$89,100 12,500 $101,600
0
Remaining Assessment Participation Number of equivalent dwelling units		$71,900 125
Cost per equivalent dwelling unit		$575.20

Each equivalent dwelling unit or potential equivalent dwelling unit will pay $575.20, which may be Bancrofted over a 10-year period. The construction of improvements to Nevada Street is a priority in the City's Transportation System Plan and has been on the Capital Improvements Program project list for the past several years.

These costs are only estimated construction costs. The City Recorder has provided the affected property owners this information through the assessment order. Should the actual construction costs come in higher than 110% of the estimated costs, the City would have to pay the difference. The assessment order has a provision that the property owner can pay as much as 110%. However, if the final construction costs are less, that difference is shared with the property owner in relative proportion as shown above.

Background and Preparation for the Public Hearing Decisions:
Staff will ask Council to take two actions at the conclusion of the Public Hearing on September 7th. The first is to adopt the attached resolution authorizing and ordering the formation of a Local Improvement District for the Nevada Street Sidewalk and Traffic Calming Improvements. This action will approve the district boundaries and the cost estimate of $173,500, which includes $101,600 of City funds and an assessment of $575.20 per dwelling unit. The second discussion item requests Council concurrence with the 90% design submission as depicted by the neighborhood design of July 2004.

LID BOUNDARY: The proposed LID boundary includes lots fronting on Nevada Street (53 properties) from Helman Street west to and including the new Billings Ranch Subdivision as depicted on the map attached as Exhibit A. This boundary was selected as these 53 property owners will be directly benefited by the improvements along Nevada Street. The Billings Ranch Subdivision (72 properties) was included as a condition of their planning approvals. This boundary is consistent with other neighborhood sidewalk and traffic calming LIDs (Helman, Penny/Palmer) as only those properties directly on the affected streets were included in the LID boundary area. There has been some discussion that all of the Quiet Village Neighborhood or at least all of the homes north of Nevada Street should be included in the LID boundary as all will be affected by the improvements.

The only LID in recent years that went beyond the immediate street improvement area was Tolman Creek Road. Tolman Creek Road is considered a major collector / arterial street and the improvements were full street improvements (street reconstruction and overlay, new storm drain system, sidewalks on both sides, traffic calming planters, etc.). In that case, the boundary was extended to include all homes that directly and indirectly accessed Tolman Creek Road and included many new subdivisions that were required to participate in the LID as a condition of their planning approval. Staff recommends limiting the boundary to the properties directly on Nevada Street.

It may be necessary that the Nevada Street Sidewalk and Traffic Calming LID be formed by Council initiative in accordance with AMC Section 13.20.020. Although staff has worked with the neighbors and has received general consensus for the formation of the LID, actual signed petitions in favor of the LID have not been collected by staff.

As indicated on the August 3, 2004 Council Communication, staff sent design information to each property owner within the LID boundary with a postcard with three options to respond to staff. To date, the results of the postcard survey are as follows:

00	1.	I favor the formation of the LID and feel that the current plan is acceptable.	10
	2.	I favor the formation of the LID and feel that the current plans are not acceptable.	6
	3.	I do not favor the formation of an LID on Nevada Street.	0

At the time this Council Communication was written, of the 55 properties (if you count Billings as only one property, not 72) only 16 residences had responded to our question. There were six packets returned with no forwarding address. Staff will continue to gather information and present it at the public hearing.

DESIGN CONCURRANCE: With the past several LIDs, Council has participated by concurring with the design process at the 90% design stage. In this LID process, staff has been working toward design completion since December 2003. This project has been planned and on the City's Capital Improvements Project list for the past 5-6 years. This project is a high priority on the City's Transportation System Plan for sidewalks. As the existing 36-foot wide street is wider than the current standards for a minor collector (residential neighborhood collector). Ashland's current standards (Ashland Street Standards Handbook) for a residential neighborhood collector are 32 feet from curb to curb; allows for two 9-foot travel lanes and parking on both sides. This current wider straight street section encourages faster speeds and it has been the City's practice to provide traffic calming elements to slow those speeds down and allow for safe travel of bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicles.

Staff has put into practice traffic safety design elements to slow traffic and improve safety in several of our neighborhood streets. There are two (of many) design publications that are routinely used by the Traffic Safety Commission: the first provided by Pat Noyes and Associates (Colorado), "Traffic Calming Primer" and the "Neighborhood Traffic Control" published by North Central Section Institute of Transportation Engineers. Both stress the advantages of curb extensions (neck-downs, chokers, bump outs) to provide increased visibility for pedestrians, reduce vehicular speeds, and provide neighborhood streetscape amenities.

Initially staff hired an engineering firm (Thornton Engineering) to prepare a concept design for sidewalks and traffic calming on Nevada Street. This preliminary concept plan was shared with the Nevada Street and Quiet Village community at a neighborhood meeting in December 2003. There were significant concerns and a diverse set of reactions to this first plan. In the ensuing 5-6 months, a citizens committee was formed and met bi-weekly to help identify the community concerns and suggestions for improvement. The goal of the citizens committee was to consolidate information and community desires and bring City staff one plan. In May, staff was presented with seven different proposals from this citizen's committee with a request to incorporate the elements of seven concepts into three plan options, which would ultimately be consolidated into one preferred plan.

The primary goal of this construction project is to improve safety. Staff used the following objectives for the design elements:

00	1.	Reduce speed of traffic;
	2.	Encourage uniform traffic speed;
	3.	Provide safe and comfortable pedestrian route;
	4.	Provide safe and comfortable bicycle route;
	5.	Provide safe motorist route;
	6.	Maintain safe and unimpeded emergency access;
	7.	Maintain street function as a neighborhood collector;
	8.	Increase livability of the neighborhood (noise, trees, sign, clutter);
	9.	Balance street function, safety and livability; and
	10.	Reduce impact of anticipated traffic increase.

In June, staff (a team of five personnel including staff from public works, fire, and planning) distilled the seven citizen proposals into three alternatives that meet all of the critical safety concerns. Each of the three options was designed with safety as the primary concern. Each will help to reduce speeds with the addition of curb extension or bumpouts. One plan focused on extending the entire curb out into the street for the addition of the sidewalk and narrowed the street entirely. Two of the plans used a combination of curb extensions and crosswalks to provide safety elements.

The three alternatives were presented to the entire Nevada Street neighborhood during the June 21st meeting, where each was discussed and the group consensus narrowed the three options to one preferred alternative. At the July 19th meeting, the preferred alternative was discussed again and the neighborhood group was asked to add elements, but was not allowed to pull elements out as each provided a critical factor in traffic safety and traffic calming. The resulting preferred alternative will be presented to the City Council at the September 7th Public Hearing.

The preferred alternative (July 2004) is similar to the concept design originally presented in December 2003. However, there are some significant differences. The July preferred design has 2' x 2' scored concrete crosswalks, bumpouts and curb extensions on one of the corners at the intersections of Helman, Voris, Michelle, and Glendower and curb extensions at both corners on the south intersection of Cambridge. Primarily, the focus of the traffic calming and crosswalks is at the two entry points (Helman and Cambridge) and at the three streets that channel traffic to the rest of the Quiet Village neighborhood to the north (Glendower, Michelle and Voris). All of the traffic to the north of Nevada Street uses Nevada Street as a neighborhood collector transportation route. The bumpouts do not extend to the side streets with the exception of one corner on Cambridge and one corner on Helman.

The original December 2003 design (attached) included more dramatic curb extensions. There were curb extensions on all four corners at Cambridge wrapping around from Nevada through the side street curbs, similar wrapped curb extensions on each of the 5 side street intersection with corresponding bumpouts/chokers directly across from each entry point onto Nevada. There were bumpouts on each side of Nevada to choke traffic just west of Helman. There was also one traffic diverter island in the section from Glendower to Cambridge. Again, these are easier seen on the attached drawings and will be discussed by staff at the meeting.

There was some discussion about the need for more traffic calming, especially at the west end of the project between Laurel and Cambridge as this is a relatively longer section (1200 feet) with only two traffic calming elements in the preferred design. Staff has reviewed this idea and would support the addition of curb extensions on both sides at Glendower to provide traffic calming, but would have this be a planted curb extension only on the west side, not an ADA ramp as there is no crosswalk or need for that landing. There was also a desire expressed by some to have sidewalks on both sides of the street between Helman and Voris. Staff supports this idea as there is considerable pedestrian (and some bicycle) travels to the Dog Park at that end of the neighborhood, but the existing utilities (power poles, water meters, mailboxes) and landscaping makes this a very difficult addition.

TIMING: The public hearing which is scheduled for September 7th will finalize the formation of the LID. Assuming there will be no major design changes upon LID formation, staff will finalize design and have the project out for bids at the end of October. Construction may begin as early as November and should be completed in April/May 2006.

Attachments:

•	Nevada Street LID Map Boundaries
•	Ashland Municipal Code Section 13.20, Local Improvements and Special Assessments
•	Resolution to form and construct the Nevada Street LID
•	Exhibit A to the Resolution showing the effected properties and boundary map
• • •	July 2004 design (7 pages) December 2003 design (2 pages - concept) Letter dated August 31, 2004 from Mark Knox.

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