TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Community Development Building, 51 Winburn Way

Minutes

Attendees: Tom Burnham, John Gaffey, Eric Heesacker, Julia Sommer (Acting Chair),

                  Matt Warshawsky, David Young

Absent:      Brent Thompson, Colin Swales

Ex Officio Members:  Brandon Goldman, Nathan Broom, Eve Woods, Steve MacLennan.

                  Scott Hollingsworth, David Chapman

Staff Present:  Mike Faught, Nancy Slocum

I.                CALL TO ORDER: 6:02 PM

II.              APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Sommer made spelling corrections to the minutes of July 21, 2009.  She noted that Danielle Mancuso presented Mountain Meadows’ Transit Needs. Burnham moved to approve the minutes as amended, Young seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

III.            PUBLIC FORUM

            Egon Dubois thanked the Public Works Department for the installation of the bike parking stations.

Warshawsky thanked Faught and staff for the construction of the Siskiyou / Garfield pedestrian safety improvements.

IV.            ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA:

            The order of the agenda was changed as follows to accommodate guests.

V.              BUSINESS

A.  Establish agreement on public forum protocol

In order to get though future agendas, Sommers recommended the Public Forum section be limited to 5 minutes per person or 15 minutes total. This time limit would not include discussion by the Commission; however, the Commission would have the opportunity to put an item on a future agenda.

Young moved to use 5 minutes per person and/or 15 minutes total for the Public Forum portion of the agenda. The Commission would then have the option to place a presented item on the present agenda or reconsider it as a future agenda item. Heesacker seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

Egon Dubois recommended a sign up sheet as is done at City Council meetings.

B.  Will Dodge Way neighborhood meeting, August 26, 2009

Staff distributed copied of Resolution No. 90-51 whereby the City Council designated Will Dodge Way in a Southbound Direction from Pioneer Street to First Street. Faught noted that Will Dodge Way’s traffic count averaged 66 trips per day. Long term goals for bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. would be addressed in the Transportation System Plan (TSP) update. He would direct the Street Department to reinstall one-way signage. Scott Hollingsworth from the Fire Department also supported the one-way designation. The Commission supported the resolution through consensus.

C.  Subcommittee meeting of August 10, 2009

Sommers noted that the first subcommittee meeting was held on August 10^th. The minutes were included in the packet. She suggested the subcommittee have a regular meeting schedule such as the first Thursday of each month. She asked the Commission for their opinion. The consensus was that a regular subcommittee date and time could be set, but if there were no agenda items the meeting would be cancelled.

D.    Council Goals

Councilor Chapman reported that the City Council prepared a new vision and values statement every ten years. Draft goals were included in the packet and Chapman asked for feedback using the forms included in the packet. Some of the comments included: will the language stop progress?; are they legally binding?; too vague?; too long?; ADA language should be included; multimodal ideas are shut down, never implemented; establishing bike lanes should be added as a separate box as should mass transit.

Faught noted that the City implemented transportation-related goals through the work of the Transportation Commission whose charge was to generate the details of the TSP. Chapman noted that the Commission was formed as an offshoot of the Traffic Safety Commission and the Bike and Pedestrian Commission. He does not want the community values of those commissions to be ignored.

Sommers wondered why the MPO study and presentation to the Planning Commission was not then presented to the Transportation Commission.

Chapman noted the rail service goal related to the moving of freight between jurisdictions in order to avoid an increase in tractor trailer traffic and adding a third lane to I5. Ashland may have the option of leasing or purchasing right-of-way. A second goal is the addition of a commuter rail to Central Point or Grants Pass. Burnham related a recent Newsweek article stating that commuter rail was less ecologically efficient compared to the automobile.

Commission was satisfied with the goal regarding the TSP.

E.  Draft Transportation System Plan (TSP) Update regarding Request for Proposals (RFP)

Faught was currently drafting the RFP for the comprehensive rewrite of the TSP. He will email a draft next week and invited Commissioners to submit additions/comments within a stated deadline period.

F.  Vacant Transportation Commission Position

Sommers called Mayor Stromberg regarding the current vacancy on the commission. Mayor had not found a qualified applicant. She encouraged the commissioners to publicize the current vacancy.

G.  Cowman area bike lanes

Warshawsky reported that the Croman master plan included a separate bike lane on one side of future streets. He disagreed with this idea because of the increased number of bicyclist/driver conflicts. He recommended that bike boulevards not be mandated and asked the Commission to defer discussion until the TSP update.

H.  Share the road on Oak Street

Burnham proposed a “share the road” pavement markings on Oak Street. He distributed example markings and recommended Oak Street be used as a trial.

Young moved to assign staff to research “share the road” markings and notice (if necessary) Oak Street residents. Heesacker seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

I.  Car Free Day

Steve Ryan reminded the Commission that Car Free Day would be held on September 22, 2009 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Oak Street. The event is in conjunction with Commuter Challenge and RVTD’s Transit Week. Ryan invited the Commission to participate by hosting a table.

J.  PC/TC workshop August 25, 2009

Staff will email the agenda. The goal is for both commissions to become acquainted with each other.

V.        INFORMATIONAL ITEMS & COMMISSIONER COMMENTS:

Chapman asked that the centerline on Grandview not be repainted.

Faught reported that the Siskiyou / Garfield pedestrian safety improvements were nearly complete, but there was some electrical work to be done. Faught guaranteed that the work would be complete by the beginning of SOU’s fall term.

Faught announced he would be on vacation during the next meeting. Jim Olson will staff the meeting.

Nathan Broom noted an 8% increase in ridership for the fiscal year. The new Ashland route and increase rates will begin September 8, 2009. A recent City of Medford employee survey showed many employees were willing to use alternative transportation. He suggested the City of Ashland, as a top employer in Ashland, conduct its own survey.

Eve Woods, SOU Student Liaison, asked for volunteers to help her table SOU’s annual scavenger hunt; 2500 students are expected. Volunteers are also needed for Tuesday, September 29^th Club Fair.

VI.            ADJOURN:  8:15 PM

Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Slocum, Accounting Clerk I