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 Welcome to the City of Denton Mobility Committee meeting.

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 It will be today July the 20th, 2022.

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 Meeting is coming to order at 9am.

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 First item for consideration is MC-22014.

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 Consider approval of the minutes from April 20, 2022.

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 I move approval.

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 Can we get a second?

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 Well I wasn't here.

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 You weren't here.

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 So I'll second.

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 And so the motion is approved.

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 The next order of business is MC-22018.

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 Receive nomination and elect a chair, a vice chair.

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 At this time I'm sitting in the seat.

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 Mr. Bird as the interim chair.

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 Is there anyone that's interested in being chair of this committee?

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 It's my understanding you were the vice chair, is that correct?

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 I wasn't the vice chair.

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 Oh you weren't?

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 No.

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 I'm just the interim chair.

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 I'm going to nominate you for chair.

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 You're going to nominate me for chair?

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 Second.

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 Okay.

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 Vicki Bird chair.

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 I'll accept the nomination.

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 So Vicki Bird is the chair of the Mobility Committee.

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 Can we get a motion or a motion for vice chair?

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 Is anyone interested in being vice chair of the Mobility Committee?

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 I nominate Councilmember McGuire.

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 I accept the nomination.

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 Okay.

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 Councilmember McGuire was nominated and accepted the position of vice chair.

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 So our chair of the Mobility Committee at this time is Vicki Bird and vice chair is Alice McGuire.

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 Point of order.

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 Should we, I know it's not melody, but should we take a vote?

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 Should they take a vote?

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 Let's take a vote on both of those at the same time.

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 And let me see a short hand.

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 Aye.

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 Aye.

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 Aye.

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 That's all of them.

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 Thank you.

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 The next order of business is MC-22015.

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 We're going to receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the City of Dent Transportation Mobility Project's status report.

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 And Mr. Polster is walking in the door, so if we want to give him a couple of seconds to get up to this location, I see him coming.

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 There he is.

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 He's just walking along with that Texas stroll.

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 He'll be so excited to know he's here and ready to rock and roll.

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 He's back to Texas.

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 Welcome, you're up.

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 What an entrance.

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 Sorry.

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 That's all right.

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 It's traffic.

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 Was it 35?

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 The phone wasn't connected.

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 It's probably local.

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 Oh, well, there you go.

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 And we're just using the overhead mic so you don't need to talk to the microphones.

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 Excellent.

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 Mr. Polster here at Transportation Solutions.

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 And this is our project report.

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 We start with a project summary.

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 And currently, the amount of projects we're working on on this project, once completed, will total about $2.3, $2.2 billion worth of project infrastructure.

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 We'll put it on the ground in and around the city of Denny.

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 So on 2181 North/South, this is a project for those that are somewhat new to the process.

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 This project was originally awarded to MCM back in 2017, 2018.

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 And that's the company that had the bridge drop on everybody in Florida.

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 So very quickly after that, they defaulted on a lot of projects.

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 So they defaulted in January of '19.

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 We picked up Zachary as a contractor.

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 They got selected when they began work, November of 2019, to finish the project.

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 All that work there is basically we're finishing up the paving on the main lanes.

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 So we keep having generic utility conflicts, but we are able to address them in the field usually.

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 And if you've driven it, you know that every day you go out there, it's a little bit different configuration because they have daily lane shifts.

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 So we are on target for October 22 completion date.

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 So this fall we will be done.

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 And I don't know if anybody's going to want to do a ribbon cutting or just ignore it.

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 We would enjoy.

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 So your I-35E Mayhill project, essentially we will be done.

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 It says July 22.

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 The reason that is we have our two EVs set for the end of July.

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 And once we have those here, we take possession.

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 So essentially the right of way will be acquired.

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 The utilities will be relocated.

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 The big issue we're having right now on this project is, and we're working again with Becky and the staff there,

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 to make sure that gas station at Mayhill, we're taking the tanks.

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 And so they have to be, the state bought the whole gas station,

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 but apparently the state doesn't have as much authority to kick people out once they own it.

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 You would think they would.

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 And so there's a date certain that those occupants have to be out.

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 And the demolition firm won't start removing the tanks until they know the building is vacant.

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 The building doesn't have to be gone.

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 They just want to make sure that if something blows up, nobody dies.

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 John, which station, is that the racetrack or the mobile?

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 Which one is it?

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 It's on the, has it gone south, it's on the south, north side of Mayhill.

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 It's that old gas station, I think it used to be at Exxon.

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 Yeah, I know which one it is.

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 So it's not that quick trip that you're talking about?

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 No.

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 No, ma'am.

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 It's on the other side.

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 Oh, on the other side, okay.

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 Yes.

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 So we're not impacting the quick trip.

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 If you look at that aerial in that area, you'll see the quick trip and all the development there was set back because of 35E, which has been environmentally cleared since 2012.

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 So all the developments since 2012 had to honor that larger footprint.

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 That's where there's that large area between the frontage roads and the buildings.

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 So we are anticipated to have it done by December of next year.

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 The push on this was, it was going to be done earlier, but we recognized early on that traffic that was wanting to get to Loop 288 that would exit Mayhill was being impacted by the brinker lag.

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 And so about a year ago, we backed up, looked at it and decided to redesign where we put a through access lane up top where the main lanes are so that you can, if you want to go to Mayhill, if you want to go to Loop 28,

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 you'll be in the left lane, you'll go up parallel, height-wise with the main lanes, drop back down and come to 288. If you want to go to brinker, you stay down, come to the left, go left to right, and it'll be the same in the other direction.

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 That's great.

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 We decided that the improvements were worth the time. So that's what pushed the schedule. And it's fully funded at the $95 million.

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 You'll notice right now that we have 98 allocated to it. Our current estimate is 95, but they're leaving those dollars in these projects because of the tendency for all projects to currently go up faster than we anticipated.

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 John, on the top, it shows these kinds of descriptions like ready to let date and let date.

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 Yes, sir.

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 Ready to let date. Is that when the actual contracts go out for bid?

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 No, sir. That's a good question. So what ready to let and let date mean is right now, once you've got your schematic approved, your environmental clearance, if you see utility relocations are done by December 2030.

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 Okay.

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 Because always if you look at the 100% plans, the plans are always done before everything else. So once your utilities are relocated, that project is considered ready to let. If you don't have any funding for the project, the let date would have an asterisk.

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 So right now it's in June of 2025, because that's where some of that $2 and $11 are programmed. But like we're doing right now, every year they update the 10-year plan in general, particularly the first four years, which is called the STIP, State Transportation Approval Program.

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 And you can go from year 10 to year two in one of those updates if your project's ready. So there are projects that aren't going to be ready and there are projects that are going to be ready, which is why in the Dallas district, because they're working in a lot of different districts, the Dallas district focuses solely on the ready to let.

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 They want their projects ready to go, regardless of the funding source, so that when things happen, things can happen.

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 So we see the utilities here, and all those little dots, those are all the utilities we're able to deal with to get this project done, and that's why we're talking, we've got the right of way now, and it'll take us all the way to December in a year and a half, if the utilities are located.

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 There's a lot of utilities on 35E.

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 And then you go up around the corner, this is the merge up to 77.

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 The multiple CSJs are because the merge that originally started at the two Wishbone area, and then we stopped at 38, and then the bigger project went from 38 to the county line, and we all agreed that the project that impacts the city of Denton the most ought to be one project left as a unit.

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 So that's what we do, we've got two CSJs, but essentially one project.

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 And again, we have more money in the project than the current estimate is, but we're not letting it today.

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 So by the time we get to next year, it may cost more, it may cost less, so they're leaving the $434 million that's allocated to it in the project, and we are shooting for a ready to let date of August 23.

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 And why that's important is that's a tight run, because we are supposed to let it in September.

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 So this one's going to be a tight fit on the schedule, but we're all working together to make sure it happens.

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 And again, if you look, when you get to this area, all of these are utilities that have to be relocated.

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 And they're all like saying they'll be done in September, September, September, so it's going to be touch and go, but we'll make it.

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 And then the big project I was talking about a moment ago, it goes from basically 77 all the way to the county line.

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 The reason for the different colors and the different CSJs is we are going to be building the, and I'm going to call that purple, but I don't know.

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 My wife says I only know five colors.

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 That second small project, that project, apartment saner. Yeah, it's the 455 interchange, because we're letting 455 like in the next couple of months.

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 So it goes all the way from the high school on the east all the way out to Bolivar 24, 40 something out there.

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 2450. That road. Long road.

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 And it's a safety. We're going from a two lane hog back to I think it's a four lane divided urban.

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 And most of the reason that is is that if you miss the road out there, you're going to drop 10, 15 feet into a ditch and die.

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 And nobody will see you.

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 That's a good reason to change the roads.

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 So since 455 was going to get there first, we decided to go ahead and let the purple project with 455.

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 So whoever gets 455, builds 455, builds the interchange at 35 and on out towards the west.

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 The other projects are, and the reason, the other reason they're broken up is if we can keep these projects below a certain dollar amount, then we don't have the VE issued value engineering.

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 We don't have a lot of the criteria we have to follow for assuming that it should be a design build, something like that.

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 So it just keeps it under the radar of just being a design build project, which is what we want.

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 And so again, the 081, which I'm going to call blue, has a December 24 and the 074, which I think is yellow, is December 25.

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 But we're going to let those together.

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 So we're going to get those dates set to where they work together because they'll be, they want to let it at the same time.

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 And they can be the same contractor, but they'll be two projects.

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 And again, a lot of utilities.

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 And then on the other leg, the 35, 35W, we're currently working on the frontage roads from just south of the railroad tracks.

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 So we probably need to extend that yellow line a little further north down to just south of 407.

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 And the reason we're doing the northern segment first because you got the Hunter Coal, you got the Centurion American, you got Hillwood, and some of the third thing.

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 It's all developed in that area.

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 And so we had to keep the dollar amount under 200 million, again, for the same reasons I said earlier.

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 So we're targeting less than 200 million dollar segment.

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 And they've got WSP is on contract to do the design.

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 It's been environmentally cleared since 2020.

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 The right away will be completely acquired by March next year, and the ready to let date is June of 2024.

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 And we are shooting for September of 2024, let date.

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 And again, there's monies coming in from the back end of the system.

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 If you paid, I didn't mean that money, if you paid attention, I didn't mean it that way, but if you saw Austin sue Textile on the 35 project,

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 and there were three projects they sued them on, south, middle, and north.

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 The south was actually under construction, so that project stopped.

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 So that money had to go somewhere.

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 The north, they had just awarded it to a contractor, so that money was there.

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 The middle is an environmental impact statement, EIS, and it was in the process of doing the environmental.

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 And Austin sue Textile, and I mean, it's a legitimate argument.

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 I mean, I wouldn't have done it, but it's a legitimate argument.

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 They're building X number of lanes in the south, they're building X number of lanes in the north, and those are less sensitive areas.

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 That sensitive area, they have to do a major environmental document.

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 And their argument is, since you broke it up, right, what are the odds of the feds not finishing the gap?

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 Had you done the whole thing together as an EIS, then they could have a better chance of dealing with sensitive issues.

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 And so that's $6 billion. It's got to roll back through the system next year.

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 And so we're looking for a lot of our projects because they haven't ready the lead in that 2023 through 2025 timeframe.

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 We're thinking, because they have to spend the money, that's the point, they have to spend the money.

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 And so what they do is they don't unfund Austin $6 billion.

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 They just simply move it out here.

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 And then they have that money in here, they have to find projects for it.

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 So that's why, although we have asterisks on funding, we're pretty certain we're going to get it funded because it meets all the criteria the commission has set for projects that will be considered for reallocation of those funds.

190
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 I have a question.

191
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 Yes, ma'am.

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 And so this is just for the frontage roads we're not talking about.

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 So are we going to have some type of toll road coming up from Fort Worth or anything?

194
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 So this is recorded, right?

195
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 Okay, I'll be careful.

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 What we're building out there right now, regardless of whether it's a rural freeway, which is what we've cleared, or an urban freeway that has what we call a 3223 configuration, which is three general purpose lanes in one direction, two toll manage lanes, two toll manage lanes in the opposite direction, and three general purpose lanes in the opposite direction.

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 direction that all fits in the same footprint and the frontage roads are in

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 the same place regardless. When we were clearing I-35W that's when the paradigm

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 shifted in Austin where they started saying no more tolls because they don't

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 understand what a toll management is. So it's a toll, it's a toll, it's a toll, it's a toll. So instead of killing our future, right,

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 because the city of Denton, Denton County, and TXDOT are all immortal beings. The constituent parts die off but the entity itself

202
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 stays on. So eventually the people that are in Austin won't be there, right.

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 Paradigm shift that it has over the last 30 years back to common sense and when

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 that happens we'll flip the environmental back on, convert it to a toll

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 manage lane, clear it as a toll manage lane, and then we'll continue that configuration up

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 that's in Fort Worth all the way to Denton and it'll match into the toll

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 manage lanes over 35E coming up to 38. So the only reason we're doing the frontage

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 roads and only the frontage roads now is because we have no intention of building

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 35W as a rural freeway. But again, the frontage roads are in the same place in

210
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:32,040
 both configurations and the footprint is the same. So it's cleared, we'll find her out of the way,

211
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,680
 there's no throwaway, and we'll just wait.

212
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:50,880
 Okay, this is the 38 project coming out of Denton across the lake to 377. It's

213
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:58,000
 under construction and we are anticipating it being completed in

214
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:06,480
 January 2024. Basically we are behind in some parts of the project and ahead in

215
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:14,720
 others. We're trying to get a catch-up scheduled from these guys, but the area

216
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:20,880
 around the bridges, they are moving a little bit faster than anticipated. So

217
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:26,880
 we're planning in the next month or so to allow the contractor to go into phase

218
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:35,840
 two sooner than what we anticipated they would be. So all in all, it's doing

219
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,080
 pretty good.

220
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:44,040
 Can I ask a question about that? Absolutely, that's what I'm hearing. And this is for people that I'm just

221
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:48,920
 watching having comments and asking questions. There's a big why question out

222
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:55,680
 there. Why what? Why are sidewalks being built out there before anything else

223
00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:01,360
 shows up out there? Can we give these constituents some type of answer for that?

224
00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:09,400
 So the federal guidelines require that any facility that has federal funding in

225
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:17,820
 it accommodate all modes of transportation. Pedestrians are a mode. In this

226
00:23:17,820 --> 00:23:23,760
 particular case, the 10-foot shared use path from Denton out to the Greenbelt is

227
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:31,320
 out of the construction path of the road itself. And so it was something they

228
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:36,360
 could get done just because it's not in the way of the rest of it. Typically you

229
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:41,040
 can't do sidewalks until you build the road because the road's moving. What we're

230
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:46,960
 doing is shifting in most to the south and the 10-foot shared use path is on the

231
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:52,200
 north, so it was just something that could get done as part of the project. I wouldn't

232
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,600
 walk out there because the project's done. Well, that'll give me an opportunity to make a statement?

233
00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:05,440
 Yeah, we had a chance to get it done earlier, so we did. Okay, so your 380

234
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:14,360
 feasibility study. We will be closing this up. They said July, but probably it's

235
00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:18,760
 going to be August. We had to get a couple of letters from

236
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:27,240
 Oak Point, Crossroads. Crossroads and Little Elm, they have some issues concerned with the

237
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,920
 feasibility study said the place to make 380 a freeway is on 380 as opposed to

238
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:38,080
 an alternate route. And there were some economic impacts. Crossroads,

239
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:45,600
 Walmart, all that stuff there in the path. So we're working with, County is working

240
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:53,520
 with Oak Point and Little Elm to essentially identify what they think

241
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:57,720
 their impacts are and then finally help mitigate them through the bond program

242
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:02,800
 that we're proposing in November. And so they had to then turn around and write letters to

243
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:07,800
 text out saying, "Nale of the mind, you don't have to do an economic study. We're

244
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,920
 going to work with the county." So that took a while. Now they're closing it out. The

245
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:20,460
 feasibility study said the place to build a freeway is on 380. If you'll note that

246
00:25:20,460 --> 00:25:25,800
 brown section, you could also assume that you wouldn't go through town with a

247
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:30,280
 freeway, right? That you take the traffic up and around the loop. Right now it's

248
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:37,640
 not a full-fledged freeway because it doesn't have frontage roads. So it's in

249
00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:43,720
 the next rest of the port. County has picked up Pacheco Cove to do the

250
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:50,560
 environmental study to turn Loop 288 northeast into a freeway by adding the

251
00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:54,600
 main lines. It will take a lot of pressure off of vacuuming you guys for

252
00:25:54,600 --> 00:26:00,040
 developers that want to tie directly into a 60 mile an hour main line, which we can't

253
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:06,520
 allow them to do. But once we get the frontage roads done or you just cleared, then we can

254
00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:12,440
 start working with these developers. But the intent is for the traffic on 380,

255
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:20,520
 this freeway, it hit Denton and go up around the loop to 35. And then we're building the loop around on the other side as well.

256
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:25,880
 If you look at McKinney and Prosper and Salon and all those people over there in

257
00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:30,520
 Collin County, they're fighting like cats and dogs on the alignment because nobody will work with each other.

258
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:37,960
 And so there's like nine different loops that we're talking about doing and nobody agrees with anybody.

259
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:51,000
 So we're about, because the city of Denton was forward thinking a long time ago, we've already got our bypass route ready to go and we'll get

260
00:26:51,000 --> 00:27:04,760
 ours built before they probably even agree what the alignment is over there. Speaking of the rest of this, Loop 28 West takes it from 35 all the way around down to 2449.

261
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:13,560
 And if you'll note, we environmentally cleared it to that 2020. We're looking at 2024 for completion of the right of way.

262
00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:26,120
 We're working on what the heck, why does it take four years? And the answer is that all of those gas wells and distribution lines, you have to deal with them in right of way.

263
00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:39,000
 And during utility relocation, but you have to deal with them in right of way because moving them is a financial cost and they've got precedent.

264
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:51,720
 So we've had other areas in the state where we've found that dealing with them in the right of way process is easier than dealing with them on the utility side.

265
00:27:51,720 --> 00:28:00,120
 So it'll take a long time, but if we beat this time frame, we can move up to that day.

266
00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:11,080
 All right, so this is the project I was telling you about a second ago. In order to take 380 to a freeway, we've got to get around Denton. We're going to take it up to the north along 281.

267
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:25,000
 And we are looking at a more seamless movement between 380 and the Loop. I've got a line there just because I just stick the line there, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's where I'll be.

268
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:35,240
 We're going to have a better transition so that you can get from 380 to the Loop without having to go through a box or something. So that's where we're at on that.

269
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:55,080
 1515 County picked up LTRA, did the work, and we did the environmental clearance initially and then we had some changes to the design that we needed to make, which required us to do a re-eval.

270
00:28:55,080 --> 00:29:06,280
 The re-eval was completed in '22, and we are looking at having the right of way done by '23, and they're ready to let in '24.

271
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:24,840
 FM 1173, we picked up half of the project, and we are shooting for August, September, May, and October to have the plans adequate, which means your design plans are at 60%.

272
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:41,640
 Because if we can get this project fast-track, TechStut wants to find a way to include this segment of 1173 in the 35 project that's $750 million dollars off.

273
00:29:41,640 --> 00:30:05,000
 Ellen Locus, so Becky's working with TechStut on the agreeable, acceptable pavement design for the South, and once we get that agreed to, then TechStut will use their maintenance money to go fix the rug, however we all agree to.

274
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:11,800
 And I'll let Becky expand if she wants to.

275
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:21,000
 I've got a question. Oh yes. So have the utilities been, all the utilities been done on both of those roads that we're talking about?

276
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:46,040
 No sir, so the southern half of Ellen Locus, which is basically south of the courthouse to Eagle, the water, the sewer, and storm drain has been installed. We're currently working with, as John mentioned, TechStut on the pavement design that all parties can agree to, which we're hoping is going to be available this week or next, and then we can move forward with working on an agreement.

277
00:30:46,040 --> 00:31:09,080
 On the northern portion, which is basically north of the courthouse, all the way to 380, the water and sewer lines both need to be replaced, drainage will need to be installed, and we are currently working with John at the county to put that as a part of the county bond package that will be in the November election.

278
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:25,080
 The city will fund the water and wastewater, and the county will fund the roadway improvements, a portion of it. So we're basically funding about half, and the county would be funding about half of those roadway improvements. And so that's the collaboration that we're working on.

279
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:41,080
 At such time, all of that happens, then the city will be looking to take over all of Ellen Locus between 380 and Eagle as city infrastructure. But from the courthouse south, everything is done, and the road is ready to be fixed. We just have to agree on this.

280
00:31:41,080 --> 00:32:02,080
 So, and our standard is a little bit more stringent, and so that's why we're actually using actual pavement design to make those determinations as to what, you know, our goal at the city, and it's my responsibility to make sure what's put back is going to last, you know, for a long period of time.

281
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:22,080
 And so that's why those collaborations are happening, and TexDOT's been very open to those conversations, and John's been very helpful with that also. So we're in hopes that we'll have something, I would say, within the next couple of months that we're in agreement with, and you'll see an agreement come before council as to that collaboration.

282
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:33,080
 So I thought my understanding was that TexDOT would, we would do the utility replacement, however the city would, but then TexDOT would pay for the...

283
00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:46,080
 Yeah, we're not on the hook for anything south of the courthouse. And the point is, is that at the end of the day, we wouldn't care, but at the end of the day, the road becomes a city at some point.

284
00:32:46,080 --> 00:33:04,080
 So we do care at that point what's beneath it, because if we left TexDOT to their own druthers, they would give a contract to do a mill and overlay, and if they found a pothole underneath it, they'd stuff some stuff in it, and move on.

285
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:08,080
 So, but the north side, you said the county was picking up the new improvements?

286
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:26,080
 Well, you're submitting projects to the county for bottom program considerations, and one of those projects is the collaboration, and it's a three-way collaboration, it's the county, the city, and TexDOT, because we're not pitching it because it's not a single unit.

287
00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:50,080
 We are looking at Elm and Locust from EGLE to 380 as a project, and when you look at those parts, it's more like one-third, one-third, one-third in the partnership, and the district engineer is keenly interested in getting this off of his books, because he gets bad scores for this road, as you can very well tell.

288
00:33:50,080 --> 00:34:06,080
 The only thing I would add is EGLE between Elm and Locust will remain TexDOT because it is an on-system roadway that connects Dallas Drive to Carroll Boulevard, which is Fort Worth Drive, obviously.

289
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:20,080
 But it actually, I'm very pleased with the collaboration, and I'm really excited about getting this moving forward.

290
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:43,080
 We'll see. What happened on some of the resurfacing that started was the temperature got to a point where it was hard to lay down some of the resurfacing materials, and so the contractor that's doing the work has their own plant, you know, whatever that is, the asphalt plant.

291
00:34:43,080 --> 00:35:01,080
 So they had to stop for a couple, three weeks, A, because of the temperature, but that was because they needed to go reconfigure their, whatever their formula is on that stuff, because what they were doing, what they were laying down was rolling right back up in a couple of days.

292
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:23,080
 So you saw them start and then you saw them stop, and that was the reason. They're behind schedule, but the intent is to have 3580 have a passable, smooth surface from basically Corinth through Denton to 388.

293
00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:28,080
 And they do it all at night, so just don't get out at night.

294
00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:33,080
 And then that's my glossary of terms.

295
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:40,080
 And usually somebody always asks me a question that's not on the glossary.

296
00:35:40,080 --> 00:36:00,080
 Can we return briefly to the Locust, Elm, Eagle conversation? So I know that we've talked in the past about, well obviously we're talking right now about pavement design and trying to sort of establish standards that will meet the city's needs for Elm and Locust.

297
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:06,080
 Is Eagle going to be to that same standard even though it's not coming off system?

298
00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:12,080
 Eagle will also be replaced with texot, and they'll do that at the same time that they do Elm and Locust.

299
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:13,080
 We don't know.

300
00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,080
 Okay, but we don't know yet regarding pavement.

301
00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:27,080
 As long as it's got a smooth surface, technically we don't really care because we don't have to maintain it. We just have to complain if it falls apart again.

302
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:43,080
 Okay, so it's a conversation we have to constantly explain that that's a texot roadway, and if they choose to use the same standard pavement width as they do on Elm and Locust with the same contractor, that's texot's decision.

303
00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:57,080
 If not, as John mentioned, they can use to use a different- And they probably will go ahead and just use the same contractor, same contract, same design because it's more costly to change it, right?

304
00:36:57,080 --> 00:36:59,080
 Okay, but that is up to texot.

305
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:02,080
 There's a better and good chance that they'll all look the same underneath.

306
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,080
 Okay, all right, that's good news.

307
00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:18,080
 And John and myself, we'll make sure we're going to continue to work through that because we're still receiving weekly questions and requests about potholes along Eagle.

308
00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:32,080
 So that's a constant conversation, so we want to make sure that it's put back to a standard that we're all in agreement on, but because that won't end up being a city roadway, it's not something we actually have the jurisdiction over.

309
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,080
 Okay, so that's pavement design.

310
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:50,080
 We had a brief conversation maybe a couple months ago about roadway design on Locust and Elm, and I know that we had kind of, you know, I brought up the idea of, you know, a bus kind of pull off lane, and there was some conversation around, you know,

311
00:37:50,080 --> 00:38:09,080
 texdot may not be willing to give us the leeway to do that kind of design. Do we have any say whatsoever regarding like bike and pedestrian facilities along Eagle, or is that 100% texdot decision?

312
00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:21,080
 We have to, we have to comport to their design criteria for those things. Part of the reason why we want Elm and Locust off is because once we take it off system, we can do it to what we want.

313
00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:42,080
 And at that point, because the roadway itself, and what Becky made sure to include in that contract, is a certain number of feet of curb improvements, because there's a lot of places where the curbs are bad, and you don't want the road to be done, and you have to come in and cut it up to fix the curbs.

314
00:38:42,080 --> 00:39:03,080
 So the contractor that does Elm and Locust to whatever pegged design they agreed to also has to do a certain number of feet of curb improvements. And the intent is to get the road functionally as a road sound, and then after that, we take it off system, then we can configure it to what the city wants it to look like.

315
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:23,080
 And at that point, and at that point, then Becky will say we want to do a complete street scenario, and she's going to say go out and find some money for it, and then Cog has programs to convert texdot roads to more local use facilities.

316
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:33,080
 Okay, so that's Elm and Locust though. Are we asking for curb improvements along EGLE?

317
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:55,080
 We're going to argue the same criteria for the whole Elm, Locust, and EGLE, but when you get to pullouts, things that are not necessarily texdot friendly concepts, we won't get that through on EGLE.

318
00:39:55,080 --> 00:40:09,080
 Well, in the right of way, we'll accommodate that on EGLE, obviously. You know, I guess really what I'm trying to get at is like, who's responsible for sidewalks along EGLE? We're responsible for the sidewalks.

319
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:26,080
 In your NMA that you signed, you're basically responsible for everything on system except the road itself. Okay. Signs, signals, sidewalks, yada yada yada.

320
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:43,080
 And something you can understand too, our goal currently is to get the pavement designed to the thickness that we can agree to, get the agreement in place, work forward with the county on the northern portion, but as we start working through a design, what is the ultimate striping plan?

321
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:58,080
 And then I do anticipate, at some time later, that we will come back and have to do some sidewalk improvements in the entire area, but that's not currently included. The only part of the texdot project that we're working on right now is everything from the curb inside.

322
00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:22,080
 Plus some feet of curving that need to be fixed. To facilitate perhaps future sidewalk improvements, but that's not part of the project. That is correct, and Nathan has that a part of his sidewalk work plan, and he's also looking at ways to use that as a multimodal area to get from 380 down to EGLE through the downtown, but I anticipate that being a future project.

323
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:37,080
 My first goal is to get Elm and Locust to a drivable surface that everyone can agree to, and then get the northern half of the Elm and Locust replaced with all the utilities, because obviously that's aging infrastructure, I know you've heard.

324
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:42,080
 Yeah, yes. Absolutely. Alright, thank you for that clarification. I think I understand now.

325
00:41:42,080 --> 00:42:11,080
 Oh, we have one more question. Well, that's more of a question for Councilmember Dwyer. What sidewalks are, which part of this alignment are you talking about? Sidewalks for? I was referring to sidewalks, the sidewalks along EGLE, which are not in great repair and are very narrow, but I'm, you know, I recognize the urgency of, I mean that is not a functional thoroughfare right now, and so I recognize that we need to focus on that pavement.

326
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:26,080
 First, and then once pavement encroachs are complete, we can start talking about sidewalks. Well, I know we've got sidewalks on the, which, you know, they're old, talking about, I guess, the south side of EGLE, but we also, when we redid that road, we put in two bike lanes on both directions, which are also pedestrian lanes.

327
00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:43,080
 So, I mean, I've seen people walking in that, and I think there's, it's a little dangerous to me, but they still, they still, okay, I just, I wasn't sure which part of the alignment you were referring to. Yeah, I just want to make sure I was clear on what TxDOT's responsible for, what we're responsible for, how we can influence.

328
00:42:43,080 --> 00:43:03,080
 The majority of the scope of the project, TxDOT is going to be from the front of curb in, except for those areas we identified that need curbs improved, and then those areas will be the back of curb in, but once you hit the back of the curb, anything past that, TxDOT's not even going to look at it.

329
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:14,080
 Because then we're in trouble, because that's where all your utility stuff is, there's some underpayment, and it's just a big box of worms.

330
00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:18,080
 Thank you very much.

331
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:19,080
 Sorry to be late.

332
00:43:19,080 --> 00:43:20,080
 That's okay.

333
00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:21,080
 Thank you, Don.

334
00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:22,080
 Thank you.

335
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:23,080
 Thank you, Don.

336
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:25,080
 Sure.

337
00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:33,080
 We're going to, if there's any other comment on that, we'll move on to MC-22016.

338
00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:42,080
 Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding updates from the Denton County Transportation Authority, otherwise known as DCTA.

339
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:43,080
 Absolutely.

340
00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:44,080
 Thank you, welcome.

341
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:51,080
 Yes ma'am, good morning.

342
00:43:51,080 --> 00:43:53,080
 So, good morning, thank you for having us.

343
00:43:53,080 --> 00:44:00,080
 I'm joined by Brittany Farr, our Senior Director of Engagement Administration, and my name's Paul Christina, the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

344
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:11,080
 I recognize Council Member McGuire gave a briefing on much of this content last night, and thanks to her and staff, as we establish our regular cadence of communication with our member cities,

345
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:20,080
 and have gone to something less than a monthly cadence here, we will continue to line these things up so that we can keep in front of you at the right schedule.

346
00:44:20,080 --> 00:44:30,080
 So, I will move very quickly through the content that was covered last night and end up waiting to spend the most time on the things that you want to know about, if that's okay with you.

347
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:34,080
 So, I think we talked about, Council Member McGuire talked about the TRIP program last year.

348
00:44:34,080 --> 00:44:37,080
 We appreciate the City of Denton's participation in this.

349
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:49,080
 All of these TRIP projects were approved at our last DCTA board meeting, and so congratulations to you all, and we appreciate the engagement of staff on the execution of these projects.

350
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:53,080
 From the Mobility Services side, as you know, we've been marching towards...

351
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:54,080
 Oh, yes ma'am.

352
00:44:54,080 --> 00:45:00,080
 Would you like for us to answer or ask questions as you're going along, or if there's anything?

353
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,080
 Sure, that'd be fine.

354
00:45:02,080 --> 00:45:03,080
 I have a question.

355
00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:04,080
 Okay.

356
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:09,080
 What does PURR Applied Zone pedestrian improvements mean?

357
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:21,080
 So, it is the railroad, usually when you see railroad, that's what that is, and so it should be UPRR, which is Union Pacific Railroad Quiet Zone Improvement, so it can catch.

358
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:22,080
 Okay, all right.

359
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:32,080
 There is a UP Railroad, not a PURR, although some people who work at BNSF might say it is a PURR, but that's a different story for different...

360
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:36,080
 All right, well it just looked familiar to me, so I just wanted to clarify that.

361
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:37,080
 Thank you.

362
00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:38,080
 We have another question.

363
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:48,080
 And just for clarification, because I know, I don't know why it's taken so long, but we still haven't done our quiet zones for the UP Railroad through downtown.

364
00:45:48,080 --> 00:45:49,080
 Right.

365
00:45:49,080 --> 00:45:52,080
 But that's not what this is talking about, or is that what this is talking about?

366
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,080
 This is a part of that overall project.

367
00:45:55,080 --> 00:45:56,080
 Right.

368
00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:07,080
 And one question I have, and I don't know if it's you all, but I've had some people talk to me about when the trains are coming, when DCTA trains are coming through, you know, from Loop 288 all the way through downtown.

369
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:14,080
 The cross arms come down, and then it's like a couple minutes before.

370
00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:19,080
 Is that sort of a federal requirement?

371
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:25,080
 There's a certain warning time that is required between the time the gates go down and the time that the train actually passes.

372
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:33,080
 What I know about our signal system is that we have varying block lengths throughout, and I'm learning the reasons why our gate down times are different in different places.

373
00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:45,080
 What we are doing right now is the A train enhancement study that's going to talk about making the train go faster, and so that will help with the gate going down and the train getting there sooner, but we'll be looking at the gate timing across all those places as well.

374
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:46,080
 Thank you.

375
00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:47,080
 Appreciate that.

376
00:46:47,080 --> 00:46:48,080
 Okay.

377
00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:49,080
 Thank you.

378
00:46:49,080 --> 00:46:51,080
 Yes, please, please interrupt as I'm going through here.

379
00:46:51,080 --> 00:46:52,080
 Okay.

380
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:54,080
 We'll make our way.

381
00:46:54,080 --> 00:47:06,080
 So we're really excited about this. We've launched performance dashboards for our GoZone service and our Connect service that talks about the key performance indicators that we're seeing on the system.

382
00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:22,080
 And so this is really the first step in what staff and the board are working towards to make all of our performance metrics much more visible and front and center to the public and to our staff as we think about the future of DCTA and how we provide the highest quality service possible.

383
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:33,080
 And so that is part of the conversation that's ongoing through our budget process this year. And so we're really excited about this launch, this information will be available on demand.

384
00:47:33,080 --> 00:47:38,080
 This is a view of our ridership for the month of May.

385
00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:53,080
 You can see the dark blue GoZone, light blue UNT, our vanpool service which is continuing to be popular post pandemic. And what really is attractive about it to nonmember cities is there's no cost to the municipality.

386
00:47:53,080 --> 00:48:04,080
 This is really an arrangement between the employer and the employees that want to use it. And so we're seeing good movement in that as well.

387
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:14,080
 And you will find these reports on our, the metrics behind these reports on our dashboard, our ridership between Connect and GoZone by month.

388
00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:23,080
 Our GoZone ridership continues to increase as we, following the investment that was made in the service back in our April board meeting.

389
00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:36,080
 This is a view of our safety performance that has really been the result of a lot of interest on the public side and our ability to visualize what our safety record is based on incident rate per 100,000 miles.

390
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:48,080
 We have two categories of incidents, FTA reportable and non FTA reportable. FTA reportable incidents are those in which, generally in which somebody has to be treated medically offsite or the vehicle is towed away from the scene.

391
00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:59,080
 Again, as we continue our reporting and data availability, we're working with VIA to make, to be able to identify root causes so that we can drive continuous improvements in our safety performance.

392
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:21,080
 Do you keep track of, and I don't need to know what it is, at fault? In other words, with these accidents under either category, if it's determined to be either the driver of VIA, GoZone, or someone else?

393
00:49:21,080 --> 00:49:31,080
 Yes we do, and as we get into what's the right amount, what's the right reporting we provided on a continuous basis, that's one of them at fault versus not at fault.

394
00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:45,080
 Here's a look at our service quality by month. Seat unavailability at the top, following the implementation of additional service, we've seen that number drop significantly, as has our estimated time of arrival.

395
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:49,080
 Question. Yes ma'am. Clarify what seat unavailable means.

396
00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:58,080
 This is the percentage by which people who request rides are unable to get it because they get the message on the screen that says a ride is not currently available.

397
00:49:58,080 --> 00:50:08,080
 Any time a person would be expected to wait longer than 30 minutes for a GoZone vehicle to get to their point, they get that seat availability message.

398
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:14,080
 So this is the part that we can go through really quickly as well, based on the conversation that was had last night.

399
00:50:14,080 --> 00:50:29,080
 We're asking our board this month to decide on three different things relative to our overall service, that is our fare structure, and our pass structure, and then finally the routes that will be utilized for Connect going forward.

400
00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:44,080
 So this is just talking about fare alternatives, whether it's a flat fare or a hybrid fare for the GoZone service, a hybrid fare meaning an incremental charge for every mile beyond four miles.

401
00:50:44,080 --> 00:50:52,080
 We've used these graphs to demonstrate the data that's available because of the GoZone service to be able to identify actually where the demand is for service.

402
00:50:52,080 --> 00:51:02,080
 And that's an improvement over the typical census block data that has pretty low fidelity in terms of transit dependent or transit prone riders.

403
00:51:02,080 --> 00:51:21,080
 But these origin destination pairs that you see on these maps we anticipate will be helpful in order for us to understand better what is the demand and who are the users of our service so that we can provide multimodal alternatives moving into the future through a long range service planning process.

404
00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:25,080
 This is a view on the operating cost for the Connect route versus the GoZone route.

405
00:51:25,080 --> 00:51:53,080
 The policy decision that we're framing up is if we understand the cost of a GoZone vehicle and how many people it moves in an hour and we understand the cost of a Connect bus and how many people it moves in an hour, what's the right balance of Connect service to provide the most cost effective and comprehensive service possible. That's the foundation of the policy discussion.

406
00:51:53,080 --> 00:52:07,080
 And then on the Connect side we've broken that down, same metric with a more finite view of different periods of the day because not the same bus route might have different utilization and different ridership throughout the day.

407
00:52:07,080 --> 00:52:12,080
 And again this is that discussion of the decision that we're framing up for this one.

408
00:52:12,080 --> 00:52:30,080
 So we have several alternatives that were presented to our board really based on trying to identify again the balance of cost effectiveness between the GoZone service and the Connect service and I believe that you all went through these alternatives last night so I will breeze through.

409
00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:33,080
 And then on to agency updates.

410
00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:42,080
 On June 10th, last month, our board and staff got together and talked about what is the future of DCTA look like and where are we going as an agency.

411
00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:57,080
 The headline from the Denton Record Chronicle I think is really apropos, we're getting back to basics, how do we provide the types of services that are needed for the people of Denton County and our member cities, how do we make it easy for the rider in order to drive a better future for Denton County.

412
00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:13,080
 And so we're going to have a conversation around those sorts of key messages in this month's board meeting that really provide the pillars of goals and objectives for the entire staff, strategic, I'm sorry, I'll first start with strategic goals for the entire agency as defined by the board,

413
00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:25,080
 which drives goals and objectives for the chief executive officer, which drives goals and objectives for every member of the DCTA staff so that everybody understands where we're going and staff can better communicate how we're going to get there.

414
00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:45,080
 This was the framework for that strategic board workshop and the input from the board is what's allowing us to create those strategic goals such that we can create the key performance indicators and evidence of success so that everybody who touches the DCTA system can understand the value that we bring to our community.

415
00:53:45,080 --> 00:54:12,080
 And then I think finally an update on our chief executive officer search, the board has hired K&A associates who's doing a national search, K&A associates has generated a number of qualified candidates, the board is in the process of doing preliminary interviews on a small subset of those candidates, we expect there will be a short list of final interviews in the August/September timeframe and a new CEO onboarded shortly thereafter.

416
00:54:12,080 --> 00:54:14,080
 Any other questions or thoughts for me?

417
00:54:14,080 --> 00:54:17,080
 Does anybody have any questions?

418
00:54:17,080 --> 00:54:23,080
 I think it was the third slide from this one, next one.

419
00:54:23,080 --> 00:54:33,080
 Okay right there it says projected FY2020 ridership 2.2 main, that includes the North Texas ridership.

420
00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:35,080
 I have a couple of questions.

421
00:54:35,080 --> 00:54:37,080
 Okay.

422
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:52,080
 The first one is training for drivers, can you give the public a bit of information as to how the drivers are trained, what's the training process for your new drivers?

423
00:54:52,080 --> 00:54:54,080
 So are we talking about bus drivers or goes on drivers?

424
00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:55,080
 Goes on drivers particularly.

425
00:54:55,080 --> 00:55:11,080
 Okay so VIA provided some updates in our last couple of board meetings about their driver training process, generally it is onboarding training, well first the comprehensive background check to meet the qualifications of anyone we want interacting with the public.

426
00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:27,080
 And then onboarding training around safety, service, how the platform works, all those sorts of things. And then there's a platform of online training that is encouraged but generally not required for drivers as they move through the system.

427
00:55:27,080 --> 00:55:36,080
 Obviously whenever there's an incident, there's a thorough investigation and that fault incident generally would drive retraining or disciplinary action.

428
00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:43,080
 Certainly can come back next month with a more comprehensive view on that, taken from those previous board meetings if you'd like.

429
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:44,080
 Okay.

430
00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:51,080
 Also, the next question is about the cars themselves and goes on cars.

431
00:55:51,080 --> 00:56:06,080
 Give us an idea of whether or not they, talk to us about the, are they leased, are they rented, are they, you know, how are all of these cars coming in from all over the country with all of the license plates?

432
00:56:06,080 --> 00:56:15,080
 Of course there's the big concern of whether or not they're truly inspected, you know, with that kind of thing. Can you give us some information on that?

433
00:56:15,080 --> 00:56:23,080
 So, VIA has a leasing arrangement with Avis, is that right, Avis, the national car rental company.

434
00:56:23,080 --> 00:56:32,080
 And Avis is the one, is the entity who procures and sources those vehicles and then they're brought to the shop to provide graphics and decals and all those sorts of things.

435
00:56:32,080 --> 00:56:37,080
 I could bring back details on the arrangement between VIA and Avis if you would like.

436
00:56:37,080 --> 00:56:43,080
 I recognize that the vehicle registration item has been one that's been brought up several times.

437
00:56:43,080 --> 00:56:53,080
 We've talked with VIA about what it takes to have vehicles that are registered in Denton County or at least Texas so that they can be insured to follow the same standards as we have here.

438
00:56:53,080 --> 00:57:07,080
 And so we can bring back an item on the arrangement between DCTA and Avis to, I'm sorry, VIA and Avis to the extent that that's allowed because some of those deals might be proprietary between the two entities.

439
00:57:07,080 --> 00:57:23,080
 The third question is, I don't know where I got this information from, maybe from last night I heard that the vehicle location or the vehicle use has been maximized here in this area.

440
00:57:23,080 --> 00:57:40,080
 In other words, you're not bringing in any additional vehicles to compact some of that time frame that people are getting picked up. If it takes more than 30 minutes for a vehicle to pick up a person, why, why does it take so long?

441
00:57:40,080 --> 00:57:51,080
 We're going to bring more vehicles in to cut down on some of that time or should we as a public expect to wait 20, 30 minutes for a vehicle?

442
00:57:51,080 --> 00:58:01,080
 So the contract between DCTA and VIA sources a certain number of service hours to service the entire area.

443
00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:10,080
 VIA is responsible for delivering that number of service hours within the limits of the KPIs that we have available to us.

444
00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:28,080
 So that is the supply side of the equation. Now what we learn about is the demand side of the equation and the board made the decision to, the DCTA board made the decision to add more go zone vehicles back in April with the expectation that KPIs would increase but also understanding that demand would increase as well.

445
00:58:28,080 --> 00:58:43,080
 And so that's why you see the slides that you do about what is our current wait time, what is our current vehicle unavailability and therefore we can monitor what is the right balance or what are the right performance metrics for the service that we're putting on the street.

446
00:58:43,080 --> 00:58:49,080
 So we expect that VIA provides the number of vehicles that are needed to provide the service that they're committed to.

447
00:58:49,080 --> 00:59:10,080
 And this service is giving some significant time frames here. In other words, I'd like a vehicle and I would prefer to have it to come to me as quickly as it can, but it's telling me that there's nothing available within 30 minutes.

448
00:59:10,080 --> 00:59:34,080
 I mean that's got to be very frustrating for people that use it. I don't use it, I have my own car. But for the sake of acceptance by this college town, I would hope that we would want to make sure that there's enough vehicles to cut down on some of that time.

449
00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:42,080
 So, yes sir. Well, I thought in the presentation last night, and maybe you looked through it, but that number has come down.

450
00:59:42,080 --> 00:59:57,080
 It has come down. Yeah, that number has come down almost. I think it was 19 minutes or maybe it was, there was something about five minutes, I can't remember what it was, but it's certainly much improved since the board made that decision to do that.

451
00:59:57,080 --> 01:00:10,080
 Okay, the seat unavailability has come down. Well, also the wait time. Yeah, the wait time. And we're targeting 5% seat unavailability and 15 minute ETA between the time, average ETA between the time you call the vehicle and the time the vehicle shows up.

452
01:00:10,080 --> 01:00:25,080
 Okay. Yeah. All right, I just wanted to get that out there and lay that up on the table. So, anyone else? All right, so I'll just give you my experience that I had. This is real time for me, what happened to me.

453
01:00:25,080 --> 01:00:45,080
 I was on University at Elm, stopped at the red light there by the CVS, the Walgreens. I'm in the right hand lane, goes on car right next to me, light turn green, goes on middle right turn on Elm right in front of me.

454
01:00:45,080 --> 01:01:00,080
 If my head had been on straight and I would have gone straight ahead, we surely would have had an accident. I just had to be late because I was probably looking somewhere or changing my radio or whatever.

455
01:01:00,080 --> 01:01:16,080
 But that kind of thing is what I hear from people that may text me or email me on my phone that these goes on people out here are mad. Who are these people that are driving these vehicles?

456
01:01:16,080 --> 01:01:36,080
 Please take that back and I don't know where to take that. But I could have had a collision myself. Yes ma'am. Well, I appreciate the feedback. That's the reason that we're focused on identifying what is our safety performance across all of our modes so that we can drive that sort of continuous improvement.

457
01:01:36,080 --> 01:01:50,080
 Thank you and certainly we appreciate the feedback. Anything else? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate the update.

458
01:01:50,080 --> 01:02:13,080
 Right now we move on to NC 22017 staff report.

459
01:02:13,080 --> 01:02:26,080
 Well good morning. I wanted to take a couple of minutes to introduce a couple of new individuals that are on our team. As y'all are aware we have four different divisions amongst the capital projects and engineering team.

460
01:02:26,080 --> 01:02:37,080
 I know you've all met Trevor Crane before. He's our deputy director of capital projects who's on vacation this week so he's not with us. I'm sure we all wish we were on the beach too.

461
01:02:37,080 --> 01:02:51,080
 We have Brett Bourgeois who is our deputy city engineer. Brett if you want to raise your hand. I know Councilmember Watts you may not have met Brett yet but he's our new deputy city engineer and he's been with us since February.

462
01:02:51,080 --> 01:03:07,080
 And then we have two new individuals. One is new to his role not new to the city and the other one is new to the city. So I wanted to introduce Chris Laganar. Did I say it right? Okay. I never can get his last name right.

463
01:03:07,080 --> 01:03:23,080
 But Chris is our new capital projects administration manager. He comes to us from California. He has over 30 years of experience and we're really excited to have him on our team. He's responsible for our administration functions which includes a lot of our financial functions.

464
01:03:23,080 --> 01:03:41,080
 The day to day operations of all the committees and commissions that we are responsible for. Council requests and many more things. We have an entire dashboard that our team works off of and supports and keeps up our CIP map and discuss it.

465
01:03:41,080 --> 01:03:56,080
 And so Chris is we're very excited to have him and he's been here a couple of months. And so I wanted to introduce him and then I also wanted to introduce Wesley McBride. Wesley has been with the city for about eight years.

466
01:03:56,080 --> 01:04:21,080
 He has over 20 years of experience with tech stock and he has been with the city like I said about eight years and he's worked his way through the inspections department and with Trevor's recent promotion there was an opportunity for a new individual to take the public works inspections manager role and Wesley was a successful candidate.

467
01:04:21,080 --> 01:04:36,080
 And you may or may not know but his team is responsible for inspecting all of the capital projects all of the development projects that are within the right of way so any of the public infrastructure that's being installed and then also all of the right of way permits.

468
01:04:36,080 --> 01:04:48,080
 So just like to give you a face to a name these four gentlemen have to put up with me which is sometimes tough but they're all doing a fantastic job and we're super excited to have them on the team.

469
01:04:48,080 --> 01:04:58,080
 So the next thing I wanted to do and the only two things we had on our agenda from last month was talk about Bonnie Gray Street and give a brief update on that.

470
01:04:58,080 --> 01:05:18,080
 And so I know the North South Water main project and they are all aware we had that issue with the contractor defaulting and had to get a new contractor on board. We are so happy to say that that finally passed all of this test and was placed back into service around May.

471
01:05:18,080 --> 01:05:33,080
 So what we're currently working on is the southbound lanes of Bonnie Bray between I-35 and Scripture and we call that phase 4A sorry 4B and we're working with that contractor to restore the pavement.

472
01:05:33,080 --> 01:05:48,080
 Our goal is to have that completed by the beginning of August based on supply and demand but what that is doing is providing a temporary surface until we can come back through and reconstruct the entire Bonnie Bray.

473
01:05:48,080 --> 01:06:05,080
 And so at such time and Mr. Polster is helping with this as we've submitted Bonnie Bray phase 4B and 5. So 4B is from Scripture to 35 and 5 is from Scripture to 380.

474
01:06:05,080 --> 01:06:29,080
 We've submitted both of those for the county bond package and for their possible election in November and with hopes that we'll receive the additional funding needed to make that a four lane divided roadway and we're currently working through finishing the design on those sections and also working through real estate acquisition so we can move towards construction.

475
01:06:29,080 --> 01:06:48,080
 What we knew due to the fact that the water line improvements had torn up the road into the consideration needed to be taken place to make some type of improvement and so that's the decision we made which was to make this overlay happen in this area this two inch surface replacement.

476
01:06:48,080 --> 01:06:59,080
 And so that's very temporary. We talk about the project in phases I know it doesn't mean a lot to you but I do I have to look at a map and memorize it because there are seven phases of this.

477
01:06:59,080 --> 01:07:26,080
 I also wanted to bring forward that Bonnie Bray phase three which is actually from Rose on to 35 phase one and phase two were already completed. But the portion that's from Rose on Drive to 35 that's phase three. It's currently at 60% design we're working through those design comments getting it to 90 ultimately to 100% and that along with phase six which is from 380 to 77.

478
01:07:26,080 --> 01:07:47,080
 Those two sections and phases are we're on track to have those to begin construction. Our hopes are by the end of the year so that means getting that project bid all the real estate we're still working on acquiring the real estate north on that face six is taking a little bit longer than I anticipated and several of those properties are going through the

479
01:07:47,080 --> 01:07:57,080
 planning process. And so we anticipate those taking approximately two years to construct, which would be the end of 2024.

480
01:07:57,080 --> 01:08:01,080
 So any questions on Bonnie Bray.

481
01:08:01,080 --> 01:08:16,080
 All right. So then the citywide speed study I'm actually going to have Nathan George, our bicycle pedestrian ADA coordinator, his title is a mouthful, come up and talk to you about the citywide speed study, and he is leading this effort for our team.

482
01:08:16,080 --> 01:08:27,080
 And I know it's something we've come to counsel with a couple of times, but allow him to give an update as he's the one managing this project. So Nathan forgers.

483
01:08:27,080 --> 01:08:49,080
 Good morning. Morning. What's my first time to say hello to you so nice to meet you morning. Good to meet you. So just a brief update on the citywide speed study. Last time we briefed you we were in the data collection phase so that was while we were out collecting speed sample data that will feed into the report that was completed at the end of May.

484
01:08:49,080 --> 01:09:02,080
 And then we went through a process to review and screen all that data posted make sure we had good quality data, and then sign off on the invoice for our consultant who performed all that data collection for us.

485
01:09:02,080 --> 01:09:12,080
 So we have all that data has been combed through and it's all good. We've been working for the last few months on digesting the data.

486
01:09:12,080 --> 01:09:30,080
 Identifying the critical values that we're looking at when we complete this kind of study 85th percentiles, and then all the additional data points so combining and averaging data, making sure we get good weighted averages, and then starting to look at how that data fits with our current

487
01:09:30,080 --> 01:09:35,080
 speed zones that are in our ordinance that establishes speeds throughout the city.

488
01:09:35,080 --> 01:09:44,080
 So that's a process that is coming up on completion where we're hoping to have the draft completed by the end of the month, which is next week.

489
01:09:44,080 --> 01:10:02,080
 And then we'll be working through an internal review process and documenting so everything will be in a technical document that will bring before council in September, the date that we have put on the schedule right now September 27 to bring this report to you as a work session.

490
01:10:02,080 --> 01:10:07,080
 So that's when you should expect to see the recommendations that we're putting forward.

491
01:10:07,080 --> 01:10:22,080
 We're also reviewing a lot of crash data. So layering on additional information is another part of this process to make sure that we're not just looking very, very much at the speed results but we're also layering on additional information that might help support

492
01:10:22,080 --> 01:10:36,080
 reducing speed limits for seeing performance will also hopefully be highlighting additional opportunities to improve safety as an outcome of this study so hopefully we're going to see a kind of multiple benefit of this, not just to establish new speed limits but

493
01:10:36,080 --> 01:10:52,080
 also to identify any safety trends and make recommendations in terms of where we might see some poor performance that doesn't necessarily justify adjusting speed limit but it might be a good recommendation to do some sort of a safety project as an outcome.

494
01:10:52,080 --> 01:11:04,080
 So we'll hopefully see some combined benefits of this process to delivering the speed study. That's all I can say for right now but I'll be happy to answer questions if anybody has any.

495
01:11:04,080 --> 01:11:11,080
 Any questions? Yes. When you mentioned the term safety project, what would something like that look like?

496
01:11:11,080 --> 01:11:24,080
 So what I was saying in some of the crash data was like if we had high incidence of rear end collisions at an intersection or maybe a high incidence of left turn collisions at an intersection so we might see some trends in the data that suggest

497
01:11:24,080 --> 01:11:42,080
 maybe a signal phase needs to be adjusted or there are certain types of crashes that indicate a crash trend so we might see some opportunities to make specific recommendations about a safety related improvement that's not a speed specific challenge

498
01:11:42,080 --> 01:11:55,080
 but the crash data indicates that there may be some other issue that's related, not speed related to safety performance of the road. So I've seen some examples of that that we can highlight.

499
01:11:55,080 --> 01:12:04,080
 Some of them will be on TxDOT roads as well so it won't be recommendations we're making to ourselves but certainly recommendations that we can pass along to our partners at TxDOT.

500
01:12:04,080 --> 01:12:23,080
 I can see the way you're talking, I'm thinking about certain intersections and as I'm sitting at the light I'm saying to myself, you know they could really use a sign up there that says go straight ahead, make a right turn or a U-turn.

501
01:12:23,080 --> 01:12:40,080
 I'm just trying to think of an intersection, the Buckings intersection, I think it needs one that says go straight ahead, turn right, you know those kind of signs, those are the things that I just kind of pick up on.

502
01:12:40,080 --> 01:13:08,080
 Can a regular citizen like me call something like that in or put that on Engage Denton? I would say we see a lot of requests like that through Engage Denton, this study will, unless it has a very specific trend that I can see in the crash data, we probably won't see anything to make recommendations about signing for turn lanes or anything of that sort.

503
01:13:08,080 --> 01:13:28,080
 But we could see, like the example I was saying of left turns, we could see some cases where folks are violating a traffic signal that might be helpful to provide some reinforcement sign, there could be opportunities for that but I would expect that to be pretty rare and Engage Denton or other ways that we can receive that sort of comment.

504
01:13:28,080 --> 01:13:39,080
 Certainly we always, we're dealing with a lot of those requests throughout the week. Yes, so that's what I'll do, I'll go through Engage Denton for everything that I'm waiting on the light to change.

505
01:13:39,080 --> 01:13:47,080
 And you said you're going to give us a complete report on September 27th in a work session? Correct.

506
01:13:47,080 --> 01:14:01,080
 Another question for me is the warning, speed warning signs? For? Just right now I'm thinking about Moore Street of course, Moore Street, this is you know, burning my brain.

507
01:14:01,080 --> 01:14:24,080
 Are those just generally put at the beginning of the street or are those usually found in the middle of the long roadway? How do you all make a determination as to where to put those digital warning signs? I've seen them, there's one as a matter of fact that's on Bale Street that's going north.

508
01:14:24,080 --> 01:14:43,080
 To show that one, that one's kind of blocked by some limbs right up here on Bale and Bingo Road, you know withers. How do you all determine where you're going to put those?

509
01:14:43,080 --> 01:15:03,080
 Yes, thanks for bringing that question. So the driver feedback signs are those dynamic signs that report by radar what the speed of an approaching car is. That's currently a pilot program that we've initiated at council requests to install those signs and see if they have a positive effect or a positive correlation on getting drivers to obey the speed limit.

510
01:15:03,080 --> 01:15:17,080
 We've recently installed several in Southeast Denton for and those we have completed pre, before installation radar collection and we'll go back and take samples after those signs have been installed.

511
01:15:17,080 --> 01:15:33,080
 They're also portable signs so we can relocate them to see what the effectiveness is over time and develop a program for deploying them in different neighborhood streets to try and encourage appropriate speeds as we rotate them in different parts of the neighborhoods.

512
01:15:33,080 --> 01:15:47,080
 That's a current pilot program that we plan to bring back the results of our evaluation probably early in the fall would be my expectation based on data collection needs and getting the speed study completed.

513
01:15:47,080 --> 01:16:05,080
 How we select the locations is really trying to identify a location to post the sign where a driver can see it clearly. We want to make sure it's in a location that would introduce a driver reaction so when drivers see those signs they tend to slow down at the sign.

514
01:16:05,080 --> 01:16:24,080
 So we're certainly you would expect to see an impact within a certain zone before and after the sign but it's really there to encourage drivers to obey the speed limit. The studies tend to say that it cuts off the really fast drivers and folks who are well in excess of the speed limits.

515
01:16:24,080 --> 01:16:36,080
 So it tends to get folks more concentrated driving around the speed limits so it just basically tightens up traffic and everybody is sort of operating closer to the speed limit which is a positive safety outcome.

516
01:16:36,080 --> 01:16:43,080
 We're hoping to see that in the data but we want to collect the data and analyze it and see if that's the sort of results we're seeing here.

517
01:16:43,080 --> 01:16:55,080
 Well N equals one but I'll say the one on Robinson is a very valuable reminder to me almost every single morning I go oh wait wait wait wait 35.

518
01:16:55,080 --> 01:16:58,080
 I need those reminders sometimes.

519
01:16:58,080 --> 01:17:10,080
 So is this can we anticipate something like that being is that something like that being permanent for the city or we just use it just for data collection.

520
01:17:10,080 --> 01:17:17,080
 Right now it's in pilot so I'll let Becky say exactly.

521
01:17:17,080 --> 01:17:24,080
 What we're currently working on is just looking at this study program to see whether or not we're actually going to see a positive trend.

522
01:17:24,080 --> 01:17:34,080
 Those signs cost an order of magnitude more than just a typical speed limit sign and so we want to make sure because the investment in the particular sign.

523
01:17:34,080 --> 01:17:44,080
 You know obviously is something that we want to pay attention to but then also the operation and maintenance the overall process just to keep those operating.

524
01:17:44,080 --> 01:17:53,080
 James Andrews his team keeps us operating so we're going to work to take the data that we currently have pre and post right.

525
01:17:53,080 --> 01:18:05,080
 So pretty data as Nathan described the signs in Southeast and they're actually going to move to different locations we already have all of those mapped out so that we can collect that pre and post dated bring that back to you.

526
01:18:05,080 --> 01:18:12,080
 But there hasn't been a determination made at this time whether or not that's going to be a permanent type of sign that's used throughout the city.

527
01:18:12,080 --> 01:18:28,080
 We want to collect the data and then be able to make the best decision and what Nathan's research has shown and kind of what we've learned and we're waiting to see if this is true in some of these areas that it's a very small fraction of folks that is actually impacting.

528
01:18:28,080 --> 01:18:34,080
 And so we just want to make sure that that's an alignment with what the data is that we're going to see the way it's collected.

529
01:18:34,080 --> 01:18:51,080
 So there has not been a determination yet to make that permanent and I would venture to say I believe based on the data and I'm looking at James they cost about three times the amount of a normal a normal speed limit sign is about a hundred and fifty dollars.

530
01:18:51,080 --> 01:19:11,080
 So you can see you know a normal speed limit sign that we can manufacture ourselves. James has the ability to manufacture those at about a hundred fifty dollars versus you know a three thousand dollars and that's with current dollar amounts and keep in mind to the science that we have installed right now in Southeast Denton.

531
01:19:11,080 --> 01:19:27,080
 They're giving you the driver feedback but we're not recording the data. Those are an additional two thousand dollars on top of that so those run about five to six thousand dollars for us to actually have the driver feedback and then collect the data that's sent to a system where then we can use that information.

532
01:19:27,080 --> 01:19:43,080
 So there's many different types. It's a mind frame shift and before we look at trying to deploy those throughout the city we want to make sure that they're actually going to serve the purpose that they are which is to notify drivers of their speed.

533
01:19:43,080 --> 01:19:45,080
 Absolutely.

534
01:19:45,080 --> 01:19:59,080
 I was just going to offer driver feedback science is one tool to help make streets more self-enforcing. We're working on a number of other opportunities to I'll just use the term traffic calming.

535
01:19:59,080 --> 01:20:09,080
 So we're looking at different traffic calming opportunities as a department to see what we can do. So this is one tool that we're looking at. We have some others that are in the works so we'll be reporting back on those as well.

536
01:20:09,080 --> 01:20:17,080
 So just wanted to offer that highlight as well.

537
01:20:17,080 --> 01:20:32,080
 All righty. So that's all that we have for the staff report today and I am going to go to the matrix which is very small for me. Hopefully you can see it.

538
01:20:32,080 --> 01:20:47,080
 So these are the updates that we'll we're providing monthly which is the Bonnie Bray Street update and then the citywide speed study update wanted to ask whether or not I know the Bonnie Bray is something that we've asked to continue to report on monthly.

539
01:20:47,080 --> 01:20:55,080
 I don't know that there's going to be a whole lot of movement with the information to share on the citywide speed study but of course we're happy to always include that in the monthly update.

540
01:20:55,080 --> 01:21:04,080
 Are there any other things that anyone on the committee would like to see as the next monthly update? Any items?

541
01:21:04,080 --> 01:21:09,080
 So this isn't a staff update necessarily but I have kind of a two part request.

542
01:21:09,080 --> 01:21:10,080
 Okay.

543
01:21:10,080 --> 01:21:21,080
 So this this body is is impacted by the Texas Open Meetings Act right which of course means that members of the public are always allowed to make comment.

544
01:21:21,080 --> 01:21:30,080
 So the first part of my request is that we just on every agenda just have a placeholder item for public comment at the beginning.

545
01:21:30,080 --> 01:21:38,080
 I recognize it's probably most meetings that probably won't be utilized but if we could just have that there as a placeholder.

546
01:21:38,080 --> 01:21:48,080
 And then my second request is if there are any members of the public here today who have public comments if we could open the floor up to that.

547
01:21:48,080 --> 01:21:55,080
 I would have to look at okay have to have to get the legal department to tell me what I can and can't do.

548
01:21:55,080 --> 01:21:56,080
 I don't want to do anything.

549
01:21:56,080 --> 01:22:07,080
 We're absolutely open always to receiving that and we have recently moved on the Traffic Safety Commission to have that as a part of the meeting and so it's not a problem at all to add that as a part of this meeting too.

550
01:22:07,080 --> 01:22:08,080
 I don't see any concerns.

551
01:22:08,080 --> 01:22:09,080
 Ben do you have any concerns?

552
01:22:09,080 --> 01:22:10,080
 No.

553
01:22:10,080 --> 01:22:11,080
 Awesome.

554
01:22:11,080 --> 01:22:14,080
 Yes ma'am.

555
01:22:14,080 --> 01:22:15,080
 Before we do that.

556
01:22:15,080 --> 01:22:16,080
 Yes ma'am.

557
01:22:16,080 --> 01:22:31,080
 I just want to make a statement in regards to I alluded to some of this last night in my concluding item in regards to citizens.

558
01:22:31,080 --> 01:22:39,080
 Although we have a lot of traffic and road updates that are going on which causes traffic to slow down.

559
01:22:39,080 --> 01:22:49,080
 But it is very serious that whoever is listening and watching that we do slow down on our roads regardless of if they're getting fixed or not.

560
01:22:49,080 --> 01:22:57,080
 And it's just becoming increasingly it's a scary moment out there when cars are just speeding through.

561
01:22:57,080 --> 01:23:10,080
 They come to this, they're here because we like the slowness of a small town field when we are a small town field but we are not treating it that way.

562
01:23:10,080 --> 01:23:17,080
 So I just want to let the public know that it's very important that we be respectful to each other out here on these roads.

563
01:23:17,080 --> 01:23:25,080
 But I'm also pretty much amused by the fact that we like big roads but we want them to be slow.

564
01:23:25,080 --> 01:23:30,080
 So we take all of this energy in widening and making our roads nice and big and wide.

565
01:23:30,080 --> 01:23:34,080
 But then we have to have strategies to come back in and slow them down.

566
01:23:34,080 --> 01:23:38,080
 So that's an interesting thing that I thought that I would put out there.

567
01:23:38,080 --> 01:23:45,080
 But meanwhile if we're ready for any kind of open comment I guess we could do that at this time.

568
01:23:45,080 --> 01:23:49,080
 Sure and before we do that I have one thing that I'd like to add to the agenda.

569
01:23:49,080 --> 01:23:57,080
 Next time I would like to bring forward an opportunity to possibly move the time and date of this meeting.

570
01:23:57,080 --> 01:24:04,080
 We have others that are in the city manager's office that are unable to attend this and would like to do so.

571
01:24:04,080 --> 01:24:11,080
 And so it's something that we'd like to bring forward so we can get our calendar also set for the rest of the year with the new commission.

572
01:24:11,080 --> 01:24:15,080
 The current time that we're looking at is exactly the same time.

573
01:24:15,080 --> 01:24:21,080
 It would just be on the third Wednesday. I mean I'm sorry the fourth Wednesday instead of the third Wednesday.

574
01:24:21,080 --> 01:24:26,080
 Oh we had ten instead of nine. Logan's telling me he's giving me all of mine.

575
01:24:26,080 --> 01:24:32,080
 But we will bring that back as an item to make sure that that works with all of your calendars.

576
01:24:32,080 --> 01:24:40,080
 I know the last time we discussed it we talked about the fact that it worked really well to be the morning after council for all of you.

577
01:24:40,080 --> 01:24:47,080
 So we'll look at that and see if that works with all of your your schedules and just bring that back as a future item.

578
01:24:47,080 --> 01:24:54,080
 But as I mentioned we'd like to see about having it the fourth Wednesday at 10 a.m.

579
01:24:54,080 --> 01:24:59,080
 If that works great if that doesn't work we can stay with this time.

580
01:24:59,080 --> 01:25:04,080
 The only thing that we have to work on is making sure that the rooms available so that it can also be broadcasted.

581
01:25:04,080 --> 01:25:11,080
 Which we're not the only committee and commission as you can imagine that needs to be able to use this room and do the broadcasting.

582
01:25:11,080 --> 01:25:16,080
 All righty thank you. So with that I will turn it over to public comment.

583
01:25:16,080 --> 01:25:20,080
 Who's keeping who's keeping time?

584
01:25:20,080 --> 01:25:23,080
 So you'll have three minutes.

585
01:25:23,080 --> 01:25:25,080
 Should I just get it from here?

586
01:25:25,080 --> 01:25:29,080
 Come on up. I will pull everything down for you Christine.

587
01:25:29,080 --> 01:25:36,080
 All right and it's the overhead mic.

588
01:25:36,080 --> 01:25:38,080
 Yes sir. I'm sorry.

589
01:25:38,080 --> 01:25:43,080
 You're good. Hi Christine Bray at 1204 Cordell.

590
01:25:43,080 --> 01:25:47,080
 I apologize to the various staff who heard this comment on Monday.

591
01:25:47,080 --> 01:25:52,080
 But I'm a commissioner on the traffic safety board and I wanted to share a comment that was put before us on Monday.

592
01:25:52,080 --> 01:25:56,080
 So I'm just going to read her prepared remarks for beta.

593
01:25:56,080 --> 01:26:02,080
 And she we had to wait the time limit for her because she delivered this through tears the entire time.

594
01:26:02,080 --> 01:26:06,080
 So her comment was good evening my name is Heather.

595
01:26:06,080 --> 01:26:12,080
 I came here tonight to share a family story and hopes that it will help you understand the importance of robust transportation options in our community.

596
01:26:12,080 --> 01:26:15,080
 My daughters are 20 and almost 22 years old.

597
01:26:15,080 --> 01:26:20,080
 They were both diagnosed with autism in 2003 and we moved to death in the following year from Houston.

598
01:26:20,080 --> 01:26:24,080
 So that I could attend graduate school and learn how to best support them throughout their lives.

599
01:26:24,080 --> 01:26:30,080
 This community has a wealth of knowledge and expertise expertise which we have benefited from tremendously.

600
01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:32,080
 I'm glad we relocated our family then.

601
01:26:32,080 --> 01:26:36,080
 Both of our daughters currently attend UNT and are involved in a number of helpful programs.

602
01:26:36,080 --> 01:26:39,080
 They achieved more than I expected and even hoped for.

603
01:26:39,080 --> 01:26:49,080
 But unfortunately their prospects our prospects for the future here after they graduate college are incredibly limited because they do not have access to safe and reliable transportation.

604
01:26:49,080 --> 01:26:53,080
 This means that we will likely have to find a new city to call home in the next few years.

605
01:26:53,080 --> 01:26:55,080
 In general getting around Denton is not safe.

606
01:26:55,080 --> 01:26:57,080
 Car accidents are frequent.

607
01:26:57,080 --> 01:27:03,080
 Pedestrians and bike riders are at significant risk because our city lacks the infrastructure to protect them.

608
01:27:03,080 --> 01:27:09,080
 There should be protected bike lanes to separate bike traffic from vehicles not just white lines on the road although that's a start.

609
01:27:09,080 --> 01:27:17,080
 There should be more protected crosswalks to make it clear that pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right of way.

610
01:27:17,080 --> 01:27:19,080
 Like the ones on campus near the Civic Center.

611
01:27:19,080 --> 01:27:23,080
 So the pedestrians can more safely cross the street in high traffic areas.

612
01:27:23,080 --> 01:27:29,080
 An easy example is the street in front of Avondale Park which is visited by many families every day but we don't even have sidewalks in most places.

613
01:27:29,080 --> 01:27:37,080
 When I walk my dog I'm frequently walking on the side of the road and just hoping that the driver in the car passing me isn't also texting or just not paying attention.

614
01:27:37,080 --> 01:27:44,080
 Currently most places in our community are not accessible without a car and because of issues related to autism driving is not an option for either of my daughters.

615
01:27:44,080 --> 01:27:49,080
 This means that transportation is one of the biggest challenges my family faces on a day to day basis.

616
01:27:49,080 --> 01:27:53,080
 We've encountered a number of difficulties trying to access public transportation here.

617
01:27:53,080 --> 01:28:01,080
 Too many of them count in three minutes though I'd be happy to provide more details if anyone was interested and I could pass along their contact information if anyone wants it.

618
01:28:01,080 --> 01:28:06,080
 But the effect is that the three of us are not able to participate in our community to the fullest extent of our potential.

619
01:28:06,080 --> 01:28:14,080
 Even after getting my PhD and having more than 15 years of experience in my field my prospects for employment are limited because my adult children do not have access to reliable transportation.

620
01:28:14,080 --> 01:28:24,080
 I cannot work fixed hours, I cannot leave town, I prioritize their autonomy over mine to a large degree which is not a choice everyone can make but what happens if something happens to me.

621
01:28:24,080 --> 01:28:27,080
 Their futures should not depend entirely on one person with a car.

622
01:28:27,080 --> 01:28:34,080
 Lack of access to safe and reliable transportation negatively impacts autonomy, quality of life, earning potential access to networks of support,

623
01:28:34,080 --> 01:28:38,080
 and for me the ability to build assets that will support my disabled adult children after I die.

624
01:28:38,080 --> 01:28:48,080
 Disability is not just about impairment, it's about the deliberate choices that we as a community make and who to include and what barriers to access we have to put in place.

625
01:28:48,080 --> 01:28:50,080
 Do you mind if I keep you on?

626
01:28:50,080 --> 01:28:52,080
 No, hold on a second.

627
01:28:52,080 --> 01:28:53,080
 Do you mind if I keep you on?

628
01:28:53,080 --> 01:28:54,080
 Yes please.

629
01:28:54,080 --> 01:29:01,080
 Each policy decision you make can have the effect of excluding whole families and groups of people from equal participation.

630
01:29:01,080 --> 01:29:10,080
 Lack of transportation affects the jobs that people can hold and the support networks people can build, the recreation, wellness, and leisure options available to them and depresses local economic activity.

631
01:29:10,080 --> 01:29:17,080
 For young disabled and elderly people as well as people with mental illness, the lack of safe and reliable transportation can mean a life of isolation and loneliness.

632
01:29:17,080 --> 01:29:27,080
 I hope that you continue to find ways to include everyone in our community by providing safe and reliable public transportation options and increasing access to protected bike lanes and crosswalks and sidewalks.

633
01:29:27,080 --> 01:29:28,080
 Thank you for your time.

634
01:29:28,080 --> 01:29:29,080
 Thank you for the incentive.

635
01:29:29,080 --> 01:29:32,080
 Thank you.

636
01:29:32,080 --> 01:29:35,080
 Are there any kind of concluding items?

637
01:29:35,080 --> 01:29:40,080
 Do you have any concluding items?

638
01:29:40,080 --> 01:29:47,080
 If there are no concluding items and any other comments we are going to close this meeting at 1030 A.M.

639
01:29:47,080 --> 01:29:48,080
 Thank you.

640
01:29:48,080 --> 01:29:50,080
 Thank you.