Good morning and welcome to this meeting of the Mobility Committee of the City of Denton.
We have a quorum present.
We're convening at 9.02 and we'll begin with our items for individual consideration, starting
with item A, which is considering approval of the minutes for the September 8th, 2020
meeting and will entertain action.
I will move approval.
Second.
We have a second.
I'll second.
Second.
All in favor?
Aye.
Minutes are approved.
Moving on to item B. Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding updates from
the Denton County Transportation Authority.
Well, thank you.
I am Nicole Recker.
I'm the Vice President of Mobility Services and Administration here at DCTA.
And I have a lot to update you.
Good to see you as well.
So we've got a lot of updates to share despite COVID.
We've got a lot of things going on and I'm excited to give everybody an update.
So I did want to provide an update on our COVID-19 procedures.
So we are still the only transit agency in Texas without a positive operator case of
COVID-19, which I always like to say this is not a time to boast.
However, that designation does indicate how above and beyond we are going to make sure
that we are ensuring the safety for our passengers, our operators, and our staff.
Since our last meeting, we have actually installed touchless hand sanitizer units on all of our
vehicles.
And so those are up and running and have received very positive feedback.
We also have a dedicated web page that's been detailing all of the efforts that we have
put into place.
We've created a welcome back riders guide, which is like a quick download document so
that you can see exactly what all of the precautionary measures we've put into place are.
And I mean, obviously, ridership is down due to COVID.
And so we have been promoting a ride safe, stay safe campaign, kind of reinforcing the
return to transit, including some of those behind the scenes footage and photos to kind
of show people exactly the measures that we're going to.
We're also having conversations with the North Texas Council of Governments to talk about
kind of regionally what would it look like to return to transit and what are some of
the efforts that we could do from a regional perspective that would help increase ridership.
So DCTA recently conducted a COVID-19 passenger survey where we are collecting data from folks
asking them when they returned to transit, if they haven't returned to transit, what
are those reasons, you know, do they feel safe on DCTA?
And so we just closed to that survey and we will be looking at that data and we hope to
be sharing that data with our board in January.
So obviously, a lot of activity is going on to make sure that we're ensuring the safety
of our passengers, our operators, and our staff.
In the past, I've given the Mobility Committee an update on the agency's transformation initiative,
and we've made quite a bit of progress.
And so as a reminder, the transformation initiative is an agency-wide study that's board-led that
will develop a cohesive vision for DCTA's future, looking at improving operations, addressing
perceived concerns, responding to evolving markets, technology, and consumer preferences.
So that initiative began in August of 2020.
And so we have been rapidly working on that with Accenture, who is who the board appointed
to conduct that analysis.
And we hope to kind of close out that study by the end of the year.
We actually have a specially called board meeting next week on November 5th, where Accenture
is going to present kind of their current state analysis findings, as well as their
future state recommendations.
And it's those future state recommendations that's really going to kind of inform truly
the future of DCTA.
And so at that specially called meeting, the board will also workshop those future state
recommendations so that they can kind of create a priority list and a list of what efforts
need to be focused on each fiscal year, because obviously there is a price tag associated
with some of the modifications that Accenture might be proposing.
And so we're quite excited to kind of see that final report and to be a part of that
board discussion as they prioritize those recommendations.
As part of that transformation initiative and as part of board direction, staff has
been looking at leveraging our mobility as a service or MAS contracts that we've had
under contract, we've had 32 contractors under contract for about two years.
So staff conducted a mini RFP or a task order within those existing MAS contracts to identify
providers who could deliver on demand service and mobility in member cities as well as contract
cities.
And so really the MAS contracts are on demand services.
We received bids back from several of those providers, but the board approved the staff's
recommendation of awarding the contract to spare labs and to via.
So we are still in conversations with spare labs and via about what type of on demand
services we could launch in our member cities as well as maybe in the future in our contract
cities.
But again, we're really awaiting the discussion on November 5th from our board, reviewing
those future state recommendations before we start working with these providers to kind
of remodel service delivery.
So we've had many discussions at a board level, it could be where we modify our fixed route
some and then we layer on demand services on top of that.
Maybe that looks at kind of expanding the service area where we provide service.
There's a lot of different options, and so we're really just not ready to pull the trigger
until the board provides us with some direction based on those future state recommendations.
But we really feel like that conversation next week is going to open the door for us
to have further discussions with spare labs and via about providing that service.
So I would say hopefully spring of next year we would be looking at conducting a service
change where you would see quite a substantial modification in how DCTA is delivering service,
which is really exciting.
I do want to just give some updates, obviously with COVID we're not getting face to face
as often as we were before, but our social service agency roundtables are still being
held, they're just being held in a virtual setting.
Our meeting in Louisville was yesterday, we have a Denton-focused meeting tomorrow at
9 a.m., so if anybody is interested in attending, anyone is welcome to attend.
It's okay to have your assistant join the meeting.
Yeah, well I do have a little assistant, so thank you.
I also wanted to let you know that our community outreach has changed quite a bit just since
COVID, but that has not stopped us, so we have actually created a community education
resource webpage that is full of coloring pages, activity pages, story time videos,
links to virtual tours that are educational, links to DCTA's educational outreach programs
like Operation Life Saver and Rail Ready, and new content is updated regularly.
And so DCTA has been partnering with schools, teachers, parents, daycares, all sorts of
different organizations to be able to use that content either with at-home instruction
or even in classroom instruction.
And so that has kind of led to some really great partnerships and abilities for us to
kind of still execute our outreach strategies, but just in a different way.
So part of that outreach strategy also is focusing on low-income outreach, and we have
been putting together packets of information, so including copies of like activity pages
and crayons, disposable masks, and information about DCTA, and we've been hand-delivering
those to interested participants as well as like neighborhood associations.
We've been focusing in Denton specifically on the Denia area and the Sedna areas to kind
of hand-deliver those materials, so that one, it gives, you know, kids, I mean, trust me,
I understand what it's like to have a little one at home while you're trying to work or
do other things.
And so those activity pages, you know, certainly can kind of keep the kids busy.
We also realize that not everyone can, you know, afford to purchase PPE in order to do
the things that they need to do, and so we've provided some disposable masks in those bags.
And so if you're aware of any organization or facility that might be interested in some
of those, you know, distro bags, please let me know because we can absolutely put some
together and get them distributed.
We've got a lot of things going on with our rail trail, obviously with, you know, the
modification of service and less people riding.
We've gotten more people walking and running and doing things like that, and so we've got
a lot of good things happening on our trail, our usage is up significantly.
In the past, we have done an event called Rails to Trails, but obviously we had put
that on hold due to COVID, and so we ended up canceling that this year, but we are participating
in the Rails to Trails Conservancy's national campaign, which is #ShareYourTrailMoments.
And so along the entire trail, you'll find signs that are asking you to kind of post
pictures of yourself on the trail and hashtag them with #ShareYourTrailMoments.
And so we've, we will be pulling throughout the year that hashtag report and using some
of those photos and things that we're doing.
We've also created a new A-Train Rail Trail Pocket Guide, right, we have not printed it
simply because we wanted to make sure that if there were any service modifications that
we could make those changes to this really cool guide that's huge, but folds down into
like the size of a credit card.
And so that kind of document right now is available for download on our website, but
it is a comprehensive user guide.
So it includes like station access, trail access, parking benches, emergency call stations,
bike racks, safety tips, there's a ton of information on there.
And so it's a really great, a really great resource.
And so we have that available, but as soon as we finalize any type of service modification
based on the transformation initiative, then we'll fully update that document and we'll
actually print them for distribution.
So, but it's a really great piece and I know for those who love the trail, it's very helpful
because it really helps you navigate between the stations or trailheads and the trail itself.
And then exciting news, we just installed four new automatic pedestrian and bicycle counters
on the trail itself, so now DCTA has a total of six counters to track rail trail usage.
And the way that it works is that they count pedestrians and cyclists separately with a
single counter, and it can actually detect direction of travel.
So they are installed on these like discrete metal bollard, they look like a little green
post along the trail and so they're, they look natural to the environment, but they're
all encased there so that, you know, weather is not an issue.
But those counters have really come in handy because if you've seen in the news trail usage
across the county and the country has really surged during coronavirus and so for us to
be able to track actual usage has been very beneficial and so we are analyzing kind of
the number of people that use the trail cyclists versus pedestrians, looking at high traffic
along the rail trail and also where people are accessing the trail.
And so we will use that data in order to kind of provide better reporting of rail trail
utilization, but also for us to look at future rail trail amenities and safety enhancements
like signage, mile markers, lighting, benches, and things like that.
So we partnered with COG on those trail counters and we're really excited to have that technology
available.
With election day coming up, we have been offering, oh, yes.
Oh, no, I just hadn't heard, I'm just joking, I just said, is it?
Okay.
It is not, when I said I've got a doozy for y'all today, I really meant it.
We've got a lot of info.
So with election day, we have been offering free rides on select services, so no proof
of voter registration is required.
The last day of that free ride program is on November 3rd, so make sure, you know, you
let folks know that if they need to use transit to get to vote, they absolutely can do so
and they can do so free of charge.
And then we're also doing our Veterans Day free ride campaign as well, and so that's
on November 11th, and that's free rides on select services for veterans and active military.
All they have to do is show their military ID, state ID, or their military designation
or discharge papers.
So lots of free ride campaigns going on right now for really good causes, lots of activity
on the rail trail, some big decisions coming out of our board in the next couple of weeks.
It is an extremely busy time at TCTA, and I am happy to answer any questions as I just
regurgitated all of that information to you, and I know that it was a lot, but I'm also
happy to send Becky links to some of this information that she can send out afterward
if you'd like that for review.
It's an amazing amount of activity, I didn't know that any of that was going on.
Questions, councilmembers?
I have a question.
Actually I have a few.
Some are pretty easy.
I was taking notes the whole time.
So we'll start with the trail because that's kind of where we are actually the free votes.
That's where we left off.
I'll kind of go backwards.
Do we know how many have utilized that service yet?
I mean, are you keeping up with that?
So typically for a normal free ride campaign, we would.
The normal free ride campaign, we would have like a code word.
We would ask our operators on both bus and rail to track that information.
This time around we did not.
So typically what we would do is we would look at year over year ridership, but we also
recognize that that's going to be extremely skewed this year because it's pre COVID versus
post COVID.
So we'll have some idea as to ridership, but we will not have exact for the for the free
ride campaigns this year.
Okay, next question about the trails on the counters.
Is that data that you can share with your member cities, especially where people are
using, you know, to get on the ramp and that would be pretty helpful as we look at all
of our plans, our mobility plan and bike industry and absolutely 100% as soon as we start pulling
those reports.
That's something that I'm happy to forward over.
I am sure that we'll include them in our board packets, but I mean, I can forward them over
to y'all directly as well.
Okay, I think that would be helpful.
The next question on the trail and I ask about this is since there is a lot more usage.
Are we any closer to getting lighting on the trail?
Let me talk to our capital project manager and see where we're at on lighting.
I know we have lighting in specific areas and I know that we've got some safety and
security fundings set aside in FY21 for amenities and improvements and let me see if that's
on the list.
If I could follow up with you on that, that way I can get you exact information.
Okay, and also just the other on the trail, I did see people comment about trash along
the trail.
Is that DCTA or the county or city or is that a contract and who holds that contract?
I just didn't know.
Sure, sure.
So it's actually a little confusing.
It is all dependent upon the portion of the trail.
So in most cases, it's the city who will contract out like for like any mowing or landscape
maintenance and trash but if you let me know specifically where the area is, I can check
with our project manager and she can tell me exactly who's responsible.
It's different from one end of the trail to the other and there's like multiple parties
and so but I can get that information for you.
Great thank you.
A quick question, you mentioned November 5th that there's a meeting.
Is that meeting open for individuals if they want to look at the suggestions?
Absolutely, it is posted as a board meeting and so the posting will go up on Friday of
this week and so it is a virtual meeting but you can join it just like you at any other
DCTA public meeting.
Okay, Chair, I have two more questions.
John, do you want to break in or you're okay with just keep going?
Just keep going.
I'm fine.
Okay, on the on-demand service with the contracts you put out for, were any of those or did
you ask for fuel-efficient cars?
Is it kind of like Uber where each individual has their own car or do the companies have
company cars?
So it's a little bit different.
So Spare is actually a software as a service engine where they would leverage maybe like
Lyft and Irving Holdings and they would kind of be a hub for other on-demand partners to
kind of plug in, whereas VIA actually and I get you the exact model of the vehicle but
it's like a Mercedes van that they use and so I'd have to check and see exactly like
what the fuel efficiency is on those but I could send you information about their specific
vehicles.
Okay, but if someone requested an ADA accessible vehicle that that's right.
So yes, all of VIA's vehicles are ADA accessible.
It is when Spare uses their software platform and they plug in the reason that they're recommending
the use of Lyft and Irving Holdings is that Lyft is not required to be ADA accessible
but Irving Holdings is and so we would have like a dedicated Irving Holdings fleet that
would handle all of our ADA accessibility needs.
Okay, it's good to know.
Last question and it's kind of more of a future question and if you're planning for it.
We did recently hear about the speed train from Dallas to Houston and that's more of
a it seems like a reality.
So I'm curious if we are working on or if we're looking at when those connections come
in.
If DCTA is in, you know, contacts or conversations on that to make sure that we are coordinating
those those routes from Dallas to Denton.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So we are involved.
Typically it's through cog is how we is how we get involved as the MPO and so but we stay
completely engaged in all of those conversations and as it would get to a point where there
would be that type of coordination needed.
We would definitely be having those conversations.
Okay, that's good to know.
I'm done.
Thank you.
Very helpful.
Thank you, John.
Anything else?
All is good.
All right, thank you so much, Nicole.
Thank you for your time.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, yours, right, we're gonna move on to item C receiver report and hold the discussion
regarding City of Denton transportation slash mobility project status report in the area.
Thank you.
on mute.
I mean, whoever's presenting yeah, on mute and invisible.
John Polster with Innovative Transportation Solutions, I'll be going over the report.
Can y'all see the report is that or am I supposed to share it or I think you share your share
screen?
This is all new.
Did he put it on the folder or a mask up brand?
I don't see it.
It's a PDF.
No, I don't see it.
It's all from last night.
So it's on the report here.
Yeah.
It's called exhibit two.
My apologies for the technical difficulty.
It looks promising.
If you can make it a little bit smaller, I think.
So while we're doing that, you're going to note that the report's a little, a little
different by working with Becky and her group.
We are consolidating the report into one report that we work on all on and off system projects.
So it'll cover both the on system and off.
And so we changed the name to reflect that it's more of a transportation mobility report
than it is just on system.
Give John Ryan full credit for advocating for that, the off system part.
All right.
You'll go to the page, I guess, where we start with 2181.
So on 2181 we've been working with tech start, we've got some issues related to coordination
and the contractor on some of their inspection processes.
I know that Becky and her team have been working fairly aggressively to address those issues.
And we had a quarterly meeting with the district yesterday afternoon and in light of some of
the comments and concerns that the city's had with the process, they're going to be
changing project managers to bring in somebody a little bit more skilled at the, this type
of project with a new project manager on the, on the project and then bringing in folks
from the Dallas district who have experience working with utility projects inside tech
start roadway projects.
So we're going to bring in new folks and have a little bit more closer coordination on this
project to make sure that we're not having as many issues as we've had in the past.
So that's 2181.
Unless anybody's got any questions, go to the next one.
I do have a quick question.
Yes, ma'am.
On that is the, the 2181 for the project manager, was that something included in the new contract
for tech start or is that like a city utilities contract?
I'm not sure I understand the question.
Okay.
So is it cause city is city of Denton doing the utilities and that's our, is it a project
manager for us or the project manager?
So text that's actually doing the project construction wise.
And so when they let the project, it included the city of Denton's utilities in that project.
So the city of Denton has an advanced funding agreement with tech start, where the city
will provide inspection of those services, but they make those communications and comments
to the tech start and then tech start addresses the issues with the contractor.
This particular contractor, both the prime and the sub are, are difficult to deal with.
And so the project manager that you see is Stacy clack from text that, and then their
inspector, they, they're, I would say young to the business of project management.
So we're bringing in next month.
You'll see it'll be Mark Ross is the project manager for tech start.
And what I was saying is that text that also does a lot of utility construction in the
Dallas area office for the city of Dallas for their water and wastewater.
So though that area office has more experience dealing with the unique issues that are associated
with utilities.
And so we're bringing in people who have a better understanding of what the city's concerns
are and more experienced project managers from this text outside.
Okay.
And that's all covered in the contract costs from text that was a bit out.
So I'm not sure what you're asking on that.
There was a, the city is paying an X amount based on the advanced funding agreement and
the project management is, it's just part of the project management for the state to
build a road, which in this particular case includes the utilities.
Okay.
Well, I guess my question is usually when somebody new comes in, it's a different cost
and there's a different change to that.
So I was just making sure that all that was still covered in the original amount that
was just personnel from the, on the text outside, not the city and not the contractor, which
is bringing in people who know more about what, what they're doing than the ones we
currently have.
Okay.
That's good to know.
Thank you.
Okay.
Next one then, John, just real quickly at council member Briggs, just for clarification,
the city does have a project manager on that project.
You see his name listed there.
His name is Kyle pedigo.
And he is working with the internal coordination with tech start and has currently been coordinating
with Stacy clack, but we'll be coordinating with that new project manager.
So the city is managing internally that utility relocation and also providing construction
inspection from our public works inspection department.
But all of those correspondents go through text to the contractor.
So who, because that's who the contract is through.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you.
Absolutely.
Sorry, John, go ahead.
Thanks so the next one is your Fort Worth drive project, and if you'll go to the construction
section.
So we're on the on track for being done.
First part of February of next year, they continue to work on the payment and they had
a traffic switch around the 19th to the northbound side underneath the railroad track.
But again, this project's on track.
And it's a very swiftly with consular and they've text that has farmed this project
out to console or for project management.
And so they're, they're, they're our contact and this is this project seems to be going
fairly well.
If you recall, right before the whole COVID issue hit the city worked with tech start
on this project to allow them to work for a period of time at night.
And that caught them back up on schedule.
And so we're still on track for being substantially complete before Valentine's Day.
So I think that unless there's questions on Fort Worth drive, we go to the next one.
All right, 35 you may hill.
This is a project that the more we get into it, the more it's turning into a utility project
with a little bit of road.
You see a list of those utilities that are there and then on the next page are like three
or four more that we're having to deal with.
I think you jumped it.
Okay, no worries.
So it's a utility project that we're going to build a little bit of road and interchange
on it as well.
If you'll note the dollar amount as I highlighted, it was at about $46 million originally and
adding the northbound frontage road and those improvements up to 288 increased the cost.
And in August and September's commission action and RTC's action and the 10-year plan they
included an additional almost $20 million to bring this project to be fully funded.
So we added another $15, $18 million to the cost of the project.
We're still looking at being a ready to let date of April of '22.
And we anticipate having all the right of way acquired by the end of the year.
The critical path item on this is that we have some like the Exxon gas station there
at the state school.
It has a hazardous materials that we have to address and typically that's done during
construction.
But in this particular case where the hazardous material tanks are is where the utilities
have to relocate.
So we're reorienting that so the textile come in and remove the hazmat issue prior to construction
so that utilities can relocate where they need to relocate.
So again, it's fully funded.
Project is still tracking for a ready to let of April of '22.
And again, this is 12 lanes of traffic underneath as opposed to the 10 that you saw on Luke
288.
Unless you have any questions, we can go to the next one.
Okay.
So your Dallas Drive project, so as you've probably seen, we've got the restriping done
to have the Dallas Drive exit just be one single lane because there was some safety
issues with having the two lanes come into one.
It is been restriped for the single lane.
We are working with the area office and city staff to try to improve the access in that
area by closing the median so that as you're coming off of 35 going north onto Dallas Drive,
you can't make a left turn onto the frontage road because that's where a lot of the traffic
accidents occur.
So we're working on getting that that median opening closed in the interim.
And then as we move forward, we are working with the district on, as you see in this drawing,
what's happening here in the ultimate is you have direct connects from Dallas Drive to
the right side as opposed to the left side of the main lanes and to the to the managed
lanes.
Well, obviously the managed lanes don't exist there at this point.
So we're going to try to figure out how much of this we can pull out and construct so that
we can make the frontage road, northbound frontage road continuous and the access from
Dallas Drive to 35 safer.
But we're still in the process of trying to figure out how to unravel that sweater.
And I think that's unless you get questions on it, go to the next one.
All right, your 35E merge with W. Obviously, again, the dollar amount went up by another
16 million dollars to 335 million in this 10 year plan update.
So it is fully funded and we're still on track for June 22 ready to let and if we get it
done by then, then they'll be able to move the project up from January 23 to sometime
in 22 because it is fully funded.
Next one.
I have a question on that one because we I believe this is the one where the intersection
at 380 and I 35 is included.
Correct.
And it may be helpful.
I don't know if if we could pull that out as a separate item because I know there was
an a wreck in an article saying that there was some interim work or solutions being worked
out.
I know that we talk about it almost every time here at mobility.
Right.
Could you go over what those are and the timing of those interim fixes to help that area?
So not great news on that front.
You know, the ultimate plans call for braided ramps in this location because both the entrance
and exit needs for this stretch of highway are in the same location.
So we're going to have to be building braided ramps and text that looked at trying to do
that as an interim breakout project, but they felt like it was by the time they got it ready
to go, they would almost be ready for the entire project to go under construction.
So there's no there's no small fixes.
So all the fixes are large.
And by the time you get those in the queue and ready to work this project, it'll be pretty
close to being ready to let.
So in the interim, I don't think there are any that anybody that I've been able to talk
to and I think we've everybody comes up with the same ideas.
But then when you when you start pulling a thread on it, it it doesn't work.
So I would say I don't think there is an interim solution.
And so I don't think there is.
So there's nothing we could do with like lane markings or exiting or, you know, notification.
The problem is that the exit ramp for 380 is just right there at 380.
And the entrance ramp from 35W to come into the freeway is right there just south of that.
And so there is not enough room to put both movements, even to flip the movements doesn't
work.
So and all the markings that what I've been told by the district is they've maximized
the physical markings in the area as much as they can.
And I think, Brian, you've looked at the signal on that and tried to work on the timing as
best we can.
But it's just too many traffic too much traffic is in an area that's not able to handle it.
So yeah, we can keep looking, but right now, nobody's come up with a solution other than
to build the braided ramps.
And by the time we got those ready, the other the whole project would be ready to go to
construction.
Okay, I just see that 2023 date let date and that's kind of disappointing because I know
that this is really a pain and danger for many people.
So thank you.
Yes, ma'am.
Excuse me, John.
What about adding, you know, I'm sure everything is massively expensive, but it seems like part
of the issue is that you got a lane that goes away from the access road and merges right
into the other traffic coming off the highway from, you know, onto the access road.
What about adding a lane for just that little segment of the access road, you know, of the
exit so that they don't have to merge?
Right.
And they have looked at that, but the argument that the district's making from an operational
standpoint is the problem isn't the fact that that auxiliary lane isn't continuous.
The problem is, is that you have all the traffic from 35W that gets necked down to one lane
and is coming on to 35 exactly at the same location, but all the traffic on 35E that
wants to exit 380 is trying to get off.
So you've got both an on and off situation occurring at exactly the same distance.
And the only way to do that is to flip it, but once you flip it, then it opens up significant
other issues with the main lanes.
And then what's happening is if you look out there, the people are just using those Texas
exit ramps and they're just getting off early, so that we can continue to work on it.
We can continue to work with your staff to try to find something.
But to date, everything, once we get into it far enough to start seeing what the consequences
are, we end up getting to a fatal flaw.
What are the prospects for moving it up?
Well, we're shooting for the June 22 let date, and that's based on all those utilities and
the right-of-way needing to be acquired.
So if we hit those dates, we can move it up.
If we beat those dates, we can move it up, because again, as you see, we're fully funded
at the $335 million.
So the date that it's in, the let date, is just where they've got it slotted, but they
can move it up if we get it ready to let sooner.
And we are meeting city meets.
When we meet with TechStat in our every three-week or so meeting, this is one of the meeting
projects that we go over to make sure it stays on track and/or accelerates.
Is all that acquisition work a kind of thing that could get accelerated if more resources
get put on it, or is it like the same two people?
No, they actually have hired out a right-of-way agents on this.
They've got multiple right-of-way agents working on this.
So I think the right-of-way, we're planning on being done by the end of this year.
So I don't think the right-of-way is really the critical path at that point.
The city's got a significant amount of utilities in this corridor that need to be addressed.
Franchise utilities are all throughout this segment, and I think most of the critical
path items going forward from January 21 on is going to be the 18 months it takes to get
those utilities relocated.
I suspect Councilman Ryan would agree, and you can tell me if you don't, John, but I
think that is the intersection I hear about the most frequently.
So if there are clever ways to work that critical path, I'd certainly be supportive.
Yes, sir.
Yeah, I agree.
I agree.
And I think is there another exit like right before the 380, I think?
Is that what you're talking about when you're talking about flipping them, having one of
those, the exits?
I think there's an exit where it's just on and then having one of the exits where it's
just off instead of one doing both.
So you have an exit ramp for 380 just south of 380.
So it's what we call a diamond interchange.
So you exit the freeway very close to 380, and what transpires is that there's so much
traffic wanting to get off at 380 that it rolls up onto the main lanes and it goes past
that auxiliary lane, and then it starts to encroach in the on ramp or where 35W comes
around, which reduces the single lane, and then it has to merge to get onto the main
lanes.
That traffic that's trying to exit, it's backed up all the way to the entrance ramp for 35W.
And so the reason you can't flip it, right, is because the traffic from 35W has to get
on the freeway somewhere around the merge.
You can't carry them up to like an X ramp where you let them get on the freeway right
before they get to 380 and take the traffic off back by the merge because the traffic
for 35W has to go somewhere immediately because the freeway ends.
It is a horrible scenario, and that's why this project got picked up for clear lanes
and was easily able to pick up another 16 million dollars in this last update because
this is for North Texas, this is probably the worst section of 35 left in North Texas
to resolve.
I wonder why it wasn't sort of more obvious in the design phase that this would be a problem.
Anyway, I'm no expert.
The design phase does pick up the issue, and that's when we put in the braided ramps and
we also add additional capacity.
I mean originally.
Yeah, on the interim project that we just did with AECOM, not AECOM, AGL, it went all
the way to 380, but we had to drop the manage lane south of Denton because of right-of-way
issues.
And so we had to build, we added additional capacity to the main lanes, but we didn't
fix any of the access problems because back then they just didn't have enough money to
do it all.
Yeah.
All right.
Council Member Briggs, you wanted to say something?
Yes.
Yeah.
No, that's what I was going to say.
I mean, that's why you hear people saying it was fine, now it's worse before they tried
to fix it, but I don't know that anyone tried to fix anything.
It's just kind of what happened.
So I am in agreement with the Chair here that if there's anything we can do on the city
side or TxDOT to call attention to this before the next few years, I'd like to try to do
that.
I think we'll all keep it on the list to try to find something to do in the interim.
I think one of the things that has made it worse in the last four or five months is with
the construction on Bonnebray, those who used to exit Bonnebray off of 35E are now trying
to continue on and going up to 380 to get off because of our construction there.
So it's just moving around and the quicker we can get Bonnebray completed, I mean, that's
going to be for city, within the city, it's going to be an alternate route when this goes
under construction.
So that needs to be a top priority for us as well.
Yeah.
That's a really good point.
That is the whole point of the Bonnebray project is to serve that purpose.
Okay.
Carry on, John.
All right.
Next project.
All right.
So this is the northern segment.
This is kind of on its own critical path.
Once you get past 77, it becomes less of an issue for the city, but it did have a cost
under run, so we had to add additional funds and now between the two projects, we're clipping
towards a billion dollars worth of improvements.
We're making to 35 from the merge to the county line.
So hopefully in a few years, it'll be much better than it is now.
I think the next project in case there's any questions.
So we've got the main lanes.
We'll skip this.
The only thing we need to know is the text that's got AT&T on contract to do the design,
but if you go to the next project sheet, the interim frontage road projects are things that
we need to focus on, and we've gotten a request from Hillwood to build part of the frontage
road system from 407 North on the southbound side.
And meeting with text that yesterday, they are starting to begin the process of putting
together the protocol for bringing these projects forward and breakouts.
So I would say probably in the next couple of months, we need to work with staff and
policy officials of the city to identify those areas y'all want us to focus on for interim
projects, because we don't have to build the whole frontage road system in this area once
we can build them where it makes sense.
>> I have a question.
When a developer reaches out and asks for something or has a specific thing, I mean,
I'm kind of going back to where the Bucky situation, do they -- I guess, do they -- can
they pay for that or is that just something if it's already in the text.plans that text.plans
pays for, or would that be something that they could pay to get it done sooner?
>> So they can pay to get it done sooner.
I have not actually seen a developer put money into an interstate, like, for example, on
this project that Hillwood wants to expedite, they've already got H&PB under contract to
do the design.
The project's already environmentally cleared, and so the critical path item is utilities
and right-of-way.
Well, Hillwood owns all the right-of-way for the frontage road that they want built, and
so part of the negotiations that is from a county standpoint, we would argue, is that
if they want us to expedite that segment of frontage road, they need to donate the right-of-way,
and that's a cost to them.
I mean, there's value to that frontage.
And then as a -- and then if we get the right-of-way donated, it starts already doing the design,
the funding is not there for this project yet, and Hillwood did ask if there was a way
to front the money, if they could get paid back, and the answer is no, the state doesn't
have that mechanism.
And so it's just a matter of identifying where we want to move forward on these projects,
and then once I'm told this is where the city wants to start, the right-of-way can be taken
care of if the developer is on board, the utilities will be its own issue, and so it's
just a matter of us going and finding the construction dollars.
Okay, thank you.
So next project, if we don't have any questions.
So this is your 380 project out to 377.
The city has turned in their funding.
We should have a scheduled kickoff meeting probably sometime in November for this project,
and so the next thing you should start seeing is the contractor will provide us with a phase
schedule and we'll be able to start reporting to you the status of the construction of the
project.
So this has gone from project delivery to construction probably in our next meeting.
Next project.
380 East, this is a segment east of 377, and again, the right-of-way has been completed.
Utilities, I think this is the one that's on more than one page.
Utilities are tragic in this area and includes the Denton ISD School District with Braswell,
and so if we go back to the previous page, we've got a ready-to-let date of May at 21,
and that's when it's scheduled, and I'll be honest with you, we're going to be hard-pressed
to make that date just because of the impacts we're having with utilities.
So I look to have this project probably move a little bit.
We had to increase the funding of this project to 140.
It was around 130 last time we met, and yeah, so the utilities are killing us on this project.
Unless you have any questions, we'll go to the next project.
Luke 288 West, okay, so we bought the project environmentally cleared last month, so we're
ready to go into design.
First that's asked the county to pick up the design cost on this project, so depending
upon what we're going to do, we've already started the right-of-way mapping on this project,
so we're going to be acquiring all the right-of-way that's needed for Luke 288 for a controlled
access freeway, but we'll be designing and building just the northbound frontage road
first, but in order to do that, Chang Patel will have to design pretty far along the entire
project so that they know where the northbound frontage road lies in relationship to the
road, and it'll also include, this initial phase will also include grade separations
at 380 and the railroad track so that we'll address those major crossings in its first
phase, so I look to have Chang Patel on contract for the design work probably first quarter
of next year, and that's when we'll start more intense coordination with the city related
to the specific needs they have for that project.
- I have a question.
On this one, because it says environmental clearance was received September 2020, and
I know that we have the first part of this project with the frontage roads, it'll be
a lot sooner, hopefully, than that date, 2026, so does the environmental clearance last
six years or would just starting the project with the frontage roads, how does that work?
- That's a good question.
So back in the day, they used to have shelf life of about three years for these environmental
documents, and then what happened is they would have to go through a process when they
go to construction is identify continuous activity on the project, well, the continuous
activity can include the utility relocations, et cetera, and the right-of-way acquisition,
and so the feds over time relaxed that shelf life issue, and now there's no expiration
on the environmental document, but between September of 2020 and April of 2026, when
we go to go to construction on this project, there will probably be what's called a reevaluation
right before the project is awarded to pick up all the things that they didn't find during
the schematic phase that we find during design, so there'll be areas where we need additional
right-of-way for drainage, there'll be areas where we had to tweak the alignment, and all
of those will be picked up right before the project is awarded through a reevaluation.
- Okay.
- Next project, 1515, this is another project, TxDOT's asked Denton County to do the PS&A
on, so again, first part of next year, we should have LTRA on contract.
We selected them for everything, both Chank Patel and LTRA were selected to do everything,
and so we're just getting a scope from them and a fee to do the PS&A phase, and so we
should have them on contract first part of next year, first quarter.
- On this project, is this the one with the traffic circle?
- Yes, ma'am, at Western.
- Okay, and when you do a project like this, does it include the side paths or sidewalks?
- Yes, ma'am.
In all TxDOT projects now, they do sidewalks, minimum of sidewalks, five-foot sidewalks
on both sides, and I got to go back and check, because we cleared this in August, whether
or not we have a 14-foot outside lane, because that used to be also a requirement to have
a 14-foot outside lane, but I think they've gotten rid of that requirement recently, and
they just go to a 12-foot outside lane.
- Okay, thank you.
- Next, 1173, this is a project into CRUM, we'll continue to work on it, Garver is doing
the environmental clearance, we expect to be cleared March next year, and then we'll
roll into right-of-acquisition and utility relocation, it's a little over $50 million,
we don't have the funding for it, but I'm fairly confident by the time we need it, we'll
have it funded, and it's consistent, the Bartow Road alignment is consistent with what we're
putting in the 35 project that was funded, that we went over earlier for the merge project.
- Next, integrated corridor, I'm going to get you a better map, because I think Becky
received a better update from folks last week, earlier this week, but essentially we'll focus
in on the Denton County portion in general and in the city portion in particular, but
this encompasses loop 288, 428, and the integrated east-west corridor, north and south of 380,
and the outer loop, so it picks up everything, and I think we've got, we had a conversation,
was that yesterday, Becky?
It seems like a long time ago, getting old, and so we'll refine what we present, and the
bottom line is I think that right now the integrated corridor is premature for significant
public involvement, because COG hasn't even run modeling numbers on these alignments,
so they're not even sure if they warrant at this point, so I think we're going to back
up a little bit on the communication side of it, but we're going to be continuing to
pursue it at the staff level with both Tex.com and COG.
Mr. Polster, on this project, is this the one that a lot of it significantly goes through
our greenbelt and ESAs?
Yes, ma'am.
Okay, and we're not, you said we're pulling back on this a little bit, not quite ready,
because I mean, I know that I'm concerned about some of it.
Correct, and I think that at the staff level, policy level, city level, you know, between
the Tex.com and MPO and the city and the county, we all need to have a conversation internally,
but I don't think it's ready for public involvement, because we don't really even know if any of
these warrant, and so we do know that the city and core and the county all have concerns
about the impacts to the greenbelt.
There's a reason why it's there, and so we just think that it's premature, because we
really don't have anything we can tell anybody, the public on this, and people are already
deciding they're not going to plant their spring garden, because they think we're going
to take it for this road, and we're not even anywhere near even knowing what the alignment
is.
So I think when I say pull back, it's the public side of it.
Internally, staffs from all these organizations need to work to vet what we all think about
this integrated corridor concept.
Well, thank you for the clarification.
I know I've heard a lot of people concerned, so I appreciate you speaking to it.
Yes, ma'am.
It really does make you wonder what exactly is the huge pressing demand that this will
meet that will make our lives better, that's better than what we will lose.
Okay, so excellent question, and that's why we're going to get you some more detailed
information on your report, but the 2045 projections for 380, which is that D alignment, the purple
one where the 380 currently exists, where we're coming in and doing a $140 million super
street where we're adding a sixth, fifth and sixth lane and grade separations at five locations,
that doesn't, that won't carry the traffic that's needed, because the traffic projections
are in the 80,000 vehicles per day, which is freeway volumes.
And so technically speaking, 380 shouldn't be an arterial or a super street, it should
be a freeway with frontage roads and main lanes.
But that would decimate all of the development east of 377 as it goes north and all of 380,
that whole corridor would just have to be torn down and started over.
And nobody's got the stomach for that.
So we got to find some thing that carries the traffic east-west in this area that's
not 380 and that's not as far north as that blue line, which is the outer loop.
Or we just ignore it and don't do anything, which, you know, who knows what's going to
happen.
But there's a driving, there's a drive, there's a need for some additional infrastructure
in this area and what County's thoroughfare plan demonstrated is that you need all three
of these corridors.
You need to make the improvements to 380 that are proposed.
You need the outer loop, but you also need a mid-range project somewhere between the
two.
That's another one where you wonder, I mean, I don't know if I would have been smart enough
to see it, but, you know, if we could have all seen that eventually this is going to
be needed, then maybe we wouldn't have built the strip malls right up close to the narrow
road.
So Denton County saw the issue back.
This was back when Cynthia Watt was the County Commissioner and we put in a policy and we
tried to protect it, that corridor, not tell how that corridor developed the way it did,
but developers went around the County, those communities out there, they had those districts
that were created without our consent and yeah, we tried to stop them, but we were,
we had, we don't, the County level at the point didn't have the power to stop it and
text that doesn't stop those things.
Next, here we get into the more city type projects.
So Bonnie Bray phase six is the section that we're working with the MPO on for funding
and timing on it and so we continue to move forward with this project as a total package
for all of Bonnie Bray and this is the one that we're focused on right now.
Now what the city is focusing on, just generally speaking, as we go forward in these projects
is getting funding for Bonnie Bray, Hickory, Crete, and the backfill on May Hill and so
Bonnie Bray is the one that we got to work on the most, I guess, because we've gotten
some successes on the other two.
So I think first quarter next year, we should be able to give you a better idea on the successes
we've had with the funding on these Bonnie Bray phases.
We want to go to the next one.
This is phase seven and this is a segment north of 77 and COG has committed again in
our last meeting with them that they are aware that this is theirs to fund.
So that $10 million that it'll take to do those improvements, COG has said that this
is on their column to do, there won't be any city funding requests for this.
So if you go to the next one, okay, so May Hill, last Friday, the 23rd, the city submitted
a tip modification to COG.
We've already been prior approved for an additional $4 million in construction on that the green
segment, I believe, it doesn't matter.
We needed another $4 million and we submitted that tip mod last Friday and once it goes
through the process, those funds will be made available to the city, they'll be wired to
you and we'll be able to finish this project.
So we were told to submit it the way we submitted it.
So I'm fairly confident the COG staff will get it approved at the RTC level.
And once it's approved at the RTC level, that means we have the money and it's just a matter
of getting the state and the feds put it in their system.
So good news on the three projects that we're trying to get funded, May Hill, Hicker Creek
and Bonnebrae, today we can tell you that that tip mod that we submitted basically closes
out the financial books for May Hill so we don't have to worry about the additional funding
from the city.
- Mr. Polster?
- Yes, ma'am.
- On this one, on the green, is this the section where you had to work with Medical City?
I know that they had a lot of questions about right away and stuff.
Is that this area and has that been communicated and taken care of or is this a different project?
- So the stuff that we're working with Medical City on was for the May Hill interchange in
the frontage road that goes along the front of their building where we had to have them
move their sign.
So there is some impacts to the hospital on the May Hill portion, but it only goes back
so far.
So in this particular segment, the impacts that we had with the hospital were due to
the interchange project that we were doing with TechStop that's a breakout project.
- Okay.
- So we'll move to the next one.
So McKinney, we continue to develop this project.
We're just putting in the report.
I think if you got questions, the staff will have to give you an update on it.
If not, that's where we're at.
- I have a question.
I didn't get to ask it yesterday.
I did see kids trying to cross McKinney there at the Ryan entrance because the construction
has taken away the sidewalk there on the Ryan side.
So kids are actually trying to, they're moving over to the other side and trying to cross
the street.
But I don't think that there is a crosswalk button or anything there for their safety
except for the red light to change.
In the future, is that planned for a better intersection there for pedestrians to cross?
Because I think that bus stop is on that side of the road too.
- Council Member Briggs, we will have to look into that and look at that actual intersection
and make sure that we have evaluated what's gonna happen as far as the crosswalk at Ryan
High School and we can report back to you on that.
- Okay.
Thank you.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Okay, so Hickory Creek, good news at the ESTAC meeting on Friday, one of the requests
the city made in the interim, 'cause we're doing this in multiple phases was an additional
$10 million on the blue section.
And so we're eating this a little bit at a time.
And so the most recent request from the city to cog was for additional $10 million in that
blue segment.
And at ESTAC, the technical committee approved the additional $10 million for this project
and we'll go to RTC in two weeks once it's approved.
Then it's just a matter of getting it in the state plan and the fed plan.
But what we'll be able to tell you next month once RTC approves it, that we've got the additional
10 million for this project that we were asking cog for.
So we'll be fleshing this out as we get the information.
This is a working document.
We just put all the off-system projects in this report, so we'll be filling this stuff
out with more detail as we develop the report.
So, and then that's it for my report.
I don't have any questions.
- Anyone, or should we, ready to move on?
I think you got your questions along the way.
So thank you very much.
- Now what happens, do we keep, is there more, you know, on the off-system?
- No, sir.
He's completed with his report and we can move on to the next agenda item.
- Okay.
Very good.
Thanks for clarifying that.
So that concludes item C. We'll now move to item D, staff update regarding bollards for
closing downtown streets, Alice University pedestrian access, election day polling location
accessibility slash detour plans, and senior transportation planner slash ADA coordinator
position status.
- Good morning everyone, Brian Jahn, city traffic engineer.
Let me find, okay, I'm not gonna be able to make this full screen, Billy, so I'm just
gonna go through it.
So we have four topics today.
The first one is the bollards for closing downtown.
This has been on our list for quite some time and basically what I put together is a kind
of a summary.
We don't, we don't have a plan, but this will allow us to develop a plan to move forward.
So four types of bollards, four purposes, embedded bollards, surface mounted bollards,
rebounding bollards, and then the retractable and removable.
So for our discussion purposes, we're talking about the operations around the downtown square.
Currently, we use either vehicles or barricades to block those roadways when we have a function
around the square.
And we're, the purpose of this item was to identify a safer and a little bit more appropriate
way to block those streets on a regular basis.
So based on that, any kind of a permanent bollard really doesn't apply.
And certainly the rebounding bollards, which is something that we use along our bike lanes
now, doesn't apply.
So we're really only looking at that last section of retractable removal.
So it's kind of a decision, do we want to have a permanent bollard that either retracts
into the roadway, or do we want to have a base that stays in the roadway and we simply
attach a bollard to it?
So I'll move through this really quickly.
Okay, so the, they're really, the design is to allow the city to designate whether or
not a vehicle can traverse this piece of roadway.
Again, the two kinds are a retractable, which is typically a hydraulic system, fairly expensive,
difficult to, not difficult, but expensive to install and expensive to maintain.
If we are operating something like the feds where you've got an emergency type of bollard,
or you want to keep traffic out of an area at all times, except when somebody's doing
a garage or you need a delivery, then those retractables are the appropriate type of bollard.
However, our events are fairly spread out.
We don't, they're not on a weekly or a daily basis.
So our recommendation is to really go with something more along the lines of the retractable
bollard.
And I've got some exhibits here that show you the difference.
Here's a, here's a retractable bollard, you've got a base that is permanent and you simply
have a truck or a trailer with a bunch of bollards and these are installed manually.
You lock them down.
I've seen this number of places, the city of Fort Worth uses this at Royal Rogers Coliseum
during the stock show rodeo where they want to change the traffic pattern.
They can just simply install these bollards fairly quickly and, but you do have to have
a place to store them and you do have to have a crew to install them and then remove them.
And that's the downside of the retractable.
So on the right hand side, you see these, the removal bread on the right hand side of
the screen.
You see the retractables, very extensive construction, again, typically hydraulic.
And so they come with a maintenance component that the removals don't have.
Our recommendation, if we want to move forward with bollards are permanent is to go with
the removable, we still have to have some construction effort.
But for 90% of the time, it's simply a smooth roadway surface and when we want to close
those roadways, we send a crew out with a trailer full of bollards and we close whatever.
So moving forward, what we would need is, this begs another discussion of where do we
want to be able to close the roadways because once we make the decision to move to a bollard,
we don't have the flexibility that we have with barricades or vehicles.
They're in the same place every time.
So we really need to spend some time and discuss where we want to put these bollards, how far
away from the square?
Is it just the first roadways around the square?
Do we want to go back one or do we want to have a system of bollards?
But those are some questions that we would have and we need some further discussion if
that would please the committee.
>> If I could ask -- >> So the second item is, we've talked about
this for a while.
>> I have a question.
>> Especially with this committee and especially with traffic safety, is the pedestrian access
at Allison University.
>> Can you pause for questions?
>> If anyone is familiar with -- oh, okay.
>> Yeah, Councilmember Briggs.
>> Okay.
Questions?
>> Yeah, sorry.
Thank you.
>> This is one of the things that I have been asking about for a while, and I appreciate
the presentation.
My question is, because normally we do have the large giant fire trucks or barricades
manned by officers, which our public safety could be -- our trucks could be used in other
purposes, other places.
Do the removable bollards actually stop vehicles?
Because one of my concerns for wanting to do this was to stop vehicles from plowing
down large crowds.
>> And it would depend on the type of bollard.
There are light duty and heavy duty.
So some of them are actually very stout and they extend into a base.
So instead of a light duty bollard, which was the image I showed, simply bolting or
locking into a lightweight plate, basically you have a cover and then you have a sleeve
that goes down several feet into the roadway and you put a very strong, very robust bollard
and those will stop most vehicles.
Obviously if you have a concrete truck, we're out of luck, but for most passenger vehicles,
those are enough.
And it also depends on the spacing, you have to have the bollards close enough so that
they actually impact more than one bollard.
But yes, there are systems that will in fact prevent that vehicle from perversing beyond
the bollard.
>> Okay.
Well, I personally am interested in exploring this further.
I know we have several events, outdoor events where we close down the square, you know,
pre-COVID and also when the weather gets nice where I think it would be worthy of more discussion.
I don't know how that moves on or if this committee agrees to that or not, but that's
my input.
>> So if you have a desire, we can put together a true agenda item and not just a staff update
and really start discussing where we want these bollards, again, a little bit more maybe
about the type of bollard and the function that we want to do if we don't be able to
stop a vehicle or if it's just we want to deter people from driving, those are two different
functions.
So we can bring that back as a full agenda item in a month or two.
>> Yeah, I would support that if you want to, you know, get a majority.
And just as a preliminary thought on where, I'm sure with more thought you'll refine this,
but it seems like on the first blush you'd need to have it at each of the four sides
of the intersections on each of the corners of the square, right, because, you know, it's
going to vary when you need to shut down, you know, by event which throughout you need
to preserve.
So, you know, unless you -- yeah, I think it have to -- and then there may be application
further down Hickory and industrial as well.
>> Yeah, I agree with that.
I'm thinking about the car shows where it goes all the way, you know, to the corners
there for the -- just at the four corners around the square.
But then, you know, we have our downtown main street.
We have a lot of the boards and stuff, too, for downtown to look into this.
And so there's, you know, different possibilities for funding and input.
>> Yeah, I think I'd like to see a little bit more data on where we have been blocking
off for different functions in the past.
Is there specific places that get used, you know, 50% of the time or 70% of the time,
or is it always all over the place?
>> Yeah, Chamber of Main Street Association would probably be really useful.
But, yeah, the data and the input, yeah, maybe it's always out to the corners, but it just
seems to me that there are some situations where, for instance, you might want to keep
Elm and Locust open.
And maybe I'm making that up, but, you know, you're just cutting off the Oak and Hickory
parts, in which case then that changes where the bollards would have to be.
>> Okay, we're ready to continue.
>> Okay, carry on.
>> Okay, so back on the Alice -- this is the pedestrian access in the northeast corner
of Allison University, so if you're not familiar with this is what it looks like today, and
this photo is looking west.
So if you'll see, we've got a no pedestrian crossing here, but we've got PED indications
to go across university, but once they get to this university, there's literally nowhere
for them to go.
There's a raised curve behind, there's no sidewalk in either direction.
So it's kind of a trap, and it's been a problem for quite some time.
We've worked with Textot and the property owners over the last several months and have
developed a plan, which you can see here, which will allow somebody to cross the university,
travel east a little ways, and then this area, this becomes a landing ramp and allows them
to proceed into the retail area.
So again, we've been working with the property owners, everybody is on board with this, and
we are ready to move forward with construction, and it's a very inexpensive project, but again,
most of the concrete, most of the flat work is done, we're simply building the accessible
ramp, and we may -- I think there's another page of that, and after this, we do have some
markings, some paint behind this just to create kind of a safe zone and allow them to move
forward into the parking lot.
It's not a permanent solution, but it does at least get the -- someone's in a wheelchair
or a power chair, it gets them an opportunity to get off the roadway and continue on to
the destinations in that retail area.
Are there any questions?
>> No questions.
Just thank you.
Just a thank you for working on this.
>> This is a problem.
If it is a trap for pedestrians, especially if you're not that familiar with the area,
or you're unsighted, then there is literally nowhere for somebody to cross as they access
that Northside University.
So the next one is some of the project that we were working on a couple weeks ago, we've
got the early polling places done, basically preparing some maps because of the construction
and because of a lot of other access restrictions that we've been placing on ourselves, we developed
some maps to -- where they're on the website to direct travelers to the polling location.
So this is a typical -- basically you click on that and you'll be able to see your direction
of preferred direction of travel if you want to access the civic center in this case, and
these are the primary roadways that we recommend.
And so we have those for each and every polling location, and I think -- here's the -- we'll
have a list of the polling locations and you click on those and you get a directional map.
So this is something that we're developing for this year, and I think we'll probably
want to continue that for all of the Election Day activities moving forward.
And then the last one I have is the Senior Transportation Planner/ADA coordinator position
update.
We were positioned to go to posting the week of the 19th of October, however, we're reworking,
retuning the titling of this so that we can -- there are some grant funding opportunities
that are linked to a title that has the word "bicycle" or "bike" in it, so we're going
to add that element, and then we will be posting this position the first week of November,
I believe, early in November.
Again, this is going to be a difficult position to fill, so we will leave this open until
we actually fill it so that we can have the maximum exposure to the candidate pool, but
-- >> Why do you think it's going to be difficult
to fill?
>> It's an unusual combination of skill sets.
What we're trying to do is add the ADA coordinator as a specific requirement in addition to the
bike ped and some more standard transportation planning elements.
We're trying to beef up the -- well, I have a better word, the skill set, the tools that
this person brings, we're adding some responsibilities and some duties that we currently don't have
in our toolbox.
So we need a dedicated transportation planner that also does bike and ped coordination,
and that can do ADA review and ADA planning for the city in the right of way.
This particular ADA coordinator would be responsible for public right of way, not facilities and
not parks.
So it's the roadway right of way.
How do we make sure that our pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is adequate?
We talked a little bit last time about the ADA transition plan that we have in the past,
and that's an element that will certainly be in the purview of this person, and it's
the execution of the improvements that are required to bring our existing pedestrian
and ADA infrastructure into compliance.
So again, we're just adding some responsibilities and some different duties that this position
didn't have before, and so it's -- and they're all important, and so the bike/ped is obviously
important, the ADA coordinator part is important, and that transportation planner, we're talking
about roadway projects and bringing all that complete street elements and the vision zero
elements in.
It's a limited pool of applicants who are going to have all of these skill sets.
I have a question, Brian -- or, Chair, may I?
Okay.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Thank you for adding to this.
I know that we had some questions and concerns about not having that bike/ped part in there
where we couldn't get funding or designation for a bicycle-friendly community, which, you
know, if we're looking at livability, that's one of the things that we've discovered is,
you know, a priority for some people.
Is it possible because -- I mean, this could be, you know, a staffing issue, but since
it's hard to find both of those in one person, is it possible to have the bike person under
the ADA person?
I mean, are we trying to create something that doesn't exist with this job listing?
I mean, it would be -- if we're making it more difficult to hire somebody, I'm just
-- I'm curious.
But would it be easier to have two or try to push it?
I'd like three, but we have -- that's our problem is we're limited right now to one
FTE, one position, and I don't think any of those three categories is a full-time job,
and the only concern I have is if we start adding and we have all three of them in there,
that does become a very full position, very -- a lot of responsibilities.
So the answer to your question would be yes, it would be better if we had two, but I don't
believe we do.
And so we're trying to add as much as we can and still make that job doable.
I think it's worth a try.
It's not a pure unicorn, because it's like basically all the non-automotive right now.
>> I imagine that does come up elsewhere, too.
>> One of the reasons we wanted to add the planner portion to it is because if we listed
it as a bike/ped coordinator, then the people who have the skill set that we're looking
for probably won't apply, because it's not -- that's not what they want to do.
That's not what their skill set is.
They're more -- they're planners with the transportation specialization, yes, they can
do bike/ped, because that's all the complete streets, context-sensitive, vision zero stuff
that they do, but then we're also adding that ADA coordinator piece, and that's the part
that most planners won't have, and so we're going to have to find -- I know of two people
that are probably adequate and their skill set is enough to fill what we're looking for,
but it's -- the transportation planner piece really does incorporate the bike/ped stuff,
so I'm not -- I don't have a problem with the title and making sure that we include that,
but most transportation planners are not ADA specialists, so that's the unicorn, if there
is one, of a piece that makes it kind of a unicorn is that adding that ADA coordinator,
but that is an important piece for our -- this position, that's a -- we need an ADA coordinator
who will be looking at all the developments that's coming in, our city projects, and managing
that ADA transition plan to bring our infrastructure into compliance.
>> So chair -- question?
>> Okay.
So I know my -- part of my concern is the timing, because, you know, we've been without
for a little bit, and then all the plans are coming up, and it's a good time to have somebody
here to help us review them.
You talked about the ADA coordination, or how difficult is that to get?
Would it be, like, you could hire somebody who has mostly everything, but is -- I mean,
is it like a four-year college?
I just -- I don't know about the certification for that.
Is it a difficult thing to get?
>> It is -- it's not.
It's just -- and we talked a little bit about this at the Committee on Persons with Disabilities
last month, and I think we got agreement that those certifications is -- that's something
that we can teach to the right person.
If we can find the right candidate who has the skill set and has the basic knowledge
of ADA, we can get those certifications.
It might take several months to get the ones that -- all of the certifications that we
want, or maybe even longer.
It just depends on when they're available for application, when they can attend those
certifications, but certainly something that's teachable.
It's really just -- if we could find somebody that has all three, great.
If we can't, then I think the direction we got from the Committee was, well, find the
right person who has the bike/ped stuff, who is a transportation planner, who knows the
mobility part of it, and then we will train them on the ADA coordinator piece.
>> Okay.
Thank you for sharing their comments.
Appreciate it.
>> You need to be a good community outreach person, too, just vocalizing certificates.
>> That was one of our requirements is personality.
How well does this person deal with crowds and making presentations, et cetera, and that's
an important piece as well.
Somebody -- there's got to be somebody who can interact with this community.
>> These are two of the toughest crowds in Nascar traffic.
Two of the toughest crowds in Denver.
>> Yes, they are.
That's all I had.
>> Any other questions before we go to concluding items?
>> No.
That was a lot.
Thank you.
>> Great.
Lots of progress.
Okay.
Anybody have any concluding items?
>> I do.
>> Please.
>> Of course.
So I've seen pictures of cars continuing to park on Hickory Street in the bike lane, and
the bollards are spread out pretty far.
I'm just wondering what we could do to add a few more bollards there to -- I mean, if
they're there to keep cars out and keep bikes safe, then obviously there's something not
working.
What would that take?
Does that have to come back through this committee, or is it a funding issue?
Just a little bit -- maybe a report on that.
And then the next thing is the Carroll Boulevard Road Diet.
I know it was on the matrix for a while, and we kind of glanced over it a little bit in
the one-way street discussion, but we never really had a full presentation on it.
And I'm just wondering a date on that.
Maybe it's after the mobility plan, or just a timeline on when a good time to have that
discussion would be.
That's it.
>> Okay.
John, anything?
>> No.
I'm good.
>> Good.
All right.
I had one, but Kaley did it already.
So let's adjourn at 10.35.
Bye.
>> Bye.
Thank you.