Approved 2-8-18. KALAMAZOO AREA TRANSPORTATION STUDY MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 11, 2018 TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEETING CALL TO ORDER The January meeting of the KATS Technical Committee was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chair Forth. ROLL CALL (Sign-in Sheet Circulated) Meeting attendance was recorded on the sign-in sheet. MEMBERS PRESENT Muhammad Arif Jamie Baker Christopher Bessert Mickey Bittner Steve Diesler Orrin Dorr Chris Forth, Chair Rick Fowler Kendra Gwin Jeff Heppler Larry Hummel Debbie Jung Rebekah Kik Jason Latham Dan Lewis Jim Mallery Jenny McKillop Ryan Minkus Dexter Mitchell Michelle O'Neill Abhishek Prodduturi Kathy Schultz, Vice-chair Joe Stark Jodi Stefforia Tim Woodhams City of Portage Engineering Oshtemo Township Kalamazoo County Planning Village of Paw Paw Texas Township City of Kalamazoo Engineering City of Portage Planning MDOT Lansing Planning City of Portage Engineering Village of Augusta Van Buren County Road Commission Road Commission of Kalamazoo County City of Kalamazoo Planning MDOT SW Planning Village of Schoolcraft Village of Vicksburg Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority Road Commission of Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo Township MDOT TSC Engineering City of Kalamazoo Engineering Central County Transportation Authority City of Kalamazoo Engineering Comstock Township Village of Mattawan MEMBERS ABSENT Bill Bresson Tony Dacoba Alan Smaka Nancy Stoddard City of Galesburg Van Buren Public Transit Village of Lawton City of Parchment OTHERS PRESENT Megan Arndt Andrea Dewey Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study Federal Highway Administration
Jeff Franklin Jamie Harmon Jim Hoekstra Martin Janssen Julie Johnston Jess Morgan Brian Sanada Hailey Savola Jon Start Monica Zehner Michigan Department of Transportation City of Portage Engineering Road Commission of Kalamazoo County Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority Oshtemo Township Hubbel, Roth and Clark Michigan Department of Transportation Southwest Region Hubbel, Roth and Clark Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA Start requested that non-federal data collection be added to the agenda under New Business. Stefforia requested the draft Road Commission of Kalamazoo County Sign Policy Update be added to the agenda under New Business. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA MOTION by Stefforia, SECOND by Heppler, to approve the agenda of the January Technical Committee Meeting as amended. MOTION APPROVED. MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 7, 2017 MEETING Draft minutes of the December 7, 2017 Technical Committee Meeting were included in the meeting materials. MOTION by Schultz, SECOND by Stefforia, to approve the Minutes from the December 7, 2017 Technical Committee Meeting. MOTION APPROVED. POLICY COMMITTEE REPORT Start reported that at the December meeting, KATS Policy Committee approved the 2018 Policy Committee Meeting Schedule and proposed amendments to the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program. The Policy Committee took action to appoint Randy Hinkle as Chair, Libby Heiny- Cogswell as Vice-chair and Marsha Drouin as Treasurer of KATS Policy Committee for 2018. Membership to the KATS Citizen Advisory Committee was renewed for 3 members. CITIZENS COMMENTS No citizen comments were made. FY 2017 2020 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS Proposed amendments to the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program were included in the meeting materials. The proposed amendments follow the meeting minutes. Start reported that the amendments were for RCKC and MDOT projects. The US-131 Project over Amtrak and KL Avenue is to change the project scope from bridge restore and rehabilitate to bridge replacement. Baker thanked MDOT on behalf of Oshtemo Township for coordinating the US-131 Project to accommodate the necessary space for a bike path for the KL Avenue Project from 11th Street to Drake Road. Minkus reported that in 2017 the RCKC had a project to widen N Avenue east of Sprinkle to 3 lanes. The proposed amendment for E N Avenue Project at Grand Trunk Western Railroad will install new gates further back. The RCKC plans to extend the 3 lane section.
Stepek reported that there were state funded projects which were not included in the proposed amendments. The first is for the installation of a new traffic signal near Bell s Brewery. The second is for a minor rail project. MOTION by Stefforia, SECOND by Minkus, to recommend Policy Committee approval of the proposed amendments to the FY 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Program. MOTION APPROVED. MDOT SAFETY PERFORMANCE MEASURE RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT A copy of the Resolution of Support for MDOT Safety Performance Measures was included in the meeting materials. Start reported that the Fixing America s Surface Transportation Act legislation requires that performance measures be incorporated into the transportation planning process. States are to establish performance measure targets and the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are to either establish its own targets or adopt those of the state. Start reported that MDOT has adopted its 2018 Safety Performance Measure Targets. State targets are based on five-year rolling averages. He reported that the targets for fatalities and nonmotorized fatalities and serious injuries reflect the upward trend in these crashes since setting a decrease in fatalities is not attainable if the trend is an increase. He emphasized that the goal of MDOT and KATS is still to reduce fatal and severe injury crashes. Dewey reported that KATS would have the opportunity to reassess the targets for Safety Performance Measures next year and that every MPO in the State of Michigan is adopting the State targets. Stefforia asked if other MPOs had added language to the Resolution of Support to indicate that the goal was zero fatalities even though the State and MPOs are adopting targets that are increasing and voiced concerns with adopting the resolution without language indicating how the MPO is addressing its safety goals. She asked what would happen if the state fails to meet it targets. Start replied that if the State fails to meet its targets, it will be required to spend all federal safety funding on safety projects. Latham reported that this is already done in the State of Michigan. There is no penalty to KATS if the State fails to meet its targets. If KATS adopted its own targets, it would be held accountable. Members discussed potential safety studies, safety data analysis, MDOT Safety Audits and MDOT evaluation of high crash intersections, as well as factors other than road design and engineering which are factors in crashes such as distracted driving and the need for safety education. Minkus commented that the targets are based on the 5 year rolling averages and that KATS has to have a goal that isn t based on history. Baker noted that this was what the resolution was lacking, an explanation that the targets are what is expected based on a statistical trend and not what the MPO wants to happen. Latham indicated that the Metropolitan Transportation Plan addresses KATS safety goals. Chair Forth tabled discussion and action on the MDOT Safety Performance Measure Resolution of Support so that an amendment regarding the safety goals of KATS could be prepared. NATIONAL FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CHANGE REQUEST A copy of the proposed changes to the National Functional Classification (NFC) System was included in the meeting materials. Start reported that the RCKC had an in-depth evaluation its road system and developed recommended changes to the National Function Classification System as a result. KATS staff evaluated the RCKC proposed changes to the NFC.
Stepek indicated that KATS agreed with the recommendations of RCKC except for one recommendation. Additional changes can be proposed at a later date if traffic volumes change. Minkus noted that the RCKC supported this decision. Stefforia observed that the bullet summary was incorrect. Discussion followed on the proposed changes to the NFC. Minkus requested that since the bullet list was incorrect, the motion be made based upon the recommendations contained within the report. MOTION by Hummel, SECOND by Bittner, to recommend Policy Committee approval of the recommended changes to the National Functional Classification System. MOTION APPROVED. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP ATTENDANCE A copy of 2017 Technical Committee Attendance was included in the meeting materials. Start reported that Technical Committee Bylaws require that members miss no more than 3 meetings to maintain voting membership. Voting is restored once the member attends 3 consecutive meetings. Start requested that members review their listed Technical Committee PROJECT MAP Start reported that Arndt has been working on a Project Map of projects included in the Transportation Improvement Program and Capital Improvement Programs for current and future projects. The Road Commission of Kalamazoo County and Kalamazoo County Planning and Development will be developing a map which will use KATS layer and incorporate utility projects. Arndt presented on the Project Map. The purpose of the map is to assist in project coordination and scheduling. Stepek requested that members for feedback on whether there was additional project information they would like included. MDOT SAFETY PERFORMANCE MEASURE RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT Chair Forth asked members to return to the MDOT Safety and Performance Measure Resolution of Support. Latham suggested the following language based upon Goal 1 of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan: WHEREAS, the Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Goal 1 is to Improve the Safety and Security of the Transportation System and: Provide a surface transportation system that is safe through best engineering practices. Include appropriate methods to enhance the security of the surface transportation system. Encourage educational efforts to improve motorized and Non-Motorized user behavior and the joint use of the transportation system. Stefforia suggested the new section be added as the 3 rd item on the Resolution of Support. MOTION by Stefforia, SECOND by Deisler, to adopt the Resolution Supporting State Safety Targets for Calendar Year 2018 as amended. MOTION APPROVED. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION UPDATES Vice-chair Schultz reported that as of January 1 Metro Transit has switched its name to Metro. The rollout will take place over a period of time and will include new bus wraps, new logos and signage. Metro has added new hours of service on 11 routes to 6:00 p.m. More information is on Metro s website at www.kmetro.com. Metro is working with the City of Kalamazoo on bus stop improvements in core
neighborhoods. The Central County Transportation Authority and the Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority will be meeting on Monday. STATUS REPORTS ROAD STATUS REPORTS City of Kalamazoo: The Pitcher Street project from E. Michigan Avenue to Kalamazoo Avenue and the West Michigan Avenue and Howard Street traffic signal project are in the February letting. The Vine Street project from Davis to Westnedge came in approximately 5% under estimate. City of Portage: The S. Westnedge Avenue project from Romence Road to Mall Drive is in the March letting. The W. Centre Avenue project will be in the April letting. The Oakland Drive at Vanderbilt Avenue project and the Portage Road at Lakeview Drive project are targeted for the May letting. Milham Avenue is expected to be closed for railroad work in May. Road Commission of Kalamazoo County (RCKC): RCKC Non-motorized: The RCKC is working on right of way acquisition for the Drake Road Trail Project. Kalamazoo County Parks has requested information from the RCKC for the next 2 phases of the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail Project. RCKC Road Updates: The RCKC is finalizing right of way acquisitions for the KL Avenue project at Almena and 1 st Street. Coordination with Oshtemo Township and MDOT continues on the KL Avenue project from 11th Street to Drake Road. Final plans are being prepared for submission for an April letting. Final plans are also being prepared for the 42 nd Street project from the county line to north of Y Avenue for the April letting. 2017 projects are being closed out. The Q Avenue project for traffic signals at 10th Street and 9th Street came in 3.5% under estimate. RCKC Other Updates: The RCKC has opened a Twitter account: @RCKCROADS. The RCKC will begin posting news releases on the account soon. The RCKC has 200 contract estimates out to townships for review and is expecting responses by January 20th. The RCKC anticipates 6.5 million in local road work this year. LAND USE, PLANNING, AND ZONING STATUS REPORTS Kalamazoo County Planning and Development: The Planning and Development office is working with the RCKC on a local infrastructure program. The draft Master Plan is expected to go to the Board of Commissioners for review on January 16. It will then be distributed for review. Prep work is being done for the 2018 Pictometry flight. Work continues on the project to move the Kalamazoo County Geographical Information System (GIS) Online Maps to the ArcGIS Online Platform. A Capital Improvement Program request for consultant work has been approved. Work continues on the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA). The County has also begun work to identify all parcels that it owns. Comstock Township: The Planning Commission will be interviewing 3 companies for a design study for Comstock Center at River and King Highway. City of Portage: The City has distributed its draft Recreation and Open Space Plan update for public review. Comments may be submitted to the Department of Community Development. Work on the draft Capital Improvement Program is wrapping up. A second public hearing will be held regarding zoning ordinances on January 18 at 7:00 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS Start reported that the Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC) has changed how local agencies will apply and receive funding for reimbursements for PASER data collection on local roads. This process will now be handled by the Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Regional Planning Organizations. KATS has received a small amount of additional funding for this purpose. Proposals and estimates were requested from local agencies interested in the program. The priority for asset management funding will be required PASER data collection on federal-aid roads. Stefforia reported a group of local elected officials and staff members established the Kalamazoo Region Bike Route Committee to implement the proposed routes contained on Map 7 of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Discussion followed on concerns with the impact of the RCKC Sign Policy update on the Kalamazoo Region Bike Route. It was noted that the authority for signs in the right of way on RCKC roads is under the authority of the Board of Road Commissioners of the County of Kalamazoo. Members with concerns were asked to submit comments to the RCKC staff, the Road Commissioners of the County of Kalamazoo, or attend the next public meeting regarding the policy. The Sign Policy update is a potential action item at the Board of Road Commissioners January 23 meeting. Stepek reported that a Transportation Improvement Program Project Prioritization Process Subcommittee Meeting would follow the Technical Committee Meeting. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business Chair Forth adjourned the meeting at 10:35 a.m.