HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-14 Transportation Committee MinutesTRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
JULY 14, 2015
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am in the Public Works Administration
Conference Room. Present were Councilmember Mary Knight, Councilmember Dennis Dare,
Councilmember Tony DeLuca, Mayor Rick Meehan, City Manager David Recor, Hal Adkins, Jim
Parsons, Wayne Pryor, Terry McGean, Steve Bartlett, Captain Kevin Kirstein, State Highway
Administration District Engineer Donnie Drewer, State Highway Administration Assistant District
Engineer for Traffic District 1 Dallas Baker, Project Manager MDOT/SHA John Webster and various
other representatives from State Highway Administration
2. Update on Bus Driver Recruitment: Hal and Steve Bartlett led the discussion on driver recruitment
and deployments.
All on the Committee felt that deployments are going in a better direction
Ridership figures given out show an increase of approximately 3%
Mayor Meehan stated that due to the increased deployments he feels that the ridership and
revenue will increase
Hal informed Committee that the number of drivers is down a little bit from the 150 driver
goal due to employees leaving. Steve Bartlett stated that most of the employees who have
left have did so either due to health issues or other employment opportunities; not due to
atmosphere on buses. Steve also stated that he is having other drivers step up to cover
extra shifts that are vacant due to the loss of drivers.
Mayor Meehan requested that information on number of drivers be provided along with
ridership and deployment figures in the future.
3. State Highway Administration – Pedestrian Safety and Connectivity Project MD 528: State Highway
Administration gave an update and presentation
Review of construction phasing for the 1.4 miles of MD 528 from Convention Center Drive to
MD 90
State Highway has already performed video inspections of the storm drains and they appear
to be in good shape – will not have to do extensive utility work
Phase I will be the median work and will be done during off season
Phase II will be outside work – which will include sidewalk work – this could take up to two
seasons to perform – will be done on a block by block basis
State Highway showed Committee simulations on lane transitions and traffic for both
alternatives: 3 lane alternative and the no build alternative, which has no lane geometry
changes and keeps 4 lanes of traffic
State Highway provided from information of multimodal trends based on research for
project:
Trends are showing more pedestrian traffic, bicycle traffic and use of mass transit
Research show millennials aged 18 to 34 are driving fewer miles
Information from Federal Highway Administration shows vehicles being driven the
least amount of miles since 1194
Mayor Meehan pointed out that Ocean City is unique to most other locations due to having
only one main thorofare. Donnie Drewer stated that he also hopes to see the dualization of
MD RT 90 completed before 2030.
State Highway asked for direction on the level of renderings the Committee wanted to see
for the next presentation on this topic:
High level renderings – would be very detailed and provided by an outside firm and
costly
Medium level renderings – could be produced in house by State Highway but would
be more detailed and costly than low level renderings
Low level renderings – would be more of a sketch type of rendering; easily changed
and done in house by State Highway
Committee decided that the low level renderings would be acceptable for continued
discussions. Mayor Meehan requested that the renderings for the 1st Phase –
median improvements show different views and angles of the proposed lighting and
fencing to be put in medians.
High level renderings would not be needed until that time that concept is ready to
be presented for Public opinion.
Councilmember DeLuca asked what the approval process for the project would be. Mayor
Meehan informed him that the first step would be coming up with a plan and presenting to
Mayor and City Council for approval. Donnie Drewer stated that it would also need to go to
a Public Hearing.
Wayne Pryor asked if funding for project was already in place; State Highway responded
that funding for the design concept was in place.
Councilmember DeLuca asked if it would be possible for State Highway to provide some
statistics that were more current that 2013; which was provided in this presentation.
Councilmember DeLuca likes the median improvement concept with added lighting, fencing
and aesthetics to cross walks. He is against the lane reduction concept; he feels that the
things that have been done with crosswalks and lighting to date have worked in enhancing
pedestrian safety and that reducing Coastal Highway to three lanes would cause more of a
bottle neck and business owners would not support.
Mayor Meehan stated that we need to plan for peak times; feels Public would not be sold
on concept of elimination of lane
Terry McGean feels that widening the width of the sidewalks is important for increasing
Pedestrian Safety.
Councilmember Dare brought to State Highways attention that since we began the
Pedestrian Safety Study this Committee has a new focus on bicyclists and trying to get them
off of MD 528 – he feels that there is no safe place for bikes in the bus lane due to the width
and turning vehicles. Buses have to yield out into the other lanes with traffic when coming
up on bicyclists in the bus lane to avoid accidents. He also stated that in some areas SHA
has already decreased the width of the bus lane to 11 to 12 feet.
Councilmember Dare shares the feeling that currently the most important part of the
project is to work on Phase I; enhancing the medians with lights and fencing to prohibit
jaywalking. Mayor Meehan stated that he also agrees that this is most important.
Councilmember Knight stated that she felt the growth numbers that the State Highway
stated in their presentation were not accurate as the Town’s tourism number show an
approximate 3% increase in visitors. She also agrees with Dennis that Phase I median
improvements are most important.
Mayor Meehan pointed out that the peak times are increasing in the summer and during
the peak periods are when we have the biggest problems. He also agrees with Donnie
Drewer of State Highway Administration that Rt. 90 dualization needs to be addressed.
State Highway Administration says that they cannot steal any footage from the medians for
increased sidewalk width and all footage will be needed for added lighting and fencing.
Terry McGean stated that he still believes that dropping a lane in the future would be
logical; however currently the median improvements need to be done first.
Hal Adkins stated that from his research most “Road Diet” are designed to create congestion
and slow traffic with the resulting benefit being enhanced pedestrian safety.
Mayor Meehan stated that the 1st step should be to enhance the medians – not just in area
of Convention Center Drive to Rt. 90 but throughout the entire Town.
Kevin Kirstein stated that in 2012 the Town had 24 pedestrian crashes as of July 14th; for the
total year we had 40. He stated that the relocation of bus stops and markings, the new
cross walks etc. have all helped in this decrease. Kevin Kirsten also stated that he agrees
with Councilmember Dare that the buses cannot safely run in the same lane as bicyclists; it
is just not safe.
Mayor Meehan stated that if you are walking in mid‐block area that it only takes
approximately 22 seconds to walk to a crosswalk and this needs to be promoted in some
way to encourage people to walk to the crosswalk
Kevin Kirstein also brought up the fact the people are leaving the sidewalk before the signal
changes he asked about the feasibility of some type of crosswalk equipment that actually
speaks.
Dennis Dare brought up the fact of regulations for bike lanes and shared use lanes; State
Highway is going to look into the regulations and report back.
Councilmember DeLuca asked if there has been any discussion/thought on reducing the
speed limit to 35 mph on all of Coastal Highway; he stated that the speed limit in Dewey
Beach is 30 mph. Donnie Drewer, State Highway explained that we reduced the speed limit
to 35 mph from Rt. 90 south to 33rd Street; however it was a battle with the public; most
supported a 40 mph speed limit
State Highway stated that share roads; which is what MD 528 is; are supposed to be 13 to
15 feet to gutter pan and supposed to be 35 mph; and that once a bus/bike lane has been
established it is hard to remove but will look further into these regulations.
Hal Adkins pointed out that State Highway reduced the width of the bus lane in certain
areas to obtain appropriate width for ADA compliance walks.
Donnie Drewer stated State Highway need to go back and get a game plan together and
requested that the Town send a formal letter to him summarizing what direction the Town
wishes SHA to take. The Transportation Committee agreed to drafting a letter detailing the
Town’s request for the direction of continued efforts on the “Pedestrian Safety and
Connectivity Project MD 528” and presenting to Council for approval before submitting to
Donnie Drewer of State Highway Administration.
Mayor Meehan stated that the median improvements with fencing and lighting for all of
Coastal Highway he feels is most relevant. He also asked that State Highway bring back
information on lane widths and what can be done to achieve wider sidewalks, etc. based on
the current lane widths on MD 528. Mayor Meehan feels that if we do this project in phases
we will get it right.
4. Adjourn: Councilmember Knight motioned to adjourn meeting at 10:42 am Councilmember DeLuca
seconded. Meeting adjourned at 10:42 am. August 11th, 2015 is the next scheduled meeting of the
Transportation Committee at 9 am in the Public Works Administration Conference Room.