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Home My Public Portal About2018-10-17 rbspacm TOWN OF TRUCKEE Reimagine Bridge Street Advisory Committee MEETING MINUTES October 17, 2018 4h�sncalBt33 'n,orpara��d 3:00— 5:00 p.m. Town Hall — Prosser Room 10183 Truckee Airport Road, Truckee, CA 1. INTRODUCTIONS CALL TO ORDER— Jessica Thompson called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. ROLL CALL— Roll call completed via sign-in sheet Committee Members present: Stefanie Olivieri, Jason Hansford, Phoebe Landre, Judy Zuchariasen, Bill Kenny, Stefanie Schuster, and Paul Schectman. Project consultants present: Katie Shaffer and Debbie Jenkins Absent: Morgan Goodwin Staff present: Dan Wilkins, Director of Public Works / Town Engineer; Becky Bucar, Engineering Manager; Jessica Thompson, Senior Engineer; and Kelly Larson, Administrative Technician. Members of the public: Tanzy Maxfield 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Jessica Thompson, Senior Engineer, provided a PowerPoint presentation (presentation on file with the Town Clerk). 3. PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES • Categorize best combination of scenarios and design alternatives • Screen different scenarios and recommend alternatives • Criteria for evaluation o Pedestrian flow vs. vehicle function o Level of service o Quite zones • Determine what the selection process will entail • Narrow down to top 5 committee selections for in depth renderings • Ultimately provide input to Council on what committee thinks is appropriate • Public outreach and branding • Identification of preferred alternative (completion of Reimagine Bridge Street Advisory Committee role) 4. BRANDING AND OUTREACH Katie Schaffer provided a handout about naming and some ideas for choosing a name (on file with the Town Clerk). Project names were discussed; favorites were evaluated and voted on, The most popular name was Reimagine Bridge Street. However, a close Town of Truckee October 17, 2018 Reimagine Bridge Street Project Advisory Committee Page 1 second was Linking Downtown-Bridge Street Crossing. The Committee decided on a combination with Reimagine Bridge Street—Linking Downtown. Project name suggestions and the votes received are listed below: • Bridge Street Connectivity (0) • Re-Imagine Bridge Street (10) • Downtown Crossings (2) • Bridge Street Crossings (3) • Re Imagine Trax (0) • Linking Downtown (0) • Linking Downtown-Bridge Street Crossing (6) In addition to the public outreach suggestions listed in the power point (press releases, website, workshops, social media), other ideas included: • Truckee Thursdays • Survey Monkey • An interactive web map • Giving the webpage a new name: www.townoftruckee.com/ReimagineBridgeStreet • Posts on Social Media to include Nextdoor, Facebook, Twitter 5. MINIMUM PROJECT REQUIREMENTS • Improve Pedestrian Safety and Circulation o Sidewalks – both sides of Bridge Street o Minimum of 1 Protected Crosswalk Across Bridge Street at West River/East River and Donner Pass Road Intersections • Maintain or Improve Vehicle Traffic Flow with and without Train • Quiet Zone Designation • No Removal of Historic Buildings • Cannot leave vehicle(s) trapped on tracks when a train is coming Additional Criteria noted by the Committee were as follows: • Regional Traffic Flow • Aesthetics • Cost (Use to Evaluate Later) • Right-of-Way Acquisition • Safety -Accident Types/Frequency The group added the following screening items during the meeting: • Opportunities for Streetscape Improvement Projects • Pedestrian crossings at all corners of both intersections –eight crossings in total • Limiting the size/weight of vehicles coming into the intersection • Water quality improvements: o reducing the track issues in winter • reducing bridge ponding 6. EVALUATION CRITERIA Senior Engineer Thompson requested that the group brainstorm where no alternative would be too outlandish to consider. Try to screen out redundant alternatives, and come up with three to five alternatives that are appropriate for analysis in detail. Two recommendations could be brought before Council – one that is attainable in the short- Town of Truckee October 17, 2018 Reimagine Bridge Street Project Advisory Committee Page 2 term as well as things to work toward over time. Costs might be lower down the list because we want to do the right thing. Areas of discussion: • Tradeoffs between pedestrians and vehicle flow. • Providing crosswalks on all four corners (pedestrians take the shortest, most direct path). • Change the way people walk through town. • Aesthetics – landscaping and lighted areas. • The Town does not own all the right of way access. We will need to discuss how to navigate different options. • Questioned whether safer options for bikers will be considered. • Potential to remove buildings: c Town has authority to implement imminent domain but prefers not to. o Town prefers to work with the owners. • Stephanie Olivieri voiced opposition to imminent domain. • Union Pacific Rail Road (UPRR) owns most of the land. Roads exist on easement on UPRR land. Negotiations would go through UPRR, who would talk to the tenants. • Right-of-way and property-ownership constraints might be a stress on the project. • Historic buildings stay. • A streetscape project for West River Street is in process concurrent with this project. Discussions from the West River Street project will tie in with the discussions we are having for this project. • Add opportunities for streetscape improvements. • From a design standpoint, even with limitations, the existence of large trucks entering the intersection needs to be taken into account. • Road design can influence routes they take. • Drainage and water quality improvements. 7. CHALLENGES AND IDEAS • Accommodating the extremes—downtown events, road closures, and busy weekends. • Include a pedestrian only light. • Cannot leave vehicles on tracks/trapped • Left turn from West River Street onto northbound Bridge Street has line-of-sight issues. • Vehicles need to pull out into the crosswalk. • Evaluate pedestrian /vehicle flows—find the balance. o Cannot be pedestrian centric to the detriment of vehicular traffic o Pedestrian connections are necessary as the Town changes and grows in order to get to new businesses, parking lots, Railyard, etc. • Look at the Smart Train through San Rafael for train noise issues/solutions. • Don't want to lose parking spaces. • Speed is an issue heading north on Bridge through West/East River intersection, and on West River Street. • Wide expanses of asphalt are hard to navigate as a pedestrian. • Crosswalks at corners may not be the best location. • Flexible on locations across Bridge Street. • Installation of pedestrian tunnel under tracks: Town of Truckee October 17, 2018 Reimagine Bridge Street Project Advisory Committee Page 3 o Unlikely as there isn't a spot for it. o Mousehole project cost roughly $14 Million, and was easier as an at grade tunnel through fill. • Bridge over tracks: o Clearance would need to be about 23 feet for train passage. o Undergrounding trail by raising tracks (tracks can't be steeper than they are, so this is infeasible here). • Utilizing signals at the crossings. This was not feasible in the 90's. o Technology is available for early warning and clearing tracks. • Reiterated that pedestrians find the easiest way: o If it is too far, steep, or out of the way, it won't be utilized. 8. UPCOMING MEETINGS Committee Direction: The Committee requested receiving information in advance of future meetings, and requested that the meeting information, such as the maps and PowerPoint presentation, be posted on the Town website. ADJOURNMENT To the next meeting of the Reimagine Bridge Street - Linking Downtown Project Advisory Committee, Thursday, November 1, 2018, 5:30 p.m. at 10183 Truckee Airport Rd., Truckee, CA 96161. Approve - Respectfully submitted by: T1 A'l Jessi hompson, Commit ee Chair Kelly Larson, Committee Secretary Town of Truckee October 17, 2018 Reimagine Bridge Street Project Advisory Committee Page 4