Louis Haywood GNO DPW

Transcription

1 NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COALITION J e f f e r s o n O r l e a n s P l a q u e m i n e s S t. B e r n a r d September 1, :30 am-1:00pm Regional Transportation Management Center Agenda 10:30 Pedestrian & Bicycle Working Group Bike safety bumper stickers Downtown Safety Improvements Updated Action Plan Stakeholder updates 11:30 Lunch 12:00 Infrastructure & Operations Working Group Ramp Meters Cobb-Fendley Recommendations Steps Moving Forward Stakeholder updates 1:00 Adjourn Bike and Pedestrian Attendees Michael Albert St. Charles Parish malbert@stcharlesgov.net (985) Scott Boyle DOTD scott.boyle@la.gov (504) Rosa Bustamante- Forest Jon Cryer DHH, Office of Public Health Kenner Police Department rosa.bustamante-forest@la.gov (504) jcryer@kennerpd.com (504) Chris Gunther Health Department cjgunther@nola.gov (504)

2 Johnson Hale DPS/Crescent City Connection (504) Louis Haywood GNO DPW Nelson Hollings Dan Jatres Stephanie Kreller Peter Magoire Regional Planning Regional Planning Lighthouse Louisiana DPS/Crescent City Connection (504) (504) x266 (504) Chloe Mayne Jefferson Parish (504) Anthony (Buddy) Micheu Karen Parsons NOPD (504) Regional Planning (504) Brian Parsons DOTD (225) Don Redman AAA x6020 Ellen Sol Soll Planning (504) Marny Stein St. Charles Parish (985)

3 Charlie Thomas Bike Law (504) Tara Tolford UNO Transportation Institute Betsy Tramonte Sydney Doyle Les Leathem Federal Highway Administration Friends of Lafitte Greenway League of American Bicyclist Bike and Pedestrian Emphasis Area Meeting Bike Safety Bumper Stickers Dan Jatres (NORPC) displayed the bike safety bumper stickers which advertise the 3ft passing law. These bumper stickers were produced with the help of Digital Engineering which offered to pay for 1,000 of them. Dan added that the goal is to place the stickers on public vehicles to help raise awareness of the law. If any public agency is interested in the bumper stickers please get into contact with Dan Jatres. Downtown Safety Improvements Dan Jatres updated the coalition on a project taking place downtown to help improve nonmotorized safety. The project is data driven and is meant to evaluate downtown safety and mobility. The project will help bring downtown infrastructure into compliance with DOTD standards, and recommend phased improvements where they are applicable. Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee Karen Parsons (NORPC) updated the coalition on the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee for the City Council. She added that the committee requested a position for NOPD since enforcement is a vital part in helping to create a safer environment for cyclist and pedestrians. The Office of Performance and Accountability will be housing and managing crash data. Karen noted that Dan Jatres has been acting as an advisor to the committee to help bring municipal codes in line with state codes. Additionally the committee recommended an ordinance to legalize skateboarding. Another recommendation was the creation of an open streets ordinance. The ordinance would allow for bike and pedestrian street festivals.

4 Updated Action Plan Dan Jatres (NORPC) and Karen Parsons (NORPC) updated the coalition on the revised Bike and Pedestrian action plan and took any comments or questions regarding the new plan. The plan was revised on June 23 rd with the help of the statewide emphasis area leaders. There would be a two week comment period during which any recommendations or concerns could be raised regarding the plan. Stakeholder Update: Charley Thomas (Bikelaw) added that their organization will be offering a continuing education class on issues related to cycling. Chris Gunther ( Health Department) added that they are currently in the process of looking for a Safe Routes to School coordinator. The position should be filled by early to mid- October. Brian Parsons (DOTD) stated that cities should be in the process of developing ADA transition plans. He noted that the State has one, and has begun to implement it. Louis Haywood (GNO DPW) stated that the city has a plan. Regarding infrastructure, the city has secured funds which will be used for ramps and sidewalks. Tara Tolford (UNO Transportation Institute) updated that she has been awarded a $142,463 grant by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center to study the most effective and costefficient ways to collect data on bicyclist and pedestrians statewide. Chloe Mayne (Jefferson Parish) updated that Jefferson Parish approved an increased budget to implement their bike plan. Infrastructure and Operations Attendees Dean Behrens Louisiana State dean.behrens@la.gov (504) Police Scott Boyle DOTD scott.boyle@la.gov (504) Rosa Bustamonte- Forest Sonny Carriles Johnson Hale DHH, Office of Public Health Traffic Management Center DPS/ Crescent City Connection rosa.bustamante-forest@la.gov (504) sonny.carriles@la.gov (504) johnson.hale@la.gov (504)

5 Louis Haywood GNO DPW Nelson Hollings (504) Regional Planning Bao Long Le DOTD (504) Peter Magoire DPS/Crescent City (504) Connection Chloe Mayne Jefferson Parish (504) Anthony (Buddy) NOPD (504) Micheu Karen Parsons Regional Planning (504) Don Redman AAA x6020 Ellen Soll Soll Planning (504) Tara Tolford UNO Transportation Institute Betsy Tramonte Federal Highway Administration Sydney Doyle Friends of Lafitte Greenway Les Leathem League of American Bicyclist Infrastructure and Operations Ramp Meters Scott Boyle (DOTD) updated the coalition on the status of the ramp meters which were installed along the Pontchartrain Expressway to help alleviated traffic. The meters regulate the flow of traffic onto the overpass to help reduce conflict in the merging lanes. Many options were discussed on how to alleviate congestion (building a new bridge, adding another lane), however because of limited resources, ramp meters offered the best bang for your buck. Scott indicated that they are currently manually collecting travel data. The data is indicating that the travel time from the Westbank to the Eastbank has been reduced. Buddy Micheu (NOPD) indicated that traffic on the surface roads is now significantly worse than before.

6 Sonny Carriles ( Traffic Management Center) added that in the event of significant congestion the meters go into flush mode to help alleviate the congestion. Lt. Buddy Micheu (NOPD) added that the real issue is the density of on ramps that feed onto the Pontchartain Expressway. Until something is done to restrict access to the overpass congestion will remain a problem. Betsy Tramonte (FHWA) added that ramp meters are a proven congestion reduction strategy. Karen Parsons (NORPC) added that she believed one of the original purposes for the ramp meters was to help the freight industry. Karen inquired as to whether there was any data regarding 18 wheelers exiting the port? Lt. Johnson Hale (DPS Crescent City Connection) mentioned that he has experienced a drastic reduction in travel time going east on the Pontchartrain Expressway. Lt. Buddy Micheu (NOPD) suggested temporarily shutting down an on-ramp to study the changes in traffic. Cobb Fendley Recommendations Scott Boyle (DOTD) explained that Cobb Fendley conducted a traffic safety analysis of various intersections in and Jefferson Parish. The study broke the recommendations down into short term, and long term improvements, as well as high, medium, and low cost improvements. Stakeholder Updates Scott Boyle (DOTD) mentioned that DOTD is going to begin to look into improving the safety of the MLK and Claiborne intersection. Scott will be meeting with the design team Sept. 15. Scott Boyle (DOTD) added that they are currently in the final demolition phase for the Crescent City Connection. The project will be complete in ~2 months. Additionally the speed limit will be raised where the tolls were from 25 to 55 mph. Lt. Hale (DPS Crescent City Connection) added that DPS has stepped up enforcement to stop people from cutting through the shoulder at camp to avoid the line of traffic on the Pontchartrain expressway. Nelson Hollings (NORPC) has adopted the South Central Safety Coalitions Safety Concern form to help catalogue and resolve traffic safety concerns. He added that these would be sent out electronically to members of the coalition. Scott Boyle (DOTD) and Dean Behrens (LSP) added that the safety concern form is part of an effort to actively resolve traffic safety concerns in the region. Both elaborated that they want to

7 make sure that the coalition meetings are actively improving safety and not just giving updates on projects. Next meeting: The next coalition meeting will take place September 15 th, and it will be an Occupant Protection and Full Coalition meeting. Contact: Nelson Hollings, Please like us on Facebook: