Technical Committee Meeting Notice. March 13, :30 a.m. PACTS, 970 Baxter Blvd. 2nd Floor Portland, ME. Agenda

Transcription

1 PACTS Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System Technical Committee Meeting Notice March 13, :30 a.m. PACTS, 970 Baxter Blvd. 2nd Floor Portland, ME Agenda 1. Call to order and Welcome to Sara Zografos, the New GPCOG Transportation Director [8:30 a.m.] 2. Introductions/Sign In [8:30-8:35] 3. Public Comment [8:35 8:40] 4. Minutes Joint Meeting February 13, 2018 Review/Comment [8:40 8:45] 5. Collector Study Update and Findings to Date, VHB [8:45-9:45] 6. Safety Performance Measure Targets [9:45-9:50] 7. Updates Round-Robin and Your Happenings (if times permits) [9:50-10:00] 8. Adjourn [by 10:00] The next scheduled meeting is for Tuesday April 10 th at 8:30

2 Agenda Item #4: Review and Comment, Joint Committee Notes of February 13 th 2018 The following are draft meeting notes of the joint meeting in February. These are for review and comment only at today s meeting. Approval will take place at the next joint meeting. PACTS Joint Planning and Technical Committee, Draft February 13, :00 am Members Present: Chris Mann, MaineDOT; Tom Milligan and Gregg Tansley, City of Biddeford; Theo Holtwijk, Falmouth; Angela Blanchette, Scarborough; Katherine Gray and Rebecca Spitella, Westbrook; Jeremiah Bartlett, City of Portland; Alex Jaegerman, Yarmouth; Ann Peoples, Westbrook; Ben Smith and Jon Earle, Windham; David Gailbraith, Gorham; Donna Larson and Adam Bliss, Freeport; Christian Rodriguez, Portland Water District; Megan McLaughlin, Old Orchard Beach; Art Handman, South Portland Bus Service; Maureen O Meara, Cape Elizabeth Staff Present: Paul Niehoff, PACTS; Carl Eppich, PACTS; Stephanie Carver, Zoe Miller, Rick Harbison and Jessa Berna, GPCOG 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:07 am by Alex Jaegerman 2. Introductions: attendees made introductions. 3. Public Comment: None. 4. Minutes- August 8th, 2017 Joint Meeting: (yes August 8 th ) Motion to approve minutes seconded and approved. 5. Member Presentations: a. Gorham Village Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan: David Gailbraith gave an overview of the Milone and MacBroom plan. They and staff along with a few residents conducted a sidewalk inventory, a bike and pedestrian audit and two public meetings. A survey was conducted receiving 600 responses. The plan will be taken to the City Council next. Maureen asked, how much? Carl responded, about $40k. Ben Smith asked, What were the priorities? David responded, Main and S. Street intersection and Main Street, Mechanic Street and new Portland Road need better pedestrian infrastructure. Art asked, thoughts on exclusive pedestrian phase at Maine and South? David, would cause too much traffic back-ups. b. North of Portland Route 1 Complete Street: Alex gave overview of the corridor. One focus area is Rte. 88 and Route 1 potential for roundabout and conjoining Rte. 1 north and south lanes freeing up developable land. Theo mentioned it s a long-term project estimated at $1.7 million in today s dollars. Study throughout corridor had focused areas, but also closing gaps potential for bicycle and pedestrians and potential for separated facilities in center areas. In Yarmouth looking and better access in exit 15 area especially with a bridge rehabilitation project coming up. Portland Street intersection review and better Westside trail connections. Also re-visiting the Route 1 and Route 88 roundabout (Yarmouth). In Freeport looked at Desert Road intersection and bridge. Donna - 2 -

3 mentioned the timeliness of the PACTS paving project on Rte. One which enabled a PACTS funded sidewalk as well as bus stop improvements. c. Yarmouth Sidewalk Assessment: Alex gave an overview and presentation on the sidewalk study. They used volunteers with tablets, measuring tapes and levels to assess conditions, slopes, and ADA access at ramps. Georgia Tech used their Sidewalk Sentry which is a wheelchair-based tool which videos the sidewalk, measures slopes and roughness indexes. There was considerable interest in the two assessment methods. Jeremiah said Portland is looking to do an assessment, Ann Peoples mentioned Westbrook s interest as well. Alex asked Chris about DOT s expected assessment program. Chris responded that they are looking at one, but are reviewing the parameters and developing a program. d. Portland-S. Portland Smart Corridor Study: Carl gave a brief overview. Study nearly complete. Jeremiah spoke to potential of re-configuring Morrills Corner, and the issues with Stevens and Bishop Street intersection(s), looked at prohibiting left turns in and out of Bishop as an issue. Left ins are prohibited, but no one pays attention. Also looked at right slip lane Forest to Allen but may cause too many back-ups. Pedestrians and cyclists need better access. Also looking at cleaning up the Preble Street/Forest Ave/Falmouth and the Baxter/Bedford intersections. Long term looking at single point urban interchange in exit 6 interchange area. Looking at shared bus and bike lane potential. Also looking at Deering Oaks section, relocating Kennebec Street, removing right slip lane off marginal to Forest, and Somerset Street extending to Brattle which will include the Bayside trail extension. Tex was unable to attend the meeting so Carl touched briefly on S. Portland and focus on better access at the end of the CBB which is included in an existing PACTS project, study proposes roundabout at Sawyer and making pedestrian and transit improvements along the entire corridor. e. RTMS, Gorham and Scarborough: Angela spoke to the overlap area, the east-west corridor review where most public input recommended minimal changes. Hoping to improve mobility primarily with signal integration. 6. PACTS Transportation Public Opinion Survey 2017 Carl gave a brief overview on the study findings (A thorough review would take hours). The report and appendices can be found at the links below. Report: Appendices: Art mentioned it appeared that addressing the older generation and concerns of not wanting, or able to, drive wasn t really covered in the survey. Maureen mentioned the Cape Elizabeth Comp Plan is showing decreasing volumes, which in part may reflect Art s comments. Donna asked, are there any discernable trends? Carl answered, Not really and really no drastic changes form the last survey

4 7. Access to Transit Plan: Zoe gave a presentation and overview of the Transit Stop Access Project, which is moving to Phase II this year. The project including planning and construction of transit stop improvements, mini-hubs, and bike/ped facilities for the METRO, ShuttleBus-ZOOM, and South Portland Bus Service. GPCOG is recruiting for the Advisory Group and looking for a few Planning and Technical Committee members. The group will meet monthly as needed and serve as a technical resource for the project. See attached for the PPT she presented and Advisory Group onepager. If you are interested, please contact Zoe at zmiller@gpcog.org. 8. PACTS Bike Rack Project: Paul gave an update and statics on the rack program as follows: Number of communities taking part: 16 Number of total parking spaces: 478 Total cost for racks: $40,610 Total municipal match cost (15%): $6,092 Both Maureen and Alex mentioned the actual rack costs were very reasonable, but the municipal cost to install and schedule were a concern. Greg mentioned timing can be crucial. The racks were timely for their Main Street sidewalk upgrade project. Donna mentions the cost to install at around $1500 and that is with the Public Works crew. Theo mentioned the difficulty with the right-of-way and public property requirement. Appropriate places that need racks are many times privately owned. And Maureen mentioned the need to consider staff time to administer, which in this first round was quite extensive. 9. Meeting Adjourned. Agenda Item #5: Collector Study Update and Findings to Date, VHB At today s Technical Committee meeting, VHB will be presenting and reviewing a draft report for the PACTS Collector Road Study for one member Town (Gorham). The draft will be representative of the reports to be developed for each member town, and the PACTS network as a whole. The draft will include a background to the study process and fundamentals used in the analysis, and will present current conditions, an analysis of backlog, and maintenance and rehabilitation recommendations and cost estimates. This draft uses a very basic pavement repair strategy and generic cost data. At the meeting, VHB will solicit feedback for a more comprehensive strategy and we will determine the best approach to developing current cost estimates. Since our last update in mid-january, there has been no progress on field data collection due to snow/ice coverage on road shoulders and intermittent new snow preventing full evaluations. We stand at approximately 120 miles (of 225) evaluated. Local study match payments and a reminder: When we started this five-year number one priority work in 2017, we collectively decided to cover the 25% local match by apportioning the match amount based on the collector road mileage within each community which had eligible collector roads. Last May John sent - 4 -

5 an apportionment table out based on the original estimated contract amount of $150,000. As we all know the 5-year contract ended up at $210,000 for various reasons. The following updated table shows the breakdown of mileage, per cent, 2017 match amount, match balance remaining and total expected amounts. Collector Condition Assessment VHB 2017 Invoice $45, Total Match Total 2017 % of 226 Shares at 25% Balance Match Municipality Mileage Miles $11, $41, $52, Arundel 0 0% $0.00 Biddeford % $ $2, $3, Cape Elizabeth % $ $2, $3, Cumberland % $ $2, $2, Falmouth % $ $3, $4, Freeport % $ $2, $2, Gorham % $ $2, $2, North Yarmouth % $ $ $1, Old Orchard Beach % $ $1, $2, Portland % $1, $4, $5, Raymond 2 0.9% $99.87 $ $ Saco % $ $3, $4, Scarborough % $1, $4, $5, South Portland % $ $2, $3, Standish 0 0.0% $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Westbrook % $ $2, $2, Windham % $ $2, $3, Yarmouth % $ $2, $3, Total 2017 Match % $11, $41, $52, per cent billed 22% We will be invoicing for the 2017 match, as noted above sometime this month. We expect to be invoicing the next round of match in July Agenda Item #6: Safety Performance Measures and Targets As required by FHWA, PACTS, along with the other three MPO s recently submitted their MPO safety targets. The cover letter below and the associated safety performance measures target document which follows was submitted on the 26 th. The document will be the basis for the PACTS safety plan, relate to our long range transportation plan, our TIP document and our Active Transportation Plan

6 PACTS Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System Duane Brunell, PE February 26, 2018 Safety Office Maine Department of Transportation 16 State House Station Augusta, ME Dear Duane, PACTS Safety Performance Targets The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) established twelve performance management requirements to ensure that StateDOTs and MPOs choose the most efficient investments for Federal transportation funds. This letter and attached document addresses the Safety Performance Management requirement(s) as described in 23 CFR 490 Subpart B. MaineDOT established and reported their first annual statewide safety targets as a part of their 2017 HSIP Annual Report on August 31 st. In concert with the MaineDOT, the Bureau of Highway Safety and other safety partners and the other three MPO s, PACTS has chosen to support the agreed upon target numbers as outlined in the following PACTS Roadway Safety Performance Measure targets. We are pleased to be working diligently with our safety partners on this extremely important initiative. Please let me know if you have related questions. Sincerely, Paul Niehoff Senior Transportation Planner, PACTS - 6 -

7 The following is the above referenced document PACTS Roadway Safety Performance Measures Targets 2018: PACTS, (Portland Area Transportation System) the state s largest MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) encompassing 18 communities with an urbanized area population of over 200,000, realizes the importance of safety for all users of our transportation system. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) transformed the Federal-aid highway program by establishing new performance management requirements to ensure that StateDOTs and MPOs choose the most efficient investments for Federal transportation funds. State DOTs and MPOs are now required to establish performance targets and assess performance in 12 areas, including Safety Performance Management as described in 23 CFR 490 Subpart B. MaineDOT established and reported their first annual statewide safety targets as a part of their 2017 HSIP Annual Report on August 31 st. As part of Safety Performance Management, MPO s are required to either, a. adopt the state s targets, b. develop their own targets or c. use a combination of both, 180 days after the state established and reported their targets. The Performance Targets This table indicates the five safety measures for which State s and MPO s must develop target rates and numbers. The rates are based on injuries and fatalities per 1,000,000 VMT, (Vehicle Miles Traveled), and the data source used is the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 2007 to The baseline is a five-year rolling average from 2012 to 2016 (with 2016 being the most recent FARS data. Non-motorized targets are HSIP Safety Targets Established by MPOs and State DOTs 1 Number of Fatalities 2 Rates of Fatalities 3 Number of Serious Injuries 4 Rate of Serious Injuries 5 Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries based on numbers, versus rates, because of the lack of statewide non-motorized volumes. The following table shows the categories, numbers and rates which are the State s targets and the FHWA safety related Performance Measures for Maine 2018 Safety Performance Targets Five Year Averages 2016 Baseline 2018 Target Number of Fatalities Rates of Fatalities Number of Serious Injuries Rate of Serious Injuries Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries

8 PACTS Numbers and Data The table above was expanded to include and compare the PACTS area targets developed in in collaboration with the State in the table below. The two right side columns show the PACTS targets. As required, PACTS has agreed to support MaineDOT s HSIP Safety targets in each of the 5 safety measures. The targets in the table below depict informational targets that will individually support MaineDOT's statewide HSIP Safety targets proportionate to and representative of PACTS's jurisdiction. Maine 2018 Safety Performance Targets Five Year Averages PACTS 2018 Performance Targets 2016 Baseline 2018 Target 2016 Baseline* 2018 Target Number of Fatalities Rates of Fatalities Number of Serious Injuries Rate of Serious Injuries Number of Non-Motorized Fatalities and Serious Injuries *Averages over 5 years One may notice, and wonder why, the targets numbers and rates are not lower than one might expect given the focus across the country on Driving Toward Zero, or Vision Zero and similar initiatives. There is no one explanation for the selected targets, but a few influencers can be considered when setting performance targets. The following are some of those influencers: Numbers and rates are selected based on five-year trend lines which are rising and when the targets were set in mid-to late 2017 they were based on 2012 to 2016 data. The anticipated 2017 data was rising and was expected to continue its rise. Given these parameters, a data driven, realistic, and attainable targets needed to be selected based on the trends as well as considering other metrics some of which are in the bullets below. The economy is expected to improve and gas prices are expected to remain stable and thus vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which has been rising over the last number of years is expected to continue to rise. Impaired driving, both because of increased illicit drug use and the legalization of marijuana in the state are shown to be increasing. Law enforcement agencies are facing increases in areas of focus and priorities at the same time they are experiencing difficulties in recruiting new staff and officers. Distracted driving, although difficult under our current laws, to quantify, appears to be increasing as causation. General consensus is the walking and cycling numbers, similar to VMT, are on the increase which also increases the exposure rates of this vulnerable population

9 To conclude the performance measure targets overview, and based on the information explained above, the State and the PACTS MPO are targeting a decrease in numbers and rates over two years, under the first four PM categories. The rates are also expected to decrease based on the anticipation of higher VMT s, that is, the lower target rate is also affected by an increase in VMT. For the Non- Motorized Fatal and Serious injury measure, the number is 90 statewide and 26 for the PACTS MPO which is a 1.3% statewide and 3.0% for the MPO. Additional Considerations Because MPO s by designation are urbanized areas our data and safety focus are not always directly comparable to the State s data and focus. For example, the PACTS MPO generally has higher density, lower speed limits, and more congestion and thus the PACTS area doesn t appear to have as many lane departure incidents, and we have a higher number of non-motorized crashes and injuries. Another consideration is that our data includes all interstates and the Maine Turnpike in the PACTS region which again, can skew the numbers. Given the more urbanized area of PACTS, which includes 15 communities in Cumberland County and four communities in York County there is a direct correlation with higher numbers on non-motorized, otherwise named vulnerable users, who use our transportation system, either by choice or necessity. Unfortunately, there is a corresponding high number of pedestrian, cyclists and other wheelers injuries and fatalities. The following 2012 to 2016 table gives a comparison of numbers in select counties. A few caveats that must be considered when reviewing this data are, the numbers include the entire county (not specifically the MPO area), include all vulnerable user injury types and property damage. Counties indicated show the highest incidents in York and Cumberland Counties which are partially encompassed by the PACTS MPO. County Total Crashes Percent of Total Percent Personal Injury Androscoggin * Cumberland Knox ** Penobscot * York *The next two highest after York County **Shows even relatively low numbers can result in high injury rates. PACTS incorporates safety in our Long Range transportation Plan, Destination 2040 and in our Transportation Improvement Plan project selection process. When updating both plans PACTS will consider these targets and incorporate metrics for improving safety for all users to meet PACTS, and the State s target goals. End safety document - 9 -

10 Agenda Item #9 Updates, Round-Robin and Your Happenings (Some from the Executive Mtg.) 1. A Farewell to Carl Eppich (from Executive Committee Meeting) After ten years of service at PACTS, Carl has accepted an offer to do transportation planning throughout Northern New England with Milone & MacBroom. Based in Connecticut, Milone & MacBroom has a Portland office and has done a lot of work for PACTS and throughout the state. Carl has been a dedicated contributor to all aspects of our work at PACTS he led the development of our 2010 and 2016 Destination 2040 Plans, he staffed the Planning Committee and our Traffic Signal Coordination Committee, helped scope and facilitate many regionally significant studies done by consultants, successfully promoted an increase in the integration of multimodal and land use policy and planning efforts throughout the region just to name a few of his accomplishments here. We will miss Carl s passion for smart growth development and his leadership. Fortunately, Carl will be working with us all as a consultant in the future so he will continue to contribute to our work. 2. The PACTS TIP document has been submitted to MaineDOT. Our TIP with it and the MaineDOT s STIP, are both out for public comments. 3. Reminder, we will be embarking this spring on selecting our 2020 collector pavement preservation projects. 4. Along with getting a cooperative agreement in-place, the HCL review and scoping RFP will be out on the street soon. 5. FFC review update. Portland has met internally, the southern, western and northern sub regions have met to review function and classes and make suggested revisions. The northern sub region will meet again and S. Portland and Cape Elizabeth will be meeting soon. We will reconvene as an allinclusive group at the next, April 10 th, or following May 8 th Technical Committee meeting to agree on and conclude the review process. 6. General Consultant and EPS RFP being drafted. 7. Bicycle and Pedestrian Technical, Encouragement and Educational Assistance RFP is out for proposals. 8. Waiting for 2018 MPI Agreements for Biddeford, Saco and Portland. 9. Nearly resolved the Scarborough Rte. 114 MPI project. 10. Attended Eastern Trail field review in Biddeford. 11. Attended both the February PACTS/BCM/LEO and the BCM Policy and Legislative Committee meetings. At the Law Enforcement Officers Collaboration meeting, Patrick Adams and Dale Gilbert were in attendance to discuss pedestrian safety and the VUE day scheduled for June