Notice DISCUSSION AND FINALIZATION OF THE DOWNTOWN MOBILITY COMMITTEE REPORT

Transcription

1 City of Titusville Downtown Mobility Committee Notice of Meeting December 8, 2015 City Hall, 2 nd Floor Council Chambers 555 S. Washington Avenue Titusville, Florida :00 a.m. Notice All persons who anticipate speaking on any Public Hearing item must fill out an Oath Card to be heard on that agenda item and sign the oath contained thereon. These cards are located on the table near the entrance to the Council Chamber or may be obtained from the Recording Secretary. This meeting will be conducted in accordance to the procedures adopted in Resolution # Those speaking in favor of a request will be heard first, those opposed will be heard second, and those who wish to make a public comment on the item will speak third. The applicant may make a brief rebuttal if necessary. A representative from either side, for or against, may cross-examine a witness. Anyone who speaks is considered a witness. If you have photographs, sketches, or documents that you desire for the Commission to consider, they must be submitted into evidence and will be retained by the City. Please submit such exhibits to the Recording Secretary. I. CALL TO ORDER II. III. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES WELCOME CENTER AND TRAIL UPDATE DISCUSSION AND FINALIZATION OF THE DOWNTOWN MOBILITY COMMITTEE REPORT V. NEXT STEP TRANSMIT MOBILITY COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY VI. VII. PUBLIC COMMENTS ADJOURNMENT

2 Downtown Mobility Committee Meeting November 17, 2015 The Downtown Mobility Committee of the City of Titusville, Florida met in the Conference Room on the second floor of City Hall, located at 555 South Washington Avenue on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 11:00am. Present were Reva Harris, Daniel Megivern, Kenny Poff, Chris Scalzi and Marty Winkle. Julie Hilligoss and Dory Valentine were absent. Also attending was Redevelopment Planner Tim Ford, Senior Planner Trevor Traphagen and Recording Secretary Laurie Dargie. Member Harris made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 20, 2015 meeting. Member Megivern seconded the motion; there was a unanimous voice vote in favor. Welcome Center and Trail update Mr. Ford had Linda Brandt introduce herself to the Committee as she came to listen to the meeting. Ms. Brandt said she is working on the Launch From Here campaign and the Titusville information from the Chamber of Commerce and City of Titusville. Mr. Ford had some handouts for all of the Committee members. Mr. Ford provided aerial plans for Main Street. The Florida Department of Transportation has funding for the design and construction of a bikeway on Main Street however; construction will not start until sometime in Mr. Ford said the Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency is waiting on approval from the Florida Department of Transportation before any improvements are done since there may be conflicts with improvements between the City of Titusville and Florida Department of Transportation. Mr. Ford said that there is talk of a crosswalk from Indian River to Garden Street. Mr. Ford gave a handout of what the State is proposing which is a cycle track, having a bike path going in both directions on the same side of the road. Mr. Ford said clearing was underway last week for the trail. Mr. Ford said the bridge construction has been moved up to February The footers should start to be poured this week for the bridge. Mr. Ford said once the clearing is done the work on the trails will start. Mr. Ford said the County and the City have submitted trail extension plans and the drawing showing the extensions, which comes from Canaveral to Main Street. Mr. Ford said the plans were sent to the Florida East Coast Railway last week and the City is now waiting to hear back to see if they will grant an easement to allow the trail to be extended out. Mr. Ford said the Welcome Center is at a 60% design plan. A meeting was held last week and the contractor and architect presented their design plans. They are working on the utility connections, electric, water and sewer. Mr. Ford said the goal is to start construction in January Member Page 1 of 3

3 Downtown Mobility Committee Meeting November 17, 2015 Megivern asked who the contractor for the project would be. Mr. Ford said Saturn Builders, which is a Titusville contractor. Discussion & Finalization of the categorized Committee Member s Assessment notes & observations Mr. Ford said Mr. Traphagen took the information that was gathered at the last Downtown Mobility Committee meeting and put them onto a map in categories. Mr. Ford said the City Manager would like to have wayfinding signs not only in the downtown but also off the interstate exits. Member Harris asked if the bicycle lane will go all the way down Main Street. Mr. Ford said yes. Member Harris suggested giving the public notice in advance of any improvements so they can be aware of the coming changes and why it is being done. Mr. Ford asked if the Committee members see anything that should be added, deleted or moved around before a formal report is made and presented to the Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency. Member Harris suggested having another trailhead sign by the City Marina. Mr. Ford said that is a good suggestion and wayfinding signs should be placed their also. Mr. Ford said he took a trip to Sanford to check out their trails and they provided Wi-Fi on the trails. Member Megivern asked about the overnight camping. Mr. Ford said that camping was mentioned under amenities. Member Winkle said he is concerned about promoting camping at Sand Point Park because there is a lot of walkers/runners/bikers etc. and this my draw homeless to the area. Member Megivern said there are hotels downtown. Member Poff and Member Harris agreed with Member Winkle that camping at Sand Point Park is not a good idea. Mr. Ford will remove the camping. Mr. Ford said the Downtown Merchants have suggested having a kiosk sign at Julia Court. Mr. Ford read over the Downtown Mobility Committee s assessments made at the October 20, 2015 meeting: Aesthetics, Amenities, Safety, Publications/Community Outreach, Routes and Wayfinding. Mr. Ford said he will add shuttle service to the Community Outreach. Member Poff asked who will be responsible for cleaning up the trails. Mr. Ford said he will have to find out and he will inform all of the Committee Members via . Next Steps Mr. Ford said he and Mr. Traphagen will make this into a formal document and will it to all of the Committee members to have one last review and the Committee can meet one more time to discuss and approve the document to go before the Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency if the Committee so chooses. The Committee Members agreed to meet again on Tuesday December 8, 2015 at 11:00am. Page 2 of 3

4 Downtown Mobility Committee Meeting November 17, 2015 Public Comment None Adjournment 11:47 a.m. Page 3 of 3

5 CITY OF TITUSVILLE Downtown Mobility Committee Report December, 2015 Prepared by the City of Titusville Community Development Department

6 Background At the June 9, 2015 City of Titusville Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, the CRA formed a Downtown Mobility Committee. This ad-hoc committee was created to review connectivity from the Coast-to-Coast trailhead to the downtown; other trails, such as the St. Johns to Sea Loop Trail; the proposed Downtown Welcome Center to be located at the southwest corner of the Julia Street parking lot; and other amenities and facilities located downtown. Suggested members of the committee were to include Titusville residents with an interest and or experience with hiking, walking, running, biking, observing nature and horseback riding. The committee s purpose was to consider issues such as access, safety, signage, parking and multi-use of the trail. Committee Members Seven (7) residents were appointed to the Downtown Mobility Committee by the CRA on August 11, A list of the members is as follows: Reva Harris Julie Hilligoss Dan McGivern Ken Poff Chris Scalzi Dory Valentine Marty Winkel Committee Meetings and Assessment Strategy The Downtown Mobility Committee held meetings once a month from August, 2015 to December, A review of the committee s monthly meetings and work follows: The committee held its first meeting on August 18, 2015 where introductions were made, a review of the Sunshine Law provided; a discussion of the committee s purpose, the committee s administration occurred; and an update on the status of the Coast-to-Coast Trail and the Downtown Welcome Center was given. Copies of the booklet, Trail Towns, Capturing Trail Based Tourism A Guide for Communities in Pennsylvania and the Ohio Bikeways web pages, Enhancing your Bikeway and Facilities & Amenities, were handed out to the committee members to review. At the September 15, 2015 meeting, an assessment strategy was developed by the committee to assess the connectivity between the proposed trails and downtown based on the information provided by the Trail Towns booklet and Ohio Bikeways print outs. In particular, the Trail Towns Self-Assessment Checklist was utilized as a resource for committee members. Committee members individually toured the Coast-to-Coast trailhead to downtown to the Sand Point Park/A. Max Brewer Bridge area and made notes of their assessments and observations. The individual committee member s assessments and observations were compiled and discussed at the October 20, 2015 meeting. City Staff then organized and categorized the list of assessments, observations and recommendations into six (6) categories: Aesthetics, Amenities, Safety, Publications/Community Outreach, Routes and Wayfinding. Page 1

7 The November 17, 2015 meeting saw the committee review, discuss, edit and finalize the categorized list of thirty-two (32) assessments, observations and recommendations for providing connectivity between the proposed trailheads and downtown. (see Downtown Mobility Committee s Assessment and Recommendations below) From the finalized list of assessments, observations and recommendations City Staff drafted a final committee report to present to the City of Titusville CRA, which the Downtown Mobility Committee reviewed and approved at its December 8, 2015 meeting. Downtown Mobility Committee s Assessment and Recommendations The Downtown Mobility Committee developed thirty-two (32) assessment/recommendation items relating to connectivity of the proposed trails to and from the downtown. The assessments/recommendations were categorized into six (6) categories. The assessments/ recommendations are listed below. Aesthetics 1. Improve the look of the trailhead area at Canaveral Avenue a privacy fence along the right of way to separate from residential property and code enforcement action is recommended. The area is not inviting and does not make a good first impression. 2. Artsy bicycle racks should be installed with private funding, public funding or private/public partnerships. (See attached Exhibit A for graphic examples). 3. Leave natural vegetation along the edge of the trail right of way. Amenities 4. Provide a covered rest stop at Draa Field and provide recreation options. 5. More bike racks are needed in front of businesses, at the trailhead and at the Welcome Center. 6. More garbage cans are needed which could include solar powered trash/recycling compactors. (See Exhibit A for graphic example). 7. Investigate whether the vacant property at the northwest corner of Washington Ave. and Broad Street can be made into a park. Transfer of Development rights may have occurred. 8. Encourage a high-end bicycle repair establishment to locate downtown. 9. Provide do it yourself bicycle repair stations at strategic locations downtown including at the trailhead and the Welcome Center. 10. Provide parking at the trail head 11. Provide misters or outside showers at the trailhead and or Welcome Center or direct trail users to the marina or Westland to the showers located there. Safety 12. City should change the way it currently measures street rights of way so that curbs are excluded which will provide more asphalt for bikers. 13. The City should use Rolled curbs downtown instead of the typical type F raised curb and gutter. 14. Provide bike lanes with signage and pavement markings on downtown streets. 15. Enforce the traffic speed limits on Washington Avenue and Hopkins Street. 16. Safety camera(s) should be installed at the trailhead or other strategic places. 17. A Police Substation should be brought back downtown. 18. The Police Department should consider creating a bicycle patrol for downtown and the trail. 19. Fill in lighting at the trailhead and downtown as needed (where dark such as on Wilson Avenue). Page 2

8 Publications/Community Outreach 20. Coordinate with transportation businesses such as taxis, UBER, SCAT, etc. to provide shuttle transportation to trail users to go to hotels, pick-ups from trail areas, etc. 21. Coordinate with the Chamber of Commerce for promotions for trail users to rent kayaks, stand up paddleboards, and to promote events like the Birding Festival and downtown events to trail visitors. 22. Provide a Trail Newsletter with events advertised. 23. Notify downtown property owners of the opportunities that the trail will provide and diplomatically encourage property owners to clean up their properties. Routes 24. Look at alternative tourist routes through downtown. 25. Route trail users exiting the trail from Main Street heading to downtown to turn south from Main Street onto Wilson Avenue and then onto Julia Street and then to the Welcome Center. Wilson Avenue needs to be cleaned up and resurfaced. Suggest no parking on Julia Street, repave Julia and add a bike lane on the south side of Julia. (see map on page 4) 26. Route trail users from the Welcome Center from Julia Street to Washington Avenue where trail users can head north to the shops in the Historic Downtown section or go straight on Julia through Julia Court (creating a bike path) then to Indian River Avenue via Mariners Way and Main Street. Add a bike lane on Indian River Avenue to the A. Max Brewer Bridge. Widen the sidewalk on A. Max Brewer and go under the bridge and left onto the access road to Sandpoint Park. (see map on page 4) Wayfinding 27. Install welcome signage at the trailhead. 28. Provide a detailed map of business locations at the Welcome Center. 29. Wayfinding signage is needed to direct and route trail users to and from downtown, the trailhead and Max Brewer Bridge. (see map) 30. Kiosks with city information/maps should be strategically located downtown. 31. QR codes should be utilized on signs and kiosks. 32. Provide Wayfinding signage at the marina to direct visiting boaters to the downtown and Welcome Center. Conclusion The Downtown Mobility Committee has provided the Titusville CRA with a number of recommendations that implemented over time as resources permit can help the City and downtown plan to become a Trail Town that caters to multi-modal users of the trails that converge on the City of Titusville. By incorporating the recommendations, Titusville and the downtown can be transformed into the Eastern Trail Hub of Florida. Page 3

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10 Exhibit A Artsy Bicycle Rack Examples: Bicycle Repair Station Examples: Solar Powered Trash/Recycle Compactor examples: Page 5