M I N U T E S ICBC PILOT CORRIDOR PLANNING PROJECT MEETING 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 2, 1998 Council Chambers, Town of Smithers Present: John Malcolm, Director of Corporate Services, Town of Smithers Andy Howard, Councillor, Town of Smithers Blair Wood, ICBC, Smithers David Fisher, MoTH, Terrace George Lomas, Regional Project Manager, MoTH, Terrace Sgt. Ralph Edwards, Smithers Detachment, RCMP Gil Cobb, Acting Director of Engineering, Town of Smithers Jan McKay, Recording Secretary, Town of Smithers Reg Fredrickson, District Highways Manager, MoTH, Smithers Matthew Rabbetts, Planner, Delcan Mike Skene, Urban Transportation Specialist, ICBC Brian Northup, Mayor, Town of Smithers Wallace Mah, Administrator, Town of Smithers Part A 1) Introductions of all those present. 2) Meeting Introduction. W. Mah thanked everyone for attending the meeting today. thanked M. Skene for heading the partnership program. acknowledged that ICBC has made a great effort to work with municipalities. this pilot project involves the Ministry of Transportation and Highways, ICBC, and the Town of Smithers. M. Skene the partnership developed in June 1998. the purpose of the meeting is to share the concepts which have been developed, to encourage information sharing by the group, and for discussion. is interested in feedback from the group, based on local experience and knowledge. 3) Agenda Mike Skene distributed the agenda for today s meeting.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 2 4) Background: M. Skene gave a slide presentation, as a quick introduction into the program. explained that he had the assistance of Mavis Johnson (who is in charge of the whole ICBC road improvement program) and Matthew Rabbetts of Delcan. Mike handed out packages containing copies of the overheads used in today s presentation, as well as drawings/cross sections. Part B 1) Overall Corridor Issues: The gateways (speed reduction areas) are the culvert at Chicken Creek and from 16 th Avenue to 19 th Avenue (from the Ford Dealership to Alberta St.). B. Northup asked why Mike did not include Tatlow Road. M. Skene he did take a look at it he wanted to define Urban vs. Rural no good reason why really 2) Frontage Road: M. Skene intersection at Frontage Road (where) is sub-standard. It is too close to the highway intersection and causes a backup of traffic. Not much can be done about the problem. noted that the curb and gutter on both sides of the Frontage Road do not show on the drawing. B. Northup 4 wood stave drainage culvert exists west of Queen Street between Tim Hortons and the Aspen Motor Inn. A. Howard would the Frontage Road go behind the Central Park Building (museum)? M. Skene that s the recommendation D. Fisher why curb and gutter both sides? M. Skene for pedestrian safety and to provide the urban element. M. Skene we did not consider any dollar values when drafting this report.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 3 3) East and West Gateway Treatment: Westbound Gateway: Gateways mark the speed transition areas. Recommended treatment is coloured asphalt. R. Fredrickson Is the colour infused or painted? M. Rabbetts In England they use colour which is infused into the asphalt. B. Northup asked about the Willowvale pedestrian road M. Skene redesign of perimeter pathway necessary. M. Skene explained that a more confined visual area reduces speeding by drivers Eastbound Gateway: M. Skene an encroachment into that 3.5 m area by.5 m on either side R. Fredrickson explained that a new bike path has been developed, which follows the railway track. It was felt that a bike path, along the highway, was not feasible. M. Skene asked if the 11m on the drawing represented proposed curb or edge of asphalt. B. Northup the golf course intersection is very busy Sgt. Edwards then put in a turning lane M. Skene you must decide where you want the 50 kmp to begin R. Fredrickson the highway there is now 3.7 m from the yellow line to the white fog line A. Howard there is not enough room (for bike lane???) B. Northup there would only be enough room, if culvert head walls were raised M. Skene we re narrowing it from 3.7 m to 3.5 m R. Fredrickson I cannot comment - we would need an engineer s report.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 4 D. Fisher what do you mean by slightly-raised median? How much? M. Skene not very much, just a slight slope. R. Fredrickson winter maintenance is a concern, if you have it raised M. Skene use a painted, solid, 1 m centre line. Narrow the lane using painted markings, to achieve urban treatment. 4) Alberta Street Intersection M. Skene it is very dangerous to have a crosswalk with multi-lane traffic. we propose to shorten the crosswalk and provide a refuge (delta island) for pedestrians. we are trying to eliminate 2 through lanes crossing Alberta St. have modified it for large trucks turning includes forced right turn only onto Alberta St. R. Fredrickson that s a short distance. There will be lots of jockeying going on. D. Fisher a bike lane here is not a good idea M. Skene a bike lane would be on both the Frontage Road and the Highway. You cannot ban bicyclists from the highway. They have a right to be there. the 11 m cross section is too wide for 2 lanes of traffic. Bike lanes would use up some of that. B. Northup we could encourage bicyclists to use the Frontage Road, rather than the highway in this area. M. Skene amendment needed to Frontage Road drawing to include bike paths. B. Northup 4 lanes back to the bridge would accommodate traffic M. Skene if we have better management of traffic in the corridor, volumes wouldn t matter as much. The formula: 700 vehicles per hour, in peak hours, can be accommodated by one lane. Once you have 1,000 vehicles per hour, problems may occur. D. Fisher Historical information of volumes in that area are available. B. Northup expressed concern about removing merge lane, south side of Alberta St. He believes it should remain to prevent backlog of traffic.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 5 R. Fredrickson school students have worn a path halfway in the block. Thought has been given to moving the crosswalk mid-block. M. Skene The suggestion to move the crosswalk mid-block would make it safer for kids. It offers a safe refuge. Pedestrians would just be dealing with one direction of traffic at a time. R. Fredrickson there is very little pedestrian traffic at that crosswalk, aside from students who use it. B. Northup in favour of the move to mid-block. M. Skene merging to one lane can cause problems at the crosswalk. B. Northup we need to work jointly (Town of Smithers and MoTH) on a plan to resolve the misalignment problem on Fulton Ave. The west side of Alberta St. would have to be widened. The problem is not as bad as at 16 th Ave. R. Fredrickson in agreement with Mayor Northup. R. Fredrickson asked that George Lomas, Regional Project Manager, MoTH, Terrace be given an opportunity to speak to the group during the lunch break. The Smithers Corridor project would be his assignment. G. Lomas the design money for curb and gutter is available wants to complement, not conflict with, the group assembled here M. Skene we want to coordinate with George. Dave Fisher is our link to do that. M. Skene When asked when he will back off the project: once he is assured that the concepts have been endorsed by MoTH and the Town of Smithers. he will assist in public meetings R. Fredrickson what comes out of this planning study, will be plugged directly in to our design our project may kick in very quickly (the design portion). If we get design funding from T.F.A. (the banker) we still have to get construction funding and approval. M. Skene if costs go beyond normal, ICBC will look at that. This is a funding partnership.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 6 B. Northup we have been working on Highway 16 reconstruction since 1979. Tatlow Road has always been a concern 16 th Avenue is now a concern because of the Willowvale Subdivision start we need to know dollar amounts in order to go to the Electors in a referendum. There are other issues, but Highway 16 is the #1 concern in this community. We can t exceed the dollar figure presented at the time of referendum. When would Class A estimates be done? G. Lomas complete detail design would be completed approximately the end of November 1999. B. Northup that is a good time, as it coincides with the referendum date at election time (Nov. 20/99). Town budget is adopted May 15 th. G. Lomas suggested that we continue to seek provincial support by lobbying our MLA M. Skene the time delay won t be a hindrance to me - I won t lose any mileage on public relations. Both reports (to Council and to Mavis) will be marketed to other communities. my term is done this year at the next meeting, I will put forward Draft Recommendations. R. Fredrickson that complements our program very well. 5) King/Main/Queen Intersections: M. Skene the Main Street intersection needs to be a significant intersection. We recommend a crosswalk similar to the one at Alberta Street, with down lighting and back lighting. Mike Skene presented 5 scenarios for consideration. Scenario #1 would: ban westbound left turns, onto Main St. have crosswalk moved to the east side of Main Street allow for more landscaping
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 7 Response to Scenario #1: Mayor Northup was not in favour of banning westbound left turns onto Main Street from the highway. He would prefer that left turns from off Main Street be banned instead. (option #2). J. Malcolm pointed out that the busier stores are on the west side and perhaps the crosswalk should remain there. He then asked about having two crosswalks. M. Skene explained that this wouldn t work because pedestrian safety would be at risk. Drivers would become frustrated and wouldn t stop. This only works in cases where there are signal lights. Scenario #2 would: ban westbound left turns from Main St. to the Highway. have the crosswalk remain on the west side of Main St. Response to Scenario #2: Mayor Northup said that the Mohawk station access would be in conflict with the crosswalk. R. Fredrickson said that business owners would have to be approached, in order to achieve controlled access. Scenario #3 would: offset north Main from south Main - right turn in / right turn out reduce conflicts in traffic flow by moving north Main St. it would allow for more useable land Response to Scenario #3: D. Fisher said that the Frontage Road should connect throughout. M. Skene said that he hasn t looked at the details of how that would be accomplished. The basic principle is that they re all connected. Scenario #4 would: provide a roundabout at Main Street and removal all signals at King/Queen. Response to Scenario #4: did not meet with much enthusiasm M. Skene said that roundabouts are safer than signalized intersections with low volumes of traffic. They can outlive their usefulness as traffic increases. The City of Edmonton has eliminated most of their roundabouts. Scenario #5 would: provide roundabouts at King & Queen allow for a median extended through Main St. intersection Response to Scenario #5: This scenario met with very little enthusiasm.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 8 B. Northup Scenario 2 is the most saleable option. we would increase the size of the island W. Mah King St. traffic flow would have to be addressed if you take away access to Main St. G. Cobb the new post office is being built at King and 3 rd. A. Howard what about Super Valu access? D. Fisher wherever you try to put the access, it would cut across one of the two left lane tapers. M. Skene access management - this is when public participation kicks in. The fewer accesses, the better. M. Skene the decisions made in the past, with regard to accesses, were not made with safety in mind, but were commercially-oriented. B. Northup Re King St. and Queen St. - it is the Town s plan to have 2 lanes straight through, left and right. M. Skene Does the group want me to pursue any other scenarios besides Scenario #2? The group did not have any other scenarios which they wished pursued M. Skene it looks like #2 is the favourite - with some island modifications. call or write if you have other matters to discuss. Part C Mike Skene asked everyone present to read the draft policies contained at the end of the handout. He would like feedback on the policies, so that they can then be refined. Mayor Northup said that he will set up a Committee of the Whole meeting to go through the policies and will invite Sgt. Edwards to the meeting. Part D M. Skene will send out a package to everyone, showing the Alberta Street pedestrian crossing at mid-block. hopes to have the final report done in November to bring to Council.
Smithers Progress Meeting of Sept. 2/98 Page 9 Concluding Remarks: more detail will be done on the Frontage Road; we can flesh it out more we can look at continuity of Frontage Road, in a broad-brush manner, giving potential options we will comment in a general way on Willowvale re network/connections. Mike Skene will put a summary together of today s meeting. As well, minutes will be circulated.