City of Birmingham AD HOC RAIL DISTRICT COMMITTEE Monday, Meeting 3 p.m. City Commission Room 151 Martin St., Birmingham, Michigan MINUTES These are the minutes for the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee meeting held on Monday,. The meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m. by Chairperson Janelle Whipple-Boyce. A. ROLL CALL Present: Also Present: Absent: Administration: Chairperson Janelle Whipple-Boyce Vice-Chairman Larry Bertollini Cynthia Chiara (arrived at 3:15 p.m.) Lara Edwards Lisa Krueger Mike Labadie from Fleis & Vandenbrink ( F&V ),Transportation Engineering Consultants Vera Rizer, Big Rock Restaurant Norman LePage Michael Steinberger Sean Campbell, Asst. Planner Brooks Cowan, Asst. Planner Jana Ecker, Planning Director Paul O'Meara, City Engineer Carole Salutes, Recording Secretary B. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 31, 2016 Motion by Mr. Bertollini Seconded by Ms. Krueger to approve the Minutes of the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee Meeting of August 31, 2016 as presented. Motion carried, 4-0.
Page 2 of 7 VOICE VOTE: Yeas: Bertollini, Krueger, Edwards, Whipple-Boyce Nays: None Absent: Chiara, LePage, Steinberger C. CHAIRPERSON'S COMMENTS Chairperson Whipple-Boyce thanked the staff for the good and thorough report they have submitted. D. REVIEW OF THE AGENDA (no changes) E. PARKING AND INTERSECTION ANALYSIS REPORT Ms. Ecker recalled on January 11, 2016, the City Commission established the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee to study existing and future conditions and to develop a recommended plan to address parking, planning and multi-modal issues in the Rail District and along S. Eton Road. Based on the Committee s direction, the findings outlined in the consultant s report, and the input of the public, a draft of the Ad Hoc Rail District Report requested by the City Commission has been prepared for the Committee's review and comment. Consistent with the direction of the City Commission, it is anticipated that this report will be forwarded to the City Commission for their review at their December 12, 2016 meeting. The conclusions of this Parking Study and Pedestrian Improvement Analysis are as follows: 1. In the north zone, off-street and on-street (non-residential) parking demand is high and the existing spill over parking is impacting Yosemite Boulevard and Villa Road. 2. In the south zone, most off-street parking is at capacity during the weekday, daytime hours but is not significantly impacting the on-street (non-residential and residential) parking. 3. Parking demand at the Whistle Stop, Bolyard Lumbar, and various businesses in the south zone provide an opportunity for shared parking agreements during the nights and on weekends. 4. Lincoln has ample on-street (non-residential) parking supply and could be utilized for future development of the Rail District. 5. Pedestrian improvements recommended by the Ad Hoc Rail District Commission were analyzed and the following are feasible: a. Installation of a splitter island on South Eton St. at Maple Rd.;
Page 3 of 7 b. Widening the sidewalk on west side of South Eton St. at Maple Rd.; c. Installing bump-outs and a curb extension on S. Eton St. at Bowers Rd. and several other intersections along the corridor in order to narrow down S. Eton St., slow down the traffic, and provide a shorter crossing for pedestrians. d. Streetscape improvements and community signage throughout the district with an emphasis on S. Eton St. and the northern and southern boundaries. Mr. Bertollini had concerns with the splitter island because it seems to be an awkward maneuver compared to what it is now for large trucks and for making a left turn heading west. Ms. Ecker advised that the traffic consultants have run the analysis to make sure that it can work. Traffic will be forced to slow down. Mr. Bertollini wanted to see a diagram added that depicts how the radius works driving eastbound on Maple Rd., turning right and heading south. It was discussed that the number of residential parkers appear to be negligible on the streets that are not permit parking only. Ms. Ecker noted there is not a parking issue on the residential streets that are left without permit parking. F. REVIEW OF DRAFT REPORT TO THE CITY COMMISSION Ms. Ecker noted that this Committee has been meeting over the past ten months. Their first task was to set up their goals and objectives which are to look at this district in a way that will make it better for all users. Mr. Campbell reviewed existing plans for the Rail District which are the Eton Rd. Corridor Plan (adopted in 1999) and the Multi-Modal Transportation Plan (adopted in 2013). Many of their recommendations have already been implemented. On their second meeting, the Committee conducted a walking tour that started with the viaduct at E. Maple Rd./S. Eton Rd. in the northern-most part of the study area and headed south, ending at S. Eton and Melton and then back to the starting point. Using their feedback from the tour, the Committee created general concepts demonstrating what improvements could be made at the various intersections. Ms. Chiara did not see any mention in the report with respect to the intersection of S. Eton Rd. and Sheffield. The map stops at Melton. Chairperson Whipple- Boyce noted the Committee didn't walk all the way down to Fourteen Mile Rd. However, Ms. Ecker thought the Sheffield intersection could be entered into the
Page 4 of 7 concepts considered within the study area. Even though the group didn't walk there they did talk about it. They noted the intersections there are extremely wide and not pedestrian friendly. Drivers cannot see the stop signs because of the configuration there. Consensus was that whatever is done at that intersection should be addressed in the same manner all the way from Lincoln south to Fourteen Mile Rd. Discussion turned to the intersection of Maple Rd./S. Eton Rd. The Committee had discussed talking to the condo owners on the west side of Eton Rd. to see if it would be possible to cut into the hill in order to improve the intersection. Ms. Ecker said that would be extremely difficult and expensive to implement. She thought the intersection improvement that F&V suggested accomplishes that without cutting into the hill and it would not require the purchase of additional land. Chairperson Whipple-Boyce pointed out it would be very complicated for the City to acquire private property for the improvement. However, consensus was to add language to concepts considered within the study area that the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee discussed potentially purchasing property on the SW corner of the intersection to carve out a pedestrian plaza or larger pedestrian area at the corner to enhance the safety and comfort of pedestrians. Further, consider improvements to the viaduct, specifically cleaning, painting and lighting. Chairperson Whipple-Boyce made the following changes: In the Traffic section on page 9, change "from Fourteen Mile to Lincoln" to "from Lincoln to Fourteen Mile. On that same page under Bicycles, third bullet point, insert "pedestrian area on" in front of "the southwest corner..." Under Parking, note that on-street parking is an issue between Sheffield and Fourteen Mile. On page 13, stop 17, change the bullet point to say "Inefficient use of parking around Down River Refrigeration." On page 16, S. Eton and Bowers Intersection, on the east side of S. Eton in front of Griffin Claw add that there is potential to add more street trees and plantings on the large bump-out. Acknowledge that the treatment should be accent materials with a different texture or color, but do not specifically call out brick pavers. Mr. Bertollini noted there is a high traffic egress area near DPS and the lighting is poor. Mr. Cowan took up the subject of parking. Staff was asked to do a parking inventory and he explained how the study was made. The parcel in front of Bolyard Lumber containing 15 spaces is owned by the City but no spaces were being used at 6 p.m. on Friday night. On the island in front of Bolyard Lumber, three or four more spaces could be squeezed in. Staff saw this as a potential
Page 5 of 7 opportunity to add signage saying the spaces are owned by the City. The southern end of S. Eton Rd. clears out around 5 p.m. and the north area starts to fill. Below a third of the spaces in the Big Rock garage were being used after 5 p.m. They counted 941 parking spaces on-street and 1,539 spots in the private lots. Staff was then asked to do a build-out analysis to project future parking if the entire corridor was built out to the new MX standards which allow four-story, mixed-use buildings. Given what is allowed to be built and the parking requirements for this area, the Committee decided they liked a 30% future buildout rate because there will probably be a mixture of one-story buildings and four story mixed-use buildings. Currently any property that is re-developed must provide parking on-site. They cannot maximize and go up the full four stories and take up the whole lot because there wouldn't be enough room to provide parking. The following recommendations are offered by the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee: Improve pedestrian crossings Construct possible bump-out locations throughout the study area. Further study by professionals is required. Add more paint to the roads to make drivers aware of pedestrian crossings. Possible bump-out locations should extend all the way down to Fourteen Mile Rd. Further study is required. Intersection improvements at Maple Rd. and S. Eton St. Install a splitter island at the crosswalk at St. Eton St. and Maple Rd., widen the sidewalk on the west side of S. Eton St., restripe S. Eton St. to realign lanes, and add enhanced crosswalk markings. Accommodate bicycling on S. Eton St. Add a bike lane or sharrows and buffers to S. Eton St. The Committee considered three design options: o Design Option 1: Add 7 ft. southbound bike lane - 3 ft. buffer - 2 x 10 ft. driving lanes - 10 ft. parking space. Remove on-street parking on west side of S. Eton. o Design Option 2: Add 5 ft. southbound bike lane - 2 x 10 ft. driving lanes - 5 ft. northbound bike lane - 3 ft. buffer - 7 ft. parking space. Remove on-street parking on west side of S. Eton.
Page 6 of 7 o Four committee members preferred Design Option 3: Mark 7 ft. parking space - 3 ft. buffer - 2 x 10 ft. driving lane - 3 ft. buffer - 7 ft. parking space. One member preferred Design Option 2 or 3. Design Option 3 was preferred because of the existing two toned pavement, the desire to keep parking on the west side of S. Eton, and the flexibility of incorporating bump out curbs throughout the corridor. The consensus of the committee was that future paving should be one material, not a split line between asphalt and concrete. South of Lincoln, maintain the sharrow recommendation. Parking should be accommodated where possible. Bump-outs should be provided at intersections identified south of Lincoln. Encourage shared parking Encourage shared parking in the district by providing the zoning incentives to properties and/or businesses that record a shared parking agreement. Incentives could include parking reductions, setback reductions, height bonuses, landscape credits, or similar offers. Make some changes to the Zoning Ordinance that would make it easier to get shared parking approved. Encourage shared parking signage. Add wayfinding signage Install gateway signage at the north and south ends of the study area and install wayfinding signage throughout the Rail District to direct people to destinations and parking. Comments were taken from the public at 4:48 p.m. Ms. Marcie Hensley, 1999 Hazel, explained she backs out of her driveway onto Eton St. That intersection is always very busy. She inquired how bump-outs slow traffic and encouraged the use of rapid flash beacon signs that warn people to slow down. Ms. Ecker responded that bump-outs narrow the road and slow traffic. A bump-out will move the parked car further from her driveway and provide higher visibility. Mr. Doug Parker, 548 Grayton, echoed the comment that the Eton St./Hazel intersection is very busy and it is difficult to pull out onto Eton St. because of the way traffic backs up.
Page 7 of 7 Ms. Ecker referred to communications she received from Michael Surnow, Michael Steinberger, Jay Yaldoo, and Michael Kopmeyer. These were entered into the record. Motion by Mr. Bertollini Seconded by Ms. Chiara to recommend to the City Commission approval of the Ad Hoc Rail District Committee Report with the changes as noted today. No one in the audience wished to speak about the motion at 5:20 p.m. Motion carried, 4-1. ROLLCALL VOTE: Yeas: Edwards, Chiara, Krueger, Whipple-Boyce Nays: Bertollini Absent: LePage, Steinberger G. MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (no one spoke) I. MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS (none) J. ADJOURNMENT No further business being evident, meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jana Ecker Planning Director