Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee
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AGENDA ITEM D-1 Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES - DRAFT Date: 8/30/2018 Time: 6:30 p.m. Belle Haven School 415 Ivy Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 Meeting notes taken by the consultant team are attached to these minutes (Attachment). A. Call to Order Oversight and Outreach Committee (Committee) Co-Chair Keith called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. B. Roll Call Present: Diane Bailey (late arrival), Andrew Barnes, Chris DeCardy (late arrival), Kirsten Keith, Adina Levin (late arrival), Henry Riggs, Sarah Staley Shenk, Katherine Strehl, Jen Wolosin Absent: Catherine Carlton, Jacqueline Cebrian City Staff: Kristiann Choy, Kevin Chen, Alex Skoch Consultant Staff: Mark Spencer, Nick Bleich, Andre Huff, Jeff Knowles, Katharine Pan, Kacy Wilson, Katie DeLeuw C. Public Comment • Pamela Jones requested that the Transportation Management Plan (TMP) be connected to the Belle Haven Traffic Calming Plan. D. Regular Business D1. Approve the Oversight and Outreach Committee meeting minutes of May 30, 2018 The Committee discussed converting to summary minutes. ACTION: Motion and second (Wolosin/Barnes) to approve the Oversight and Outreach Committee meeting minutes of May 30, 2018. The motion passed (3-2-1-5; Strehl/Shenk abstained, Riggs dissented, Bailey/Carlton/Cebrian/DeCardy/Levin absent,). D2. Present project overview and introduce open house meeting format Committee members Bailey/DeCardy/Levin arrived during agenda item D2. • Sheryl Bims commented that the Transportation Impact Fee (TIF) should be related to the location of development and the improvements funded by the program. Bims also spoke on traffic calming measures to be included in the TMP and the need for the Safe Routes to School program to include the Belle Haven neighborhood. City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 www.menlopark.org Draft Minutes Page 2 Staff and Consultant made the presentation (Attachment). The Committee discussed adding an additional meeting and to agenize larger city-wide issues that might not be caught in the three subarea meetings. They also discussed the TIF program, including program fee amount, projects that will be funded through the program, correlation of the fee program to the TMP. D3. Commence open house Meeting attendees broke to participate in an open house (Attachment). D4. Review of draft recommendations for North Area of Menlo Park Consultant made the presentation (Attachment). The Committee discussed recommendations and strategies for Bayfront Expressway, the Dumbarton corridor and intersection of Bayfront Expressway and Willow Road. • Bernardo Huerta described the importance of bringing the TMP strategies and recommendations to East Palo Alto. • Romain Taniere emphasized the importance of discussing the recommendations on University Avenue and Willow Road with East Palo Alto city staff and residents, as they would be impacted. • Pamela Jones concurred that East Palo Alto should be part of the discussions, and stated that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is not concerned with the communities affected by nearby projects. • Cecelia Taylor suggested Caltrans be present in the meetings and active in the TMP process moving forward. The Committee discussed their role. They considered cost options and analysis as well alternate bike lane and pedestrian options for the draft recommendations. The Committee directed staff to provide more analysis on the Willow Road project. They also recommended that coordination with Caltrans and adjacent jurisdictions is crucial. D5. Discuss schedule and next steps The Committee discussed the process for submitting feedback and requested that staff receive questions and comments in order to draft the response. They also requested that evaluations be conducted on Bayfront Expressway onto Willow Road for a no-left turn and improvement suggestions for the Dumbarton and 101 area. The Committee sought clarity on the decision-making process for removing or adding projects to the TMP, Wednesday, September 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. E. Adjournment Co-Chair Keith adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p.m. City of Menlo Park 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park, CA 94025 tel 650-330-6600 www.menlopark.org ATTACHMENT A Menlo Park Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee Meeting – Aug. 30, 2018 Belle Haven School, 415 Ivy Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 Meeting Summary - Draft Meeting Attendance: OOC Present: Diane Bailey (late arrival), Andrew Barnes, Chris DeCardy (late arrival), Kirsten Keith, Adina Levin (late arrival), Henry Riggs, Sarah Staley Shenk, Katherine Strehl, Jen Wolosin OOC Absent: Catherine Carlton, Jacqueline Cebrian City Staff: Kristiann Choy, Kevin Chen, Alex Skoch Consultant Staff: Mark Spencer, Nick Bleich, Andre Huff, Jeff Knowles, Katharine Pan, Kacy Wilson, Katie DeLeuw Public Comment Pamela Jones requested that the Transportation Management Plan (TMP) to be connected to the Belle Haven Traffic Calming Plan. Approve the minutes from the previous meeting The OOC discussed the minutes presented for approval. Riggs and Keith requested that the minutes be more detailed to make sure input from OOC members is tracked appropriately. Wolosin made a motion to approve the Oversight and Outreach Committee meeting minutes of May 30, 2018. Barnes seconded the motion. The motion passed (3-2-1-5; Strehl/Shenk abstained, Riggs dissented, Bailey/Carlton/Cebrian/DeCardy/Levin were absent. Present project overview and introduce open house meeting format Choy, City of Menlo Park, provided an introductory presentation, including background information on the City’s General Plan - ConnectMenlo, the purpose and goals of the TMP, and the importance of updating the Transportation Impact Fee (TIF). She also discussed the work completed so far, and explained the next step of developing a scoring system based on the prioritization criteria. Comments the OOC provided on the prioritization criteria in May will be addressed when the scoring system is developed. Spencer, TMP consultant team, provided an overview of the strategies and recommendations for the TMP. He described the studies the team has completed, and their initial focus on four high priority, major corridors for improvement: Bayfront Expressway, Willow Road, El Camino Real, and Sand Hill Road. In the Strategies and Recommendations Working Paper, the team identified 173 recommendations through data, analysis and outreach conducted last fall 2017. Examples of these recommendations (e.g. curb bulbs) are shown in the Transportation toolkit. OOC Discussion Strehl, OOC, asked if there would be any presentations during the meeting on recommendations Willow Road from Bayfront Expressway to Middlefield Road. Spencer responded that more information on this area would be provided at the Sept. 5, 2018 meeting, but information on all three subareas is included in distributed materials. Keith requested printed reports for all OOC committee members. Barnes, OOC, requested a hard copy of the recommendations for the North Area of Menlo Park before Labor Day. Wolosin, OOC, inquired whether a fourth meeting could be considered, to discuss larger city-wide issues that might not be caught in the three subarea meetings. The OOC discussed the TIF program update, including the following questions: o Barnes inquired whether fees would increase, about what the reasoning is behind changes to the TIF, and how fee changes are measured. o Strehl followed up with question about whether the TIF would take old projects into account, and if there has to be a direct correlation between the development and the project. o Riggs asked about what projects are funded through the TIF, such as repaving Middlefield or repairing sidewalks. o Spencer explained that fee changes be determined based on cost estimates for all projects that are recommended in the final TMP. The TIF will take new projects from the TMP into account, as well as previous projects that are already part of the current TIF program. While different metrics may be used to determine fees, fees generally don’t decrease when TIFs are being updated. Fees are usually based on the number of anticipated new trips generated by a development, and the prioritization of needs to address, but different metrics can be used. o Choy responded that projects funded through the TIF must already be identified as part of the TIF program. General maintenance is not part of the program. Repairs to existing sidewalks are being funded through a separate process, although the TIF could fund sidewalk expansions or widening if identified through the TMP. Levin, OOC, requested clarification on how the TMP and TIF funding program correlate. She asked if TMP projects would be eligible for the TIF funding program, if the TMP would allow for needs not funded by the current TIF program to be funded in the future, and if those would include operational expenses (e.g., shuttle funding). o Choy responded that yes, local and regional improvements would be eligible for the TIF funding program. o Spencer responded that operational expenses, like the shuttle, would not be directly funded by the TIF program, but that the shuttle could be funded by a transportation demand management (TDM) program. TIF funds are more likely to be used for infrastructure and other physical projects. Public Comment City of Menlo Park – Transportation Master Plan Page 2 of 5 Oversight and Outreach Committee / August 30, 2018, Meeting Summary Sheryl Bims, Belle Haven resident, provided the following comments: o In relation to the TIF, it is important to find a direct correlation between the location of a development that would be subject to the TIF program, and the improvements funded by the program. o All forms of traffic calming measures should be deployed equitably by the TMP. o Safe Routes to School program improvements have not been proposed in Belle Haven. Bims requested documentation on past recommendations and improvements that have been made to Belle Haven. o Bims expressed gratitude for Menlo Park staff raising Belle Haven residents’ concerns to the Menlo Park City Council in December 2017.