AGENDA #2b

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:            Public Forum on Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2000-2001

DATE:             October 23, 2000

This Public Forum has been scheduled to receive public input on the development of a proposed Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2000-2001. 

In this memorandum, we provide the Council with four options for establishing sidewalk priorities.  We would appreciate direction and guidance from the Council on these options to rank sidewalk priorities.  Our preliminary recommendation is that the Council adopt the Option 2 system for prioritizing the list of sidewalk projects, which would revise the ranking system to adjust “Citizen Requests” and increase emphasis on “Missing Links.”  We also recommend that the Council refer all comments received at tonight’s forum to the Manager for a follow-up report to the Council at its November 13 meeting, with a final recommendation for construction of sidewalk and bicycle facilities, including cost estimates.

INTRODUCTION

This memorandum proposes a system for ranking sidewalk facility priorities, and provides an update on the status of the Town’s sidewalk construction program.  Funding sources include the 2000-2001 Capital Improvements Program and 1996 Bond funding.  As of July 1, $200,000 is available for new projects in fiscal year 2000-2001 (please see Attachment 1.) 

BACKGROUND

A chronology of recent actions regarding sidewalks is attached (Attachment 2).  On July 7, 1999, the Council approved funding to construct the following projects:

·        High School Road, between Seawell School Rd and Homestead Rd; (by Town forces); and

·        Weaver Dairy Rd, asphalt path from Kingston Dr to Cedar Fork Trail (by Contract).

The new Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board began work in July 1999 to provide focus on bicycle and pedestrian issues, in general, and to serve as a central clearing house for pedestrian and bicycle issues in order to coordinate sidewalk and bikeway facilities planning.  One of the charges of this new Board is to recommend walk and bikeway priorities for local, State, and Federal projects.  In June 2000, the Council directed staff to work with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board to:

1. Review the existing sidewalk priority system and suggest revisions, if necessary;
2. Create a priority system for bicycle facilities planning;
3. Create a list of needed sidewalk and bicycle facilities; and
4. Make recommendations to the Council for spending available funds.

SIDEWALKS UPDATE

Using the Town's construction crew, we completed construction of the following sidewalk projects during the 1999-2000 fiscal year:

·        Piney Mountain Road, at intersection of Eastwood Drive;

·        Old Oxford Road, between Elliott Road and the Oxford Hills Subdivision;

·        Roberson Street, sections along a 100-foot stretch between Cameron Avenue and West Franklin Street;

·        Willow Drive, between Fordham Boulevard and Booker Creek Bridge; and

·        Longview Drive, between Clark Road and Airport Road.

The construction crew also completed two downtown Streetscape projects, as well as miscellaneous repair and replacement of sidewalk and curb and gutter Town-wide.

The following project was completed by contract during the 1999-2000 fiscal year:

·        Kingston Drive, between Cedar Lane and Kingston Court;

The following projects are in progress:

Raleigh Road/Cameron Avenue

Final construction plans were approved by North Carolina Department of Transportation.  Both projects are being managed in-house.  The Council awarded the contracts for both projects at its meeting on June 26, 2000.  Construction has begun on the Cameron Avenue sidewalk. Construction is expected to begin this fall on the Raleigh Road sidewalk.

Weaver Dairy Road

The Weaver Dairy Road project to construct a meandering 5-foot wide asphalt path between Kingston Drive and Cedar Fork Trail is in design.  Preliminary designs have been sent to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.  We are currently in discussions with NCDOT to seek an encroachment agreement, needed to allow this project to move forward.

High School Road

The Town is developing construction plans for approval by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.  Construction of the sidewalk by Town forces is anticipated to begin this fall.  

BICYCLE FACILITIES UPDATE

The Lower Booker Creek project is moving forward with a total budget of $651,749.  This 10-foot wide asphalt trail will extend from Booker Creek Road to Franklin Street.  Phase I consisted of renovation of the existing trail that connects Tadley Drive with Daley Street.  Phase II will include construction of new trail, a pedestrian crossing at Franklin Street, and sidewalks.  The Council awarded the contract for this project, and construction is underway.

FUNDING

There is $200,000 available in funds for new sidewalk and bikeway projects for the 2000-2001 fiscal year. (Please see Attachment 1 for chart summarizing available funding.) 

Capital Improvements Program:  The Town Council has allocated funds each year in the Capital Improvements Program for installing new, or improving existing, sidewalks and for bicycle improvements.  The 2000-2001 Capital Improvements Program allocates $100,000 for new sidewalk and bicycle projects. 

1996 Bonds:  $100,000 is available from the second allocation of this bond fund during this fiscal year. 

CONSTRUCTION CREW

For fiscal year 2000-2001, we estimate the Town’s construction crew can complete approximately 4100 linear feet of sidewalks or curb and gutter, and 500 linear feet of streetscape improvements.  The Town's construction crew is anticipated to begin work this fall on the High School Road project (2400 linear feet of sidewalk and base preparation for contract curb/gutter).  The construction crew also is scheduled to install curb and gutter (~200’) along a section of Starlite Drive for which Community Development Block Grants funds were approved.  We estimate that the crew will replace 400’ of sidewalk and curb/gutter this fiscal year (195’ to-date), excluding annual streetscape improvements. 

Taking these current projects into account, there is approximately 1,100 linear feet of either sidewalk or curb/gutter improvements, excluding streetscape, available for additional in-house project assignments.  It has been the Council’s practice to authorize sidewalk projects that are constructed by both contractors and our in-house crew, as long as project funds are available.  This practice enables us to fully utilize the in-house crew, thus achieving cost savings, while at the same time proceeding with larger projects that are more effectively completed by a private contractor.  Under State Law the Town can build projects with its own work force as long as the entire cost of the project does not exceed $175,000, or the cost of labor alone does not exceed $75,000. 

SUMMARY OF BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN

ADVISORY BOARD REPORT

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board made its report to the Council on September 11, 2000 (Attachment 3).  The Board recommended that funding from the Capital Improvements Program and Bond Fund be used to install bicycle racks on all Chapel Hill Transit buses, on all routes, and that any remaining funds be used to install sidewalks according to the priorities outlined in their memorandum.

The Board initially discussed revisions to the sidewalk project ranking criteria but did not have a final recommendation.  The board then voted for their top choices from the sidewalk list. 

As the top priority for construction, the Board recommends Ransom Street, between Cameron and McCauley Streets.  The Board’s 2^nd Tier recommendation includes two projects to construct sidewalk along Fordham Boulevard.  The Sidewalk Gap Group (includes 6 sidewalks), which was presented to the Council at a February budget work session as a top priority for funding, also appears in the Third Tier of the board’s recommendations. 

The Council referred the Board's recommendations to the Manager for review of options, including options developed by applying the Council’s previously adopted criteria. 

SIDEWALK FACILITY PRIORITIES

In this section, we compare the current ranking system with options for revising the system.

Current Ranking System (Option 1)

In recent years, the Council has adopted a ranking system for sidewalk projects that is based on points assigned to a number of factors, including existing conditions, project length, proximity to pedestrian generators, and other issues.  Points are assigned to each project on the list of possible sidewalk projects.  Projects are then ranked and grouped together according to their score. 

In 1997 and 1998, the Council expressed its desire to see the ranking system revised in order to reflect citizen requests, and to better reflect the importance of making connections in the sidewalk network.  The current ranking system, adopted by the Council in June 1998 and again in July 1999, reflects these changes and is included as Attachment 4.  This ranking system emphasizes improvements on streets with lower speed limits, such as neighborhood streets.

In addition to the ranking criteria, in past years, the Council has also considered sidewalk projects in light of the following factors (although no specific points were assigned):

·        Significant safety issues;

·        Recognition of community wide needs in concert with fiscal constraints;

·        Reasonableness of costs compared to benefit attained;

·        Efficient coordination of resources when other construction projects are underway;

·        Consideration of prior commitments;

·        Contributions of funds from an outside source to help defray costs; and

·        Distribution of funding throughout the Town.

Using the current system for ranking priorities, the list of sidewalk projects evaluated for construction is attached (part of Attachment 4).  These sidewalk projects include: 

·        projects that have been previously approved by the Council;

·        projects listed as alternatives in prior year sidewalk lists;

·        projects suggested by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board (includes the Sidewalk Gap Group);

·        projects requested by citizens; and

·        projects suggested by staff based on observed needs.

Citizen requests, both for new and previously proposed sidewalk projects, received since July 1999 are also attached (please see Attachment 7).

We have developed options for the Council’s consideration that include three possible modifications to the ranking criteria.  These options incorporate ideas suggested during discussions by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.

Revision to Change “Citizen Requests” & “Missing Links” (Option 2)

This option (Attachment 5) includes two modifications to the ranking criteria.  The “Citizen Requests” category would be subdivided so that it recognizes varying levels of citizen input.  This option would also increase emphasis on the “Missing Links” category to focus on the need to fill gaps in existing facilities. 

Revision to Change “Citizen Requests,” “Missing Links” & “Speed Limits” (Option 3)

This option would include the two changes suggested in Option 2, plus a change to the “Speed Limits” category to focus on the less than ideal conditions for pedestrians that can result from the mixture of higher speeds and steady foot traffic.  (Please see Attachment 6)

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Recommendation (Option 4)

This option would focus on the top 10 projects recommended by the board, as outlined in their September 11 report to the Council (see Attachment 3).  The board used the ranking system as a starting point for discussion, and then voted for their top choices from the sidewalk list. 

The chart below summarizes the top ten sidewalk priorities generated by the different options presented above:

BICYCLE FACILITY PRIORITIES

Currently, the Town does not have a ranking system for prioritizing bicycle projects.  In its report to the Council on September 11^th, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board recommended one bicycle facility project:

·        Install bicycle racks on all Chapel Hill Transit buses, on all routes. 

This would cost approximately $30,000.  We recommend that the Town Council consider funding this project with Transportation funds.  We will bring a separate report to the Council in November regarding options for implementing and funding this project. 

PROJECT COST ESTIMATES

Project cost estimates are not included in this report.  With so many possible projects of varying difficulties to construct, we would appreciate direction from the Council regarding which priority ranking system to use as a starting point before putting together detailed cost estimates for high priority projects. 

The Rosemary Street #1 project (Merritt Mill Rd to Henderson St) provides a good illustration of the complexities of making accurate cost estimates.  The cost for this project would depend, in part, upon the type and length of retaining walls involved.  In addition, it would require acquisition of easements or Right-of-Way dedication in some cases, which likely could be time consuming and perhaps expensive. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board’s Recommendation:  Install bicycle racks on all Chapel Hill Transit buses, on all routes.  With any remaining funds, install sidewalks using the board’s Tier System to prioritize projects.

Manager’s Preliminary Recommendation:  We would appreciate direction and guidance from the Council on options to rank sidewalk priorities.  Our preliminary recommendation is that the Council adopt the Option 2 system for ranking the list of sidewalk projects.  We also recommend that the Council refer all comments received at tonight’s forum to the Manager to come back to the Council’s November 13 meeting with a recommendation for construction of sidewalk and bicycle facilities including cost estimates.

ATTACHMENTS

1.     Funding Summary (p.7).

2.     Chronology of Recent Actions regarding Sidewalks (p. 9).

3.     Report from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, September 11, 2000 (p. 11).

4.     Option 1 - Current Sidewalk Ranking System with List of Sidewalk Projects (p. 17).

5.     Option 2 - Sidewalk Ranking System with List of Sidewalk Projects (p. 21).

6.     Option 3 - Sidewalk Ranking System with List of Sidewalk Projects (p. 24).

7.     Letters from citizens requesting sidewalk projects (p. 27).