AGENDA #2a
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2001-2002
DATE: October 22, 2001
This Public Forum has been scheduled to receive public input on the development of a proposed Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2001-2002. This memorandum provides an update on the status of the Town’s sidewalk construction program and offers a preliminary recommendation of sidewalk projects for fiscal year 2001-2002.
We 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 12 meeting, with a final recommendation for construction of sidewalk and bicycle facilities, including cost estimates.
SUMMARY OF PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS
We recommend that the Council consider the following projects for construction in 2001-2002:
· Culbreth Road (1,473 feet), south side, in front of Culbreth Middle School (by contract);
· Rosemary Street (345 feet), north side, from Pritchard Avenue to Church Street (by Town construction crew);
· Emily Street/Partin Street (1,185 feet), north side, from Piney Mountain Road to Partin Street/entire west side length of Partin Street (by Town construction crew);
· South Graham Street (575 feet), east side, from Cameron Avenue to Franklin Street (by Town construction crew); and
· Bolinwood Drive (500 feet), north side, from Hillsborough Street to the Greenway (by Town construction crew, if funds permit).
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and the Transportation Board have reviewed the preliminary recommendations. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board will finalize its recommendation to the Council at the Board’s October 23 meeting. Preliminary comments from members of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board are included as Attachment 1. The Transportation Board’s recommendation to Council is included as Attachment 2.
A chronology of recent actions regarding sidewalks is attached (Attachment 3).
On September 10, 2001, the Town Council endorsed the sidewalk ranking system recommended by both the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and the Transportation Board. A public forum on the sidewalk and bicycle facilities construction plan for 2001-2002 was called for October 22, 2001. The new ranking system and the prioritized list of sidewalk projects developed from the ranking system are included as Attachments 4 and 5.
The Council has available a budget of $250,000 this year for sidewalk and bicycle construction. This amount consists of $150,000 from the Capital Improvements Program, and $100,000 in 1996 bond funds. The Council is scheduled to consider action on the Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2001-2002 on November 12.
Using the Town’s construction crew, we completed construction of the following sidewalk project during the 2000-2001 fiscal year:
Ř High School Road, between Seawell School Road and Homestead Road.
The construction crew also completed miscellaneous repair and replacement of sidewalk and curb and gutter Town-wide.
The following projects were completed by contract during the 2000-2001 fiscal year:
Ř Raleigh Road, between Country Club Road and Burning Tree Drive; and
Ř Cameron Avenue, between Merritt Mill Road and Pittsboro Street.
The following projects are in progress:
Curb and gutter replacement and new paving was recently completed using curb and gutter funds from the 1996 Bond. We are awaiting informal bids on the sidewalk portion of the project. Work is expected to be completed this fall.
Sidewalk design plans are being reviewed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The project is planned to be constructed by contract forces.
It is likely that easements will need to be acquired in order to have enough right-of-way to build the sidewalk in this location. We are in the process of contacting property owners to gauge interest and begin the easement acquisition process. Construction will be completed by Town construction crews.
On July 7, 2000, the Council approved installation of sidewalk, curb and gutter on Scarlette Drive in connection with the affordable housing project at that location. In the 2000-2001 Capital Improvements Program, $20,000 was allocated to this project, which included the construction of a brick wall. The brick wall has been completed and design and construction of the sidewalk is pending.
On July 7, 1999, the Council approved funding ($180,000) to construct an asphalt path from Kingston Drive to Cedar Fork Trail. On June 25, 2001, the Council endorsed the Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project, including the installation of concrete sidewalks along both sides of Weaver Dairy Road for the full length of the project. On July 2, 2001, the Council reallocated the $180,000 in the Capital Improvements Program for the local match share of the cost of sidewalk improvements that will be part of the State’s Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project. This project is scheduled for construction to start in 2004 and to be completed in 2006.
Last year, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board recommended that bicycle racks be installed on all Chapel Hill Transit buses. Currently, over half of the buses have the bicycle racks installed. Racks for the remainder of the fleet are in stock and are scheduled for installation this fall.
There is $250,000 available in funds for new sidewalk and bikeways projects for the 2001-2002 fiscal year (please see Attachment 6 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 2001-2002 Capital Improvements Program allocates $150,000 for new sidewalk and bicycle projects.
1996 Bonds: $100,000 is available from the final allocation of this bond fund during this fiscal year.
For fiscal year 2001-2002, we estimate the Town’s construction crew can complete approximately 3,000 to 3,500 linear feet of sidewalks and/or curb and gutter. It has been the Council’s practice to authorize sidewalk projects that are constructed by both contractors and our 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 may 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.
The sidewalk ranking system that the Council endorsed is a two-step system. The first step involves quantitatively ranking the sidewalk project list based on a series of factors (see Attachment 4). The Boards noted that this ranking system should be used as a “general guide” for identifying potential sidewalk projects. The second step is to work from this list and consider other factors, such as right-of-way, construction feasibility, and necessity, to determine a fixed list of new sidewalk projects for each fiscal year. By considering these other factors, projects other than those at the top of the ranking list could be chosen for funding and construction.
We focused on projects that generally appear as higher priority projects in the sidewalk ranking system. However, we also took into account the following feasibility criteria that we have used in the past to evaluate sidewalk projects:
· Significant safety issues;
· Recognition of fiscal restraints;
· 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;
· Distribution of funding throughout the Town; and
· Most efficient balance of use of Town forces and outside contractors.
From the sidewalk prioritization list, we suggest a group of five possible projects for funding this fiscal year: four projects for construction by the Town’s construction crew and one project for construction by contract.
The four projects we suggest for the Town’s construction crew are (see Attachment 7 for project locations):
Ř Rosemary Street, north side, from Pritchard Avenue to Church Street (345 feet);
Ř Emily Street/Partin Street, north side, from Piney Mountain Road to Partin Street/entire west side length of Partin Street (1,185 feet);
Ř South Graham Street, east side, from Cameron Avenue to Franklin Street (575 feet); and
Ř Bolinwood Drive, north side, from Hillsborough Street to the Greenway (500 feet).
All four of these projects are gaps in the existing sidewalk system. The Rosemary Street project is an extension of the project approved last year. The Emily Street/Partin Street project is the missing link between the existing sidewalks on Piney Mountain Road and Kingston Drive, allowing pedestrians to walk from the Timberlyne area to the intersection of Piney Mountain Road and Airport Road. South Graham Street, between Cameron Avenue and Franklin Street, is heavily used by pedestrians, and the Bolinwood Drive project would connect pedestrians from Hillsborough Street and Airport Road to the Greenway.
These four projects total approximately 3,135 linear feet of combined sidewalk and curb and gutter construction. The Rosemary Street project that was approved last year is unbuilt, pending acquisition of easements, and is approximately 610 total linear feet of sidewalk and curb and gutter construction. In total, the four projects recommended for this year and the one project remaining from last year include approximately 3,745 total linear feet of sidewalk and curb and gutter construction. We noted above that we estimate that the Town’s construction crew can complete approximately 3,000 to 3,500 total linear feet of sidewalks and/or curb and gutter this fiscal year. Since the Rosemary Street project (between S. Columbia Street and 124 W. Rosemary Street) that was approved last year is not built, it would be efficient to combine that project with the Rosemary Street project (from Pritchard Avenue to Church Street) currently recommended.
The sidewalk project we suggest for construction by contract in our preliminary recommendation is Culbreth Road, on the south side, in front of Culbreth Middle School (1,473 feet). Please see Attachment 7 for project location.
The Culbreth Road project would involve significant clearing and grading, as well as curb and gutter. The project also would include storm drainage work, retaining wall, and traffic control. This sidewalk segment would connect to existing sidewalks on both ends.
Specific project cost estimates are not included in this memorandum. Each project on the Sidewalk Prioritization List is unique in its engineering and environmental constraints that affect project cost. Some involve construction of curb and gutter or retaining walls, grading, re-vegetation, or right-of-way acquisition. We have compiled preliminary cost estimates for the Culbreth Road project and general estimates for the four recommended projects for town construction crews.
Our preliminary estimate is that the Culbreth Road project would cost approximately $200,000 by contract. We suggest spending approximately $50,000 on projects constructed by the Town’s construction crew. It is possible that the Rosemary Street, Emily Street/Partin Street, and South Graham Street projects together would total less than $50,000. If cost estimates that are developed show that it would be possible to construct more than these three projects, we suggest consideration of the Bolinwood Drive project as well. We are also investigating the possibility of using Community Development Block Grant funds for construction of the Graham Street sidewalk project.
It is possible that crew time could be the limiting factor. We cannot tell that before we have completed design work and acquired any needed easements.
We estimate that the one contract project and some combination of the in-house projects would cost less than the $250,000 available in funds for fiscal year 2001-2002. All of these cost projections are preliminary and will be refined as preliminary design work gets underway.
Attachment 8 contains sidewalk requests received from citizens during the last year. Both of the requested projects, on Culbreth Road and Seawell School Road, are currently listed on the sidewalk priority list (see Attachment 5).
After tonight’s public forum, we will consider citizen and advisory board comments and return to Council with a final recommendation on November 12.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Recommendation: The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board has not yet made a final recommendation to the Council on the Sidewalk and Bicycle Facilities Construction Plan for 2001-2002. The Board plans to make this recommendation at the Board’s October 23 meeting. Preliminary comments from Board members is included as Attachment 1.
Transportation Board Recommendation: The Transportation Board voted 8-0 to approve the Manager’s Preliminary Recommendation with the following changes:
· The Emily Street/Partin Street and Bolinwood Drive projects should not be funded.
· The Rosemary Street #2 (Pritchard Ave. to Church St.) and Legion Road #1 (Scarlette Drive to Martin Luther King Jr. St.) projects should be funded.
· An additional sidewalk, completing the Cameron Avenue sidewalk, on the south side of Cameron Avenue, from the end of the existing sidewalk to Merritt Mill Road, should be funded.
· In completing the South Graham Street sidewalk, the existing roadway should be narrowed to accommodate the required sidewalk improvements and to slow the speed of vehicles along South Graham Street.
· Staff should include a ranking of a new project that would construct an extension of the Bolin Creek Greenway from the Community Center to the Estes Drive/Willow Drive intersection.
Manager’s Preliminary Recommendation: That the Council consider the following projects for construction in 2001-2002:
· Culbreth Road (1,473 feet), south side, in front of Culbreth Middle School (by contract);
· Rosemary Street (345 feet), north side, from Pritchard Avenue to Church Street (by Town construction crew);
· Emily Street/Partin Street (1,185 feet), north side, from Piney Mountain Road to Partin Street/entire west side length of Partin Street (by Town construction crew); and
· South Graham Street (575 feet), east side, from Cameron Avenue to Franklin Street (by Town construction crew); and
· Bolinwood Drive (500 feet), north side, from Hillsborough Street to the Greenway (by Town construction crew, if funds permit).
1. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Summary of Comments (p. 8).
2. Transportation Board Summary of Action (p. 10).
3. Chronology of Recent Actions Regarding Sidewalks (p. 11).
4. Sidewalk Ranking System, endorsed by Town Council Sept. 10, 2001 (p. 13).
5. Sidewalk Priority List (p. 14).
6. Funding Summary (p. 16).
7. Location Maps of Recommended Projects (p. 17).
8. Correspondence (p. 19).