Below are the minutes for the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, held on Friday, May 19, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Training Room 679 (6th Floor), at the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver, Washington. The agenda for this meeting is also available.
I. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
The meeting of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee was called to order on Friday, May 19, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in the Training Room (6th Floor) at the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street Vancouver, Washington. Dean Lookingbill, Transportation Director, served as Chair for the meeting. Those in attendance follow:
Marc Aerts WSDOT Justin Clary City of Ridgefield Lynda David RTC Rebecca Eisiminger Port of Vancouver Evan Dust HDR Bob Hart RTC Mark Herceg City of Battle Ground Katherine Klockenteger WSDOT Dean Lookingbill RTC Mike Mabrey Clark County Steven Mathews WSDOT Thomas Picco ODOT Ed Pickering C-TRAN Matt Ransom City of Vancouver Sandi Roberts RTC Dale Robins RTC Phil Wuest City of Vancouver Dean Lookingbill, RTC, asked for any changes or corrections to the April 21, 2006, meeting minutes.
BECKY EISIMINGER, PORT OF VANCOUVER, MOVED FOR APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 21, 2006, MINUTES AND ED PICKERING, C-TRAN, SECONDED THE MOTION. THE MOTION WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
II. 2006-2008 MTIP Amendment #6: C-TRAN, Action
Dale Robins, RTC, presented the 2006-2008 MTIP Amendment #6: C-TRAN. He said regionally significant projects must be listed in the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP), which in turn becomes a part of the statewide State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
C-TRAN is requesting an MTIP amendment for calendar year 2006 to shift Section 5307 funds from Preventative Maintenance to Bus Replacement and slightly increase the Section 5307 funds for Transit Enhancement. The bus replacement project would allow C-TRAN to replace approximately 11, 35-foot, fixed route coaches and 31, 25-foot, demand response coaches. This improvement is a regionally significant project and is needed to enhance current transit service. Dale pointed out that the C-TRAN letter of request for this MTIP amendment and the amended STIP project report are attached to the memorandum. He summarized that the proposed amendment replaces current coaches, is consistent with the Metropolitan Transportation Plan, Congestion Management System, air quality conformity analysis, and is financially constrained. Action on this amendment will provide $4,121,131 in federal, Section 5307 funds for replacement of buses and increase Section 5307 funds by $6,628 for the enhancement of the transit service. Dale said with this amendment, both projects would be ready to proceed this June.
MATT RANSOM, CITY OF VANCOUVER, MADE A MOTION TO RECOMMEND TO THE RTC BOARD ADOPTION OF THE 2006-2008 MTIP AMENDMENT #6 FOR INCLUSION IN THE STATE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. MIKE MABREY, CLARK COUNTY, SECONDED THE MOTION, AND IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.
III. SR-501 and I-5 Interchange and Other Improvements, Discussion
Justin Clary, City of Ridgefield, gave a presentation on SR-501 and the I-5 Interchange and Other Improvements. He said WSDOT is working with the City of Ridgefield on design of a new Interchange at SR-501/I-5, and Pioneer Street. Justin gave RTAC members a history of the project. The existing interchange was built in 1964 to serve a rural community but Ridgefield is growing quickly. Population grew by 20% in 2004 and by about 30% last year. This year, Ridgefield is seeing growth in non-residential land uses. There is approximately 1,500 acres of land in the junction area zoned for industrial/business park use. To accommodate the growth, the City of Ridgefield, the Port of Ridgefield and partners have been working together on transportation solutions for SR-501 and the I-5 Interchange. Since spring of 2005, Ridgefield has been working to secure funding for the project. The project has received a $2 million economic development grant from State of Washington Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), $10 million from the state’s transportation revenue package, and $9 million in federal SAFETEA-LU funding. This is not enough money to construct the project but does fund design. Last spring, the City of Ridgefield worked with WSDOT to solicit bids from private consulting firms for the design and permitting phases of this project. HDR was the selected consultant. The scoping process is now complete and the design is underway.
Justin distributed an aerial photo of the project to RTAC members. He said that 2030 forecast traffic was used in the design process. He pointed out that the aerial photo shows a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) with a two-lane roundabout at 65th Avenue and 56th Place to help freight traffic movement. Marc Aerts, WSDOT, explained that he was filling in for Mike Clark who has been working on the project. Marc said that the aerial map distributed showed the project at 15% design level. He said it shows a reverse single-point urban interchange, similar to the interchange at I-5/99th Street only reversed. Marc said estimated construction costs are $35-$40 million. Justin said there are not too many issues concerning right-of-way. A couple of parcels in the Tri-Mountain Business Park may be affected. Justin said Evan Dust of HDR has been working on transportation analysis of the Pioneer Street corridor and doing some modeling. They are looking at roundabouts at 56th, 51st, 45th, and 35th Avenues. There was discussion on a location for a park-n-ride. Justin said they are looking at completing design by winter of 2007 if access hearings go smoothly. The construction timeline is depending on funding.
IV. MTIP Obligation Review and Status of Major Projects, Discussion
Dale Robins, RTC, distributed “RTC Region: 2003 Nickel, 2005 Partnership, and 2005 SAFETEA-LU Funding”. Dale said this list was last presented to RTAC members back in November 2005, and there have been some changes this year regarding funding with WSDOT doing some shifting of dollars to line up with state Nickel, Partnership, and federal SAFETEA-LU sources. Dale highlighted each project its funding source(s), and the status of the project. Dean said that the STP Enhancement Funds should be added as a funding source for the SR-14 Land Bridge project. Dale said funding for the I-5/502 Interchange had changed with funds transferred from the SR-502 widening project to the Interchange project. Dean pointed out that in 2006, Congress instituted a take-down of federally-funded earmarked projects which reduced federal funding by about 14.5%.
Dale then moved on to talk about obligation of funds. He referred to “2006-2008 Prioritization of Federal Aid Projects by Year, 2006 STIP Summary”. He explained to RTAC members that this is a listing of projects in the current TIP. Dale then reviewed the status of obligation of funds for these projects. Dale said that there has been, as yet, little progress on obligating funds for these projects this year. The City of Vancouver has obligated CMAQ funds for the CTR Program and STP funds have been obligated for NE 138th Avenue from 18th Street to 28th Street (CN). Clark County has obligated funds for I-5 Salmon Creek Interchange (CN) under discretionary STP-State funds. Dale asked that members provide him any updates.
Dale said that SAFETEA-LU requires that after July 2007, any TIP adopted must cover 4 years instead of 3 years. Dale said that the next MTIP will cover years 2007-2010. Dale said he would like to form a sub-committee to discuss how to handle this. Dean added that by 2010 we should have another Federal Transportation Act in place to replace SAFETEA-LU. Dale said that we will be looking to select projects and program an additional $2 million in CMAQ funds and $6.5 million in STP-TMA funds with the October 2006 MTIP adoption (the 2007-2010 MTIP). There was discussion on why the federal act changed the TIP program requirement to 4 years.
V. Other Business
Justin Clary, City of Ridgefield, said there is a new traffic signal on Pioneer Street due to wet weather. WSDOT has it set up for one-lane with a signal until it is repaired, which will take approximately a month and half.
A. RTAC Members
Steven Matthews, WSDOT, said WSDOT is in the process of updating the “Highway System Plan”. WSDOT has been on a very tight schedule to provide data for the statewide database. Steven is looking to organize a half-day meeting within the next month or so for all jurisdictions to learn about the process, the results of the study and solutions considered. Steven said the WSDOT region has been asked to determine the five most congested corridors within its region and to study solutions. Within Clark County, the congested corridors are I-5 from the Interstate Bridge to the county line, SR-14 from milepost 0 to the Washougal east city limits, SR-500 from milepost 0.0 to 8.5, and SR-503 from milepost 0 to just north of Battle Ground. Dean said he felt RTAC members should be invited to the Clark County workshop.
B. RTC Staff
IDAS Training, June 29 & 30
Bob Hart, RTC, provided information on the ITS Deployment Analysis System (IDAS) Software training. Bob explained that this is a two-day training course June 29 and 30, at the 6th Floor Training Room, Clark County Public Service Center. The Regional Transportation Council, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is hosting hands-on computer training in the use and application of IDAS software. IDAS works in tandem with regional travel demand model to provide ITS sketch planning capability to calculate the relative costs and benefits of ITS and other operational investments. The IDAS tool is capable of estimating the benefits and costs of over 60 types of ITS and operational strategies deployed by themselves or in combination with other strategies. Performance measures estimated by IDAS include speed, volume, travel time, travel time reliability, crashes, emissions, and fuel use, among other impacts. IDAS also estimates the lifecycle costs of the selected deployments and helps to identify cost sharing opportunities. Bob said IDAS could output performance results by area, subarea, corridor, and facility type. Planners, engineers, transit, and ITS professionals involved in project prioritization, decision-making, and implementation can benefit from the course.
The class is designed for 24 people and will have 12 workstations available for use during the 2-day course. A sign up sheet was provided with the course information. Deadline for registration is May 26.
CTR – Update
Lynda David, RTC, reported that weekly meetings, hosted by WSDOT headquarters, are being held to discuss implementation of the updated CTR law. Lynda circulated maps showing “Affected Areas in New CTR Program (Preliminary)”. Current topics of discussion at CTR Implementation meetings are how to set the statewide minimum CTR target and how the target will fit with local and regional plans. The allocation of the $750,000 available for CTR Plan development is also being discussed. Lynda said next week there would be a sub-committee meeting to talk about goals and measurement. Dean talked about the composition of the new CTR Board. Dean said it was likely City of Vancouver would have one of the seats. There are also two seats on the Board available for RTPO representatives. Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) has a lock on one and Yakima Council of Governments is interested in filling the second. Matt Ransom, City of Vancouver, said this region should consider applying for state vanpool funding to institute a vanpool program.
HCT – Consultant Selection
Dale Robins said RTC conducted HCT consultant selection interviews on May 12, 2006. Two firms were interviewed, HDR Inc. and URS Corporation. The consultant interview team, consisting of WSDOT, Clark County, C-TRAN, City of Vancouver, and RTC, selected URS Corporation. Dale said they are starting to develop a preliminary scope of work, and hope to ask the RTC Board of Directors permission for an agreement at the June meeting. It is likely a core group will be established to guide the Study with representatives from Clark County, C-TRAN, City of Vancouver, and WSDOT. Dean said they would also like to have one representative from Camas/Washougal and one from Ridgefield/Battle Ground. Dean said study preparation work will be carried out in the summer and the project will be launched it in September 2006.
Corridor Visioning
Matt Ransom, City of Vancouver, asked about the Visioning Group. Dean responded saying a letter was sent out to all the mayors, to the Chair of the Clark County Commissioners, ports, C-TRAN and WSDOT, asking them for support and assistance. They were also asked to propose Steering Committee participants. A general Work Scope has been produced. It is likely a growth forecast will be produced by projecting from the GMA forward. From this, a crude travel analysis can be conducted and identify future needs and corridors. This is just the outset and there will be much more discussion.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:13 a.m. The next meeting will be Friday, June 16, 2006.
Regional Transportation Council
1300 Franklin Street, Floor 4
Vancouver, Washington 98660Tel: 360-397-6067
Fax: 360-397-6132
E-mail: info@rtc.wa.govServed by C-TRAN Route 3.
If you have special needs, please contact RTC.
       
|