Council Communication Office of the City Manager	Date	April 7, 2008
	Agenda Item No. 8 Roll Call No. 08- Communication No. 08-186 Submitted by: Jeb E. Brewer, P.E. City Engineer

AGENDA HEADING:

Approving and authorizing the execution of Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) Agreement for 42^nd Street and Kingman Boulevard Intersection Improvements, and authorization to proceed with acquisition of the necessary right-of-way and easements by gift, negotiation, or condemnation.

SYNOPSIS:

Recommend approval of IDOT Agreement No. 2008-TS-007 for Traffic Safety Improvement Program project funding for 42^nd Street and Kingman Boulevard Intersection Improvements. IDOT funds in the amount of $300,000 are available for the construction costs. The City’s portion of the project, consisting of the design, inspection, and construction costs, is estimated to be $60,000. This action also recommends authorization to acquire necessary right-of-way and easements for the above project. Iowa law requires this action before the City can initiate the right-of-way acquisition process under eminent domain.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Amount: $360,000

Funding Source: Various funding sources as follows:

• $300,000 IDOT Traffic Safety Improvement Program
• $60,000 - 2007-08 CIP, Page Traffic Control Improvements-5, Citywide Signals, Channelization, and School Crossing Protection Program, TFC091

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

In July of 2006, the City Council authorized that an application be submitted to IDOT for the 42^nd Street and Kingman Boulevard Traffic Signal/Street Widening Improvements. IDOT has approved $300,000 of Traffic Safety Improvement Program funds for this project. The remaining costs, including design, inspection, construction, and project administration, are to be funded by the City. The total City cost is estimated to be $60,000.

This project, estimated at $360,000, includes 2-foot widening on each side of 42^nd Street in the vicinity of Kingman Boulevard to construct northbound and southbound left turning lanes, and for installation of traffic signals at the intersection. The project will be constructed within the existing right-of-way; except that small permanent and temporary easements will be required on each of the four corners for grading and construction of signal pole bases, sidewalk, and a retaining wall.

Based on the traffic accident history of this intersection, the project has been approved for state Traffic Safety Improvement Program funding. The intersection of 42^nd and Kingman had a total of 31 crashes in the 4-year analysis period of 2001-2005 (data from 2004 was not included, since 42^nd Street was closed then for I-235 bridge construction). Of these 31 crashes, 18 were right-angle type, which are generally correctable by installing traffic signals. In addition to the above-average accident history, this intersection experiences substantial delay and congestion, for vehicular traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists, especially during the morning and afternoon peak traffic periods. Because of the heavy traffic on 42^nd Street, it is very difficult for traffic on Kingman to cross or turn left onto 42^nd Street. Vehicles that back up on Kingman frequently block the path for students walking or biking to Hubbell Elementary School or Roosevelt High School to cross Kingman going to or from their school. The signal installation will include full pedestrian signals and accommodations to detect bicyclists, and will greatly improve both the safety and operating characteristics of this intersection.

This project is within the boundaries of two neighborhood groups. The Waveland Park Neighborhood Association is to the west of 42^nd Street, and the Drake Neighborhood Association is to the east of 42^nd Street. Staff presented this project on October 2, 2007, at a Waveland Park Neighborhood Association meeting and received input on the proposed project. Representatives of both neighborhood groups, as well as property owners adjacent to the project, were invited to attend this meeting. The family that owns the house at the southwest corner of the intersection expressed strong concerns and objections to both the proposed signals and widening of the street, due to the closeness of their house and the impacts to their property. However, there was an overall consensus of those in attendance at the meeting that this project was necessary and important to improve the overall safety and reduce the congestion and delay at this intersection.

There are approximately four trees that will be required to be removed in order to accommodate the widening. Options for planting new trees are very limited due to the relatively narrow width of the remaining border area and the presence of both overhead power lines and large underground utility ducts along the west side of 42^nd Street. However, the project plans will include installation of new trees at locations in close proximity to the project, to replace those that must be removed.

Overall, this project will have some significant impacts to the adjacent residential properties, due to their closeness to the street. However, staff has taken great care in the preliminary design of this project to minimize those impacts and mitigate them to the greatest extent possible. The street design will use narrower lanes to minimize the width, so the existing 31-foot roadway will only be widened two feet on each side to provide the center left-turn lane. The traffic signals are also being designed to minimize the overall size of the overhead mast arms to better fit the neighborhood character of the intersection, and will include full pedestrian signals as well as sensitive detection for bicycles on Kingman.

Staff believes that the proposed improvements at this intersection are necessary to improve the safety and operations of the intersection and that the impacts of the proposed project have been minimized through careful design details and the replacement of trees. Therefore, staff recommends approval of the project agreement and authorization to proceed.

PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION(S):

Date: July 24, 2006

Roll Call Number: 06-1472

Action: Traffic Safety Fund Applications to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the following projects: (Council Communication No. 06-464) Moved by Hensley to adopt. Motion Carried 7-0.

(A) Army Post Widening from South Union to SW 9^th Street. (B) Hickman Road Restriping between 30^th Street and Merle Hay Road, Including Traffic Signals at 48^th Street and Hickman Road. (C) 42^nd Street at Kingman Boulevard Traffic Signal/Street Widening Improvements. (D) Hubbell Avenue and Easton Boulevard Intersection Traffic Signal Upgrading. 

BOARD/COMMISSION ACTION(S):

Date: July 11, 2006

Action: The Traffic Safety Committee approved recommendation that minor widening and traffic signals be installed, and that an application be submitted to the IDOT for funding utilizing the Traffic Safety Improvement Program.

ANTICIPATED ACTIONS AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS:

Normal actions for award of the construction contract for the work.

For more information on this and other agenda items, please call the City Clerk’s Office at 515-283-4209 or visit the Clerk’s Office on the second floor of City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive. Council agendas are available to the public at the City Clerk’s Office on Thursday afternoon preceding Monday’s Council meeting. Citizens can also request to receive meeting notices and agendas by email by calling the Clerk’s Office or sending their request via email to cityclerk@dmgov.org.