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Date
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June 8, 2009
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Agenda
Item No. 8 Roll
Call No. 09- Communication No. 09-376 Submitted by:
Jeb E. Brewer, P.E., City Engineer |
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AGENDA
HEADING:
Approving Traffic Safety Fund Applications to the
Iowa Department of Transportation.
SYNOPSIS:
Recommend
approval and authorization to submit applications to the Iowa Department of
Transportation (IDOT) for Traffic Safety Funds for three projects. The IDOT has an annual program to provide
funds for Traffic Safety Fund improvements.
The deadline for this year’s applications is June 15, 2009. Staff has reviewed various locations and has
developed three projects for submittal:
Euclid Avenue at 11th/12th Street Traffic Signals;
Euclid Avenue at Oxford Street Widening and Traffic Signals; and Euclid Avenue
at Cornell Street Widening and Traffic Signals.
FISCAL
IMPACT:
Amount: Proposed Traffic Safety Funding requests are
as follows:
1. Euclid
Avenue at 11th/12th Street Traffic Signals
Traffic Safety Funds Requested $300,000
Total Project Cost $340,000
2. Euclid
Avenue at Oxford Street Widening and Traffic Signals
Traffic Safety Funds Requested $300,000
Total Project Cost $345,000
3. Euclid
Avenue at Cornell Street Widening and Traffic Signals
Traffic Safety Funds Requested $460,000
Total Project Cost $525,000
Funding Source: These projects are not included in the current
Capital Improvements Program (CIP); however, if TSF funding is approved, the
approved projects can be added to the 2009-10, Page Traffic Control Improvements
– 5, City-wide Signals, Channelization and School Crossing Protection Program,
TFC091. Construction would be expected to be accomplished in 2010 or 2011 for
the signals at 11th or 12th Street, and in 2011 for the
signals and widening at Oxford Street and at Cornell Street.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION:
The
IDOT implemented an annual program beginning in 1988 to provide for traffic
safety improvements. These improvements
may include roadway construction projects to correct high-crash locations, upgrading
of obsolete traffic control devices to comply with the requirements of the
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, or traffic studies to determine how
to correct a safety problem. Since the
program began, Des Moines has been successful in receiving approval of 65
projects and over $15 million, including several major intersection
improvements, traffic signal upgrades, and other safety projects. Applications are currently being accepted
until June 15, 2009, for the next programming cycle.
Traffic
and Transportation staff has worked with a “multi-disciplinary” team to review
the Euclid Avenue corridor between the Des Moines River and East 14th
Street. The team consisted of city and
IDOT engineering, law enforcement, neighborhoods, schools, and also Traffic
Safety Committee representatives.
Meetings were held over the past 2 months, during which time the crash
statistics were reviewed and various alternatives were discussed. The crash rate along this corridor for the
5-year period (2003-2007) was determined to be considerably higher that the
statewide average for similar roadways.
This segment has a crash rate of 942 crashes per hundred million
vehicle-miles (HMVM). The statewide
average for similar roadways is 297 crashes / HMVM for the same time
period. There were also five fatalities
along Euclid Avenue during this time.
As a
result of these meetings and the high crash history, the multi-disciplinary
team has recommended that the following
projects be submitted to IDOT for the next Traffic Safety Fund cycle. At their May 12, 2009 meeting, the Traffic
Safety Committee unanimously approved the team’s recommendations, including
submitting these three traffic signal projects.
1.
Euclid Avenue
at 11th/12th Street Traffic Signals -- This
project would install traffic signals on Euclid Avenue at either 11th or 12th
Streets. A meeting is scheduled with the
Oak Park Neighborhood Association on June 2, 2009, to discuss the preferred
location. The new signals would be
interconnected with those at 6th and Euclid.
The estimated project cost is $340,000.
Traffic Safety Funds in the amount of $300,000, covering the construction
costs, would be requested.
2.
Euclid Avenue
at Oxford Street Widening and Traffic Signals --
This project would involve minor widening of Euclid
to allow installation of a left-turn lane on Euclid Avenue between Cambridge
Street and 2nd Avenue.
Traffic signals would be installed at the intersection of Oxford and
Euclid. The estimated project cost is
$345,000. Traffic Safety Funds in the
amount of $300,000, covering the construction costs, would be requested.
3.
Euclid Avenue
at Cornell Street Widening and Traffic Signals --
This project would involve minor widening on Euclid
Avenue between Cambridge and Columbia Streets to allow installation of a left-turn
lane on Euclid Avenue at Cornell Street.
The existing traffic signals would be upgraded at the intersection of
Euclid and Cornell. The estimated cost
for this project is $525,000. Traffic
Safety Funds in the amount of $460,000, covering the construction costs, would
be requested.
PREVIOUS
COUNCIL ACTION(S): NONE
BOARD/COMMISSION
ACTION(S): Traffic
Safety Committee
Date:
May 12, 2009
Roll
Call Number: N/A
Action: A motion
was made by Jim Windsor to approve the combination of staff’s recommendations
from the Euclid Avenue Traffic Study (New Business Item 3) and approve the
submittal of the three projects to the Iowa DOT in June 2009 for Traffic Safety
Funding consideration (New Business Item 4); seconded by Kevin Williamson. Motion passed unanimously.
ANTICIPATED
ACTIONS AND FUTURE COMMITMENTS:
Approval of project agreements with
IDOT.
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,