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A) Call to order Chairman Suzanne Jepsen called the
meeting to order at 7:02 PM. B) Introductions - Chairman Jepsen asked City Manager
Jerry Breazeale to take over the meeting since she was due for
another appointment. Breazeale asked Mark Butorac from Kittelson
and Associates to introduce himself to the joint meeting participants
and to review the Transportation System Plan. Mr. Butorac stated that of all the TSPs that he has worked
on, he has never received as many comments as he has from Heppner.
He stated that it was a real credit to this community that the
TAC (Technical Advisory Committee) has been so involved. He stated
that he had some concerns about some of the TAC recommended changes
that may conflict with Kittelson's recommendations. Mark referred to the intersection of Gilmore and Hagar where
there is a sight deficiency. In response to TAC comments, the
plan only refers to the sight problem and does not recommend
any specific course of action. Another section dealing with Gilmore
Street, where the statement of prohibiting parking on the street
was made, Mark asked what the TAC would like to change the wording
to. The consensus was to change the wording to suggest that the
City should look into options to provide more unencumbered travel
area on Gilmore Street. Tom Sly asked for clarification on the
proposed collector that runs from Morrow Street to Highway 74.
If that were constructed would it negate the need to have concern
for the congestion on Gilmore St? Mark responded that while the
street could help some, it would also function to provide more
access for new residents on the hill which would increase some
traffic and negate some of the reduction of traffic on Gilmore.
The new collector would help to provide an alternative route
for emergency services. Mark then responded to the comment on the proposed closure
of Terrace Street. Mark clarified that only the portion of the
street that would be closed would be below the county parking
lot. The TAC concurred with that interpretation. The high school connection was included as a recommendation
to work with the school district, county and city to work to
a mutually agreeable solution to making the lower road a public
through street. One item of disagreement between the TAC and the consultants
was the three way stop at Main and May Streets. The TAC wished
to keep the three way stop, while the consultants were recommending
that the intersection be changed to a four way stop. The concern
of the consultants is that while all residents of Heppner are
used to the intersection and can anticipate the movements of
traffic, someone from out of the area would be confused by the
three way stop. There is no warning to northbound traffic that
southbound traffic will not be stopping. John Edmundson stated
that he had seen other communities where there was a sign stating
"3 way stop" mounted below the STOP sign. Mark responded
that those signs would normally be posted at a T intersection.
John Edmundson asked whether a sign could be mounted on the southbound
sign stating "yield to left turn". Mark stated that
it could, but the driver could still not know if the driver from
the North would be stopping before making the turn. Howard Gilliam
asked if an advance sign could be placed South of the STOP sign
that would inform motorists of the unusual control at the intersection.
Mark stated that there is no standard sign to that effect and
drivers have a hard time interpreting new signs in a short period
of time. Tom Sly stated that one of the main concerns of the
TAC was that by placing a STOP sign on the Southbound direction,
there would be congestion created with the diagonal parking on
Main Street. During certain periods of the day, cars may stack
up behind the sign and prevent backing movements out of the parking
spaces. Mark stated that there mostly likely would be not more
than three vehicles waiting at the intersection at one time since
the four way stop facilitates moving a lot of traffic. Another
option, according to Mark, would be to install a round-a-bout
at the intersection. If there were sufficient right of way, this
type of intersection would provide for through movements in all
directions. Bob Jepsen stated that he had been driving around
Hermiston and had seen a number of intersections with signs under
the STOP sign indicating that it was a three way stop. There
would be a problem if the logging trucks were required to stop
just before climbing the grade. The consensus was to give this
intersection more consideration. Another subject that the TAC wished to address was the classification
of streets as collectors vs. local streets. The streets listed
were Gilmore, Fairview, and Morgan. The TAC had recommended that
these streets be designated as local streets rather than collectors.
After reviewing the definition, the consensus was for Gilmore
and Morgan to remain collectors, and Fairview Way to be changed
to local designation. The status of Quaid Street was also discussed.
The TAC had questioned whether it should be labeled as a collector.
Mark stated that it serves mostly local traffic and the city
may not wish to promote use of the street as a collector. Mark used comments from TAC members regarding use of Quaid
and Stansburry by the school as a segue into discussion of design
options to make the school usage safer. The intent is to make
the area by the school safer for children and still facilitate
through traffic. Through design, the crossing from one side of
the street to the other could be defined by a raised crosswalk.
The entrance into Stansburry could be designed as a driveway
approach to alert motorists of the special status of the street.
After considerable discussion regarding the use of the street
for school traffic, and other issues, the consensus was to leave
Quaid Street a local street. Stansburry Street will be included
in the Transportation System Plan for potential traffic calming
treatments. Mark referred to an addendum that will be added to the project
which will provide for implementing ordinances. The ordinances
will give the legal authority to implement the Transportation
System Plan. The ordinances are suggestions from models developed
in Eastern Oregon and may be modified to reflect local preferences.
Mark explained that there were some changes to be made before
the final draft will be supplied. The final draft will be sent
on June 21st. The contract with Kittelson and Associates will
terminate at that time. City Manager Breazeale mentioned that he had talked with Mark
regarding "skinny streets standards" and asked Mark
to elaborate. Mark responded that skinny street standards are
used primarily for local streets. In the draft document the local
street has been defined as 32 ft. wide. With skinny streets,
the road width could be narrowed further down to 28 ft.. There
are several ways to allow skinny street standards. One way would
be by the variance process. Another would be to set the minimum
standard at 28 ft. The variance would allow a case by case review
of the proposal and allow the emergency personnel to have input.
The advantage of using skinny streets is that they reduce maintenance
costs, reduce storm water runoff, reduce heat gain in summer,
increase pedestrian comfort, and serve a traffic calming function.
The disadvantage would be the increased difficulty of trucks
negotiating the narrower streets. Mark stated that the 32 ft.
width standard in the draft plan was that it allows for 8 ft.
of width for parking on one side of the street, which leaves
two twelve foot travel lanes. With parking on each side, there
would still be 16 ft. of available travel lanes. This is a very
common standard for local streets. There are benefits to narrowing
the street further since if there are no cars parked along the
street, there are 16 ft. wide travel lanes which encourage drivers
to travel at higher speeds. Tamra Mabbott stated that Morrow
County is using 60 ft. for the right of way standard since most
county roads will be collectors when incorporated into a city. Mayor Jepsen asked Mark about the reference to gateway treatments
in the document and asked Mark if he could cite examples. Mark
mentioned that Leavenworth Washington had a nice gateway to the
city. The idea of a gateway is to identify the transition from
the rural environment to the more urban setting. The gateway
would provide a transition of environments. Mark stated that
at the entrance to the City of Heppner from the North near the
ball fields and the swimming pool, a treatment that would work
would be curbs, sidewalks and landscaping along the highway.
Heppner has a kind of gateway with an entrance sign and a row
of trees, but according to Mark, it does not come up to the highway
and doesn't have the same effect. Bill Kuhn asked if Tamra would be available to help the City with the planning aspects of implementing and modifying the ordinances. Tamra replied that she felt that the City of Heppner was very capable of doing the required review and revisions, but that she would be available to help if necessary. The consultants will also be available to assist where needed if requested. 2. Public Hearings - Transportation System Plan
for the City of Heppner. There were no members of the public
present to testify. 3. New Business - None A) Correspondence - None B) Communication from the Commissioners - None
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