NOTICE OF MEETING Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Planning Subcommittee 3:00 p.m., Monday, May 19, 2014 Des Moines Area MPO Mead Conference Room *************************** TENTATIVE AGENDA 1. Call To Order 2. VOTE: Approval of Agenda 3. VOTE: Approval of Meeting Minutes... Page 2 Approve the April 14, 2014, meeting minutes. 4. REPORT: Mobilizing Tomorrow Project Solicitation and Initial Review... Page 6 Discussion regarding projects submitted to date and initial review using the proposed evaluation criteria. 5. REPORT: Mobilizing Tomorrow Public Input Update... Page 7 Report on public comment received to date and plans for the next outreach series in June. 6. REPORT: Mobilizing Tomorrow Additional Policies... Page 10 Continued discussion regarding additional strategies and policies to include in Mobilizing Tomorrow. 7. REPORT: Mobilizing Tomorrow Growth Scenario Update... Page 11 Update regarding the growth scenario process for Mobilizing Tomorrow. 8. REPORT: Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Amendment Request.. Page 12 Report on a request from the Iowa Department of Transportation to add a project to the long-range plan to widen US 6/Hickman Road from the west edge of Waukee to 111 th Street. 9. REPORT: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure... Page 14 Discussion about what communities can do to promote electric vehicle readiness. 10. Other Non-Action Items of Interest to the Committee 11. Future Meeting Date: To Be Determined 12. Adjournment Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Dallas County, Des Moines, DART, Grimes, Johnston, Mitchellville, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Polk County, Urbandale, Warren County, Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights. The MPO receives federal funding and may not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, or national origin, according to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For more information or to obtain a Title VI Complaint form, call 515-334-0075.
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 3 ISSUE: Approval of Meeting Minutes VOTE: Consider approval of the April 14, 2014, meeting minutes. BACKGROUND: The minutes of the April 14, 2014, meeting are enclosed on the following pages. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the minutes of the April 14, 2014, meeting. STAFF CONTACT: Dylan Mullenix, dmullenix@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 2 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
MEETING MINUTES Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Transportation Technical Committee Planning Subcommittee 3:00 p.m., Monday, April 14, 2014 Des Moines Area MPO Meeting Mead Conference Room Des Moines, Iowa Members Present: John Peterson, City of Ankeny Jim Tishim, DART Mike Ludwig, City of Des Moines David Wilwerding, City of Johnston Bret VandeLune, Polk County Kara Tragesser, City of West Des Moines Staff Present: Dylan Mullenix, Principal Transportation Planner Zach Young, Senior Transportation Planner Nathan Goldberg, Senior Transportation Planner Teva Dawson, Senior Transportation Planner Aaron Bartling, Associate Transportation Planner Members Present: Ben Champ, City of Pleasant Hill 1. Call to Order Subcommittee Chair John Peterson called the April 14, 2014, meeting to order at 3:05 pm. 2. Approval of Agenda MOTION: Bret VandeLune moved and Kara Tragesser seconded approval of the April 14, 2014, agenda. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes MOTION: Mike Ludwig moved and Kara Tragesser seconded approval of the March 31, 2014, meeting minutes. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 4. Growth Scenario Follow-Up MPO staff presented the Envision Tomorrow GIS tool again and explained updates that had been made from the last time. John Peterson added that he met with staff that morning to review the tool and asked MPO staff to discuss some of the assumptions made and other work to consider. MPO staff noted that large parcels had been broken into smaller ones. Staff also identified parks, conservation areas, protected habitat, and other unbuildable areas and made it so the tool would not put growth on them. Staff also showed the land use categories used in the model and the corresponding densities. 3 FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Discussion ensued on the densities used, particularly the one for suburban residential. The subcommittee questioned whether it was too high of a density. Following additional discussion, the subcommittee agreed the densities included would work fine. Discussion ensued about how much time it would take for a community to work with staff on the scenario in their jurisdiction, particularly communities that do not have technical staff. The subcommittee agreed that staff should conduct the scenario for those small communities and then meet with them to review the scenario, versus have the community do the scenario. The subcommittee agreed that MPO staff should provide advance information to the communities before meeting with them to help the work sessions move quickly. The subcommittee agreed to move forward with using the Envision Tomorrow tool for the growth scenario. 5. Long-Range Transportation Plan Performance Targets MPO staff noted that it had met with the Engineering Subcommittee earlier that day and reviewed the Engineering Subcommittee s recommendations. The Planning Subcommittee asked questions regarding Environmental Justice areas. The Planning Subcommittee agreed with the Engineering Subcommittee s recommendations. 6. Long-Range Transportation Plan Project Solicitation and Scoring MPO staff provided the subcommittee with an updated criteria form, noting that some adjustments were made following a meeting with DART staff that morning. John Peterson asked about the nodes/corridors criteria, asking what enhance multimodal opportunities means. MPO staff explained that for subjective criteria like this, an opportunity will be provided on the project application for the project sponsor to explain. MPO staff reviewed the recommendations made by the Engineering Subcommittee, noting the deletion of the density related criteria. The Planning Subcommittee agreed with removing those criteria. Bret VandeLune asked for clarification on the environmental criteria, asking whether he is correct that there are three options: The project is either not in an environmental area, it is in a conflict area, or it is in a challenge area. MPO staff noted that is correct. Staff also explained that the Environment Roundtable is working to develop a map of the two environmental areas. John Peterson asked if the subcommittee was ready to make a recommendation. MOTION: Bret VandeLune moved and David Wilwerding seconded recommending the criteria to the steering committee. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 7. Long-Range Transportation Plan Additional Policies MPO staff stated that while the plan will have specific projects, there is also the opportunity to include policies. MPO staff proposed a few policies. These included one to ensure coordination between DART and member governments if a roadway projects takes place on an existing or future DART route. This would ensure that transit amenities, sidewalks, bus pull-outs, etc., can be included in the reconstruction, if possible. A second policy would be to use design guidelines that better accommodate alternative transportation, such as the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) criteria, as well as storm water retention. 4 FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
John Peterson noted that the Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS), used in Iowa, do not include transit-related considerations. MPO staff agreed, which is why something like NACTO, which does include more options for transportation considerations, may be favorable. John Peterson suggested that to move toward something more like NACTO, the MPO should work with SUDAS to get those considerations included. Discussion ensued on how to work with SUDAS to include more criteria for alternative transportation. The subcommittee agreed it needs a recommended standard criteria to propose to SUDAS to see if they will endorse it. John Peterson noted that the Iowa Economic Development Authority has some green street standards that may address the water retention criteria, and suggested MPO staff explore this further. MPO staff noted the Engineering Subcommittee had suggested a complete streets policy should be considered. The Planning Subcommittee agreed that the policies discussed seemed like good ones to include. 8. Other Non-Action Items of Interest No other items were discussed. 9. Next Meeting Date The next meeting date is to be determined. 10. Adjournment Chair Peterson adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m. 5 FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 4 ISSUE: Mobilizing Tomorrow Project Solicitation and Initial Review REPORT: Discussion regarding projects submitted for inclusion in the long-range transportation plan and an initial review of projects. BACKGROUND: On April 25, 2014, the MPO staff issued a call for transportation projects for Mobilizing Tomorrow. The application deadline is May 23, 2014. At the May 19, 2014, meeting, MPO staff will review projects submitted to date and provide an initial analysis of projects based on the proposed evaluation criteria. This review will help the subcommittee determine whether any changes or additional weighting should be applied to the evaluation criteria. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACT: Dylan Mullenix, dmullenix@dmampo.org; and, Teva Dawson, tdawson@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 6 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 5 ISSUE: Mobilizing Tomorrow Public Input Update REPORT: Report on public input received to date and plans for the next outreach series. BACKGROUND: MPO staff is working to finalize the next series of public meetings for Mobilizing Tomorrow. It is anticipated there will be three meetings held around the region in mid-june, with one each occurring in the morning, over the lunch hour, and during the early evening. Staff is working to coordinate with other events in order to maximize attendance at the events, which will focus on the projects submitted by MPO members. More information will be provided at the May 21, 2014, meeting. MPO staff held the first public input series in March. The following page includes a summary of survey responses received at both the in-person meetings as well as online. At the May 19, 2014, meeting, staff will provide a map illustrating location-specific comments received during the first outreach series. Additionally, a statistically-representative survey of the metropolitan area was conducted in 2012 as part of The Tomorrow Plan development. The survey asked for respondents to rank their opinion of certain types of projects they would like to see in the metropolitan area, and several transportation-related projects were included in the choices. The results of this survey are included on the following pages. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACTS: Bethany Wilcoxon, bwilcoxon@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 7 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Design My DSM Survey Project Rankings As part of The Tomorrow Plan, the team conducted a statistically valid survey of around 450 Greater Des Moines residents. Respondents were asked to rank the importance of a set of projects. The list below ranks the projects by importance with 1 being the most important and 14 being the least important (transportation projects in bold): 1. Lower taxes 2. Increase school funding 3. Redevelop vacant properties 4. Enhance the stormwater system 5. Improve our public transportation system 6. Spend money to attract new businesses 7. Support local placemaking 8. Create new parks and conservation areas 9. Create new bicycle paths and facilities 10. Buy out floodplain properties and convert to open space 11. Expand the trail network 12. Build a major regional attraction downtown 13. Add more parking 14. Build more roads Only three items failed to generate a rating of greater than 50% as an Excellent or Good Idea : Building a major regional attraction downtown, adding more parking, and building more roads. 8
Mobilizing Tomorrow Outreach Series 1 Survey Responses Please rank the following statements (1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree) It takes me a consistent amount of time to get to and from work each day 4.08 The roadway system is kept in good repair (i.e., pavement and bridge conditions) 3.14 I m able to safely get to important destinations via bicycle 2.86 I m able to comfortably walk to important destinations 2.78 The public transit system accommodates my needs 2.26 What percentage of its funds should the MPO allocate to the following? Maintain existing roads + bridges 47.75 Enhance public transportation 34.72 Support pedestrian + on-street bicycle facilities 30.00 Build new roads + bridges 27.75 Expand the recreational trail system 25.06 What is most important to you in making improvements to the transportation system? Maintaining a good state of repair 30.56 Being able to use different kinds of transportation 26.85 Accessing important destinations 17.59 Spurring economic development 14.81 Protecting the environment 10.19 9
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 21, 2014 Item No. 6 ISSUE: Mobilizing Tomorrow Additional Policies REPORT: Continued discussion about policies and other strategies to include in Mobilizing Tomorrow. BACKGROUND: In addition to the various projects that will be included in Mobilizing Tomorrow, the plan can include more policy-oriented strategies to help improve the transportation system. Examples of policies discussed with the Planning and Engineering Subcommittees include: Policy for projects on roads used for transit routes to coordinate with DART to help accommodate transit amenities whenever possible; Policy to use design standards to support multimodal transportation as well as green streets concepts; and, Complete Streets policy. The Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan included numerous strategies and policy areas. However, the list was more of an all-encompassing menu of options rather than a proposal for strategies to actually pursue in the planning area. Strategies listed in the Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan include: Safety-related programs as identified in the Iowa Comprehensive Highway Safety Plan; Security-related policies and programs as identified by numerous agencies; Congestion-management and travel-demand management strategies (e.g., high-occupancy vehicle lanes, transit operational improvements, ramp metering); Operational management strategies (e.g., access management, incident management, intelligent transportation systems); Multimodal coordination among the various transportation systems; Land use/transportation coordination; and, General freight strategies. The Tomorrow Plan also includes numerous transportation-related policies. These include, but are not limited to, the following: Develop a system of walkable nodes connected by multi-modal corridors; Reduce municipal parking requirements as transit services increase; Ensure the presence of sidewalks on both sides of all existing and future roadways; Promote and invest in alternative and renewable fuels and renewable fuel infrastructure; Adopt nationally-recognized standards on bicycle and pedestrian facilities and encourage the development of municipal-level bicycle and pedestrian plans; Promote the use of shorter block lengths in new developments, resulting in a fine-grained street network that features more intersections; and, Improve roads to allow all bicyclists to ride comfortably and safely, including the addition of shared lanes, bike lanes, or cycle tracks. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACT: Zach Young, zyoung@dmampo.org; and, Teva Dawson, tdawson@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 10 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 7 ISSUE: Mobilizing Tomorrow Growth Scenario Update REPORT: Continued discussion regarding the long-range transportation plan growth scenario development. BACKGROUND: A growth scenario a forecast of where future development could occur is developed during the long-range transportation plan process. The scenario is an input to a travel demand model that, in turn, forecasts future traffic volumes, transit ridership, and areas of congestion. MPO staff has been meeting with area communities over the last month to develop a growth scenario using the Envision Tomorrow tool and hopes to have the scenario completed in the next few weeks. Staff will provide more information at the May 19, 2014, meeting. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACT: Dylan Mullenix, dmullenix@dmampo.org; and, Aaron Bartling, abartling@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 11 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 8 ISSUE: Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan Amendment Request REPORT: Report on a request from the Iowa Department of Transportation to add a project to the Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan to widen US 6/Hickman Road to six lanes. BACKGROUND: The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has submitted a request to amend the Horizon Year 2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (HY 2035 MTP) by adding a project to widen US 6/Hickman Road to six lanes between County Road R22 at the west edge of Waukee and 111 th Street just east of Interstate 35/80. This request is in response to two studies currently underway on the corridor. The map below illustrates the portion of Hickman Road proposed for widening. Included on the following page is the request letter from the Iowa DOT. MPO staff will hold a public input meeting for the request at the June 19, 2014, MPO Policy Committee meeting. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACT: Nathan Goldberg, ngoldberg@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 12 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.
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Agenda Report MPO Planning Subcommittee May 19, 2014 Item No. 9 ISSUE: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure REPORT: Discussion about what communities can do to promote electric vehicle readiness. BACKGROUND: Plug-in electric vehicles are one part of a suite of solutions for the challenge of providing affordable, clean, secure transportation. Local governments have a critical role to play in the development of both public and private charging infrastructure. The most critical locations for installing charging stations after single-family residences are multi-unit residences and the workplace. Staff will discuss how cities can incentives businesses to install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) as well as how cities can take the lead in installing EVSE to legitimize the electric vehicle market and increase awareness of electric vehicles. RECOMMENDATION: None. Report and discussion only. STAFF CONTACT: Teva Dawson, tdawson@dmampo.org; (515) 334-0075. FY 2014 Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization 14 Please call (515) 334-0075 to obtain permission for use.