PLANNING
COMMITTEE MEETING
Meeting Minutes
December 5, 2007
Frank Commisso, Albany Port Authority
Todd Fabozzi representing Rocky Ferraro, Capital District
Regional Planning Commission
Michael Franchini, Albany County (Chairman)
Jaclyn Hakes, representing Brad Birge, City of Saratoga
Springs
Bruce Hidley, City of Watervliet
Fred Howard, Rensselaer County
Steve Iachetta, Albany International Airport
George Leveille, Town of Bethlehem
Barbara McHugh, Town of Clifton Park
Marybeth Pettit, City of Rensselaer
John Poorman, Capital District Transportation Committee (Secretary)
Dave Rettig, New York State Department of Transportation
Tom Richardson, City of Mechanicville
Dede Rudolph, City of Albany
Phil Serafino, New York State Thruway Authority
Bernard Sisson, City of Schenectady
John Stangle, representing Denise Sheehan, Town of Colonie
Steve Watts, Town of Halfmoon
Kristina Younger, Capital District Transportation Authority
STAFF AND OTHERS
Anne Benware, Capital District Transportation Committee
Frank Bonafide, NYSDOT Region 1
David Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee
Lindsay Lefting, Bergmann Associates
Scott Lewendon, Clough Harbour
Mike Lyons, Town of Colonie
Raj Malhotra, NYS Department
of Transportation Region 1
Peter Melewski, Bergmann Associates
Sandy Misiewicz, Capital District Transportation Committee
Sree Nampoothiri, Capital District Transportation Committee
Scott Nowalk, NYS Department
of Transportation Region 1
Chris O’Neill, Capital District Transportation Committee
Glenn Posca, Capital District Transportation Committee
Jason Purvis, Capital District Transportation Committee
Paul Reuss, Village
of Menands
Ian Ross, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
Deborah Stacey, Capital District Transportation Committee
Steve Szanto, Creighton Manning
Cathy Woodruff, Times Union
Mike Wyatt, NYS Department of Transportation Region 1
VISITORS ISSUES
Chairman Franchini opened the meeting at approximately 9:35 am. There were no
visitor’s issues.
Action Items
ADMINISTRATION
Approval
of the November 7,
2007 Meeting Minutes
NYSDOT requested a change to the November 7th
Meeting Minutes regarding the discussion of the Balltown Road Corridor Design
study. It was requested that the
sentence stating that roundabouts were “dismissed due to ROW
issues” be changed to “were dropped from consideration because of the physical
constraints created by the Rexford Bridge, the pedestrian overpass near the bridge and the
spacing of the Riverview
Road and Aqueduct Road intersections”. Members
approved the November 7, 2007 Meeting Minutes with the change noted.
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
A492,
R267, SA238 and SA 239
It was reported that only 80 percent of the project cost
of these four enhancement projects appears in the current TIP. This was an error due to the fact that the
amounts shown are the non-matched amounts, rather than the matched federal aid
amount. Conse-quently, the project costs
need to be increased by the match amounts for all four projects. Addition of STP Enhancement Projects after
approval by the state advisory committee requires Planning Committee
action. Members approved the amendments
to these four projects as described in the handout.
A495
Route5: Rte 155 to Fuller Road
This amendment is for a request to extend the project
limits from Fuller
Road to the
Albany City Line. The extension of the
project limits will not increase the budget of the project. NYSDOT provided additional information to
members as requested at the November Planning Committee meeting. NYSDOT and the City of Albany met last week to discuss this project. The city expressed concern that they had to
reduce the project limits on the Central Avenue project in their jurisdiction because of funding
issues, while NYSDOT could decide to use “project savings” to expand the
project limits of their project. The
city recently found out that the cost for the Central Avenue project within the city is lower than expected. The city would like to extend the project
limits of their project as well (from Everett Road to Quail) using the $2M that will be left over from the
project that was bid.
After very lively discussion, it was determined that
these two requests are very unique and should be entertained not as precedence,
but as a one time request. Members
acknowledged that the Route 5 corridor is one of the most important corridors
in the region and needs to be maintained, especially with the BRT
project being developed. Members
approved the motion to extend the project limits of both A495 and A341 with the
caveat that the approval will not set a precedent, and future requests will be
considered on a case-by-case basis.
Discussion Items
HUDSON RIVER CROSSING STUDY
CDTC staff partnered with NYSDOT to progress a study of
the Hudson River bridge crossings from Exit 21 of the Thruway up to the Saratoga County line; although the Patroon Island Bridge received the most analysis. Bergmann Associates was hired to conduct the
study of the bridge crossings. Peter Melewski from Bergmann associates provided a brief overview of the study. The New Visions growth scenarios were
considered in the analysis of the bridge crossings. Basically the study concluded that there is
no pressing need to expand the capacity of the Patroon Island Bridge, which means that capacity will not be a factor in
determining whether to rehab or replace the bridge. The findings of the study will be finalized
and published in a report for broader circulation.
SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM
$1.3 Million has been allocated to Region 1 for the Safe
Routes to School Program. This program was developed to address walkability and
bicycling concerns at locations within a 2 mile radius of K through 8 schools. Schools, counties, towns, villages and cities
are eligible project sponsors. No local
match is required for the projects, but those that provide local funding will
receive higher evaluation scores than those that do not. Workshops will be held locally to provide
information about the program to potential sponsors. Additional information about the program is
available on NYSDOT’s website.
INTEGRATED COMMUNITY &
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING & DESIGN REPORT
David Jukins prepared a PowerPoint to review this shared
cost study funded by the association of NYS MPOs with the Committee. The
presentation provided information about the study and demonstrated how well NYS
has done in understanding the relationship between Land Use and Transportation. A brochure was developed as part of the
study, highlighting 10 of the best projects.
Two of the ten are located in the Capital Region.
STATUS OF PLANNING ACTIVITIES
CDRPC
The Fiscal Impact Study is complete. The Center for Economic Growth produced a
slick 4-page brochure highlighting the work of the study. The brochure has been printed; copies will be
available for widespread distribution shortly.
CDTA
Ridership on the Saratoga Routes has more than doubled
since the service was revamped this past summer. The performance goal to double ridership was
reached in 4 month, well in advance of the 18 month target. FTA conducted their semi-annual review of CDTA
earlier this week. Work on the Route 5 BRT
continues to advance. An additional $1M
in funding has been earmarked by Congresswoman Gillibrand for the BRT.
City of Schenectady
A public information meeting regarding the proposed
redesign of Erie
Boulevard was held
on November 29th. The
proposed improvements to Erie Blvd were well received.
Scott Lewendon for Clough Harbor Associates gave a brief overview of the
improvements proposed for Erie Blvd. The project
limits are from I-890 to the RR bridge north of State Street. Portions of Erie Blvd are 110’ in width, which makes it feasible to design a
curvilinear boulevard with a landscaped median.
A Roundabout is being considered at the Ferry Street intersection. Driveways will be consolidated with many
converted to rights in/rights out only. Erie Blvd will accommodate bicycles with either a shared lane or
designated bike lane. A public meeting will be held in the Spring to unveil the
final design recommendations.
OTHER
There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned
at 12:10 p.m. The January
Planning Committee meeting will be held on January 9th, not the
first Wednesday, January 2nd.
Respectfully submitted,
John P. Poorman
Secretary