CAPITAL DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
June 7, 2012
MEMBERS ATTENDING
Philip Barrett, Town of Clifton Park
Carm Basile, Capital District Transportation
Authority
Sarah Crowell, representing Mayor Daniel
Dwyer, City of
Rensselaer
Dennis Dowds, Town of Schodack
Mayor James Gaughan, Village of Altamont
Bruce Hidley, representing Mayor Michael
Manning, City of
Watervliet
Terry Hurley, Albany Port District Commission
Steve Iachetta, representing John O’Donnell,
Albany County
Airport Authority
Mary Ivey, NYS
Department of Transportation Region 1, Secretary
Andrew Kreshik,
representing Mayor Lou Rosamilia, City of Troy
Michael Loftus,
New York State Thruway Authority
Mayor Gary McCarthy, City of Schenectady
Mayor John T. McDonald
Mike Stammel, Capital District Regional
Planning Commission
Linda von der Heide, representing Kathleen
Jimino, Rensselaer
County
Tom Werner, Saratoga County
Don Adams, Creighton Manning
Rob Cherry, NYS Department of Transportation
Region 1
Caroline Crowell, Interested Citizen
Collin Hodges, Capital District Transportation Committee
David Jukins, Capital District Transportation Committee
Sandra Misiewicz, Capital District Transportation Committee
Leah Mosall, Capital District Transportation Committee
Sree Nampoothiri, Capital District Transportation Committee
Chris O’Neill, Capital District Transportation Committee
Jeff Pangburn, Creighton Manning
Sam Piper, Capital District Transportation Committee
Glenn Posca, Capital District Transportation Committee
Jason Purvis, Capital District Transportation Committee
John Tozzi, Creighton Manning
Ken Williams, Interested Citizen
OPENING REMARKS
Chairman McDonald opened the Capital District Transportation Committee
meeting at 3:07 PM and welcomed those in attendance. Members and attendees introduced themselves.
ADMINISTRATION
Approval of the March 1, 2012 Meeting Minutes
The March 1, 2011 meeting minutes were
approved by the members.
Approval of the March 9, 2012 Meeting Minutes
The March 9, 2011 meeting minutes were
approved by the members.
Administrative & Financial Standing Subcommittee Report
Dave Jukins said that the MPO Host Agency
Federal-Aid Project Agreement, which is time sensitive, has been delayed in
downtown Albany. CDTC staff will
continue to monitor the situation. Mayor
McDonald reported that the A & F is conducting a search process for a new
Executive Director for CDTC to replace John Poorman, who retired in May. Mayor McDonald said that he expected to
finish the process by the end of June.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
Chairman McDonald indicated that CDTC provides an opportunity for
visitors to address items on the agenda.
Kenneth Williams spoke about the importance of investment in new buses
to support transit ridership.
PRESENTATION - PROJECTS IN HARMONY:
INTEGRATING THE NEW WASHINGTON AVENUE/FULLER ROAD INTERSECTION AND
ALBANY NANOFAB EXPANSION INTO THE REGION’S ECONOMIC FABRIC
Jeff Pangburn gave a presentation about the
Washington Avenue/Fuller Road intersection project. This project represents a collaboration
between Albany County, NYSDOT, CDTC, and University at Albany's College of
Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE).
Washington Avenue will be reconfigured to the north, and will be
elevated so that through traffic will travel over Fuller Road. The project has been carefully coordinated
with construction occurring on the CNSE campus.
A roundabout will be constructed at grade, and sidewalks and pedestrian
crosswalks will be provided. Mary Ivey
commented that this project is a great example of cooperation. Dave Jukins commented that this project
illustrates many New Visions principles, including public private partnerships,
land use integration and multi-modal planning.
TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
T17 (1820.48), Transit Bus Replacement/Expansion
Carm Basile explained that this amendment is
necessary because the Federal Transit Administration made additional
discretionary bus replacement funding available to CDTA. The grant will result in seven to eight bus purchases
that will be made in the summer of 2013.
Members approved the amendment.
A536 & SA271 (1ABP01), Twin Bridges Deck Replacements
Dave Jukins explained that this project was
included in the list of projects approved at the emergency action Policy Board
meeting on March 9. This project is
singled out for Policy Board consideration because it is one of the largest
deck projects. Mary Ivey explained that
staff is looking at weekend construction for this project. Members approved the amendment.
Proposed New York
Works Program
Mary Ivey explained that the Region will benefit from a
significant amount of infrastructure projects through the Governor’s
initiative. Most of the projects will involve
pavement restoration and bridge rehabilitation and deck replacements. One of the signature projects is the Patroon
Island Bridge project, funded at $140 million.
Dave Jukins commented that the Patroon Island
Bridge project is very good for the Capital District. It is a critically important project for
which funding was previously uncertain.
DISCUSSION OF COMMISSIONER McDONALD’S LETTER
ON FORWARD FOUR STRATEGIES
Dave Jukins presented the letter from Commissioner McDonald which
presents the New York State Department of Transportation’s new Four Forward
Strategy. He explained that given limited
resources there is a need to look at infrastructure needs, especially preservation
strategies. The Commissioner is
suggesting that CDTC can incorporate the Four Forward strategies into the CDTC
TIP. CDTC staff has been working with
Frank Bonafide on this and will work with the Planning Committee to present
recommendations. CDTC staff will be
holding county level meetings to review projects for opportunities to implement
Four Forward strategies. Mary Ivey
explained that the Commissioner wants to work collaboratively with the MPOs,
and sees the need to be responsible for great infrastructure needs.
STATUS OF
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES
CDTA
Carm Basile reported that transit ridership is going up, and
service improvements are making service more efficient.
CDRPC
Mike Stammel reported on progress in preparing the mcd population
age cohort projections; and updating the community profiles using the 2010
Decennial Census Data and 2006-10 data from the American Community Survey (ACS)
Data. CDRPC is continuing work on the
NYSERDA Climate Smart Communities initiative.
CDRPC is also participating in the NYSERDA Cleaner Greener Communities
Capital Region Sustainability Plan.
Albany Airport
Authority
Steve Iachetta reported that passenger growth has returned at the
airport. Capital improvements are
continuing, including $2 million for security improvements.
Albany Port
Authority
Terry Hurley reported that maritime activity is projected to
exceed that of last year.
CDTC
Dave Jukins introduced CDTC’s new staff person, Leah Mosall. Dave said that the Car Sharing study is
progressing with a public information meeting scheduled for June 12. Mayor McDonald reminded members that the
national AMPO (Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations) conference
will be held in Saratoga Springs September 11th through 14th. Funding for CDTC members to register is
available.
NYSDOT
Rob Cherry said that the New York State Department of
Transportation (NYSDOT) received two awards for the project to replace the Lake
Champlain Bridge at Crown Point. They
are: the Bridge Achievement Award, (Eastern New York Chapter of the Association
for Bridge Construction and Design, Inc.); and the 2012 Transportation Planning
Excellence Awards Program, to be presented by FHWA 7/18/12.
Village of
Altamont
Mayor Gaughan expressed concern that the Commissioner’s letter may
conflict with work currently in scoping; we need to be concerned with those who
have the least. Mary acknowledged this
point as something that will be an important consideration. She said that safety is also a very important
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no
other business, the meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:08 pm. The next meeting was scheduled for September
6; (however, the next meeting was
subsequently rescheduled for Thursday September 13, 2012 at 8:10 a.m. to
coincide with the national AMPO conference in Saratoga Springs).
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ivey
Secretary