11 17 09 City Council Proceedings Official_Special
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
OFFICIAL
The Dubuque City Council met in special session at 5:30 p.m. on November 17, 2009
in the Historic Federal Building.
Present: Mayor Buol, Council Members Braig, Connors, Jones, Resnick, Voetberg,
City Manager Van Milligen, City Attorney Lindahl
Council Member Braig left the meeting at 6:45 p.m. Council Member Resnick left the
meeting at 6:55 p.m.
Absent: Council Member Lynch
Mayor Buol read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council to
conduct a work session regarding the East / West Corridor Connectivity Study.
Project Manager Steve Brown provided a brief history of the study.
Will Sharp of HDR, Inc., 8404 Indian Hills Drive, Omaha, Nebraska, introduced the
project’s core team of Tara Kramer, Chris Malmberg, and Julie Neebel (IIW Engineers).
Mr. Sharp provided a slide presentation outlining the work session and the results of the
study:
Presentation outline:
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Review study process
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Review previous input
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Review recommended concept
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Next steps
Review of study flow chart and timeline
Review of information incorporated from previous work session and impact of current
conditions
Tara Kramer reviewed the stakeholder/agency coordination and the information
gathered to date:
Eleven individual meetings held
Presented recommended concepts:
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Signals vs. roundabouts
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Overlap section
Priorities:
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University Avenue overlap section
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Improving skewed intersections
Presentation to Long Range Planning Advisory Commission
Process to identify recommended concept:
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safety
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traffic operations
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complete streets – definition and examples
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property impacts
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sustainability
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technical staff input
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stakeholder input
Mr. Sharp highlighted the recommended concept overview, which summarized the
different concepts:
Immediate recommendations:
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Reserve rights-of-way at suggested areas
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Removing parking and convert to 3-lane section immediately
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Add sharrows (shared bike/car lanes) on suggested streets
High priority – University Avenue Overlap Section
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Signalized intersections and roundabouts
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Evaluation considerations
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Coordination with technical staff and stakeholders
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Comparison and benefits of roundabout vs. signal options
Review of aerial-based concepts:
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University Avenue overlap section with traffic simulation
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Asbury Road east of NW Arterial
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University Avenue at Loras Boulevard
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Pennsylvania Avenue
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Asbury Road west of NW Arterial
Chris Malmberg reviewed the intersection and roundabout concept maps and legend
information highlighting University Avenue and Asbury Road concepts:
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Full-construction areas
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Adding, rebuilding and placement of sidewalks
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Raised medians
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Gis parcel information
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Right-of-way acquisition and impacts
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Adjacent and redundant access
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Street and intersection realignments
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Multi-lane roundabouts
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Bicycle lanes and streams
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Neighborhood connectivity
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On-street parking impact and removal
Julie Neebel reviewed the concept maps regarding Pennsylvania Avenue from the
NW Arterial to the suggested roundabout section at University Avenue:
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Minimal street realignment
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Bike lanes
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Minimal street and sidewalk reconstruction
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Mid-block pedestrian crossings at Flora Park
Mr. Malmberg provided additional information on the following sections:
University Avenue east of Asbury Road to Booth Street:
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Shared bike sharrows in University Avenue overlap section
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Realignment of Delhi Street
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Signal at University Avenue and North Grandview Avenue
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Removal of on-street parking
Loras Boulevard to Alta Vista Street
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Shared lane due to on-street parking concerns and driveway access
Asbury Road west of the NW Arterial from Seippel Road
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Dedicated bike lanes
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Minimal reconstruction and re-alignment
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Rural issues
Mr. Sharp summarized the presentation:
Additional Considerations
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Recommended future study of Intersections outside the scope of this study
Next Steps
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Finalize the study recommendations
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Council and citizen input, endorsement
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Prioritize improvements and incorporate into cip and long range transportation
plans
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Implement proposed improvements
City Council Members stated their satisfaction with the study. Discussion included
complete streets, enhanced pedestrian crosswalks, roundabout statistics and pro-active
public awareness, bike/car sharrows and signage, limited property acquisition and
assessment issues.
John Adams, Board of Trustees for Hillcrest Family Services, 2005 Asbury Road,
spoke regarding the potential impact construction will have on the agency’s imminent
plans to build a new chapel.
City Council reached consensus on the roundabout solutions and endorsed the full
plan.
There being no further business, upon motion the City Council adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
/s/Jeanne F. Schneider, CMC
City Clerk
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