Bell St Sidewalk Color PatternMEMORANDUM
January 15,2003
TO:The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM:Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT:Bell Street Sidewalk Revisions
The Port of Dubuque Design Review Committee is recommending a modification to the
design of the Bell Street sidewalk in the Port of Dubuque. The current design has a
broom finish in the concrete with a hardener applied to achieve a deeper red color. It
has been determined that this hardener cannot be applied to a broom finish. The Port
of Dubuque Design Review Committee is recommending the Bell Street sidewalk
pattern be changed to match the buff color and white/gray concrete pattern around the
Portside Building with a broom finish. The Committee is also recommending a revision
to the crosswalk at 5th and Bell Street to complement this recommended revision.
Finally, the Committee recommends not applying a sealer to the concrete, which
reduces concerns about a slippery surface and reduces annual maintenance cost.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM/jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
MEMORANDUM
January 15,2003
TO:Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM:Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Bell Street sidewalk revisions
Introduction
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information on a proposed change to the
design of the Bell Street sidewalk currently out for bid.
BackRround
The City of Dubuque is working with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) to
bid the Bell Street improvement project as a Surface Transportation Program (STP)
funded project. The Port of Dubuque design standard booklet identifies Bell Street as a
parkway street and as such, involves a higher level of design than typical local streets.
Included in the sidewalk design for Bell Street is the use of colored concrete with a
broom finish. Attached is a drawing, which indicates the pattern of the colored concrete,
which includes the use of red colored concrete for the majority of the sidewalk, banded
with a buff colored concrete and a broom finish. This banding is a similar pattern to
what is being installed on the Riverwalk. Concerns were raised by the city's
engineering department that the installation method for the red concrete requires the
application of a shaker/hardener to achieve the deeper red color and it is not possible to
do this with a broom finish. Based upon this information, the design review committee
for the Port of Dubuque was asked to review alternatives to this color design.
Discussion
On January 10, 2003, the design review committee for the Port of Dubuque met to
discuss the Bell Street issue. Included in this meeting were Jerry Enzler, Dubuque
County Historical Society, Rick Dickinson, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation,
Jim Kolf, project manager for the City of Dubuque and city staff including Pauline Joyce,
Administrative Services Manager, Para Myhre, Associate Planner, Bob Schiesl, Civil
Engineer and myself. At that meeting the committee discussed alternatives to the
current sidewalk pattern on Bell Street. Jim Kolf stated that the concrete supplier
thought they might be able to achieve the deeper red concrete without the use of a
shaker/hardener. Other suggestions included matching what was installed around the
Portside building. Attached is a photograph of this pattern which includes buff concrete
banded with a white/gray concrete. After a great deal of discussion, the design review
committee has recommended revising the Bell Street sidewalk pattern to match the buff
and white/gray concrete pattern around the Portside building with the use of a broom
finish as recommended in the design standards booklet. The reasons for doing so
included the following:
The buff and white/gray concrete pattern matches better with the local street
sidewalks which are a light gray concrete;
· The red concrete should only be used to denote special places such as the
Riverwalk, Amphitheater and River's Edge Plaza;
· The red concrete will fade faster than buff and as development occurs along Bell
Street, it will be more difficult to match the red concrete than the buff; and
· The use of a broom finish to reduce concerns about slipping.
The committee is also recommending a revision to the crosswalk at Fifth and Bell
Streets to compliment their recommended revision to Bell Street sidewalk. Attached is
a drawing which shows this crosswalk with a ten foot wide red concrete pattern saw-cut
at 5' intervals. Based upon input from consultant Bob Kost, the recommended revision
is a 1' band of buff colored concrete on either side of the crosswalk, an 8' section of red
concrete in between and saw-cuts at 4' intervals. This design will also include a broom
finish.
Lastly the committee recommends not applying a sealer on the concrete. This will
reduce concerns that have been raised about slipping and will also reduce the level of
annual maintenance required on the sidewalk.
In reviewing these changes with project manager Jim Kolf and city engineering, it is not
anticipated to increase the cost of the project.
Action
The requested action is for City Council to approve the design changes to the Bell
Street sidewalk design.
Cc~
Pauline Joyce, Administrative Services Manager
Mike Koch, Public Works Director
Mike Felderman, Civil Engineer
Port of Dubuque Design Review Committee
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View Looking North at Bell and Sth Streets
The Port of Dubuque Master Plan
file ://T:\CityManager\Council%20Images\Bell%20and%20Fifth%20 Streets.j pg 1/16/2003
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file://T:\CityManager\Council%20Images\Sidewalks.j pg 1/16/2003