09-26-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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AGENDA ITEM Prepared By: Reviewed By: A. Carlson Approved By: 1. Purpose. The purpose of this action item is to gain council direction on the provision for Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure. 2. Background. The City has identified Fox Street (Brown to Orono Orchard) as the focus for the 2023 Streets improvement project. At the September 12, 2022 meeting Council concurred with staff recommendation on the scope of the pavement rehabilitation work to be done. The total cost of this work is estimated to be $1,098,987 and will be funded by the Pavement fund and stormwater fund. Staff is now working detailed design for that work. As directed by council the design process will include opportunities for resident comment and will include options for shouldering and traffic calming elements that can be incorporated within this project scope. At the same meeting Council provided direction to staff and interested residents that the subject of the provision of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure would be discussed at the September 26th council meeting. 3. Neighborhood Input. In November of 2021, the city received a petition from 11 of the Fox Street residents requesting the city consider a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane. Subsequently city staff received calls from residents expressing concern with pedestrian or bike modification to the right of way. Written resident input to date is included at exhibit A. 4. Summary of Analysis. a. Opportunities. (1) Cost savings through efficiencies. If the city wants to include bike or pedestrian improvements to a right of the best time to do so is when the road is under construction. b. Challenges. (1) Wetlands. Significant portion of the right of way are within wetland areas. Any widening would require filling wetland which drives the costs up significantly. (2) Lack of connection. The stretch of right of way does not connect to any existing or planned off street bike or pedestrian features (3) Funding. There is not a city funding source available to complete a project of this scope. It is unlikely we would be successful in a grant application of this either due to its isolated nature and a lack of a general program to add these features to city right of way. Another source of funding such as voluntary assessment or a donation would be required. c. Options. Below are some options for the provision of Bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the ROW. (Visual aids are at Exhibit b) (1) Multimodal Separated Trail. In order to accommodate a standard 8ft wide multimodal trail would necessitate the construction of a boardwalk. Construction of a 1000ft board walk could cost on the order of $1M+. Installation of an off street trail in the upland areas would create an additional 12- 14+ feet (in width) of impact to the right of way to create space for the trail and setbacks. (2) Additional 4 feet of Shoulders. Bolton and Menk looked at this option during the feasibility work for the road improvement project. This could be implemented as 2 feet on each side or all 4 feet on one side. This would not allow the construction of any standard pedestrian of bike infrastructure but might provide a narrow refuge when there is traffic in both lanes of the roadway. The Item No.: 17 Date: September 26, 2022 Item Description: Fox Street Pedestrian and Bike Infrastructure Public Discussion (Project #23-001) Presenter: Adam T. Edwards City Administrator/City Engineer Agenda Section: Public Hearing