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Minutes 06-28-94 (2)MINUTES OF THE JOINT CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY NALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1994AT5:00 P.M. PRESENT Boynton Beach: Edward Harmening, Mayor Matthew Bradley, Mayor Pro Tem Jose Aguila, Commissioner David Katz, Commissioner Carrie Parker, City Manager Lantana: Ron Ferris, Town Manager Delray Beach: Tom Lynch, Mayor Jay Alperin, Vice Mayor David Randolph, Commissioner Ken Ellingsworth, Commissioner Barbara Smith, Commissioner David Harden, City Manager Chambers of Comnerce: Virginia Martin - Boynton Beach Bill Wood - Delray Beach CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harmening called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. This was a joint meeting of the City of Boynton Beach, the City of Delray Beach, and the Town of Lantana to discuss the proposed revisions to Federal Highway which will include parking lanes and sidewalks from north of George Bush Boulevard to north of the Boynton canal. DOT OVERVIEW OF PROJECT Frank Gordon, DOT, Fort Lauderdale, explained that Mr. Rick Chesser was unable to attend because of a previous commitment. Mr. Morteza Alian, Project Manager, was also unable to attend today's meeting because of the recent birth of a child. Mr. Gordon explained that a public meeting was held on March 28th to discuss this project. Revisions were made to the original DOT plans. This project began as a result of Pavement Condition Surveys. These Surveys are conducted every two years. Funding is provided in order for the Department to meet its requirement to keep the highways in good condition. This project falls in the category of the Department's "Three R" (Resurfacing, Restoration and Rehabilitation) Program. Federal funds will be used. The purpose of the resurfacing of U.S. #! is to bring it up to standards without having to acquire rights-of-way. DOT will be meeting the ADA requirements which are federally mandated. It will be necessary to tear out the driveways and upgrade them in line with ADA standards. The slope of the driveways will be reconfigured to accommodate wheelchairs. Highway lighting will be improved and the project will be upgraded to meet Access Management Standards. The DOT follows these rules which are based on the Florida Statutes. -1- MINUTES - CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA dUNE 28, 1994 In District IV, the DOT is implementing bike lanes wherever possible. In this particular instance, four traffic lanes, two 4' marked bike lanes and 8' parking stalls can be accommodated both northbound and southbound on U.S. #1. The land- scaping in the medians will be redone in conjunction with the cities. Mr. Gordon said the replacement landscaping will be similar to what is already in place, or will be an improvement. DOT will not be planting as many new big trees, but they will work with the cities to try to satisfy the needs of the cities, while still meeting the DOT standards. OUESTIONS: Commissioner Katz: Is this project 100% funded from the Federal government? Mr. Gordon said the funding is 80% from the Federal government and 20% from the State. Commissioner Barbara Smith: Will the medians be as good as they are now or even better as far as landscaping? Mr. Gordon would not say the medians will be better, but they will be nice. He does not believe the landscaping will be as good as what is presently planted because DOT has criteria to follow with regard to safety and sight distance. There will probably be less big trees replanted, but it can be landscaped so that the medians will look good. Mr. Gordon requested the cities provide the landscape plans for DOT review since they do not have a landscape architect available. Commissioner Aguila is concerned with parking, access, safety, and how the pro- posed plans will impact today's use of U.S. #1. He is also concerned about the number of median closings proposed. Mr. Gordon stated that every time DOT attempts to do the revisions and the left-turn protected only directional medians, the community has a negative response. DOT has known for a long time that this is a safer operation and they believe the U-turn concept works much better. He explained how this concept was used on Oakland Park Boulevard to accommodate the heavy traffic on that road. Mr. Gordon feels this concept works well in regard to business access. Commissioner Ellingsworth questioned whether or not DOT will follow the landscaping plans if the cities provide them. He explained that the City of Delray Beach has spent a considerable amount of money landscaping the areas involved in this project. Mr. Gordon said DOT would like to do the landscaping plans, but they do not have landscape architects. DOT would like the cities to appoint someone to work with them to prepare the plans. DOT will supply the guidance. They do not want to select the landscaping, but must make sure that safety issues are addressed and trees are not spaced so close together that they become a "picket fence" which will block the view of motorists. DOT uses Index 546 which prohibits trees; however, because of the furor caused by this Index, Tallahassee has allowed more flexibility. Commissioner Ellingsworth: With regard to the U-turns, have you worked with the City Managers of the communities involved concerning emergency equipment and how the DOT plan fits into the community plan? Mr. Gordon said Morteza Allan has mentioned this. He further stated that DOT will be glad to meet with them and accommodate them. -2- NINUTES - CITY CONMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 28, 1994 Tom Lynch, Mayor of Delray Beach, arrived for the meeting. Commissioner Aguila explained that the back-up material he received provides a very detailed report from the Boynton Beach Fire Chief which identifies concerns with regard to response times. Commissioner Aguila wants assurances from DOT that the issues involving the Police, Fire Department and Paramedics can be alleviated with regard to response times. Mayor Harmening pointed out that originally no parking was planned. Then a decision was made to incorporate parking on one side of the highway only. The plans now show parking on both sides of the highway with the bicycle path on the exterior of the parking. Mr. Gordon said the intention of Concept I was to have a wide landscaped median, elimination of parking and incorporation of a bike path. DOT offered that concept, but did not expect that it would be acceptable to the cities. Since then, DOT has received relief from Tallahassee so that the parking and bike lanes can both be accommodated. Mayor Harmening also explained that Boynton Beach has a grass strip between the sidewalk and the edge of the right-of-way. DOT is proposing to pave that grass area to include an additional 3~' sidewalk. Mr. Gordon said DOT will remove that concrete paving from the plan if the City is opposed to it. Mayor Harmening said the City of Boynton Beach would prefer grass in that area. Mr. ~Gordon further stated that approximately six or seven years ago, Mr. Chesser made a decision that these areas would be paved unless the cities will sign maintenance agreements. This also applies for the landscape medians. Mayor Harmening advised that the cities are aware of this. Mayor Harmening reported that the City of Boynton Beach's investigation of traf- fic records indicates that the accidents are occurring at the intersections and not at the median cuts. He offered to furnish Mr. Gordon with the current information which has been provided by Palm Beach County, and requested that DOT investigate this situation. Mr. Gordon agreed to review the statistics. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley pointed out that the business community is concerned that the median cuts will not be business ~friendly. Mr. Gordon explained that DOT has a great deal to consider in this project including ADA, bikes, pedestrians, landscaping, highway lighting, and the community concerns. Commissioner Katz feels this U.S. #1 corridor and Oakland Park Boulevard cannot be compared because there is no where near the amount of traffic on U.S. #1 here as there is on Oakland Park Boulevard east of 1-95. Commissioner Katz feels there are many other projects which require attention in our community. Mr. Gordon said he used Oakland Park Boulevard as an extreme example of how DOT handled the traffic in that area. Mayor Tom Lynch is very concerned about the liability involved because of the bike path. When car doors are opened, the biker will either hit the car door or have to swerve out into traffic. Mayor Lynch questioned whether this plan has been used in other parts of the State. Mr. Gordon responded that he is not aware of any other place in the State where this has been used, but DOT has approval from Tallahassee. The DOT has a bicycle expert with a worldwide repu- tation who represents the DOT and the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He is the person responsible for this concept which has been used in other places in the world. This expert would have liked to have had an additional one foot, but the space is not available. The State of Florida is behind this deci- sion. -3- MINUTES - CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP MEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ~UNE 28, 1994 Mayor Lynch inquired as to whether or not the cities will receive a hold harmless agreement for any responsibility for where the parking is located. He is totally opposed to this concept. He pointed out that even in California, which has many bicycle areas throughout the entire State, the bike paths are not on the outside of the parking areas. Mr. Gordon cannot see why Mayor Lynch feels the cities would have a liability. He stated this is a State road, approved and constructed by the State. Mayor Lynch also questioned whether or not the cities will have the responsi- bility of stating'where the parking will be located, or whether that is a DOT decision. Mr. Gordon said the DOT will draw the marking and signing plans which will indicate the parking areas in accordance with DOT criteria. He reminded those present of the corner clearance requirements. Mayor Lynch pointed out that he would never permit his children to ride a bike in this proposed area. Mr. Gordon feels children should not be riding in these lanes. This is a mixed use. The "so-called experts" will be using these lanes. Children and others should ride on the sidewalk or take other routes. Mayor Lynch feels the "so-called experts" will stay on A-l-A, not on U.S. #1. Mr. Gordon reminded Mayor Lynch that they are permitted by law to ride out in traf- fic, but these lanes are being proposed to provide a measure of safety for the bikers. Mayor Lynch asked that the record reflect his feelings that this proposal will be more dangerous for bikers with the opening of car doors than what they already have today. He is opposed to this concept. Commissioner Jay Alperin feels that if bike lanes are going to be incorporated, it would be more appropriate to put them next to each other on one side of the road making it an 8' path so that the bikers would only pass each other in oppo- site directions. This would reduce the danger. Mr. Gordon said they have bicycle coordinated measures in Broward and other counties which represent the bikers in the counties. These measures tell DOT that the bikers would prefer to travel in the direction of traffic rather than in opposite directions. Commissioner Randolph questioned how the bikers feel about this situation. Mr. Gordon said DOT receives input from bicycle coordinators in the counties and their bicycle expert talks with bikers at workshops on bicycle safety. Federal legislation (ISTEA) strongly emphasizes multi-mode pedestrian facilities, bike facilities and ADA facilities. Commissioner Barbara Smith asked about DOT's timetable for this proposed plan. Mr. Gordon said DOT will be asking for bids on December 4, 1995, so there is time to work on the landscape plans. In response to Commissioner Aguila's question regarding DOT's percentage of completion on the design plans to date, Mr. Gordon said they are about 40% to 50% complete, and the current design is based on the section that we already have with the 8' parking, and the bike lane. Mr. Gordon said that for the Town of Lantana, the section which was recently built has a 7½' parking lane and a 4' "no man's lane". Tallahassee will study this situation. DOT does not intend to mark that as a bike lane at this point. -4- HINUTES - CITY C01~14I$$iOH WORKSHOP HEETING BOYHTON BEACH, FLORIDA ~UHE 28, 1994 Commissioner Bradley pointed out that in the north end of Boynton Beach, the east side of the highway currently has no parking. He questioned whether that will change back to parking on both sides of the highway. Mr. Gordon said that if there is no parking there now, no new parking will be added. Commissioner Aguila explained that there was parking on both sides in this particular area until the roadway improvements were done. Mr. Gordon stated that DOT's general intent is to have parking northbound and southbound. There may be some parking close to the corners at present that DOT would have to eliminate. There will be some net loss of parking, but the parking should be sufficient. Commissioner Ellingsworth questioned when this work will begin if bids are accepted in December, 1995. Mr. Gordon feels the work will begin in March or April. The project will probably take longer than six months, but the calcula- tions have not yet been done. Commissioner Ellingsworth inquired as to whether or not DOT has a penalty clause in all of their contracts. Mr. Gordon responded affirmatively, but stated that there are always ways to beat those clauses. Commissioner Ellingsworth said he would not want this project to become another "Boca Raton". Mayor Harmening advised that Rick Chesser will be sent a letter from the City of Boynton Beach regarding the grass areas. Mr. Gordon said the DOT will provide a maintenance agreement. In response to Commissioner Randolph's question regarding irrigation, Mr. Gordon said DOT will bear the costs for the landscape medians and irrigation if the cities provide the plans. Mayor Harmening questioned whether irrigation will be supplied by means of City water or wells. Mr. Gordon responded that City water will be used. Ron Ferris, Manager, Town of Lantana, said his town is in a different situation than the cities of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach. They have two proposals from DOT; one being the immediate resurfacing; and the second is the potential widening of U.S. #1 with options from four lanes to six lanes, with or without medians; with suicide lanes, with stacking lanes, etc. The Town Council went on record in February or March adopting a resolution opposing any widening of U.S. #1 in the corporate limits of the Town of Lantana. The cities of Boynton Beach and Delray Beach have a proposal which includes parking. DOT has proposed eli- minating the parking in Lantana in favor of bicycle paths and sidewalks. The Town of Lantana is vehemently opposed to any widening of U.S. #1 and DOT is aware of Lantana's decision. A public hearing was held on April 6th, when 200-300 people attended and everyone opposed the widening of this highway. Widening this highway would wipe out the business section of Lantana. The Town of Lantana wants the repaving and has adopted a resolution that U.S. #1 be scarified, repaved, have the curb cuts done, uniform the signs, improve the lighting and fix the drainage. It is rumored that DOT will have some word at the beginning of July with regard to the alternative plans they have for widening U.S. #1. Mr. Ferris said the Town of Lantana may then seek assistance from the City of Boynton Beach and the City of Delray Beach if DOT attempts to widen U.S. #1. The widening proposal is catastrophic and the impacts are far ranging. Mr. Gordon said the DOT is not in the business of wiping out business. -5- HINUTE$ - CITY COt4HI$$ION WORKSHOP HEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORZDA JUNE 28, 1994 Commissioner Aguila reviewed the plans and noticed that every mid-intersection median currently in place is proposed for closure. This will force all motorists to U-turn at an intersection. He asked Mr. Gordon for confirmation that DOT intends to close every median which is not at an intersection. He also asked if it would be possible to get a mid-length taper and U-turn if the length between intersections is over a certain distance. Mr. Gordon said DOT intends to close some median cuts, but open others. They are using the Access Manage- ment rule and are trying to adapt it to the neighborhood. There is a median opening approximately every 6§0'. In reviewing the plan, Mayor Harmening agreed with Commissioner Aguila's remarks regarding the proposed closing of the median cuts. Mayor Harmening said the City of Boynton Beach is not interested in closing any more median cuts than absolutely necessary, and those closings should be substantiated by some backup or accident history on why they are being closed. Mr. Gordon said the closings will be the result of revised rules. He provided copies. At this point in the meeting, Mayor Lynch polled the audience to see if there was anyone in favor of this proposal. THERE WAS NO ONE IN FAVOR. Mayor Lynch pointed out to Mr. Gordon that no one wants these changes and everyone feels the only thing which will be accomplished is that the changes will create havoc and create a mess with the bicycle paths. Mr. Gordon disagreed with these remarks. Mayor Lynch suggested the DOT try this concept in another town before bringing here to Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Lantana, Mayor Lynch proposed that the cities go to the State Legislature to ask them to reconsider because this plan makes no sense. From a cost standpoint, for a government which is broke and needs money, they are doing something which no one wants and the cities do not need. Mr. Gordon said that DOT is required to incorporate bicycle paths. In response to Commissioner Katz' question, Mr. Gordon said this project is estimated to cost $2.5 million. Commissioner Katz said that the City of Boynton Beach has 1-95 interchanges which are horrendous. There is absolutely no landscaping at those locations. We have medians that don't look very good either. We have a Central Business District that is decaying. There are coastal schools which are in a total state of disrepair. We have libraries with tattered and out-of-date books and tons of unfunded mandates from the federal government and the State. The monies for this project should be funneled somewhere else. He agrees that this project should be done somewhere else. Mr. Gordon said the funds for highways cannot be used for books. DOT has the money to do this project and they want to do it the best way possible. COHMENT$ Vtrgtnla Hartln, Director of Be2nton Beach Chamber of Co~merce~ advised that all State agencies must do an economic impact statement whenever a program or proj- ect will affect the common good. She feels this project will have a horrendous impact on the business community and questioned whether or not that impact has been considered. -6- HINUTE$ - CITY COMMISSION WORKSHOP HEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 28, 1994 Mr. Gordon said this particular funding category "Three R", does not require an economic impact study. DOT is required by law to maintain the highways up to standards. Ms. Martin pointed out that she was in possession of traffic studies and the only places where there have been substantial accidents are in the intersec- tions. She feels the U-turns at the intersections will cause more traffic acci- dents. Mr. Gordon disagreed with this remark. Ms. Martin recommended requesting an economic impact statement before the project is bid. Commissioner Aguila requested that the Boynton Beach City Engineer look at the spacing of turn medians versus what DOT is proposing. He is interested in finding out the distances, and if there is an argument to not allow or support any or all of them, we can draft a letter of opposition. Mr. Gordon advised that this section of U.S. #1 has an access classification of 5, and the minimum median spacing opening is 660'. However, Mr. Gordon said there could be median openings closer than 660', but those decisions are made by a committee which studies this. They sometimes violate those numbers for cause. Mayor Pro Tem Bradley questioned whether substantial economic impact would be considered reasonable cause. Mr. Gordon said DOT does not see the economic impact in this case. If they are shown an impact, they will study it. Commissioner Jay Alperin noted that these changes are being made to meet the intent of the new regulations. He wondered whether an evaluation or presenta- tion of every violation of those regulations had been presented to each City. He feels the solution might be simplier if all of the violations are addressed rather than attempting to rebuild the entire system. Mr. Gordon said it would be impossible to correct all the violations. Commissioner Alperin would like to know what the problems are before trying to fix the whole thing. Ron Last, past Acting Clt2 Engineer for the Clt~ofBoynton Beach~ has attended meetings with Mr. Allan on this project. He feels two things are necessary to satisfy some of the concerns of the Commissioners: Mr. Allan has the sight distance plans worked out which would allow the Commissioners to see where the landscaping could be incorporated. If you go by the new Code, and leave the median openings which are there now, there will not be much landscaping allowed in the future; and e it is necessary fOr the Commissioners to see the pavement marking plans to see what would be allowable for parking and not allowable for parking. Mr. Last feels that if they leave the median openings and get the variance, the cities will lose a great deal of on-street parking because of sight distance cl ea rances. -7- 14INUTES - CZTY COMMISSION WORKSHOP #EETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA OUNE 28, 1994 In response to Mr. Last's question regarding the status of the pavement marking plans, Mr. Gordon stated he was not sure, but did not think they were done yet. The DOT will provide a copy of all plans to each City as soon as they are available. Mayor Harmening wondered whether or not the cities would receive these plans in time to review them in detail, make comments and get some reac- tion from DOT. Mr. Gordon said he will make an effort to do the marking plans. The sight distances for the sight plans have been laid out, but the trees have not been incorporated yet. The new policy will allow some trees in the triangle as long as DOT provides for the clear zone. They must provide for 50% visibil- ity as opposed to the previous 100% required before. They now have the oppor- tunity to do a better job on landscaping than they had one month ago. Lloyd Powell~ representing Alpine Flortst~ 1112 North Federal Highway, Boynton Bea~h~ attended the first meeting on this project months ago. At that time, he found many flaws in those plans. Those plans designated a number of businesses as closed when, in fact, those businesses are open. He was also upset that DOT was not specific with regard to the accidents reported. He is interested in the locations of the accidents. Mr. Powell has had communications with State Repre- sentatives and Senators as well as U.S. Senators. He has received responses to his letters, but all of the responses are identical in composition. It appears that this is a done deal. He is a taxpayer and is opposed to DOT ripping up medians which the taxpayers have just paid $10,000 each to plant. He questioned how we got permits to plant these medians if they were not planted in accordance with DOT criteria. Mr. Powell is a resident of Boynton Beach, but pointed out that Delray Beach has spent a great deal of money over the last ten years to beautify Federal Highway. He is 100% opposed to this project, and has been since the first mention of it. He spoke of the median closings and the impact that extra travel time and gas expense would have on his employees. He also spoke of the liability issue involved in having a bike path in an area where the biker could be hit by an opening car door. From the audience, Nanc~ Davtla~ Horticulturlst~ ~ of Delray Beach~ asked for clarification on the Index 546 al'io~i'ng 50% viSibilityl Mr. Gordon said the present Index does not show that, but DOT is granting variances based on 50%. He said this revision is probably in print now. Ms. Davila attempted to confirm that the revision is forthcoming and the cities will not have to go through the variance procedure. Mr. Gordon responded that that they provide for certain requirements for 50% visibility. They do not want the trees too close to the intersections. Ms. Davila questioned how much Federal funding would be received for this proj- ject if bike paths were not part of the project. She wondered if this is a trickle down from the ISTEA funds. Mr. Gordon said these are not ISTEA funds. This money comes out of the regular funding. He said DOT would still get the Federal funding if bike paths were not included. Dan Beatty, Assistant City Engineer, City of Delra~ Beach~ referred to a pre- vious statement made by Mr. Gordon and asked for clarification of the rule which requires the DOT to provide these bike paths. Mr. Gordon said he would provide the answer to that question after speaking with DOT's Bicycle Coordinator. -8- H]NUTE$ - CITY COHHI$$IOH WORKSHOP HEETING BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA JUNE 2B, 1994 Bill Wood, Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce~ expressed the opposition of the business communities of both cities to this project. He pointed out that the communities have not requested ISTEA funds for this stretch of highway at this time. He is frustrated with the fact that although the cities are trying to work together, he wondered what can be done if the communities are unhappy in the final analysis. Mayor Lynch said this is an election year and the people in the Legislature need to know our feelings. He feels government must begin to listen to the people, and suggested working together to get the job done. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to discuss, Mayor Lynch moved to adjourn the workshop meeting. Commissioner Aguila seconded the motion. The meeting prop- perly adjourned at 6:15 p.m. THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH ATTEST: ~_,_cordi ng Secretary (Two Tapes) Com)~-~si oner ~to~i ssioner -9-