1. Introductions and Overview a. Mr. Emad Elshafei, Acting Chief of Traffic and Transportation, provided an update on the Transportation Department. b. Mr. Jonathon Walker was introduced as a guest and prospective T&T Commissioner.
2. Review and Approve Minutes a. September 2005 minutes were approved with modifications.
3. Staff Report and Updates (Weekly) a. Chair Oberg inquired about the proposed new permit parking zones. Staff relayed that the item is scheduled to go before Mayor and Council on Monday, 11/21/05. b. Commissioner Klein stated that a Citywide truck traffic study should be initiated. The purpose of the study would be to review circulation of trucks and movement of goods throughout the City. c. Commissioner Resnick inquired about the location where there was a request from Mayor and Council to replace a yield sign with a stop sign on Montrose Parkway. [Traffic and Transportation Division requested that the County replace the YIELD sign with a STOP sign on North Farm Lane at the intersection with Montrose Parkway.] d. Commissioner Crane inquired if the crosswalk at Maryland Ave. and E. Jefferson St. will be striped with white thermoplastic. It is currently difficult to determine the delineation between road and crosswalk, since the brick is gray and red. [All brick crosswalks were highlighted using preformed white thermoplastic.] e. Chair Oberg inquired about the status of requests to SHA for pedestrian safety at intersections rated less than adequate. Ms. Kelly relayed that City staff has been in contact with SHA and that Mayor and Council have requested an update as well. [The item is on Mayor and Council’s calendar, date to be determined.] f. Commissioner Resnick inquired about traffic counters on the NB I-270 exit at Tower Oaks. Staff relayed that the counters are likely SHA counters and are probably routine counts. There are no specific projects that the City is aware of that requires these counters.
4. Development Status Updates a. Ms. Kelly relayed that an APFO is now in effect and that staff will share information on the item at next month’s meeting. b. Commissioners inquired about the status of Maryland Motors. Ms. Kelly relayed that the applicant is revising plans and will likely come to the T&T Commission in January or February 2006.
5. Comprehensive Transportation Noise Policy Draft/Comments from Environment Commission a. Commissioners commented that they agree with the Environment Commission’s recommendations. b. Commissioners agreed that priority mitigations should be in locations where developers agreed to do mitigations but failed to implement them (i.e., berm in Fallsgrove along Darnestown Rd.). c. Commissioner Resnick inquired if a CTNP would be incorporated into APFO conditions. Staff relayed that a CTNP may need to be incorporated into an amended/revised CTR. d. Commissioner Klein stated support for a lottery system for mitigations, similar to Montgomery County’s system. e. Commissioner Levine presented the idea of cooperative buying for mitigations. f. Staff will create an updated version of the draft CTNP for next month’s meeting.
6. Transportation Demand Management Strategic Plan a. Commissioner Rosselle stated that monitoring and surveying transit users (especially Fallsgrove, with regard to expansion of the existing transit service) prior to implementing a strategic plan would be the most efficient use of resources. b. Commissioner Crane suggested establishing qualitative focus groups to determine how best to serve commuters and those running errands. c. Chair Oberg inquired if the City could be its own Transportation Management District (TMD). Ms. Kelly explained that a portion of the City has been slated to be part of the Greater Shady Grove TMD. Staff is investigating how to handle the remainder of the City (incorporate into another TMD or become its own TMD). d. Chair Oberg suggested adding parking policies and parking pricing to the list of program options. e. Commissioner Klein suggested adding Trip Consolidation Parking to the list. This entails allowing shoppers to park at one location to access several shops, rather than limiting parking to just one store (i.e., banning “Parking for (store name) Customers Only”). f. Chair Oberg suggested a parking district, similar to how a Business Improvement District is structured. g. Commissioner Crane suggested the idea of the City providing facilities for transporting items such as shopping carts (to limit driving), and a bike sharing program. Staff relayed that the City has had problems in the past with shopping carts being used and then left in parking lots and neighborhoods. [From City Manager’s Office: We do have stray shopping carts in neighborhoods and commercial areas and around metro stations. When the City gets a complaint, staff determines whether it's in the City limits, checks the cart for a store name and calls the store to ask them to pick it up. They usually pick it up within one day. In some cases, store staff go out looking for and retrieving carts on their own. There are stray carts out there but it's really only a problem for this one individual who has submitted 98% of the complaints in 2003-2004.
There have been a few meetings with City staff and the Chamber of Commerce who was supposed to work on this. The Chamber has not acted on this item and the City drafted a letter to ask them to increase communication with store owners about the importance of getting their carts back to their property whenever they wander off. The City would need to carefully evaluate whether or not to be in the business of hiring out shopping carts. They may get left at random places and the City would have to retrieve them. Would this really cut down on car use?] 7. CIP Preparations: Discuss Possible Projects a. This item was deferred to the December meeting. It was decided that the December meeting will take place Dec. 13th rather than Dec. 27th.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 P.M.
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