1. Announcements and Public Comments a. Chair Oberg welcomed Jeff Radan to the meeting.
b. Mr. Radan announced the upcoming Peerless/RBAC ride on October 1st, and encouraged the commissioners to attend.
c. Chair Oberg pointed out that the permit parking for N. Van Buren was removed from the agenda because the number of houses involved is under 15, and therefore, only City Manager approval is needed.
2. Appointment of Chairperson A motion to nominate Chair Oberg for another year as a chair was approved.
3. Review and Approve August 2006 Meeting Minutes August minutes were approved with minor modifications.
4. Staff Report and Updates (Weekly) a. Mr. Elshafei provided a brief update on several projects. Some of the projects discussed during the meeting include: MD28/582/911, I-270/Gude interchange, Baltimore Road, and sidewalks on Argyle, Calvin, and Lynch.
b. Commissioner Klein asked about the meaning of “confirmed no-voltage repair by Pepco.” Mr. Elshafei explained that it meant that a streetlight technician confirmed that Pepco had fixed a no-voltage problem, i.e., restored power to the streetlights. c. Commissioner Filemyr inquired about the Twinbrook Parkway traffic-calming project. Mr. Elshafei pointed out that it is under the “Twinbrook Commons” development in the CIP section of the Weekly. A meeting with residents will be scheduled for the fall.
d. Commissioner Thomas asked about the Lynch sidewalk and if this was a top priority for the City. Mr. Elshafei explained that this sidewalk was in the CIP projects from a previous year and did not go through the sidewalk prioritization guidelines under review.
e. Chair Oberg inquired about a pedestrian access from Chestnut Lodge development. After the meeting, it was found that an access is provided Rose Hill via the southern portion of the development. There is not a direct link from the development site to neighborhoods to the West.
f. Commissioner Thomas asked if streetlights and bus shelters were incorporated in the Strayer College project. It was confirmed after the meeting that the transportation improvement list showed that a payment of $65,000 has been made by developer towards multi-modal improvements including a bus shelter on Research Blvd. Staff will investigate using these funds to improve pedestrian safety by providing street lights along Research Pl. and placing a shelter on Research Blvd. near Research Pl.
g. Chair Oberg inquired about the Transportation Enhancement (TERMS) funding for a Transportation Management District with the County and Gaithersburg that was removed from the draft MWCOG TIP listing. Staff is investigating with County, State, and COG why this funding has been removed.
5. Zoning Code Article 16 – Parking and Loading a. Commissioners inquired about when the zoning code update should be finalized. Mr. Elshafei indicated that it would not be anytime soon, and would confirm if a date was set for a final document to be complete.
b. Commissioner Resnick asked for a definition of the “passenger vehicles” under 25.16.02, b, 1.
c. Chair Oberg asked how does this draft compare to national standards and how close it is to the current standard. A comparison will be helpful to evaluate the new changes.
d. Commissioner Klein suggested that in the future, private street parking should not be included in meeting parking requirements for a development.
e. Commissioner Thomas asked about regulations to park in front of a residence.
f. Commissioner Resnick inquired about the reason behind using the word “employee” under 25.16.03-a, rather than making it more general.
g. Commissioner Rosselle asked about clarification on the table in page 3 for the Dwelling, multi-family use showing a minimum of zero auto parking spaces for zero bedrooms.
h. Commissioner Resnick asked why in some cases the unit measure was per square feet and others by number of employees.
i. Commissioner Resnick also questioned the validity of the table on page 13, and pointed out that the text preceding the table needs to be modified. Other commissioners agreed.
j. Commissioner Rosselle asked about accepting the 8.5-foot wide (in the fourth line under 25.16.05-a-2) instead of the 9-foot wide.
k. Commissioner Resnick questioned if driveaisles (p. 16) should be one or two words.
l. Chair Oberg asked if pavers or other impervious surfaces should be added to 25.16.07-c.
m. Commissioner Rosselle asked that emergency phones to be included in the parking garage design (under 25.16.08).
n. Other comments: - Why are factors such as changing people's behavior, pricing, and similar aspects of parking not included in the draft?
- Are there restrictions on tractor-trailers parking?
- Are the minimum six-inch pavements under 25.16.07, c, adequate to prevent any sinking?
6. TDM Concepts Discussion a. Chair Oberg inquired about city association with other TDM programs in the region such as Shady Grove, etc. He mentioned that it would be premature to decide if those programs meet city standards and if the City should join those programs. Another question in the same line: “what is appropriate for the City?”
b. Chair Oberg asked about how would the TDM be implemented? Will the City operate the programs or give grants to organizations or employers to use? Commissioner Resnick thought that the City would operate the programs or hire a consultant.
c. Commissioner Klein mentioned that spreading the peak period would be very beneficial, i.e., the employers could be flexible in not making all their employees starting at the same time. He also mentioned the benefit of telecommuting.
d. Commissioner Levine said that employers should be more aggressive in implementing a telecommuting policy.
e. Commissioner Levine commented on the congestion pricing as it is a good idea only if you can provide alternatives such as improving mass transit. Commissioner Klein added that if other alternatives were not convenient, they would not be used.
f. Chair Oberg circulated a spreadsheet from a national TDM institute that illustrated the impact of various TDM programs and how their cumulative effects make more difference than any single initiative. He said the Commission was ready to work with the Mayor and Council in development and implementation of TDM efforts.
7. Additional Discussion of Agenda Items/Other Items a. Walk to school Day Update: Chair Oberg briefed the commission about the program.
b. Mr. Elshafei informed the commissioners that the police department was seeking volunteers to join a committee that would review the process of prioritizing locations where speed cameras would be implemented.
c. Commissioner Klein pointed out that pedestrians do not use the intersection of MD 355 and Congressional when crossing Congressional from “Staples”.
d. Mr. Radan informed the commissioners about the progress being made on the new Rt28/I270 bike/ped bridge. The commissioners acknowledged the need for the bridge and look forward to its opening.
e. Commissioner Resnick requested a copy of the accident report that took place on 9/26/06 at E. Gude, if it took place within the City limits. After the meeting Mr. Elshafei asked the police department to provide a copy of the accident report and was informed it would not be ready for another month.
f. Commissioner Thomas asked for a paddle sign on Edmonston, west of MD 355, for the crosswalk at the apartments, and a no right-turn-on-red at southbound S. Washington at E. Montgomery.
g. Commissioner Resnick thanked commissioner Rosselle for the doughnuts she provided for the meeting.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 P.M | 
