NWDA Transportation Committee – May 2012 Minutes

NWDA Transportation Committee

May 2, 2012 6 p.m.

Good Samaritan Hospital, 2^{nd Floor Conf Room, 1040 NW 22nd Ave}

Members present:

Phil Selinger, Chair, Greg Aldrich, Juliet Hyams, Greg Aldrich, Dustin Posner, Jeanne Harrison

Also attending:

Ron Waters, NWDA President; Allan Clausen, NW Examiner; Elizabeth Aaby, neighbor.

Phil called the meeting to order 6:05 p.m.

Committee Reports:

Pettygrove Greenstreet/Pearl Access & Circulation

Jeanne reported that the previous meeting of the Pearl Access & Circulation Committee met on Jan. 30 and is meeting again on May 7 to give final comments on the draft plan. She noted that Mary Roberts (BTA) and she had asked to have the Flanders Street ped/bike bridge added into the list of projects.

Cornell Road

Dustin reported that the group had met recently and will meet again on June 4.

NWDA Parking Plan

Ron and Juliet reported that they had met with the Mayor and iterated the NWDA Board’s continuing support for the plan. They also told him that they want to see the details of the proposed TPMA. The Mayor said staff is working on it. They want to meet with Commissioner Fritz as soon as possible but probably will not before the primary election. Candidates Novak and Nolan are supportive. Phil noted that the future Con-way TMA should be integrated with the neighborhood TPMA but is needed whether or not the TPMA goes forward.

Sidewalk Management

Phil has contacted the Lloyd TMA for support (and received it) for the proposed publication box management plan. Jeanne has reached out to a number of eastside neighborhoods but to date, has only heard from Doug Klotz (Richmond). The pilot grouped news boxes project in the vicinity of Pioneer Courthouse Square is sponsored by the transit mall management group (part of the PBA) and will occur this summer.

St. Mary’s Cathedral School pick-up update

Phil and Juliet met with Amy Biggs, principal, of the school and had a productive conversation. She is aware of the neighborhood’s concerns and has instituted some measures including staff monitors with radios to keep the cars moving as parents pull up, but some idling is still occurring on SW 18th. She does not allow parents to leave their cars to socialize anymore. A scheme to circulate cars on 17th is not working and the school is looking are using the large parking lot for either queuing or for pick-up of, say some of the older kids. Principal Biggs will keep up in the loop. It was suggested that a Good Neighbor Agreement be reached with the school to formalize any agreements that are reached. A NWDA neighbor being on site with a video camera is not helping the situation.

Work Plan Discussion

Of the four priorities for the committee, three are being addressed. The committee brainstormed how to approach the fourth – NW Thurman and 23rd Place crossing. Dustin suggested contacting businesses nearby and bring them into a discussion rather than coming up with a solution that might not work for them.

The committee reviewed progress on other work plan items and agreed with Ron when he suggested putting the work plan into a format that would allow us to track progress. The Board recently adopted a new template for the work plans that does this.

Other Issues

Street Trees

Phil noted that a healthy Sweet Gum tree was removed on 24th between Overton and Pettygrove as it caused sidewalk damage, raising the question as to criteria for issuing tree removal permits. Ron said the removal of large elm trees in conjunction with a new development at NW 19th and Johnson highlights the importance of tracking neighborhood street trees. There will be training for a neighborhood-wide tree inventory on June 23.

Dumpsters in the ROW (CROW)

Jeanne noted that Dan Anderson forwarded a revised draft of proposed regulations and enforcement of dumpsters in the right-of-way. Comments are due by May 29. She will review Dan’s comments and craft a response to the City from the NWDA.

Phil adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m.