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LPA10-25-11Min(JWS) CCTV' OF LONGWOOD Joint Work Session of the Land Planning Agency and ]Parks and Recreation Advisory board Minutes CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS October 25, 2011 - 5:00 P.M. 175 W. Warren Avenue Longwood, FL 32750 ATTENDANCE LPA Members Present: STAFF: Judy Putz, Member Fran Meli, Leisure Services Director Robin Thorn, Member Chris Kintner, AICP, Planner John R. Prince, Member Jon Sewell, Kimley -Born and Associates Mike Woodward, .Kimley -Horn and Associates LPA Members Absent: Bruce E. Noyes, Chair Brian Fiore, Vice -Chair PRAB Members Present: Lori Rice,, Chair PRAB Members Absent: Abigail Shoemaker, Vice Chair Shawn Anastasia, Member Dave Putz, Member Anna Rivera - Laguer, Member Nikki Bright, Member 1. CALL TO ORDER Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Chair Lori Rice called the meeting to order at 5:05 p.m. 2. PRESENTATION AND WORKSHOP LED BY KIMLEY -HORN AND ASSOCIATES REGARDING THE LONGWOOD BICYCLE - PEDESTRIAN MASTER PLAN Mike Woodward, Kimley -Horn and Associates (KHA), introduced the Longwood Bicycle- Pedestrian Master Plan project. KHA is collecting data and this meeting is part of a series of stakeholder interviewers over the past week and is looking to determine what projects are already .out there, what projects people already know about and care about, and what concerns and opportunities are out there. Goals of the project include providing access to the SunRail station from the rest of the city; identifying sidewalk gaps, and connecting the Cross - Seminole Trail and the Seminole- Wekiva trail. Jon Sewell, KHA, said the scope of the work has several key items, including a list of capital improvement projects developed in consultation with City staff, and a list of stakeholders including bike shop owners, public school staff, etc. A public meeting is planned for late January, and information will be forthcoming through e -mail and social media. The purpose of the public meeting is to get information from the general public and ask them to prioritize a project list. They expect they know already what some of the top projects will be based on their experience and based on common elements of the stakeholder recominenclations. Mr. Sewell described the City's proximity to existing trails and the challenges with connecting to them. Two potential corridors described include the "Longwood Corridor" which would run along the North side of the City but has some property ownership issues, including issues with Progress Energy easements. Mr. Sewell described other East -West and North -South trail locations. Mr. Sewell discussed the intersection of Ronald Reagan and Church and stated that it is going to be the "four corners" intersection and needs to be treated in a special way. Mr. Sewell said that the project schedule for their recommendations is going to feed into two key planning elements, including Seminole County's planning for a county -wide recreation plan as well as for funding from MetroPlan. MetroPlan has several million dollars each year for these types of projects. This is why the public input portion of the meeting is so important, because the top projects may get funded very quickly Mr. Woodward said that the project will result in a list of projects and finding sources with an action plan of how to actually go after those funding sources. Mr. Sewell said the project will include an engineering feasibility study for the top ranked trail project. Mr. Sewell added that they are working on a "Safe Routes to Schools" analysis at a couple of different schools in the city because there's a set format for the funding for those projects. Mr. Sewell opened up the discussion to group members. Chair Rice asked if there had been a study of the current and future use of the trails. Mr. Sewell said that he does have those numbers but did not have them on him. Mr. Prince indicated that the Seminole - Wekiva trail will be the most heavily used. The Cross - Seminole Trail does not have any subdivisions attached to it until the Winter Springs area. Mrs. Meli said that she sees people using the Seminole- Wekiva trail all of the time. Chair Rice said she did not see people utilizing the Cross - Seminole Trail and the *Candyland Trail to get to Longwood. Mrs. Meli stated that for recreation purposes, it is a gorgeous ride. Mrs. Meli indicated that Sheryl Bower, Community Development Services Director, and the Community Development Services Department are looking at the project from a transportation viewpoint, while Leisure Services is looking at it from a recreation viewpoint. Mr. Sewell described a mitigation area on the southwest corner of the City that KHA is looking at as a potential recreational amenity. Mr. Sewell asked for a copy of the Reiter Park plans. Mrs. Meli indicated she would provide them. Mrs. Meli indicated that .Reiter Park will eventually have an amphitheater, and that there will not be seats or step -downs but that it will be a smooth grade to allow for open space. The park will also include a playground with passive and active recreation and a meditative area that may be able to tie in with the hospital. Mr. Sewell said that if, at the end of this plan, the City has an East -West corridor that is implementable, that would be ideal. Mr. Prince- indicated that it would be the most economical way to do it. Mrs. Meli stated that the proposed North -South connection directly abuts homes and Progress Energy easements. Mr. Sewell said that Progress Energy has changed recently. Previously, there were liability concerns with these types of projects, but now Progress Energy has been building trails within their easements. Deputy Mayor Bob Cortes has reached out to Progress Energy and feels it has been a positive discussion, and K1dA and City staff will be having a meeting with them to discuss the issue further. Mr. Sewell said that they have identified some retention ponds that could be improved to take advantage of some of the natural beauty along the trails. Mr. Woodward said that there have been a number of places where there is a sidewalk in front of a house which stops and starts on the other side of a retention pond. These situations provide the opportunity for a nice amenity. Mr. Sewell stated that the right-of-way constraints along E.E. Williamson and the Longwood Connector trail will be the biggest challenges. Mr. Woodward indicated that the northern connection may not be that difficult: as it may simply involve replacing an existing ditch with a pipe to create a trail. Mrs. Meli said there is the potential for a gorgeous walk along that path. Chair Rice said that she would have a concern with the amount of water that the ditch may at some point need to rnove. Mr. Prince said that we need to look at aerating the ponds, because otherwise there will be stagnant water, algae, and mosquitos. Chair Rice indicated that her house backs up to where Timocuan Road dead ends, and the pond on Quail Street is in her front yard. Chair Rice indicated that she would want to make sure that the pipe worked to carry the water and was properly maintained. Mrs. Meli indicated that the City is working on a Stormwater Master Plan and that some of that information would be helpful to the project. Mr. Sewell said that many of those issues are for the engineers to figure out. There will probably be a need for a swale on top of the pipe. There are probably 10 or 15 different types of fences along there, and the City would probably want to work with the property owners and put a uniform fence there. As long as the right -of -way is sorted out, that is the biggest part of it, engineering should not be a major hurdle. Chair Rice inquired as to whether running a trail through a park would create issues with opening and closing times for workers looking to use the park. Mrs. Meli indicated that the parks open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. In trail situations, staff would look at alternative measures to secure the park. Mr. Sewell indicated that FDOT actually owns the CSX right -of -way, which means that there is the possibility of placing trails along the rail line. The problem is that there is a lot of variation in the right -of -way so there are a lot of choke points. Chair Rice indicated there are some portions beyond Candyland where the railroad right -of -way gets very narrow and the trail should probably be jogged to Grant to make sure that it does not negatively impact the residents. Mr. Sewell stated that the design standard for a bike path is a 12 -foot asphalt trail, but that there are other options. The attractiveness of asphalt is that walkers or joggers are likely to prefer it because it's easier on the joints. There may be situations where they will recommend a "sharrow," which occurs where bike insignias and signage indicates that bicycles and sharing the road with vehicles. Chair Rice said that if a bike trail is to support employment, it will have to cross SR 434, CR 427 and even Highway 17 -92. Mrs. Meli indicated that the intersection of CR 427 and Church. Avenue can be difficult to cross, partially because so many people are turning right. Mrs. Meli said that a "no right turn" light may need to be added when pedestrians are in the intersection. Mrs. Meli asked about traffic circles. Mr. Woodward said that it would be very difficult to implement at the intersection because of traffic volume. Mr. Sewell added that the fact there is a higher volume in one direction and a lower Volume in the other makes it difficult for the traffic circle to function. Mr. Sewell indicated that Seminole County is going to be embarking on a project where they will be changing lane widths along key roads. "There is the possibility of doing small bulb -outs to create a pedestrian refuge in the middle to make people feel safer crossing. Even if traffic level of service is affected, the City may want to look at whether the "green time" is adequate for pedestrians because of the importance of that crossing to transit. Mr. Woodward said that you have to be able to accept congestion on your streets to support transit. Mr. Sewell it may be possible to do something in the median or in the intersection that announces that you are at the center of the City of Longwood. Some cities have used bridges with lighting as a landmark. Chair Rice said that the Master Plan should make recommendations regarding bike lockers, showers, etc. Mr. Sewell said that KHA has done a project for Tri -Rail where they looked at bicycle connectivity and what kind of parking should be provided. There are some situations where there is enough ridership to where places have a "changing station," where people ride their bike to the changing station and change clothes before taking, the train. This is becoming popular in larger cities where transit is more utilized. Mrs. Meli stated she would rather do that than ride on dangerous roads. Mr. Sewell agreed and said that he prefers trails for safety. Mr. Woodward said that as part of the Land Development Code they will be making recommendations for things like bike lockers. Chair Rice said she knows that LYNX is able to accommodate a couple of bikes but she is not sure whether the train will. Mrs. Meli said that the trains will be able to accommodate bikes. Mr. Sewell said that we can look at this in terms of regulations, but we can also look at it as incentives. Some municipalities have said that they do not want new regulations that are seen as unfriendly to developers. One option is to create a system where a developer can choose from a menu of incentives, and if they implement those incentives they would receive a density and intensity bump. Chair Rice said that she has seen in a few parts of the City where there are stoim drain grates where the wheels get stuck in them. Mr. Sewell agreed that they are very dangerous and are not installed that way anymore, and existing ones should be corrected. Mrs. Putz said that, in addition to the LPA, she is on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for MetroPlan and that much of these types of discussions are covered there. Mr. Sewell said that the end of this project coincides perfectly with the TIP planning process for MetroPlan, and that KFIA will be providing MetroPlan with a preliminary and final project list in March and April. MetroPlan has money available for these types of projects. Mr. Sewell indicated that Longwood is considered to be built -out, but the arrival of transit will change that as development "goes up." Mr. Sewell asked for any further questions and said that, through staff, Kimley- Horn and Associates would communicate the date of the public meeting in January to the board members and would appreciate that the information be distributed to homeowners' associations, residents, etc. Mrs. Meli indicated that this is the type of project the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board would like to be involved in. Mr. Sewell indicated that the City does not have any projects in the MetroPlan TIP because it has not had a plan. The outcome of this plan will be that the projects will be eligible for the TIP. Mrs. Putz described that Longwood has not received funding for trails in the past. Mr. Sewell indicated that the good thing for the City is that is located close to both the Cross- Seminole Trail and the Seminole - Wekiva Trail. Mrs. Meli mentioned the sidewalk on E.E. Williamson. Mr. Woodward said that E.E. Williamson has been mentioned by nearly every stakeholder, and that currently the areas along the road without sidewalks are very dangerous. Mrs. Meli asked if there were any trail connections on Lake Emma road. Mr. Prince described an easement that runs along Lake Mary- Longwood Hills road. Mrs. Meli indicated that staff would be meeting with Progress .Energy regarding this area_ Mr. Sewell described a corridor near the area and some of the property ownership and access issues. Mrs. PutZ mentioned that many of the property owners in this area like the rural nature of the property, and that the bicycle trail may provide an opportunity for them to maintain the rural character of the area. Mr. Sewell agreed that this was something to look it. Mr. Sewell indicated that KHA will be coordinating with staff on this project and that the Boards would be informed when the date and time for the public meeting are set. 3. ADJOURNMENT Chair Rice adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Lori Dice, Chair Bruce R. No) #, Chair Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Land Planning Agency (LPA) AT TEST/ Y KS"Wif-tner, AICP, Planner