HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.22.22 TTAC MinutesMINUTES Approved
MPOJC TRANSPORTATION TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022 - 10:30 AM
CITY OF IOWA CITY – EMMA HARVAT HALL
MEMBERS PRESENT: Coralville: Kelly Hayworth, Vicky
Robrock, Scott Larson
Iowa City: Jason Havel, Mark Rummel, Scott Sovers
Johnson County: Tom Brase, Greg Parker
North Liberty: Ryan Rusnak
Tiffin: Doug Boldt
University Heights: Louise From
University of Iowa: Brian McClatchey
Iowa DOT: Catherine Cutler
STAFF PRESENT: Kent Ralston, Emily Bothell, Sarah Walz, Frank Waisath, Hannah
Neel, Rose Schweitzer
1. CALL TO ORDER
Ralston called the meeting to order at 10:32 AM.
a. Recognize alternates
There were no alternates.
b. Consider approval of meeting minutes
McClatchey moved for approval, Brase seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA
Cutler noted that the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission will be in Coralville for
public input on June 14th, 2022. She asked anyone interested in presenting local projects to
send her an email to be put on the agenda.
Ralston noted that there are a few staff changes within the MPOJC. Brad Neumann has retired
and was replaced by Hannah Neel, and Rose Schweitzer has joined as an intern.
3. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE MPOJC URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
REGARDING LOCALLY DETERMINED PROJECTS FOR THE MPOJC FY2023
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING WORK PROGRAM
Ralston explained that a list of Transportation Planning Work Program projects is compiled
every spring for the upcoming fiscal year. While it is required by the Federal Highway
Administration and Iowa Department of Transportation, it is also used to schedule data
collection and workload for that fiscal year. The attachment to the memo lists the requested
projects received to-date from committee members and staff.
Ralston noted the awareness of additional projects and data collection needs throughout the
year and stated that these can usually be accommodated. If these additional projects would
disrupt the Work Program due to their size, however, they will then be taken to the Policy
Board for approval. Ralston said that there are about 31 Work Program projects in the packet,
yet this represents only about a quarter of the work done by the MPO every year. The Work
Program list will be augmented with regularly occurring projects as well as state- and federally-
required transportation planning work, then brought back to the next meeting for approval.
Boldt moved for approval, Larson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
4. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
REGARDING PARTICIPATION IN THE ‘FEDERAL-AID-SWAP’ WHEREBY STATE
FUNDING COULD REPLACE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR LOCAL ROAD/BRIDGE
PROJECTS
Ralston explained that in 2018, House File 203 was signed into law, permitting the Iowa
Transportation Commission to allow what is referred to as the “Federal-Aid-Swap”. This is
generally a process where road and bridge projects that would normally be funded by federal
transportation dollars are instead funded by the state with the goal to minimize federal
regulations and streamline local projects.
Ralston noted that for the past four years, the Committee had unanimously recommended
participating in the Federal-Aid Swap, however, for the same years, the Urbanized Area Policy
Board had opted out of the Swap. Central to those discussions was Davis-Bacon wages,
worker safety, and a lack of data supporting the benefits of the Swap. MPOJC and the Bi-
State Regional Commission are currently the only MPOs opting out of the Swap.
Similar to previous years, unless the MPO chooses to ‘opt-out’ of the Swap program, the Iowa
Department of Transportation (DOT) will assume the MPO wishes to participate. In the past,
the DOT was unable to provide cost- and time-saving details related to the Swap due to a
limited number of completed projects. Since that time, the DOT has provided a fact sheet
(included in the packet for review) noting that the project development timeline has been
reduced by as much as six months, which now carries a dollar figure of nearly $7.4 million in
annual savings for local agencies as well as the DOT.
Ralston said that the goal of this portion of the meeting was to discuss the policy and to make
a recommendation to the Policy Board to either ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’ of the swap. Ralston noted
that he Iowa Department of Transportation had put together a committee to the new federal
transportation legislation with respect to the swap. Since there will be more federal funding
available through the new legislation, the state will not have enough funding to swap all the
projects the state would wish to. This committee has met already and will meet again in the
next week or two.
Ralston began the discussion by asking for questions, stating that the Board will decide on
this next week and that Havel may also be able to answer questions as he is a member of the
DOT’s committee for this policy. Ralston also noted that there is an estimated $50 million gap
in what can be swapped right now, requiring a reduction of funding for swap projects by $50
million.
McClatchey noted that the DOT’s data addresses most of the concerns the Board has had in
the past. This data provides more verification, and therefore perhaps more comfort in
participation.
Brase asked whether the swap savings identified then goes back into the projects or where
the previously stated savings come from.
Ralston replied that those savings are both staff and time savings due to having fewer check
plans that must be submitted, speeding up the bidding process, and ultimately completing
projects quicker.
Larson noted that the close out process for projects has been particularly difficult (at least for
Coralville) as 12-18 months go by and they cannot close out projects that have not had any
activity due to recording requirements and documentation. He stated that extracting this
information from contractors has been difficult in recent years. Boldt added that audits takes
a long time.
From stated that University Heights has always voted for the Swap as well as the Mayor of
Tiffin.
Havel noted that regardless of the swap or federal aid, good projects are still being completed,
but that there are savings that could be utilized that coincide with the swap. He stated that
with employees having so many time constraints, saving staff time and avoiding possible
‘hoops’ is a good thing for these projects and for the department. While the MPO may not be
able to be as involved in the swap as the MPO could have been in the past, he still thinks it
would be a good idea to move in the direction of ‘opting-in’.
Ralston then noted that the DOT is not saying that the swap is no longer available, but that
they will have to bridge the $50 million gap in funding. The MPO will have to see what the
committee comes up with, keeping in mind the MPO may not be eligible for swap this year.
He also noted that this would not mean the entire swap opportunity is gone, the DOT would
just choose certain programs.
Havel then noted that given the reduction in the dollar amount that is available for swap, some
programs are not eligible anymore due to their size and that swap would not be able to fully
fund these programs regardless.
Havel made a motion to participate in the ‘Federal-Aid-Swap’ whereby State funding could
replace Federal funding for local road/bridge projects. Hayworth seconded. The motion
passed unanimously.
5. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO THE URBANIZED AREA POLICY BOARD
REGARDING PARTICIPATION IN THE IOWA DOT PAVEMENT DATA COLLECTION
PROGRAM
Bothell explained that in January, the MPO asked the Committee for feedback on the Iowa
DOT pavement data collection cycle and whether to ‘opt-in’ as an MPO to continue receiving
local pavement condition data every two years. At that time, the Committee asked for more
time to discuss this with their communities. Bothell reminded the Committee that until 2020,
pavement condition data was collected every two years and was made available at no cost.
Local route data is now collected every four years, though the DOT will allow agencies at
either the MPO level or the local jurisdiction level to ‘opt-in’ to continue that two-year data
collection cycle. Data was last collected on all local routes in the metropolitan area in 2021.
The MPO or individual communities may choose to ‘opt-in’ for the 2023 cycle. The DOT did
indicate that this funding would need to be ‘swapped’ as part of the ‘Federal-Aid Swap’
because federal funding cannot be spent on this program. If the Committee chooses to not
‘opt-in’, each individual jurisdiction can make the decision to purchase this data at their own
cost. Bothell asked for a recommendation to the Urbanized Area Policy Board on whether to
‘opt-in’ to receive pavement condition data in 2023. This would be brought back to the
Committee every four years for discussion. Bothell noted that the estimated cost would be
about $50,000 from the STBG funding program.
Larson said Coralville has since discussed with staff and feels they are in a better position
going forward to utilize this data. Coralville will therefore ‘opt-in’ to the program.
Havel stated that Iowa City has been using this data for a while now, also wishing to ‘opt-in’
either individually or as a group.
Ralston noted that even though this data cost is $50,000-$60,000 every four years, the
Surface Transportation Block Grant funding is approximately $7 million every two years.
Boldt moved to utilize Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funds for pavement data
collection in 2023. Larson seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
6. UPDATE REGARDING THE MPOJC FY2023 TRANSIT PROGRAM OF PROJECTS
Waisath presented an update on the transit program of projects, stating that each year, each
of the three local transit agencies (Coralville Transit, Iowa City Transit, and University of Iowa
Cambus) are required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to prepare this program of
projects. This will be included in the Consolidated Transit Funding Application due to the DOT
at the beginning of May and included in the upcoming Transportation Improvement Program.
The program projects for FY2023 identify projects that will be funded federally. Not every
project on the list will receive funding, but a project must be on the list to be eligible for federal
funding. These lists are approved by the transit agencies themselves with the consolidated
application.
7. UPDATE ON THE MPOJC LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN REVISION PROCESS
Bothell explained that the draft Future Forward 2050 Transportation Plan is now complete and
available on the MPO’s website for review. Bothell gave a presentation on the Long Range
Transportation Plan, stating that the Plan is the vision of the transportation network out to the
year 2050. Bothell gave an overview of the planning process and timeline, public engagement
efforts, highlights from the Plan, and the next steps as it relates to public participation. As with
the previous plan, this update emphasizes multimodal transportation, land use patterns, and
transportation planning. The Plan must be updated every five years, but the revision process
takes two years to complete. The planning process began with presenting the visions and
goals and incorporating public comment throughout the process. There will be two upcoming
public meetings in addition to the 30-day public comment period that will start on Friday, April
1st. The final adoption of the Plan is dated for May of this year.
McClatchey noted that it would be interesting to look at the growth in moped use in the area,
as Iowa City’s moped use would most likely far outnumber the moped use in other areas of
the state and metropolitan area. Moped use has an impact on transit, especially on the
Cambus system as it has created roadway and parking safety issues.
Rummel stated that they have about 800-900 moped parking permits per year for their stalls
and that the University gets about double that. Some people have permits for both the City
and University, however, so they can park in either stall.
There was praise for the Long Range Plan and for the staff who completed it from both Ralston
and the Committee members. McClatchey asked if data collection has improved over time.
Ralston noted that there is more data available such as data retrieved from the free app called
“Strava” that tracks outdoor activity. The MPO can access the data this app tracks to gain
more information on which routes users of this app utilize. This does not give representative
volume data but rather locational and activity type information.
To recap, Ralston explained that the full plan will be brought back to the group in May for
approval.
8. UPDATE ON LOCAL TRAIL COUNTS IN THE METRO AREA
Walz explained that each year bicycle and pedestrian counts are collected along local trails.
The equipment used does not differentiate between bicycles and pedestrians, so this is a
consolidated count. One to two week-long counts are conducted as various factors do
influence these counts (weather, development of the area, construction in the area, etc.).
Year-over-year it is difficult to draw conclusions, but the MPO is starting to see long-term
trends over the accumulation of years of counts. Last year, trail usage was way up. This is
now settling out as people are going back to work and kids are going back to school. Winter
counts began in 2020 due to the new clearing of trails during these months. From this it was
found that on trails like Trueblood and Sycamore Greenway, the clearing of these have kept
trail counts up during the winter.
Walz explained that the MPO has acquired two additional trail counters that will aid in the
tracking of bicycle tourism as connections like the Clear Creek Trail from Iowa City to Tiffin
are made. These counters will track data over longer periods of time (2-3 months) to mitigate
the effects of varying weather, etc. The focus of this next year will be the Clear Creek and
Iowa River Corridor Trails.
9. OTHER BUSINESS
Rummel stated that there will be an electric bus bash at the River Landing Park from 2-4 p.m.
Friday, April 22nd.
Larson stated that the last piece of Jones Boulevard, between Oakdale Boulevard and
Highway 6 should be paved late spring/early summer. This is a private subdivision
development project. The Clear Creek Trail connection between Highway 6 and the Harkin
Trailhead was pushed to a July letting. A schedule is being created to start the North Liberty
Road and Forevergreen Road roundabout, which is associated with the Forevergreen Heights
subdivision near Liberty High School. The Interstate 80 and First Avenue diverging diamond
interchange is still on schedule for an August letting. Private utility relocation is expected for
late this spring and into the summer. With the August letting, construction will be underway
this fall, starting with the demolition of the northbound First Avenue bridge, immediately taking
First Avenue down to one-lane in each direction. More information about detours and staging
will come with this as well. Estimated completion of this project is 2024.
McClatchey noted that transit is currently working on staffing their department. In addition to
this and in conversation with the University, parking has completed a master plan that will
have many impacts on transportation infrastructure and transit systems.
Havel noted a public works open house event on Saturday, May 21st. This will be a community
event but will also show off the new site and equipment, including an electric bus.
Sovers provided updates on larger projects in the area. The final phase of the American
Legion Road project from Buckingham Lane to Taft Avenue is set to be completed this fall.
The Scott Boulevard and First Avenue roundabout project will be started in early April. In
general, access to this intersection will remain, but there will eventually be a closing of the
intersection. The Benton Street rehabilitation project from Mormon Trek to Greenwood Drive
was bid late winter but bids came in much higher than the engineer’s original estimate. It has
a rebidding date of June 21st. With this bidding delay, the project will extend two construction
seasons, starting this year and ending the next. The acquisitions are nearly finalized on the
Rochester Avenue project (construction from Ralston Creek to First Avenue), looking to
accept bids for this on May 24th. Finally, the Melrose Avenue / IWV Road project is in its
second and final year. Utility, culvert, and water main work was done last summer. There will
be some lane closures this summer.
Boldt noted that construction has begun on the new public works facility in Tiffin.
From stated that from their FY23 budget, funds were allocated to start the design of the
Melrose Avenue streetscape project with a hopeful construction period of 2024-2025.
Rusnak stated that the contractor started on the Dubuque Street and Front Street realignment,
which will be ongoing throughout the construction season. Bid documents were set up for
Jones Boulevard, which will be from Penn Street to 240th Street and take place in the spring.
Cutler noted that as for the Interstate 80 and Herbert Hoover highway intersection, the
eastbound ramp will close the second week of April (scheduled for April 4th – November 15th),
with project completion scheduled for later this year.
McClatchey asked about the possible evaluation of converting Market/Jefferson to a two-way
street and if this would just be east of Clinton. Ralston responded that it is yet to be
determined. Havel noted that they will most likely look at the entire road length, but that it is
recommended to leave the stretch of road west of Clinton as is. Ralston added that the studies
done in the past have noted to avoid the two large hills and the T. Anne Cleary walkway
because of the large volume of students.
10. ADJOURNMENT
Rusnak moved to adjourn, Brase seconded. Motion carried unanimously. Ralston
adjourned the meeting at 11:33 am.