Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board

Past Minutes of the Board

Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

13 February, 2002, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Seattle Municipal Building, Fourth Floor, RH Thompson Room

Present:

SPAB members: Suzanne Anderson (Vice Chair.), John Coney (Chair), Lester Goldstein, Michael Ingram, Rob Ketcherside, Margaret McCauley, Drew Robinson, Mark Schultz, Charles Smith

Seattle Transportation Staff: Megan Hoyt, Peter Lagerwey

Friends of SPAB: Lois Laughlin

Presenters: CM Richard Conlin (Chair. City Council Transportation Committee), Tom Bertoulis, (Chair SBAB), Pauh Wang (Seattle Transportation), David Levinger (Pres. Feet First: Puget Sound Pedestrian Advocacy)

Absent: Ethan Bacon (on vacation), Mark Gardner

1. Amendments to the Agenda
   
   No amendments.



2. Adopt minutes
   
   Board Action: The Minutes of the SPAB December 12 and January 9 meetings were reviewed and adopted on a motion by Ingram and Smith.
   
   
3. 6:05pm Councilmember Richard Conlin, Chairman of the City Council Transportation Committee greeted SPAB in his new role.
   
   Coney presented SIX STEPS TO A MORE WALKABLE SEATTLE to CM Conlin.
   
   
• CM Conlin told SPAB that in 2002 priorities for the City Council Transportation Committee which he chairs will be:
  
  - Pedestrian access
  
  - Good transit connections and pedestrian routes connected with transit facilities
  
  
• CM Conlin responded to questions from SPAB members:
  
  
• How can enforcement for driver violations that invade pedestrian rights of way be enhanced?
  
  SPAB should speak with Police and make recommendations
  
  
• Will transportation facility construction work now assigned to SPU be reassigned to Seattle Transportation? Is this a good re-organization move to make Seattle Transportation a full-service department? Will transportation facilities planning be reassigned from SPO to SeaTran?
  
  Both are promising ideas which will be considered by the Transportation Committee. Drainage planning and construction supervision, now the responsibility of SPU should also be considered for assignment to Seattle Transportation.
  
  
• Station Area Planning for Link Light Rail and ETC monorail stations?
  
  Funding exists for station area planning for Sound Transit stations on the northern segment of Phase One, Link Light Rail. Monorail station area planning remains to be dealt with. It does not seem to be in the current ETC budget projections. SPAB should advise and include CM McIver (Sound Transit Boardmember) in the correspondence re/Sound Transit Light Rail stations.
  
  
• How can a reasonable equity in funding in 2003-2004 City Budget be achieved? (Goldstein)
  
  SPAB should make recommendations now for appropriate funding levels.
  
  
• How can an objective pedestrian level of service standards, including optimum pedestrian delay times, be established for Seattle? (Coney)
  
  The requirement for pedestrian Level of Service (LOS) was proposed by Coney and adopted into the Seattle Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Elements, in 2001. But no LOS plan has been implemented. SPAB should advise on how pedestrian LOS plans can be achieved.

CM Conlin stated that he and the Transportation Committee are open to timely advisories from SPAB. He encouraged SPAB in its educational projects, work to enhance pedestrian access by removing badly placed commercial items and poles on sidewalk rights of way and new sidewalks in unserved areas.

• How can blockage of ped rights of way by advertising signs be reduced? (Goldstein)
  
  SPAB should submit photographs and an advisory.
  
  Use of the new SPAB website to publish photos and captions re/ped row blockage was discussed.
  
  CM Conlin reported that CM Richard McIver, former City Council Transportation Committee Chair. will continue for the duration of his term in 2002 on the Sound Transit Board.
  
  
4. 7:00 Public Comment

Tom Bertulis, Chair. of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (SBAB) explained some of the highlights of the SBAB Workplan for 2002. Bertulis and Smith pointed out shared goals of SPAB and SBAB:

• Mitigate incursions into bike/ped rights of way by construction projects, advertising signs, vending.
  
• Channelization needs for new and revised Bike/Ped facilities such as Burke-Gilman Trail extensions, Alaskan Way facilities post-viaduct replacement.
  
• Educate the public on the theme "Share the Street." He described a SBAB police car sticker campaign and bus card campaign now under way. He reported that CM Conlin is prepared to endorse the police car sticker campaign.
  
• Reduce Seattle car trips.
  
• Ensure that pedestrian and bicycle connections are respected and established for new transit initiatives such as Link Light Rail and the Monorail Project.
  
• Seattle Parks/Open Space Levy-funded improvements and bike/ped connections to new, old, and revised parks.
  
  The Center City Open Space Plan created by Mithun Architects for the Seattle Design Center (Design Commission) was discussed and heralded as a March presentation to SPAB. SBAB members were invited to that meeting by Coney.
  
• Bike/ped access on I-90, SR520, SR519 (Royal Brougham/S. Atlantic/BNSF overpasses.
  
  
5. 7:10 Lester Goldstein presented a draft of a SPAB advisory on the placement of Segway Scooters on city rights of way. State Senate Bill 6316 introduced by Sen. Jim Kastama (D. Puyallop) in February would mandate access to city and county rights of way for two-wheeled Segway Scooters, characterized by TV new programs at "It".
   
   Peter Lagerwey of Seattle Transportation explained that Senate Bill 6316 would establish state jurisdiction over the regulation of Segway Scooters on streets, bikeways, trails, and sidewalks except on streets posted with speed limits under 25 mph. Seattle has few such streets. All other transportation modes used on streets and sidewalks are regulated by Seattle City ordinances and traffic laws.

Seattle and other cities/counties should be able to regulate the Segways as they do all other wheeled vehicles on their streets and walkways.

Board Action: Approved a motion by Smith and Anderson for an advisory on Segway Scooter placement. based on the Goldstein text. Coney's friendly amendment was accepted to allow the Advisory Committee to draft the letter, based on the Goldstein text and including the Lagerwey comments.

NOTE: The text of the letter to which the Goldstein text is to be attached is at the end of these minutes. Because this bill in under active consideration at this time, the letter has been e-mailed to SPAB members and revisions by Board members have been made. The letter has been e-mailed to State Senator Kastama, copies to State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D. Seattle); State Sen. Sid Snyder (Democratic Majority Leader); Susan Crowley, Seattle Office of Intergovernmental Relations; Grace Crunican, Dir. Seattle Transportation; Peter Lagerwey, Seattle Transportation.

Future Board advisories might include recommendations on how Segways should be placed and regulated on city rows.

6. COMMITTEE REPORTS
   
   7:35 Coney presented the Advisory Committee draft letter of the SPAB response to restoration of $500,000 in the Seattle Transportation budget for Neighborhood Street Fund prioritized pedestrian improvement projects. IN MINUTES OF 1/9
   
   Note: Draft advisory letter is at the end of the Agenda
   
   Board action: Approved the draft for mailing. on a motion by Ingram and Robinson
   
   The letter is included at the end of these minutes.
   
   7:45 Rob Ketcherside made the Plans Committee report
   
   
• SR519 plans re/vehicular/bike/pedestrian overpasses across BNSF main line at Royal Brougham Way and S. Atlantic St.
  
  Bike/ped access to the new overpasses via a stairway at 4th Ave. S. was critiqued.
  
  Possible future Board advisory: ADA qualified access to overpasses for 4th Ave. S.
  
  Coney proposed future investigation of the effect of ferry traffic holding revisions on ped access to Safeco Field and the football stadium via First Ave. S., Royal Brougham, Occidental St. (a ped way at game times), and S. Atlantic St.
  
  Future joint action with SBAB was recommended.
  
  
• SR520 (Trans Lake Washington Plan) Evergreen Point Bridge pedestrian facilities on bridge and in Montlake, U District, Madison Park Plans Committee will report further on this major WSDOT plan. Ped impacts and opportunities include:
  
• Bike/ped facility on SR520 Bridge as rebuilt in the future.
  
• New bike/ped connections across proposed lids over SR520 in Montlake and over the junction of SR520/I-5 in North Capital Hill. - - New connections are possible for Madison Park, Montlake, U-District, N. Capitol Hill.
  
• Potential new motor vehicle bridge from Montlake to U-District which would free the existing Montlake Bridge to carry more bike/ped traffic across the Montlake Cut.
  
  Board action: Postponed till further reports.


7:50 Michael Ingram makes Standards Committee report


• Seattle Crosswalk Study will be reported to SPAB in March by Megan Hoyt who is carrying out the Study.
  
• "Traffic Control Manual for Street Work" revision; impact of construction projects on adjacent pedestrian facilities. Further analysis of this document and its intent will be done by Ingram. It relates to the intrusion of construction project paraphernalia into the pedestrian rights of way.
  
• Seattle Street Improvement Manual (ped facilities sections) is to be a two-year project headed by Lagerwey in Seattle Transportation. Reports will be made in the future by the Standards Committee.
  
  No Board actions approved.
  
  
7. 8:05 Megan Hoyt and SPAB website point person Rob Ketcherside presented more information on the SPAB Website.
   
   Board action: SPAB members agreed to post minutes, letters, pictures of ped row blockage.
   
   
8. 8:10 FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
   
   For the SPAB meeting of 3/13:
   
   - Center City Open Space (connections) Study, John Rahaim, Seattle Design Center.
   - Waterfront Trolley Extension Study, Ethan Melone, Seattle Strategic Planning Office
   - SR99 North, Nytasha Sowers, WSDOT (ped safety planning)
   - Seattle Crosswalk Study, Megan Hoyt
   - Ped row blockage pictures, All Board members
   - SR519 (Royal Brougham, S. Atlantic, Alaskan Way, First S.) Peter Lagerwey.
   (Plans Committee report)
   - Consolidating newspaper vending boxes on ped right of way, Mark Gardner.
   
   ADDITIONAL FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
   
   - Introducing Grace Crunican, Director of Seattle Transpiration
   - "SEATTLE STREET IMPROVEMENT MANUAL" (SeaTran Standards for Pedestrian
   Facilities construction.)(Peter Lagerwey and Standards Committee)
   - Street Use Policies and Enforcement (Advertising and vendors on sidewalks)
   (Advisory Committee brings appropriate SPD staff to SPAB.)
   - Trans Lake Washington (I-90 walkway alternatives, SR520 S. Lake Union
   Intersection impacts)
   - Sound Transit/Monorail station pedestrian connections
   (Invite Harold Robertson, Exec. Dir. ETC, Craig Norsen, Chair. ETC Board
   Committee on Development of Monorail Project facilities.)
   - Seattle Parks Levy Oversight Committee (pathways in parks, new, funded
   connections for pedestrians into parks.) (Invite Park/Rec Levy Implementation
   staff.) (Plans Committee)
   - Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement potential for major bike/ped facilities on
   the Seattle Waterfront (Drew Robinson, Plans Committee)
   
   
9. 8:15pm Adjourn.
   
   For further information contact John Coney, Chair. SPAB 206/283-2049, djohnconey@aol.com
   
   All SPAB meetings are public meetings of a City Advisory Board.
   
   NEXT SPAB MEETING: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 6PM, MUNI BLDG., 4TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM