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MINUTES COMPLETE STREETS ADVISORY GROUP MEETING JANUARY 22, 2014 MEMBERS/ATTENDEES Judy Castleberry San Juan College Enterprise Center David Eppich San Juan College Larry Hathaway San Juan County & Alternate on MPO Technical Committee Joe Kozimor Consolidated Constructors Lopez City of Farmington & MPO Technical Committee Gayla McCulloch City of Farmington Councilor & MPO Policy Committee Elizabeth McNally Animas Environmental Services Rebecca Morgan Namaste House Assisted Living Center Chico Quintana City of Farmington Public Works Christa Romme Four Corners Economic Development Joe Delmagori MPO Planner Duane Wakan MPO Associate Planner June Markle MPO Administrative Aide WELCOME Mr. Delmagori welcomed the members and thanked them for their continued participation in the Complete Streets process. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr. Delmagori announced the upcoming Metropolitan Transportation Plan Workshop scheduled for February 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the MPO Office. This is the long-range plan for the tri-city and county areas. He invited any interested Advisory Group member to attend the meeting. This workshop will focus on brainstorming ideas on what type of roads, transit, and bicycle/pedestrian projects that the community would like to see over the next 20-25 years. Mr. Delmagori also stated that Mr. Dan Burden with the WALC Institute has been invited back to Farmington to talk about Complete Streets. Mr. Burden was here in May 2012 and gave a walkability workshop that included presentations on how to incorporate walking and biking elements into street designs and how to encourage economic development by creating a sense of place. As a result of this 2012 workshop, the Complete Streets Advisory Group was created. Mr. Burden’s visit this year will be May 12 and 13. Over the course of the two days, there will be a formal public workshop to discuss Complete Streets and how to implement them at the local level. Mr. Delmagori said he hoped to have a Complete Streets Advisory Group meeting for Monday, May 12 so that Mr. Burden could provide more technical input or the final stamp of approval to the guidelines that can, hopefully, be finished or near completion by May. Additionally, Mr. Burden will make Complete Streets presentations to all the local councils and commissions. ---PAGE BREAK--- There will be another member of the WALC Institute accompanying Mr. Burden who is an expert in the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. Staff plans to have him assess the student drop off and pickup locations at a Farmington elementary school that is not yet a part of SRTS. More information will follow as the agenda is finalized. The MPO is extremely pleased to have Mr. Burden coming back to the area. NOVEMBER 20, 2013 MEETING Mr. Delmagori said that at the November 20, 2013 meeting, the Advisory Group had discussed the descriptions for the land use context areas and road types. The Advisory Group will do a final review of the information today. Staff had compiled maps to provide a visual illustration of the road typologies and land use contest areas (LUCA). Mr. Delmagori stated that following today’s discussion, it was hoped that the Advisory Group would be ready to recommend preliminary approval of the title and descriptions for the LUCA and road types. These will then be used for development of the Complete Streets design guidelines. The guidelines will explain the actual cross- sections of how a street would look like in a particular context area and on a particular street. Mr. Delmagori asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the November 20, 2013 meeting. Ms. Lopez moved to approve the minutes. Ms. Morgan seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. PARKLETS Mr. Wakan said a parklet can be an inexpensive option for creating pedestrian activity when compared to the cost of removing and then replacing curb and gutter to expand a sidewalk. Mr. Wakan presented a video of different parklet design elements that could include pergolas, trees and landscaping, and seating. Many of the parklets were constructed with wood or pallets and many have allowed for drainage. Mr. Wakan noted that having tree-lined streets added to the overall picture that parklets could help create in a downtown setting. Mr. Wakan said that interested businesses can sponsor their own parklet. They are constructed so they can be removed for the winter months. Mr. Wakan asked if the city had any ordinances that would affect the use of parklets. Ms. Lopez said the actual ordinance that would govern the use of a parklet would come from Public Works. She thought parklets would activate a street by providing a wider sidewalk area and places for people to congregate. Traffic on the street would be slower because the width of the street would be decreased which makes the street more pedestrian friendly. The parklet creates a semi-permanent place for people to gather, but would only takes up one or two parking spaces. Ms. Lopez said that before installing a parklet, the business would need to contact the Public Works Department for an encroachment agreement or an ordinance or, perhaps, a plan could be developed that would allow for parklets. She stated being ---PAGE BREAK--- able to bring this type of activity to downtown locations would be important to local businesses. Mr. Hathaway asked about the safety concern of having vehicles driving right past a parklet. Mr. Wakan commented that in most instances, the parklet is surrounded by parallel parking which provided a buffer for the parklet. He said that for the Main Street area taking out a lane of traffic might be considered. Ms. Lopez added that most businesses already have parallel parking in front of the store so the parklet would not be in a lane of traffic. Additionally, the city has the bump-outs at the street corners which could also be used as buffers. Ms. Lopez said the parklets shown in the video had a structure or buffer to protect the street-side of the parklet from traffic. She added that these also provided a visual element to help slow traffic down and make drivers alert to the roadway changes. Part of installing the parklet would be to provide that needed buffer for safety. Councilor McCulloch said she would be curious to know how retailers would react to a parklet because it does take away some parking space. She noted that the idea of parking and walking still required a change in mindset. People are used to driving up directly in front of the business, parking, and walking through the front door. Mr. Wakan commented that when designing a parklet plan, the issue of lost parking spaces would be considered and reviewed in order to achieve the best outcome for all parties. Ms. Lopez said that restaurants would be most likely to like parklets because they could offer outside dining to their customers. Councilor McCulloch said she agreed but thought it was important to anticipate potential complaints. Ms. Castleberry thought that back in the 70’s, the bump-outs were sold to the community as providing a type of parklet. She wondered if the bump-outs could be developed and utilized rather than creating something new and taking parking spaces away from the retailers. Mr. Delmagori said there would be some issues with using the corner bump-outs as they often hold the mast arms for the traffic signals and there could be sight distance issues at those street corners. The mid-block bump-outs might be able to be used. Ms. Castleberry reiterated that she thought that existing facilities should be considered for parklet locations. She believed the original plan for the bump-outs was as a pedestrian shelter and not for traffic signals or signage. Ms. Romme said she thought that many owners would like to have a parklet in front of or near their shop. Ms. Lopez said that most parklets are not a city project but would rather fall to the business owner to build and maintain. The interested business would request permission from the city to build the parklet, but it would be the responsibility of the business to pay for, build, and maintain the parklet. Ms. Castleberry commented that business owners might have issues with having to maintain the parklet. Mr. Wakan commented that the parklet would require some maintenance and upkeep, but the tradeoff would be the potential increase in sales and customers. Mr. Wakan stated that studies have shown that having parklets, planting trees, and making the street more inviting can all lead to improved retail sales. ---PAGE BREAK--- Ms. Lopez said that another way of looking at downtown area is for crime prevention through environmental design. The first impression of an area or store is the impression that is remembered. If the front of a business can be improved and made more welcoming, people will want to go in and shop. A parklet could help establish or emphasize that positive first impression. Ms. Castleberry commented that the many empty store locations in downtown Farmington would first need to be occupied before there would be an owner willing to accept the responsibility of a parklet. Councilor McCulloch asked what some of the obstacles were for a business owner when trying to add a parklet. The obstacles need to be anticipated and addressed beforehand so the actual process can be easy. Mr. Delmagori agreed and said the steps in the process need to be determined and defined. He added that some education on parklets might also be needed by the retail owners so they can understand the benefits as well as the tradeoffs. Mr. Kozimor said having a downtown business environment that people wanted to stroll through would be ideal. A parklet for a coffee shop owner could be a great idea, but a parklet for a shoe repair business does not make much sense. That business wants easy front-of-the-shop parking and would not be likely to invest in a parklet. Mr. Kozimor added that this type of business would not want to lose their parking spaces to a parklet. Mr. Wakan added, however, the increased foot traffic could be advantageous to both businesses. Ms. Castleberry suggested making the parklet presentation to the Downtown Association as they would be the group most potentially interested and directly affected. Ms. McNally asked if any businesses had approached the cities about installing a parklet. Ms. Lopez said the City of Farmington had not been approached. Mr. Delmagori added that the parklet is a fairly new concept which he first was introduced to at the national planning conference last year. Mr. Kozimor stated that he thought there could be some interest in the parklet for certain of the downtown businesses. Mr. Quintana said that he thought the idea needed to be tested out and suggested that 3 Rivers Brewery might be a good location since it is an established restaurant with several additional locations next door. Mr. Quintana commented, however, that during tax season, the tax preparation facility across the street has customers standing in line down the block waiting to get their taxes done. He asked what would happen when those customers waiting for their taxes to get done take up the parklet seating meant for the 3 Rivers customer and others who might be walking and shopping along Main Street. Mr. Quintana said he was also trying to anticipate some of the negative aspects that might come along with a parklet. He wondered if there would be risks the business owner would assume when installing a parklet: could they lose money trying to maintain the parklet or could they lose customers because parking spaces had been absorbed for the parklet. Mr. Quintana said he thought the parklets would need to be temporary structures so that money invested in a more permanent structure was not lost if the parklet idea proved unsuccessful. Mr. Kozimor commented on a business not wanting to bear the entire cost of a parklet when the parklet would also benefit the overall downtown area. Ms. Morgan asked if the city should be approached about sharing in the cost. Many believed the business ---PAGE BREAK--- was the one that benefited the most from the parklet. It was reiterated that the parklet would be a temporary structure that could be removed and stored during the winter months. Ms. Morgan asked if there had been discussion about the number of lanes of traffic on Main Street and Broadway and the feasibility of making one street east bound and the other street west bound, or in changing them from four lanes to three with a center turning lane. Mr. Delmagori replied that this has been discussed, but studies have shown that one-way streets are detrimental to business access. Mr. Delmagori reported that there have been initial discussions with Farmington’s MRA Committee about a potential road diet for downtown which would reduce one lane of travel to create either a median or center turn lane. This would allow for wider sidewalks and possibly angled parking along Main Street. The MRA approved some funding for a traffic study of the Main Street corridor to determine the cost and feasibility of making these types of changes while still being able to handle the traffic volumes. Ms. Morgan asked if there was a timeline for the study. Ms. Lopez replied that the MRA is currently working on a gateway project, so was not sure where the Main Street study was on their agenda. Mr. Wakan showed some of the preliminary Complete Streets designs of Main Street MPO Staff had drawn up. One design had parallel parking on one side of the street and angled parking on the other. Each example showed Main Street reduced down to one lane in each direction. Ms. Lopez said this MRA project would be done in stages and would start with striping as the first step. Mr. Delmagori commented that the low cost of paint provides an ideal first step to see how the changes function and how people react to those changes. ROAD TYPES & LAND USE CONTEXT AREAS Mr. Delmagori said the Advisory Group had compiled a list of titles and descriptions for the road types and land use context areas. He reiterated that these are overlays to the traditional road classifications and for the land use definitions that are used by the city. The overlays provide a better representation of the built environment. Mr. Delmagori gave the example of driving on 30th Street between Hutton and College and the residential nature of that road section with the houses being right along the street. If, however, you travel a little further either east or west, the road opens up into more commercial and retail. The entire road is classified as a minor arterial, but the motorist’s perception changes because of how the environment changes. That is what the road types and land use context areas are all about. The DOT, the City of Roanoke, and others have all implemented this overlay concept into their designs. Using these visual or graphic examples of land use context areas and road types, all the elements needed to make that road a Complete Street can be defined. Mr. Delmagori reported that using the land use context areas and road types developed by the Advisory Group for this area, Mr. Wakan created maps to illustrate these guidelines into the local built environment. An example of the Farmington map was e-mailed to Advisory Group members for their review, and Staff has now extended the mapping to the entire MPO area. ---PAGE BREAK--- Mr. Delmagori asked the Advisory Group to review the land use context area and road type maps to determine what they did and did not like. The maps were built using what Staff had identified as potential overlays, but now the Advisory Group needed to offer their comments and recommendations to the maps. Mr. Wakan said the maps are interactive and modifications can be made easily. Mr. Delmagori agreed and said the maps presented today were working drafts to help with the overall process. Mr. Delmagori said he hoped that by the end of the meeting, the Advisory Group would be comfortable with the titles and definitions to get preliminary approval for the road types and context areas. Following the Advisory Group’s approval, Staff will take the recommendations to the MPO Technical and Policy Committees for final approval. At the next meeting, the Advisory Group can begin to make cross-sections of local streets based on the linkages between the context areas and road types. Mr. Delmagori stated that there would probably be some areas that do not fit into any of the defined categories. He asked the Advisory Group not to get bogged down in the minute details and stated that they could work through any areas of concern. Ms. Lopez stated that there were no trail ways shown on the maps yet there were numerous plans for these. Mr. Delmagori said they are shown where the existing river trails are currently located. Ms. Lopez said it would be good to see how they all connect together between communities. Mr. Delmagori said this brought up a question that Staff had about existing infrastructure versus proposed. He noted that none of the proposed roads East Arterial or Pinon Hills extension) are on the map. Another iteration of the map could be compiled that would show the proposed roads and areas, but Staff wanted the Advisory Group to comment on how well the overlays worked for existing developments, but understood that future projects would need to be incorporated. Mr. Delmagori said the Advisory Group had discussed at previous meetings the idea of acknowledging what the area currently has or trying to incorporate ideas we would like to see in the area in the future. Mr. Delmagori thought that getting the Advisory Group’s reactions to what we currently have and know was the first step. With the interactive maps, any changes can be made immediately. Mr. Wakan reported that as the maps were constructed, he noticed that many of the areas between the communities were a mix of industrial and residential yet were being labeled as Regional Commercial & Light Industrial. He thought that these context areas would probably not have the type of regional commercial development described by the Advisory Group. Mr. Wakan said he did not think the title Regional Commercial fit for areas that were light/heavy industrial and housing. He suggested possibly tweaking this category to “mixed use” or “multiple use”. Ms. Lopez stated that the Advisory Group had discussed mixed use and the concept of having business and residential uses especially for artisans. Mr. Delmagori said this was captured under the Local Neighborhood Commercial category. Mr. Wakan said he did not think the mix of Regional Commercial and Light Industrial fit together. He thought there would be pockets of Local Neighborhood Commercial areas within each of the communities but not in the areas between the communities. ---PAGE BREAK--- Ms. Lopez thought that a mix of uses of commercial and residential did exist already between cities. She noted the 7-2-11 store and gas stations next door to residences on US 64 between Farmington and Bloomfield mixed in with other industrial users. Mr. Wakan agreed that this mixed use did exist, but added that the mixed use described in the Local Neighborhood Commercial category did not fit in the Regional Commercial & Light Industrial category. Ms. Lopez said that the city’s description for the category of Local Neighborhood Commercial includes beauty shops and dry cleaners and not just artisans. It includes businesses that fit the immediate needs of the neighborhood but which are not the big box stores. Mr. Eppich asked if there was an overlay to the maps in terms of future economic diversification relative to the context areas. He wondered if the more outsourced, technologically-oriented businesses that might fit into the Local Neighborhood Commercial context area had been overlaid as the matrix is constructed for the future. As economic diversification occurs in the county, have we accommodated through an overall master planning process the ideal locations for the infrastructure needs of the new technologies. Mr. Delmagori replied that this was not directly addressed in the current mapping. Ms. Lopez added that the Advisory Group had discussed more heavy industrial uses being in an industrial park. Mr. Eppich said he was not speaking about heavy industrial, but about future economic diversification and asked if an overlay for this had been considered in the planning exercise. Mr. Delmagori said this would play a role if there were such opportunities available for this region. He added that these types of industries had not been identified in the context area descriptions. Mr. Eppich said that if this kind of diversification was being encouraged as an economic development strategy it should be delineated in terms of future mapping to lend itself to marketing the county for those kinds of businesses. These new businesses have then been identified and planning for them to enter the market has occurred. Mr. Wakan thought that these industries might be included under the City Commercial context area. There might be a way to incorporate some language into the description to include incubators and/or diversification. Ms. McNally thought it was important to plan some sessions with San Juan Economic Development (4CED) to understand what they are forecasting for the area. Ms. Castleberry added that 4CED is targeting certain industries and one of those is the location-neutral industry that is dependent on band width. Ms. Romme said that all the targeted business would certainly be affected by future plans and making sure the map is not a hodge-podge of industries is important. She said she thought the focus was designing for what we wanted to have and not for what we already had. She added that just because something new did not fit within the descriptions, it could still be something the area wanted and needed. Ms. Lopez said she thought the new land uses being discussed could fit into the categories already developed by the Advisory Group. She added that the descriptions simply needed to be expanded upon to include the new uses. Mr. Eppich asked about benchmarking by Austin, Seattle, or Boston. These cities appear to be more technically-oriented communities and how did they incorporate ---PAGE BREAK--- master planning and the different categories into what they are projecting for economic diversification and development. Mr. Kozimor agreed that having a master plan to follow was important. Ms. Lopez stated that Complete Streets ideas from other cities had been provided for the Advisory Group to review and react to. Mr. Delmagori said he thought it was important for the Advisory Group to focus on what they could control for this region. He added that these new industries and context areas could likely be incorporated into the titles already established. Mr. Delmagori asked if there was a catchall word or title that would sum up or describe the industries presented. Mr. Eppich thought perhaps words such as “home-based” or “location neutral” would help denote that these industries are more technologically-oriented, smaller in size and scope, and have a marketplace that is outside the region but are bringing dollars into the community. Mr. Eppich stated that these technology industries are looking for communities that have identified them as a priority in terms of development and have the appropriate infrastructure already developed or mapped out for the future. With this planning in place, a community can market to these companies or even create them within the community. Ms. Castleberry added that a “grow your own” industry was a better choice overall, but that the community still needed to provide the required infrastructure. She added that where the fiber optics were installed would determine where these types of industries could be located. Ms. Lopez stated that there have been some companies trying to install their fiber optics in Farmington and they are looking to use public easements for their installations. The Advisory Group discussed security issues with providing too much information regarding a city’s infrastructure and how private interests would be unwilling to divulge any proprietary information. Mr. Delmagori said that from the discussion, he thought perhaps a “technological” or “data center” could be added to the land use titles with a subsequent map that would begin to identify where these industries might be located. Mr. Eppich asked if this should be shared with and reviewed by 4CED so the Advisory Group’s work was integrated with others in the community. Ms. Lopez commented that the graphs and maps reflected what we currently have, but did not reflect what was planned. She noted that this cannot all be put into a box and there needed to be flexibility. Mr. Delmagori agreed that the maps were a first iteration and were simply something for the Advisory Group to react to. These will most likely never be set in stone even once the Complete Streets process is completed because developments and needs change. He explained that what the Advisory Group is attempting to do is to capture as much of the built and future environments that fit with the context area titles and descriptions so that when a specific location on a specific road is discussed, how that street should look and how it should best accommodate all Complete Streets concepts is recognizable. Mr. Delmagori asked if the group would want to consider preliminarily approving the title of “data or technological center” and then work to develop the description. Mr. Eppich asked if some benchmarking could be done during this time in terms of how other cities are identifying these context areas. Mr. Delmagori said Staff could look into that. ---PAGE BREAK--- Ms. Lopez asked why a data or technology center could not fit into one of the land use context areas already identified. She thought these could be included in context area descriptions already developed. Mr. Wakan agreed and explained that there are currently eight land use context areas and nine road typologies. This gives a matrix of 72 possible design guidelines and asked if a matrix of this size worked for the MPO and its political structure. Mr. Delmagori stated that in putting the maps together, Staff noticed that there was some overlap in the road typologies and asked the Advisory Group to consider that as they reviewed the list. Mr. Delmagori said the approach was to start big and then narrow down the choices if needed. He agreed with Ms. Lopez that a technology center could be integrated into the land use descriptions already identified. Mr. Delmagori said the outcome for the meeting was to reach an understanding and agreement of the titles and descriptions that the Advisory Group wanted to work with knowing they could be modified and changed at any time. Ms. Lopez said it was also important to recognize that there would be others who would bring up new ideas that might have to fit within the existing context areas. She said the additional feedback was important because the Advisory Group could not think of everything. She added that the Advisory Group has identified some general land use context areas and any new land use ideas can be reviewed to see where they fit in best. Ms. Lopez thought that the technological centers could make a fit under the Light Industrial or City Commercial context areas. Mr. Eppich commented that some communities have revitalized their downtown by using the second floor of a business to accommodate a location neutral enterprise. This has centralized a node for the needed band width and has encouraged additional business development such as restaurants. He noted that by doing this the cities were creating a revitalized downtown that was sustainable. Mr. Eppich noted that Durango has done a lot of this type of development. Mr. Hathaway commented that there is no zoning for San Juan County. When the County looked at a land development code last year in an attempt to get a little structure to the region, the County Commissioners were behind it until they heard from a vocal minority that was against it, and decided to back off. Mr. Hathaway stated that this was part of the challenge for MPO Staff because “anything goes” in the unincorporated areas of San Juan County. This makes it difficult to attract new business to the County when you tell them there is no zoning. Mr. Eppich commented that this declines private property values and he referenced the issues created in Montezuma County when a rattlesnake ranch was allowed to be built near residential property. Ms. Lopez said that zoning provides a structure to the region and instills confidence in businesses that everyone is playing by the same rules and to know what they are getting into. Mr. Wakan reviewed the land use context area overlay maps and how they had been developed. Areas where land appeared to be dug up or had large trucks, he identified as Heavy Industrial. The map was also reviewed to identify Mr. Kozimor’s development west of Farmington. It was noted that the aerial map needed to be updated because much of Mr. Kozimor’s development was not present on the aerial map used for the exercise. ---PAGE BREAK--- Ms. Lopez suggested looking at what other planning exercises were going on within the cities to capture those with the Advisory Group’s exercises. She commented on the smart growth plan completed by the County about five years ago that was to follow along with the cities’ comprehensive plans. She said these were the master plans for the area for future growth and should coincide with what the Advisory Group develops for Complete Streets. Mr. Wakan restated that he thought the Regional Commercial and Light Industrial category was too broad. He noted there were a lot of Light Industrial sites, but did not think those fit within a Regional Commercial category. Mr. Delmagori asked the Advisory Group if the term Regional Commercial brought to mind the big box stores found along East Main Street. Everyone agreed that it did. Ms. Castleberry said she knew the title and description had been worked on but it seemed now that there were actually two different categories mashed together. Mr. Delmagori said that MPO Staff had also noticed this. He asked if the Advisory Group thought it would be better to have Regional Commercial as a stand-alone category. Mr. Wakan showed the areas on the map where the true regional commercial areas were located versus some of the areas that were being labeled as Regional Commercial & Light Industrial because they fit the category of Light Industrial but not necessarily that of Regional Commercial. Ms. Lopez said the Advisory Group needed to be careful because the cities have land use and zoning maps and these areas have already been defined within the cities. Mr. Delmagori reminded everyone that the maps were only overlays. Ms. Lopez added that the overlays were not defining the zoning for those areas, but were trying to determine the road typologies for the areas and how the roads should be designed for Complete Streets. She thought the discussion was focusing too much on land use rather than road types. The road typologies include the general land use types. She asked if there might be similarities with these types of land uses for the road types. Mr. Delmagori commented that some combinations of road typologies and land uses would not work. Although the current matrix has a potential for 72 combinations, not every slot would be filled and there would likely be overlaps that might eventually eliminate some of the road types or land uses. Mr. Delmagori asked that discussion not get bogged down in the minute details and for everyone to remember that the road typologies and land uses are overlays only and are not intended to replace anything existing. These are being used to help summarize what the built environment would look like and what the road typologies would be for the land use context areas. Ms. Lopez added that some of the land use context areas could have the same road typology because they share a similar need. These were developed to look at the similarities and the needs of the different types of land uses from which the road typology would be developed. Ms. Lopez restated that the discussion was beginning to focus too much on zoning concerns instead of road typology. Mr. Delmagori asked if the overlay summary accurately reflected what the region currently has. He added that verbiage to reflect technology may still need to be added into some of the land use categories. He asked if the Advisory Group was comfortable ---PAGE BREAK--- using the road types and land use context areas titles and descriptions to begin developing the Complete Streets guidelines. Ms. McNally agreed that the Advisory Group had spent some time developing the road types and land use context areas, but wondered if this information should be presented to other groups to get their feedback. Mr. Delmagori said there might be some other elements that the Advisory Group had not considered, but stated that this was a starting point. MPO Staff would take the combinations and begin to develop some diagrams to help formulate the design guidelines for the Advisory Group to work from. Ms. Lopez said she thought the maps were premature to the process. She thought that the road types and context areas should be more thoroughly examined and all the possible land uses determined and thoroughly defined before that information was mapped out. Mr. Wakan thought it important for the titles to be visualized on a map in order to ensure that accurate design guidelines could be developed for them. He added that he thought the titles and the maps needed to work together. Ms. McNally said that when looking at the maps, the Advisory Group begins to again categorize things the area already has instead of identifying what they would like to see for the future. Mr. Eppich asked if there was a way to add one overlay map onto another overlay map so that how everything fit together could be shown step-by-step. Mr. Delmagori said this process had not been used. Mr. Eppich said he had seen this process used in other fields, particularly science. It begins with the base form and on top of that are added the different overlays to see how everything eventually comes together. Mr. Delmagori said the maps were intended to help the Advisory Group visualize how the combinations of road types and land uses would come together, but they appear to have brought up a lot of questions. Ms. Lopez added that the maps focused too much on the land uses. Also, the actual streets could not be seen or identified on the maps and that was what was needed to work on road typologies. Mr. Kozimor added that it would help to focus on just a one mile segment at a time. Mr. Wakan agreed that it was a complex issue. Mr. Quintana said much of the decision-making would come down to right-of-way availability. He commented that the Public Works Department was working on a sidewalk project along 20th Street. He hopes to replicate some of the design that is currently in front of the post office (offset sidewalks and landscaping) as an example for the new project. He said this was a beginning for Complete Streets ideas and thought the process should start in the cities where smaller scale projects could be more easily accomplished. He thought the areas between the cities should be skipped over because development of those areas that included sidewalks and landscaping would by years down the road. Ms. Lopez stated that the Advisory Group was working to develop design guidelines and not requirements. These are the types of amenities envisioned for the future that would make the community more attractive if they can be achieved. Ms. Lopez commented that the Advisory Group is working to identify the street typologies and determine what they would look like by developing design guidelines. It would then be ---PAGE BREAK--- the responsibility of each community to take the design guidelines and make them work where and how they saw fit for their city. Mr. Delmagori asked if the Advisory Group was comfortable with the list of road types. The group agreed that they did like the list of road types. Mr. Delmagori then asked if the Advisory Group was also good with the land use context areas. Mr. Eppich recommended the context areas be kept flexible so that, if needed, additional descriptive information could be added. Ms. Lopez stated that the land use context areas helped to define the road types. Although some additional work might be needed on the context areas, the Advisory Group seemed pleased with the current list of road types. Mr. Eppich moved for preliminary approval of the land use context areas and road types as presented. Ms. Castleberry seconded the motion. The motion was passed unanimously. Design Guidelines – Overview Presentation Mr. Delmagori presented an overview of the design guidelines process and how Roanoke and the DOT (PennDOT) moved from defining their land use context areas and road types into developing their design guidelines. The design guidelines can be broken down into cross-sections between road zones and sidewalk zones. The road zones need to consider the number of lanes, presence of shoulders, parking lanes, bike lanes, and curb radii. From there, it can be determined what the widths will be for these elements. The roadside or sidewalk zone needs to consider the sidewalk width, presence of a buffer/furniture zone, the shy distance which is the human tendency to avoid walls, and the speed of the road. Mr. Delmagori showed how Roanoke depicted their right-of-way zones by numbering them from the inside of the street to the outside. ---PAGE BREAK--- Charlotte uses a color-coding system on how their cross-section looks. Mr. Delmagori said that PennDOT uses a tabular approach to defining the road elements. This approach is broader and may be due to the fact that they are at the state level rather than the city level. The chart below lists the elements of a regional arterial when located in the different land use context areas. ---PAGE BREAK--- Mr. Delmagori said the Advisory Group will need to decide how they want their Complete Streets design guidelines to look. He said he thought the more visual image might be the best choice, but that the tabular version could be a good supplement. Mr. Delmagori said that as the Advisory Group works on the design guidelines, they consider questions such as: “If I am traveling on a neighborhood collector in a traditional neighborhood setting, what would I expect the road to look like so it is safe and accommodating to all users?” This type of question will apply to the combinations of land use context areas and road types. Mr. Delmagori said there will be some that do not match up while others might have a lot of overlapping and be able to be merged. He said that starting with a larger number of road types and land use context areas would be preferred to starting too small and with too few titles and then having to try and add titles later on in the process. Discussion Councilor McCulloch asked if there was or would be discussions between the MPO and Public Works on the 20th Street sidewalk project. She said that even though the city has not adopted the Complete Streets guidelines, she hoped there would be discussions on how the design for the 20th Street project would look. Mr. Quintana said the project was early enough in the design phase to consider some of the Complete Streets concepts. Councilor McCulloch asked where the funding for this project had come from. Mr. Delmagori said funding for the project had been through the Transportation Alternative Program (TAP). ---PAGE BREAK--- Councilor McCulloch asked Mr. Quintana how the city would approach the land owners along this stretch of 20th Street to get the needed right-of-way in order to possibly include some Complete Streets design. Mr. Quintana explained the process. Councilor McCulloch said it would be great if some Complete Streets ideas could be incorporated into the project and thought it would set a great example for the entire corridor. Mr. Quintana said it might be possible to include some offset sidewalks along this stretch. He stated that it was too late in the process to consider medians or more of the Complete Streets concepts as the plans needed to be submitted to NMDOT by June. Councilor McCulloch said it was imperative that the NMDOT work with the communities to give them time to do the kind of planning that allowed for Complete Streets ideas. Once the project is completed, any changes or improvements have to be retrofitted at additional costs. She said the projects needed to be done right the first time. Councilor McCulloch thought that if the community could see a stretch of roadway that incorporated some Complete Street concepts, it would have a big impact on future projects. Mr. Quintana added that state funding does not allow for the purchase of right-of-way. Sometimes a landowner has to be shown that the improvements the city is planning far outweigh the value of the land being sought. All this takes time to accomplish on top of getting the plans completed. Councilor McCulloch wondered if this process could be done with all the landowners together as a group rather than individually. She asked if the MPO could offer any help to the city with this process. Mr. Delmagori said the MPO could assist with the planning elements, but that the right-of-way acquisition and engineering was with the city. Councilor McCulloch thought that if this two-block segment was done well using Complete Streets concepts, it would be an example for the entire corridor. Ms. Lopez thought it was important that the new Public Works Director needed to be on board to help drive the vision. Councilor McCulloch asked if it would help if she called and spoke with him. Mr. Wakan mentioned that the Albuquerque MPO is working with a state legislator to get February 11 designated as Complete Streets Day. The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting adjourned at 11:42 a.m.