MEMO TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Carol Helland, Planning and Community Development Director
SUBJECT:
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Update on the North-South Corridor Study
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
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This staff report provides a high-level summary of the purpose, progress to date, next steps in this project. The update is for information only in advance of a Council Study Session on June 23, 2020.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Carol Helland, Director 425-556-2107
Donald Cairns, P.E., Transportation Planning and Engineering Manager 425-556-2834
Tam Kutzmark, Senior Planner 425-556-2870
Max Miller, Transportation Engineer 425-556-2498
Planning and Community Development
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
The North-South Corridors Study (NSCS) meets the general guidance from the State Attorney General regarding Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with the Governor’s Proclamation 20-05 that requires that Council action be both “necessary and routine”:
• Necessary: this update is “necessary” so that the North-South Corridor Study can proceed on schedule; the Study cannot wait as waiting would delay the project and have a potential financial consequence for not taking action.
• Routine: this update is “routine” as it is a regular procedure typical of City project studies and is not considered to be unusual, special, or controversial.
Under the Governor’s Stay Home/Stay Healthy Proclamation, residents are required to stay home except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors. Under this order, the NSCS is considered planning for critical infrastructure projects, and work continues on the study.
Purpose
The City anticipates substantial population growth and increasing pressure on its transportation facilities in the next 10-15 years. To help plan for this change, the City is conducting a travel study of Redmond’s key north-south running transportation corridors. This study is one of the City’s highest planning priorities - identified in Council’s 2019 Community Strategic Plan and the Planning Department’s Work Program.
The goal is to perform analysis on these five corridors and identify capital projects and operational solutions that will improve access, safety, and mobility (with a focus on the Willows Road and Redmond-Woodinville Road corridors). The corridors extend from Redmond Way north to the city limit (Attachment A) and include:
• Willows Rd NE
• Redmond-Woodinville Rd
• 166th Ave NE/172nd Ave NE
• Avondale Rd NE
• 132nd Ave NE
Progress to Date
NSCS Phase 1, concluded in June 2019, reviewed past planning, design, and engineering studies (dating from 1990-today) and recent travel models (based on 2018 traffic counts). Levels of service, travel demand, and travel times for existing conditions (today) and a future baseline (2030) were modeled. Phase 1 described how the City’s major north-south corridors operate today and estimated how these corridors will operate in 2030, given the future growth projections and the implementation of planned transportation projects.
NSCS Phase 2, currently underway, is identifying and evaluating projects to improve how these corridors function, with the following outcomes , :
• A prioritized list of operational and facility improvements to be implemented in the next six years for the Willows Rd and 166th Ave NE/172nd Ave NE corridors
• A prioritized list of near- and long-term improvements for the Willows Rd, 166th Ave NE/172nd Ave NE, and Redmond-Woodinville Rd corridors
As part of NSCS Phase 2, the City took the following steps to gather information:
• Let’s Connect questionnaire (December 2019): Over 400 people responded, indicating that predictable travel with reliable travel times and improved transit service were among their most desired outcomes for the corridors.
• Baseline assessment of today’s conditions: The report documented existing attributes of the natural and built environment, the community, and cultural resources that could potentially result in the increased cost or risk of a project.
• Technical evaluation of alternative project sets: A Project Evaluation Framework was developed, including criteria to measure project effectiveness. Projects were evaluated and bundled into sets reflecting near-term priorities (can be implemented in the next six years) and long-term priorities (six-plus years).
Next Steps
At the June 2 meeting, Council will be invited to provide questions and areas of interest that staff can incorporate into the June 23 Study Session.
The Study Session will provide a detailed overview of the Study, the findings from the evaluation of project sets, and the plan for community involvement activities.
Following the Council Study Session, the next steps include:
• Community involvement activities to obtain feedback on the project sets (including outreach to neighboring municipal governments)
• Analysis to incorporate this feedback into the project evaluation framework, and
• Reporting to Council on the proposed projects and implementation plan
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
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May 12, 2020 |
Planning and Public Works Committee of the Whole |
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
The North-South Corridor Study provides continuity of operations of essential critical infrastructure sectors. The NSCS is considered planning for critical infrastructure projects, and work continues on the study.
B. Fiscal Note:
Funding for this project was approved as part of the 2017-2018 budget, included in the 2019-2020 budget, and extended into the 2021-2022 budget. The budget includes a consulting contract with the firm Fehr & Peers to provide technical analysis for an amount not to exceed $200,000.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
No recommendation is provided at this time. The staff report is for informational purposes only. At the June 23 Council Study Session, staff will seek feedback on the project evaluation framework and community involvement plan.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
The following schedule (Attachment B) is proposed in order to complete the community involvement activities, technical analysis, and reporting steps in time for the final set of near-term projects to be considered for the City’s 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Program:
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June 2, 2020 |
Council Staff Report |
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June 23, 2020 |
Council Study Session #1 |
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July/August 2020 |
Community Involvement |
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September 22, 2020 |
Council Study Session #2 |
Delays to this schedule may impact the advancement of these projects.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Map of Study Area
Attachment B: Project Schedule
Attachment C: Presentation