Transportation committee meeting.

I'm joined by Common Council President Rita Paniagua and Second District Councilor Donna Moore.

We're here to discuss uh the regional transportation center and regional market area mobility improvements project.

Um we have if you like to introduce yourself.

Uh good morning, counselors.

My name is Mirza Malkoch.

I work for the engineering department.

Okay.

So this project, and we have talked about this for almost 20 years, is uh is a north side leader and others spoken for the need for a greater need for mobility among uh people in our district, those who are not vehicles, those who have uh trying to cross Hiawatha Boulevard, uh to go to the regional market, NBT Bank Stadium, the regional transportation center.

We do have a crisis people walking park street trying to cross to go to destiny.

Uh our area does lack sidewalks and safety.

So we want to put people where they're um they were gonna be safe crossing crossing the street.

It's a major high highway traffic, Park Street, highway, I was the boulevard.

So I'm gonna let you um discuss just before I want to welcome Councillor Aaron Reich to our meeting too.

So Mirza, if you'd like to start.

Sure.

Thank you.

Well, um, so this been this we're right now in preliminary stage of the RTC regional market area mobility improvement project.

Um preliminary stage means like we're just evaluating different designs, um, meeting with um business owners and with the public.

That's why we had the public input meeting two weeks ago uh on the fifth.

Um this project we have about three point five million dollars um funds from the federal government and from the state.

Um preliminary stage is should be completed in maybe in a month to two months.

Then we're gonna go into detailed design phase.

And construction should start sometimes in uh spring of 2027.

That's just a rough estimate.

It might be who knows, with uh delays and everything.

It could be even late 2027.

We don't know exactly.

So I'm gonna do that.

I just gonna give you a brief okay summary of this um the schedule.

Um I can go over the project.

So if you have any questions regarding the schedule, anything like that, let me know, and then we'll go from there.

Okay, and also did you have c uh copies of this?

I do have copies for myself.

I can email it to you.

We have a website as well where people can look at the plans.

Um and look at the descriptions, the project objectives, improvements, and then you can also leave comments.

Okay, so if you can email copies to the common counselors, so that would be important.

Okay.

Okay.

And I just want to say that the deadline to submit comments is this Friday.

Okay.

Yeah, because you we had there was a meeting which I was not notified of uh a couple weeks ago, the regional market.

And um, but besides that, uh you had said what kind of the what kind of delays you think we're gonna have.

Well, the delays it could be because everyone is short staffed, not on our end, but you know, DOT is lately um delaying some of our projects.

This is state DOT.

Yep.

So um, I can't promise you if it's gonna start in spring or summer or fall or even next year.

I don't know.

Okay.

But we do have the funds in place.

It's just the time, the review time might change.

All right, go ahead.

Yeah, so um, like I said, the the review comments are due this uh Friday.

So do we have a representative from the regional market here today?

No, this is this is a city.

So this is a city project, so uh regional market, it's its own entity.

Uh whatever they're gonna do inside the property, it's their own.

This is our this improvement, it's just around the regional market and the fully streetscape improvements.

Okay, yes.

Yeah, our city right of way.

Perfect.

Okay, I want to welcome Mary Robinson, director of engineering.

Go ahead, Mercy.

So this is the area of the work.

Pretty much it will cover park street from Iwata to uh NVP Parkway, MVP Parkway from Park Street to Tax the Money Drive, Taxamone Drive from MVP Parkway to Iwata Boulevard, Iwata Boulevard from Taxamone Drive to Park Street.

Um solely for pedestrians and for uh bicyclists.

We are doing traffic calming on tax the moon drive as well.

Um but the major improvements is for pedestrians and for bicyclists.

We are proposing to install uh shared use path.

And let me just show you the plans.

I mean this so are we, don't worry about it.

So High Watch Boulevard, and this is going down Park Street.

So as you can see, we're doing uh brand new crosswalks, 88 corners, uh push buttons as well, operating all of that so that pedestrians and bicyclists from uh Washington Square that the city installed a shared use path right uh last year, will pretty much connect here and then we'll keep on going down to the farmers market.

Um it's an eight-foot wide shared use path.

Um this is the farmers market place.

This is the A1 off ramp.

So eight foot wide path will continue, they will expand to ten foot.

The reason why we're changing the width is because we have more right-of-way here.

Here we're not we don't have that luxury of expanding it more.

Um but it's still compliant, and it's going to be asphalt fair use path.

So that uh pedestrians are able to walk safely.

Where are the crosswalks?

Is it gonna be like from Carbon Street where carbon ends meets with Hiawatha Boulevard so they can cross towards the regional market?

So this is right now.

I just explained the park street side.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, to I wanna so right now we're at Park Street and uh MBT Parkway.

Right here, there is no sidewalk is you, as you know.

So we are installing sidewalk, but we are reducing it to five foot.

So this is just going to be shared use path is gonna stop at um park street and parkway, but then this part will be a five-foot wide sidewalk.

And the reason why is we don't have the right one.

We won't make it an eight-foot wide mid crossing this like midway where the what's it called regional transportation?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, regional transportation center.

Yep, that's where we will have uh mid-block crossing.

Because we can't, and we this part we can't expand uh the sidewalk just because of the highway boundary right there.

It's right up against the curved line.

So that's why we have to do uh mid-block crossing and then divert the pedestrians on the existing sidewalk that goes to tax the moon drive.

There's not any repairs, the existing one.

It's a decent shape.

We will evaluate it in detail design, so if it doesn't need repairs, we will go.

It would be nice to have a sidewalk along this stretch too, but like I said, that's something we can't do, maybe regional market or someone else to install it.

But right now, that's not the plan.

Regional market did ask us if you could put some kind of an island here at farmers uh marketplace and MVP parkway.

So that's that's what we did, and it's also uh kind of like a refuge island for uh pedestrians when they're crossing.

So they're gonna cross, they're gonna stay here a little bit, see it's safe, and we're gonna cross it.

We'll have flashing beacons as well, ranges for safety purposes.

Same thing here, we're having a crosswalk as well.

This is at the farmers uh this is this is the umone drive.

So now we're at Haiwata Boulevard right now.

This is Carbon Street, which you mentioned, yes.

So we are proposing Farmers Markets asked us to improve their driveway entrance, shift it out a little bit for future uh extension to their property.

So that's what we did.

We accommodated them by install will be installing their driveway entrance.

Um we will have a crosswalk across Haiwata Boulevard at Carbon Street, as you can see right here.

No, this is not part of our project.

We don't have the funds for it, and two, we don't have um, it's it's a TAP project.

So the funds are not here towards including like a major sidewalk, I mean major traffic light installation.

No vehicular improvements are allowed using this funding.

Okay, I mean like it like I mentioned before um if DPW or anyone else is willing to submit, you know, contribute more funds to it, maybe we can do something else, or with a separate project.

That's that's a complete different it's not part of this, and we don't even have the funds, even if we had a I I I'm just concerned about the risk of crossing vehicles coming.

So for I'm looking at vehicles safety of the pedestrians.

Yeah, it's we need to be everything will be a bad thing will be evaluated during uh detail design.

We might have flashing beacons, um, like the one on Solar Street where it's High Watka Boulevard and Solar Street, uh where you cross from one parking lot to the next one.

Oh yeah.

You just might be something.

So how how close are the the traffic lights to that crossing?

Do you know?

Um so carbon streets right here, so uh that's uh I have to work at it.

But it's about 500 feet or so from each from each end.

Okay.

Uh to Park Street.

So these are the thick marks.

So, like, you know, it's 100, 200, 300, so 400, about 500, 600 feet.

And I can get you that closer.

Because I mean that could regulate the crossing, you know.

Yes, and this will be evaluated to um during the design process that it's safe to do to install it.

One time it was proposed here, but then this was closer and it was decided to we may add beacons there too to the learn.

Okay, yeah.

Okay.

There's some stretches along Haiwata Boulevard that um the sidewalk is in good shape, so we're not gonna touch that, but where it's in where it's in not complying, or it's in really it's deteriorated, we will install the sidewalk on to the drive by the taxome drive and uh first north.

So we are installing a 10-foot wide shared use path along Maximum Drive just because we have the width to do it.

So we'll be that whole intersection with uh push buttons and crosswalks corners, and the shared use path will go all the way to the park and the position.

Now we will also install a five-foot wide sidewalk to the gate more vesting.

So are you do you want to ask a question?

So you mentioned that this would only um impact pedestrians and bicyclists.

So do are we building something additionally for the bicyclists or or are they on the sidewalk?

They are that's the shared use path.

So the shared use path is wide enough for them to not be in the road, but to use this shared use path to be away from traffic.

Is is there gonna be a curb between the road and the shared use path, or is it just a line?

So it's in the it's pretty much the existing curves here, for example, tax and drive.

So the shared use path will be between the highway boundary, the our right-of-way boundary and the curb.

But yes, in some areas, the shared use path will be in outside the road, except for NBT park.

So MVP part, we just don't have the room to do it.

So it will be like striped.

Like this.

It will be striped where you know it's still designated bike lane, but it will be like more like a share out than anything else.

Yeah, we're gonna make it more nuclear app.

Okay.

Um on other streetscape improvements, once you put the sidewalks in, are we working with the property owners or with parks to add trees for eventual canopy?

So we will we will engage parts department.

That was one of the comments that was mentioned at the public meeting to kind of prove more of the green space um and our intent was just to do lawn, but um the parts department is willing to, for example, in this island, put some trees or along the curb line, we're more than willing to work with them.

So usually what we do is at the design phase, we reach out to all different departments, we just ask them to that would be a local share, right?

I don't this tap doesn't pay for trees.

Okay.

So will the pedestrians and bicyclists when they're sharing baths mostly, you know, will how do we are they gonna be painted in ways that people can recognize where who goes where?

So um I have to talk to the designers.

Sometimes we put like a in the middle, we put like a lane, like a line through it.

But it's it's a shared use path, so like you you just have to obey traffic, you know.

I mean, like a bicyclist, if he sees a pedestrian, he needs to they they have to work together.

But there is no like we can just designate a line, you know, in the middle of the it will be compliant, it will be meeting the mercy.

If someone's riding a vehicle and they go to the stadium, they're gonna be in regular traffic.

They're not gonna be in the bike lane.

I mean it's a pathfoot-wide path, you can even drive a car through there.

Yeah, you know, it's kind of I don't know.

Yeah, okay.

You know, it's that's more enforcement.

We'll we'll make it so it's like I mean because we the bikes are small, right?

You know, maybe for you know, for cars we will do some improvements so that cars are not driving for the bikes that came from.

No.

Since all the renovations, and so a lot of the things have aged.

A lot of the things that were promised 30 years ago never came.

You know, the facility stadiums owned by the counties, and some of the roads are controlled by the state and then the city.

So it's a combination of government.

But I I think at the end of the day, we really want to look presentable.

The people come in our community, that's those who do live in the neighborhoods, because there are neighborhoods, because many of them who cross the street are coming from the CNY International Food Fair.

They want to go to the regional market, they want to go to the stores.

They don't.

So we want to make our area safe to them for everyone.

Yeah, and with this project, all of this, most of your concerns that you just mentioned, will be addressed.

Your comments years ago, whatever that you just mentioned, this came to fruition.

That's why we're doing these information.

So yes.

During construction, as you know, construction is always, you know, it's gonna impact everyone a little bit, but within six months or so, you'll see major improvements in the city.

Are we gonna see improvements starting within April through September?

Are we gonna see some improvements?

So like I mentioned before, um not this spring, next spring.

Yes, hopefully.

But it will all depend on the approval process, if the budget, if the bids come in low, all the stuff, and then on the contract as well.

So a contractor might come in and they say, you know, like we'll finish this in two months.

So we still need to RFB to move forward and the whole process bid it, yes.

Oh, okay.

Well, this was on our channel on our end.

Yeah, no, it's we we would competitively bid the project to a contract.

Okay.

So what about snow removal?

Will snow removal be part of all these grape plants?

Yeah, that's a question for DPW.

Yeah, we'd have to talk to GPW about adding it to the snow removal contract.

Please do that.

That's that's important.

Yeah.

Do we have any green infrastructure built into this uh grading or are we worried about water?

Um so most of the water, like for example, for it will just flow to the grass here.

So we will evaluate part of the process or in the design.

They do require a swift VAT.

So at that time, we will evaluate, you know, because right now it's not areas, it's just all pavement.

So we will remove all of that, you know, install the 10-foot wide sidewalk, and then the rest of it would live with green space and with the trees and everything else.

One of my um ongoing critiques of our streetscape design is that we don't usually think about like where we're gonna put the snow.

And if we could just have an eye on this project, I love this project, I think it's fantastic.

To Rita's point, we definitely it's going to be used all year, so we do need to make sure that it is accessible all year to pedestrians and to bicyclists.

Um, but if we did include green infrastructure design so that either there are snow swales or rain swales, places where water can and snow can accumulate that aren't going to be in the middle of this or pushed into the road to be pushed back over.

I think that might make our maintenance easier.

So, for example, just you know, like some of the areas right here, it's all pavement.

I want on, I want to go over.

So now we're we're removing all of that.

We'll put the five-foot sidewalk and then we'll put the green state.

So there will be room for snow storage for us to remove the snow into that area that's still in LA.

That's beautiful.

You want to mark that on a map someplace so we don't forget it later, that'd be great.

Yeah, this we also have to talk to BPW.

Well, I just personally want to say good job on this.

This looks lovely, and it looks very functional.

Um I think with the addition of street trees and again an understanding of where snow and rain will go.

Um this looks very helpful.

I just want to apologize for not inviting you guys directly to the meeting except we did uh press release, but I know it wasn't sufficient.

So next time I'll do a better job.

We forgive you.

We got it done.

Okay.

And people are submitting comments.

Um what's the general uh comment consent?

I mean, what was the general comments from the public?

Yeah, it was good.

The only the only thing is they were uh some people were asking improvements to areas that's not part of our.

So for example, they were asking to do a major improvement at Hiawata and Park Street.

I see as you guys know, like this island here, it's in really rough shape.

It just the whole area just looks beat.

So you know, it's old and everything.

They were like asking, can we do improvements?

You know, like we stuck treaties and all that.

I was like, I'll talk to Parks Department on our end, but regarding improvements for this whole intersection.

Uh they were saying like bicyclists that are using that area, it's just not safe for them.

So can we incorporate that into this so it's kind of like better improvement it's like that's another DPW question.

Um the question was roundabouts.

Can we do roundabouts?

That's like we don't have the area to meet the standards for the other than that, it was pretty good.

Pretty good.

That is a shame because the park street and Hiawatha intersection and the um you know the park street intersection down near where you'd enter into the mall would both be really great for small-scale um rotaries.

That was that was some comment.

It's just to meet the standards of DOT and it's we just don't have all those comments will be evaluated by our designers just to make sure you know even with the even if they if we're able to do it, we don't have the funds for the or the project is not in regards to that western thing.

And you mentioned people if they wanted to continue to add comments, they can until these Fridays.

Yes, that's right.

Okay.

I want to point out now there's a proposal by Byrnderi to put a new store, not is that right here.

That's my understanding, but you're gonna have to talk to Okay.

So again, there is gonna be where there's gonna be an increase of traffic.

Also, yes, here that's my understanding.

They're gonna put it right here at the at the Park Street and MDT Park will it's right there.

Okay, I don't know where it stands.

Right.

I've heard a proposal, I've not received any updates on it as well.

But it will be evaluated whenever they submit this, hopefully this year, you know, we will evaluate the the driveways and everything before this project is released.

I also want to commend you on the public engagement side of things.

Um I have seen City out at different festivals over the last couple of years, and that definitely also seems to be a really great place to talk about streetscape improvements and transit improvements in a way that people are really resonating with.

So I just wanted to let you know.

You're doing a good job.

Thank you.

Well, are there any other questions?

You want to ask.

I'm good with it.

We're good.

And I think if we have any other questions, anyone in the audience uh has a question, would you stay for a moment?

Anyone has a question?

Yeah, would you like to come up, sir?

Speak for a moment.

I didn't know what could speak.

Go on, go ahead.

My name is Sean Meyer.

I live with 1504 Park Street.

Um that's about three or four blocks up the street from this project.

Uh next to Ferrong funeral home.

And I'm a neighborhood activist.

We have Washington Square neighborhood watch, the largest neighborhood watch on the north side.

And Washington Square Task Force.

And we were surprised to read about this in the paper.

You when you talk about community engagement or neighborhood input for the last ten years.

We have published a goal.

One of the goals was to be able to walk down Park Street to the regional market on sidewalks.

Because just what Councillor Dowley said, a lot of people on the north side do not have cars, especially New Americans.

And that includes the mosque, three or four blocks up.

So on Sundays and Saturdays, especially, they walk to the mall.

Not to the mall, but to the regional market to buy their food.

They carry on the head.

And for the last ten years I watched them when they get toward this intersection, um, you know, have to navigate across the field.

And of course, we all know the story of the spread, because it was true.

The new American trying to walk from Park Street, okay, across the street, where we put a uh stop sign crossing walk, but we didn't put the crosswalk up or finish the sidewalks, and the car took the umbridge with her, and she lost all her vegetables and stuff.

Now that's not a big deal to everybody in here, because we all got cars and money, but to a new American and to lose the family's groceries, that hurts.

And it's dangerous.

I've watched three deaths in the last three years from Park Street, but nobody cares because one guy was homeless and one guy was only working at McDonald's, and you know.

We need a crosswalk, simple crosswalk across Park Street, and a few feet of sidewalk to link us to the current regional market entrance, which also links us to MT Bank, which is now virtually until the credit units get up and running, the only bank left on the north side.

There aren't any banks.

Where's the bank?

Oh, it's there.

So if you walk down Park Street, which is Route 370, State Route 370, and the emergency route to St.

Joe's, and you land at Hiawatha Boulevard, you're not going to make a right-hand turn.

You're gonna see the thing across the street.

And you're gonna see it across the street, and you're gonna walk across the street.

So we're hoping with the sidewalks the city's putting in the last part that they would put a crosswalk.

So your whole plan, couldn't you put a crosswalk there?

Couldn't you finish those last that last corner of uh sidewalk so that people could walk?

Now when all this links into the grandiose plans that the regional market has of a new archway and all this other stuff, that's fine years from now.

Give us this a way to walk across Park Street, to walk across Hiawatha Boulevard from Park Street.

So now this plan will have two different crosswalks across Park Street.

This plan will have two different crosswalks across Park Street.

So like we're improving this whole intersection.

So this is this is uh I want the boulevard and park street.

So we're we're putting in brand new crosswalks, 88 corners with push buttons, so it's safer to get push button across the upper side.

All of all of the all of this will be upgraded to a new standard.

The new guideline.

And this is going downhill towards the farmer's market.

So this is Wendy's.

This is Park Street.

Yes, this park street.

And right in here.

That's that corner store.

Yeah, there's no sidewalks.

Right.

This plan will be putting in all the park, all the sidewalks where the dark area is.

Sidewalks and here.

And you have the light with the push button.

Push button works well.

You push the button, but you have no crosswalk.

And do you have no sidewalk to get to the other side?

Yeah, and we're so you're back in the road.

No, you're correct.

But we will upgrade all of this with striking all with part of this project.

This will be pedestrian.

I could actually put sidewalks in.

We're just stripping around here.

No, it's going to be a shared use path.

It's going to be a paved 10-foot-wide path.

All the way down towards the farmer's line.

No, no side.

Well, it's a shared use path.

It's both.

Like it's wide enough.

It's gonna be an asphalt path.

Yes.

That you have put in.

Or really on Park Street.

Or the city gas.

This part.

Yes, that's what I was talking about.

From Washington Square all the way to here.

That's DPW they installed that.

Yeah.

Yep.

And on part of it, half of it, they put a sidewalk and half the dip.

So sidewalk stops at full street, and then you just have to share the thing.

And so far, what we're seeing is during the winter, they actually wow your pathway.

Imperial vehicles on.

So is there gonna be signals that you can't put her?

That's a DPW question, but I would think they would have I don't think they complete it yet, because I don't last time I drove by the top soil and anything like that.

So they will put topsoil.

They put the top soil and stuff like that.

What I'm saying?

Oh vehicle still parking.

That's just perfect, well, that's uh enforcement.

That's uh that's police perhaps Peter.

A designer thing at the beginning.

I think there's some which design with supplies people prefer to for this part, I'll leave it up to DPW.

For your for my we're this is preliminary design right now.

We will take that into consideration, you know.

But I'm gonna give you an example, for example.

Um right here, this place.

They have uh they have a driveway that comes in, and so we can't put bollards or anything like that along here because you have to get uh cars in into their business.

But somewhere in between here, if there's you know an open park parking area, maybe we can work something out where you know there's uh the businesses and uh because this is an empty business, it's been empty for seven years, so I'm sure they won't get a little bit of a if you move things around.

Yeah, well, all of this will be about the best of the developer will try to make the most money, you know, give it some vantage, but it's not like you're it's not like you're encringing upon a business that's being used.

So thank you for your comments, Mr.

Meyer.

Appreciate it for whether we speak.

Of course.

Is there any other questions?

I just want to walk across the street.

Murza, thank you.

Thank you, Mary.

I appreciate it.

Uh, do you have a comment?

Hi, Daniels as a couple of things.

Um will the funding for this project be available for streetscape improvements like bike racks, VO bike racks, bus shelters is probably central, but um, is that available with this?

Okay, I think you don't mind just add the comments to into the website.

Yeah, and we will evaluate it.

We have to look at the funding just to make sure.

My thoughts are even if the funding isn't available now for the implementation of those things.

I think it would be good as we're planning this to be prepared for it.

These would be smart locations for a bus shelter.

This is a great spot for VO bike racks, this is for bicycles.

Yep.

Um I'll talk to DPW as well regarding that.

Okay, thank you.

So we'll and then that was my second question.

Was the public comment?

So public comments open until Friday.

How does the public comment?

So it was a part of the press release.

It's on our website.

Okay.

So directly there's a specific website just for this project.

Great.

Is that department of venture?

It's on this website, it's on the city website.

It's on a city, yeah.

There's a specific page for this project.

Okay, thank you.

All right.

Well, thank you, everyone.

Uh, for this meeting.

I make a motion to adjourn.

Second.

Okay.

You need to you need to move it first.

I make a motion.

Oh, so moved, I'm sorry.

So moved.

Okay.

Second.

Second.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.