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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13.A.1. Authorize Traffic Study for the potential Apgar St Railroad Crossing Closure I~.A.I. CITY OF SHAKOPEE Memorandum TO: Mayor & City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Bruce Loney, Public Works Director SUBJECT: Authorize Traffic Study for Potential Apgar Street Railroad Crossing Closure with WSB & Associates, Inc. DATE: December 2, 2008 INTRODUCTION: Attached is a proposal from WSB & Associates, Inc. on a traffic study to analyze a potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing in Shakopee. The City of Shakopee has had a Railroad Safety Committee formed since 2003 with Matt Lehman and Terry Joos (City Council members), Bruce Loney, Public Works Director for the City of Shakopee, a Union Pacific member and Julie Carr of Mn/DOT Office Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations. In 2004, a study was presented to the City Council for acceptance on March 1, 2004. One of the short term recommendations was to consider the closure of Apgar Street, based on a three track crossing which is dangerous due to restrictive sight lines and difficult to safely install active warning devices that would protect all three tracks. If we protect the tracks with gates, traffic could be stopped between the side rail and the main line rails. Attached are the Council minutes from the March 1,2004 meeting with the Railroad Safety Committee's recommendations. Part of those minutes included discussion on a traffic study on Apgar Street and what the traffic impact would be if there would be a closing of that railroad crossing. It was estimated, at that time, the study would cost approximately $2,000.00 to $3,000.00. Attached for Council consideration is a proposal to study the traffic and the traffic impacts and diversion of traffic to adjacent other railroad crossings with the closure of Apgar Street, from WSB & Associates, at a cost not-to-exceed $2,500.00. The Railroad Safety Review Committee did meet on October 8, 2008 and one of the items of discussion was to consider the Apgar Street closure, due to the difficulty of placing crossing improvements on those three track crossings. One of the recommendations of the Railroad Safety Review Committee meeting was to list the issues with the possible closing of Apgar Street, including access to local businesses, traffic mitigation plan, Rahr Malting trucks using Apgar Street and bring forth the information for City Council discussion to decide if railroad crossing closure should move forward or not. With this proposed traffic mitigation study, the impacts to other crossings can be evaluated and a determination on moving forward could be done at that time. Mn/DOT has indicated they would be willing to pay the costs of this study and agreement with Mn/DOT for the reimbursement of this traffic study is being prepared. If the Council does decide to move forward with a closure at Apgar Street railroad crossing, a public notice in this area would be done. It is staff s opinion that the Apgar Street railroad crossings are the most difficult and most dangerous crossings that the City of Shakopee has due to the amount of switching of cars and movement of cars for Rahr Malting. In 1988, the City did have a tentative agreement with the railroad to close Apgar Street but upon a public hearing, chose not to close Apgar Street at that time. Since 1988, a number of changes have occurred in that area, particularly a sale of property to Rahr Malting and the building of T .H. 169 in the middle of Shakopee. Staff is requesting that Council consider the possibility of closing this crossing. A traffic study would need to be done to see what the impact of a closing at this crossing would do to the other railroad crossings. The City of Shakopee would be responsible for 10% of a future railroad signal improvement project, which is a conservative estimate at this time to be at least $350,000.00. If the City were to close a crossing, the City would save those dollars and also there is a program in which dollars would be given to the City for any railroad crossing closure. ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve a motion authorizing a traffic study on the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing and the traffic impacts to adjacent railroad crossings by WSB & Associates, Inc. This traffic study could be authorized under a minor study agreement since the proposal is under $5,000.00. 2. Do not authorize a traffic study on the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing at this time. 3. Authorize the appropriate City officials to enter into an agreement with Mn/DOT for the reimbursement for the traffic study costs on the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing and the impact to adjacent railroad crossings. 4. Do not enter into an agreement with Mn/DOT for the reimbursement of the traffic study. 5. Table for additional information. RECOMMENDATION: Staff would recommend Alternative No. 1 and No.3, to prepare a traffic study on the potential closure of Apgar Street railroad crossing to see what the impacts would be to other crossings and what the issues would be from a traffic transportation standpoint. Also, this traffic study would be reimbursed by Mn/DOT by entering into an agreement and it is anticipated on having this agreement by Tuesday's meeting. ACTION REOUESTED: 1. Approve a motion authorizing a traffic study on the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing and the traffic impacts to adjacent railroad crossings by WSB & Associates, Inc. at a cost not-to-exceed $2,500.00. 2. Authorize the appropriate City officials to enter into an agreement with Mn/DOT for the reimbursement for the traffic study costs on the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing and the impact to adjacent railroad crossings. ~~ Public Works Director BUpmp ENGR/2008-PROlECTSJ2008-COUNCllJAPGAR-RAILROAD-STUDY . WSB & Associates, Inc. Infrastructure. Engineering. Planning. Construction 701 Xenia Avenue South Suite 300 Minneapolis, MN 55416 Tel: 763541-4800 Fax: 763541-1700 November 12, 2008 Mr. Bruce Loney, PE Public Works Director/City Engineer City of Shakopee 129 Holmes Street S Shakopee,MN 55379 Re: Apgar Street Railroad Crossing Proposal City of Shakopee, MN Dear Mr. Loney: As you requested, I have prepared a scope of services and estimated cost to prepare a study for the potential closing of Apgar Street railroad crossing in downtown Shakopee. Based on our conversation, I have developed the following scope of services: Task 1 - Data Collection WSB & Associates, Inc. (WSB) will work with the City of Shako pee to collect all available traffic volume and crash data on Apgar Street and adjacent railroad crossings. City staffwill be responsible for the actual data collection with input from WSB. Task 2 - Traffic Analvsis Based on the data collected at the existing Apgar Street crossing and adjacent railroad crossings, an analysis will be conducted on the impacts and diversion of traffic to the adjacent railroad crossings. These crossings will include Scott Street, Atwood Street, Fuller Street, and Holmes Street. Task 3 - ReDort / Recommendations Based on the crossing analysis and coordination with the Union Pacific Railroad, a report will be prepared documenting the impacts, conclusions, and recommendations of closing the Apgar Street railroad crossing. This task will also include a presentation of findings to the City Council. Based on the above scope of services, the cost for each task is as follows: Task 1 - Data Collection $250 Task 2 - Traffic Anal sis $1,500 Task 3 - Re ort / Recommendations $750 Total Cost $2,500 ACEC 2008 Firm of the Year Minneapolis. St. Cloud Equal Opportunity Employer C:\Documents and SettingslJJ/oney\Loca/ SettingslTemporary Internet Files\ContentOu//ook\R05X7BOL\LTR~b/oney-apgar 1111OB.doc Mr. Bruce Loney November 12,2008 Page 2 WSB is available to begin work immediately on this project. It is estimated that the analysis can be completed within the next four to six weeks and presentation to the City Council could be made in late December, early January. If you have any questions or require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 763-287-7183 or crickart@wsbeng.com. Sincerely, WSB & Associates, Inc. . C4~ Charles B. Rickart, PE, PTOE PrincipallProject Manager Attachment sm C:\])ocuments and Settingslh/oneylLocal &ttingslTemporary Internet FilesIContent.Outlook\R.05X7BOLILTR-bloney-apgar 1 J 1108.doc I~--- ~.- -- -~ I I ! I I I I i I I ....... ......... ,~,- ; ~, '. , _. " . .- .... " 1'....-... ~, ',' ':f i I I .< . . I I I i i I I I 3 . ~ City of Shakopee Rail Safety Committee Recommendations Background The City of Shakopee has federal funding available to them for two railroad crossing signals in 2005. MnJDOT Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations (OFCVO) representatives presented information about the available funding to the Shakopee City Council. It was pointed out that the city currently has five railroad crossings that currently are not protected with active warning devices (flashing light signals). City Council approved active city participation in a comprehensive revlew ofthe downtown railroad crossings at the October 7, 2003 council meeting. The Rail Safety Committee was formed to review the appropriate use of the 2005 funding. The Rail Safety Committee has since met twice: December 8, 2003 and January 12,2004. Committee Members Matt Lehman, Terry Joos, Bruce Loney; City of Shakopee Gary Wilwerding; Union Pacific Railroad Joshua Collins, Julie Carr; Mn/DOT Discussion A general review of background information such as selection process, funding information, sight distances, and city development was discuss~d. -. . From that all options were put on the table from closing every crossing to signalizing every crossing. The committee then deliberated on each of the options. Safety and feasibility were the most commonly debated issues. Secondarily, funding options for all options were discuss. Safety.Issnes - The city of Shakopee has 10 railroad at-grade crossings within a 12-block stretch in downtown. Each crossing presents a safety hazard and even more-so when it isn't protected by an active warning device such as flashing lights. Recommendations The committee's goal was to optimize safety within our funding and timing constraints. The safest crossing is the closed crossing but that does away with any of the city's traffic demands, which also have to be considered. The committee developed both long- and short-term recommendations balancing traffic demands and safety measures. Long-term recommendations: -Install active warning devices at all public railroad crossings in the downtown Shakopee area -Consider a study that evaluates traffic flows, future development, and potential railroad crossing closures coinciding with potential rail safety funding in 2008. Short-term recommendations: -Signalization (flashing light signals) of Sommerville and Spencer Street railroad crossings in 2005. -InstallStop.SigBsat the Atwood crossing - with potential federal railroad safety funding in 2008. -Consider the closure of Apgar Street based on: . 3-track crossing is dangerous due to restricted sight lines. . Difficulty to safely install active warning devices that would protect all three tracks. . Ifwe protected two tracks with gates, traffic could get stopped on the third (unprotected) track by the gate-ann. . There are some additional railroad and Federal funding benefits if this crossing is closed prior to June 2004. . -Increase education (including Operation Life Saver sessions and local cable programs). -Explore the possible closure of other crossings. Bruce Loney From: Bruce Loney Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 11 :30 AM To: Mark McNeill Cc: Bruce Loney Subject: rr safety minutes Mark here are the minutes from the meeting in 2004 and we were to do a study for future traffic over the crossings in the 'downtown area. I will check with WSB to see if this was done. Official Proceedings of the March 1, 2004 Shakopee City Council Page -7- Joos/Lehman offered Resolution No. 6020. A Resolution Approving Plans And Specifications And Ordering Advertisement For Bids For Improvements To The River District Trunk Sewer Reconstruction, From The Lewis Street Bridge To Lift Station L-16, Project No. 2003-1, and moved its adoption. Cncl. Lehman noted that when the water table was high in this area the water was infiltrating into the current pipe via the joints and the City was paying to have this infiltrated river water treated. Now was the time to get this corrected; there no longer was reimbursement for this treatment from FEMA. This was not an environmentally friendly situation either. Motion carried 5-0. Mr. Loney reported on the rail safety committee's recommendations. Mr. Loney gave a history of the rail safety committee. He noted this committee had consisted of two council members as well as a member from the Union Pacific Railroad, two members who worked for Mn/DOT and himself. He noted Julie Carr from Mn/DOT prepared the recommendations before the Council tonight along with suggested additions and deletions from Cncl. Matt Lehman. The committee looked at the railroad crossings in essentially the downtown area. Mr. Loney noted there were ten railroad crossings in the downtown area. He noted five of the crossings had active warning devices; five did not. He noted that two of the five unprotected crossings did qualify for railroad safety improvement funding in 2005. Mr. Loney stated all railroad crossings were reviewed; it was thought that Sommerville Street and Spencer Street railroad crossings would be improved with this money because they are the most higWy traveled crossings in downtown Shakopee. Mr. Loney noted from the railroad safety meetings held by this committee some short-term and long term recommendations were forthcoming. Mr. Loney noted what these long and short-term recommendations were for the downtown Shakopee area. These recommendations for the long-term were: 1) all crossing were to have active warning devises and 2) the traffic flow in the City needed to be studied. The recommendations for the short term were: 1) signalization at Sommerville Street and Spencer Street, 2) a stop sign at the Atwood Street crossing, 3) possible closure of Apgar Street crossing, 4) education and 5) the possibility of closing other railroad crossings. Mr. Loney noted Apgar Street had a three-track crossing with restrictive sightlines and it would be difficult and costly to install active warning devices that would protect all three tracks. He noted that this crossing had been considered for closure before by the Council. Mr. Loney stated he would like to see the railroad committee recommendations adopted or some agreement reached as to what should be done and staff provided direction on the short-term recommendations. Cncl. 1 Lehman explained his suggested additions or deletions in the memo. He stated that in his opinion there was too much that needed to get done before June 2004 to get any Official Proceedings of the March 1, 2004 Shakopee City Council Page -8- kind of match from the federal government and he thought traffic patterns and traffic impacts needed to be analyzed before any more railroad crossings were closed. Cncl. Joos noted the north/south entrance on the west end oftown into town was cut off when Apgar was realign a few years ago and he thought the way Hwy 69/169 was configured/reconfigured would also impact the traffic flow in the City of Shakopee. He would like to move ahead with studying the traffic patterns and impacts for tht businesses in Shakopee. Cncl. Lehman agreed with Cncl. J oos. Mayor Schmitt noted some of the possible traffi patterns and impacts for the community. He thought this traffic study just suggested should be included in the City's Transportation Plan for the Comprehensive Plan. Schmitt/Lehman moved to accept the railroad safety study as recommended by the Rail Safety Committee and modified by Cncl. Matt Lehman (no kind of match from the federal government for any railroad closures because oflack time and he thought traffic patterns and traffic impacts needed to be analyzed before any more railroad crossings were closed) and to direct staff to incorporate a study of the traffic flow and impact on Third Avenue and Apgar to be done by WSB & Associates, Inc. for a cost of between $2,000 and $3,000 and to direct staff to have a study of the City's traffic flow and traffic impacts to downtown Shakopee incorporated into the City's Transportation Plan to be included with the Comprehensive Plan. (CC Document No. 344) Mr. Loney noted Chuck Rickart, traffic engineer from WSB & Associates, Inc. estimated that this study would cost approximately $2,000 to $3,000. Mr. Loney noted after the traffic study it would be determined if there would/should be closings and date when a public hearing would need to occur. Bob Micheletti, 800 West 1 st A venue, approached the podium and spoke to the third railroad crossing on Apgar Street. He stated the third railroad crossing was a spur line that Rahr malting used. He noted the spur track was used either in the evening or early in the morning and there were men out on the track with lights for safety purposes. He stated that he thought there might be something that could be done with this spur track but he did recommend further study. He too wanted to make the tracks safe for the residents of Shakopee. He noted this would be a long study to get an accurate count of the traffic. He was of the opinion that Rahr Malting allocated $40,000 to the City to have Second Street upgraded so the Apgar crossing would be left open. He stated he welcomed the opportunity to give the Council a tour of the Rahr Malting facility. Mr. Loney noted he would bring back before Council a specific proposal of what streets and railroad crossings would be included in the study done by WSB & Associates, Inc. It was wondered if the 69/169-intersection area was included in the $2,000 to $3,000 traffic flow study. Ms. Julie Carr, representing Mn/DOT, approached the podium and thanked all who participated in the railroad safety study. She noted safety at the railroad crossings and some possible ways of funding were discussed. Official Proceedings of the March 1, 2004 Shakopee City Council Page -9- Cncl. Lehman stated that he thought the City would be looking at some railroad crossing safety issues in the future. Cncl. Joos thanked Ms. Carr and Mr. Collins for attending the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. 2 Lehman/Menden moved to directed staff to install stop signs at the Atwood Railroad crossing consistent with the 2nd Avenue corridor. Mr. Loney noted he would follow-up on this request to meet the need of the residents. He stated there was an issue with jurisdiction that could possibly determine where the stop sign was put. Motion carried 5-0. Bruce Loney Public Works Director Direct No. 952-233-9361 Fax No. 952-233-3801 3 RAILROAD SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF SHAKOPEE MINUTES - OCTOBER 8, 2008 ATTENDEES: Julie Carr, MnlDOT; Susan Aylesworth, Mn/DOT; Jim Weatherhead, Mn/DOT; John Venice & David Peterson, Union Pacific Railroad; Brian Clark, Kris Wilson, Terry Joos, Matthew Lehman, Bruce Loney, City of Shakopee I. Introductions were done fIrst and then a brief history of the Railroad Safety Committee past meetings and recommendations. A map of railroad crossings in the City of Shakopee were distributed to committee members. II. Future railroad crossing improvements were discussed and those were Atwood Street (2008-2009), Scott Street and Apgar Street (2010 tentatively). These crossings have qualified for funding in the Railroad Safety Funding Program. III. Apgar Street crossing improvement was discussed next and the difficulty of placing signals at this intersection and the impact to existing older signals at Lewis, Holmes and Fuller Streets. Matt Lehman requested an inventory of equipment at all crossings in order to look at the entire picture. Issues were discussed with the possible closing of Apgar Street as follows; 1. Access to local businesses. 2. Traffic mitigation plan. 3. State Aid funding reimbursement or not for Apgar Street. 4. Rahr Malting trucks using Apgar Street. 5. High cost of signal and gates. 6. Spur line creates two separate crossing improvements. It was generally agreed to gather the information on this improvement and bring forward to the City Council for consideration of closure or to move forward with project. IV. No Whistle Zone was discussed. David P. of Union Pacific explained the FRA rules that require electronics with constant warning time and four quadrant gates. Other possible requirements could be a raised median. A one way street option is something other communities have done to lower cost and would require an overall street plan to be done. If the train speed is increased through the City, Union Pacific could contribute funds based on a business plan and closing of crossings. Estimated cost to create a no whistle zone would be at least $1,000,000 to $2,000,000. v. Future railroad train projections were discussed. Today there are six trains a day using the main line. David P. indicated this could to go seven trains a day or more but is based on the economy. VI. Other items discussed were the vibration and possible damage by increasing speeds of times. The track in Shakopee is a jointed track and a welded track would reduce noise and vibration. The first step in getting a Quiet Zone designation is to have a plan prepared by a consultant. The closing of a crossing would receive additional funding from Mn/DOT and Union Pacific Railroad and up to $15,000. It may be higher and Mn/DOT was going to check into the latest regulations. VII. Additional meetings may be needed and Union Pacific offered to make available a representative if future meetings are necessary. VIII. Meeting was adjourned at 9:40 A.M. Minutes taken by Bruce Loney, Public Works Director- City of Shakopee ENGR/2008-PROlECTSJ2008-CORRESPONDENCElRAILROAD-MINUTES