Bury the Wires and Tame the Traffic
Working Meeting, March 26, 2003
On Wednesday, March 26, 2003, a meeting was held at the Loudoun County DGS offices to review the progress of the project entitled Preliminary Engineering Services to “Bury the Wires and Tame the Traffic” in Waterford, VA. The attendees of the meeting were the following:
- Dick Pezzullo, Sheryl Gates (Loudoun County Department of General Services)
- Ann Goode (Loudoun County Department of Planning/Waterford Elementary PTO)
- Terry Arney (Waterford Citizens’ Association)
- Michelle Dunne, Mark Koblos (Waterford Foundation)
- John Martin, Scott Mingonet, Matt Sellers, Stephanie Cutlip (Kimley-Horn and Associates)
Discussion
The meeting began at 9:30 AM with an introduction of all attendees. John Martin then outlined the schedule for future meetings and deliverables, including the following:
- Kimley-Horn Team Work Sessions April and May
- Design Workshop May 27 – 28
- Initial Opinions of Construction Cost and Marketing Piece Mid June
- Stakeholder Presentation of Preliminary Master Plan July 17 (with Dan Burden)
- Stakeholder Presentation of Final Master Plan September 4 (with Dan Burden)
Regarding participation by Waterford representatives in the work sessions, Dick stated that it’s up to the representatives as to how much they participate in the upcoming meetings. While the progress meetings are open to the public, it should be noted that these meetings are intended to review progress and are not “decision-making” meetings. Therefore, the public does not need to worry about missing an important input opportunity by missing a progress meeting.
Mark had questions regarding participants in the May 27 and 28 work sessions. It was determined that two representatives from each stakeholder group, in addition to members of the project team, should plan to attend. The meeting will take most of the day for both days, but it will be an informal session where attendees can filter in and out as necessary.
Dick recommended that the representatives from the Waterford groups (WCA, PTO, and WFI) should plan to gather citizen input so that they can share citizen viewpoints at the Design Workshop. Terry suggested developing a sense of coherence and coordination among the various groups prior to May 27.
Regarding deliverables, all parties agreed that the end result of this study should include a marketing product that can be presented to organizations with access to funding sources.
John discussed tasks completed thus far and anticipated time frames for those not yet completed. With data collection approaching completion, the team’s attention is turning to the analysis of the data. Roadway borings, 24-hour traffic tube counts, and supplemental land survey are set to begin before the next progress meeting. Tasks completed include:
- Mapping: Aerial survey for digital base mapping was flown on March 19.
- Traffic: All manual traffic counts—AM peak, PM peak, Weekend Peak—have been completed, as has a sign survey and a listing of description of existing conditions.
- Drainage and Roadway: A field meeting between Kimley-Horn and Gordon Associates team members to examine existing roadway and drainage conditions
- Environmental: All of WEG’s field work has been completed.
- Various documents are in draft format, and are being updated as team members receive more data.
John noted that Kimley-Horn is scheduled to set up traffic counting tubes on the roadways within Waterford next week. In discussing the tube counts and speed studies, Ann advised including the stretch of Loyalty Road between Water Street and the elementary school. John said that this area is indeed planned for a traffic count and study of vehicle speed. Several attendees noted problems with vehicle speed on various roadways, in particular Patrick Street, Main Street, and 2nd Street. These areas are also scheduled for speed studies.
John asked the group if stop signs had ever been suggested at the entrances to the town as an immediate and simple means of slowing traffic. Mark opined that stop signs would create more noise and do little to hamper those intent on speeding through the town. Terry and Michelle noted that obstacles such as parked cars tend to create a “pinch point” and effectively slow traffic.
In discussing environmental considerations, it was noted that the trees located within the paved roadway have been observed not to be in the best of health. A long-term replacement program may need to be considered.
Regarding input from the PTO, Ann stated that the main issues involve walkability in and around the elementary school, including walking to and from the Village. Input into overall recommendations for the Village will be limited.
Sheryl stated that she would be the contact for citizens who have questions regarding the study, and that she will forward any questions on to the appropriate project team member. Status meetings will continue to be held at 9:30 AM every other week, with the next meeting planned for Wednesday, April 9, 2003. The meeting concluded at 10:36 AM after a thorough discussion of the project.
Action Items
1. Team members from Kimley-Horn, B2E Consulting Engineering, Gordon Associates, Engineering Consulting Services, Ltd.(ECS), Williamsburg Environmental Group (WEG), and Louis Berger Group (LBG) will meet to coordinate efforts and work through design and planning issues. Meeting date to be determined. Sheryl and Dick may opt to attend.
2. Kimley-Horn: Send out a summary of the last public meeting, which includes citizens’ improvement priorities, for each group representative to share with their constituents prior to the May 27 and 28 work sessions.
3. Kimley-Horn: Distribute copies of minutes within one week of meetings.
4. Team members from the consultant team finalize the data collection tasks (within Task 1) within the Scope of Services within the next few weeks, and begin to analyze this data with respect to Engineering Studies of Traffic Calming, Utility Relocations, Stormwater Management, and Roadway Alignment. See Scope for details.
5. Develop secure FTP site location on KHA web site for use by Loudoun County, WFI, and KHA team members for this project. COMPLETE. To access, go to ftp://Waterford:Loudoun@www.kimley-horn.com/_secure/Waterford. The password is “Loudoun.” Photos are in their subfolder.
6. Upload photos of Waterford project to secure FTP site. COMPLETE.
7. KHA get copy of TEA-21 grant application from Sheryl. COMPLETE.
8. KHA and teammates compile list of additional services and fee proposal to include additional meetings, “marketing piece” deliverable, and environmental document deliverable.
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