[1:53] everybody.

[1:54] Um, it is 5:30 and uh, with that

[1:58] Commissioner Watson asked to be excused

[2:01] this evening. So we will go ahead and

[2:02] get started with the agenda.

[2:04] Work session's open and it's yours.

[2:06] >> Sure. Thank you commission.

[2:09] » Sure. Thank you commission.

[2:09] I'd like to take a minute and introduce

[2:11] Chris Chardella, our city engineer.

[2:14] He's helped on the He's been the project

[2:15] manager on this project and then

[2:18] our consultants PEC

[2:21] Kristen Zimmerman

[2:23] with PEC and then Suzanne Loomis also

[2:26] with PEC.

[2:27] So I'm going to let

[2:29] PEC kind of

[2:31] just take it over take over the reins

[2:33] from here and then if there's questions

[2:35] as we go along then

[2:37] we can stop or we can wait till the end.

[2:39] Whatever works best for PEC.

[2:43] » Okay.

[2:44] >> stop us if they have questions?

[2:46] » stop us if they have questions?

[2:46] >> Yes. Yes. Yes. Please please stop us if

[2:49] » Yes. Yes. Yes. Please please stop us if

[2:49] you have questions.

[2:51] Okay, well very good. Well good evening

[2:53] Mr. Mayor and commissioners. Appreciate

[2:56] you um inviting us out for an update

[2:59] today. Want to thank Chris for being a

[3:02] great project manager and then Ed for

[3:05] inviting us out for an update today. So

[3:08] um Suzanne and I are here for

[3:11] just to sort of provide an update on

[3:14] where we're at with the Safe Streets for

[3:16] All or the Transportation Safety Action

[3:19] Plan.

[3:20] Again, my name is Kristen Zimmerman. I

[3:22] am the project manager for this. I am a

[3:25] transportation planner by trade and also

[3:29] the team lead for

[3:32] PEC's planning and GIS group.

[3:35] Suzanne, you want to introduce yourself?

[3:36] >> Yeah, Suzanne Loomis. We've met before.

[3:40] » Yeah, Suzanne Loomis. We've met before.

[3:40] >> [laughter]

[3:41] » [laughter]

[3:41] >> Yeah, I'm a project manager on the

[3:43] » Yeah, I'm a project manager on the

[3:43] market side at PEC and so I get involved

[3:46] in all types of projects, transportation

[3:48] being one of those because of my um

[3:52] varied background from working in a

[3:54] municipality. So, we've got a lot of

[3:57] stuff to cover with you tonight. So,

[3:58] bear with us and we'll give you an

[4:00] update where we've been and where we're

[4:02] headed. So, okay. Well, sounds good.

[4:05] >> I think probably most of you are

[4:06] » I think probably most of you are

[4:06] familiar with PEC or Professional

[4:08] Engineering Consultants. This is just a

[4:10] a brief introduction to our company. So,

[4:12] we're headquartered down in Wichita.

[4:14] We're proud to be really one of the only

[4:17] full-service engineering firms

[4:18] headquartered in South Central Kansas.

[4:21] Um

[4:21] you can see there we have about 400

[4:23] employees and several satellite offices

[4:26] across the region. So, we are

[4:29] um very very diverse in our expertise.

[4:35] Now, let's get to this particular

[4:36] project. So, the Safe Streets for all

[4:39] um

[4:40] initiative is a relatively new

[4:43] initiative that's been rolled out by our

[4:45] federal government. Um

[4:46] this is a new program that's providing

[4:49] funding for both planning and capital

[4:51] projects to local governments all across

[4:53] our country.

[4:55] Um the goal is um from the federal

[4:58] perspective is to reduce fatalities and

[5:00] serious injuries that are happening on

[5:03] our public transportation network. So,

[5:05] whether that be highways, local streets,

[5:08] township roads,

[5:10] um

[5:11] uh sidewalks and parks. Really looking

[5:13] at the entirety of the network to reduce

[5:15] fatalities and serious injuries, which

[5:17] you can think of as

[5:19] um an injury that happens on the

[5:21] transportation network that causes you

[5:23] to a life-threatening injury that causes

[5:26] you to need to take an ambulance to the

[5:27] hospital. That's that's what a serious

[5:29] injury is. So, from the federal

[5:31] perspective, that's the goal is to

[5:33] reduce these all across the United

[5:35] States on the entirety of the the public

[5:37] transportation network. Again, whether

[5:39] that be owned by the state DOT or KDOT

[5:42] in our case or uh a township uh gravel

[5:45] road, a township road. Really looking at

[5:47] the entirety of the network and really

[5:49] looking at the entirety of all users of

[5:51] that network. So, whether you drive a

[5:53] passenger car and you're running errands

[5:55] or you drive a semi truck as your job or

[5:57] you drive a farm implement or maybe

[5:59] you're walking or bicycling or in a

[6:02] wheelchair, it's really trying to look

[6:04] at the entirety of the users across the

[6:05] entirety of the network to reduce these

[6:08] fatalities and serious injuries.

[6:10] And I will say from the local

[6:12] perspective, it's really an opportunity

[6:13] to reevaluate your particular roadway

[6:17] street network. Um you know, a lot of

[6:19] our streets across our country and in

[6:21] Newton were put in decades ago and have

[6:24] worked very well to support um the land

[6:27] uses and the the neighborhoods and

[6:29] commercial areas during that time. Have

[6:31] really worked well. Um but as we know,

[6:33] cities change, counties change,

[6:36] neighborhoods change, commercial areas

[6:37] change and so it's really an opportunity

[6:39] to kind of re- reevaluate your system

[6:41] and say, is our network working for us

[6:44] the way we need it to now and and in the

[6:46] future? Um you know, one thing in

[6:48] particular we've definitely noticed here

[6:50] in Newton in particular is there's a lot

[6:52] of demand for uh pedestrian and

[6:54] bicycling facilities uh on a network

[6:57] that isn't really designed for that. So,

[6:59] that's that's one change that's that's

[7:01] been for sure prevalent in this project.

[7:05] >> Kristen, the other thing we ought to

[7:07] » Kristen, the other thing we ought to

[7:07] mention that maybe you have it on your

[7:08] list, but this project isn't just a

[7:11] Newton project. It is a Harvey County

[7:13] and Newton combined. Um when you applied

[7:15] for the grant, it was a partnership for

[7:18] the grant and so uh we've been working

[7:20] with the county as well. So, when

[7:22] Kristen keeps mentioning, you know, uh

[7:24] gravel roads, dirt roads, it's because

[7:26] we also were looking at the county's um

[7:28] transportation network as well.

[7:30] >> Yes, thank you, Suzanne. Yes, and

[7:33] » Yes, thank you, Suzanne. Yes, and

[7:33] um you know, we wanted to look at this

[7:35] from the beginning from a holistic

[7:37] perspective, you know, from looking at

[7:39] the the highway network. Um but you'll

[7:41] see as we move through this that um,

[7:44] we're moving toward having sort of two

[7:46] separate plans. One will be for the city

[7:48] of Newton and specifically for for your

[7:50] network and then one will be more for

[7:52] Harvey County um, and we're looking at

[7:54] the the unincorporated parts of of the

[7:56] county.

[8:01] Okay, and I I guess lastly and you'll

[8:03] see there on that second paragraph this

[8:04] this project was made possible by a

[8:07] grant that the city of Newton received

[8:10] last probably two or three years ago at

[8:12] this point. It took a long time long

[8:14] time

[8:15] >> [laughter and gasps]

[8:16] » [laughter and gasps]

[8:16] >> to uh, to get to get the agreement in

[8:18] » to uh, to get to get the agreement in

[8:18] place. So, um, that that's what has made

[8:21] this possible. So, this has come at

[8:23] really no cost uh, to either the city of

[8:26] Newton or Harvey County because the

[8:27] state of Kansas uh, paid the match and

[8:30] there's a federal grant.

[8:35] So, I did want to cover just kind of the

[8:37] approach that um, this is the approach

[8:39] that we've taken to um,

[8:42] attack this problem. It's called the

[8:43] safe system approach. Um, this is a

[8:46] relatively new approach when we're

[8:48] thinking about safety. I do have some

[8:50] handouts here that um, I'm happy to pass

[8:52] around or um, if you're interested in

[8:55] this.

[8:56] Um,

[8:58] you know, a lot of us might be familiar

[8:59] with a more technical approach of of

[9:03] safety. You know, maybe something like

[9:04] um,

[9:05] uh, we you know, we have a goal of

[9:07] eliminating all crashes. Well, that's

[9:09] not necessarily the goal on the safe

[9:11] systems approach. It's a people focused

[9:13] approach and what we're really looking

[9:15] at is these key principles here of um,

[9:19] you know, saying that death or serious

[9:21] injury is unacceptable on our system.

[9:23] You know, that's one key principle of

[9:25] this. Number two, humans make mistakes.

[9:28] Um, that you know, we ought to maybe

[9:29] just accept that happens instead of you

[9:32] know, constantly trying to fight that.

[9:34] Uh, number three, humans are vulnerable.

[9:36] Same same relatively same principle

[9:39] there. Responsibility is shared. Uh you

[9:42] know, the safety on the network is

[9:43] shared between individual drivers, you

[9:45] know, the decisions that we all make

[9:47] when we get into our cars. Are Are we

[9:49] going to put on our seatbelt? Are we

[9:50] going to drive intoxicated? Are we going

[9:51] to drive the speed limit? These are

[9:53] decisions that we all make individually.

[9:56] Um as well as our car manufacturers have

[9:59] a share in the responsibility, our

[10:00] vehicle manufacturers. Um as well as um

[10:04] you know, cities like city of Newton in

[10:05] terms of providing the network that that

[10:07] we use. So, this whole concept of of

[10:10] responsibility is shared is a is a big

[10:12] deal in this in this approach.

[10:14] >> I have a question.

[10:15] » I have a question.

[10:15] >> Yes.

[10:16] » Yes.

[10:16] >> Um

[10:17] » Um

[10:17] pedestrians have a responsibility as

[10:19] well.

[10:20] >> Yes.

[10:21] » Yes.

[10:21] They do.

[10:23] >> Is that really part of this? The

[10:25] » Is that really part of this? The

[10:25] education side for

[10:26] >> Yes.

[10:27] » Yes.

[10:27] >> Okay.

[10:28] » Okay.

[10:28] >> Yes. We will We will get to that, but

[10:30] » Yes. We will We will get to that, but

[10:30] yes, exactly. And I'm glad you brought

[10:31] that up. Yes, all users. So, whether

[10:33] you're a pedestrian or bicyclist or

[10:35] driver or truck driver implement driver

[10:39] we all have a responsibility to to know

[10:42] the rules of the road and follow the the

[10:43] traffic laws.

[10:46] And then the last one is redundancy is

[10:47] critical. So, this is a just um

[10:51] you know, this is just some background,

[10:53] I guess, to to provide sort of a

[10:55] perspective of the approach we took when

[10:57] looking at this. And you'll especially

[10:58] see it um when we get to um some of the

[11:02] concepts and some of the

[11:04] um the the recommendations, you know,

[11:06] really targeting these fatal and serious

[11:08] injuries. And and preventing preventing

[11:11] them from happening is is really a a

[11:13] focus here.

[11:17] Okay, so uh how did we go about doing

[11:20] this this study? Um well, it is kind of

[11:23] to boil it down, we we kind of had three

[11:24] steps. You know, number one, what and

[11:26] where are the problems? You know, we

[11:28] need to kind of understand what where

[11:29] are the what and where are the problems?

[11:31] Uh number two, what and where are the

[11:33] priority problems? And number three,

[11:35] what are the preferred solutions? So,

[11:38] hopefully a fairly straightforward kind

[11:40] of rational approach you might take to

[11:41] to any kind of problem. Um, and you can

[11:44] see we're in this last step now. Here's

[11:47] a little bit more detailed view of the

[11:48] process we've taken. So, we chose two

[11:52] ways or kind of two methods, two avenues

[11:55] of of answering the questions what and

[11:56] where are the problems. Uh, we took a a

[11:59] technical analysis where we were looking

[12:01] at uh, crash data of crashes that have

[12:04] happened on the network. That was data

[12:05] provided by the Kansas Department of

[12:07] Transportation as reported by uh, the

[12:10] Newton City Police and the Harvey County

[12:13] Sheriff's Office.

[12:14] Um, and then we also took um, and also

[12:16] looked at other technical data, looked

[12:18] at volumes, had engineering assessments.

[12:21] Um, that that was really the heart of

[12:22] the the technical approach. Um, and then

[12:25] you can see there we had a community

[12:26] engagement approach. So, a big part of

[12:29] this

[12:30] Safe Streets for All program is

[12:32] involving the community, having it be

[12:34] community-driven, having it be um, not

[12:36] just a technical study. Um, beca- again,

[12:40] some of it is to

[12:42] um, you know, sort of get input, but

[12:44] also some of it is to be able to

[12:45] reiterate this notion that it is a

[12:47] shared responsibility for of all of us

[12:49] to to have a safe network.

[12:52] So, we went through and essentially

[12:54] evaluated those. We were able to sort of

[12:57] define the major problems um, from each

[13:00] one separately and then we narrowed

[13:02] those down to what are the major ones we

[13:04] want to focus on, both the locations and

[13:07] some behavior uh, or road condition

[13:09] problems.

[13:11] And then now we're in this what are what

[13:12] are the preferred solutions? Um,

[13:15] so you'll see a little bit later we've

[13:17] got some capital concepts as well as

[13:19] non-capital recommendations, things like

[13:21] the mayor had mentioned, education

[13:22] campaigns or um, enforcement enforcement

[13:26] options.

[13:28] So, and then you'll see for the rest of

[13:29] the project, we've got we're coming up

[13:31] on our next round of community

[13:32] engagement. That's one of the main

[13:33] reasons we want to come here and visit

[13:35] with you tonight um to make sure that uh

[13:38] you get to see these before they roll

[13:40] out um and you're prepared if your

[13:42] constituents are asking questions about

[13:44] that.

[13:45] Uh then we'll go through the final

[13:46] vetting, final recommendations, and of

[13:48] course have our final documents that

[13:50] should all wrap up early next year.

[13:54] Uh so, like I mentioned, really the goal

[13:56] for the presentation today is really to

[13:58] sort of brief you on on what what's been

[14:00] happening with this project, the work

[14:02] done to date. Uh number two, prepare you

[14:05] for this community engagement round two,

[14:07] um and and define next steps. So, we

[14:09] will be um out in the community over the

[14:12] next couple weeks, 2-3 weeks, I guess,

[14:14] and just wanted to make sure you all had

[14:17] a chance to see this before it sort of

[14:19] rolled out publicly.

[14:23] So, uh I'm going to go through this

[14:24] technical technical analysis summary, as

[14:26] well as our community engagement.

[14:30] So, the crash analysis is really the

[14:32] heart of the technical analysis. Um I

[14:34] just put some statistics up there just

[14:36] to share some of this with you, so you

[14:39] can see over the last 5 years um for the

[14:42] entirety um or for the the city of

[14:46] Newton area, we there was 32 fatalities

[14:48] and 56 serious injury crashes uh that

[14:51] took place on the public network. Um and

[14:55] then um you can see some of those

[14:57] statistics really that bottom one was,

[15:00] you know, 63% of all crashes are

[15:02] occurring on local roads and 37% on the

[15:05] highways. And again, that's all crashes.

[15:07] Uh so, KDOT does a really good job of

[15:10] providing this that the data's very

[15:12] detailed. Um in general, it's sort of

[15:14] divided into uh fatal crashes, injury

[15:18] crashes, and property damage only. So,

[15:20] that you can think of that as like maybe

[15:22] you backed into a tree in your yard or

[15:24] you had a fender bender with the person

[15:26] in front of you.

[15:27] >> Does Denise have a copy of this

[15:29] » Does Denise have a copy of this

[15:29] presentation she can send out to us?

[15:31] >> Mhm. Yes. And we have a lot more data

[15:34] » Mhm. Yes. And we have a lot more data

[15:34] that we're happy to share. Um I've sort

[15:37] of just weaned the the most important

[15:40] things for tonight, but we're happy to

[15:42] to share more information if you'd like

[15:43] to dive into this a little bit more.

[15:45] >> The other thing to remember is when we

[15:46] » The other thing to remember is when we

[15:46] started this process, we were just into

[15:49] um 2025 and so the data that was

[15:52] available was that 5-year period from

[15:54] 2020 to 2024. So if don't go, "Why are

[15:57] you using old data?" Well, that was the

[15:59] data that was available at the time.

[16:03] >> Yes, and the 5 years is an industry

[16:06] » Yes, and the 5 years is an industry

[16:06] standard of looking at crash data to get

[16:09] uh it's it's sort of a representative

[16:11] trend.

[16:14] So we took that. Um we got some of this

[16:16] basic information. We

[16:18] put that into what we call a high injury

[16:20] network.

[16:22] Um

[16:22] and I'm sort of summarizing a lot of

[16:25] this to to get to this end product. Um

[16:28] so

[16:30] Yeah, I skipped I skipped those cuz they

[16:31] were real detailed. So we we have more

[16:33] information in the PowerPoint if we want

[16:35] to see some more detail, but um

[16:37] essentially we were looking at the

[16:39] spatial distribution of crashes as well

[16:42] as the

[16:43] type of crashes and the contributing

[16:46] circumstances that led to the crashes.

[16:49] Um as well as an engineering assessment

[16:51] of each location where a crash happened

[16:54] and sort of compare that with the

[16:55] volumes that were taking place or the

[16:58] amount of car traffic volumes that were

[17:00] on these roadways.

[17:01] So here were the from the technical

[17:04] perspective, sort of the major issues

[17:07] here in Newton.

[17:08] Um really focused on the intersections

[17:11] at the local streets. Um there's

[17:13] definitely a disproportionate risk to

[17:15] pedestrians and bicyclists

[17:17] um

[17:18] in terms of sort of

[17:20] um serious injuries and fatalities as

[17:22] compared to their representation in the

[17:25] system, their activity in the system.

[17:28] um

[17:31] The behavioral factors multiply the

[17:33] severity. We've listed those there. Um

[17:35] distraction, speed, alcohol, and drugs.

[17:38] Um you know, for example, if a crash

[17:40] were to happen let's say a property

[17:42] damage only crash were to happen when

[17:44] when these fourth other things get

[17:45] involved, the severity of course

[17:47] increases.

[17:48] um

[17:50] Number four, urban context increases the

[17:52] risk.

[17:53] That is just sort of an um I'm going to

[17:55] say unfortunate reality that cities have

[17:58] a lot more activity, a lot more conflict

[18:00] points. There's more intersection,

[18:02] there's more volumes, there's more

[18:03] traffic, there's more people.

[18:06] Um and in any kind of situation when you

[18:08] have more of something

[18:10] the risk is going to increase. So,

[18:13] that's just the truth um for any sort of

[18:15] urban setting. And then you can see the

[18:17] last thing there are the locations. So,

[18:19] these these primarily came out of our

[18:21] crash analysis. So, um I-135 uh through

[18:25] the city limits, um 12th Street, really

[18:28] that uh corridor south of the high

[18:30] school

[18:31] um Grandview, which is uh just uh east

[18:34] of the high school

[18:36] the Main and 12th Street intersection

[18:38] Main Street from all the way up at north

[18:40] city limits down to first, uh Washington

[18:43] sort of continuing that uh where it

[18:45] starts, and then Anderson Avenue north

[18:47] of 12th also over by the high school,

[18:49] and then Kansas from first to US-50. So,

[18:52] those were sort of our top two tiers

[18:55] um of locations coming out of the

[18:57] technical perspective.

[19:00] Before I shift on to the community

[19:02] engagement perspective, any questions or

[19:06] questions to date?

[19:08] >> that 2022 looked like the numbers were

[19:10] » that 2022 looked like the numbers were

[19:10] the highest in 2022, and then they

[19:12] dropped off.

[19:13] Is there

[19:17] » I just wondered what was happening at

[19:19] that time.

[19:20] >> I don't know. Drive to zero.

[19:21] » I don't know. Drive to zero.

[19:21] >> Nothing immediately comes to mind.

[19:23] » Nothing immediately comes to mind.

[19:23] Suzanne has a possible theory.

[19:25] >> Yeah, I I don't recall the the year that

[19:28] » Yeah, I I don't recall the the year that

[19:28] KDOT kicked off their Drive to Zero

[19:31] um campaign. It may have been in there,

[19:33] which so you start seeing more about it.

[19:35] You start thinking more drive safe, more

[19:38] enforcement, those kind of things. I'm

[19:40] not sure the year that it started. It

[19:42] could line up with that.

[19:43] >> Yeah.

[19:44] » Yeah.

[19:44] >> The following year.

[19:45] » The following year.

[19:45] >> the Newton part, not the unincorporated

[19:47] » the Newton part, not the unincorporated

[19:47] part. The Newton part, I noticed that

[19:49] 2022 those numbers seem to be higher.

[19:52] >> Yes, I'm happy to take that back to our

[19:54] » Yes, I'm happy to take that back to our

[19:54] team and see if we can get a

[19:56] >> I just couldn't recall anything that was

[19:58] » I just couldn't recall anything that was

[19:58] going on at that time, but just it's

[20:01] just interesting to see that why then?

[20:04] >> Right.

[20:04] » Right.

[20:04] >> was happening in the community then? Was

[20:07] » was happening in the community then? Was

[20:07] there a lot of issues with streets? Were

[20:09] we working on streets at that time?

[20:12] >> like a lot of construction.

[20:13] » like a lot of construction.

[20:13] >> driving cuz it was post-COVID. They were

[20:15] » driving cuz it was post-COVID. They were

[20:15] going back to work.

[20:17] >> Yeah.

[20:18] » Yeah.

[20:18] >> Could be any number of things.

[20:20] » Could be any number of things.

[20:20] >> Okay.

[20:23] » Okay, anything else on the technical

[20:26] part or

[20:28] kind of the study introduction? Okay.

[20:32] Okay. Um here's the same information for

[20:34] the the unincorporated part of the of

[20:36] Harvey County. So, the major takeaways

[20:39] from the technical perspective, um

[20:42] roadway departure and loss of control

[20:43] crashes,

[20:45] um speed and high energy crash

[20:47] environment. You can imagine there's

[20:48] higher speeds out in the county. Um one

[20:52] surprising thing was uh lack of occupant

[20:54] protection. Um I think our numbers

[20:56] coming in for the county in terms of not

[20:59] wearing a seatbelt or or lack of

[21:00] occupant protection was maybe um

[21:03] significantly under the statewide

[21:05] average and under uh the county average.

[21:07] So, or the statewide average and the

[21:09] national average. So, that was a

[21:11] surprising thing that came out of this.

[21:13] Um there's some behavioral factors. Um

[21:17] intersection crashes less frequent than

[21:19] Newton, but likely to be fatal. And then

[21:20] we had locations uh pulled out for the

[21:23] unincorporated part of the county as

[21:25] well.

[21:28] Okay, let's move on to the the second

[21:30] perspective was community engagement.

[21:32] So, our round one engagement was really

[21:36] um where we were asking folks about

[21:38] their use of the network. We asked folks

[21:40] about their um you know, the heart of

[21:43] this was asking, you know, where where

[21:45] is the network safe and where is it

[21:47] unsafe? That was really the heart of

[21:49] this. You can see some of our numbers

[21:51] there um in terms of having open houses,

[21:54] stakeholder sessions. We had surveys, um

[21:57] some comments, individual comments came

[21:59] in over five right around 500.

[22:02] Um so, in addition to the general

[22:04] public, we also had these stakeholder

[22:05] groups where we were targeting people

[22:07] that had um expert knowledge in safety.

[22:11] So, you can see we um really had a

[22:13] really great group with the first

[22:15] responders here in the area. That's from

[22:17] our picture.

[22:18] Um so, we really targeted either folks

[22:20] with expertise, so the first responders

[22:22] or our public works groups, or groups

[22:25] that were especially impacted by how the

[22:28] transportation system functions and or

[22:31] had some sort of stake in it. Uh so, you

[22:34] can see the range there, everything from

[22:36] civic groups to teenagers to uh public

[22:40] and private schools. So, really trying

[22:42] to be diverse and representative and go

[22:45] to them and and in these groups we had

[22:47] invitation-only uh small group sessions

[22:50] with representatives from all of these.

[22:52] So, really try to get their their

[22:54] knowledge and and uh input as well as

[22:57] from the general public.

[22:58] >> That was our both both fellows civic

[23:01] » That was our both both fellows civic

[23:01] group with that that group in the group.

[23:02] >> [laughter]

[23:03] » [laughter]

[23:03] >> Yes.

[23:05] » Yes.

[23:05] The emergency services version.

[23:09] Uh this was just some stats on our

[23:10] public open houses. We had five in total

[23:14] uh counting our virtual one.

[23:17] And really the main issues that came out

[23:19] of these uh community engagement

[23:21] sessions was um in terms of behaviors, a

[23:24] lot of concern about speeding,

[23:26] aggressive driving, and non-compliance

[23:28] with traffic laws. You can see about a

[23:30] third of sort of votes were concerned

[23:33] about that, distracted driving just

[23:35] right around there also at 30%. Uh

[23:37] roadway conditions, sort of the top vote

[23:39] getter was, you know, adding pedestrian

[23:41] infrastructure.

[23:43] Uh and then the locations that came out

[23:47] of this, you can see perceived as safe

[23:49] um

[23:50] was sort of Main Street um as well as

[23:52] the Sand Creek bike path,

[23:54] which is a little bit contradictory

[23:56] because it was an interesting finding.

[23:59] It was sort of perceived as safe, but

[24:00] through our technical analysis, it was

[24:03] it was rated as um

[24:05] a higher crash corridor. So, that was

[24:08] sort of a a a uh interesting difference.

[24:12] And then you can see the locations

[24:13] perceived as unsafe. A lot of these were

[24:15] well uh that first one was the same as

[24:18] what we got out of our technical

[24:20] assessment. Um

[24:22] uh the the

[24:23] the community input also added US 50,

[24:26] uh East First Street east of the

[24:28] Interstate, and then the south

[24:30] interchange of I-135 and US 50.

[24:35] So, and again, sort of a similar uh com-

[24:38] comments on the bike ped features, you

[24:40] know, safe is when there's dedicated

[24:42] features, unsafe, you know, when there's

[24:44] activity in a system that's designed for

[24:46] vehicles.

[24:47] >> and bicycles.

[24:50] » and bicycles.

[24:50] >> [clears throat]

[24:52] » Okay, so through both of kind kind

[24:55] combining this technical and um

[24:57] community engagement, we kind of came

[24:59] out with these what we called major

[25:00] problems. Um for this one's for Newton

[25:03] and we have have a a similar one for

[25:05] unincorporated Harvey County. Uh so you

[25:07] can see here we've got sort of two sets

[25:09] of locations.

[25:11] Um and then we um also added some

[25:14] behaviors there.

[25:16] And um kind of a focus on pedestrian

[25:18] bicycle activity and then intersections,

[25:20] especially the stop stop controlled

[25:22] ones.

[25:30] Okay, and then for Harvey County, we

[25:32] have a similar um similar list here. So

[25:35] you can see here the for the specific

[25:38] locations uh

[25:40] the the state system had a lot of uh

[25:43] really came out on top and then local

[25:45] system, we had some local local roads,

[25:47] county roads listed there as well as

[25:49] some sort of behaviors and sis-

[25:51] system-wide things to focus on. Uh for

[25:54] example, low seatbelt usage, you know,

[25:56] is kind of a system-wide uh

[25:58] thing.

[26:02] So from

[26:04] those two data sets together, we took

[26:08] the technical data, um took the

[26:10] stakeholder input. And I had to Suzanne

[26:12] and I worked on this presentation

[26:13] together, put together. I just had a

[26:15] laugh. She's the engineer and I'm a

[26:16] planner.

[26:17] And I I just had to chuckle a little bit

[26:19] cuz she put in this equation

[26:21] uh in the PowerPoint. So we have a we

[26:24] have a math equation there of the

[26:26] technical data plus the stakeholder

[26:28] input um community engagement from the

[26:31] general public, plus we want really

[26:33] wanted to focus on those things that

[26:36] your local jurisdiction sort of has

[26:39] control over or can control. Uh we

[26:42] wanted to really focus on that, right?

[26:44] We don't necessarily want to have a a

[26:46] KDOT a highway project in here for a a

[26:49] recommendation

[26:51] for the city to take on, something like

[26:53] that. But, when things rise to the top

[26:55] that are on the state network, we will

[26:58] be discussing that with KDOT staff. So,

[27:02] it won't go Yes, it won't just be thrown

[27:05] aside and nobody talk about it. We will

[27:07] be taking it back to them cuz we've

[27:09] already met with those folks once.

[27:13] So, we've got two sets of, I guess, what

[27:15] we're you might call recommendations.

[27:17] So, one thing is called countermeasures

[27:20] and the other one is concepts. So, I'm

[27:22] going to cover the countermeasures and

[27:24] then Suzanne is going to cover the

[27:25] specific concepts at specific locations.

[27:30] So, countermeasures,

[27:32] what are countermeasures?

[27:34] Um,

[27:34] really this is just sort of a fancy term

[27:38] that means

[27:39] some sort of action or thing you do that

[27:44] reduces the frequency or severity of

[27:46] crashes,

[27:47] especially fatal or severe fatal or

[27:50] serious injury ones.

[27:52] Um, really on a systematic level. So,

[27:56] you might think of maybe like an

[27:57] education campaign about

[28:00] seatbelt usage. That's sort of targeted

[28:03] to all users.

[28:06] It's not necessarily at a specific

[28:08] location. Or you might think of sort of

[28:10] a capital project like, for example,

[28:14] rumble strips. Let's this would maybe be

[28:16] more appropriate for the a county and

[28:17] unincorporated roadway. Let's think of

[28:20] rumble strips. You know, that's

[28:21] something that could go across the

[28:23] entirety of the network at a relatively

[28:27] low cost. Um, so that's really what

[28:29] these countermeasures are intended to

[28:31] have a a big bang for your money. You

[28:33] know, a relatively low cost um, of

[28:36] something an application that can be

[28:38] applied across the entirety of the

[28:40] network. So, that's really what we're

[28:42] meaning when we say countermeasures.

[28:45] So, we've um,

[28:47] worked with um

[28:49] the staff and have come up with

[28:50] countermeasures for all these different

[28:52] categories of things.

[28:54] And I'm going to go just give a few

[28:56] examples so you can kind of get a sense

[28:58] here.

[29:00] So, for example, roadway and lane

[29:02] departures. Um this is something that is

[29:05] a uh one of the things that rose to the

[29:07] surface in the county, the

[29:08] unincorporated county areas.

[29:11] Um and so for a capital option, like I

[29:12] mentioned, you could do rumble strips

[29:14] along the center line and rumble strips

[29:16] on the edge, on the the edge of pavement

[29:19] line. And really the goal here is it uh

[29:22] alerts drivers from drifting out of the

[29:23] lane.

[29:25] Um probably many of us have ridden have

[29:27] experienced these rumble strips.

[29:30] Um and these have been proven to reduce

[29:32] fatal and serious injury crashes

[29:34] anywhere from you can see 36% to 44%

[29:38] kind of depending on the environment

[29:40] that it's in. So, that's a a pretty big

[29:43] bang in terms of a uh

[29:45] reducing crashes for a relatively low

[29:48] cost, right? You're not going in and

[29:50] tearing up the roadway or reconfiguring

[29:53] the whole intersection.

[29:55] Um and then here's an example of a

[29:57] programmatic activity is uh you could

[29:59] maybe add a line item or a budget for a

[30:01] road safety audit program in your annual

[30:03] CIP or your annual street maintenance

[30:06] budget. And that would say you would

[30:08] say, "Hey, we're going to do

[30:10] uh five road safety audits every year."

[30:13] You know, you would set the number and

[30:14] you would say, "We're going to really

[30:15] focus on going to specific locations,

[30:18] specific intersections, or we're going

[30:19] to pick three, we're going to pick

[30:21] five." Whatever your number is, we're

[30:23] going to pick that many and we're going

[30:24] to go out and we're going to do a road

[30:25] safety audit and we're going to really

[30:27] dive in and see what is going on at that

[30:30] particular location safety-wise.

[30:32] >> And there's multiple capital options to

[30:35] » And there's multiple capital options to

[30:35] treat this contributing factor and

[30:37] multiple programmatic activities. We're

[30:39] just trying to give you some examples

[30:41] just quickly. We didn't want you to have

[30:43] to be here all night.

[30:44] >> Yes.

[30:46] Um here's another one for pedestrian

[30:48] bicycle. So, if they're if there's a um

[30:52] a location where pedestrians and

[30:54] bicyclists are that

[30:55] um we've got a a capital option there of

[30:57] these crossing improvements. You've

[30:59] maybe have seen these crossing lights or

[31:01] high-visibility crosswalks.

[31:04] Uh again, lots of options. Um and then

[31:07] here's a couple programmatic activities

[31:09] of you know, maybe um looking at uh some

[31:12] sort of policy that covers sort of the

[31:15] responsibility of users as well as kind

[31:18] of the city's approach to, you know, how

[31:20] do you want to account for them as

[31:22] you're building and maintaining your

[31:24] roadway network.

[31:25] Um or here's another option is, you

[31:27] know, to partner with the school

[31:29] district or health department. And I

[31:30] know a lot of that's already happening

[31:32] now to do classes and have education on,

[31:36] you know, how to bike or walk um use

[31:38] under traffic laws.

[31:42] » Some of that may already be going on

[31:43] now, but think about the fact that we're

[31:45] trying to put together a traffic safety

[31:47] plan for you. This is This is a plan for

[31:51] the city to use moving forward. And then

[31:54] that plan gets referenced when you start

[31:56] applying for grants. And so, we're

[31:58] trying to match up those factors with

[32:00] some things that you can do that are low

[32:02] cost and put that in your plan and then

[32:04] be able to reference that when you're

[32:06] applying for grants.

[32:08] >> Yes, I probably should have said that at

[32:09] » Yes, I probably should have said that at

[32:09] the very beginning. That was really the

[32:11] the reason for doing this whole plan is

[32:14] it was a requirement to have this plan

[32:16] done in order to

[32:18] um capture be able to even apply for a

[32:21] capital grant through this program. So,

[32:23] probably should have said that at the

[32:24] beginning. I always kind of make a joke,

[32:26] we have to go through this dumb plan to

[32:28] get the project we want to do.

[32:29] >> [laughter]

[32:30] » [laughter]

[32:30] >> So, we'll go through this exercise. So,

[32:32] » So, we'll go through this exercise. So,

[32:32] last example here was uh occupant

[32:34] protection. You might remember uh this

[32:36] is one

[32:38] um

[32:38] surprising thing we sort of learned

[32:40] through this, especially in the

[32:41] unincorporated part of the county. Um

[32:43] so, here's a couple capital options

[32:45] about just really adding a sign um or

[32:48] having stations to uh inspect, you know,

[32:51] child protection seats uh

[32:53] uh car seats, you might know them as,

[32:55] or programmatic activities. KDOT has

[32:57] several uh programs um for um

[33:01] you know, how to support um inspecting

[33:04] um how car seats are installed. So,

[33:06] taking advantage of programs that other

[33:08] groups, you know, other um governments

[33:11] or other groups are already doing. Sort

[33:12] of promoting those or taking advantage

[33:14] of them.

[33:16] So, now I'm going to turn it over to

[33:17] Suzanne, and she's going to talk a

[33:19] little bit about the um concepts that

[33:22] we're developed. I will say that um so,

[33:25] as part of this uh part of our scope to

[33:27] effort, um we were scoped to develop uh

[33:31] five separate concepts for it for shared

[33:35] over both the city and the county. Um

[33:37] and the idea of developing these

[33:39] concepts is is that these, you know,

[33:40] whichever one is kind of selected or

[33:42] rise to the top, um could be one could

[33:46] be applied for by the city, and then one

[33:48] could be applied for by the county to

[33:50] get this capital grant that's coming out

[33:52] of this. So, keep that in mind, and um

[33:55] I'll I'll turn over to Suzanne.

[33:57] >> Okay. So, the other thing I want you to

[33:59] » Okay. So, the other thing I want you to

[33:59] keep in mind as we look at the concepts,

[34:02] be open-minded. Um these are not

[34:05] recommendations.

[34:06] >> bad if she's already giving you a

[34:07] » bad if she's already giving you a

[34:07] disclaimer. Okay.

[34:09] >> giving the disclaimer. Be open-minded

[34:11] » giving the disclaimer. Be open-minded

[34:11] about these. These are not

[34:13] recommendations.

[34:14] These are element We are putting forward

[34:17] some concepts that have multiple

[34:19] elements for the public to see, discuss,

[34:23] because remember we're taking this to

[34:25] the public forum, and going to get input

[34:27] from the public. And the items that were

[34:30] chosen were chosen based on all of the

[34:33] technical information, and then the

[34:35] public input that was put together. And

[34:37] so, we're trying to address the things

[34:39] that we think will hit um the ability to

[34:43] decrease those fatalities and the severe

[34:46] accidents.

[34:47] >> And prevent others from happening.

[34:49] » And prevent others from happening.

[34:49] >> Yes. Um so,

[34:51] » Yes. Um so,

[34:51] >> I might I might add, it's safety driven.

[34:54] » I might I might add, it's safety driven.

[34:54] >> Safety. These things are about safety.

[34:57] » Safety. These things are about safety.

[34:57] It doesn't always look at is this best

[35:00] for um you know, the business that sits

[35:03] right here, or for the homeowner that

[35:05] sits right here.

[35:06] It's looking at the safety on the

[35:09] transportation network. So, okay,

[35:10] there's my qualifiers. We'll roll on,

[35:12] okay?

[35:14] So, the first one um we're at 12th

[35:16] Street, and this is up by the high

[35:18] school, so we're going from Boyd over to

[35:21] Plum. And all of these concepts, these

[35:24] are drafts. These are not final plans,

[35:27] okay?

[35:28] And the city has looked at this location

[35:30] on multiple occasions, right? Because

[35:32] there's been lots of comment, not just

[35:33] during this

[35:35] um community engagement process, but in

[35:37] the past, there's been a lot of people

[35:38] that have talked about this location.

[35:40] So, several of the elements that are

[35:43] being looked at

[35:44] >> And the technical data supports it. It

[35:45] » And the technical data supports it. It

[35:45] was really in the top tier.

[35:46] >> Absolutely, it was in the top tier. So,

[35:48] » Absolutely, it was in the top tier. So,

[35:48] several of the items I'm going to point

[35:50] out to you, we've got all of them on

[35:52] here. You could implement all of them,

[35:54] or we could implement one of them, or

[35:57] you may say, "Nah, we're not interested

[35:59] in this." And you want to get public

[36:01] input before you make those decisions,

[36:03] right?

[36:04] So, one of the items that is looked at

[36:05] along the south side of 12th Street is a

[36:08] bike lane. This is a bike lane that

[36:10] would be going eastbound only.

[36:12] Okay?

[36:14] And then, there is an option And in

[36:16] order to put that in,

[36:18] and in order to look at this protected

[36:21] left-hand turn that's running down the

[36:23] middle of 12th Street. And remember,

[36:24] we're going from Boyd, it goes Boyd this

[36:27] direction, and then it picks up and

[36:29] we're going all the way over here, okay?

[36:31] Here Here's Grandview. We'll We'll end

[36:33] up farther down, but this is the

[36:35] application for this area.

[36:38] We also would be looking at a protected

[36:41] left-hand turn all the way up to Here's

[36:43] Grandview as it goes to the south.

[36:46] And in order to do that, right now

[36:47] you've got four lanes there.

[36:49] So, this would shrink it down to that

[36:51] three lane. In order to get a bike lane

[36:53] on there and have that protected

[36:55] left-hand turn all the way along.

[36:57] Um

[36:58] what this does, the reason that we look

[37:00] at this location, this was a high

[37:02] accident location.

[37:04] And there's a lot of traffic. There's a

[37:05] lot of young drivers. There's a lot of

[37:07] pedestrians that cross here. Remember,

[37:10] we've talked about that in the past at

[37:12] the city level that are going back and

[37:14] forth across 12th Street. Um the green

[37:17] that you see on here, this is bike

[37:19] crossings. It's bike and ped going north

[37:21] and south. It's bike only going to the

[37:25] east and west.

[37:27] The other application that is added here

[37:29] is some additional signage that goes

[37:31] along with a 10-ft multi-use path on the

[37:34] north side.

[37:37] So, you'd be coming from Boyd and you

[37:40] could take it as far as Berry or you

[37:42] could take it all the way to Main

[37:43] Street, but that is an application that

[37:45] would be considered.

[37:47] Um

[37:48] and currently we're not showing any

[37:50] changes to the exit here um out of the

[37:53] parking lot for the high school. It's

[37:55] something that could be discussed later

[37:56] if this was selected. And then the other

[37:58] thing to point out is there's another

[38:00] element that is a protected right turn

[38:03] lane into the school.

[38:06] If you were westbound on 12th Street and

[38:08] going to be turning in here because

[38:10] often you will see vehicles backing up

[38:12] along here. And if we're going to shrink

[38:14] it down to only one lane in each

[38:16] direction, maybe we need to stack some

[38:18] vehicles in there. And And the traffic

[38:20] counts would show that.

[38:22] Okay?

[38:24] So, that's that's one element to

[38:27] consider or one multiple elements

[38:30] one design option there.

[38:32] Then we go farther to the east, okay?

[38:34] So, we are going from Anderson. Here's

[38:37] Anderson.

[38:38] And then going all the way down all the

[38:40] way down over to here's Plum and then

[38:43] you get right over here and here's San

[38:44] Creek.

[38:46] So, it doesn't show on the picture, but

[38:48] just to put it in your mind where we're

[38:49] at. And in this location, um

[38:54] there were a lot of comments that we

[38:56] received during the community

[38:58] engagement, plus there had been some

[39:00] accidents throughout this area, but a

[39:01] lot of comments that people are confused

[39:04] because 12th Street is split. And so,

[39:06] when you come out in one area, if you're

[39:08] doing a cross one of these cross streets

[39:10] or you're on one of the ends, sometimes

[39:12] people don't know which direction they

[39:13] need to be going and they may end up

[39:15] going the wrong way. They may be going

[39:18] eastbound when they should be going

[39:19] westbound. And so, some of the things

[39:21] that were suggested here was definitely

[39:24] um having some improved signage. And you

[39:28] can see there's multiple locations where

[39:29] we're showing different signs that would

[39:31] be added in. And eliminating

[39:34] uh closing some of these crossings. So,

[39:38] at Elm, there would is a recommended

[39:40] closure. And then at Vine, there is a

[39:43] recommended closure.

[39:45] Which just means that somebody may have

[39:47] to turn and then come back to get to

[39:48] where they needed to be, but there are

[39:50] multiple crossings here and maybe you

[39:52] don't need so many and that would make

[39:54] it be less confusing for the driving

[39:56] public.

[39:57] >> And from a safety perspective, um you

[40:00] » And from a safety perspective, um you

[40:00] know, we

[40:01] it's sort of balancing access with

[40:05] with um and so, just closing off one

[40:09] uh entry point reduces a conflict point.

[40:12] You know, that's really the the point

[40:14] there. So, you know, if you think about

[40:17] uh

[40:18] having conflicts with people, you know,

[40:20] if you take one person out of the

[40:22] situation, sometimes the the conflict

[40:25] will go down. So, that's that's sort of

[40:27] how I think about on these conflict

[40:28] points, if you can reduce one or reduce

[40:31] a meaningful one, it can really help

[40:33] kind of the overall

[40:36] opportunity for crash to happen.

[40:39] Okay?

[40:40] All right, we'll go to the next.

[40:43] Next is Main Street. And we're going to

[40:45] do this in pieces, okay? So, the first

[40:48] one is the BNSF tracks to 8th Street.

[40:53] Now, there's multiple concepts here.

[40:56] So, bear with me. Here is concept design

[40:59] one.

[41:00] Um you notice all these little bulb outs

[41:04] um at the intersections. And this has

[41:06] been talked about off and on before. Uh

[41:09] but the purpose of this, because again,

[41:12] lots of lots of crashes that occur along

[41:15] Main Street in this area, and

[41:16] pedestrians. And for years, the city has

[41:20] received comments about it's difficult

[41:21] for a pedestrian to be able to cross the

[41:23] street. Okay? And so, what this does is

[41:26] it extends that sidewalk out a bit.

[41:29] And it does multiple things. It gives

[41:31] them less distance to have to cross when

[41:34] they're crossing.

[41:36] So, that's a pro for your pedestrian,

[41:38] right? That's on the pro side, not the

[41:40] con side. It also puts them a little bit

[41:42] farther out into

[41:45] um Main Street, because like right in

[41:48] this area, there's parked cars. And when

[41:50] you're clear back here at the curb, can

[41:52] you guys see my cursor? I'm looking at a

[41:54] cur- Yeah, you can. Okay. So, when

[41:56] you're when you're standing back on the

[41:58] sidewalk, you can't see around those

[41:59] parked cars, but if you can get out a

[42:01] little bit farther, then you can see,

[42:03] and your sight distance for the

[42:04] pedestrian is better, and for the people

[42:06] that are driving to see the pedestrian

[42:07] is a little bit better. So, that helps

[42:09] with that. Um and when you put in these

[42:14] uh bulbs these bump outs at the

[42:17] intersection, it is a traffic calming

[42:19] device. So, the vehicles that are

[42:22] traveling along Main Street, you see a

[42:24] little bit of a neck down, and when

[42:25] you're driving, you automatically go,

[42:27] "Maybe I better slow down cuz it's more,

[42:29] you know, like I'm threading the

[42:30] needle." They wouldn't be super narrow,

[42:32] but it does slow people down a bit,

[42:34] which helps with

[42:36] transportation safety, okay?

[42:39] Um

[42:41] Okay, so that's concept

[42:43] design one.

[42:45] Kind of option one. Option one for this

[42:47] piece of Main Street.

[42:50] There's a That's kind of a blown-up area

[42:53] so you can see. It's It extends those

[42:55] out to the opposite side of the parking,

[42:59] the opposite the curb side.

[43:01] Now,

[43:02] I would be remiss if I didn't mention

[43:03] that there are some cons to this, and

[43:05] those cons come up when you start

[43:07] looking at drainage, um because you've

[43:09] got inlets at those intersections that

[43:12] take on water, and so getting

[43:15] a drainage to flow around that, there'll

[43:16] be some tricks that have to have to

[43:18] occur in the design, and uh street

[43:22] maintenance staff, when they're clearing

[43:23] snow,

[43:24] you can't just blade right on down

[43:27] straight through there. You're going to

[43:28] be going around little curved bulb outs,

[43:30] and that'll be an annoyance.

[43:32] So, with everything, pros and cons,

[43:35] right?

[43:36] Mhm. Okay.

[43:38] Now, here's

[43:39] Here's concept design 2A. I know these

[43:42] are little on the screen, but we've got

[43:44] things color-coded for you. And for this

[43:48] one, this adds a protected left turn.

[43:51] Um this protected left turn, right now

[43:54] you only have one, you know, right here

[43:55] at 5th Street.

[43:57] But this adds protected left turn all

[43:59] the way down from BNSF tracks to 8th

[44:02] Street.

[44:03] Which

[44:04] What that does for the driving public,

[44:07] you can see that it's offset. So, let me

[44:11] let me go to the bigger.

[44:13] Just to look here. So, when you're at

[44:16] 8th Street, you see how the turn lane is

[44:19] right here, and it's not in the very

[44:21] middle of the road, it's offset.

[44:25] And that allows the person that is going

[44:27] to be making a left-hand turn that's in

[44:28] the vehicle to be able to see the

[44:30] oncoming traffic so that you aren't

[44:32] turning and end up with a T

[44:36] um accident.

[44:40] So, in order to have enough width to

[44:43] gain

[44:45] space for that left-hand that protected

[44:47] left-hand turn, there has to be

[44:50] a give and a take here. And so,

[44:53] in this option, design 2A, remember

[44:56] we're looking at this from a

[44:57] transportation safety, this is traffic

[44:59] safety, what we're looking at. The west

[45:02] side of Main Street, where we see the

[45:04] purple,

[45:05] would the parking would be eliminated.

[45:08] There would be no parking

[45:10] on that side in order to accommodate the

[45:12] width for that protected turn down the

[45:14] middle.

[45:16] And when we get to the end here, I'll

[45:18] tell you how many spaces it is that

[45:20] you'd be losing, okay?

[45:22] These are elements. You can pick and

[45:25] choose elements throughout. It may not

[45:27] be popular with everybody, but

[45:29] >> smiles to you.

[45:30] » smiles to you.

[45:30] >> You You know

[45:31] » You You know

[45:31] >> getting some smiles.

[45:33] » getting some smiles.

[45:33] >> I know

[45:34] » I know

[45:34] >> I'm like, how do you choose which side

[45:35] » I'm like, how do you choose which side

[45:35] of the road?

[45:36] >> Well, hang on a second.

[45:37] » Well, hang on a second.

[45:37] >> Just a second.

[45:39] » Just a second.

[45:39] >> Here we go. Let's Let's look at the

[45:41] » Here we go. Let's Let's look at the

[45:41] cross section, and then we'll move to

[45:42] the next one. So, if you're looking at a

[45:44] cross-sectional design, um you're

[45:46] getting

[45:48] you're you don't have any parking on the

[45:51] left side, but you did gain a little bit

[45:53] of sidewalk because that turn lane is

[45:56] not quite as wide when you take away

[45:58] parking, but you can't park half width

[45:59] of a car. So, you gain that other. Give

[46:02] them a chance. They will.

[46:04] >> [laughter]

[46:04] » [laughter]

[46:04] >> Maybe. Except that it'll be up on the

[46:06] » Maybe. Except that it'll be up on the

[46:06] curb, so you gain a little bit over on

[46:08] that side for a little bit wider

[46:10] sidewalk. And I think you've been

[46:12] hearing in some of your comp plan

[46:15] discussions that people want to be able

[46:17] to have more space downtown and more

[46:19] sidewalk interaction and space to sit

[46:23] and walk and congregate.

[46:26] >> That was my filter, I mean, shut.

[46:28] » That was my filter, I mean, shut.

[46:28] >> Yeah.

[46:29] » Yeah.

[46:29] Again, these are just elements, right?

[46:33] Okay, so here's

[46:35] a concept design 2B.

[46:37] What this one does, same thing, you've

[46:40] got your lane going down the middle,

[46:41] you've still got your bulb outs, they're

[46:43] on, but they're only on one side. I

[46:45] didn't point that out on the last one.

[46:46] They're only on one side because if you

[46:48] don't have parking over here, um you

[46:51] don't want to have your bulb out, or you

[46:52] would have people driving into that bulb

[46:54] out. Um this puts the no parking on the

[46:57] east side. So, you see the purple, well,

[47:00] that's the parking on the east side. So,

[47:02] it's the same as it was in the last

[47:04] option, it's just flipped.

[47:08] There it is up close. Same as the other,

[47:10] just the other side. Okay?

[47:15] Looks the same in the cross section,

[47:16] we've just flipped it over.

[47:20] And there's

[47:21] no parking then on the east side.

[47:24] Okay?

[47:27] All right, then concept design three.

[47:31] This has This has your middle lane

[47:34] for turn.

[47:35] >> Both. Both. Both sides.

[47:37] » Both. Both. Both sides.

[47:37] >> Um

[47:41] And

[47:41] >> What's your phone number?

[47:42] » What's your phone number?

[47:42] >> Uh-oh.

[47:44] » Uh-oh.

[47:44] >> Suzanne, we're getting

[47:45] » Suzanne, we're getting

[47:45] >> Our traffic Our Our traffic engineers

[47:47] » Our traffic Our Our traffic engineers

[47:47] have brought this forward as something

[47:49] to consider. The public has an

[47:51] opportunity to comment. This is not a

[47:54] recommendation. This is a concept, and

[47:56] there are multiple elements here. You

[47:58] may just want bull belts. You may want a

[48:01] turn lane only in one block. You may

[48:03] want which I would question that a

[48:05] little bit, but it's something to

[48:06] consider. You may decide there's one one

[48:09] block that you don't need as much

[48:10] parking.

[48:12] We're just trying to show you the

[48:14] elements of what you can do to help

[48:17] eliminate these conflict points, make

[48:20] the transportation network safer for the

[48:23] walking, biking, and driving public.

[48:26] Okay?

[48:27] So, this shows no parking both sides.

[48:31] And then you have definitely, you know,

[48:34] how many times have you been driving

[48:36] along and somebody opens their car door

[48:38] and then maybe that causes an issue. So,

[48:40] there's lots lots of things to consider

[48:42] when you start looking at no parking in

[48:46] a more

[48:47] Um and Kristen may smack me when I say

[48:49] this, but in a less less rural

[48:52] community, you know, that you wouldn't

[48:54] have parking necessarily downtown. It

[48:56] would be maybe behind the businesses.

[48:57] And then the places that you're going to

[48:59] go in and sit and you might have more

[49:02] tables out front along the sidewalk.

[49:05] That's the

[49:07] the thing that you're looking at within

[49:08] your comp plan. I understand that has

[49:10] been some of the things that have been

[49:11] brought forward for you to consider.

[49:14] Just to consider. These are just

[49:15] options. Okay?

[49:18] Um

[49:20] Here's the up close. So, and the next

[49:24] one is the one you really want to look

[49:25] at. So, here's your cross section for

[49:27] both east and west.

[49:29] And so, you have sidewalk

[49:33] and room for tables, room for people to

[49:35] congregate, and then people can still

[49:38] drive through. You can still get your

[49:40] traffic through.

[49:42] But you would be parking

[49:45] behind instead of along the street.

[49:47] Okay?

[49:52] Okay. Let's move to the next section of

[49:54] Main Street from the tracks south to

[49:57] First Street.

[49:59] Same applicant

[50:01] >> slide.

[50:01] » slide.

[50:02] >> What?

[50:03] » What?

[50:03] >> You skipped the one that shows how many

[50:05] » You skipped the one that shows how many

[50:05] parking spaces we lost.

[50:06] >> Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, you're right. I

[50:07] » Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, you're right. I

[50:07] did. I don't know what happened. Okay,

[50:09] so here the this shows parking spaces

[50:12] removed under each option. So 2A, when

[50:15] you remove parking on the west side, it

[50:17] gives you by block the number of parking

[50:19] spaces that are eliminated. Total of 50.

[50:22] Okay.

[50:23] For 2B, if you move it remove it along

[50:26] the east side, another total of 50,

[50:28] right?

[50:30] Um

[50:31] the third one where there's no parking

[50:33] on the east or the west, of course

[50:35] you're totaling them and there's a

[50:36] hundred. If you're looking at this map

[50:38] and we didn't get this on here yet, um

[50:41] but the colored dots, so if you're

[50:43] looking at this later, the purple dots

[50:46] um those are

[50:48] the parking that's eliminated during

[50:51] concept three. The green reflects

[50:54] concept 2B and the blue concept 2A.

[50:57] But the numbers tell the story, really.

[50:59] It's just looking at the blocks and

[51:01] where they'd be eliminated. Okay?

[51:03] >> Susan, I might mention too that even if

[51:05] » Susan, I might mention too that even if

[51:05] we just did concept one with the bulb

[51:08] outs, you lose a stall for each one of

[51:10] the bulb outs.

[51:10] >> Yeah.

[51:12] » Yeah.

[51:12] In most of those locations you would

[51:14] lose your full parking spot for those

[51:16] bulb outs.

[51:17] >> 50 sounds like a big number.

[51:19] » 50 sounds like a big number.

[51:19] >> Yes, it does.

[51:20] » Yes, it does.

[51:20] >> I'm afraid we might be run out of town

[51:22] » I'm afraid we might be run out of town

[51:22] for making this

[51:23] >> You might be. But see, you're not making

[51:25] » You might be. But see, you're not making

[51:25] a decision. This is not a

[51:27] recommendation. These are elements to

[51:29] consider.

[51:30] >> just removing parking spaces.

[51:32] » just removing parking spaces.

[51:32] >> Mhm.

[51:33] » Mhm.

[51:33] >> I mean, it's it's so tight anyway when

[51:35] » I mean, it's it's so tight anyway when

[51:35] you come downtown and people are looking

[51:37] for spaces.

[51:38] >> Mhm.

[51:38] » Mhm.

[51:38] >> Where do they go?

[51:40] » Where do they go?

[51:40] >> Yeah.

[51:41] » Yeah.

[51:41] >> What would be the recommendation about

[51:43] » What would be the recommendation about

[51:43] where they would go? Around the block or

[51:45] side streets or

[51:46] >> Mhm.

[51:47] » Mhm.

[51:47] When you when you go to Walmart, you

[51:49] have to park

[51:51] several parking spaces away sometimes to

[51:53] get in. This would be similar to that.

[51:55] You'd park on a side street or behind

[51:58] and go in a back door.

[52:01] Now, you'll be glad to know that we are

[52:04] taking

[52:06] the similar presentation with these

[52:08] concepts to the public and one of the

[52:10] groups that we have invited all of them

[52:12] Jen has we helped us and we have the

[52:15] downtown group that we'll be speaking

[52:16] with. We're doing a special

[52:18] presentation for that group.

[52:21] So, they'll be able to give all kinds of

[52:22] comment very similar to how we did in

[52:25] the original

[52:26] um

[52:27] community engagement round. So, the

[52:28] purpose is to have people talk, but

[52:30] remember

[52:31] we would not be doing our job when

[52:33] looking at this

[52:36] transportation safety plan if we didn't

[52:38] bring all the options forward. It's okay

[52:41] that you are going to consider other

[52:42] things when looking at them.

[52:45] But, um

[52:47] you could say, "Well, you know what? If

[52:48] we don't have as many parking spaces

[52:50] downtown, the people aren't going to

[52:51] come downtown and we won't have to worry

[52:52] about it cuz there'll be less traffic

[52:54] and we won't but if we didn't provide

[52:57] these things

[52:58] then

[53:01] somebody else is going to say, "Yeah,

[53:02] but everybody keeps getting hit. How

[53:04] come you aren't doing anything about

[53:05] it?" So, we're just trying to find a

[53:06] happy medium here. Okay?

[53:09] All right. I have a couple questions.

[53:10] Yes.

[53:11] If we're talking broad concepts, is it

[53:14] possible to think about rather than

[53:16] going from four to five lanes with a

[53:18] dedicated turn lane is there any

[53:20] possibility to go to three lanes?

[53:23] And

[53:24] like one lane each way and a dedicated

[53:26] middle.

[53:28] Yes. There is, but the thing that you

[53:29] have to remember and I think this will

[53:31] become very evident

[53:35] when you sit downtown in traffic and a

[53:38] train goes by and then you remember uh

[53:41] you've got to have the stacking length,

[53:42] otherwise you're going to back people up

[53:44] clear down south of First Street and

[53:46] clear up to 12th Street. And because of

[53:48] the train the train factor, um

[53:51] >> Yeah.

[53:52] » Yeah.

[53:52] >> I think that it is not good to consider.

[53:55] » I think that it is not good to consider.

[53:55] >> Our our team had thought about that

[53:57] » Our our team had thought about that

[53:57] because that notion of

[53:59] reducing, you know, let's say you had

[54:01] like a four-lane road, you know, two

[54:03] lanes in each direction, you know,

[54:04] reducing that to a three-lane with one

[54:07] lane in each direction with a center

[54:08] turn lane.

[54:09] Um that that has significance. Um I was

[54:12] just looking at the numbers here like 20

[54:14] to 50% reduction

[54:16] in fatal and serious injury crashes.

[54:19] Um you know, that that that has become

[54:21] very popular to handle kind of smaller

[54:25] volume roads or roads where the it can

[54:28] handle that. And we had thought about

[54:30] that, but really this train crossing and

[54:32] the the the stacking up of cars on both

[54:35] sides

[54:36] it just doesn't allow that.

[54:38] >> Yeah.

[54:39] » Yeah.

[54:39] >> Yeah. And

[54:41] » Yeah. And

[54:41] your responses to some of these that you

[54:44] know people are going to be concerned

[54:45] with, they're all good. They're all

[54:47] okay. It actually makes me look good

[54:50] because I've been having these same

[54:52] responses saying, "Hey, people are going

[54:53] to be upset about this, but there's

[54:55] going to be the same amount of people

[54:56] they're going to say, 'Hey, we've always

[54:57] wanted a downtown where you could have

[54:59] more pedestrian room and that kind of

[55:00] thing.'" So,

[55:02] you as elected officials, eventually

[55:04] you'll have some issue brought before

[55:06] you, but encourage people to come to

[55:08] these

[55:09] um

[55:10] to these community engagement um events

[55:13] in these open houses cuz that's where

[55:14] we'll hear

[55:16] what people have to say.

[55:17] >> something [snorts] that you probably

[55:18] » something [snorts] that you probably

[55:18] should arm yourself and I would have

[55:20] appreciated having for this meeting is

[55:23] the number [clears throat] of parking

[55:24] spots

[55:26] that are within one block

[55:28] of

[55:30] >> I think we may have that.

[55:32] » I think we may have that.

[55:32] >> Rich, I think we have that cuz we looked

[55:34] » Rich, I think we have that cuz we looked

[55:34] at them.

[55:35] >> Not the not the bigger one that that

[55:37] » Not the not the bigger one that that

[55:37] counts all the way over, you know, two

[55:40] blocks away or whatever. Um

[55:43] >> even though it's heart healthy to walk

[55:45] » even though it's heart healthy to walk

[55:45] that far. It's just a reality. We need

[55:47] to know that information. And the other

[55:49] was

[55:52] um

[55:53] I don't know. It'll come to me.

[55:55] >> Okay. When you were saying that I I was

[55:58] » Okay. When you were saying that I I was

[55:58] thinking probably would also be helpful

[55:59] to have just like the number of total

[56:01] spaces. So, we're saying we're removing

[56:02] 50

[56:03] >> That's That's the other half of how

[56:05] » That's That's the other half of how

[56:05] >> how many.

[56:05] » how many.

[56:05] >> Cuz we're move we're losing 100 on Main

[56:08] » Cuz we're move we're losing 100 on Main

[56:08] Street, but how many would we still

[56:10] have?

[56:11] >> elsewhere

[56:12] » elsewhere

[56:12] >> elsewhere

[56:13] » elsewhere

[56:13] >> we have those numbers cuz we went

[56:14] » we have those numbers cuz we went

[56:14] through and looked at

[56:16] parking lots. So, if not, that's

[56:18] something we can look at.

[56:20] >> Did On any of these did you look,

[56:21] » Did On any of these did you look,

[56:21] especially the when you're removing

[56:25] parking on one side or both sides, did

[56:26] you look at integrating a bike path or I

[56:29] mean a dedicated bike lane? Is that a

[56:34] » We talked about that.

[56:35] >> Is it possible, I guess, is what

[56:38] » Is it possible, I guess, is what

[56:38] >> Well, it would be possible, of course.

[56:40] » Well, it would be possible, of course.

[56:40] >> Okay.

[56:40] » Okay.

[56:40] >> Um

[56:41] » Um

[56:41] >> I mean, there's that's additional space.

[56:43] » I mean, there's that's additional space.

[56:43] >> It is. And the reason There's multiple

[56:46] » It is. And the reason There's multiple

[56:46] reasons that we didn't look at it on

[56:48] K-15 directly. Um over the years, the

[56:52] the bicycling group in town definitely

[56:56] has called out other areas, um other

[56:59] roads that were off of the main drag

[57:01] because there's so much vehicle traffic

[57:03] on K-15 on Main Street that they have

[57:06] their bike route goes, um you know, to

[57:09] the east or the west of Main Street. And

[57:11] so,

[57:12] if you're looking to make this a more

[57:14] pedestrian-friendly

[57:16] area, keeping your bicycles in the other

[57:19] area, we're just trying to separate out

[57:21] things and make remembering the safety

[57:23] aspect, too.

[57:24] >> Yeah.

[57:25] » Yeah.

[57:25] >> Yeah, but And that's a great question.

[57:26] » Yeah, but And that's a great question.

[57:26] One of our activities um in these

[57:28] upcoming open houses is it's called a

[57:30] design charrette, and we're going to you

[57:32] know, be able to take a just an example

[57:36] stretch of of roadway, and it's say it's

[57:39] it's this wide, and you know, and then

[57:41] we have little little cutouts where you

[57:43] can say you can have two lanes that are

[57:45] 12 ft wide, and you can have a bicycle

[57:47] lane that's 3 ft wide, or you can have a

[57:49] sidewalk that's this wide, and just you

[57:52] can kind of play around and see what

[57:53] fits. You know, do you want to have four

[57:55] lanes of car traffic? Do you want to

[57:57] have two lanes of car traffic, a turn

[57:59] lane, and then a and a bicycle lane on

[58:01] both sides? Um so, it just it's sort of

[58:03] it's a tangible way to sort of see we

[58:06] have set curb lines, and we're we're not

[58:09] going to move those. Um so, kind of what

[58:12] can fit what kind of configuration can

[58:14] fit in between.

[58:15] >> My last question is whether if there are

[58:17] » My last question is whether if there are

[58:17] pros and cons to angle versus parallel

[58:19] parking safety-wise and otherwise.

[58:22] >> Mhm. There are lots of studies that show

[58:25] » Mhm. There are lots of studies that show

[58:25] that angle parking you have more

[58:27] accidents when you have angle parking.

[58:30] The the width that we have downtown plus

[58:32] the train there makes it difficult to

[58:34] have angle parking. Keep the number of

[58:37] lanes you need to um

[58:40] to be able to move traffic through after

[58:42] a train. It's It would be difficult to

[58:45] do that.

[58:46] And then you look at angle parking. You

[58:49] have it on some of the side streets, but

[58:51] that's lower volume on the side streets

[58:53] um than the traffic on Main Street.

[58:56] >> I just I was recently in Lawrence and

[58:57] » I just I was recently in Lawrence and

[58:57] noticed that on Mass Street they have

[58:59] all angle parking.

[59:00] >> Mhm. Yes.

[59:01] » Mhm. Yes.

[59:01] >> Two lanes, I think maybe three two and a

[59:03] » Two lanes, I think maybe three two and a

[59:03] dedicated turn and then angle parking.

[59:05] >> Mhm.

[59:06] » Mhm.

[59:06] It's a little bit different because they

[59:07] have a lot bigger town with a lot more

[59:10] side streets, a lot other places that

[59:12] are happening, so.

[59:14] Okay. Um

[59:16] BNSF to First Street on Main Street.

[59:18] Same thing. Um concept one would be to

[59:21] do the bump-outs, right?

[59:23] >> And this is really a continuation of

[59:25] » And this is really a continuation of

[59:25] north

[59:26] >> It is.

[59:26] » It is.

[59:26] >> north of the the tracks.

[59:28] » north of the the tracks.

[59:28] >> And then the design the concept design

[59:31] » And then the design the concept design

[59:31] 2A

[59:32] same thing.

[59:33] You have the bump-outs on one side, you

[59:35] eliminate parking on one side, add your

[59:37] turn lane. Okay?

[59:40] And then 2B flips it to the other side.

[59:46] three

[59:48] eliminates

[59:50] all of the parking

[59:51] leaves the turn lane

[59:53] and

[59:55] widens the sidewalk space. Okay?

[1:00:01] It's very It's It's just like the piece

[1:00:03] to the north. Okay?

[1:00:04] >> Mhm.

[1:00:05] » Mhm.

[1:00:05] >> Okay.

[1:00:08] » Okay.

[1:00:08] There is a

[1:00:10] the slide must have got eliminated, but

[1:00:13] there's a we can get it for you that

[1:00:15] shows the number of parking spaces for

[1:00:16] this section, too. I don't know what

[1:00:18] happened there.

[1:00:19] Um okay, Washington Road.

[1:00:24] The the concept design one, um this is

[1:00:27] from Southeast 10th to Southeast 8th.

[1:00:31] Um

[1:00:33] again, the reason that we are looking at

[1:00:35] different areas is because there are

[1:00:37] there were accidents and crashes at all

[1:00:39] of these intersections. And due to the

[1:00:42] sight distances, when you're coming when

[1:00:44] you have multiple legs

[1:00:46] of an intersection in this instance, you

[1:00:48] know, you've got five

[1:00:50] as they are today, and you have vehicles

[1:00:53] coming up to that intersection. The

[1:00:55] sight distance for somebody that's

[1:00:56] looking clear back, say you're pulling

[1:00:59] up there on Pine Street and you're

[1:01:00] looking trying to look north on

[1:01:02] Washington, it's difficult to see

[1:01:04] um

[1:01:05] for multiple reasons. Um Walnut, same

[1:01:09] same thing at Southeast 10th and Walnut.

[1:01:12] The sight distances, the points of

[1:01:14] conflict, and crossing multi-lane

[1:01:17] facilities here

[1:01:18] are the

[1:01:21] several of the reasons that we have

[1:01:22] accidents at these locations. So, what

[1:01:25] we looked at was

[1:01:29] trying to put a cul-de-sac and dead end

[1:01:31] one road that had another way out

[1:01:34] to eliminate one of the legs of the

[1:01:35] intersection.

[1:01:37] And we also have an element, remember,

[1:01:41] multiple elements. The other is turning

[1:01:44] this roadway into a three-lane facility

[1:01:47] so that you have the dedicated left turn

[1:01:49] lane that would be running

[1:01:51] the distance here.

[1:01:53] Cuz right now you've got four lanes, but

[1:01:54] boy, those are narrow little boogers,

[1:01:56] right? Um

[1:01:58] and so this turns it into three with the

[1:02:01] the third lane for the turning.

[1:02:05] There are multiple locations at these

[1:02:07] intersections where we are looking at

[1:02:10] and giving an option. These are not

[1:02:11] recommendations, these are for talking

[1:02:13] about. Um

[1:02:15] the cul-de-sacs. And you look here at

[1:02:19] Pine,

[1:02:20] Indian Lane doesn't have another way

[1:02:22] out.

[1:02:23] So, they still come out, right? Pine,

[1:02:27] you can go

[1:02:29] back to the north here by the ballpark

[1:02:32] and get out, and of course to the south

[1:02:34] Pine ties into the other cross streets,

[1:02:36] and you could get out.

[1:02:38] So, that's concept one.

[1:02:42] This kind of gives you an aerial view so

[1:02:45] that you

[1:02:46] you know what it would look like.

[1:02:50] They're just kind of fun when you can

[1:02:51] see a

[1:02:53] a concept there.

[1:02:55] Adding in cul-de-sacs.

[1:02:57] Okay?

[1:03:00] Okay.

[1:03:01] Then Washington Road from 5th to 1st.

[1:03:06] Same thing.

[1:03:07] Just at Allison we'd be looking at

[1:03:09] putting in a cul-de-sac.

[1:03:13] And then from

[1:03:14] Southeast 3rd north to 1st Street, so

[1:03:17] that's the bottom picture here.

[1:03:20] Uh we'd be adding in that protected

[1:03:22] left-hand turn and still necking down to

[1:03:26] only one lane in each direction with

[1:03:28] that protected turn.

[1:03:33] And in this area, the width would

[1:03:35] support those three lanes plus keeping

[1:03:38] some parking along the side.

[1:03:41] We wouldn't show the elimination where

[1:03:43] there is parking today. I believe you'd

[1:03:45] be able to keep it. But if this was

[1:03:47] selected, we would definitely look at

[1:03:49] that in more detail.

[1:03:50] Okay.

[1:03:54] All right. That's all of this Those were

[1:03:56] the city concepts. We can quickly will

[1:03:58] will talk to you about the ones that we

[1:04:00] are proposing for in the county to be

[1:04:02] considered. And these will be available

[1:04:04] for people to look at at the open houses

[1:04:06] because the open houses are open to

[1:04:07] everybody. Um so, the first one um is at

[1:04:11] Hesston and Hoover Road.

[1:04:13] So, Hesston Road, you know, that's old

[1:04:15] 81 that goes out of Newton up to

[1:04:17] Hesston. And there are multiple

[1:04:20] intersections that have skewed

[1:04:22] crossings. Um

[1:04:24] And they are not just crossing Hesston

[1:04:26] Road, but they're also crossing the

[1:04:28] railroad that's on the north.

[1:04:29] >> Like not at a 90°.

[1:04:31] » Like not at a 90°.

[1:04:31] >> Right. If they're skewed, they're not at

[1:04:33] » Right. If they're skewed, they're not at

[1:04:33] a 90°, which is the preferred method for

[1:04:36] traffic and transportation safety so

[1:04:38] that you can see

[1:04:40] um so that you have good sight distance.

[1:04:42] And

[1:04:43] so if I'm going to if I'm going to

[1:04:45] rebutt this and say, "Well, why would we

[1:04:46] spend the money to do this?

[1:04:49] Why don't people just pull up here to

[1:04:51] this intersection and square their

[1:04:53] vehicle?" Well,

[1:04:55] why don't people just drive the speed

[1:04:57] limit? Why don't people do all kinds of

[1:04:59] things? But we implement

[1:05:01] traffic safety measures

[1:05:04] so that we are helping uh to address

[1:05:07] those conflicts that occur on the

[1:05:10] transportation systems. And so there

[1:05:13] would be uh some right-of-way that have

[1:05:15] to be uh purchased. And this application

[1:05:18] at Hesston Road, there are multiple

[1:05:20] crossings that could this could be

[1:05:22] addressed um on Hesston Road at all of

[1:05:26] those crossroads

[1:05:28] to square it up, if you will.

[1:05:30] Okay?

[1:05:33] Then, the next one is at um it's down by

[1:05:38] Sedgwick. This is Ridge Road and 84th

[1:05:40] Street. And if you've been on Ridge

[1:05:42] Road, you'll recall it, I'm sure. Um

[1:05:45] where you're coming up Ridge Road and

[1:05:46] then you do There's you do an immediate

[1:05:49] um

[1:05:51] right turn, a 90° turn, and then a

[1:05:53] another one back the other direction.

[1:05:55] There's accidents that occur in this

[1:05:56] area frequently. Um and that's what

[1:05:59] popped it up, plus people commented

[1:06:02] about this one in our community

[1:06:03] engagement. And so, concept one for this

[1:06:06] location, it's the full bore. Look at it

[1:06:09] and straighten out the roadway. So,

[1:06:11] there would be um right-of-way

[1:06:13] acquisition, and then uh the road as it

[1:06:15] sits today for those that access and

[1:06:18] live along there, this would come in

[1:06:20] then at a 90

[1:06:22] to the new Ridge Road, so that we don't

[1:06:25] create another problem, right?

[1:06:27] Um

[1:06:28] and

[1:06:29] stop signs here at this intersection.

[1:06:32] And that takes care of those oddball

[1:06:37] 90° turns.

[1:06:40] Now, there's another option.

[1:06:42] Concept design two. This doesn't This

[1:06:45] doesn't straighten it all out, but this

[1:06:47] puts in um this puts in signage. It's um

[1:06:52] it really improves

[1:06:54] the signage at this location. It is

[1:06:56] called enhanced signage, and we have a

[1:06:58] bunch of these chevrons that So, these

[1:07:00] little arrowy-looking signs that would

[1:07:02] have LED lights on them.

[1:07:04] And when you light that stuff up at

[1:07:05] night, and we put in a bunch more

[1:07:07] signage that helps it be more visible to

[1:07:09] the driving public. Um just trying to

[1:07:12] light up this area so that people don't

[1:07:15] miss it at night, cuz a lot of times

[1:07:16] they happen at nighttime.

[1:07:18] And so this would be concept design,

[1:07:20] too.

[1:07:22] And we would have people comment on

[1:07:24] these and the different elements of

[1:07:26] um

[1:07:27] options at the

[1:07:29] community engagement.

[1:07:32] Questions on those?

[1:07:34] Okay.

[1:07:36] All right. Kristen?

[1:07:37] >> Okay. We'll wrap us up here with the

[1:07:39] » Okay. We'll wrap us up here with the

[1:07:39] next steps. So, like Suzanne had

[1:07:41] mentioned, um we do have several

[1:07:43] engagement opportunities coming up.

[1:07:45] We've got on the slide here, and I also

[1:07:47] brought up a few flyers.

[1:07:49] Um if you're interested, so you can see

[1:07:51] we're having one with the

[1:07:53] the list of the stakeholders, so like

[1:07:56] that the stakeholder groups we had

[1:07:57] originally. So, we're having one just

[1:07:59] for them uh on the 20th, and then we,

[1:08:02] like Suzanne mentioned, we're having a

[1:08:04] separate meeting with the Connect

[1:08:05] Downtown group, uh just with that group,

[1:08:09] uh with the downtown business owners on

[1:08:10] the 27th. And then we've got some open

[1:08:13] houses, um I guess that same week,

[1:08:16] taking place uh across really here

[1:08:18] within the city of Newton at the Rec

[1:08:20] Center, uh the Harvey County Courthouse,

[1:08:22] and the at the library. So, those are

[1:08:25] coming up. Um we will have some um

[1:08:29] like I mentioned that design charrette,

[1:08:31] where you can kind of practice,

[1:08:33] you know, trying to fit different things

[1:08:35] in a set volume. That's just kind of a

[1:08:37] fun thing and sort of a learning

[1:08:38] opportunity that, you know, we we can't

[1:08:41] have everything, that there there are

[1:08:43] constraints. And so we'll see some

[1:08:44] property lines on there, and um so just

[1:08:47] an opportunity for people to sort of

[1:08:49] experience trying to do this with

[1:08:51] constraints. Um then we'll have some

[1:08:53] information about uh all these concepts,

[1:08:55] as well as some of the information about

[1:08:57] what we've learned previously, and and a

[1:09:00] way to kind of confirm we we've heard

[1:09:02] we've heard correctly of some of the

[1:09:04] main themes coming out of that that

[1:09:06] first session or that first engagement.

[1:09:10] Uh and then just really wanted to share

[1:09:11] these next steps. Um

[1:09:14] you know, we are in the study phase,

[1:09:16] this very very first step where we're

[1:09:18] kind of getting ideas, we're talking

[1:09:20] about what are the problems, talking

[1:09:22] about some initial concepts. And

[1:09:25] so, you know, we expect that to wrap up

[1:09:28] this this initiative to wrap up early

[1:09:30] next year. Um and then you can see

[1:09:32] there's sort of two paths. So, one would

[1:09:33] be

[1:09:34] that top path is going through this

[1:09:36] capital grant application. That's really

[1:09:38] been the goal for this project all

[1:09:40] along, the goal from this original grant

[1:09:42] application from three or four years ago

[1:09:45] was to be able to set the city and the

[1:09:47] county up should they choose to to apply

[1:09:49] for a capital grant through this Safe

[1:09:51] Streets for All program. Uh so, that

[1:09:53] application would likely come open in

[1:09:55] the spring. Um and then probably be

[1:09:58] another year uh to have engineering and

[1:10:01] then probably another year plus for

[1:10:02] construction. So, we're this is a long

[1:10:05] timeline. So, just want to reassure

[1:10:07] everyone this nothing's going to happen

[1:10:09] tomorrow.

[1:10:10] Um and then also kind of that second

[1:10:12] tier is to be able to go through the the

[1:10:14] city's budget process and should the

[1:10:16] city decide to implement some of these

[1:10:17] countermeasures or some of the low-cost

[1:10:19] things,

[1:10:20] that that would be another avenue for

[1:10:23] for this to move forward.

[1:10:27] That's it. Uh we are happy to answer any

[1:10:30] questions. I know we've talked through

[1:10:31] some in between in in during the

[1:10:33] presentation, but happy to answer any

[1:10:36] that you might have.

[1:10:37] >> So, tell us how that grant application

[1:10:39] » So, tell us how that grant application

[1:10:39] works.

[1:10:40] After all the studies are done and maybe

[1:10:44] picking out some of the concepts to

[1:10:45] pursue and putting a price on them and

[1:10:47] all that. Then

[1:10:49] then do you go to the federal government

[1:10:51] and say, "Okay, this is going to cost,

[1:10:53] let's just say $7 million." And And is

[1:10:55] it a is it a 90/10 split? Is it an 80-20

[1:10:58] split? What

[1:10:59] >> Good question.

[1:10:59] » Good question.

[1:10:59] >> look like?

[1:11:00] » look like?

[1:11:00] >> It's an 80-20 split. So, it's um that's

[1:11:03] » It's an 80-20 split. So, it's um that's

[1:11:03] pretty common with federal grants. Here

[1:11:04] in Kansas, we're very fortunate because

[1:11:06] the state has allocated uh some of their

[1:11:10] ARPA money. Uh well, I think they

[1:11:12] switched out their ARPA money and

[1:11:13] anyways made a pot of money available

[1:11:15] they call Build Kansas. And they will

[1:11:17] offer to

[1:11:19] provide 15%

[1:11:21] of that 20% match requirement. Uh and

[1:11:25] so, that's a really great opportunity. I

[1:11:27] think we're the only state in the whole

[1:11:28] country that that has that available.

[1:11:30] Otherwise, you know, the individual city

[1:11:31] would have to come up with the whole

[1:11:32] 20%.

[1:11:33] >> that means we'd be responsible for the

[1:11:35] » that means we'd be responsible for the

[1:11:35] 5%.

[1:11:36] >> Correct.

[1:11:37] » Correct.

[1:11:37] >> Whatever that Yeah.

[1:11:38] » Whatever that Yeah.

[1:11:38] >> Uh and I think that

[1:11:40] » Uh and I think that

[1:11:40] not just the [clears throat]

[1:11:42] SS4A type funds could you utilize your

[1:11:45] plan.

[1:11:46] Um there's other grants that are

[1:11:48] available that you could say, "Hey,

[1:11:50] look, we've had" cuz this is this is an

[1:11:52] engineering study, if you will. And you

[1:11:54] can say, "Hey, this is what this study

[1:11:56] came up with." And not just that grant

[1:11:59] application, but then the city could

[1:12:00] look at other other grants that might be

[1:12:03] available for some of the the pieces of

[1:12:05] the project as well.

[1:12:08] And those those matches may be

[1:12:10] different.

[1:12:11] >> Mhm.

[1:12:17] » Any other questions?

[1:12:23] » Do

[1:12:24] And I thought

[1:12:26] I may be confusing something. I thought

[1:12:28] there was also

[1:12:29] an idea of

[1:12:31] SS4A and traffic signals. Is that not a

[1:12:35] Is that something separate?

[1:12:37] >> Depending on Main Street.

[1:12:37] » Depending on Main Street.

[1:12:37] >> No, to depending on the project that we

[1:12:40] » No, to depending on the project that we

[1:12:40] did, we could uh look at doing that.

[1:12:42] >> Okay.

[1:12:43] » Okay.

[1:12:43] >> That's one thing I did neglect to

[1:12:44] » That's one thing I did neglect to

[1:12:44] mention in those concepts. So, those

[1:12:47] Main Street concepts

[1:12:49] >> It would would include some of the

[1:12:49] » It would would include some of the

[1:12:50] >> Um we would suggest

[1:12:52] » Um we would suggest

[1:12:52] if you only chose the elements of the

[1:12:54] bulb outs,

[1:12:56] we would request funding for additional

[1:12:59] signals.

[1:13:00] >> Okay.

[1:13:01] » Okay.

[1:13:01] >> It might not qualify for just bulb outs,

[1:13:03] » It might not qualify for just bulb outs,

[1:13:03] but if you did some of the others, it

[1:13:06] definitely would because you have to

[1:13:08] change up your protected laps and

[1:13:10] everything. Um

[1:13:12] but I think we could probably justify

[1:13:14] that on any of those. So, along with

[1:13:16] those physical

[1:13:18] >> Yeah.

[1:13:18] » Yeah.

[1:13:18] >> um

[1:13:19] » um

[1:13:19] things on the roadway itself, we would

[1:13:21] be looking at signals as a part of that.

[1:13:24] >> Okay.

[1:13:29] So, then is it that

[1:13:32] after going through

[1:13:33] all the next sessions with the public

[1:13:35] and

[1:13:37] is it that whatever that comes back to

[1:13:41] are the ones that you're going to pursue

[1:13:43] to get

[1:13:44] put the put all the costs together to

[1:13:46] what that's going to cost? In other

[1:13:48] words, not every one of these ideas is

[1:13:50] going to come with somebody putting a

[1:13:52] price tag on it.

[1:13:53] >> Right.

[1:13:54] » Right.

[1:13:54] >> Only the ones that

[1:13:56] » Only the ones that

[1:13:56] this whole community decides might be

[1:13:58] feasible.

[1:13:59] >> Yeah, well, we will include cost

[1:14:01] » Yeah, well, we will include cost

[1:14:01] estimates, at least planning level cost

[1:14:03] estimates for these five concepts. So,

[1:14:06] whatever the five end up being, I mean,

[1:14:08] we've got our five locations pretty much

[1:14:10] locked down, but the option within each

[1:14:13] five locations is not. So, that's kind

[1:14:16] of the purpose of this next round is

[1:14:18] we'll kind of hear from the public, take

[1:14:20] it for kind of final vetting with the

[1:14:22] with the city and the the staff team,

[1:14:25] um and then bring it back for final

[1:14:26] adoption. But, all whatever those five

[1:14:30] final concepts will be, we'll have

[1:14:31] planning level cost estimates. And then,

[1:14:33] of course, as it moves forward, those

[1:14:35] will continue to be refined as more

[1:14:37] information is known.

[1:14:43] » Awesome.

[1:14:44] Okay. Any other questions?

[1:14:46] >> Thanks.

[1:14:46] » Thanks.

[1:14:46] >> Okay. I guess probably

[1:14:48] » Okay. I guess probably

[1:14:48] >> The only last thing is we'll be back

[1:14:49] » The only last thing is we'll be back

[1:14:49] maybe later

[1:14:51] later this year with uh a draft plan. Is

[1:14:54] that

[1:14:55] >> Yeah, you will need to adopt a plan. So,

[1:14:58] » Yeah, you will need to adopt a plan. So,

[1:14:59] a plan will be brought to you by staff

[1:15:00] for you to adopt that then gets turned

[1:15:03] in as the final.

[1:15:05] And it will have concepts in it.

[1:15:08] >> And can no action be a plan selected?

[1:15:12] » And can no action be a plan selected?

[1:15:12] >> What do you mean no action? Like not

[1:15:14] » What do you mean no action? Like not

[1:15:14] adopting it or not having concepts or

[1:15:17] >> Not adopting. Say we choose not to do

[1:15:20] » Not adopting. Say we choose not to do

[1:15:20] anything in that area.

[1:15:22] >> Of the

[1:15:23] » Of the

[1:15:23] >> We're not obligated to take up any of

[1:15:25] » We're not obligated to take up any of

[1:15:25] the plans.

[1:15:26] >> Correct. No, you're approving a plan,

[1:15:28] » Correct. No, you're approving a plan,

[1:15:28] not a construction project. Correct.

[1:15:30] Yeah.

[1:15:31] Correct.

[1:15:34] >> So, it's more of receiving a plan more

[1:15:36] » So, it's more of receiving a plan more

[1:15:36] so than than actually approving for

[1:15:38] action.

[1:15:39] >> They want them to approve it. That's

[1:15:41] » They want them to approve it. That's

[1:15:41] That's my understanding from the grant

[1:15:42] dollars. They want you to This is our

[1:15:45] our transportation plan, but you don't

[1:15:46] have to say in it what year you're going

[1:15:48] to accomplish these things.

[1:15:50] Um you're going to work towards things.

[1:15:54] And

[1:15:55] I think that's simple enough to do.

[1:15:58] Especially because I think in your minds

[1:16:00] you're thinking about all these

[1:16:02] capital things. There's going to be

[1:16:04] countermeasures throughout. Um you know,

[1:16:07] if

[1:16:08] I would

[1:16:09] >> We We could go benign and just adopt all

[1:16:11] » We We could go benign and just adopt all

[1:16:11] the countermeasures as part of our plan

[1:16:13] with nothing that has a capital

[1:16:15] >> Yeah. to it. But then you wouldn't need

[1:16:16] » Yeah. to it. But then you wouldn't need

[1:16:16] to apply for a grant. So, yeah. But

[1:16:19] >> But we would be But we would be

[1:16:21] » But we would be But we would be

[1:16:21] fulfilling the obligation of the grant

[1:16:24] that we received to have the study done.

[1:16:25] >> Yes, absolutely.

[1:16:27] » Yes, absolutely.

[1:16:27] I don't know why somebody why you and

[1:16:30] the county wouldn't approve

[1:16:33] in your plan one of the things that you

[1:16:35] want to do moving forward is to promote

[1:16:37] use of seatbelts.

[1:16:38] >> Right.

[1:16:39] » Right.

[1:16:39] >> And how much that decreases uh

[1:16:42] » And how much that decreases uh

[1:16:42] fatalities and severe accidents. I mean,

[1:16:44] just putting out some uh

[1:16:47] you know, public information about that.

[1:16:49] That would be something that should be

[1:16:50] in your plan.

[1:16:51] >> Mhm.

[1:16:53] » Mhm.

[1:16:53] Cool.

[1:16:53] >> Okay.

[1:16:54] » Okay.

[1:16:54] >> All right. Thank you.

Work Session - 11 Aug 2026

Transcript