Milwaukee Avenue Corridor Committee

MILWAUKEE AVENUE CORRIDOR COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 - MEETING SUMMARY CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Co-Chair McCreery at 9:00 a.m. Co-Chair McCreery read the agenda meeting notice as this was a virtual meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Bob Pilat stated there were not public comments received prior to the meeting. ATTENDANCE The following Committee members were in attendance:  Denise McCreery, Village Trustee  Tom Powers, Village Engineer  Bob Pilat, Asst. to the Director of Public Works  Nathan Bruemmer, Planning Technician Others in attendance were:  Fred Braun, Director of Public Works  Tony Dati, Streets Superintendent  Tim O’Brien, Civil Engineer II  Kate Lockerby, Senior Planner APPROVAL OF MEETING SUMMARY A motion was made by Bob Pilat, seconded by Nathan Bruemmer, to approve the September 27, 2019 meeting summary notes. The motion carried unanimously. PROJECT UPDATES AND DISCUSSION Tim O’Brien gave a status update on various streetscape/ITEP projects. Crosswalk Demonstration Project – While the Covid-19 pandemic slowed many things down, the crosswalk demonstration project at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road was able to be completed. The project consisted of removing the old pavers, replacement of the roadway base, and then installing the new preformed thermoplastic crosswalk pattern. The project was completed in May. If you have not had the opportunity to view the crosswalk I encourage you to do so. Page 1 of 5 There were no major issues with the removal and replacement, and the thermoplastic appears to be holding up well at this time. Public Works will continue to monitor the improvement for signs of excessive wear. This will be the same pattern used for ITEP VI to be discussed later. ITEP V – Milwaukee from Main to Greenwood - The Phase I and Project Development Report (PDR) was finalized and submitted to IDOT for their review and comment. The only outstanding issues are new ADA requirements IDOT would like addressed. ITEP VI – Milwaukee from Howard to Jonquil – As you may recall, the Village received an ITEP award of $698,620 for improvements on Milwaukee from Howard to Jonquil. Over the design phase the project has gone through some changes, as the municipal parking area was first approved by IDOT as part of the project, only for them to later state it was not an eligible project item. However, it did give us the opportunity to adjust the project scope and include the repair of the crosswalks at Howard Street. The Phase II design engineering has now been completed. Land acquisition required by the project took longer than expected due to Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the extended negotiations with owners for temporary easements. However, the project has moved forward and was bid on September 18, 2020. The apparent low bidder for the project was A-Lamp Construction, and they are currently negotiating the contract with IDOT. At this time nothing is official, however it is anticipated construction will not start until next year. A Phase III construction engineering agreement with Baxter and Woodman has already been awarded and approved by Village Board. ITEP VII – Milwaukee & Waukegan Intersection and Waukegan & Oakton Intersection Improvements: The Phase I Design & Project Development Report (PDR) was submitted to IDOT and approved in July, 2020. It is hoped completing this engineering work in advance will assist us in the application for future funding. This concluded Tim O’Brien’s update. ITEP GRANT APPLICATION CYCLE 14 DISCUSSION Bob Pilat then explained details of the next ITEP application cycle. IDOT has announced they will be accepting applications for the next round of ITEP funding beginning today, and applications must be submitted by Monday, November 2, 2020. Applicants may apply for up to $2 million per project, and the total funds available for this cycle is $105.6 million. Of this amount $75 million are state funds, and the other $30.6 million are federal funds. The $75 million of state funds are solely for ITEP Category 1 – Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities, and ITEP Category 3 – Conversion of Abandoned Railroad Corridors to Trails. Page 2 of 5 Last cycle the State awarded $36 million in projects, so this is a substantial increase in this cycle. However, last time applications totaling $252 million were submitted (seven time more than what was available), and there has been a concerted push to promote the ITEP program this cycle. Projects must enhance the transportation system by serving a need or providing a use or benefit. Projects cannot be solely for recreation or routine maintenance. Examples are providing a mode of transportation from one destination to another for public use, such as workplace, schools, shopping centers or connections to other communities Twenty-five percent of all ITEP funding will be directed towards projects in high-need communities, which will drive the community map score for a project. This is a component that will be discussed further in a potential project. This score will be used to determine the state matching funds available to a project. Also, Phase I engineering will remain eligible for funding again, however projects with PE I complete will receive additional application points, which as discussed, helps the ITEP VII project application. During the meeting of August 30, 2019, after discussion, this committee voted to apply for funding for the following two projects.  Milwaukee Avenue – Maryland Street to Golf Road Streetscape Improvements  Milwaukee/Waukegan and Oakton/Waukegan Intersection Improvements Since this time, the Village has received an RTA Access to Transit grant, and are awaiting word on an Illinois DCEO grant for the Golf Mill Flood Relief, Streetscape and Open Space Project. As the project area of Maryland to Golf Road is included in these grant projects, we need to decide if we could be beneficial to submit a replacement project, and reconfirm the projects the Village wanted to submit. Tom Powers discussed a combination street and pedestrian lighting improvement project on Golf Road he felt would benefit from new ITEP application guidelines. As explained during recent conversations, IDOT only allows one project type to be applied for in each application, therefore if we decided to complete any streetscape enhancements with the project, the Village would be required to pay those costs. The project boundaries are on Golf Road from Dee to Western. This area has received grant funding for sidewalk infill, and the street/pedestrian lighting improvement would be a good complement to this project. To help high need communities, 25% of funding is being directed to projects in these areas. The community map score is determined using census tract information for the area, and the Golf Road project would meet the guidelines of a high need area. Nathan Bruemmer said given the preference shown for bike projects, he asked if the pedestrian lighting project would be classified as a good project by IDOT. Tom Powers Page 3 of 5 responded the project would need to meet a minimum score to be considered, and we could also include sidewalks that were not included in the sidewalk infill project. Bob Pilat commented there may be fewer projects submitted that meet the high need criteria, so we may be in a good position due to the set asides. After discussion, a motion was made by Bob Pilat, seconded by Nathan Bruemmer, to submit the applications for the following projects:  Golf Road – Dee Road to Milwaukee Avenue Lighting and Sidewalk Improvements  Milwaukee Avenue and Waukegan Road Intersection Improvements The motion carried unanimously. Bob Pilat said a resolution in support of these projects will need to be approved at the October Village Board meeting. IDOT does not want communities to submit projects only to have the community not move forward with the project. He added the cost of the project and matching amount of the Village would be specified in the resolution. At a minimum it is an 80% IDOT, 20% Village match, however the Village match could decrease if the project is selected based upon the high need criteria. Denise McCreery said she would like Fred Braun to discuss the match amount the Village pledges with Steve Vinezeano and arrive at a decision. Fred said he would include the Finance Director in the conversation. Fred Braun stated we could also consider the project score when arriving at the matching level decision. There was general discussion about the look of the Milwaukee/Waukegan – Oakton/Waukegan improvement project. Denise McCreery stated installation of streetlights was mentioned at a recent meeting she attended. Discussion concerning streetlights, LED streetlights and speed bumps also occurred. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business. NEW BUSINESS Nathan Bruemmer asked about the Howard Street biking configuration. Tom Powers stated it would be a bike lane west of Caldwell Avenue, and a bike path east of Caldwell Ave. No date was set for the next meeting. Page 4 of 5 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Tom Powers made a motion, seconded by Bob Pilat to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m. Page 5 of 5