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The second public meeting for the Greater Southeast Redmond Area Transportation
Study was held at Redmond City Hall on Wednesday, September 16, 2009. This
was one of a series of meetings and workshops hosted by the City to address
congestion and freight mobility in Southeast Redmond.
In addition to encouraging continued public participation in the Greater
Southeast Redmond area study process, City staff and study consultants used
visual displays to generate public comments on potential transportation
improvements for the Greater Southeast Redmond area.
A video of the
September 16 public meeting is available for viewing. The video
highlights visual materials that were on display, the presentation in the
Council Chambers that was followed by a question and answer session, and the
"voting" process on project priorities. The video is approximately 6
minutes long.
(If you need to
download a free video player)
A written summary of the September 16
meeting is available for review.
Click on the link to see the Powerpoint
presentation that was made at the meeting on September 16.
The following links will take you to the displays of potential transportation
improvements for Southeast Redmond that were available for viewing on September
16:
The City of Redmond held a public open house for the Greater Southeast
Redmond Area Transportation Study on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at Redmond
City Hall.
A total of 27 participants, not including City staff and study
consultants, attended. In addition, 21 participants completed a
survey questionnaire to solicit feedback on ideas of potential
improvements.
The purpose of the open house was to introduce the public to the study,
share information on the progress since it began, determine if the study
is headed in the right direction, and receive feedback on suggestions
heard to date to identify additional needs.
The meeting focused on four key themes:
- multi-modal connectivity
- SR 520 area
- freight movement
- improving traffic flow
Through the public open house and the questionnaire responses, key
issues were either confirmed or identified. Click on the link for
a full summary of the
May 20 Greater Southeast Redmond Area Transportation Study public open
house
Click on the link for a look at the
meeting invitation.
Following the distribution of the freight mobility survey in January
2009 to Redmond businesses, City staff joined with study consultants to
host a stakeholder planning charrette for area business owners and other
invested parties at Redmond City Hall on February 2,
2009. The purposes of the charrette were engaging stakeholders at
the initial stage of the study; identifying issues key to stakeholders;
and soliciting potential solutions to address key issues.
Stakeholders included staff from agencies, representatives from major
business, transportation, and environmental organizations, residential
groups, and various City staff. Click on the link provided to see
the presentation
that opened the day at the planning charrette.
A full summary of the
charrette is available for review, as well as the Powerpoint
presentation made to the City's
Planning/Public
Works Committee on February 19, 2009. Following is the Executive Summary of the February 2, 2009 freight mobility
planning charrette:
Major activities of the charrette included:
- introducing the study;
- brainstorming issues;
- proposing ideas to address identified issues; and
- voting the most common ideas.
Identified issues involved the following:
- Signal operations including arterial coordination, application
of intelligent transportation system (ITS), treatment of individual
movements and travel modes;
- Transportation network connectivity including a general roadway
grid system and connected non-motorized links;
- A multimodal transportation network including both balancing
opportunities for all modes of travel and integrating different
modes smoothly to serve a holistic function;
- Congestion and traffic dispersion adjacent to or where City
streets intersect with SR 520;
- Accommodation of freight traffic where they are allowed
regarding regulations, roadway, and signal design;
- Transit service regarding pedestrian access to transit stations,
frequency of service, direct service to major employers, effective
use of park-and-ride lots, and connections to the future light rail
station;
- Access management on Avondale Road such as providing u-turn
opportunities;
- Environment and culture including stormwater run-off,
aesthetics, open space, and a historic feature; and
- Partnership.
Once issues were identified, stakeholders were divided into four
groups based on their affiliations and potential interests. These
four groups were (1) general traffic, (2) freight, (3) NE 76 Street and
188 Avenue NE area, and (4) transit/non-motorized. These four
groups generated about 76 pieces of ideas. Commonality appeared
among ideas from different groups even though ideas from these four
groups had very different perspectives and emphasis. Four common
themes emerged across all groups:
- .
City streets at the east end of SR 520 and its extension are
Redmond Way/NE 76 Street and Union Hill Road/Avondale Road.
Groups of general traffic and NE 76 Street and 188 Avenue NE area
proposed to have direct connection/fly over ramps from City streets
to SR 520. In addition, the general traffic group proposed to
have high vehicle occupancy (HOV) lanes on Avondale Road and Union
Hill Road to SR 520. At the end of SR 520, i.e. the
intersection of Union Hill Road and Avondale Road, the freight group
proposed to examine turning movements of trucks while considering
pedestrian crossing safety. Regarding SR 520, the
transit/non-motorized group had three ideas: (1) provide more
parking for transit users for the SR 520 corridor; (2) address
potential additional traffic demand by the future light rail station
adjacent to the Redmond Way/SR 520 area; and (3) improve the
non-motorized barriers on Avondale Road and Redmond Way around SR
520.
- .
The idea of adding east/west streets either to add more capacity or
complete the street grid system was proposed by all groups except
the transit/non-motorized group. The transit/non-motorized
group proposed to link missing pieces on non-motorized corridors
that connect people with major destinations and activity centers
such as Redmond Town Center and the future light rail station or as
simple as have safe pedestrian crossings to and from transit
stations.
-
All groups proposed ideas that involved more than one mode of
travel. Some ideas are specifically for integrating different
modes of travel. The general traffic group proposed to have
both general traffic lanes and HOV lanes on Avondale Road and Union
Hill Road. The freight group proposed examining (1) the
conflict between peak traffic periods and truck operating time; and
(2) certain truck maneuvers and pedestrian crossing safety.
While focusing on roadway network for motorized travel modes, the NE
76 Street and 188 Avenue NE area group proposed adding pedestrian
connections on certain City streets and missing links in the
regional trail system. The transit/non-motorized group
emphasized the need for having non-motorized facilities to and at
transit facilities. Examples include pedestrian and bike
connections to transit stops and pedestrian crossings to transit
stops.
- All groups proposed to improve traffic flow
through better signal operations with the aid of advanced technology
such as interconnecting signals on arterials, using ITS to move
traffic efficiently, and transit signal priority.
Charrette facilitator categorized all the ideas and sorted the top
ten ideas from each group. The total number of ideas came down to
32. Then each charrette participant voted the top five ideas.
The ideas that received the highest votes included:
- Propose a direct connection from NE 76 Street to SR 520 and
flyover for the SR520/Union Hill Road intersection;
- Provide an additional east/west corridor;
- Make roundabout truck friendly;
- 188 Avenue NE is critical for freight movement. Do not
restrict the use of this street;
- Complete the street grid in Southeast Redmond area; and
- Add u-turn opportunities on Avondale Road.
The next step for the study team is to take the charrette outcomes
forward including:
- verify project principles and objectives with City Council;
- Take charrette outcomes to further technical analysis;
- Take any other ideas and directions from City Council to further
technical analysis.
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