HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.17.16 PacketCITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
CITY OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS
LORRAINE H. MORTON CIVIC CENTER
JAMES C. LYTLE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Monday, October 17, 2016
7:00 p.m.
ORDER OF BUSINESS
(I) City Council Roll Call – Begin with Alderman Revelle
(II) Mayor Public Announcements
(III) City Manager Public Announcements
Presentation of Government Finance Officers Association Award for
Distinguished Budget
(IV) Communications: City Clerk
(V) Citizen Comment
Members of the public are welcome to speak at City Council meetings. As part of the Council
agenda, a period for citizen comments shall be offered at the commencement of each regular
Council meeting. Those wishing to speak should sign their name, address and the agenda item
or topic to be addressed on a designated participation sheet. If there are five or fewer speakers,
fifteen minutes shall be provided for Citizen Comment. If there are more than five speakers, a
period of forty-five minutes shall be provided for all comment, and no individual shall speak longer
than three minutes. The Mayor will allocate time among the speakers to ensure that Citizen
Comment does not exceed forty-five minutes. The business of the City Council shall commence
forty-five minutes after the beginning of Citizen Comment. Aldermen do not respond during
Citizen Comment. Citizen Comment is intended to foster dialogue in a respectful and civil
manner. Citizen comments are requested to be made with these guidelines in mind.
(VI) Special Orders of Business
(VII) Call of the Wards
(Aldermen shall be called upon by the Mayor to announce or provide information
about any Ward or City matter which an Alderman desires to bring before the
Council.) {Council Rule 2.1(10)}
(VIII) Executive Session
(IX) Adjournment
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City Council Agenda October 17, 2016 Page 2 of 2
SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS
(SP1) Sheridan Road Improvement
Staff recommends that City Council review the information provided by staff for
the Sheridan Road Improvement Project and provide direction.
For Action
(SP2) FY2017 Proposed Budget Presentation
Staff will provide a presentation regarding the FY2017 Proposed Budget. No
formal action will be taken regarding the FY2017 Budget. Budget documents are
available here: http://www.cityofevanston.org/city-budget/.
For Action
MEETINGS SCHEDULED THROUGH OCTOBER 2016
Upcoming Aldermanic Committee Meetings
Wed, Oct 19 5:30 PM City-School Liaison Committee
Wed, Oct 19 6:30 PM M/W/EBE Development Committee
Mon, Oct 24 6:00 PM A&PW, P&D, City Council meetings
Wed, Oct 26 6:00 PM Transportation/Parking Committee
Wed, Oct 26 7:00 PM Economic Development Committee
Sat, Oct 29 9:00 AM Special City Council Meeting and Public Hearing:
Budget
Order and agenda items are subject to change.
Information is available about Evanston City Council meetings at: www.cityofevanston.org/citycouncil.
Questions can be directed to the City Manager’s Office at 847-866-2936. The City is committed to
ensuring accessibility for all citizens. If an accommodation is needed to participate in this meeting, please
contact the City Manager’s Office 48 hours in advance so that arrangements can be made for the
accommodation if possible.
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For City Council meeting of October 17, 2016 Item SP1
Sheridan Road Improvements
For Action
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: David Stoneback, Public Works Agency Director
Erika Storlie, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services Director
Lara Biggs, Bureau Chief – Capital Planning/City Engineer
Sat Nagar, Senior Project Manager
Katie Knapp, Transportation & Mobility Coordinator
Subject: Sheridan Road Improvements
Date: October 13, 2016
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that City Council review the information provided by staff for the
Sheridan Road Improvement Project and provide direction.
Discussion:
Staff will give a presentation of the plans and construction schedule for the upcoming
rebuilding of a 1.9-mile stretch of Sheridan Road.
Additionally, 1st Ward Alderman Judy Fiske and 7th Ward Alderman Eleanor Revelle
have requested to discuss reducing the speed limit on Sheridan Road to 25 miles per
hour from the current 30 miles per hour.
Representatives from Northwestern University will also discuss campus bicycle safety
measures and future plans.
Background:
Since 2014, City staff has worked with alderman, Northwestern University and other
concerned members of the Evanston community in order to develop plans for the
Sheridan Road/Chicago Avenue Improvements project (see attached project location
map). This project includes the following features:
• Complete reconstruction of the road on Sheridan Rd, Chicago to Lincoln
• Resurfacing of the road along the remainder of the project
• Installation of bike lanes, both protected and buffered, depending on the project
area
Memorandum
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• Widening of the road in the areas where protected bike lanes are to be installed
and the four lanes of traffic are maintained
• Traffic signal upgrades
• Designated bus pull-off areas
• Water main improvements (2018)
Schedule:
Currently, the design phase of this project is coming to completion, with the final plans
due to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) on October 17, 2016. It is
important to meet this deadline as it allows the City to receive bids in January 2017,
which has the following benefits:
• Meets the schedule requirements necessary to obtain grant funding from Illinois
Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP)
• Increases the chances of receiving favorable bid pricing (versus receiving bids
later)
• Allows the contractor adequate time to meet the project construction schedule
constraints.
Because of the use of ITEP funds, this project will be advertised for bid by IDOT. The
construction schedule is as follows:
2017 Construction
• Chicago Avenue, Davis St to Sheridan Road: April 1 – June 12
• Sheridan Road, Chicago Ave to Lincoln Street: June 19 – mid Sept
2018 Construction
• Sheridan Road, Lincoln St to Ridge Ave/Wilmette: April 1 – late October
Funding:
The estimated cost of the project is approximately $13.3 million, with most of the
funding coming from the City and the State of Illinois. Last year, $500,000 of
Northwestern University’s $1 million “Good Neighbor Fund” contribution to the City was
earmarked to help pay for the project and $500,000 of the second year funds will also
be directed towards the project.
Bicycle Safety Improvements:
One of the goals of this project was to provide greater protection for bicyclists, but also
to provide greater channelization of bicycle traffic so as to increase safety for all
roadway users. This was accomplished through the following:
1. Installation of protected bike lanes in high conflict areas
A primary feature of this project is the installation of a two-way protected bike
lane through the downtown area and adjacent to the NU campus. The protected
bike lane is installed on Chicago Avenue, Davis to Sheridan, and on Sheridan
Road, Chicago to Central. This bike lane not only separates the bicyclists from
pedestrians and motorized vehicles, it includes several features to channel
bicycle traffic in a way to minimize conflicts with other roadway users. These
include:
• A 3-ft wide raised concrete median between bicycles and motorized
vehicle lanes
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• Limited openings onto Sheridan Rd to channel bicycles into fewer key
crossing areas
• Dedicated bicycle traffic signals
• Designated bike lane crossing areas at signalized intersections, separate
from pedestrian crosswalks
2. Installation of buffered bike lanes and bike routes
Buffered bike lanes and bike routes will be utilized north of Central Street to
safely provide a route for bicyclists moving beyond NU’s campus area. The
northbound buffered bike lane remains on Sheridan Road, Central Street to
Sheridan Place, where it transitions to a bike route that continues on Sheridan
Place to Sheridan Road. The southbound bicycle lane is routed as a marked
bike lane on Sheridan Rd from the Sheridan/Ridge Avenue intersection to Euclid
Park Place where it transitions to a bike route. The bike route follows Euclid
Place to Ingleside Place, then continues as a bike route on Ingleside Place to
Sheridan Rd where it rejoins the buffered bike lanes on Sheridan Road south to
Central Street. Because of the reduced traffic north of the campus, a protected
bike lane is not needed.
3. Providing a designated north/south connection to existing bike routes
The combination of bike lanes installed on this project will provide a connection
to two major existing bike lane corridors:
• Sheridan Road bike lanes in Wilmette
• Church Street/Davis Street bike lanes in downtown Evanston
Pedestrian Safety Improvements:
Another concern to be addressed by this project is that of pedestrian safety. The
existing Sheridan Road adjacent to the NU campus has several characteristics that
make it less pedestrian friendly:
• High traffic volume
• Designated truck route
• Four-lane cross-section
• Relatively few traffic signals
These attributes, combined with the fact that there is significant pedestrian population of
NU students, create a number of conflicts between pedestrians and other users of the
roadway. This project will incorporate several features in order to address these issues:
1. Channelization and control of bicycle traffic
As described above, bicycles will be channeled into their own lanes. This will
encourage bicyclists to not ride on the sidewalks. In addition, bicyclists will have
dedicated traffic signals at pedestrian crossings located at signalized
intersections. Bicycle crossing lanes at signalized intersections have been
marked separately from pedestrian crosswalks.
2. Decrease in the number of traffic lanes
Adjacent to NU’s campus, the existing Sheridan Road cross-section is four lanes.
This creates a long distance for pedestrians to navigate when crossing the street,
which can be challenging to complete during the limited duration of the walk
signal. In the new design, the cross-section is being reduced where the traffic
volume allows, decreasing down to three lanes on Sheridan Road, Northwestern
Place to Lincoln Street (Sheridan Road is already only three lanes wide north of
Lincoln Street).
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3. Upgrades of existing traffic signals
Existing traffic signals along Chicago Avenue and Sheridan Avenue will be
upgraded to include dedicated bicycle signals at the following locations (note that
existing Sheridan Road traffic signals already have pedestrian countdown
timers):
• Chicago Avenue at Davis Street (includes additional upgrade of
pedestrian countdown signals)
• Sheridan Road at Chicago Street
• Sheridan Road at Northwestern Place
• Sheridan Road at Noyes Street
4. Installation of replacement traffic signals
The existing traffic signals will be replaced at the following high-pedestrian traffic
intersections:
• Chicago Avenue at Church Street
• Chicago Avenue at Clark Street
The new signals will have larger LED signal lights, which will be more visible to
roadway users.
5. Better designation of pedestrian crossing areas
Pedestrian crosswalks will be clearly marked. Courtesy walks in the parkway
which allow pedestrians to easily access Sheridan Road in places where there is
not a marked crosswalk will be removed.
Bus Loading/Unloading Areas:
The project also includes bus loading/unloading areas on Sheridan to enable
Northwestern shuttle buses and CTA buses to pull in at designated stops without
blocking traffic. For added safety, the bike lanes will be routed east of the pull-in areas
and will have their own dedicated traffic signals.
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