04/05/2021 - Minutes SALT LAKE CITY
TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD
Minutes of the April 5, 2021 Meeting
Electronically present from the Transportation Advisory Board were Courtney Reeser,
Daniel Mendoza, Dave Alderman, David Parrott, Ellen Reddick, Greg Sanchez, Jim
Espeland, Jon Larsen, Kerry Doane, Marjorie Rasmussen, Paul Schulte, Reid Ewing,
and Suzanne Stensaas.
Absent from the Transportation Advisory Board were Benjamin LaRiviere, and Myron
Willson.
Also present were Amy Lyons, Dan Bergenthal, Zachary Anderson, Rachel Manko, Jack
Crockett, Russell Weeks, Becka Roolf, caller 8o1-6**-**6o, and Dave Iltis.
The meeting was held electronically and was called to order at 4:02 p.m. by Courtney
Reeser.
Welcome and Introduction of Guests — Courtney read the anchor statement and
welcomed everyone.
Public Comment—There was no public comment.
Motion: Ellen Reddick moved to approve the minutes of the March 1, 2021 meeting.
Dave Alderman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Report Out
TAB Members
Suzanne said the bike path through Bonneville Golf Course was mentioned in a previous
meeting as being one of the projects she and Ellen thought was dead and that efforts
were going to made to use the funds for the "tunnel"to connect through on Laird to
Foothill and to flatten and widen the stretch of foothill on the west side of the golf
course. Dan Dugan was contacted on this and she would like to know the status of the
revised proposal. She also talked about the need for debris clean up on Foothill, the
circulation study for Sugar House and connectivity between SLC and Millcreek on
Highland Drive. Reid's team has looked at street connectivity for both safety and
congestion which doesn't relate a lot to SLC because the city is built out but is still of
interest regionally. Using Streetlight data,which is a source of data on traffic volumes
and speeds, he has looked to see if more connected street networks produce more or
fewer crashes and more or less congestion. People assume that more connected streets
would reduce congestion and it turns out that congestion is considerably less with more
connected street networks. People worry that connected networks with a lot of 4-way
intersections have more accidents because there are more conflicts at a 4 way than a 3
way but they did not find that. They found having connectivity, intersection density, etc.
produced only good things. This is a study that is available if Transportation wants to
put it on their website. Jon said that is really important research and it is something
that has been talked about regionally for a long time but since the SLC street network is
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pretty well set, the City spends most of their time trying to make the most of and
rethinking the street network that already exists. Kerry said UTA has been working with
SLC and there are more addenda to provide additional transit service. Those two
addenda are to continue fostering the current routes which are 2, 9, and 21 and they are
working on an additional route which is 1 and will serve the Rose Park on 600 North
area. Jon said it is a brand new route on 600 North that will have 15 minute service all
day every day and a new route on 1000 North and 90o West that would continue up
South Temple to the U of U which will also have 15 minute service all day everyday
except for 30 minute service on Sundays. He said the two current routes that go in
circles would go away and that would launch in August 2022. The on-demand service
would launch later this year and would also fill in the remaining gaps and could
potentially serve every neighborhood west of I-15,but this is pending City Council
approval. Marge said the Emigration Creek Trail bridge project has been cancelled. She
said there is a project on I-15 to replace overhead signs and that the 600 North bridge
preservation project has been awarded to a contractor so that should begin soon. Zach
said the BAC has been working with Sustainability to try resolving issues of garbage,
recycle and green waste cans from blocking the bike lanes. Sustainability has agreed to
put flyers on the cans reminding people not to block the bike or travel lanes. They have
targeted a few specific streets that are problematic more than others and will start there
and Zach hopes that TAB can share this with their circles. Courtney appreciates the
information and said just because you're in a car doesn't mean you have the #i right of
way especially when it comes to bike and travel lanes being blocked. Courtney said her
area backed up the 600/700 North study input at the end of March. She's glad the 6o0
North overpass preservation was approved by UDOT and hopefully that can be done in
conjunction with the City's study, especially the possibility of safety improvements for
bicycles and pedestrians. She also said that speeding has been continually brought up in
her area. Enforcement issues have been brought up before and how SLCPD is having
issues with staffing. It's not that it's not a priority to the them, it's just not something
they can plan for on a regular basis. She was hoping that with the acceptance of
typologies, her district would be able to work with the City Council to adopt a slow down
effort for most roads in her neighborhood. Courtney personally feels that the
neighborhood speed limits should be 20, it shouldn't be what regulations say or what
engineers think is sustainable safety. She thinks it should be what the community would
like in addition to more enforcement. A lot of times it's a change in the mindset of how
people react and perceive how things are supposed to be, traffic calming is the same
way. Everyone thinks traffic calming is only going to be dips and bumps but it's not.
Traffic calming can be road diets, and other things such as what they've seen in the
toolbox that Reid had previously presented to the Board. There is so much that is
sustainable and workable, but it is trying to change the psychology of people that aren't
ready to move on that. There has also been a lot of google fiber in our area.
Google Fiber
Jack Crockett, SLC Engineering
Jack introduced himself and explained his role in the Google Fiber project. He knows
for many constituents they have seen trenches filled up with grout and then Google is
gone for months. He said they are not done yet with those areas and need to put tar on
top of those trenches, technically it's called a mastic that is kind of like a tar. They can't
place that material in conditions under 4o degrees, so the City gave them a fair amount
of leeway over the winter to move on to other projects without placing that tar. Now
that we are in those warmer months, they will come back and seal those trenches. Jack
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understands it's disturbing to see those trenches get a slight recess in them or the grout
wash away. It is a low strength grout that a milling machine can cut. Google is trying to
put that grout flush with the surface so as not to interfere with bicycle tires but there are
quality shortfalls in construction that covers such a vast part of the city. There are
mechanisms the City has to hold Google accountable. For every permit they have that
isn't closed, they are paying a monthly fee until the work is done. Engineering won't
close out the permit until they are satisfied with the work that had been completed. He
was the only inspector on this project during the past summer but it's going back to the
regular inspection staff now. When Engineering closes those permits, the work goes
into a warranty phase for three years. If the tar Google puts on top starts to peel away or
any other problem, Engineering will have them come back and fix it. Another thing
besides that which is unique to Google Fiber is that they have an indemnification
agreement which means whenever the city is doing internal maintenance operations,
Google has the onus of replacing their own conduit in the street if needed. They are also
limited from trenching in any road except for those that were older than 7 years since
the last rebuild. Courtney asked how long permits are open from the time that they dig
the trench and lay the line to the tar seal. Jack said he thinks they are currently
reviewed on a month to month basis, but he would like them to be done within 6
months. Courtney said the trenches are still open and have been for months waiting on
tar seal to come through. Jack said they aren't designed to be open like that and it is a
real concern for the Engineering Division right now. From what they saw last summer
when the conditions were ok for them to do the sealant, their main limiter is availability
of contractors. Courtney showed some pictures of cracks in the roadway. One had her
foot an inch and a half inside of a trench and the Google Fiber people had been in the
neighborhood in September and the picture was taken in February. She's noticed there
are a whole bunch of these open trenches. She asked how the City can get them to slow
down what they are doing to clean up the rest of it? Jack said his intuition is that they
didn't have the mastic crews to keep up. Engineering is going to see how they do this
summer but as far as slowing them down, there's not much that can be don other than
continuing to charge them that monthly fee until they are replaced. An important thing
to know is that now those Google Fiber permits are back to our general inspectors and
they cover 70% of the city. Those permits are all going to come up to the end of their
warranty within about 6 months so with just 4 guys, it's impossible to see every inch of
that trench. If there are people in your circles that see things like this,you are more
than welcome to reach out to Engineering or Jack said he can get the information to the
right people and Google can be reached at 8oi-313-0320. Suzanne asked for
clarification that they aren't allowed to trench on streets that are younger than 7 years.
Jack said yes,but there have been a couple places where they accidentally went into the
road. Suzanne asked if they are supposed to stay to the shoulder because a lot of places,
they sort of curve out into the middle of a lane. They don't stay in the shoulder; they
snake around to where they have other holes. Her concern is how does the City know
that this concrete and then tar that they put over it is not going to break away with our
snow, freezing, ice, and salt and cause potholes, how do we know that this mastic is not
going to come loose because it certainly sinks. She said in the summer, that tar will get
very hot and if you are riding a narrow skinny bike and you drop into a tar trench,you
may get stuck and how do we know that the tar that goes out there in the middle of the
lanes aren't going to become big potholes. What studies are there that show how long
this patching holds up? She believes Google won't do anything they don't have to do and
holding them to three years is not long enough and should be renegotiated because we
don't repave our streets every three years. I'm concerned for safety and the longevity for
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the roads. Having a trench for 6 months is absurd and the way you fix that is they can't
do anymore trenching until they fix the trenches they've done. Where is the
accountability, what standards is Engineering holding them to? Jack said 5 years ago
they approved a different type of trench design called a nano-trench which was about
1/8 inch wide. They tried that in Nashville before SLC and it went bad for Google, their
fiber started to wiggle its way out. This method of trenching has been done in other
cities and he's not sure how that worked. His job was to make sure the design was done
properly. The actual approval of method was done at a higher level than his, however as
the city moves forward, we're not going to approve this type of method again unless it
involves a narrow mill over the trench and an overlay of hot asphalt which is a design he
is personally more amenable to. He thinks the mastic is going to require maintenance
and worries about it peeling off. A far as the mastic regarding tires and heat, we haven't
really had issues with that, and we did have a couple of fully completed sections last
summer and those have been holding up. The deviations where it's going in a straight
line and then moves is usually due to utilities, mainly gas especially in that foothills
area. David Iltis said in the chat that there are some streets that have taken the cable
right up over the curb on the surface with yellow tape. Jack said if they have cable over
the curb, that is likely temporary or for testing and within the public right of way, their
franchise agreement does allow them to put that cable there within a few limits. Dave
Alderman said he thinks when they are going over the sidewalk, it is going from the box
to a house so people who have signed up can have the service. Jack asked for someone
to reach out to him with those addresses so he can look and make sure there isn't a
safety issue of cables going across the sidewalk. Courtney said hopefully in the future
we'll be able to work with public utilities so there is more coordination and
communication going on.
Legislative Updates
Jon Larsen, SLC Transportation
Jon said the State has earmarked $12 million to extend the S-Line further east. SLC will
be engaging with the community and UTA to figure out the best option to extend that
line and one option that has been discussed is extending it to the Shopko block. There
was also a bill that has come up for many years and finally went through this year. The
new State law says bicycles do not have to come to a full stop at stops signs. They can
slow down and if the circumstance is safe, they can continue through. Another part of
that is if they happen upon a red light and the signal isn't detecting them, they may wait
for a short period of time and then go through the light. He also said SLC will be
receiving an extra $1.5 million per year from the 1/4 cent sales tax but there are very
strict rules on how those funds can be spent. Courtney would like to have a future
discussion about how to equitably fund the roads from the gas tax since there are so
many different types of transportation now that do not require gas.
Road Diets — Effect on Safety
Dan Bergenthal, SLC Transportation
Dan gave a presentation on roadway reconfigurations in relation to road diets. He
explained that a road diet is essentially a 4-lane to 3-lane conversion where you remove
two of the through lanes and use that space for things like a left turn lane, bike lanes and
parking. Road diets have had a significant impact on safety and an overall crash
reduction of 19%-41% has been found nationwide. He explained how conflicts are
reduced especially with a dedicated turning lane and how there is also a traffic calming
effect. It is a low-cost solution when done in conjunction with an already planned
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pavement resurfacing and the City has implemented a few of these already. One of the
locations is on 1300 South between State Street and 700 East where the crash rate has
dropped by 27% compared to the 4 prior years. This was also done on 900 West from
North Temple to 700 South where it is now a very comfortable place to be whether you
are riding your bicycle or out in your front yard. While the traffic volumes on 90o West
have increased, the speed data has remained the same. Reid said road diets create
dramatic crash reduction and he would like to see a road diet on South Temple which
has around 2ok vehicles per day and wants to know why it hasn't been considered. Dan
said that so far, they have not done a road diet with that volume of vehicles as their
comfortable level is round i6 or 17k. Jon said South Temple is being looked at and has
been identified for increased bus service so the 600 North route will be coming up South
Temple and ending at the U of U. Another consideration is turning the outside lanes
into bus lanes or business access lanes. Becka said it is a street that probably deserves
more than just grinding the stripes off and redoing it. She said they should give it more
serious consideration because it is concrete and therefore structurally sound, there isn't
the opportunity like on other street types to do a complete redo. Reid felt that even a
restriping project would make a difference rather than waiting a couple years to study it.
TAB WebEx Meeting Chat
from Amy Lyons to everyone: 4:19 PM
https://www.slc.gov/transportation/2020/02/18/60onorth/
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:22 PM
This has been an issue since at least the early 2000's. The MBAC worked on this long
ago, and had fliers put on trash cans then too. Thanks for keeping this effort up.
from Jon Larsen to everyone: 4:26 PM
We have a consultant helping us develop a traffic calming plan:
https://www.slc.gov/transportation/plans-studies/livable-streets/
from Amy Lyons to everyone: 4:28 PM
Jack.Crockett@slcgov.com
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:28 PM
One interesting thing regarding Google Fiber is that Google promised low cost (a few
dollars a month)lower speed(5mbs or so) internet connectivity for everyone but that
promise disappeared after the fact.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:38 PM
"In 2017, Google Fiber was cautiously optimistic that a new deployment technique
known as "nanotrenching"would significantly reduce the costs and efforts associated
with laying new fiber lines. The process, which involves laying lines as shallow as two
inches below the ground and sheathing them in a rubber-like substance, showed early
promise in Louisville, Kentucky, where Google Fiber managed to extend service to much
of the area in a matter of months. But when buried lines started popping out of the
ground a few short months later, nanotrenching proved to create more problems than it
solved, and Google Fiber ultimately pulled out of Louisville altogether. "
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:42 PM
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They have done a bunch in the Avenues on streets that were resurfaced months before.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:44 PM
Additionally, there are a number of locations in the Avenues where the cable is going
over the sidewalk with a yellow tape.Are there plans for them to bury these?
from Becka to everyone: 4:49 PM
Those streets may have received a surface treatment, not a true repaving.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:50 PM
It's not over the curb, but from the box to the house, over the sidewalks.
from Jon Larsen to everyone: 4:56 PM
https://wfrc.org/billtracker/
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:59 PM
That's not accurate.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:59 PM
The law does not apply to stop lights
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 4:59 PM
Only stop signs
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:0o PM
For stop lights,you have to wait 90 seconds.
https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title4r/Chapter6a/41-6a-S3o5.html
from Kerry Doane to everyone: 5:01 PM
https://le.utah.gov/-2o21/bills/static/HBo433•html
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:or PM
Here is the stop as yield law: https://www.cyclingutah.com/advocacy/road-
advocacy/utah-yield-idaho-stop-bill-signed-into-law-will-take-effect-may-5-2021/
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:10 PM
Is the City going to address the issue on 2100 S between 1700 E and 230o W where
there was supposed to be a road diet and other safety measures?And was overruled by
the previous mayor?And has resulted in at least 2 severe/tragic accidents?
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:11 PM
*between 1700 E and 230o E
from Reid Ewing to everyone: 5:13 PM
I love road diets but don't believe they can handle as much traffic as a four-lane street.
from Reid Ewing to everyone: 5:17 PM
I lobbied Ralph Becker for a road diet on East South Temple, to no avail. The AADT is
about 20000, which can be handled by a road diet. Could the TAB discuss the reasons
why this never happened?
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from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:27 PM
Road diets help to reduce seesawing and because of the center turn lane, reduce traffic
stopping for turns, hence throughput is not much different.
from Becka to everyone: 5:29 PM
South Temple is also a concrete street, so we don't have opportunities easily via a
surface treatment. We are interested in initiating a study of South Temple in the next
couple years to determine good solutions; likely to be implemented after the bond winds
down.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:3o PM
S. Temple needs bike lanes and slower speeds.
from Suzanne to everyone: 5:3o PM
Sorry I have to sign off. Great presentation, Dan.Very clear. Hope we can revisit road
diet on 2100 South as mentioned by Dave I. above.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:3o PM
Reid's right, it's a freeway.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:31 PM
And, it's a barrier from the Avenues to walkability.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:31 PM
You can do this by grinding off the stripes and redoing them.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:31 PM
It's also a pain to cross on a bike.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:33 PM
The Avenues need contraflow bike lanes on some of the one-way streets.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:33 PM
It's languished forever, and waiting isn't good.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:34 PM
Is the City going to address the issue on 2100 S between 1700 E and 23Oo W where
there was supposed to be a road diet and other safety measures?And was overruled by
the previous mayor?And has resulted in at least 2 severe/tragic accidents?
from Jon Larsen to everyone: 5:35 PM
We will revisit 2100 South as soon as the opportunity arises with a surface treatment-
hopefully in the next 1-3 years.
from Dave Iltis to everyone: 5:36 PM
That's good,but too long to wait.
Here is the link to the long version of the FHWA video I was trying to show last night
about Road Diets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ucpaCigig
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Motion: Kerry Doane motioned to adjourn the meeting; Jim Espeland seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 5:36 p.m. and
the next meeting of the Board was scheduled for May 3, 2021.
Approved by Board 05-03-21
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