COUNCIL ON TRANSPORTATION
October 1, 2012
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:DELDOT PRESENT:
Chairman Pete NelliusShailen Bhatt, Secretary
Lee BeetschenNicole Majeski, Deputy Secretary
I.G. BurtonNatalie Barnhart, Chief Engineer
Bobby FiferShanté Hastings, Chief of Performance Management
Marty LessnerDawn Hopkins, Intergovernmental Policy Advisor
Bob Slavin Pamela Lowe, Director of Finance
Barbara WashamBrian Motyl, Finance, Transportation Trust Fund
Ted WilliamsCharles Moulds, Fixed Route Transportation Manager
Ralph Reeb, Assistant Director Planning
Fritz Schranck, Deputy Attorney General
Earle Timpson, Assistant Director Finance
Guest: James Wilson with Bike Delaware
ABSENT:Sue McNeil
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Chairman Nellius called the meeting to order. Mr. Nellius asked for a motion to approve the minutes from August 13, 2012. Mr. Williams made the motion to accept the minutes as written, Mr. Burton seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously.
Secretary Bhatt provided an update on DelDOT’snew Mission,Vision and Goals andState of Good Repair. Ralph Reeb explained that we have a prioritization process now, but it needs to be refined to reflect national policy/performance standards and our own change in priorities. Mr. Lessner asked if all projects will beput into this prioritization process such as a new bridge being weighed against repaving a road that has potholes. Ralph responded that Delaware Code requires that projects be prioritized using a formula-based process so if it is a new bridge that is associated with a new alignment it will get prioritized using the formula-based process. Pavement management, bridge management and safety management projects are prioritized separately per Delaware Code. Mr. Williams believes this is a great way to move forward and he thinks it will come down to DelDOT’s PR Sectionhelping the public understand that the infrastructure that they don’t see is important.
Earle Timpson gave an update on the CTP Hearings. Hearings were held in each county. Ms. Washam asked if next year we would have a combined meeting with WILMAPCOto be more efficient. Secretary Bhatt explained that we are bound by state law to have a two week notification requirement so rather than WILMAPCO cancel their meeting we held a separate meeting. We have identified this as an issue and we will work to have a joint hearing next year. Ms. Washam asked if there is anyway the MPO’s can come to the COT meeting. Secretary Bhatt explained that this is a public meeting so when we post notification everyone knows about our meeting and is welcome to attend. Mr. Lessner asked if the only way for the public to deliver comments is by showing up in person or if there is a website where they can leave their comments. Earle said that we take comments here at the department whether they come into PR, Planning, via Legislators, MPO’setc. Some discussion was had about possibly having comments online verse showing up in person because typically only people who are opposed to a project will show up at the hearings.
Secretary Bhatt stated that we will have the State of Good Repair number by the end of this year. The proposed CTP is likely going to change and those changes will be driven by our anticipated revenue, State of Good Repair as we start to shift the priority away from adding new capacity to maintaining the State of Good Repair on our existing system, and then prioritization of the remaining projects. Mr. Lessner asked if funding the state of good repair will delay capital projects. Secretary Bhatt said yes some projects could be delayedas we shift our priority to maintaining our pavements, fleets, facilities, bridges, etc. but a lot would go into those decisions.
Ms. Washam asked some questions pertaining to Rodney Square. Secretary Bhatt explained that the current project on Rodney Square is a Transportation Enhancement Project where they are replacing the sidewalksand some of the trees for beautification. We had a service change where we took many of the trips off of Rodney Square and then in response to public input we found ways to stage it so that we moved buses around Rodney Square based on the construction. We are conducting a study with SSTI (State Smart Transportation Initiative) and they are looking at what makes sense from a Wilmington perspective for options related to bus stops, bus hubs and operations.
Ms. Washam requested that we notify the COT when project completion celebrations/ground breakings are taking place. Secretary Bhatt agreed.
Some questions were asked about I-95, US 202 and SR 1 pertaining to construction and closures.
Mr. Nellius said that the timeline shows we are supposed to approve a draft CTPafter the comment period and so does DelDOT have something prepared. There was discussion regarding when the COT had last seen the draft CTP. Shanté Hastings stated that based on the comments received from the CTP Hearings we are not recommending any revisions to the draft CTP, which was distributed to the COT members on August 22, 2012. Mr. Nellius asked for a motion to approve the draft CTP. Mr. Williams made a motion to approve and Mr. Beetschen seconded and the draft CTP was approved unanimously.
Mr. Beetschen requested a comparison of Secretary Bhatt and previous Secretaries in terms of their priorities and outcomes. He prefers that it come from someone who has been here for a while such as Ralph Reeb.
Mr. Williams made the motion to adjourn the meeting, Mr. Beetschenseconded and it passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Lesley Devine
Lesley Devine
Administrative Assistant
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