08-28-14 Redevelopment Commission Minutes

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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting–August 28, 2014 b. NEW BUSINESS (CONT.) E. South Side Development Area (2) continued... Mr. Kain explained that the Smart Streets project is underway. The project looks at redefining traffic patterns in our community. Two-way streets is one part of the initiative, the Main Street Plan and Corridors Plan are also considered part of it. The other part of this initiative is looking road grids to create more and better economic development opportunities. The project on Jefferson is also part of this visioning. William and Lafayette are the first phase of the two-way conversion project and they are currently underway— expected to be completed by sometime in October. Jefferson Boulevard is also on the same timeline. The next phase of the two-way conversion is converting Main and Michigan Streets into two-way. That portion is more complicated because they are much longer stretches. In addition, as Michigan moves south past Memorial Hospital it is 4 lanes, but separates into two streets and 13 lanes of traffic (some going north, some going south). The distribution of traffic in those lanes is critical to balancing flow throughout the system. In order to balance the system under the new two-way configuration, a series of roundabouts have been suggested. On the north, the first will be at Bartlett, a second at Marion. The same idea needs to be used on the south. So, a roundabout is proposed at Chippewa and Michigan. We have had several meetings on the initiative since last fall. We had the final • presentation in May and in the past few days had a meeting with residents in the area along Chippewa. It is time to move from concept to engineering for the project, so staff is requesting we authorize Public Works to enter into contract for the engineering of this roundabout. The amount of the contract will be $562,050 for professional services. Ms. Jones asked how this roundabout will impact the work the Commission recently performed on Fellows Street. Mr. Kain answered it should only help traffic flow become more efficient. Dr. Varner asked whether we have room for modifications in the system design if, as we incrementally implement these changes,we find some of our calculations on traffic flow are in error. He understands the savings in not signalizing intersections, but if distribution does not occur as predicted,where do we go? Mr. Kerr explained that engineers look at growth patterns as they develop the plans. In addition, they strive to create a model which allows for modification over time. The model as proposed will allow us to make improvements. Mr. Kain noted the concept is moving us back to some traditional planning concepts. The downtown mall and highway-like streets in the urban core did not work in many cities across the country. Also,the roundabouts as designed will allow expansion from one to two lanes if future traffic patterns warrant. • 11