Loading...
TC 12-03-96 Meeting Agendai COUNTY of FREDERICK t Department of Planning and Development 540/665-5651 FAX: 540/678-0682 MEMORANDUM TO: Frederick County Transportation Committee FROM: Evan A. Wyatt, Planner H F RE: December Meeting and Agenda DATE: November 26, 1996 There will be a meeting of the Frederick County Transportation Committee on Tuesday, December 3, 1996 at 7:30 p.m., in the Board Room of the Old Frederick County Courthouse, 9 Court Square, Winchester, Virginia. The Transportation Committee will discuss the following items: A SNDA 1) Request to have Boundary Avenue improved and accepted into the Secondary Road System as a Rural Addition. 2) Information regarding requests for speed reductions along Welltown Road (Route 66 1) and Middle Road (Route 628). 3) Other. Information pertaining to each agenda item is included. Staff will present additional information during the meeting. Please contact our department if you have any questions regarding this information, or if you are unable to attend this meeting. 107 North Kent Street • Winchester, Virginia 22601-5000 BOUNDARY AVENUE RURAL ADDITION The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has received a request from Mrs. Virginia Hisghman and other property owners along Boundary Avenue to have this road taken into the Secondary Road System as a rural addition. The VDOT makes a determination if a road qualifies as a rural addition, and advises the applicant of their decision. The applicant is then responsible to secure an endorsement from the local governing body to support this request. The local governing body is required to advise the VDOT of this endorsement, as well as how the improvement will be funded. Following action by the local governing body, the VDOT requires the locality to complete several steps prior to funding this improvement. The locality must guarantee the VDOT an unobstructed right-of-way. This requires staff to meet with each property owner along the road to advise them that all necessary right-of-way must be donated to the locality. Staff also advises all property owners that the right-of-way must be unobstructed; therefore, all utilities must be relocated at the expense of the property owners or the locality. Staff then prepares the appropriate paperwork and obtains the legal signature of each property owner for this required dedication and recordation. Once these steps are complete, the local governing body holds a public hearing and adopts a resolution which directs the VDOT to provide funding for this improvement. Staff asks the Transportation Committee to consider the following issues and incorporate them into the recommendation that will be forwarded to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors: Does the committee feel that this request should quay for funding consideration by Frederick County? Should it be the responsibility of the property owners or Frederick County to pay for the relocation of all utilities and remove any fencing or structures necessary to provide an unobstructed right-of-way? (Note: Funding is not available through the VDOT budget for this improvement) What funding formula should Frederick County utilize for this improvement? (Please refer to the three formulas specified in Mr. Copp's letter dated October 30, 1996) COMMONWEALTH Of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EDINBURG RESIDENCY DAVID R. GEHR 14031 OLD VALLEY PIKE COMMISSIONER P.O. BOX 278 EDINBURG, VA 22824-0278 October 30, 1996 Mr. Evan Wyatt Frederick County Planning Department 107 North Kent Street Winchester, VA 22601 Ms. Virginia Hisghman 106 Underwood Lane Winchester, VA 22602 WILLIAM H. BUSHMAN, P.E. RESIDENT ENGINEER TELE (540) 984-5600 FAX (540) 984-5607 Request for Rural Addition Boundary Avenue off Rt. 657 (Senseny Rd.) Dear Mr. Wyatt and Ms. Hisghman: The Department of Transportation has researched the request from Ms. Virginia Hisghman and the Boundary Avenue property owners to take Boundary Avenue into the Secondary Road System as a rural addition. We have determined that Boundary Avenue does qualify under the Department's Rural Addition Policy. There are several ways in which the road may be constructed: a.) The Board of Supervisors or others pay 50% of the cost and the Department of Transportation will match up to 50% of the cost through unaudited rural addition funds derived from the secondary construction improvement fund for Frederick County. b.) At the request of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, the Department would construct the road with funds from unaudited rural addition funds derived from the secondary construction improvement fund. c.) The Board of Supervisors could make application for Revenue Sharing funds. If this were approved, up to 50% of the construction costs would be funded through the Revenue Sharing process and the remainder would either come from the Frederick County Board of Supervisors, the property owners, or from VDOT's Frederick County's unaudited rural addition funds derived from the secondary construction improvement fund. WE KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING Mr. Evan Wyatt Ms. Virginia Hisghman October 30, 1996 Page Two In order to proceed, the following must occur: a) The Board of Supervisors needs to make the request to the Department of Transportation. If that is made, we will proceed with the staking of the right-of-way for the roadway (40 foot wide) which will have to be dedicated by the land owners. b)The Board will have to guarantee the Department of Transportation an unrestricted 40 foot right-of-way with any necessary drainage easements. c) The Board will have to guarantee that all utilities will be moved which are in conflict with construction at no expense to the Department of Transportation. Should the Board of Supervisors desire to have Boundary Avenue added to the Secondary Road System as a rural addition, at this time we will need a letter of request to be followed by normal resolution, etc., and we will begin the processes noted above. Also, in this request, I would like to know what source of funding in which the Board wishes VDOT to proceed. For your information, any funding that VDOT uses will reduce the amount that may be allocated to a budget item or major projects in the Secondary Improvement Plan. I would be happy to discuss this further if you wish. Sincerely, A?19V 4 Jerry A. Copp Trans. Ass't. Resident Engineer JAC/vcz Cy: Mr. W. Harrington Smith Mr. R. D. Hawkins, Jr. Ms. M. D. Yates Mr. D. W. Hawkins 1228 .sSie L \ \ N \ Senseny Road School \\ \\ Episcopal l---, Church N I \ Willie 0 \ i ms°n FI \\ 1 SElys _ L—J C-� i to 'P { N I X57 / P. l p 10' o�rN'I CD + 7 a . '' 1• I K � n 11 'fl• � _ I r 0- ' L X11 � ] I I \ ) ��,•�' � - �: III ! t •C lit t --- =J1 SPEED STUDY RESULTS Staff has provided the Transportation Committee with letters from the Virginia Department of Transportation pertaining to speed study requests for Welltown Road (Route 661) and Middle Road (Route 628). Each letter states that appropriate speed studies were conducted, and the VDOT believes that the current speed limits should be maintained based on the results of each study. Staff will report this information to the Board of Supervisors. Please advise staff of any comments or concerns that should be incorporated into this report. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EDINBURG RESIDENCY DAVID R. GEHR 14031 OLD VALLEY PIKE WILLIAM H. BUSHMAN, P.E. COMMISSIONER P.O. BOX 278 RESIDENT ENGINEER EDINBURG. VA 22824-0278 TELE (540) 984.5500 FAX (540) 994.5507 November 7, 1996 Mr. and Mrs. Ronald F. Morgan 438 Welltown Road Winchester, VA 22603 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Morgan: RE: Speed Study Route 661 - Frederick County At your request, the Department conducted a traffic engineering investigation of Route 661 in Frederick County, from Route F-732 (Stonewall Industrial Park) to the intersection of Route 663, a distance of 0.91 miles, to determine if a reduction in the speed limit is warranted. At present, a posted 45 mph zone is in effect. A review of the accident data from the period of May 1, 1993, to April 30, 1996, indicated five accidents occurred on this section of roadway, three being angle -type accidents and two fixed -object accidents. Two of the three angle accidents occurred in the Route 663 intersection. One of the three angle accidents occurred in the Route F-732 intersection.. The Department conducted a radar speed sample in the study area. This indicated that 85 percent of the cars were driving 49 mph or less and 15 percent of the cars were driving more than 45 mph. This suggests that the current posted 45 mph speed limit is appropriate in terms of compliance and effectiveness for the majority of motorists utilizing this roadway. If a substantially lower limit was established, there would be a high probability of ineffectiveness in lowering speeds. In view of the results of the speed sample analysis and the apparent situation of the types of accidents indicated in the above data, we do not feel that a reduced speed zone can be supported at this time. We do not believe it would be effective and could result in substantial non-compliance and the loss of respect by most motorists for traffic control measures in general. We sincerely appreciate your interest in the safety of our roadways for the traveling public. JAC/vcz Cy: Mr. R. D. Hawkins, Jr. Mr. John R. Riley, Jr. The Honorable Senator H Sincerely, �! 4d� TraUJe A. Copp ss't. Resident Engineer Russell Potts, Jr. WE KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING l � c�`'l COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EDINBURG RESIDENCY DAVID R. GEHR 14031 OLD VALLEY PIKE WILLIAM H. BUSHMAN, P.E. COMMISSIONER P.O. BOX 278 RESIDENT ENGINEER EDINBURG. VA 22824-0278 TELE (540) 984.5500 FAX (540) 994.5507 November 7, 1996 Mr. and Mrs. Ronald F. Morgan 438 Welltown Road Winchester, VA 22603 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Morgan: RE: Speed Study Route 661 - Frederick County At your request, the Department conducted a traffic engineering investigation of Route 661 in Frederick County, from Route F-732 (Stonewall Industrial Park) to the intersection of Route 663, a distance of 0.91 miles, to determine if a reduction in the speed limit is warranted. At present, a posted 45 mph zone is in effect. A review of the accident data from the period of May 1, 1993, to April 30, 1996, indicated five accidents occurred on this section of roadway, three being angle -type accidents and two fixed -object accidents. Two of the three angle accidents occurred in the Route 663 intersection. One of the three angle accidents occurred in the Route F-732 intersection.. The Department conducted a radar speed sample in the study area. This indicated that 85 percent of the cars were driving 49 mph or less and 15 percent of the cars were driving more than 45 mph. This suggests that the current posted 45 mph speed limit is appropriate in terms of compliance and effectiveness for the majority of motorists utilizing this roadway. If a substantially lower limit was established, there would be a high probability of ineffectiveness in lowering speeds. In view of the results of the speed sample analysis and the apparent situation of the types of accidents indicated in the above data, we do not feel that a reduced speed zone can be supported at this time. We do not believe it would be effective and could result in substantial non-compliance and the loss of respect by most motorists for traffic control measures in general. We sincerely appreciate your interest in the safety of our roadways for the traveling public. JAC/vcz Cy: Mr. R. D. Hawkins, Jr. Mr. John R. Riley, Jr. The Honorable Senator H Sincerely, �! 4d� TraUJe A. Copp ss't. Resident Engineer Russell Potts, Jr. WE KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION EDINBURG RESIDENCY DAVID R. GEHR 14031 OLD VALLEY PIKE COMMISSIONER P.O. BOX 278 EDINBURG, VA 22824-0278 November 7, 1996 Mr. Evan Wyatt Frederick County Planning Dept. 107 North Kent Street Winchester, VA 22601 Dear Evan: WILLIAM H. BUSHMAN, P.E. RESIDENT ENGINEER TELE(540)984-5600 FAX (540) 984-5607 RE: Speed Study Route 628 - Frederick County At your request for Mr. Robert Gaines, the Department conducted a traffic engineering investigation of Route 628 in Frederick County, from Route 621 to the south corporate limits of Winchester, a distance of 1.25 miles, to determine if a reduction in the speed limit is warranted. At present, unposted statutory 55/45 mph is in effect. A review of the accident data from the period of June 30, 1993, to May 31, 1996, indicated seven accidents occurred on this section of roadway. Five of these accidents were angle -type and occurred at the intersection of Route 621. The remaining accidents consisted of one fixed object/off road and one rear -end. The Department conducted a radar speed sample in the study area. This indicated that 85 percent of the cars were driving 57 mph or less and 15 percent of the cars were driving more than 57 mph. This suggests that the current statutory 55 mph speed limit is appropriate in terms of compliance and effectiveness for the majority of motorists utilizing this roadway. If a substantially lower limit was established, there would be a high probability of ineffectiveness in lowering speeds. In view of the results of the speed sample analysis and the apparent situation of the types of accidents indicated in the above data, we do not feel that a reduced speed zone can be supported at this time. We do not believe it would be effective and could result in substantial non-compliance and the loss of respect by most motorists for traffic control measures in general. We have installed additional "Watch for Turning Vehicle" signs near the intersection of Route 621. Hopefully this will assist in eliminating the accidents that have been occurring at this location. We sincerely appreciate your interest in the safety of our roadways for the traveling public. Sincerely, Je A. Copp Tra . Ass't. Resident Engineer JAC/vcz Cy: Mr. K. A. Steele, Mr. Robert F. Gaines, Jr. , W. C. Clark WE KEEP VIRGINIA MOVING