TC 06-25-12 Meeting MinutesCOUNTY of FREDERICK
Department of Planning and Development
540/665-5651
RANDUM FAX: _540/665-6395
MEMO
TO: Board of Supervisors
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FROM: John A. Bishop, AICP, Deputy Director - Transportation �.
RE: Transportation Committee Report for Meeting of June 25, 2012
DATE: July 17, 2012
The Transportation Committee met on June 25, 2012 at 8:30 a.m.
Members Present
Chuck DeHaven (voting)
Gene Fisher (voting)
James Racey (voting)
Gary Oates (liaison PC)
Lewis Boyer (liaison Stephens City)
1.
Members Absent
Mark Davis (liaison Middletown)
Chris Collins (voting)
Bryon Grigsby (voting)
***Items Requiring Action***
None
***Items Not Requiring Action***
Transportation Concerns for Route 600
Staff presented the Committee with the following information:
The County has received concerns from Mr. Bruce Sigurdson regarding the length of the
left turn lane from Route 50 west onto Route 600 SB (Hayfield Road), and also regarding
the speed limit on Route 600.
107 North Kent Street, Suite 202 • Winchester, Virginia 22601-5000
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Staff has conducted research with other agencies on the issue and learned the following:
VDOT — VDOT reviewed both issues and determined that a speed study was unlikely to
yield a recommendation of a change in speed limit in this area. In addition, VDOT
determined that a warrants analysis would be borderline as to whether lengthening the left
turn lane would be warranted.
Frederick County Schools — I spoke with Mr. Puglisi, who is in charge of the school's bus
fleet. He indicated that they are always supportive of more room in the turning lane. He
also noted that there was an issue with site distance in this location. He did not have an
issue with the speed limit.
Frederick County Sherriff's Office — I spoke with Lieutenant Mike Richardson and he did
not have an issue with the speed limit on that roadway, but noted that they had been giving
it increased attention due to some citizen concerns in the area. Regarding the need for a
turn lane, he wasn't sure it was really necessary. When asked about the site distance issue
brought up by Mr. Puglisi, he thought that was a very valid concern.
By consensus, the Committee decided to have staff request that VDOT look into the site
distance issue and report back.
2. Road Resolution Request
As part of the normal system of getting new roadways accepted into the State Highway
system, County staff coordinates with VDOT as they review whether a roadway meets the
criteria. Once everything appears to be in order, a road resolution is forwarded to the Board
of Supervisors for their consideration. In the situation of the attached request, we have a
section of roadway in which this normal process is not working very well.
Milton Ray Drive, in the Rutherford development on Route 11 North, is constructed from
the entrance of FEMA and runs approximately .2 miles past Lowes and across the railroad
tracks. Per proffer, this roadway was constructed to state standards and has since been
under bond by the County pending acceptance to the state system. To date, coordinating
staff at VDOT have indicated it does not meet their standards for acceptance into the state
system.
The applicant disagrees with this determination and is asking that Frederick County move
ahead with our road resolution so that VDOT may issue a formal action which they, in turn,
would have the ability to appeal. While this is somewhat different from the process we are
used to, it is the only way to allow the applicant to move forward in their desired process.
The Committee discussed a number of items of potential resolution with the applicant and
VDOT in order to try and reach a compromise. VDOT and the applicant indicated that they
will continue to work together on this issue. UPDATE: It is the understanding of staff
that this issue is near resolution and that we can expect the road to be in the system
relatively soon.
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3. Project Updates
Staff updated the Committee on a number of ongoing projects.
4. Other