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AMENDMENT NO. TWO TO CONTRACT K-1213-86: BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND FREESE & NICHOLS INCREASING THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $100,000 FOR A REVISED CONTRACT AMOUNT $420,595.84 TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN STREET AND GRAY STREET ONE-WAY TO TWO-WAY CONVERSION IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO BE ADDED TO THE COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION PLAN, AND APPROPRIATION FROM THE CAPITAL FUND BALANCE.
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BACKGROUND: Main Street in Downtown Norman was originally constructed as a two-way street with two traffic lanes (one per direction) and on-street parking (60-degree angle). The roadway was reconfigured in the 1950’s to include four substandard traffic lanes (two per direction) that were only 9-foot wide (lane width is typically 12 feet). Prior to the conversion from two-way to the current one-way system, the block between Peters Avenue and Crawford Avenue was the most accident prone segment of roadway in the City of Norman.
In 1968, City Council approved a contract with Wilbur Smith and Associates to develop a Traffic Operations Improvement Program. One of the recommendations was to convert traffic flow on Main Street and Gray Street from two-way to one-way. The final report stated:
“To ensure the continued viability and growth of the Downtown area of Norman, it is essential that improved traffic operations be provided. The increasing traffic demand requires the maximum efficiency and capacity be realized from the existing street system through the application of traffic engineering operational improvements such as effective traffic signal system control, one-way operation, parking regulation, turning movement control, and intersection channelization.”
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 focused attention on increasing operational efficiency of existing street and highway systems in urban areas by initiating “TOPICS, a Traffic Operations Program to Increase Capacity and Safety. A TOPICS Program for Norman was developed by Pinnell - Anderson - Wilshire and Associates of Dallas, Texas. The Plan was completed in March of 1971 and was accepted by Council resolution on May 4, 1971. Norman TOPICS identified Main Street, between University Boulevard and Porter Avenue, as the most accident prone segment of roadway in the City of Norman. Head-in parking was identified as the major cause of the collisions and the plan recommended conversion to parallel parking.
On April 17-18, 1974, the Norman Chamber of Commerce held a Board retreat and voted unanimously (39 members) to approve the conversion of Main Street and Gray Street from two-way to one-way flow.
On May 21, 1974, City Council voted unanimously to approve the conversion.
On August 15, 1974, Main Street and Gray Street became one-way.
On March 27, 1990, City Council received a petition from Ms. Marti Lance, 214 East Main Street, requesting that traffic patterns on Main Street and Gray Street be returned to two-way. The request included a petition signed by 171 citizens
On March 29, 1990, Dr. James Gattis, PhD., Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, offered his professional opinion on the proposed change to Mr. Gene Blair, owner of the property located at 226 East Main Street, and the City of Norman. In the letter, Dr. Gattis stated:
“Conversion of Main/Gray to two-way operation would constitute a major step backward for both the general public’s traffic mobility, and for business access to the properties along Main and Gray. Norman has had a shortage of funds to improve transportation facilities, but the Main/Gray pair is one of Norman’s bright spots. The current one-way operation is much more desirable than the two way operation.”
On April 5, 1990, after becoming aware of the initiative to convert Main Street and Gray Street to two-way flow, Mr. Mack R. McGucking, President of the Norman Downtown Association at the time, submitted a letter voicing objection over the conversion. His letter included a copy of a survey of 65 Downtown property owners submitted by Mr. James R. Adair objecting to the change.
On November 13, 2001, City Council approved Contract K-0102-81 with Cobb Engineering Company of Oklahoma City to provide engineering services for the preparation of a Downtown Traffic Study to specifically look at the one-way - two-way situation.
On January 15, 2002, City Council met in Study Session to discuss the Cobb Engineering study results, findings and recommendations. The study concluded that in order to maintain adequate traffic operations on Main Street and Gray Street under a two-way scenario, five traffic lanes would be required on both facilities and the current angle parking converted to parallel parking. At the conclusion of the Study Session, Council chose to keep Main Street and Gray Street as a one-way couplet.
On November 13, 2012, City Council approved contract K-1213-86 with Freese & Nichols, in the amount of $300,000, for the development of the City’s first Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). The contract provided a framework for the development and implementation of an efficient and comprehensive transportation system within Norman and its extraterritorial jurisdiction. Freese & Nichols performed exceptionally well throughout the program. The plan was completed in the spring of 2014 and was adopted by City Council on May 14, 2014.
On July 8, 2014, City Council approved Amendment No. 1 to Contract K-1213-86, in the amount of $20,595.84, between the City of Norman and Freese & Nichols, for services related to the evaluation and modeling of different design alternatives for the West Lindsey Street Bond Project as part of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Also in the spring of 2014, area stakeholders and members of the community at large began a series of discussions on a development and redevelopment vision for the immediate area around Campus Corner, including the Downtown area of West Main Street (Center City Visioning). A citizens committee reflective of the diverse interests of the University Of Oklahoma, Campus Corner and Downtown Business Communities, the neighborhoods, and the City was appointed to facilitate the development of a community vision for the area and to oversee implementation of the necessary policies to realize the vision. The process resulted in a series of recommendations that affect Main Street and Gray Street. Specifically:
• The conversion of Main Street and Gray Street from one-way to two-way flow
• Main Street - from three lanes eastbound to one lane eastbound, one lane westbound and a two-way continuous left turn lane.
• Gray Street - from three westbound lanes to one lane eastbound, one lane westbound and a landscaped median.
The Center City Visioning process was informed by the City’s Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP) and vice versa. Although the City’s CTP maintains the Main Street / Gray Street one-way couplet, it also made provisions for further evaluation of a two-way conversion by stating in Chapter 2 - Local Mobility and Safety for Core Norman, the following accession:
“A current City Center Visioning effort to plan for a revitalized Downtown and connection to Campus Corner is very interested in modifying Main and Gray Streets to better complement the intended look and feel of Downtown. Concepts to convert the pair back to two-way streets target several benefits including: promoting a more walkable environment, establishing critical mass to support other transportation options such as commuter rail and biking, taking advantage of the roadway grid network to slow down traffic and create a pedestrian friendly atmosphere, and creating a range of land uses aimed at reducing vehicular trips. As this visioning effort proceeds, the CTP needs to be flexible to incorporate the consensus Downtown Vision regarding context sensitive transportation solutions.
If the City of Norman chooses to further pursue the conversion of Main and Gray Streets to the two-way configuration, it is recommended that an engineering feasibility analysis be completed to include traffic and safety impacts, multimodal opportunities, parking implications, infrastructure impacts and costs as well as other challenges and opportunities. The cost of such a feasibility analysis is estimated to be less than $100,000 due to the availability of data and technical information included in this Plan as well as previous studies of the corridor.”
DISCUSSION: The firm of Freese & Nichols is uniquely qualified to perform the Main Street - Gray Street Two-Way Implementation study because of their familiarity with the current conditions of the corridor and their extensive experience with similar projects. This knowledge includes extensive traffic modeling with an already developed transportation network, crash analysis and a clear understanding of the multi-modal transportation interactions and opportunities in the area. For this reason, staff proposes to amend the CTP Contract (Contract K-1314-1) to include a detailed study of the impacts and the infrastructure upgrades that will be required. The project will develop a design and implementation plan for the conversion of Main and Gray Streets to provide two-way traffic operations. Traffic and transportation planning will optimize the balance of traffic operations within the principal corridors and adjacent area streets, parking supply, pedestrian mobility and safety, and development opportunities within the downtown area. The implementation plan will consist of a concept plan, associated costing and a prioritized list of actions to achieve the two-way street conversion. Freese & Nichols will work with City Staff and our Transportation Citizen Vision Committee to formulate finalized conceptual planning for Main and Gray Streets and will support the project through public outreach and culminating with public hearings with the citizens of Norman.
The study will pay particular attention to the impact of the conversion on traffic operations at the three critical intersections in the corridor (Main Street @ University Boulevard and Porter Avenue, and Gray Street at Porter Avenue), railroad crossing traffic flow disruptions under the reduced lane scenario, and the impact of additional traffic accessing the area by means of the James Garner Boulevard connection to Flood Avenue. A map of the area is included in Attachment No. 1.
The amendment will include the following:
• Review of Corridor History and Impetus for Change
• Stakeholder engagement
• Operational Data Collection
• Assessment of Land Use
• Development and assessment of alternative configurations
• Development of Performance Criteria for assessment of alternatives
• Development of traffic projections for two-way operations
• Development and screening of two-way configurations for analysis
• Analysis of Alternative
• Recommended two-way treatments with planning level construction estimates
• Sequence of Implementation
• Project funding responsibilities and opportunities
• Action Plan
Freese Nichols has proposed a $100,000 contract amendment fee to provide the previously mentioned design services (see contract amendment in Attachment No. 2). An appropriation from the Capital Fund Balance, as previously discussed by City Council during their mid-year review of the FYE 2015 budget, will need to be authorized in order to fund this work.
If approved by Council, Freese & Nichols will begin work immediately and should complete the implementation study by March of 2016. At that point, City Council will have all the technical information and cost estimates needed to proceed with the implementation of the Main Street - Gray Street Two-Way Conversion.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of Amendment No. 2 to Contract K-1213-86 with Freese Nichols, in the amount of $100,000, for the development of the Main Street - Gray Street Two-Way Conversion Implementation Study.
If the contract is approved, staff further recommends an appropriation of $100,000 of Capital Fund balance (account 050-0000-253.20-00) to Main/Gray Two-Way Study, Design (account 050-9069-431.62-01; project TC-0156).