2002-07-15 - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 Mr. Lynch agrees with the need to get the study done prior to groundbreaking. Mr. Lynch said that while the City has known about the garage for some time, objections have been raised. Mr. Lynch said he thinks the City needs to be a lot more aggressive wi th projects such as the North Grounds Connector, in order to avoid repeating this situation in the future. Mr. Cox instructed staff to work on a letter from Council requesting that the University work collaboratively with the City on a study, will partne r with the City in defining the scope of the study, and select a mutually agreeable consultant, with the study to be completed prior to beginning construction of the parking garage.. Mr. Cox thanked all who came out and spoke about the garage, and said he hopes that we will see a higher degree of accountability with the University. REPORT : INTERCHANGES ON ROUTE 29 NORTH CORRIDOR Mr. Cox explained that the issue of interchanges on the Route 29 North Corridor, specifically at Hydraulic Road and the Route 250 Bypass, is being brought back up because of the desire to make Route 29 more efficient. Mr. Jim Tolbert explained that studies have been conducted of Route 29 from Morton Drive to the Rivanna River since 1970, though only a portion of this is in th e City. Mr. Tolbert said that the VDOT design for grade separated interchanges was rejected by the City Council in 1995 because of the economic impact. Since that time Torti Gallas, the City's urban design consultants, and Glatting Jackson, consultant's hired by the Southern Environmental Law Center, have reviewed the interchanges. Glatting Jackson determined that a grade separated interchange could be constructed at Hydraulic Road with minimal economic impact. Mr. Tolbert said that the MPO Technical C ommittee is developing a scope of study about how to look at the Route 29 Corridor. Mr. Caravati expressed concern about holding up Hillsdale Drive, but said he likes the idea of looking at it all together. Mr. Tolbert said that professionally he think s the City would be making a mistake not to coordinate Hillsdale Drive with the rest of the area. Mr. Cox noted that the interchanges at not in the City's six year road plan and there is no funding available. Mr. Tolbert said alternative funding is be ing looked at for Phase I. Mr. Cox said that the landscape has significantly changed, especially with development in the County, since Council rejected the grade separated interchanges in 1995. Mr. Cox said that the study commissioned by the Southern En vironmental Law Center has gone a long way in persuading him that it can be done. Since Council took formal action to reject idea of grade separated interchanges, Mr. Cox asked what action Council needs to take so it can be looked at again. Mr. Craig Br own, City Attorney, said Council should adopt a resolution expressing their desire that the interchanges be studied again. Ms. Richards said Council can set new parameters in a new resolution, including something about sensitivity to economic impacts, a cooperative design process with the County, and perhaps alternative funding. Mr. Lynch asked if the study could be done within the timeframe of getting funding for Hillsdale Drive, and Mr. Tolbert said that if funding is available for Hillsdale Drive soo ner, the City and County could work together on that project. Ms. Richards said she would favor doing the study and starting with Hillsdale Drive. Mr. Schilling said he has a lot of questions about this and feels Council needs to proceed very carefully as there is a lot on the line for the City economically. Mr.