09142010 BAYFRONT ADVISORY REPORTBAYFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
I thank you, on behalf of the Bayfront Advisory Committee, for allowing me to appear
before you today and update you on the activities of the Committee. The BAC
Committee continues in its efforts to fulfill your mission to us of serving as a liaison
between the BayFront community and the City Council with respect to development and
improvements to the Shore Drive Corridor.
One of the most important aspects of our mission is to monitor and report to the
City Council the progress of implemented public projects and plans within the
Shore Drive Corridor, and provide recommendations for remedial actions as
deemed necessary. With respect to that the BAC Committee has diligently
monitored the progress of the Capital Improvement Projects slated for the
corridor. We have seen many of the Shore Drive Interim Safety Improvements,
as recommended by the Shore Safety Task Force in 2006, implemented, and the
Shore Drive Demonstration Project, from Treasure Island Road to Marlin Bay
Drive, completed. We participated in the staff presentations and public
discussions regarding the proposed Lesner Bridge Replacement Project and
endorse the proposal. We understand that Phase 4 of the CIP project, Marlin Bay
Drive to East Stratford Drive, is funded and scheduled to begin construction
sometime in 2013.
The BAC Committee, through citizen concerns, requested that staff review and
provide some method of identifying streets that intersect with the Cape Henry
Trail bike path. Staff installed street name blades along the path at certain
intersections.
II. Another equally important aspect of our mission is to engage in public
information efforts to improve communications between the BayFront community,
the development community, and the City government, and to serve as a forum
for discussion of information brought forth by both the public and private sectors
on matters related to the BayFront community. We have made great strides in
this area. Staff continues to update and maintain the BayFront Advisory
Committee webpage on the Planning Department's website. Press releases of
upcoming meetings and committee meeting minutes are posted regularly.
Information pertaining to the corridor and community activities is also posted to
the website.
We have worked with the Shore Drive Community Coalition to form a more
collaborative partnership by providing time during regular BAC Committee
meetings for the SDCC to report their activities. We partnered with the SDCC to
sponsor Lunch with the Mayor in order to gather an e-mail database that will
allow a better distribution of information. And staff regularly forwards information
to the SDCC for posting on their website.
We also reached out to the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek- Fort Story
Base and Hampton Roads Sanitation District. The Commander of the base is
now an ex. officio member of the BAC Committee and a representative regularly
attends the committee meetings to provide input on how base operations may
affect the community and how public projects may affect the base operations.
Further the Communications Sub-committee regularly provides a newsletter to
staff and the SDCC regarding the activities of the committee. The newsletter is
posted to the BAC and SDCC websites.
The BAC Committee also reviews proposed development projects within the
Corridor and offers suggestions for compliance with the Shore Drive Design
Guidelines.
III. The BAC Committee also exists to encourage and facilitate establishment of
public-private partnerships alternative funding sources to achieve the goals and
recommendations of the ULI Study and the adopted plans and guidelines. The
BAC Committee worked extremely hard on the Comprehensive Plan revisions for
the BayFront Community to prioritize the areas of concern brought forth by the
citizens. Acquisition of Pleasure House Point is considered the highest priority in
the Community and this is reflected in the Comprehensive Plan. It was with great
pleasure to learn that a plan for the Point is in place and you received our
endorsement and support for your initiative to acquire the Pleasure House Point
parcel of land.
IV. Lastly we continue to identify, refine and reprioritize a series of recommended
projects and actions to the City Council for implementing the adopted Shore
Drive Corridor Plan, Transportation Plan, Design Guidelines, and Landscaping
Guidelines, and to address issues associated with the public safety and
development of the Corridor. Our Design Sub-committee worked with staff to
have BayFront Community signs installed along Shore Drive and Great Neck
Road, and is currently working on neighborhood signs that will complement the
community signs. Other issues the Design Sub-committee is exploring is design
guidelines for neighborhoods and businesses in the community.
With regard to this particular part of our mission however we have recently
finished an intense effort to study pedestrian safety issues along the corridor.
The Public Safety Transit, Parking, and Pedestrian Access, Design, and
Communications Sub-committees met three times to discuss the safety issues
along the corridor, and there were two field trips to view the problems. City staff
and concerned citizens also attended the meetings and field trips. The sub-
committees determined that there are three areas of public safety that should be
addressed - infrastructure improvements, enforcement, and education.
City staff presented several options for short term Infrastructure Improvements to
the corridor - pedestrian cameras that preempt the traffic signal, traffic signal
enhancements, a safety fence in the median, improved street lighting, sidewalk
improvements, and trimming of overgrown vegetation. Traffic signal timing was
also discussed, but is not an immediate recommendation for the corridor.
The next item discussed was the possibility of moving Phase III of the Capital
Improvement Project for improvements to Shore Drive between Great Neck Road
and the Lesner Bridge to a priority position. Currently Phase IV improvements to
Shore Drive between the Lesner Bridge and Shady Oaks / Marlin Bay, is fully
funded and scheduled to begin in 2013. The amount of funding for each project is
similar. The request could be accommodated as the perceptions and issues
along the corridor between Great Neck Road and the Lesner Bridge have
changed. Most if not all citizens in the area recognize the need for safety
improvements in this particular section of Shore Drive.
With regard to Enforcement the Police department reported that enforcement is
continuing along the corridor with a special emphasis on Friday and Saturday. A
request was made for the Establishment Review Task Force (ERTF) to become
more active along the Shore Drive Corridor.
The final element to be discussed was Education - not only for the public, but
also the owner(s), managers, and staff of the establishments. Citizen
involvement along the corridor can assist in the changing the behavior as well as
the owner taking responsibility for what happens in his establishment and off
premises when the patron has been over served.
The Sub-committees considered all of the information provided and made the
following recommendations to the Bayfront Advisory Committee for
consideration. The BAC Committee now presents these recommendations to
you, Council, for your consideration and implementation:
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Infrastructure Recommendations:
Long Term - We recommend, with staff's support, moving Phase III, which is
improvements to Shore Drive between Great Neck Road and the Lesner Bridge,
to a priority position ahead of Phase IV. Phase IV covers improvements between
the Lesner Bridge and Shady Oaks / Marlin Bay.
Short Term - We recommend the installation of movement actuated pedestrian
cameras to preempt the traffic signals, the installation of crosswalks and
handicap-accessible ramps at West Great Neck Road and StarFish Road, the
addition of seven new street lights (250 watts HPSV) along Shore Drive between
Urchin Road and Starfish Road and the upgrading of the two existing lights, the
installation of 500 feet of missing sidewalk with handicap-accessible ramps along
Shore Drive between North Great Neck Road and the Lesner Bridge, trimming of
the overgrown vegetation, and the retiming of traffic signals pending the final
determination of Shore Drive speed limit.
Enforcement:
We recommend heightened Police department enforcement of jaywalking, public
intoxication and traffic regulations, heightened Fire department enforcement of
occupancy regulations, and request the Establishment Review Task Force
expand their efforts to increase enforcement in the Shore Drive corridor.
Education:
We recommend the utilization of alcohol responsibility programs developed by
major trade associations in the hospitality industries and promulgate these ideas
across the city, and we recognize that there is a need to improve the image of
the Shore Drive Corridor, which image has had an unfortunate impact on the
good citizens of our community.
These public safety recommendations will cost approximately $63,000.00. We,
the Bayfront Advisory Committee, urge the City Council to consider these
recommendations for implementation.
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