11/10/2024

Written By TLUI

Land Use

  • NEW: Port Problems–Alaska’s struggles with infrastructure:

    • “$663M Arctic port delayed, frustrating Nome officials and Alaska congressional delegation” In the ADN: “ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this month canceled a bid request for the project’s first phase of construction after proposed pricing came in “well above” statutory cost limitations and exceeded allocated  funds, the agency said in a statement to reporters. Alaska’s U.S. senators say only one bidder responded, perhaps because a limited number of contractors are available with other major construction projects in the state underway.”

    • “Port of Alaska cargo terminal construction could be delayed due to lack of contractor bids” in the ADN: “ As the Municipality of Anchorage presses forward with the massive modernization project at the Don Young Port of Alaska, city officials say that construction of the first cargo dock terminal will likely be delayed, and much of that work won’t start next summer as previously intended. That’s because the city did not receive any bids from construction companies after undergoing a monthslong procurement process to select one.”

  • LAST WEEK: Planning Commission asking to be kept in the loop. Towards the end of last week’s PZC meeting, the Commission chair asked for better communication on zoning changes:

“I don't necessarily I I think we need a formal report–like maybe it's one page–but when the assembly is changing title 21, I would appreciate it mostly for when ADN calls me for my comments on title 21 cases and I'm going “I know nothing about it”...Just because I'm the chair of Planning and Zoning commission, doesn't mean they run all title 21 things through me. I've never even heard of this; yes it affects my business, yes I wish I knew about it, but I'm as in the dark as anybody so I think that when staff hears about it, we should know what staff knows. I don't think that that's too much to ask assuming that staff knows–and if staff doesn't know–then maybe when staff hears about it, they need to inform us to reach out to the Assembly so they can inform us.”

  • NEW: “Anchorage parents speak out against elementary school closures, and in some cases plan to fight them” in the ADN: “For the students who have grown up in their schools, and the parents who have anchored their lives around them — in some cases, moving to be close to the schools — the news is a huge blow.”

  • NEW: “With Eklutna upgrades complete, Ram  Valley access emerges as a Chugach State Park priority”In the ADN: 

“I don’t think anyone ever imagined Chugach State Park would become as popular as it is, with 1.5 million visits and the most visited public land in Alaska,” Johnston said. “No one imagined we’d need as much access as we do now, and concurrent to the park growing in popularity was housing encroaching on the edge of the park and very little planning done before housing was built about where this access would be.”

Compare that with the unadopted Chugach public access plan from 2010:

“Public demand for additional access to the park and its resources is strong and will likely increase whether or not facilities are improved or additional access is provided. The unwanted side effects of this increasing demand and changing land use patterns are being experienced in areas where illegal parking, trespass, and increased traffic volume are occurring.”

See also AO 2014-140 (S) AA “An ordinance amending Anchorage Municipal Code Title 21…to prohibit implementation of the Chugach State Park Access Plan through the land use permit process…” 

  • NEW:  Sole source procurement report: building code books from the International Code Council: $25,146.68. AIM 186-2024 at the 11/19/2024 Assembly meeting. From Wikipedia: “Despite its name, the International Code Council is not an international organization nor does it consistently follow international best practices.” Nothing against building code, but it’s always worth considering how industry organizations create their standards and how they get their revenue. The Institute of Transportation Engineers is a similar case (see the criticism section here). 

  • NEW:  Quarter 3 2024 Performance Measure Report. AIM 184-2024 links to a “Performance Value Results” page, which in turn has links to department goals and performance measures. A few interesting things in here:

    • The Traffic Engineering Department has performance measures such as how quickly stop signs are repaired and how quickly building permits are reviewed, but not how many deaths occur on Anchorage roads. 

    • The Planning Department has performance measures on the number of days to complete reviews, but nothing about tracking zoning reforms or plan implementation. 

    • The Project Management and Engineering Department includes as an accomplishment goal: “Rehabilitate streets and roadways to maintain or improve service level conditions that existed in 2002, which were approximately 40% of the network in Good condition, 40% of the network in Fair condition, and 20% of the network in Poor condition.” It also notes that: “The distribution of 870 roadway miles in the three categories (Good, Fair and Poor) have remained relatively constant over the last 21 years.”

  • LAST WEEK: 11/6/2024 Assembly meeting: Hearing for Project Anchorage (sales tax) was opened and then continued to December 3rd. The vote on the municipal budget was also postponed to November 19th.

  • ONGOING: Assembly accepting the Anchorage Restroom project Final report. AR 2024-349 at the 11/19/2024 Assembly meeting. 


Transportation

  • NEW: AKDOT’s latest boondoggle: a tunnel under Knik Arm. A webpage appeared very briefly last week announcing the state agency’s latest idea for setting cash on fire:

“The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) is conducting a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the potential for a transportation tunnel beneath the Knik Arm, connecting Anchorage with the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. This project aims to explore alternative transportation corridors that address current and future transportation needs, enhance resilience to natural disruptions, and promote economic development in the region. The study will evaluate the tunnel’s engineering, environmental, and financial feasibility, offering solutions that could alleviate traffic on the Glenn Highway and provide a more direct link to northern Alaska.”

Interestingly enough, AKDOT’s own data on daily traffic indicates that traffic volumes are actually flat between Anchorage and Mat-Su (see Station Id:52525000). If you missed it, the last line of the text on the vanished webpage stated: “Our goal is to maintain transparency and foster collaboration by making project details accessible, keeping stakeholders informed as we move through the feasibility study and decision-making process.”

  • LAST WEEK: The AMATS Policy Committee and Technical Advisory Committee held a worksession on November 6 regarding the Seward Highway expansion project from Anchorage to Bird, including a presentation from the project team and questions from the committees. Much of the discussion centered on how the $1.4 billion project will be funded; DOT&PF promised to provide written assurance that new funding would be found rather than taking funding from other planned projects. It was mentioned that such new funding could also be applied to other DOT&PF roads in Anchorage, although DOT&PF did not indicate any intention of doing so even without the Seward Highway project. 

  • LAST WEEK: Technical Advisory Committee meeting on November 7 (recording not yet available at time of writing), where the TAC voted to recommend to the Policy Committee that the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan be amended to include the Seward Highway project and allow it to move forward. The committee discussed concerns about this project being made a higher priority than other, more dangerous, roads in Anchorage, and about the large footprint of the project team's preferred 4-lane expansion, but did not make a recommendation regarding those concerns.

  • LAST WEEK: UAA Professional Development Seminar Series: “Insights and Findings from the Anchorage Protected Bike Lane Pilot Study” Watch the presentation here. Around 33:53: 

“...but the takeaway for us is we didn't break the system. We did have an effect on people's driving, and I think there's a larger conversation about —is downtown, is 6th Avenue, designed the way it should be? Should it be a Highway going through town?”

  • LAST WEEK: State roads and Highways Advisory Board Meeting: On 11/5/2024. Agenda included discussions of the STIP fiasco, FHWA redistribution, the Sterling Highway bypass, and a winter snowplow plan.  

  • ONGOING:This week in traffic violence:

    • “Vehicle vs. Pedestrian Investigation: Brayton Dr. and S Heather Meadows LP.” APD press release: “The preliminary investigation indicates that a silver SUV traveling Northbound on Brayton Dr, collided with a pedestrian in the roadway. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.”

    • “Anchorage Clears Homeless Camps Near Tudor Road and New Seward Highway” in Your Alaska Link: “The state Department of Transportation says the camps were on state property and also close to some busy roads. That poses big safety concerns. Recently, there was a fatal crash near the camp at New Seward and 36th, which is one factor that led to these clearances.” 

TLUI
Previous

11/17/2024
Next

11/3/2024