01/21/2024
Land Use
PASSED: 3/4plex reforms to building code passed by the Assembly at their January 16th special meaning. Read AO 2023-130 here.
NEW: Short term rentals: Worksession from January 19th. A public hearing on the proposed new requirements for short-term rentals will be item 13.A on the January 23rd Assembly meeting agenda. Memo here, and AO here.
NEW: Allowing 3rd party review for building permits:2023-136 at the January 23rd meeting. Work session from January 19th.
ONGOING: Bonds & Ballot issues at the January 23rd Assembly meeting:
14.A: public hearing on the bond for the main Anchorage bowl area (ARDSA) that would fund the road projects on page 3 of this memo
14.D: public hearing on the Parks & Rec bond
14.E: public hearing on the public safety and transit bond. An S-version will consider raising the amount for traffic calming from $500k to $1m. The bond also includes funding for signals, signs, school zones, ambulances, buses, and bus stop improvements.
14.F: public hearing on a ballot proposition to switch road maintenance of Rockridge Drive from the Upper O'Malley LRSA to ARDSA. This is the road to O'Malley Elementary (map); it is isolated from the rest of the LRSA and surrounded by roads that are privately maintained (not ARDSA roads). This road was a point of contention when it went unplowed after the big November snowfall.
ONGOING: The Assembly had a work session on property values.
Transportation
NEW: No Right On Red Downtown: A new AO will be introduced at the January 23rd Assembly meeting to prohibit right turns on red Downtown (item 10.G.11). Per the Federal Highway Administration: “A permissible "Right Turn on Red" (RTOR) was introduced in the 1970s as a fuel savings measure and has sometimes had detrimental effects on pedestrians. While the law requires motorists to come to a full stop and yield to cross street traffic and pedestrians prior to turning right on red, many motorists do not fully comply with the regulations.” Read the Assembly memo here.
NEW: The Assembly held its first Transportation Committee meeting of the year on January 17th. The MOA 2022 Traffic Report is out. Serious crashes ticked up in 2022 for all modes and are still concentrated around arterial roads and intersections. Summary slides are available at the start of this presentation. Items of note:
Phase 2 of the Protected Bike Lane Pilot (MOA/DOT&PF collaboration) has been approved for this summer on A St and 6th Ave. A map and design concept are on the last slide of the same presentation. DOT Central Region Director, Sean Holland, invited ideas for future pilot projects that could use available DOT&PF research funding.
DOT&PF provided an update on sidewalk plowing. They have implemented a dedicated sidewalk plowing operator that begins clearing sidewalks as soon as snow starts falling, and they have a contractor on hand to help when they fall behind.
The State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) was submitted by AKDOT to FHWA for approval last week following a 180-day extension and extensive public comment on a previous version. AKDOT&PF expects to hear back in a month or so.
MOA Traffic Calming Program: Northeast and Russian Jack Community Councils each received $500,000 grants from the state legislature to implement traffic calming (such as speed humps) this summer. The MOA program also has $500,000 for this year; they have evaluated suggested projects and will be working on the top priority locations on their qualified streets list. Other projects that have been requested by Community Councils but not deemed qualified will not proceed.
The Minnesota Cheese Grater (median fence) was discussed, with Assembly Members asking for better solutions such as more designated crosswalks, and replacement of the fence with a less solid (visually impermeable) material.
ONGOING: Spenard Road Project: Spenard Rd: An open house for Phase III of the Spenard road rebuild (Benson to Minnesota) was held January 18th. The selected design will essentially match the segment north of Northern Lights. MOA Traffic is finalizing a speed study that will likely reduce the speed limit to 25 or 30 mph (note: posted speed limits and design speed are two very different things). Among other things, attendees at the open house asked for raised crosswalks to help ensure that speed limit is followed and improve pedestrian safety.