On April 9, 2010 the NOACA Governing Board approved the following regarding these projects: Resolution No. 2010-014 Project Planning Review Resolution No. 2010-015 Plan and TIP Amendment Title: Four Maintenance Projects at Various Locations in Lorain and Medina Counties Sponsor: Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 3 Name: LOR SR 57-12.54: PID No. 86254 LOR SR 58-25.34: PID No. 83446 LOR /MED RUMBLE STRIPES FY2010: PID No. 87921 LOR/MED D03 TSG FY2010 (C): PID No. 87922 Proposed Source of Federal Funds: ODOT History/Background: ODOT is making an effort to advance transportation projects throughout the State of Ohio that improve the safety and condition of the transportation system. These projects are included in ODOT District 3’s Bridge and Maintenance Programs. ODOT intends to deliver projects as timely and efficiently as possible. To further this effort, ODOT has requested that NOACA expedite processing of these projects through its project planning review (PPR), ultimately amending these projects to the Transportation Improvement Program in time for inclusion in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program. Proposed Projects: The following projects are proposed by ODOT District 3: Rumble Stripe Placement: (LOR/MED D03 RUMBLE STRIPES FY2010: PID No. 87921) – The project involves placement of rumble stripes along qualifying roadways throughout ODOT District 3, in Lorain and Medina Counties. The project also includes locations in Ashland, Crawford, Erie, Huron, Richland and Wayne Counties (location map). The estimate total cost of the project is $395,874. The project will be funded with 100% federal funding through the Highway Safety Improvement Program funds. The project’s estimated award date is June 2, 2010. Traffic Signal Improvements: (LOR/MED D03 TSG FY2010 (C): PID No. 87922) – This project involves placing signal backup plates, signal LED lamps and signal battery backups at various locations throughout ODOT District 3. The estimated total cost of the project is $1,659,625. The project will be funded with 100 percent federal funding through Highway Safety Improvement Program funds. The project’s estimated award date is June 2, 2010. SR-57 Bridge Repairs: (LOR SR 57-12.54: PID No. 86254) – The project involves repairs to twin bridges (L&R) on SR-57, 0.13 miles north of Grafton Road, in Eaton Twp (location map). The estimated total cost of the project is $1,947,929. The estimated total cost of the preliminary engineering preliminary development (PEPD) phase is $1,629. The PEPD phase ($1,629) will be funded by ODOT 3. The estimated total cost of the preliminary engineering detail design (PEDD) phase is $122,400. Eighty percent ($97,920) of the PEDD cost will be funded with Bridge (BR) funds. ODOT 3 will fund the twenty percent ($24,480) non-federal share. The estimated total cost of the construction (C) phase is $1,823,900. Eighty percent ($1,459,120) of the construction cost will be funded with BR funds. ODOT 3 will fund the twenty percent ($364,780) non-federal share. The project’s estimated award date is June 2, 2010. SR-58 Bridge Repairs: (LOR SR 58-25.34: PID No. 83446) – The project involves bridge repair on SR-58, 0.08 miles east of Nantucket Drive in the City of Lorain (location map). The estimated total cost of the project is $613,600. The estimated total cost of the PEDD phase is $81,000. Eighty percent ($64,800) of the cost will be funded with State Surface Transportation Program (S/STP) funds. ODOT 3 will fund the twenty percent ($16,200) non federal share. The estimated total cost of the construction phase is $532,600. Eighty percent ($426,080) of the construction cost will be funded S/STP funds. ODOT 3 will fund the twenty percent ($106,520) non-federal share. The project’s estimated award date is June 2, 2010. Staff Comment (Summary): Plan and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Team: This project is consistent with NOACA’s Connections 2030 Goal #3 (Preserve and Improve the Efficiency of the Transportation System) and ODOT’s Access Ohio 2004 - 2030 Goals #4 (System Preservation). Recommend committee and public review in order to obtain comments. Regional Transportation System (RTS) Team: Comments on PID 87921, Rumble Stripes Rumble stripes may sometimes be necessary for the safety of motor vehicle drivers. However, they are dangerous for bicyclists. They can make paved shoulders unusable when the shoulders are narrow, forcing the bicyclist into the road with very fast moving traffic. They are also dangerous when the bicyclist must ride over the rumble stripe to move from the shoulder to the roadway or vise versa due to an obstacle or some other reason. ODOT has proposed rumble stripes for various roadway sections throughout Lorain and Medina counties. The issues below are arguments against installing rumble stripes unless they are truly warranted by dangerous conditions: NOACA Bicycle Facilities Priority Plan—Most of the locations for the stripes are on designated priority routes in the Priority Plan. These are SR3, SR 18, SR 58, SR 83, SR 301, SR 303, and SR 511. The priority plan is contained in NOACA’s Regional Bicycle Transportation Plan, adopted by the NOACA Governing Board March 2008. ODOT’s Policy on the Use of Rumble Strip on Shoulders states that “Rumble strips generally should not be used on the shoulders of roadways designated as bicycle routes or having substantial volumes of bicycle traffic, unless the shoulder is wide enough to accommodate the rumble strips and still provide at least 1.0 m for bicyclists.” As stated above, most of the locations proposed for rumble strips are NOACA priority routes. Additionally, many of the proposed locations for the rumble stripes would not provide at least 1.0 m for bicyclists. According to AASHTO guidelines, “Rumble strips or raised pavement markers, where installed to discourage or warn motorists they are driving on the shoulder, are not recommended where shoulders are used by bicyclists unless there is a minimum clear path of 1 foot from the rumble strip to the travelled way, 4 feet from the rumble strip to the outside edge of paved shoulder, or 5 feet to adjacent guardrail, curb or other obstacle.” While what is being proposed in this project are “rumble stripes” which are rumble strips at the edge line with the line painted over them, on roadways, if there is not a wide paved shoulder, bicyclists will be forced to ride in the roadway. Intergovernmental Review and Consultation (IGRC): If you are a representative of a governmental entity and would like to comment on this project, please email us. "I am glad to see that some of the money is going to Lorain County projects & hope it will bring some people back to work, the economy is really bad now." - Grafton Township Trustee "The Lorain County Planning Commission voted to support these projects at their March 25th meeting. Staff’s only comment is that all bridge projects must be designed meet or exceed minimum flood plain standards and any appropriate Special Flood Hazard Area Permits be secured." - Lorain County Community Development Department "Medina County Engineers supports the District 3 maintenance projects." - Medina County Engineer "There is an obvious need for these improvements. I have no reservation advancing these projects through the process. " - Wadsworth City Engineer Public Involvement: NOACA encourages comments from the public on this proposed transportation improvement project. Please notify us if you would like to be added to our e-mail notification list for future updates. Committee Review: Regional Transportation Investment Subcommittee (RTIS)/Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC): No comments; projects recommended for amendment to NOACA's Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).