Legislature(1995 - 1996)
04/26/1995 01:37 PM House TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 133-TRANSPORTATION PLANNING Number 042 CHAIRMAN DAVIS asked Representative Kay Brown if she would give her testimony on HB 133. REPRESENTATIVE KAY BROWN, Sponsor, stated she has been concerned for a number of years with the transportation planning process. She felt the transportation planning process should fully embrace the positive changes made at the federal level which gives greater flexibility than previously. She indicated we should be striving to have a "bottom up planning process" that involves individuals in the community, rather than having plans dictated from the top and from the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT/PF). There are a number of specific concerns that have arisen regarding particular projects. She said she would not go into them in detail now and only mentioned them as background information. It was the real life situations and problems in the community of Anchorage that lead her to work with Cheryl Richardson and the statewide group she is affiliated with. This group was designed to help improve the transportation planning process. This legislation would shift some responsibility from the state level to the local level in terms of deciding what projects are completed. It would provide discretionary authority or the potential for appropriation of more of the federal highway funds to local governments for projects in their area. It would also authorize use of some of these moneys for planning. She referred to some posters that were displayed around the committee room and explained one was from a planning project that took place in Soldotna. She felt this was a fresh approach that helps them to look at the opportunity of building a road to actually improve people's quality of life and make a positive change in the community. She asked if there were any questions. Number 110 REPRESENTATIVE BILL WILLIAMS said that within his district they have been submitting what they would like to have done within the transportation system of Ketchikan. Some of the projects have not been looked at for years. He stated there was a project currently underway in Ketchikan that has been on the books for 20 years and is something they would like to see done. He asked if what Representative Brown was talking about was a similar issue. REPRESENTATIVE BROWN said her impression was that this issue varies from area to area. The system may work better in a smaller community than in Anchorage. She felt the system as it applies to Anchorage is seriously broken and there is no clear accountability between the citizens and the group that is responsible -- the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS), but Anchorage being a larger community has a different status under the federal law. She said she has been trying for a number of years to change the structure of how things are in Anchorage. She felt there was nothing within HB 133 that would harm a small community. It is intended to ensure that the process is responsive to what local communities want, whatever their size. CHAIRMAN DAVIS stated Ms. Mullen was in attendance from Soldotna to present a slide show on some related projects in Soldotna. Number 151 PEGGY MULLEN, Member, City Council; and Soldotna resident, explained that her folks homesteaded in the area in 1948. She said she has started a few small businesses there. She explained there was a project they worked on this past February which involved a great majority of the citizens in the process of some transportation decision making issues. She said they were in support of this legislation. She explained in 1993 there was a sort of "harmonic convergence of happenings" in their area. They worked on the Spurr and Sterling Highways because they were going to be 3-R projects which consist of Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction. She explained Soldotna is approximately 150 miles south of Anchorage on the Sterling Highway. She said you can either make a right when you get to Soldotna and go 10 more miles and end up in Kenai or go 80 miles further and this would put you in Homer. She stated there has been growing concern regarding the Kenai River and keeping pollutants out of the river. This was one of the reasons that the DOT/PF became involved in the project of working with the storm drainage system which at this point runs directly into the river at two different points off the highway. MS. MULLEN said the DOT/PF had just completed a project in Sterling which made the front page of the Anchorage Daily News because a number of people were surprised when they saw the final plans for this project contained high lighting and not a very "human scape result" when they were through. It depicted a five lane road which was necessary, but it depicted an inhuman effect in many people's minds when the plans were completed. A young architect who was working with Ms. Mullen's family to decide what to do with part of their homestead and worked on a land use plan, said, "Gee, I didn't even know the river was here." She said they wanted to construct a project that would help to let people know that the river existed because it is one of the key features of Soldotna. She said the city manager and city council were interested in working with the DOT/PF on ideas for the types of projects they could do and to involve more people of Soldotna. In September 1994, the city manager, the Mayor, and herself met in Anchorage with some DOT/PF planners and engineers and decided to come up with some sort of event that would involve the public and let them have as much input as possible. She said she wanted to present some slides that would show various aspects of the projects planned for Soldotna. MS. MULLEN first referred to the projects plans that were done in February. They were visited by an architect from Philadelphia who coauthored a book that interested local architects. Ms. Mullen said they rented an old school bus for $250 and brought down the professionals from Anchorage along with the architect who was going to help them with this project. They donated their time and some money to the projects. They were landscape architects, architects and planners. She then showed a slide depicting a map of Soldotna with a tissue paper overlay with further suggestions on a possible town commons/park area. She referred to a historic photo of Soldotna around 1950 and indicated that the bridge over the Kenai River in Soldotna was not constructed until 1950. She said part of getting the public to show up at this meeting was to have the local anthropologist line up six of the original homesteaders and a couple of people who actually built the highway through Soldotna. She explained this essentially established the town of Soldotna. She said they talked a little bit about the lifestyle as it was between 1948 and 1950. She then presented a slide with a photo of a model that some school kids in the third grade at Soldotna elementary did in preparation for this event. She said in the planning process they had sent out a letter to the local schools asking for involvement in this project. Three school teachers along with their 70 to 80 students constructed a model of Soldotna as it exists today. It also shows all the existing buildings and the improvements they would like to see in the future. She said they included in their model an underground viewing station to watch the fish swimming up the Kenai River and an elevated train to get around Soldotna. She added they had good community involvement. MS. MULLEN continued they decided to meet in the local high school gym, which was a good centralized location for this event. It gave them a "stage" to work with. There were approximately six or eight small groups working all day on the project. She explained they broke themselves up into groups and people discussed what they liked about Soldotna's main street and what improvements could be made as well. They discussed the identity of the town as far as the summer activities in Soldotna. She commented on the recreational vehicles that pass through Soldotna in the summer months. The highway is Soldotna's main street but it also is the main artery that leads to Homer. People in Soldotna have been for a long time conflicted about not having a real center of their town. She said they had the League of Women Voters present to help out and take comments for the record. They also had some "wonderful young architects" construct some visual drawings of what people said. MS. MULLEN said also helping them with this project were people from the DOT/PF. For example, she was in the bridge construction group and they had an engineer present who explained the construction of the bridge and how they planned to include some pedestrian amenities. She said currently the bridge does not provide for any safe crossings for pedestrians. She showed a slide that depicted a poster reading, "Soldotna make yourself at home." This was designed to let people know when they were getting close to Soldotna. She said there were some landscaping funds available for this project, but she was not sure how much. She had conversations regarding how the city could "play off their salmon theme." She said there was a problem with Rvs wandering through town. A suggestion was made to have a large parking lot just before they get into town and provide the people with all the tourist information and then a shuttle bus to take them around town. She said there was a lot of concern of people driving too fast through town because they are just passing through. She said they talked with the DOT/PF early on in the process of constructing a model of the town. She said they did come up with some federal highway planning money that they were able to contribute to the project. She said the entire event was on video and hoped that in a month when it is finished it will be available to other communities that have similar concerns. MS. MULLEN reiterated the importance of the public involvement they had not only from the city, but city residents, Chamber of Commerce, DOT/PF and the local municipality. She showed a slide that depicted the five lane highway running through Soldotna. Also, an idea was presented on how Soldotna could do their snow removal in a more efficient manner using a snow storage facility. Currently, when the snow is not plowed the pedestrians are walking directly on the streets. She said there was a lot of concern regarding safety issues because of this. She said there was a high number of young kids in town who like to ride their bicycles. She said there was concern of the use of public lands in Soldotna in relation to the river and the highway. Another issue that was addressed during this project were things to do in the winter months. She said there was a person who came down from Anchorage as a resource from the Winter Cities group and suggested painting the snow. She presented a slide showing a flower that had been painted onto the snow. She said they talked about that in relation to the bridge which, for not much additional funding could be decorated with some color lighting. Number 369 CHAIRMAN DAVIS stated most of Ms. Mullen's family is still in Soldotna. He added Ms. Mullen and he attended high school together. He said Ms. Mullen has been very active on the city council with related projects such as this one. He then introduced John Isaacs. JOHN ISAACS, Alaska Chapter, American Planning Association, stated he was part of a 130-member group who are municipal planners, state resource managers and private practice individuals. He stated they supported the intent of HB 133 because they feel it improves participation in identifying transportation needs at the community level. He participated in the Main Street program as well as similar projects in Wasilla. He said it is exciting to see what happens to communities when they are given the chance to design the projects. He said in the past, many communities felt that the DOT/PF had commandeered some of the Federal Intermodal System Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) funds and allocated them internally without much local input or adequate participation. He said they support the elements of this bill that emphasize operation maintenance of existing transportation systems. He commented it was really important to keep up what you have. He said they supported the consideration of pedestrian and other types of individual transportation modes. He said they support the increase and direct pass through of planning funds and project funds of the communities. Many of these communities are ready to go; they have the funding and the capability to build and they would like to do so. He said this also strengthens the local review and approval process and builds a partnership in terms of a joint local and state involvement in developing these transportation facilities. Mr. Isaac said he was aware of the fact that this bill needs some work but reiterated his support for the intent, and would be glad to work with the committee and others during the interim. He then asked if there were any questions. Number 410 CHAIRMAN DAVIS then introduced Cheryl Richardson who was in attendance to testify on HB 133. CHERYL RICHARDSON, Member, Alaska Citizens Transportation Coalition, said she is employed by the Alaska Center for the Environment, by the Transportation Project and they have organized the Alaska Citizen Transportation Coalition. The statewide coalition is comprised of three borough governments: The North Slope Borough; Northwest Arctic Borough; and Matanuska/Susitna Borough. Also included are Native nonprofit organizations, Tanana Chiefs Conference and the Association of Village Council Presidents out of the Calista Region, League of Women Voters from around the state, the Winter Cities Association out of Anchorage, and people working on trail issues. She explained several issues brought them together as a coalition. When she started this work in Anchorage, it was a project to get children across a major arterial safely. She said she has found these issues to be statewide concerns. These people have come together under three headings. First is public participation from the grassroots to help prioritize the transportation problems within the communities and how they should be addressed. As a part of involving the public we are asking that good information is delivered to people so they can make judicious decisions. Currently, they feel some of the information is lacking about what the projects cost the community to build and operate and cost in terms of safety and air pollution. Secondly, local control over the projects. It is the section of the bill that allocates potentially 35 percent of the dollars to local governments for them to use on local projects. Third, they are looking at how projects are designed statewide. She said a major concern in most cities is that pedestrians do not feel safe. Another concern is that projects are over built and cost vast sums of money to construct and later maintain. Other concerns are lighting and speed limits on the roads. These are statewide concerns - the scale just varies from community to community. She said they were present today to help the committee come to a consensus on these issues and hopefully work with the committee during the interim to come up with some language that could be incorporated statewide. REPRESENTATIVE JAMES commented that she was pleased when this group got together. She expressed her support for the issue and said we should be pleased with the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with the many transportation corridors in the state, and emphasized the need and importance of ensuring they are done correctly. MS. RICHARDSON thanked Representative James for her support in the project and said they appreciate Representative James's support of rail systems in Alaska. Number 453 KEVIN RITCHIE, Executive Director, Alaska Municipal League, said they work with the Alaska Planners Association. He said this issue is a high priority of the Alaska Municipal League, as you can see the type of interest and creativity on the part of the municipalities within Ms. Mullen's presentation, and added this was true of all municipalities. They would like to take a vital role in transportation planning for the state. He expressed interest in working with the committee and other groups during the interim. Number 465 CHAIRMAN DAVIS said he would keep Mr. Ritchie informed of any meetings in the future regarding this issue. He then announced he would take testimony via teleconference from Anchorage. FRANK DILLON, Executive Director, Alaska Trucking Association stated he was in opposition to SSHB 133. He explained SSHB 133 has been in the thinking at the Center for the Environment for sometime. He said they have studied ways that they can divert highway money from actual timely transportation projects to come up with a variety of very attractive packaging for that purpose. One of them is the presupposition that the local people of the state, "citizens," do not have a role in transportation planning at the present time. Having attended numerous meetings over the past several years with the DOT/PF and community councils on transportation issues, he asked to differ with that analysis. He expressed concern for the way this bill is structured. He said it was placing constraints on construction projects and transportation projects. He felt the real reason this bill was put forth is not so much to improve transportation, but too slow the planning process down so nothing gets accomplished. CHAIRMAN DAVIS asked if Bo Brownfield who was in attendance would like to testify. BO BROWNFIELD, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, said their position is that they support some of the concepts of this bill, such as the concept of increased public participation. He commented on the slide presentation and indicated it is a good success story. He said they agree with the concept of alternative modes of transportation where it is feasible and where it makes good sense. He said there are some good features of this bill, but would be less than honest to point out that there are some elements of this bill that need review. The DOT/PF is prepared to work with the sponsor in the interim in an attempt to resolve some of the issues they are concerned with. He then asked if there were any questions. Number 502 CHAIRMAN DAVIS said he would take testimony from Nancy Webb in Fairbanks. NANCY WEBB, Planning Consultant, testified via teleconference from Fairbanks and said she donated time to the League of Women Voters this past year to be part of the transportation coalition in the hopes that this would move the state along into the next century and get them to implement the ISTEA funds a bit more fully and take advantage of all the funds that could be made available to the state. She added the intent of SSHB 133 is a step forward but does need some work. The League of Women Voters is very (indisc.) by this bill. She suggested that Representative James cosponsor this bill because of her background and interest in transportation issues. She said she was disappointed in Mr. Dillon's comments. She feels he does not fully understand what the group and project are all about. She said he might be feeling some paranoia with this environmental group that is involved. She said there was a lot more than just the environmental groups involved in this coalition. He should try and look beyond that fact. GARY MOORE, Director, Planning and Development, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), testified via teleconference from Fairbanks and said TCC is in full support of this bill. He had participated with the Alaska Citizens Transportation Coalition since its formation. He said that Ms. Richardson has done an outstanding job on bringing a lot of the organizations together that otherwise would not, including TCC. He said the reason they support SSHB 133 is because the issue of the local control of transportation dollars is important. He said they would like to see more local control, local governments being able to help the DOT/PF make decision on appropriate modes of transportation for the individual communities. He said he also supported the idea of a certain percentage of state dollars going to the local communities to help with the local projects. He said he did not have a chance to review the bill in- depth. He supported the idea of working on the bill through the interim. He said he appreciated Representative James's position on this bill. He indicated they do need a majority member to sponsor this bill. Number 564 CHAIRMAN DAVIS said he would take testimony via teleconference from Anchorage. WALTER PARKER testified in support of SSHB 133. He said he did not see anything in the bill that as highway commissioner 20 years ago he couldn't have lived with. The 35 percent he did not feel has any great effect on the overall budget. Currently we are spending more than that on the budgets within the boroughs and on local projects. He said in regards to planning, he wished they had more of this in the original DOT/PF bill. Number 576 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said the success of the Soldotna process, which she was very impressed with, was due to people like Ms. Mullen. REPRESENTATIVE BROWN said she has been working with Mr. Kito and referred to two amendments she had in the packet. She said she is trying to address concerns and possibly other concerns beyond these two amendments. The amendment that refers to Section 2 stresses some of the things that would be calculated. When looking at what projects will cost over a certain period of time, the adoption of the amendment would help reduce the cost of fiscal note involved. She added she did not want to require information that is not relevant or useful. CHAIRMAN DAVIS acknowledged the amendments and said it was clear the amendments are addressing specific concerns that the DOT/PF has. He said SSHB 133 will be carried over and discussed possibly this coming Friday at 1:00 p.m.
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