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November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 8 Corine Williams St. Lucie County Community Svcs–TAC Kevin Trepanier, Chair Fort Pierce-CAC Ron Brown Port St. Lucie–CAC
Fred Cook Port St. Lucie–CAC Carolyn Niemczyk Unincorporated County–CAC Paul Weinstein Port St. Lucie-CAC Brad Keen, Vice Chair City of Port St. Lucie–BPAC Nick DiBenedetto Resident-BPAC
Steve Fousek St. Lucie County-BPAC Others present: Representing: Peter Buchwald St. Lucie TPO Ed DeFini St. Lucie TPO Neelan Fatima St. Lucie TPO Marceia Lathou St. Lucie TPO Mary Holleran
Recording Specialist Antonette Adams FDOT Stacy Miller FDOT Leslie Wetherell FDOT Patrick Glass FDOT Edie Majewski City of Port St. Lucie Will Suero HDR Engineering Joshua Salazar HDR
Engineering Kent Rice FDOT-Turnpike Winston Harris RS&H 3. Approval of Agenda Ms. Niemczyk noted a correction to the meeting dates. They were listed as scheduled for 2012 and should
be changed to 2013. * MOTION – MOVED by Mr. Gus Schmidt to approve the agenda as presented with the correction so noted. ** SECONDED by Ms. Carolyn Niemczyk. Carried UNANIMOUSLY 4. Approval
of Minutes * September 20, 2011, TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting * MOTION – MOVED by Mr. Jack Andrews to approve the minutes of the joint TAC/CAC/BPAC meeting held on September 20, 2011.
** SECONDED by Mr. John Finizio. Carried UNANIMOUSLY 5. Comments from the Public – None
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 8 6. Action Items 6a. Amendment to the FY 2012/13 – FY 2016/17 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP): Mr. Buchwald
welcomed all members to the last joint meeting of the year. The first amendment to the TIP, the Roll-Forward Report, was approved at the last meeting. The second amendment to the TIP
is to incorporate the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) Capital expense grant of $454,000 recently awarded to St. Lucie County. The purpose of the grant
is to establish the infrastructure for a “One-Call/One-Click” transportation center to connect St. Lucie County and Martin County veterans and their families, and other transportation
disadvantaged populations to destinations throughout the region for improved access to employment, medical and recreation locations. Ms. Corine Williams, Transit Coordinator, provided
background on the grant awarded through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in partnership with the U.S. Veterans Administration to combine numerous resources under one umbrella.
The grant also will provide opportunities for Martin County and Indian River County to access these services. The newly developed Accessible Transportation Community Initiative (ATCI)
regional committees will provide support in identifying the resources needed for success. Ms. Arlene Tanis asked about combining the JARC and Freedom grants, and if it was the same for
Martin County. Ms. Williams said yes, this was another tool to be used, Martin County would do the same and that it was for the TMA. * MOTION – MOVED by Mr. Fred Cook to recommend approval
of the amendment to the FY 2012/13-FY 2016/17 TIP to incorporate the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative (VTCLI) grant awarded to St. Lucie County. ** SECONDED by
Mr. Paul Weinstein Carried UNANIMOUSLY 6b. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) FY 2013/14 -FY 2017/18 Draft Tentative Work Program: Mr. Buchwald provided a review of the Draft
Tentative Work Program which is a major component of the process to program and fund projects based on the TPO’s priorities. FDOT requested a presentation be made to the advisory committees
for review and endorsement.
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 8 The Final Tentative Work Program will be submitted to the Governor and the State Legislature in the Spring of 2013
for adoption and provided to the TPO for development of the TPO’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for FY 2013/14 – FY 2017/18. FDOT’s presentation will address the extent to
which projects from the TPO’s LOPP will be programmed (funded). Some of the highlights to the Tentative Work Program included the Crosstown Parkway Bridge, Kings Highway from Okeechobee
Road to Picos Road, Kings Highway to Indrio Road, Design of the Port St. Lucie Boulevard Project from Becker Road to Darwin Boulevard, eleven sidewalk projects and for the first time,
congestion mitigation process projects are being included. The total Tentative Work Program for the TPO represents a $7.6 million increase in funding. Mr. Buchwald introduced Stacy Miller,
P.E., FDOT District Program Management Engineer, to continue with the presentation in more detail. Ms. Miller reviewed the funding cycle and appropriations. She reviewed major changes
that occurred at the legislative session and said stand-alone landscaping projects will no longer be included unless they are subcomponent attachments of allocated funded projects. She
explained how the projects come back for funding distribution. The Citizen’s Report (attached), was reviewed. A Public Hearing will be held on December 4th to present the projects being
funded. Ms. Majewski commented on the sidewalks showing Bayshore Boulevard from Prima Vista Boulevard and said it should be to Selvitz Road. Mr. Buchwald agreed that would be worked
out because the money was added from the CMP. Mr. Buchwald thanked Ms. Miller and FDOT for their work on the program and reviewed the topic highlights and funded projects. * MOTION –
MOVED by Ms. Carolyn Niemczyk to recommend endorsement of the Draft Tentative Work Program for FY 2013/14 – FY 2017-18. ** SECONDED by Ms. Corine Williams. Carried UNANIMOUSLY 7. Discussion
Items 7a. I-95 Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study: Mr. Buchwald reviewed the PD&E Study underway to evaluate various transportation improvements that will provide additional
capacity for I-95 to
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 8 meet future traffic needs and improve highway safety by widening it from six to eight lanes. Public workshops and
a website had been developed to provide more information, and FDOT is now seeking input on alternatives from the advisory committees. Mr. Buchwald suggested the advisory committees might
think in addition to widening it, what other improvements can be considered to address safety issues. Alternatives such as bus routes that stop at the interchanges, parking lots at the
interchanges to transfer onto the bus routes, a railway going down the center, and any other possibilities versus widening the road. Mr. Buchwald introduced Will Suero, Joshua Salazar,
and Leslie Wetherell to review the joint committee presentation and hear comments. Mr. Suero said the study limits are for the southern half of St. Lucie County along I-95. He reviewed
the location, project overview and adjacent coordination. Need for the project includes alleviating existing and future traffic congestion on I-95, enhancing safety by improving roadway
and capacity deficiencies and improving emergency access and hurricane evacuation. Four interchanges fall within the study limits and the project is being coordinated with a Martin County
based PD&E study. Existing 2011 and Modeled 2040 traffic summary was provided. Inside and outside road widening and alternatives and DDI, Diverging Diamond Interchanges were explained.
Topics included left turning, pedestrian treatment, engineering considerations, public involvement considerations, environmental issues, consistency with TPO Goals, the project schedule
and project funding. Mr. Fred Cook asked on Alternate #4, how bottle-neck congestion can be avoided with traffic merging southbound from the west. Mr. Suero explained how each east and
west bound ramp would have a single lane entrance ramp. Mr. Cook commented on congestion issues. Mr. Suero agreed it was a long term issue that would affect the traffic pattern. Pedestrian
Pedestrian movements staying to the outside through the signalized crosswalk intersections were reviewed. East/west traffic on St. Lucie West Boulevard will be over capacity by 2040
and the existing two lane bridge will have to be converted for all west bound traffic. We will have to construct a new bridge to the south that would be three lanes to handle east bound
traffic. Because of funding limitations in Florida, the possibility of tolling for all new interstate capacity projects will be looked at. Mr. Fred Cook questioned Midway Road that was
illustrated with two separate lanes going east and west, and asked when that would occur. Mr. Suero said the improvements they are looking at are to get traffic getting on to the Interstate
for the entrance ramps westbound and southbound, and
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 8 eastbound to northbound. Mr. Cook commented Midway Road was only a two lane road. Mr. Suero further explained the
future improvements. Mr. Weinstein commented on Alternative #4 as being cheaper but that it may be confusing for drivers, especially for an elderly population. Mr. Suero explained the
phasing-in stage to educate drivers to the traffic pattern. Ms. Denise Burton was also concerned with Alternative #4 and said research on this type of interchange has been seen in more
urbanized areas. She asked why it is proposed for this area, why not in Miami, and what makes it doable here. Mr. Suero said they received feedback and screened alternatives, with the
sole objective of what will meet the need of future traffic. Nothing has been proposed or recommended, this is for information only. This location for a DDI would only move forward if
it were widely approved. Ms. Kara Wood asked if there was more information about Alternative #4 relative to other cost alternatives and experience. Mr. Suero explained the cost as relative
to other alternatives, structures, and maintenance but said there is no detailed cost estimate at this time. Discussion ensued on it being favorable for a more suburban environment.
Mr. Ron Brown commented on Alternative #2 being a massive parking lot exit because it is an emergency/evacuation exit. Mr. Suero explained the need for more lanes to get the traffic
out. Ms. Carolyn Niemczyk understood the extra lanes at the west side of the St. Lucie Interchange lanes were at the developers expense and asked how that is coordinated with the project.
Mr. Suero said at this point the task is to figure out what the facility needs to have to accommodate 2040 traffic. They will finish this entire process without knowing all of the sources
of funding. FDOT needs to make sure the project is cost feasible and makes it into a 2035 or 2040 plan. FDOT has a strong role in overseeing and monitoring the details of shared cost
and shared funding, especially with a developer commitment and there are multiple layers of responsibility to make sure those commitments are kept. Mr. Gus Schmidt commented on development
commitments at St. Lucie West and Ms. Niemczyk confirmed their coordination on that job. Mr. Nick DiBenedetto questioned the factoring in of bicycles using corridors and asked how that
merging would be handled. Mr. Suero noted the bicycle lanes on Alternative #4 and explained how the approach road accounted for them. Alternative 1-B also showed bike lanes.
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 8 Mr. Suero said there will be more work done on this and before final recommendations are made they will have to
meet again. Ms. Denise Burton asked about the construction phase. Mr. Suero said they will be looking to make recommendations on what to build and make those decisions in the first quarter
of 2013 and take that to the public by late summer or early fall. Ms. Burton asked if there was any information on the study, the one south of here going to Martin County going to six
lanes. Mr. Suero said that is a separate study, it has a similar time frame and will be Martin County driven and will be going six to eight lanes. 8. Recommendations/Comments by Members
There were no additional comments by members. 9. Staff Comments Mr. Buchwald thanked all the advisory committee members in attendance, and FDOT representatives and guests for their excellent
presentations. Mr. Buchwald announced the upcoming TPO Certification meeting. Every four years the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration perform their
Federal Certification Review of the TPO. As part of the Certification we have the Public Hearing. The purpose of the meeting is to allow Federal officials the opportunity to gain input
on the community’s transportation issues in our area, to inform the community of the Federal transportation planning requirements and to certify that the TPO conforms to the Federal
requirements. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 5, 2012, at 6:00 PM in the new TPO offices at Coco Vista Centre, 466 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Suite 111, Port St. Lucie,
Florida. Mr. Buchwald reviewed the great year they had and reviewed the approved and recommended endorsements made by the advisory committees during the past year and thanked them for
a job well done. Mr. Buchwald announced that Kara Wood would be leaving and all agreed she would be missed and members wished her well. 10. Next Meeting Schedule: All Meetings will be
held at at 466 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, Suite 111, in Port St. Lucie.
November 20, 2012-TPO – TAC/CAC/BPAC Joint Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 8 CAC Regular Meeting Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 10:30 am TAC Regular Meeting Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 2:00 pm
BPAC Regular Meeting Thursday, January 17, 2013, 3:30 pm 11. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 3:48 P.M. Respectfully Submitted: Approved by: ________________________ ______________________
Mary Holleran Rogelio Gonzalez Recording Specialist Chairman, TAC _______________________ Kevin Trepanier, Chairman, CAC _______________________ Brad Keen Vice Chair, BPAC