Providence North Main Street Task Force-November 20, 2024-5:30 PM
Call to Order, Roll Call, and Introductions
The meeting was called to order and roll call was conducted, noting an absence of a quorum making the session informational only. Task force members and meeting attendees then introduced themselves before proceeding to the presentations.
Agenda Item 1: Lighting Upgrades Implementation Update
Special Projects Manager Kyle provided an update on Phase 1 lighting installations along North Main Street and planned Phase 2 locations. The task force discussed coordination with utilities, tree canopy assessments, and equipment procurement ahead of the winter moratorium.
Agenda Item 2: Road Safety Assessment Update and Discussion
Sean Raymond from RIDOT and BHB consultants presented findings and near-term engineering and behavioral recommendations from the Road Safety Assessment. Members and staff discussed signal adjustments, resting on red, signage installation, pedestrian safety measures, and long-term capital design plans.
Public Comment and Announcements
The chair shared updates regarding upcoming presentations on Miriam Hospital construction and the interagency Vision Zero report. Members of the public provided comments and questions concerning road design speed reduction, transit integration, intersection daylighting, and bicycle safety.
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Over there. And then there's also a copy of the presentation. We put over there. It'll also be Yeah. And we do not have a form today, so this is an informational only meeting.
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Do we do we need to do... Call? Yes.. Can we please hold on? Absent.
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Sarah Angle, absent. Jessica Lance, is absent. Nate Urso, is absent. Sean Redd.
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Here.
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Roethey Jaswell. It's absent. I mean, it's 5,007 absent. We do not have a floor. Thank you so much.
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So welcome to the November meeting of the North Main Street task force. We have a week's time. So we have two, pardon me, two main presentations there between topics. We're gonna talk a bit about updates since our last meeting, which was in September and including lighting. And we're gonna have a presentation by Kyle, our special project...
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Or director of project management for the city council who is a native person. And then we're gonna have a discussion about the road safety assessment. Also, a native person, Sean Raymond, is gonna lead that conversation with the consultant team. I'm so glad it's here. And just for anyone who might be watching on Zoom, a request we've cut in the past is that you can go around the room and introduce our fellow.
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And before we do that, I also wanna thank that we have Leo Felix here today from the. Thank you so much, Leo. Happy to be here. We always definitely prefer making quirks. And Kyle and also Patricia from the health global policy office to help out.
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So I appreciate you all of that as well. So why don't we quick do the intros for anyone watching on Zoom, either currently or later reporting? The request I've gotten,, the chair of this committee, and the councilor for. Which I have to add to the next?
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Don't know. I
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don't know. Just say what your name is.
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Oh. It's for the the people The problems, please. Sean Raymond from Rideout.
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Yes. Peter Cameroon from Sano Chuck on North Main Street.
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And
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vice chair of the task force representing the Brooklyn Street's coalition here.
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Awesome. So we're gonna get started with agenda item one. Also, as just a reminder of everyone, stay healthy. Everybody else is sick today. Take care of yourself.
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Was a holiday season. Kurtz, can we please read item number one to the agenda, please? Updates on implementation, including on lighting upgrades, presentation by the titles of bottom, special projects made at your.
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Good evening, everybody. I don't have a presentation. I'm just hearing a verbal update. But in our last meeting, we were talking about the councilwoman and I's interference funding with some lighting upgrades, add some strategic locations to Rock North Main Street. In our first phase, we really wanted to tackle some priority locations that we have to ask feedback on, and I'm just here to provide an update on that and then kind of where we're heading with some of the lighting, you know, install.
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So our first phase, we have completed. We've done numerous installs on North Main Street, specifically on the mid lot near Cypress. We've also done some between Boeschampo and Lancaster, and then another install on the North Side Of Rochambeau, and then one on the southbound side directly across Rochambeau. And then, also, there is a lighting install that happens right on... As you turn right on to Rochambeau going northbound in North Main Street on 4150.
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So we've done about seven installs, and we've been working basically supplementary to this this task force for the working group. RideOff's been involved. Energy's been involved. Public property of the city as well that, you know, when we get these installs fixed in, we also wanna make sure that they're getting energized and not having more lead times, especially at this time of year at the New Orleans City. It's very dark out very early, so the land installed at those locations were the utmost importance.
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So our approach in this first phase is really tackling those priority locations, but now we're working with the Prism to kind of go on the second phase. We're looking at the North North Burial Ground stretch going southbound back towards the city. We're also looking at the University Market area as well, assessing some decorative lighting options over there to kinda help with the aesthetic pedestrian level lighting as well. And then we're also looking at kind of the North on the North Burial Ground to be down with the Kentucky line as well at the second phase. While we're also assessing those, for some of the city's contractor for lighting is working with the ABARI tool, which was presented last time, the software to kinda come up with a comprehensive approach as well.
Unknown
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So over the wintertime, we'll look back, you know, the stretch as a whole, but also those side streets that were mentioned last time too as well. So we wanted to... We wanna gradually transition from, you know, the priority locations to kinda looking at things at a whole holistic scale there. We also fixed
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a
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number of outages as well, just like that, which is not functioning. Fixed probably about six or seven of those. We have a few more that's in queue as well that we're troubleshooting with Radon Energy, so we should be getting those done as well in the next few weeks. And then the main thing is just, you know, we're gonna be putting in some orders soon for the light fixtures on, you know, the North Burial Ground area and the University Heights or the Marketplace area. So there'll be some lead time over the wintertime for those materials to kinda come in, but we should see those probably the springtime would be out to do some permitting process and that will ride on our energy, which is really great that we have those stable the meetings in between because we can communicate.
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Sean has been really helpful from a ride on perspective. We have some definite energy that have been really helpful in trying to help expedite some of these permits so they don't kinda get stuck in the process, being that this is a highly visible United States project there. So we've been working, you know, outside of this meeting to, know, you keep things going and work for all agencies to get things done, and we've been seeing some of those things data, which is really well. I don't know the council kinda wants to add anything there.
Unknown
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Yeah. Do you wanna... I have two things to add, but before I do that, do you wanna talk a little bit about the tree canopy data?
Unknown
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So we are working with the city of Forest Fair as well. The tree canopies on North Main Street are a big part of our lighting assessment. We don't want to take away trees on. Right? We are looking at raising some of the canopy levels on some of those trees just so, like, potentially level lighting can be, you know, more illuminating illuminating.
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And then also looking at some, like, hobby style lights and just trimming around a little just to make sure that they have, you know, the most reflection around. So the Forrester works with an outside vendor to collect that data. They are expecting for a report by the end of November, so we should be able to feed that into, like, our our CR... Not a CR... Our GIS systems that we're working with and kinda come up with a, like, a specific comprehensive approach there.
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Our lighting contract at Prism also went out there and just recorded kind of areas with, you know, MPs, and they're gonna be able to kinda address those. So we'll be able to work with... On the city side, with our... We'll get it done. And then I believe anything that follow the RIDOT jurisdiction, we'll work with Sean and Rideout to kind of put in those requests, which is necessary to enhance the lighting in the areas.
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I believe that it is really. So
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two quick things I had to add was just in addition to what you've shared, one other install we've done, the app by Firehouse, and then a non, like, new fixture, but addition to a fixture is right at that intersection as well. We know it's problematic in getting something in that weird center triangle is is gonna take a little minute. Yeah. Director put in some, like, real intense bloodlines. So you probably know what's gonna do you drive it tonight.
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It's not hard not to notice that. Definitely. Yeah. That dark crosswalk. That's amazing.
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Yeah.
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It's really well with that.
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Okay. I'll make
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sure he does that. Was a real problem.
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Yeah. That was. Yeah. So we're trying to figure out to energize from the center triangle. But in the meantime, just, like, like, crap out of that triangle.
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So basically Yeah. Intersection. You send that money.
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Yeah. Yeah. We've done that for now. And then Kyle touched on this, but for some of the installs, they're they're ordering equipment now. And so it works out really well because we can't really do a lot of, like...
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Once the ground freezes, some of these you can't really do during the wintertime. So that should be great timing to do all the stuff now, such as the decorative and the street level lamps. Yeah. So it seems like that'll work out for you.
Unknown
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Yeah. I can experiment on that. So there's a moratorium that happens during wintertime. The groundhog is up. They kind of pull certain types of work.
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So we were... You know, it's a perfect time for us to get some of these first phases done in the fall, right, before this is, you know, the moratorium. This will also give us a good amount of time to be able to do the permitting stuff, get interior order. You know, there's extended shipping times. So by the time, you know, the weather breaks in the spring, you'll be able to capitalize into the ground running with some of these new wet installs.
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Like I said, North Burya Ground University Marketplace, a little bit north of North Burya Ground, and. A So lot happened.
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Can I ask you to, like, the full specific spots? There are a few intersections like Smithfield Ave. I think, Bartlett and and. There were just, like, no pole in the vicinity to put lights on. And then we talked about, like, adding poles being way more expensive than adding lights.
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Are there any plans for some of those spots, though, where we have kind of high traffic intersections with just no lighting around, or is that something that we kinda have to wait for more funding on?
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We have the funding --. Yeah. We have the funding in place. I think the approach right now was those first locations and then we're just taking a step back and looking at things comprehensively. But if that is
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a primary location Yeah. That's the case too. Yeah.
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Yeah. We can probably add that and look into it as well.
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But, again, we'd rather than just add that now. If you can redesign this and change the covalence and stuff, wouldn't it be better to run that on the
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ground at some point? Yes. And I think what Kyle's talking about, I think, you know, more the immediate stuff, but wherever there's missing gaps or, yeah, the longer term, various stuff underground, we can certainly incorporate that part of the the project that's that's sold out.