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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Aciton Form dated April 9, 1996 ©ICJ' Item # Date: April 9, 19 6 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: WAIVER OF ENGINEERING AND INSPECTION COSTS FOR EXTEND- ING THE CURB DROP FOR THE EDWARDS SCHOOL BUS LOADING DROP-OFF ZONE BACKGROUND: Last fall, the Edwards Elementary School's PTO requested that the curb drop on the south side of Woodland Avenue be extended to accommodate the four to five busses that currently transport school children. Currently, these busses load children on the west side of Westwood Drive. However, this location is problematic since the street is heavily utilized by parents who are also picking up children, effectively reducing the curb space needed by the busses. Also, busses have difficulty maneuvering into this existing zone because of the frequent presence of vehicles on the east side of the street. With this parking present on the street, there is only an effective width of 15', or one lane of traffic. Subsequently, parents have requested that the bus loading zone be relocated to the south side of Woodland Avenue for safety and traffic flow purposes. With this zone relocated to Woodland Avenue, parents could utilize the total curb area on the west side of Westwood Drive to pick up school children. After receiving this request, school administrators have been working with staff to design an extension to the curb drop on Woodland Avenue to accommodate the busses. This design would call for extending the existing 80' curb drop-off to a total length of 1.80 feet. Included in this project would be the relocation of electrical power poles and transformers that exists in the right-of-way area. The total cost of this project would be $25,000 for the project. This project would be engineered and inspected by the City since it is in the right-of-way area. To fund this project, the school district is requesting that the City waive the engineering and inspection costs for the project. This cost would be approximately 15% of the total cost, or $3,750. The school will cover the costs of relocating the electric poles at a cost of $5,000. (Incidentally, school parents had originally requested that the City cover the entire cost of the project, however, staff had informed them that the City does not fund access improvements for agencies, businesses, or other entities.) The school district is anxious to start this project as soon as possible. They have indicated to the PTO group that this project would be completed by the start of the next school year. At this time, staff has not scheduled this project as part of their engineer- ing work. CAF - Edwards Drop-off Zone April 9, 1996 ' Page 2 ALTERNATIVES: 1. Approve the concept of extending a curb drop-off along the south side of Woodland Avenue adjacent to Edwards Elementary School. Also, designate this entire curb drop area along Woodland Street for a bus loading zone during loading periods. This would include removing the existing 250' bus loading zone that exists on the west side of Westwood Drive next to the Woodland Street intersection. Lastly, approve the waiver of the engineering and inspection costs for the project. 2. Approve the request to extend the drop-off zone, however, deny the waiver for engineering and inspection fees. 3. Deny the entire request. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: It is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt alternative number 1, thereby approving the concept of extending a curb drop-off along the south side of Woodland Avenue adjacent to Edwards School. Also, designate this entire curb drop area along Woodland Street for a bus loading zone during loading periods. This would include removing the existing 250' bus loading zone that exists on the west side of Westwood Drive next to the Woodland Street intersection. Lastly, approve the waiver of the engineering and inspection costs for the project. COUNCIL ACTION: Edwards School Proposed School Bus Loading Zone Proposed Bus Loading Zone Current Bus Loading Zone 180' Woodland St. ------------------------- N iw ,w} �af .f L Y 0 JSx Playgrounds CIO 0 0 3 Cily of Ames Traffic Deparvnem c:\PiIes\sdiooIs\edbusId.cdr TO: Mr. Bob Kindred DATE: 03/27/96 FROM: Daniel L. Bryant Sr. Director of Buildings and Grounds Ames Community School District REF: Edwards Elementary School Bus Drop Off Expansion CC: Dr. Ralph Farrar Mr. Scott Logan Mr. Ron Meals File As you remember, last fall we agreed with the Edwards PTO group to jointly put in a Bus Drop Off zone along WoodLand on the North side of the school property. In the conversation, the City of Ames agreed to perform the Engineering and Bid specifications for this project. Mr. Logan made up a drawing for the meeting as to what the Bus Drop Off would look like. A promise was made to the PTO group that this would be completed by the start of the next school year. To facilitate this,we need to start on the project as soon as possible, so that we can get this bid out and scheduled. To do this we need the following; ► Final drawings of the project. I will need to take these to the School Board for final approval. They have approved, by virtue of approving the Maintenance Five Year Plan, the funding for this project. ► An estimate of the project. This will need to accompany the final drawings. Because it is projected at under$25,000, it will not be bid out. We do however, need to get three estimates for the work. ► The electrical poles on the North side of the site will need to be moved to the South at a sufficient distance to accommodate the drop off zone. This work could start as early as this spring if the city electrical department has time now to do it. ► An investigation into the water and sewer will need to be checked to see if this will add cost to the project. I really appreciate all of the work that you and Scott Logan have already put into this project and look forward to completing it with you and the Edwards PTO to the satisfaction of all. If you have any other questions, please call. If you can give me an estimate of when I can expect to see the above info ation,this would be extremely helpful. r D e ant Sr. Director f Buildings and Grounds Ames Community School District 1621 Wilson Ave Ames, IA 50010 515-239-3795