|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2010-2035 DRAFT MTP
Public Comments Welcome!
The 2010-2035 DRAFT Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update and the associated Transportation/Air Quality Conformity Determination are now available for public review and comment from June 17 - July 16, 2010.
2010-13 TIP Amendment #2
Draft Available for Comment
The 2010-2013 DRAFT Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Amendment #2 is available for public review and
comment in the from June 17 - July 16, 2010.
Bike to Work Fairbanks
Event Results and Survey
FMATS partnered with various local agencies and community groups to
organize this event from May 16-21. A survey is underway to gather bicycle network data from the participants and local cyclists. The event totals and the survey results to date are online.
Project Open House
Plack Road Bike/Ped Facility
Plack Road Bike/Pedestrian Facility Open House was held on June 10, 2010 in North Pole. Community input was gathered and alternatives were presented. Visit the project website for more information.
College Road Open House
June 24, 5-7 p.m.
The College Road Pavement Rehabilitation Project Open House meeting will be held on June 24, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Artisan's Courtyard 1755 Westwood Way,Fairbanks.
|  CONSTRUCTION SEASON 2010
NEWSLETTER
|
|
 ROADS
|
 Illinois Street Reconstruction
Barnette Street Bridge Construction
After
more than 25 years of planning and preliminary engineering and design efforts
the Illinois Street Reconstruction Project has broke ground with initiation of
the construction of the Barnette Street Bridge. The building demolition project
was completed last fall in preparation for bridge construction. The
Barnette Street Bridge, complete with facilities for bicycles and pedestrians,
will deliver south bound traffic leaving the Illinois Street intersection
directly across the Chena River and onto Barnette Street. The Policy Committee reaffirmed
the decision to make the Barnette Street Bridge and the Cushman Street Bridge
handle one-way traffic on August 19, 2009 as they considered the incorporation of elements of the Vision Fairbanks Plan. The
Vision Fairbanks Downtown Plan calls for two-way traffic on Cushman and
Barnette Streets and on both bridges. On June 16, 2010, the Policy Committee
unanimously voted in support of initiating the environmental process to study
the feasibility of this alternative and its impacts on both sides of the river. The
initiation of construction on the Illinois Street Reconstruction Project is of
monumental importance to the downtown community. For the residents and business
owners in the downtown area, the sounds of the pile driver echo the promise of
improved traffic flow along Illinois Street/Downtown corridor. Bridge
construction should be complete this winter and Illinois Street is to begin
reconstruction in 2011. |
 PEDESTRIANS
|
 Wendell Street ADA Improvements
Improving Access to Community Assets
Since the completion of the aesthetically and culturally appealing Morris Thompson Visitors Center, it has become glaringly obvious that Wendell Street is in need of a face lift. The Wendell Street ADA Project, slated to begin construction in 2010, is just what the doctor ordered.
Resident and visiting pedestrians wishing to access this "gateway to the grandeur of Interior Alaska", will be encouraged by ADA accessible ramps, wider sidewalks and drainage improvements. Improved transit ridership is also possible through better access to bus stops, including the state-of-the-art bus shelter designed and constructed by the Center to comfort winter riders.
According
to the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Center has seen a
steady visitor increase over the past year, having connected nearly 64,000
visitors with the Interior Alaska experience in 2009. Creating an environment conducive to walking between this new community asset and the core downtown, is a true benefit to these visitors as well as the downtown businesses.
In
addition, the project also offers
pavement rehabilitation and utility adjustments that will improve overall mobility for the Center as well as for the other businesses and residents of the area.This project will get underway early this fall and is expected to be complete in the Summer of 2011.
Cindy Schumaker, Project Director at the Center, is excited to see this work get underway. "It will really enhance the approach into our facility and into the downtown as well". She said that this improvement, combined with other recent downtown improvements such as Golden
Heart Park, the Centennial Pedestrian Bridge, the Lend-Lease Memorial, the
wonderful walking paths in Griffin Park and the Antler Arch, is evidence that "Fairbanks is reclaiming its place as a River City".
|
 BICYCLES
|
 Preventive Maintenance Program
Bike Path Rehabilitation Project
Proactive measures to protect our local infrastructure investments is a proven strategy for avoiding costly reconstruction. With the potential for a
federal allocation decreases looming on the horizon, the FMATS Preventive Maintenance (PM) program has become a more refined organizational priority, and bike paths made the needs list.
The 2010 FMATS Bike Path Rehabilitation Project will begin to address the common public complaint concerning the condition of our local bikeway network. This Project, to be completed during the summer of 2010, will rehabilitate the paths on the Steese Expressway between Airport Way and the Johansen Expressway, and along Farmers Loop between College Road and North Tanana Drive.
Bike paths will remain a priority component of the FMATS PM program in future years, as funds allow. An existing conditions analysis of our bicycle and pedestrian facilities will soon be conducted as part of the recently funded FMATS Non-motorized Transportation Plan. The analysis will help to assess and prioritize any future bike path PM efforts.
This is just one of many strategies FMATS has taken recently to improve and expand upon the multi-modal transportation options available to people living in and visiting the Fairbanks area. For more information visit our website.
|
 FREIGHT |
 Pipe Dreams
Visions of Freight Movement Into the Future
When it comes to freight planning, FMATS is faced with the challenge of cautiously anticipating needed transportation infrastructure upgrades and possible time lines for the construction of a gas pipeline. This is being best achieved by local transportation planners through the alignment of existing needs with the potential logistical
requirements of pipeline construction.
Thinking proactively, the FMATS 2010-2035 Metropolitan Transportation Plan has addressed the movement of freight, touching on basic considerations essential for the construction of a gas pipeline and for Fairbanks area freight transport in general. Improved access to industrial staging areas and access routes from the highway system were the focus of many of the future recommendations.
As for the near term, the following freight related projects are scheduled for Summer 2010 construction:
Phillips Field Road Upgrade Project
This project will promote safety, traffic flow and industrial productivity in the Fairbanks Railroad Industrial area. This project, which will include road rehabilitation, guardrail, lighting, and improvements to sight distances and intersections, is critical to current freight operations. The project will also specifically benefit any future gas line projects by increasing safety and mobility for trucks hauling freight to the North Slope via the Johannsen Expressway.
Cartwright Road Extension
This project will upgrade Cartwright Road (Van Horn Road west) from Peger Road west towards the Fairbanks International Airport. The existing roadway is inadequate and this upgrade will provide a safe corridor in this busy industrial area. Improvements include new pavement, improved drainage and utility relocation.
Fairbanks Freight Intermodal Facility Improvements
With the
majority of the freight arriving to Fairbanks via train, the improved Freight Intermodal Facility is a much needed and timely upgrade to the existing Alaska Railroad owned gravel facility.The Project is set to begin in the summer of 2010 on a 16.1
acre site adjacent to the Operations yard. It will increase the handling capacity at the Fairbanks rail yard, make track changes more efficient and improve the transfer operation between rail cars and ground transportation, making for a safer more efficient intermodal operation. The project is expected for completion in September 2010.
|
 TRANSIT
|
 Shelter From the Storm
FMATS Bus Shelter Upgrades
With fuel costs, environmental consciousness and unemployment on the rise, MACS transit is growing in popularity in the Fairbanks area, and is evidenced by a 22.5% increase in ridership in 2009.
Unfortunately, winter weather in Fairbanks challenges even the most committed transit commuter's decision to ride the bus, forcing many voluntary riders back into their personal vehicle for half the year. The FMATS Bus Shelter upgrade project will encourage year round ridership and ensure that those that rely on transit are not left out in the cold.
The shelters will be unheated, glass-paneled shelters with benches to improve the experience of waiting for the bus and decrease
perceived
waiting times. Better signage will also make navigating the bus system less intimidating.
Not only will
these shelters comfort existing users, it is hoped that they will
attract new riders through increased comfort and safety. According to surveys conducted by the Center for
Transportation Research at the University of Florida, safety is the
number one quality Americans look for in a transit stop.
The FMATS Bus Shelter Replacement project will replace 22 existing shelters, add 16 new shelters and upgrade 114 bus stops. Based on ridership frequency data, shelters will be placed in key locations such as the Noel Wien Library, Shopper's Forum, University Mall, Cornerstone Mall, Northgate Square, West Valley High School, USPS Geist Road, Creamer's Field, the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds, Safeway (at Old Steese), Holiday and Frontier Apartments and various other locations along South Cushman Street, College Road and 23rd Aveune.
For more information about MACS Transit routes, schedules or stop locations visit the Fairbanks North Star Borough website or call (907) 459-1011.
|
 |
For More Information, Contact Us!
800 Cushman Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701
ph: 907.459.6805 fax: 907.459.6783
tlcallear@ci.fairbanks.ak.us
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
