PUBLIC MEETINGS :

NNW, Inc. and the City of Iowa City held a public meeting Thursday, May 17, 2007 from 5:30-6:30 at South East Junior High, Iowa City, Iowa.

Meeting Discussion Items were:

• Limits of Project
• Concept
• Ideas on Aesthetics

Postage paid comment cards were provided by NNW. Residents, businesses and interested parties are encouraged to return these cards with their comments, suggestions and ideas to NNW, Inc. Mailing address is 506 E. College Street, Iowa City, IA 52240. Electronic feedback can also be provided to:

Steve Jacobsen, PE, President of NNW, Inc.

If you would like to speak with Steve, you may call him at (319) 351-2166. To speak with Denny Gannon from the City of Iowa City, please call (319) 356-5142.

 

Publicized Meeting Notices:

City of Iowa City Press Release on First Avenue Meeting

Press Citizen Notice for First Avenue Meeting

Expressed Comments and Concerns at the 05/17/07 Public Meeting:

Visibility. Concerns were expressed about the railroad berm and retaining wall limiting visibility for businesses. Addtionally, concern was expressed for the steepness of entrance driveways for neighborhing businesses.

Shared stairs on the property lines.

Water ponding in the area and the need for a pump station.

Effect on property values.

Maintaining access to businesses during construction. As with any improvement project, there are disruptions during construction that will cause the situation to get worse before it gets better. However, the final outcome would be a great improvement to travel on First Avenue.

Construction Time Adjustments:

• Semi-trucks will not be allowed for a time when traffic goes below the temporary bridge. School buses will be allowed.
• The railroad will be raised 5 to 7 feet.  The roadway at the crossing will be lowered about 10 to 12 feet.
• It will be about 1 year from the start of construction until traffic will go below the railroad.
• Time-line was discussed and construction time was estimated at 2 years. Earliest construction start time would be Spring 2008.
• Federal funding ($5 million) information available in October. 

A concerned resident says:

Gentlemen,

First, thank you for the presentation about the proposed project last Thursday at Southeast Jr. High. You (City and NNW) presented the situation and proposed solution well.

I asked the question regarding putting a pier in the middle of the bridge so that the bridge section depth could be reduced. You answered that it is now common practice not to do that and gave as the principal reason piers are objects that vehicles hit.

I think central piers should still be considered. But rather than just plant the piers in the middle of the road, they should be protected by a substantial wall that divides the roadway for 50 to 100 ft either side of the bridge, possibly as far as the traffic lights (Mall Dr. on the south, Bradford Dr. on the north). Here are my reasons why:

(1) A sufficiently high wall would prevent students and pedestrians from trying to cross the road where it is not safe.

(2) The bridge itself would be less imposing on the landscape.

(3) The railroad roadbed would not have to be raised, or not nearly as high. Raising the roadbed would be another imposition on the landscape that would extend far beyond the crossing.

(4) There would be less leverage for the railroad to demand costly improvements. (Might Iowa Interstate be eligible for funding on this project through the Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program, Iowa Railway Finance Authority of the Iowa Department of Transportation?)

(5) The 25-mile/hour speed limit makes the vehicles-hit-piers argument moot.

(6) Total project costs might be less.

Regardless of what is done, I hope the design will be in keeping with the other bridges Iowa City has replaced, i.e., that the bridge aesthetics will be a high priority and worth the extra cost. There are many fine bridges in the city.

Thanks again for a good presentation.

PREVIOUS PUBLISHED INFORMATION :

Trains will no longer delay motorist traveling on First Avenue in Iowa City .

Daily Iowan Report on First Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa

Press Citizen on First Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa

Press Citizen Letter to the Editor on First Avenue, Iowa City, Iowa March 28, 2007 Need solution for First Avenue

Driving north on First Avenue in Iowa City recently, I encountered the bane of eastsiders' existence: a train approaching the intersection near Mall Drive. Usually I swing out of line and shop at nearby stores until it's gone. Today I decided to see what happens. Here it is: • 11:32 a.m. Gates down, train approaches. Traffic piles up in two lanes on both sides of First Avenue. Cars on Mall Drive stretch as far as I can see. School kids are out near the tracks, waiting for the train to stop (as it always does) so they can climb across. • 11:38. Train stops, waits four minutes, crawls forward. More people pull U turns to start the long detour. The train is hauling mostly Archer Daniels Midland vegetable oil containers; not too interesting. Not even good graffiti. • 11:43: An ambulance, siren going, lights flashing, arrives and is forced to turn back. Did the delay injure its patient? • 11:45: This is getting old, but the cars are more interesting--China Shipping, Hamburg Sud (Germany). • 11:49: Gates go back up. Traffic is backed up to Lower Muscatine Avenue behind me, and ahead cars are solid to D Street, partially blocking Muscatine Avenue. I realize that people are thinking of solutions, though an overpass seems extreme -- how would one get to Mall Drive? What about nearby businesses? But I'd just like to ask: Who decided it would be good to triple the number of cars on First Avenue without solving this problem? And is this person designing the solution, too? Anne Tanner, Iowa City