2019-09-17 Council MIN - Special n
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CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Council Chambers - City Hall
September 17, 2019 — 5:30 p.m.
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Ferrell called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
City officials in attendance: ,Deputy Mayor Susan Honda, Councilmember Assefa-Dawson,
Councilmember Johnson; Councilmember Hoang Tran, Councilmember Mark Koppang,
Councilmember Martin Moore, and Councilmember Dini Duclos.
City staff in attendance: Deputy City Attorney Mark Orthmann and Deputy City Clerk Jennifer
Marshall.
Councilmember Assefa-Dawson participated telephonically.
Mayor Ferrell noted Councilmember Johnson was delayed at work and would be joining the
meeting shortly.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Ferrell led the flag salute.
3. STUDY SESSION
• City Center Access Update
Rick Perez, City Traffic Engineer, stated the purpose of the City Center Access Project is to
improve access to Interstate 5 from the City Center. He reviewed a timeline showing a steady
increase in the number of vehicles during peak afternoon commute hour(4:00—6:00 p.m.)at
State Route 99 and South 320th Street. Assuming growth in Federal Way is consistent with
regional forecasts,traffic volumes are anticipated to continue increasing to an additional 1,600
vehicles per hour at the same location by 2045. This increase would also result in delays for
side streets attempting to cross these major arterials, a delay in emergency response times,
and potentially limit economic development.
During the development phase of this project a list of possible street improvements were
reviewed. These options were studied with traffic models run to understand how
improvements might lessen congestion in the City Center. It was determined improvements to
the local roadways alone would not alleviate the congestion issues on South 320th Street.
Modifying access to the Interstate needs to be considered to distribute traffic off of South
320th Street and onto other roadways.
Federal Way City Council Special Minutes Page 1 of 3
September 17, 2019
Options for modifying access to the Interstate 5 (1-5)were evaluated based on the following
criteria:
• Improve mobility by decreasing congestion on South 320th Street.
• Maintain or improve access to and from the City Center.
® Provide opportunities for traffic to travel around rather than through the core.
• Improve non-motorized mobility.
Be designed for feasibility and constructability.
Address impacts to neighborhoods, parks, wetlands, and cultural resources.
• Address impacts to commercial and industrial properties and future land uses.
■ Be acceptable to impacted residents and the public.
Mr. Perez overviewed the interchange location options studied and then eliminated including.
• South 288th Street,
• South 296th Street,
• South 304th Street, and
• South 336th Street.
The two remaining proposed interchange locations were South 312th Street and S 324th
Street. The South 312th Street alternative was ultimately eliminated due to additional access
points to 1-5 decreasing safety, operational impacts to Sound Transit, incompatibility with
future plans of 1-5, high potential for Steel Lake Park and neighborhood impacts, and S 312th
does not directly serve the City Center Core.
Councilmember Johnson joined the meeting at 5:55 p.m.
Mr. Perez stated the remaining intersection has been identified as the preferred solution at
South 324th Street. Next steps include determining the optimal ramp configuration to
Interstate 5, intersection control options, and non-motorized improvements which will also take
the above criteria into consideration.
He highlighted the project timeline and public process to date which also includes returning to
Land Use/Transportation Council Committee(LUTC)on November 5 and then to City Council.
Once a preferred alternative is selected the team will move forward with preliminary design,
environmental review, and Access Revision Report.
• Council Discussion/Questions
Councilmembers asked if feedback had been favorable at the open houses. Mr. Perez
reported the public consensus was there is a need for improvements and the options
proposed appear reasonable. He reported opposition from individuals near S 312th Street
concerned about the impact to Steel Lake Park.
Council also questioned if there are traffic flow models or diagrams that can be used to better
educate the public to the potential traffic issues and showcasing the proposals. Mr. Perez
indicated there are tools, but currently there are not funds allocated for that purpose.
Discussion continued regarding public; Council requested the residents near Steel Lake and
Twin Lakes notified. Mr. Perez clarified the models being run do include increased public
transit inclusive of the Sound Transit Link Extension.
Federal Way Cite Council Special Minutes Page 2 of 3
September 17, 2019
• Citizen Comments
Dana Hollaway asked where funding is coming from for this project and when construction is
anticipated. She questions if it will conflict with Sound Transit work.
Mr. Perez stated the timing is dependent upon when funding can be secured. Funding to date
has been provided by the City; staff will be working to secure grants and he indicated this
project will likely be transferred to Washington State Department of Transportation(WSDOT)
to manage.
4. ADJOURNMENT
There being nothing further on the agenda; the Special Meeting was adjourned at 6:18 p.m.
Attest:
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fer Marshall
Citj Clerk
Approved by Council:
Federal Way City Council Special Minutes Page 3 of 3
September 17, 2019