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Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval.
Bruce Talbot	11/4/2013 9:18:05 AM
Following is the Basher Community Council's comments submitted to Mayor Sullivan on improvements to the Campbell Airstrip Road. The proposed 2014 MOA Capital Improvement Budget shows the entire project cost($5.3 million) on pages 1, 10 and 82 to be entirely funded by the state. Board members have met with members of the legislature and assembly on this project. The board of the community council respectfully requests that $2.65 million come from the municipality and the other half from the state. We feel that this project which has been requested for the last several years will never be built without contributions from both the municipality and the state. Following is a letter recently submitted to Mayor Sullivan from our board president: Subject: Including Campbell Airstrip Road and Pedestrian Safety Improvements in the 2014 ARDSA bond package Over the years, improvements have been made to the Campbell Airstrip Road between Tudor Road and the BLM Campbell Airstrip Parking Area at Mile 1.1. In 1991, the first one-third mile of the road was re-located, significantly upgraded, and a parallel bike trail developed in conjunction with the construction of the Benny Benson School. In 1993, Mile .7 to Mile 1.1 of the road was upgraded, parallel bike trail built, and a grade-separated crossing for a dogsled trail was developed. Unfortunately, a section of the road and bike trail linking these two segments from Mile 0.3 to Mile 0.7 never received funds and the road continues to be narrow, in poor condition and hazardous to both motorists and pedestrians. The fact that there is a bike trail on either side of this road segment but none in the middle where the road is narrowest, presents a significant safety hazard to both pedestrians and motorists. The section of road that needs reconstruction is in the ARDSA and eligible to receive funds through municipal bonds. The Basher Community Council is requesting partial funding for renovating this section of road through the 2014 Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area (ARDSA) bond package to go before the voters in April. In March 2012 a Design Study Report was completed for this project (MOA project No. 10-028). Based on this report, the Anchorage Public Works Department estimates that this project will cost approximately $5.3 million. The Basher Community Council requests that half the cost of the project ($2.65 million) be included in the 2014 ARDSA bond proposal. We will also be asking the State to contribute a matching amount of $2.65 million during the upcoming legislative session. By the municipality contributing a matching amount toward this project, we feel that there is a better chance of the remaining funding being provided through the state’s FY 2014-15 capital budget. Upgrading this section of road and parallel pedestrian trail serve both the interests of the state and municipally: they accesses both Far North Bicentennial Park and Chugach State Park trailheads as well as approximately 160 homes located in the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood. The primary goals of this project will be to: • Upgrade the roadway similar to the segments north and south of the project area • Connect two existing pathways on each end of the project by providing a multi-use pathway parallel to the road Justification for this project includes: • This is the narrowest section of the entire Campbell Airstrip Road between Tudor Road and the community of Stuckagain Heights and the only section that hasn’t undergone extensive roadbed reconstruction in recent years and is hazardous to both motorists and pedestrians who use the same road surface; • There is increasing use of this segment of road by pedestrians. Residents of the Scenic Foothills, University Area and Basher Community walk, run and bicycle along this segment of road. The APU ski team and UAA running teams use the road regularly for training runs and rollerskis. The route of the annual Mayor’s Marathon with over 4,000 runners uses this segment of road. Bike commuters on upper hillside regularly commute across the trails in Far North Bicentennial Park to the Campbell Airstrip Road and then west on Tudor Road to work in the U-Med District. • Along the Campbell Airstrip Road south of Tudor, this road segment receives the highest level of vehicular traffic because it serves as the main entrance to Far North Bicentennial Park; is the only access to the community of Stuckagain Heights; and provides access to the only trailhead to Chugach Sate Park in East Anchorage. The annual traffic passing one way through this road segment has been estimated by the municipality to be approximately one million vehicles/year. • There is ASD School Bus use of this segment of road six times each school day (three in the morning and three in the evening). Last year an ASD School Bus (fortunately empty) was involved in an accident on this segment of road on its way to the Bus Stop for its normal first stop student pick-up. • The road is in need of a significant upgrade since embankments prevent proper snowplowing and drainage, the road bed is inadequate, the road surface is too narrow, and the road possesses a poorly designed crown. These all create a significant safety hazards; • The 2009 Bicentennial Park Trail Improvement Plan, 2000 Anchorage Bowl Park Natural Resource and Recreation Facilities Plan, and 1996 Areawide Trails Plan, all recommend that the Campbell Airstrip Road be improved and a parallel bike trail be constructed because this section of road is dangerous to both motorists and pedestrians alike; • The Municipality of Anchorage’s 2014 State Legislative Program Capital Priority Requests include this project; By unanimous vote of the Executive Board, the Basher Community Council supports including funding for the Campbell Airstrip Road Improvements in the ARDSA bond proposal to go before the voters in April 2014. Sincerely, Don Crafts, President Basher Community Council

Submitted comments will appear below after staff approval.

Bruce Talbot

11/4/2013 9:18:05 AM

Following is the Basher Community Council's comments submitted to Mayor Sullivan on improvements to the Campbell Airstrip Road. The proposed 2014 MOA Capital Improvement Budget shows the entire project cost($5.3 million) on pages 1, 10 and 82 to be entirely funded by the state. Board members have met with members of the legislature and assembly on this project. The board of the community council respectfully requests that $2.65 million come from the municipality and the other half from the state. We feel that this project which has been requested for the last several years will never be built without contributions from both the municipality and the state. Following is a letter recently submitted to Mayor Sullivan from our board president: Subject: Including Campbell Airstrip Road and Pedestrian Safety Improvements in the 2014 ARDSA bond package Over the years, improvements have been made to the Campbell Airstrip Road between Tudor Road and the BLM Campbell Airstrip Parking Area at Mile 1.1. In 1991, the first one-third mile of the road was re-located, significantly upgraded, and a parallel bike trail developed in conjunction with the construction of the Benny Benson School. In 1993, Mile .7 to Mile 1.1 of the road was upgraded, parallel bike trail built, and a grade-separated crossing for a dogsled trail was developed. Unfortunately, a section of the road and bike trail linking these two segments from Mile 0.3 to Mile 0.7 never received funds and the road continues to be narrow, in poor condition and hazardous to both motorists and pedestrians. The fact that there is a bike trail on either side of this road segment but none in the middle where the road is narrowest, presents a significant safety hazard to both pedestrians and motorists. The section of road that needs reconstruction is in the ARDSA and eligible to receive funds through municipal bonds. The Basher Community Council is requesting partial funding for renovating this section of road through the 2014 Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area (ARDSA) bond package to go before the voters in April. In March 2012 a Design Study Report was completed for this project (MOA project No. 10-028). Based on this report, the Anchorage Public Works Department estimates that this project will cost approximately $5.3 million. The Basher Community Council requests that half the cost of the project ($2.65 million) be included in the 2014 ARDSA bond proposal. We will also be asking the State to contribute a matching amount of $2.65 million during the upcoming legislative session. By the municipality contributing a matching amount toward this project, we feel that there is a better chance of the remaining funding being provided through the state’s FY 2014-15 capital budget. Upgrading this section of road and parallel pedestrian trail serve both the interests of the state and municipally: they accesses both Far North Bicentennial Park and Chugach State Park trailheads as well as approximately 160 homes located in the Stuckagain Heights neighborhood. The primary goals of this project will be to: • Upgrade the roadway similar to the segments north and south of the project area • Connect two existing pathways on each end of the project by providing a multi-use pathway parallel to the road Justification for this project includes: • This is the narrowest section of the entire Campbell Airstrip Road between Tudor Road and the community of Stuckagain Heights and the only section that hasn’t undergone extensive roadbed reconstruction in recent years and is hazardous to both motorists and pedestrians who use the same road surface; • There is increasing use of this segment of road by pedestrians. Residents of the Scenic Foothills, University Area and Basher Community walk, run and bicycle along this segment of road. The APU ski team and UAA running teams use the road regularly for training runs and rollerskis. The route of the annual Mayor’s Marathon with over 4,000 runners uses this segment of road. Bike commuters on upper hillside regularly commute across the trails in Far North Bicentennial Park to the Campbell Airstrip Road and then west on Tudor Road to work in the U-Med District. • Along the Campbell Airstrip Road south of Tudor, this road segment receives the highest level of vehicular traffic because it serves as the main entrance to Far North Bicentennial Park; is the only access to the community of Stuckagain Heights; and provides access to the only trailhead to Chugach Sate Park in East Anchorage. The annual traffic passing one way through this road segment has been estimated by the municipality to be approximately one million vehicles/year. • There is ASD School Bus use of this segment of road six times each school day (three in the morning and three in the evening). Last year an ASD School Bus (fortunately empty) was involved in an accident on this segment of road on its way to the Bus Stop for its normal first stop student pick-up. • The road is in need of a significant upgrade since embankments prevent proper snowplowing and drainage, the road bed is inadequate, the road surface is too narrow, and the road possesses a poorly designed crown. These all create a significant safety hazards; • The 2009 Bicentennial Park Trail Improvement Plan, 2000 Anchorage Bowl Park Natural Resource and Recreation Facilities Plan, and 1996 Areawide Trails Plan, all recommend that the Campbell Airstrip Road be improved and a parallel bike trail be constructed because this section of road is dangerous to both motorists and pedestrians alike; • The Municipality of Anchorage’s 2014 State Legislative Program Capital Priority Requests include this project; By unanimous vote of the Executive Board, the Basher Community Council supports including funding for the Campbell Airstrip Road Improvements in the ARDSA bond proposal to go before the voters in April 2014. Sincerely, Don Crafts, President Basher Community Council

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