MEMORANDUM!of!MEETING!

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1 Date: March7,2011 MEMORANDUMofMEETING DateofMeeting: March3,2011 WorkOrderNumber: 31745"006 TimeofMeeting: 9:00am ContractNumber: T MeetingLocation: DuPontEnvironmentalEducation Center,Wilmington,Delaware MeetingDescription: StakeholderMeeting Participants: JamesWilson,BikeDelaware DavidBlankenship,CityofWilmington MichaelLeventry,CityofWilmington AnthonyAglio,DelDOT DrewBoyce,DelDOT MarcoBoyce,DelDOT RayPetrucci,DelDOT MarkChura,DelawareGreenways DavidBartoo,DelawareStateParks DavidCampbell,DelawareTransitCorporation BobbiBritton,EastCoastGreenwayAlliance JonHusband,NewCastleCounty HeatherDunigan,WILMAPCO DavidDuszak,WR&A JeffRiegner,WR&A Project: IndustrialTrackGreenwayPhase3 FeasibilityStudy cc: LindaParkowski,DEDO RobertaGeier,DelDOT AmyWilburn,DelawareBicycleCouncil JohnHarrod,DelawareNatureSociety SusanMoerschel,DelawareStateParks SarahWilloughby,GreaterWilmingtonConvention andvisitorsbureau EstherLovlie,HistoricNewCastleAlliance RichardKillingsworth,NemoursHealthandPrevention Services CathieThomas,CityofNewCastle MeganMcGlinchey,RDC ChrisCastagno,TrusteesofNewCastleCommon WilliamMontgomery,CityofWilmington AndrewDer,WR&A BillGeschrei,WR&A BobJackson,WR&A Astakeholdermeetingwasheld toprovideanoverviewoftheproject sgoalsand todiscussrecentfindings.the attendeesintroducedthemselvesandwr&apresentedapreliminarybasemapandphotographsshowingeachof thethreealternatives.asummaryofeachalternativeisbelow,alongwithdiscussionsofeach.apreliminarybase mapshowingeachalternativeisattached(figure1). Overview ThefirstphaseoftheIndustrialTrackGreenwaybeginsatSR273intheCityofNewCastleandextendsjustnorthof BouldenBoulevard.NewCastleCountywillconstructPhase2oftheGreenway,whichwillextendfromtheendof Phase1totheChristinaRiver.Phase3ofthetrailwillbeginattheendofPhase2,crosstheChristinaRiver,and connect to the Wilmington Riverwalk. When completed, all phases of the Industrial Track Greenway will form a continuoussixmilerouteandwillalsoprovidefurtherconnectionstothenortherndelawaregreenway. Ingeneral,itwasagreedthattheIndustrialTrackGreenwaywillprovidenotonlyanimportanttransportationand recreationalroutebetweenwilmingtonandnewcastle,itcouldserveasignificanteconomicdevelopmentpurpose aswell.

2 March4,2011 Page2 W.O.31745"006 YellowAlternative Thefirstalternative(showninyellow)connectstothePhase2traildirectlynorthoftheI"495overpass.Thetrail immediatelyveerswestandloopsaroundanun"namedinlettothechristinariver.itthenrunsparalleltoi"95and usestheexistingi"95bridgeoverthechristinariver.wr&abridgeengineershaveevaluatedthepotentialtowiden thei"95bridgetoaccommodatethetrail.itwasdeterminedthatthebridgecannotbewidenedwithoutaddingnew piers. The group agreed to drop this alternative from consideration since it offers no cost benefit over the red alternativeandisalsolessdirect. RedAlternative TheredalternativeconsistsofanewtrailbridgeovertheChristinaRiveronapproximatelythesamealignmentas theformerindustrialtrackrailroadbridge.thisrouteisthemostdirectconnectiontothewilmingtonriverwalk and provides an opportunity to construct a new signature bridge. The existing abutments of the abandoned railroadbridgeareapproximately330feetapartandcouldbeevaluatedforre"useforthenewbridge.thisroute wouldbeclearlyvisiblefromi"95andpartiallyvisiblefromi"495. RayPetruccidiscussedtheproposedDelDOTplantoconnectUS13totheWilmingtonRiverfrontviaanewvehicular bridge located downstream of the project area and its effect on the trail bridge.deldot is working through the NEPA process and is preparing documentation for the U.S. Coast Guard requesting a bridge design with 60"foot spans and a twelve"foot vertical clearance above mean high water. Jeff noted that the I"95 bridge has a 22"foot vertical clearance and this is likely the highest possible elevation the U.S. Coast Guard would require. Also, the active NorfolkSouthern(NS) railroad bridgehasa verticalclearance thatappearsunder ten feet.thens railroad bridgeistechnicallyamoveablebridge;howeverthetracksarecontinuouslywelded.drewboyceindicatedthatthe plannedvehicularbridgewilllikelydictatetheverticalclearanceofthetrailbridge. AftercrossingtheChristinaRiver,thetrailwillturneasttowardstheWilmingtonRiverfront.TheNorfolkSouthern (NS)ShellpotSecondaryrailroadtrackextendsthroughthisarea.JeffRiegnerstatedthatWR&Ahashadextensive discussions with the Rails"to"Trails Conservancy and has been in contact with NS s regional offices. Norfolk Southern s policydoes notallowarail"with"trailwithin theirright"of"way,northepurchaseofanyof theright"of" wayforproposedtrailuse.thegroupagreedthatanyoptionswhichrequireaccessuseofthensright"of"waydo notappearfeasible. David Campbell indicated that he has a contact person in NS s executive office and would forward contact informationtowr&a. Another potential trail alignment lies south of the NS right"of"way, within Riverfront Development Corporation (RDC)ownedland.Theaerialtransmissionlineslocatedinthisareaarewithinaneasement.Ontheapproachto the DuPont Environmental Education Center(DEEC), the trail would ramp up and connect to the existing railroad overpass.wr&ametwithrdcandthedelawarenaturesocietyinjanuary2011andrdcwasverypositiveabout the possibility of a trail through this area.rdc has plans to extend their boardwalk system and this trail could provideaconnectiontothewesternsectionsofthewildliferefuge.thetrailwouldbepavedonuplandareasand consistofboardwalkonwetlandareas.theboardwalkdesigndiffersfromtheexistingdeecboardwalk;itwouldbe approximately12to14feetwideandhavebicycle"saferailings.raypetrucciwillforwardacopyofrdc sboardwalk plantowr&a. MarkChuraaskediftheRDClandwasmoreuplandsorwetlands.Jeffrepliedthatavailablewetlandmappingisnot refinedenoughtodetermineexactlimitsofthewetlands,sowr&awillusegpsequipmenttogenerallydefinethe

3 March4,2011 Page3 W.O.31745"006 areas in a cursory manner. It was noted that a paved trail is substantially less costly than a boardwalk trail. Examples of projects which use or plan to use segments of boardwalk include the Northern Delaware Greenway neartherockmanorgolfcourseinwilmington,thest.jonesgreenwayinkentcounty,andthegordon spond projectinsussexcounty.davidbartoocautionedthatallowablespanlengthsoverwetlandshavebeenlimitedto 160feetintheGordon spondnegotiations,althoughthehabitatintheindustrialtrackstudyareaisverydifferent. BobbiBrittonsuggestedthattheUSFishandWildlifeServicebenotifiedofapotentialtrailthroughthewetlandand uplandareas.shesuggestedthattheymayrequirethatanyuplandareasbefencedtodiscouragetrailusersfrom accessingthesurroundingenvironmentallysensitiveareas. BlueAlternative The third alternative involves the trail extending east along the north side of I"495. Once at the I"495 at US 13 interchange,thebluealternativecouldeitherremainalongtheriverbank(inneralignment)orextendeasttous13 (outeralignment).thisalternativeprovidesalessdirectconnectionbetweenphase2andtheriverwalkandcould beconsiderediftheredalternativeisdeemedinfeasibleortooexpensive. Land is constrained between I"495 and the Christina River.A boardwalk may be required at select locations and WR&A will measure the width of constrained areas.the group discussed potential safety, aesthetic, and noise concerns with a trail adjacent to I"495. Drew Boyce indicated that the trail would be aligned outside of the clear zone. A barrier could be constructed between the roadway and trail which could mitigate safety concerns. The StateofDelawareownsthelandbetweentheroadwayandriver. Once past I"495, the trail inner alignment would be aligned through the Ryan property (Shapdale subdivision), locatedonthenorthwestcornerofthei"495andus13interchange.raypetrucciindicatedthattheparcelowners haveapproacheddeldotaboutsellingthislandfortheus13andwilmingtonriverfrontvehicularbridgeproject. Thelanddoesnotprovidegoodaccessforthisprojectandalsothereareenvironmentalconcerns,asthelandmay havebeenusedadumpinggroundinthepast.deldothasnoplanstopurchasethisparcelandthereforethisroute wouldhaveright"of"waycostsassociatedwithroutingatrailthroughprivateproperty. Furthernorthalongtheinnertrailalignment,anewbridgewouldberequiredtogoovertheNSrailroadandthen continue through the industrial parcels along the river. The trail would ultimately tie into the planned US 13 and WilmingtonRiverfrontvehicularbridge. The outer alignment route would be built along US 13 (South Market Street). Right"of"way impacts would be minimalbecausethetrailwouldbeconstructedadjacenttotheroadway.thesouthmarketstreetbridgeoverthe NS railroad consists of four lanes, no shoulders, and narrow sidewalks.wr&a s initial evaluation indicated that a separate structure is likely needed to support a trail; however, detailed structural analysis is required to confirm that.giventhehistoricnatureofthebridge,itislikelyanewbridgewillberequired.similartotheredalternative andblueinneralignment,anat"gradetrailcrossingofthenslineisnotfeasibleduetorailroadpolicy.northofthe NS railroad, the trail would continue towards James Court.There are frequent driveway crossings along US 13, which may create conflicts for trail users. The trail would ultimately tie into the planned US 13 and Wilmington Riverfrontvehicularbridge. Withboth theblueinner routeandouterroute,aseparatestructureislikely required to goover the NSrailroad. Right"of"wayimpactsandcostsaremuchgreaterontheinnerroute.Aesthetically,theindustriallandusealongthe blueroutesdoesnotcreateawelcomingenvironment.

4 March4,2011 Page4 W.O.31745"006 ThegroupquestionedthepossibilityofusingtheexistinginactiveNSbridge,locateddirectlysouthoftheactiveNS railroadbridgeoverthechristianariver.thisbridgeismoveable,butiscurrentlylockedintheopenposition.the fixed portion of this bridge has been demolished. While using this bridge would fit with the existing industrial surroundings, there may not be a cost savings compared to building a new bridge. WR&A will examine the feasibilityofincorporatingthisbridgeintothetrail.itwasalsonotedthatthecoastguardmaynotallowthisbridge tobemovedbackintoaclosedpositionduetoalackofverticalclearance. AdditionalDiscussion DavidBartoomentionedthatpositivesocialfactorsassociatedwiththetrail,suchashealthandwellness,shouldbe consideredwhenchoosinganalternative. Drew Boyce emphasized that although the trail will not need to follow the full NEPA process, it will still be an involvedeffort,includinganalysisofalternativesandminimizingimpacts.jeffriegnerstatedthattheprojectmay includewetlandmitigationandthatthesepotentialcostsshouldbeincludedintheestimate. David Bartoo discussed possible boardwalk construction methods that the Army Corps has preferred for other similar projects, including environmentally sensitive helical anchors and the use of flow"through decking. He also mentionedthatthetrailmayberequiredtoprovideaccesstothewater.whileitisunclearwhattypeofaccessmay berequired,thegroupagreedthatasegmentofthemaintrailcouldoffshoottowardsthewaterifneeded.also, RDC sfutureboardwalknetworkcouldincorporatewateraccesspointsaswell. ThegroupdiscussedthattheredalternativeinvolvescoordinationwithRDC,NS,DNREC,andtheCoastGuard,but noprivatelandownerslikethebluealternative. Theultimateownershipandmaintenanceresponsibilitiesforthetrailhavenotyetbeendetermined.Phases1and 2oftheprojectarelocatedonstate"ownedland,butaremaintainedandoperatedbyNewCastleCounty. NextSteps Thegroupdiscussedthenextstepsfortheproject. Thenextmeetingwillbeheldinearlysummer,priortocompletionofthereport.Thereportisexpectedtoinclude onepreferredalternative.howeverifboththeredalternativeandoneblueroutearedeemedfeasible,thanboth maybeincluded.theultimategoalofthereportistogainfundingfortheproject. Publicoutreachwillbeanimportantnextstepaftercompletionofthereport.Thegroupstressedtheimportanceof havingaproject champion suchasthedelawarebicyclecouncil,bikedelaware,and/ordelawaregreenways.a publicworkshopwillbeheldtoraiseawarenessoftheproject.thegroupagreedthattheeconomicandtourism benefitsofthetrailshouldbestressed.additionally,thetrailwillbepartoftheeastcoastgreenway. Thegrouprequestedthatprivatestakeholdergroupssubmitendorsementlettersinsupportoftheprojectafterthe completionofthereport.

5 March4,2011 Page5 W.O.31745"006 Theaboveisamemorandumofunderstandingamongthepartiesregardingthetopicsdiscussedandthedecisions reached.anyparticipantsdesiringtoaddtoorotherwiseamendtheminutesarerequestedtoputtheircomments inwritingtothewriterwithinsevendays;otherwise,theminuteswillstandaswritten. DavidDuszak

6 March4,2011 Page6 W.O.31745"006 Figure1:PreliminaryBaseMapwithTrailAlternatives