Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Design Criteria Manual topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Municipal engineering staff begin public-review cycle for Design Criteria Manual chapters
Summary
Project Management & Engineering staff posted updated chapters of the municipal Design Criteria Manual (landscaping and public transportation) for public comment and described a multi‑chapter rollout that will include streets, trails and traffic control in the next phase.
Brandon Telford, engineering manager in Project Management & Engineering, briefed the committee on an ongoing update to the Anchorage Design Criteria Manual (DCM). The DCM sets minimum technical standards for municipal design in categories such as streets, drainage, landscaping, trails, lighting, traffic control and public transportation.
The nut graf: two chapters—landscaping (chapter 3) and public transportation (chapter 7)—were posted to the PM&E website for public comment; staff plans further chapter updates (streets, trails, traffic control and lighting) next and expects to move current chapters through the planning-and-zoning public‑hearing process and then to the assembly for adoption. Telford said the DCM update will try to more explicitly incorporate the safe‑systems approach and a movement‑in‑place framework that aligns street design choices with adjacent land use.
Highlights from the posted drafts include revised landscaping goals to balance safety, functionality and durability (and to reduce impacts on snow clearance and maintenance), and new public-transportation guidance that updates bus‑stop siting and type, prioritizes in-lane stops where the long-range transportation strategy's mobility hierarchy makes that appropriate, and refines ADA layouts for maintainability. Telford described the approval sequence required by the original DCM resolution: public comment, agency review, planning-and‑zoning public hearing, then assembly approval. The administration tentatively targeted hearings for late 2025/early 2026 but cautioned timelines depend on staff workload.
Ending: Telford invited stakeholders to use the posted public‑comment window and join the DCM mailing list; staff will revise drafts after public and agency comments and bring hearing drafts to planning and zoning and the assembly.
