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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 07/25/2022 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR July 25, 2022, 6:00 p.m. Hybrid Meeting – Zoom and 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Jordan Williams Vice-Chair: Dave Dixon Staff Liaison: Cortney Geary 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM. 2. ROLL CALL (INTRODUCTIONS) BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Jordan Williams, Chair, At Large Member Mike Weber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Ed Peyronnin, Colorado State University Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee Tim Anderson, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Kevin Krause, Natural Resources Advisory Board Rob Owens, Transportation Board Katherine Chu, At Large Member Jonathan Crozier, Poudre School District Karen Artell, Air Quality Advisory Board ABSENT: Dave Dixon, Vice Chair, Bike Fort Collins David Kovach, Senior Advisory Board Whitney Allison, At Large Member David Hansen, Colorado State University Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority PUBLIC PRESENT: None BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Williams stated there were no changes to the published agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JUNE 2022 Anderson made a motion, seconded by Weber, to approve the minutes of the June 2022 meeting as amended to clarify language related to a grant for app data. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Active Modes Plan Draft Review – Cortney Geary, Trung Vo (Toole Design Group), Aaron Villere (Toole Design Group) Geary stated the public draft of the Active Modes Plan was just posted to the website. She outlined the input received from the Committee on the Plan during the last review. Trung Vo, Toole Design Group, discussed some of the findings from the survey and online map and showed images from the draft plan. He discussed the two main outcome foci: active modes share of 20% and vision zero for active modes, the five ‘big moves’ aspects of the plan and associated actions, and near- and mid-term projects. He showed the Active Modes Plan website and discussed its features and contents. Chair Williams asked about the current active modes share. Mr. Vo replied it is 4.2% walking and 4.9% biking, which is based off commute mode share. Chu asked if other active modes destinations are being measured given the landscape of work has changed since the pandemic. Vo replied that would require a longer-term conversation and this survey was only specific to commutes. Aaron Villere, Toole Design Group, discussed the infrastructure recommendations included in the plan, including the methodology used for their development. He noted three sets of recommendations were developed, including spot improvements for walking and mobility devices, and spot and linear facilities for bicycling. He detailed the development of spot improvement recommendations for pedestrians and mobility device users and the two-part set of recommendations for bicycle linear facilities and spot treatments. He also detailed the specific types of recommended infrastructure. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 3 Mr. Villere discussed the ten-year implementation plan and associated two-step prioritization which includes a values-based prioritization and an examination of implementation factors. He provided details on the near- and mid-term recommendation priorities related to increasing connectivity and access. Additionally, he commented on the order of magnitude assessment of maintenance considerations and costs associated with the growing network, including anticipated funding needs and opportunities. Geary discussed next steps in the process noting the public draft will be open for comment until August 24th. She stated staff is scheduled to go to a Council work session on October 25th which would place adoption of the plan in November or December. Owens asked if street light gaps on either the paved trail system or the on-street network were considered. Mr. Vo replied that was not analyzed block-by-block in the Plan, but providing increased street lighting is a recommendation under one of the big moves, which would be more of a city-wide recommendation for all infrastructure projects to look at lighting. Owens asked if potential changes in future population density were considered. Mr. Vo replied one of the big policy and program categories includes updating land use policies. Mr. Villere stated the 15-minute city concept can better address land use issues; however, the implementation plan is structured to anticipate future growth in roadways and city-wide connectivity over time. Owens asked if entirely vehicle-restricted streets were considered. Mr. Villere replied there were no specific recommendations for full vehicle restrictions; however, that type of thing would be most likely seen in the neighborhood bikeway category. Owens stated this plan seems to encourage the building of infrastructure to incentivize active modes and asked if there was any consideration of disincentivizing individual vehicle use given parking is free nearly everywhere in the city. Geary replied there is a policy recommendation looking at parking management to incentivize biking and walking; however, it is a contentious subject. Krause commended the work on the Plan and asked if advisory bike lanes are on the list of infrastructure options currently or if it will be added after the pilot project. Mr. Vo replied advisory bike lanes are not in the manual on uniform traffic devices, therefore communities have been required to request to experiment with them through the Federal Highway Administration. However, the Federal Highway Administration decided earlier this year to stop approving those requests because many of the communities that were experimenting with the advisory bike lanes were not proving they were working from a safety and usage BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 4 perspective or they were not monitoring the performance or operations of them at all. Mr. Vo stated there are a number of unique circumstances in which advisory bike lanes would work. Geary stated Fort Collins has limited potential applications for advisory bike lanes as many streets are quite wide. Krause stated he is uncomfortable with the mode share goal as it has remained the same despite accounting for additional travel options. He stated he would like to examine contributing goals that may be more trackable. Chair Williams stated the mode share goal should include all trips rather than just commuters; however, he acknowledged that would be difficult to track. Geary stated the current community survey includes questions about ease of biking, walking, and driving which can provide some qualitative data. Chair Williams commended the work on the Plan, specifically providing the ability to comment directly on the Plan in PDF form, the focus on direct routes, and showing how the big moves apply to funding goals. He stated he would like the Committee to have an official vote on the Plan after the public comment period is complete. b. 15-Minute City Analysis – Cortney Geary Geary stated the 15-Minute City Analysis is focused on identifying gaps in the active modes network and land use patterns that are barriers to a 15-minute city, which is one in which everyone can get to the daily goods and services they need to live and thrive by a 15-minute bike ride, walk, or transit trip. She noted current City goals that support this effort include a Council priority, Our Climate Future goals, and Nature in the City goals. Geary stated this project will establish a definition and goals, conduct analysis, develop strategies, and culminate in a final report. She stated the definition and goals have been informed by public engagement around the Active Modes Plan which asked respondents to indicate where they currently walk and bike and where they would like to be able to walk and bike. The concept is proposed to be defined in Fort Collins as a 15-minute city where every resident can walk, bike, or roll within 15 minutes of their homes to their daily needs and services. Geary stated goals include strengthening historically underserved communities, reducing automobile trips, and enhancing the resiliency of Fort Collins. She noted a 15-minute walk is being defined as ¾ of a mile and a 15-minute bicycle ride or micro-mobility ride as 3 miles. Geary outlined the methodology utilized for the analysis and discussed the scoring system for the modes. She stated next steps include incorporating feedback from this Committee and other Boards and Commissions, fine tuning BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 5 emphasis areas, and including the equity overlay analysis. An existing conditions memo should be complete in August with draft strategies on active transportation and land use ready in September or October and a final draft for Council at a late October work session. Chair Williams noted there are limitations based on locations of specific services. Geary acknowledged the City is limited in what it can do to incentivize the location of specific services; however, it can make changes to the Land Use Code if regulations are making it impossible to locate services in specific areas. She also noted there could be other strategies such as mobile food vendors. Peyronnin suggested the City could provide information to businesses seeking to locate in Fort Collins regarding areas with needs. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Peyronnin noted the Committee will be taking a bike tour of CSU next month. Additionally, he stated the Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee is examining how to provide education to address the new stop as yield law and he suggested putting together a memo with this Committee showing a coordinated effort. He also reported on work with Dave Dixon regarding recognition for Rick Price. Crozier commented on looking at middle and high school bicycling numbers and access to safest routes. Anderson reported the Bike Co-op is a non-profit and owns its building; therefore, it has a vested interest in its location and is concerned about the impact of the homeless population on its business and building. Artell reported the Air Quality Advisory Board will be voting on a new Committee member at its next meeting. Weber reported on the recent Land Conservation and Stewardship Board meeting during which a drainage easement for Red Tail Groves Natural Area and changes to Natural Areas regulations in City Code were discussed. Chu commended Whitney Alison on the FoCo Fondo event. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report Owens reported the Transportation Board received the 15-Minute City Analysis presentation as well as a presentation on Land Use Code updates which are specifically related to increasing housing capacity, decreasing parking requirements for certain units, and increasing incentives for affordable housing development. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 6 /2 7 /2022 – MINUTES Page 6 b. Staff Liaison Report • Safe Streets for All Grant Geary reported FC Moves staff is coordinating with Traffic Operations, CSU, Engineering and others to apply for a Safe Streets for All grant. • NFRMPO Bike/Ped Safety Reporter Geary stated the NFRMPO bike/ped safety reporter is aiming to gather data around near misses or other roadway hazards that decrease safety for bicyclists or pedestrians. Geary noted FoCo Fondo is donating to the Safe Routes to School program. Geary requested input on holding a special meeting on September 15th as the City Manager’s recommended budget will not be available until September 2nd. She noted next month’s meeting will not have a virtual option at CSU. c. Future Agenda Items • Vision Zero Action Plan • CSU Bike Tour 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:52 PM by unanimous consent.