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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 01/24/2022 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR January 24, 2022, 6:00 p.m. Remote Meeting via Zoom 1 /2 4 /202 2 – 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 6:03 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Jordan Williams, Chair, At Large Member Dave Dixon, Vice Chair, Bike Fort Collins York, Transportation Board Mike Weber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Kevin Krause, Natural Resources Advisory Board Mike Tupa, Parks and Recreation Board Ed Peyronnin, Colorado State University Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Tim Anderson, Fort Collins Bike Co -op Katherine Chu, At Large Member Whitney Allison, At Large Member Jason Miller, Air Quality Advisory Board ABSENT: Greg Wells, Senior Advisory Board Cortney Geary Adelle McDaniel PUBLIC PRESENT: None BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /2 4 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Williams reviewed the agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – DECEMBER 2021 Webber made a motion, seconded by Dixon, to approve the minutes of the December 2021 meeting as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. BAC 2022 Work Plan Tupa made a motion, seconded by Weber, to approve the 2022 Work Plan as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Open Forum - Bryce Reeves, CDOT Bryce Reeves, CDOT Region 4 Traffic Design and Local Agency Resident Engineer, showed a map of CDOT regions and CDOT owned roadways in Northern Colorado. Chair Williams noted the Committee has discussed several issues related to CDOT roadways and asked Mr. Reeves to provide input. Mr. Reeves highlighted projects in the Northern Colorado area, including the replacement of the traffic signal at Riverside and Jefferson and the relocation of Highway 287 north of Ted’s Place to accommodate for the NISP reservoir. Krause asked if the Highway 287 realignment is moving forward regardless of whether the NISP project occurs. Mr. Reeves replied in the affirmative and noted CDOT has an intergovernmental agreement with NISP for the realignment. He discussed options for the Front Range Trail that may keep it off of Highway 287, but noted CDOT is not in control of those plans. Mr. Reeves discussed other Northern Colorado projects and accessibility considerations, including signal replacements and the resurfacing of Highway 1 from Fort Collins to Wellington. He noted resurfacing dollars cannot be used to widen shoulders. Weber asked if there is a plan for installing rumble strips on newly resurfaced roadways. Mr. Reeves replied rumble strips are typically replaced where they already existed in resurfacing projects. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /2 4 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 3 Dangerfield asked what type of surface is being used for Highway 1. Mr. Reeves replied it will be a mill and fill and he provided additional details on the project design. Tupa asked how much bike and pedestrian movement is considered as part of the design process. He stated separated bike lanes would always be preferred over shoulders. Mr. Reeves replied the largest difficulties with including more bike and pedestrian infrastructure have to do with funding, right-of-way, and environmental impacts. Tupa asked if there are bike-specific consultants involved. Mr. Reeves replied CDOT has procedural directives that govern internally, and one of those requires every project to consider pedestrians and bicycles; therefore, every region has a bike and pedestrian coordinator. York asked about the bridge pinch points on Highway 1 and whether there is a separate list of projects that addresses bridge work. Mr. Reeves replied CDOT has a program called Bridge Enterprise that includes a separate list of projects for the entire state. York stated it seems vehicles still seem to get priority funding and that will need to change in order to encourage mode shifts. Mr. Reeves concurred and stated most funding is geared toward motor vehicles. He stated CDOT has a policy that allows bike and pedestrian facilities to be removed from a project if their cost is 20% or more of the total budget. He stated there are currently no specific funding sources to fill in those gaps. Mr. Reeves discussed the ongoing bike and pedestrian safety study in region 4 which should be complete in May. Once that study is complete, safety dollars can go toward bike and pedestrian aspects of those projects. York questioned how individuals can seek to affect change regarding state priorities. Mr. Reeves replied going through state representatives and the Governor’s Office are both options, as is going through Bicycle Colorado. Regarding rumble strips, Mr. Reeves stated there are no plans to install rumble strips along Highway 34 through the canyon. He discussed CDOT’s standard rumble strip design. Weber asked if it would be possible to realign the rumble strips so only 6 inches of them would go to the right of the white line. Mr. Reeves replied that would be possible; however, there may be some issues with repaintin g and removing the old paint when they are within rumble strips. Dangerfield commented on a specific section of Highway 14 that is particularly difficult for cyclists. Mr. Reeves commented on the funding sources for projects and discussed that formula’s application to the Highway 14 project. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /2 4 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 4 Krause asked if it would be possible to close Highway 34 to all vehicles for a few hours a year to promote all bicycle use. Mr. Reeves replied that does occur on other state highways with special use permits and traffic control. b. 2020 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report – Adelle McDaniel, Environmental Services Adelle McDaniel, Environmental Services, discussed the results of the most recent community greenhouse gas inventory, which helps to determine whether climate goals are being met. She stated the goal is for carbon neutrality by 2050 and stated the community was down 24% below the 2005 greenhouse gas levels in 2020, which exceeded the 20% reduction goal. Dangerfield asked about the effect of the pandemic on the 2020 numbers. McDaniel replied there were large impacts on the greenhouse gas numbers; however, she noted the Roundhouse Renewable Energy Project was also put online by Platte River Power Authority which accounted for the bulk of the progress between 2019 and 2020. She stated about 3% of the reduction can be directly accounted for by lower vehicle use during the early stages of the pandemic. McDaniel discussed the most relevant goals of the Our Climate Future Plan for the Committee, including convenient transportation choices and live, work, and play nearby. She discussed the critical strategies in the plan necessary for meeting the 2030 goals. York asked about the energy usage shift that resulted from people being more at home than at work. McDaniel replied she would need to do additional research; however, from an emissions standpoint, people being at home is more beneficial. McDaniel commented on the importance of not sticking with the status quo to reach the 2030 goals. Dangerfield noted the commute modes alone will likely not improve given the cost of housing and distances people have to drive. Miller asked about the most recent data related to vehicle miles travelled. McDaniel replied the 2021 data showed numbers slightly lower, around 3%. She noted some people remain working from home; however, there are still car trips occurring. Krause commended the presentation and requested an overview of transportation- related aspects of the plan based on the need for more agility and aggressive changes. He stated funding will need to change based on the desired modes. McDaniel stated most of what is in Our Climate Future related to transportation came from the 2019 Transportation Master Plan and include items such as increasing bicycle infrastructure, increasing travel training programs, and increasing transit. Geary suggested she could coordinate with McDaniel on determining a certain vehicle miles traveled reduction goal and associated ways to meet that goal. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /2 4 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 5 Members discussed how to discourage single-occupancy vehicle trips and encourage other modes through redevelopment and funding changes. York commented on the importance of utilizing Land Use Code changes. Dixon concurred with Dangerfield and Krause that a more aggressive stance will be needed and discussed the importance of providing a visual representation of the behavior changes that will be necessary for individuals. Dangerfield commented on the divisiveness of statements related to making it harder for people to drive. Geary commented on the ongoing transportation capital project prioritization study. Tupa commended the presentation and noted there are a number of out of town vehicles that contribute to emissions issues as well as planning considerations. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS York reported on the recent Transportation Board meeting during which Mayor Pro Tem Francis held a question and answer session with the Board, Alex Gordon from the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization made a presentation about the long- range transportation plan, and Adelle McDaniel gave a presentation on the greenhouse gas inventory. He stated Stephanie Blochowiak is the new Transportation Board member and mentioned the Board’s discussion of poor snow removal in protected bike lanes. Dangerfield reported on the progress of the current alley projects . Peyronnin commented on the CSU affordable housing project near Strauss Cabin Road and discussed the need for bike trails to the project. Tupa reported on the recent Parks and Recrea tion Board meeting during which the Work Plan and funding of maintenance was discussed. Members discussed an item related to a GoCo visioning grant that went before Council and was pulled. Miller reported on the Air Quality Advisory Board and commented on the overlap between that Board and the Transportation Board regarding an interest in regional transit and the Active Modes Plan. Weber reported on the recent Land Conservation and Stewardship Board meeting during which the Board met with rangers and discussed its annual report and land purchases. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /2 4 /202 2 – MINUTES Page 6 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report b. Staff Liaison Report Geary announced the upcoming Winter Bike to Work Day on February 11 th and stated the new bike maps are available. She provided an update on the Safe Routes to School program in the chat and announced staffing changes in FC Moves. She stated the City was awarded a Transportation Demand Management grant from CDOT which will be used to develop a corporate and community Spin pass program. She also stated an extension to the street mural grant was awarded for a fourth mural. c. Future Agenda Items i. Joint meeting with Transportation Board – February 16th 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM by unanimous consent.