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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 11/26/2018 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR November 26, 2018, 6:00 p.m. Community Room, 215 North Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 1 1 /26/2018 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Luke Caldwell Vice-Chair: Aaron Buckley Staff Liaison: Tessa Greegor 970-416-2471 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Caldwell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Luke Caldwell, Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board Aaron Buckley, Vice Chair, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Karl Ayers, Transportation Board Bruce Henderson, Bike Fort Collins Mark Houdashelt, Air Quality Advisory Board Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Chris Hunt, Poudre School District Kelly Smith, Parks and Recreation Board Mar cia Patton-Mallory, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Annie Krieg, At Large Member ABSENT: Alan Beatty, Senior Advisory Board Sylvia Cranmer, Colorado State University Terri Marty, At Large Member Caleb Feaver Tessa Greegor Paul Sizemore PUBLIC PRESENT: Kevin Borchert 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Caldwell reviewed the agenda. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /26/2018 – MINUTES Page 2 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Kevin Borchert stated he is interested in hearing the Power Trail grade separated crossing discussion. 5. APPROV AL OF MINUTES Hunt made a motion, seconded by Patton-Mallory, to approve the minutes of the October 2018 meeting as presented. The motion was adopted unanimously with Dangerfield and Buckley abstaining. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Power Trail Grade Separated Crossing at Harmony – Caleb Feaver Caleb Feaver, Engineering Department, stated the Engineering Department and City did a prioritization study for grade separated crossings and the Power Trail at Harmony crossing was recognized as the first priority. He discussed the location of the site and stated the current at-grade crossing is a detour and is quite dangerous. Feaver discussed the feasibility study and alternatives analysis approach, including the specific criteria used. He noted safety, maintenance, aesthetics and accessibility will be considered. The consultant has identified three underpass and two overpass alternatives. Regarding funding, Feaver stated the project currently has $1.1 million from the CCIP tax, an $800,000 federal transportation alternatives grant, $400,000 in design from the budget, and potentially up to $2 million from the CCIP tax in coming years. Angie Milewski, Consultant with BHA Design, discussed the five preliminary alternatives and their effect on utilities and the railroad among other considerations. Committee members discussed the impacts of each design on trees and view corridors. Ayers suggested making interim improvements to the Harmony and McMurray intersection as the cost of this project will likely push it out to 10 to 15 years from now. Feaver stated staff hopes to present a preferred alternative to Council early in 2019 and there is a plan to create a committee to examine the alternatives. He stated a member of the BAC would be welcome on that committee. 11208 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /26/2018 – MINUTES Page 3 b. Magnolia and Shields Bike/Ped Crossing Options – Tessa Greegor Greegor stated this item has been part of the outreach for the West Mulberry corridor project and is seen as part of those improvements. She stated the preferred design, the toucan crossing, was presented at the neighborhood meeting and some concerns over turning movement restrictions and need for the crossing were expressed. Therefore, a second alternative has been developed and a new neighborhood meeting will occur December 10th. Greegor stated the planned construction is for spring of 2019. Greegor discussed the toucan design which includes a center waiting island and exclusive crossing for bicyclists. The pedestrian crossing would be on the north side of the intersection. The new design would use the same type of light controlling traffic on Shields and there would only be a stop sign on Magnolia. There would be no center waiting island and bikes would stay in their lane of travel and use the pedestrian signal for crossing. This alternative would allow all turning movements for vehicles. Committee members discussed possible negative aspects of this design including conflicts between left-hand turning vehicles and cyclists as well as cyclists or runners going the wrong direction on the sidewalk. Patton-Mallory stated bikeways should prioritize cyclist safety and signals should give preference to bicycles in order to perhaps encourage motorists to take an alternate route. Dangerfield asked if complaints were received regarding the loss of parking spaces with the toucan crossing. Greegor replied the end design resulted in a loss of approximately two spaces total, which was a reduction from initial designs in response to neighborhood feedback. Cranmer noted the impacted homes do not have alley access and their only parking is in front of their homes. Patton-Mallory asked how the toucan crossing at Pitkin and Lemay has been received. Greegor replied there were some residents with concerns originally; however, they have not received negative comments regarding those concerns since the project was completed. Ayers asked about the cost of the toucan system versus the lights in option 2, and how much extra an at-need light for the east-west traffic would add. Greegor replied a full signal varies depending on the context but a rough estimate is $250,000. The toucan option is estimated to cost about $150,000; however, that may be lower. c. CSU Three-Year Work Plan – Aaron Buckley and Erika Benti Aaron Buckley discussed Transportation Demand Management and stated it BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /26/2018 – MINUTES Page 4 involves taking the demand for more parking and lanes and redirecting that into other modes and making alternative modes more attractive. Buckley stated the guiding principles of his work group are to provide safe, equitable, and efficient access to CSU for students and employees, to create a vibrant campus that safeguards the pedestrian experience, and to achieve CSU's greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The Work Plan is divided into 7 sections: engineering, education, enforcement, equity, environment, encouragement, and evaluation. Erika Benti discussed an on-line transportation training for incoming students. She detailed the results of CSU's annual transportation survey of students and employees. For students, 31% reported the bus as their primary mode of transportation to campus. For employees, 70% reported driving personal vehicles as their primary mode. She noted the surveys do occur in February, therefore the biking numbers may be lower. Committee members discussed the survey results and effects of various factors including weather and cost of living. d. Open Discussion – Aaron Buckley Buckley stated he would like the Committee to discuss things for which it would like to advocate and the overall plan for the Committee moving forward in January. Chair Caldwell mentioned the possible need for additional diversity on the Committee. Cranmer suggested the possibility of including a spot for a CSU student on the Committee. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REPORT – Ayers b. COMMITTEE MEMBER REPORTS/COMMENTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS Houdashelt stated this will be his final meeting. Chair Caldwell thanked him for his service. a. Staff Report BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /26/2018 – MINUTES Page 5 Greegor stated Winter Bike to Work Day is December 12th and reminded the Committee there are two vacant seats for at-large members. Sizemore discussed the recent Council meeting involving E-scooters. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:31 PM by unanimous consent.