Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 04/26/2021 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR April 26, 2021, 6:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Jordan Williams Vice-Chair: Jerry Gavaldon Staff Liaison: Cortney Geary 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Jordan Williams, Chair, At Large Member Mike Webber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Whitney Allison, At Large Member Dave Dixon, Bike Fort Collins Ed Peyronnin, Colorado State University Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee Katherine Chu, At Large Member Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Kevin Krause, Natural Resources Advisory Board Aaron Buckley, Fort Collins Bike Co-op ABSENT: Greg Wells, Senior Advisory Board Rick Arneson, Bike Fort Collins Ben Mayer, Poudre School District Jason Miller, Air Quality Advisory Board Jerry Gavaldon, Vice Chair, Transportation Board Mike Tupa, Parks and Recreation Board Brad Buckman Cortney Geary PUBLIC PRESENT: Tim Alig Clint Jones, Larimer County Engineering Shawn Keller, LCUASS Consultant Piep van Heuven, Bicycle Colorado BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Williams reviewed the agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Tim Alig, stated he would like to explore opportunities for future E-skateboard access on certain paved trails in in the city. He requested feedback from the Committee regarding how to approach this and how to take different interests into account. He suggested the possibility of a pilot program for devices that could be held under a specific speed limit. Dangerfield asked if there are classifications of E-skateboards similar to those of E- bikes. Alig replied he was uncertain. Amanda Mansfield, FC Moves, replied she did not believe so, but she would look into it. Chair Williams asked about the definition of toy vehicles in the Code. Mansfield replied the current Code defines devices such as E-skateboards as toy vehicles; however, E- scooters are no longer defined as toy vehicles, which is why they are allowed to operate on the road. She noted allowing E-skateboards on paved trails would require a longer public process and significant Code change. Webber stated a large number of the trails pass through natural areas and the natural areas charter does not allow electric items; therefore, E-skateboards would not technically be allowed on any paths through any natural area. He noted it was a struggle to get E-bikes approved for use on those trails. Mansfield noted enforcement capacity is limited; therefore, a thorough education process would be needed to ensure rules are being followed. Dangerfield commented that the classification of E-skateboards is going to be a hurdle. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MARCH 2021 Buckley made a motion, seconded by Peyronnin, to approve the minutes of the March 2021 meeting as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Shared Micromobility (E-bike/E-scooter) b. NFRMPO Poudre Trail Wayfinding Input c. Parking in Mulberry Street Protected Bike Lanes Boardmembers commented issues with cars parking in the Mulberry Street protected bike lanes seems to have improved. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 3 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards Revisions (LCUASS) – Brad Buckman Brad Buckman, Interim City Engineer, noted the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards (LCUASS) cover nearly every aspect of street standards for the County and municipalities. Shawn Keller, consultant, stated LCUASS is a comprehensive urban set of street standards for engineering design and construction and is a joint effort of Larimer County and the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland. It provides a guide for public and private street engineering projects within public rights-of-way. Keller stated the standards are revised to stay current with policy and code changes, technology updates, engineering industry standards, to do general clean- up items, and to respond to community input. He stated the last major update was in 2007. Keller described the two types of updates: policy, or major updates, and minor technical revisions which are more administrative in nature. He noted policy revisions are required to be approved through a public hearing process by all jurisdictions. Keller summarized the top ten revisions, two of which are adding a raised bike lane to arterial street standards and requiring three feet of additional right-of-way for local and collector streets to allow for wider sidewalks and parkways for Fort Collins. Buckman provided additional detail on proposed cross-section changes, specifically the raised bike lane standard for arterial streets and the requirement for wider parkways and sidewalks for local and collector streets. He noted the street width itself did not change. He discussed the working group of stakeholders that developed these two substantive changes. Keller discussed the schedule for the adoption process noting the plan is for a hearing before the Board of County Commissioners in late June with an effective date of August 1st. Tupa mentioned a bike accident he had and commented on the need for making drain pans larger in bike lanes. Chair Williams requested additional detail regarding the raised bike lane recommendation. Buckman replied the recommendation for raised bike lanes came from Traffic and FC Moves as an additional option. He noted the actual recommendation for a bike lane will depend on the location and specifics. Geary provided information from the North American City Transportation Officials regarding raised cycle tracks. Tupa expressed concern there is no escape for a bicycle in a bike lane with a raised BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 4 curb. Krause noted the raised bike lane is one of many options. He asked if there are best practices or standards that exist to cater toward a more comfortable biking situation. Buckman replied these standards would work in conjunction with other things that can be done in terms of traffic calming. He noted placing bikes on a raised bike lane is meant to protect them. Krause expressed concern over increased paving from a natural resources perspective. Dixon asked if streets that currently have buffered lanes will be retrofitted with raised lanes. Buckman replied that is a possibility if the street can accommodate it. Dixon asked what became narrower if the parkway and sidewalks were widened and the flow-line to flow-line did not change. Buckman replied the basic roadway width did not change, just the parkway and sidewalk widths. The three additional feet are within the acceptable change of a setback. Dangerfield asked if protected lanes include vertical features. Buckman replied in the affirmative. Dangerfield stated he would like to receive input on maintenance issues prior to the City continuing to install features that may or may not function properly. He specifically cited the Laurel Street and Mulberry Street installations. Buckman replied the Mulberry Street installation does make maintenance difficult, particularly for snow; however, it is doable and the trade-off for protecting cyclists makes up for the increased maintenance time. Dangerfield commented on the importance of ensuring the maintenance of infrastructure can be properly funded. b. Stop as Yield Presentation – Piep van Hueven, Bicycle Colorado Piep van Hueven, Bicycle Colorado Government Relations Director, stated Bicycle Colorado is a statewide bicycle advocacy group. She discussed Bicycle Colorado’s support of statewide safety stop, or stop as yield. She stated safety stop would allow cyclists to cross at intersections when they have the right-of-way and it allows cyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs and treat red lights like stop signs. It does not change the right-of-way laws, however. She stated implementing safety stop statewide should increase bicycling and will increase safety for cyclists. It also provides a uniform expectation across the state whereas currently, only certain areas have locally adopted safety stop. Van Heuven noted this bill has bipartisan support in the legislature and would remove the crime aspect of not stopping. Dangerfield asked about the possibility of this bill getting a hearing. Van Heuven replied she believes it will get heard this year and she outlined the process of the bill BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 5 going through committees and going to a vote. Dangerfield commented on the history of this issue in Fort Collins and agreed it should occur at a state level. Krause asked about the effective date of the bill. Van Heuven replied that would depend upon how the bill is written, but typically bills become law within ten days unless vetoed by the Governor. Tupa asked if there is an educational component to this noting vehicle traffic should know what to expect. Van Heuven replied that will be part of what needs to be discussed and stated they would work with CDOT and the Colorado Municipal League on educational efforts that would be needed if the bill passes. Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, stated there has been a drop in bicycle crash rate among youth since the Safe Routes program was implemented, which is a strong indicator of the program’s impact. She stated anything that might negatively affect youth safety would be of great concern to the program. She asked if the wording of the proposed bill is finalized. Van Heuven replied anything can be amended as the bill makes its way through the legislative process; however, the beginning point for the language is quite simple. Nichols asked if there was an age limit considered in the bill. Van Heuven replied in the negative as adding an age limit would be over-regulation and has not been seen in other states where this is in place; however, she acknowledged there is a challenge with the educational component. Nichols asked if there are examples for how this legislation would add to the safety of youth bicyclists. Van Heuven replied the goal is to provide the flexibility for cyclists to do something that is safer for them at intersections. She acknowledged teaching children involves another subset of challenges and reiterated an age detail does not belong in policy legislation. Nichols asked if any of the safety studies mentioned looked specifically at youth. Van Heuven replied she did not believe so; however, all of the safety data points in the same direction and there is a reason communities that have embraced safety stop have not reverted back. Nichols asked if youth-focused organizations, schools or advocates provided input on the proposed bill. Van Heuven replied many individuals were contacted, including parents, and no dire warnings were discovered. Peyronnin asked if there are age limits for other states’ safety stop laws. Van Heuven replied in the negative. Chu asked if it is worthwhile to consider enacting safety stop at a local level prior to statewide legislation going into effect. Van Heuven replied it may be easier to wait BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 6 as the result of whether this bill is successful will occur within the next four weeks. She commented on what may be needed to enact safety stop at a local level if the statewide bill fails. Chair Williams asked how individuals can learn more about the bill or express support. Van Heuven replied there is information on the Bicycle Colorado web page. Krause commented on the importance of Fort Collins showing its progressive bike culture and stated he would like to touch base at the next meeting to determine whether Fort Collins needs to prepare for a state law or begin to enact its own. Geary replied it can be added to a future agenda as an unfinished business item and asked if there is a desire to have a policy statement from the Committee related to the state legislation. Krause stated the state legislation may not move as quickly as he would like to see, or as quickly as the Committee might like to see. Chair Williams suggested leaving it on the agenda for now. c. Active Modes Related Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) Offers – Cortney Geary Cortney Geary, Active Modes Manager, outlined the BFO process noting it is a form of priority-based budgeting that focuses on community priorities. She discussed the types of funding and detailed the seven strategic outcome areas to which budget offers must relate. She noted the typical budget cycle is two years; however, there have been two back-to-back single-year budgets due to COVID. She discussed the types of offers that can be written. Dixon asked if revisiting the Bicycle Master Plan with a new Active Modes Plan is a one-time enhancement offer. Geary replied the bike CCIP dollars from 2021 will be used for the Active Modes Plan; therefore, no budget offer is required. Geary discussed the transportation and mobility outcome area services and offers and detailed the budget timeline, specifically noting when public input can occur. Dixon asked how much of the total budget typically gets allocated to the transportation and mobility outcome area. Geary replied she was unsure if there are pre-prescribed funding amounts dedicated to each outcome area. She noted the bike CCIP funding grows each year and there is also a separate pedestrian CCIP line item that is managed by Engineering. Dixon asked if most departments put in more offers than they believe will get funded and if there is optimism most of the transportation offers will get funded. Geary replied she attempts to put all great ideas forward and that is encouraged; however, she stated she is not confident they will all be funded. Chair Williams stated it would be interesting to see more of a breakdown related to BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 4 /2 6 /2021 – MINUTES Page 7 active modes and historically how much funding it has received in relation to other department priorities in the past. He suggested further discussions around the budget, particularly if there are unfunded offers for which the Committee would like to advocate. 8. OTHER BUSINESS Dixon reported Bike Fort Collins is working with the City on an E-bike program for historically underserved groups and on the virtual adaptive bike program. Tupa summarized the new parks projects throughout the city and noted four miles of the missing Poudre Trail is expected to be constructed later this year. Dangerfield reported two new downtown alley projects have started. Peyronnin reported on the Rams Ride Right program, some senior design projects, and some campus projects. a. Transportation Board Report b. Staff Liaison Report Geary reported staff is drafting the request for proposal and scope of work for the Active Modes Plan update. c. Call for Agenda Items a. Parks 9. ADJOURNMENT Webber made a motion, seconded by Chu, to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM by unanimous consent.