Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 07/23/2018 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR July 23, 2018, 6:00 p.m. Community Room, 215 North Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 07/23/2018 – 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 Karl Ayers, Transportation Board Bruce Henderson, Bike Fort Collins Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Kelly Smith, Parks and Recreation Board Sylvia Cranmer, Colorado State University Mark Houdashelt, Air Quality Advisory Board Annie Krieg, At Large Member Chris Hunt, Poudre School District ABSENT: Aaron Buckley, Vice Chair, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Terri Marty, At Large Member Alan Beatty, Senior Advisory Board Marcia Patton-Mallory, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Amanda Mansfield Nancy Nichols PUBLIC PRESENT: Kenny Bearden Kent Leier 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Caldwell reviewed the agenda. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 07/23/2018 – MINUTES Page 2 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None 5. APPROV AL OF MINUTES – JUNE 2018 a. Recording did not capture which boardmembers motioned / seconded the minutes. b. Minutes were approved unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Overland Mountain Bike Club Trails Vision – Kenny Bearden Kenny Bearden, Overland Mountain Bike Club Executive Director, discussed a survey of trail users and noted the respondents were least satisfied with the connectivity of trails, long distance trail opportunities, mileage of trails, family-friendly trails, and very challenging trails. He noted a great deal of the trail system is unmarked in terms of difficulty and stated that is one area his organization would like to improve. Bearden showed a map of trails in various levels of planning and completion. He also discussed proposed trails and opportunities for fewer trail conflicts among users and for youth. He discussed the importance of being able to handle future population growth from a trail system, region-wide perspective. Dangerfield asked if the Overland Cub has a position on the use of E-bikes on soft surface trails. Bearden replied Overland does not support the use of E-bikes on soft surface trails; however, it will not advocate for any other organization or municipality to change its policy. Mansfield asked if Overland pursues grants. Bearden replied in the affirmative and noted the group has a large volunteer force as well. Caldwell stated there would be a benefit in having an increased soft surface trail system that would accommodate multiple user groups. Bearden detailed various youth programs and opportunities. Caldwell asked how much a soft surface trail costs to build per mile. Bearden replied the average cost for professionally-built soft surface trails is about $30,000-$40,000 per mile with varying maintenance costs based on level of use and initial construction plans. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 07/23/2018 – MINUTES Page 3 Caldwell asked about Overland’s position on the safety stop bill. Bearden replied they have never considered it as their focus is on soft surface trails. b. Employee Travel Behavior Survey – Amanda Mansfield Amanda Mansfield, FC Moves Transportation Planner, stated the vision of the upcoming employee travel behavior survey will target people who work in Fort Collins in order to understand the modal share and trip-making behavior for the work commute and trips made throughout the day. She stated she would like the Board to provide input as to missing survey questions and ways to use survey data. Mansfield stated 500 random employees, geographically equitably distributed, will be sampled. Employers will be asked to encourage employees to participate and survey respondents will be able to use an online survey or an app. Data entry and analysis will occur between October and December and a summary report will be produced following that. Mansfield discussed the proposed survey questions and travel diary. Caldwell asked if the survey results would be anonymous from an employer perspective. Mansfield replied the employee information is anonymous; however, as everything is geo-coded, the relationship of businesses to infrastructure will be traceable. c. Safety Stop Bill – All Greegor discussed the previous dialogue around this topic in 2013, and noted at that time, the BAC recommended against pursuing the idea. She stated the state recently adopted a law that created consistent language for jurisdictions interested in pursuing a stop-as-yield bill and noted the Transportation Board considered this item at its last meeting. Caldwell noted the Transportation Board has requested the BAC review the 2013 recommendation and provide feedback on any potential changes. A Boardmember asked if the state language is identical to what was considered in 2013. Greegor replied it is similar. Boardmembers watched a video about the safety stop issue and discussing various scenarios in which the law would apply. Chair Caldwell noted the video was shown to the BAC in 2013. Greegor discussed other states with similar laws noting Delaware and Idaho have statewide safety stop laws. Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, discussed the Safe Routes program. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 07/23/2018 – MINUTES Page 4 She stated no other platinum bicycle friendly community in the United States has a safety stop law and noted Colorado is ranked 6th in the nation in bike friendliness and Idaho, which has the law, is ranked 28th. Additionally, Boise has about 10% of kids biking to school whereas Fort Collins has about 25%. In Colorado, Nichols noted Breckenridge and Aspen have the safety stop law; howeve r, their populations are vastly smaller than Fort Collins. She stated Fort Collins has lower than expected crash rates for children bicycling and noted intersections are where most crashes occur already. She suggested it would be interesting to see a com prehensive traffic safety analysis and Police Services input as part of the recommendation process should the BAC opt to pursue the issue. She also expressed concern implementing this law could take funding away from bicycle projects. Nichols posed questions as to how this information would be taught to kids and citizens in general. She stated there did not seem to be consideration of youth in writing the regulations and stated she would recommend this law be limited to adults if passed. Nichols summarized by stating the stop-as-yield law seems unsafe, particularly for youth riders. Chair Caldwell stated he is of the opinion the safety stop measure should be adopted and views it as a leadership opportunity for Fort Collins. He acknowledged there would be difficulty in implementation and education. He suggested this might lead to more predictable bicyclist behavior. Dangerfield questioned what problem is being solved by this measure. Krieg discussed the importance of bicycles being treated as a serious form of transportation. Cranmer stated she would selfishly like to have the law; however, looking at it from a wider perspective leads to other considerations. Henderson stated any recommendation for the Transportation Board should include a complete plan regarding education and the bill’s effect on youth riders. Cranmer noted the BAC was opposed to this measure in 2013, partially due to Police Services input at the time. She also stated CSU Police have indicated they would not support the measure. Chair Caldwell stated Police Services does not know how this would turn out and they are making assumptions, though they may be valid. He stated he would like Fort Collins BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 07/23/2018 – MINUTES Page 5 to be a leader in making changes. Cranmer asked if Bike Fort Collins has a stance on the issue. Henderson replied they do not have an official position. Personally, he stated he would support it under the conditions that a robust and thorough education component accompanied it and it did not apply to children. Hunt made a motion, seconded by Dangerfield, to table the discussion to the next meeting after members have read the proposed ordinance and reviewed the 2013 BAC discussion. Nichols requested her presentation be included for other members to review. Hunt and Dangerfield accepted that request as part of the motion. The motion was adopted unanimously. Boardmembers discussed reaching out to other municipalities for input and noted any education component would have to be funded in some fashion. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS None. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report – Ayers None. b. Staff Liaison Report Greegor provided Boardmembers with Pace promo codes and stated the Mulberry project started construction. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:32 PM by unanimous consent.