Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 08/23/2021 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR August 23, 2021, 6:00 p.m. Remote Meeting via Zoom 8 /23/2021 – 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 Jerry Gavaldon, Vice Chair, Transportation Board Mike Tupa, Parks and Recreation Board Mike Webber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Tim Anderson, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Kevin Krause, Natural Resources Advisory Board Greg Wells, Senior Advisory Board Ed Peyronnin, Colorado State University Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee Whitney Allison, At Large Member Katherine Chu, At Large Member (arrived late) ABSENT: Rick Arneson, Bike Fort Collins Ben Mayer, Poudre School District Jason Miller, Air Quality Advisory Board Dave Dixon, Bike Fort Collins Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Cortney Geary Seth Lorson Nancy Nichols PUBLIC PRESENT: None BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Williams reviewed the agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 2021 Peyronnin made a motion, seconded by Gavaldon, to approve the minutes of the July 2021 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. BFO Discussion and Draft Memo Review Chair Williams stated the Committee discussed some priority items at its last meeting, including restoring COVID-related budget cuts to the transportation and FC Moves budgets, reinstituting the travel survey, augmenting the Safe Routes to School program with a position that would allow for programming to benefit kindergarten teachers, and enhancing the Shift Your Ride travel options. He stated the Committee intends to submit this memo to the Transportation Board for inclusion with its letter to Council. Krause stated the Natural Resources Advisory Board also discussed the budget at its last meeting and commented on the importance of enhancing the Shift Your Ride travel options in order to make inroads in changing commuting and transportation patterns in the community. Tupa discussed the possibility of a property tax addition for parks and trails maintenance. (**Secretary’s Note: Katherine Chu arrived at this point in the meeting.) Tupa made a motion, seconded by Krause, to approve the draft memo regarding the budget as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Council Priorities – Mayor Jeni Arndt and Mayor Pro Tem Emily Gorgol Mayor Arndt thanked the members for their service on the Committee and other Boards and Commissions as well. She stated Council will be having a work session on Council priorities August 31st and commented on the main variable impacting air quality in the region, which is proximity to work. She stated that statistic translates to the need for affordable housing and alternative modes of transit. She also commented on the importance of having safe routes to school. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 3 Mayor Pro Tem Gorgol noted the initial list of 99 Council priorities included many that involved bicycling, complete streets, and transit, and several of those made it over to the shorter list, though City staff continues work on items not moved to the shorter list. She commented on the priority of 15-minute communities which emphasize getting everywhere one needs to go within a 15-minute walk or bike. She also commented on working with Poudre School District to partner with Transfort on transit to school. Tupa commented on possible improvements that could be made to Fort Collins’ bike system to allow more easy access to bike routes but commended efforts in that direction. Mayor Arndt commented on the importance of ensuring students are encouraged to bike and walk to school through safe and easy routes. Wells commented on the impracticality of expecting children to bike or walk to schools outside of their neighborhood when school of choice is allowed. He asked if any financial or construction studies have been completed on the feasibility of supporting children having safe bicycle and pedestrian access to schools. Geary replied each iteration of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans consider the desired network and anticipated cost. She stated the Active Modes Plan update is about to begin and that Plan will combine the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans. She discussed the importance of having safer and more comfortable routes to schools, safer arterial crossings, and ensuring maintenance costs are considered. Gavaldon commented on maintenance difficulties with existing protected bike lanes and discussed good examples in Aurora. He also discussed the suggestions Dave Dixon of Bike Fort Collins has presented to the Committee. Peyronnin commented on the importance of education for both drivers and cyclists. Allison concurred and Chair Williams commented on the Committee’s discussion of not only Safe Routes to School but ‘safe routes for everyone.’ Anderson noted school of choice will always present a challenge in terms of safe routes; however, he stated there is a best way to get from any one point to any other throughout the city and he commended the bike maps produced by the City. Geary stated the FC Bikes program has been rebranded as the Active Modes program and it will be issuing an update to the bike map next month. Tupa noted phone map applications offer bike options. Webber noted connectivity to Natural Areas should be considered as well. Krause commented on the importance of working backward from a citizen perspective and stated partnerships in terms of improving transportation are critical. He also encouraged research on the cost of each new vehicle versus expenditures BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 4 on alternative modes. Chair Williams thanked Mayor Arndt and Mayor Pro Tem Gorgol for attending the meeting. b. Mountain Avenue Reshaping Project – Seth Lorson Seth Lorson, Transportation Planner, commented on the importance of having leadership as Fort Collins does that supports alternative modes of transportation. Regarding the Mountain Avenue Reshaping Project, Lorson stated staff is currently looking at conceptual designs for improving Mountain Avenue in the commercial core of downtown from Howes Street to the Lincoln bridge. He stated the project was originally started in 2020 just prior to the start of the pandemic, after which it was put on hold until just recently. He stated goals of the project include establishing better plans for the operation of the street and enhancing the design to promote all travel modes, particularly those that are the most vulnerable, to allow for flexibility in future uses, to design with the City’s goals of equity and inclusion, and to use the urban design to bolster the economic recovery from the pandemic. Lorson discussed the community outreach and planned design charette. He stated the goal for the end of the year is to have a toolbox of design concepts and possible pilot options. He discussed the existing conditions survey and examples of desired improvements including bike facilities, parklets, outdoor dining, wider sidewalks, festival streets that could be closed for pedestrian-only activity, green spaces, plazas, different parking configurations, and micro-mobility options. Gavaldon discussed the loss of parking spaces from various projects in the Old Town area and stated that has concerned area businesses. He stated he did not want to see any additional spaces lost unless there is some creativity used in terms of a balance between spaces and other needs. He asked if there is a plan for extending the trolley and stated he would not like to lose the picturesque elements of Mountain to the west of Howes. Lorson stated the idea of extending the trolley has been discussed; however, it has been found to be impractically insurmountable to bring it down over the BNSF railroad tracks and remove parking in the middle of the roadway to accomplish that. Krause discussed the importance of being data driven with looking at parking and noted biking in the area does not currently feel safe. Chair Williams agreed. Members discussed the importance of improving the corridor for cyclists. Gavaldon stated the entire area should be a dismount zone in the name of safety. Peyronnin asked if there is sufficient parking available in the parking garages that would allow for the removal of on-street spaces to make it a truly bike-friendly area. Tupa commented on the effort focusing on the movement of automobiles and BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 5 questioned whether four lanes are necessary. He suggested two lanes, a change in parking, and placement of bikes lanes next to the sidewalks. Lorson noted the main request from surveys has been dedicated bike facilities. He stated there may be a possible opportunity to maintain a shared space while still prioritizing bikes. Tupa expressed support for narrowing the lanes and allowing more room for bicycles, pedestrians, and parking. Peyronnin asked if there has been a transformation in the thinking of downtown businesses in the way they view car traffic versus bicycle traffic. Lorson replied he could not say that with certainty and each business owner’s character seems to be the determining factor on which is favored. He noted each visitor to downtown is a pedestrian at some point. Chair Williams noted Webber commented in the chat that road diets on West Mulberry and West Laporte seem to have been successful despite initial resistance. Gavaldon discussed the importance of getting direct input from businesses regarding possible loss of parking. Lorson noted staff has gone before the DDA and he has gone door-to-door to businesses to ask them to complete the survey. He stated people are open to new concepts with bike facilities and on-street dining. Chair Williams noted Lorson will be returning to the Committee after the design charette and he requested information on parking utilization during that meeting. c. Safe Routes to School Program Update – Nancy Nichols Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School Coordinator, discussed the history of the Safe Routes to School program and its funding sources. She stated the overarching goal of the program is to get more kids biking and walking to school for kids’ health and academic achievement and for the benefit of the climate and environment. She stated about 13,000 kids and 2,000 adults are reached through the program annually and discussed the six E’s used for all Safe Routes to School programs: education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, evaluation, and equity. Nichols discussed other aspects of the program including bike repair, after school biking and walking clubs, summer bike camps, and additional by-request programming. She also discussed adaptive programming and alternative programming developed during the pandemic. Nichols stated the vision for the future is to get 50% of K-12 students biking, walking, scootering, or skateboarding to school. Krause asked how the programming changes with school of choice students. Nichols replied there is one 100% school of choice school, Kinard, and it brings in the highest percentage of students biking and walking. She stated school of choice BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 6 is a challenge for the programming; however, there are still significant numbers of students biking and walking. Krause asked about the engagement model at private schools. Nichols replied there are requests from private schools and charter schools and they all receive the same programming; however, the first obligation is to PSD public schools. Peyronnin asked if there is available information on programming for specific schools. Nichols replied the website contains information on which schools are receiving programming at a given time and schools also have that information. Nichols commented on the recent passing of Gib Charles, one of the Safe Routes instructors. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Tupa reported the Parks and Recreation Board discussed the need for additional employees and volunteers for recreation facilities and discussed the difficulties with watering parks facilities given the lack of moisture and high temperatures. Webber reported on the recent Land Conservation and Stewardship Board meeting during which increased Natural Areas visitation was discussed. Krause reported on the recent Natural Resources Advisory Board meeting during which the budget was discussed. Anderson reported the Bike Co-op remains busy, particularly given CSU students are back on campus. He stated the Co-op is returning to its original model of teaching students to fix their own bikes. Peyronnin reported the Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee did not meet last month; however, with students back, he noted there will need to be ongoing educational efforts for student cyclists. Chair Williams commended the FoCo Fondo event for raising money for the Safe Routes to School program and engaging the community in bicycle-focused education. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report Gavaldon stated he was unable to attend the most recent Transportation Board meeting. b. Staff Liaison Report Geary stated she would send out the link for the Mountain Avenue survey and commented on the launch of Spin on July 26th. She stated a public data dashboard BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /23/2021 – MINUTES Page 7 will soon be available. She stated a contract has been signed for the Active Modes Plan update and reported the City received a CDOT ‘revitalizing main street’ grant of $1.4 million for Laporte Avenue from Fishback to Sunset. She requested volunteers for the upcoming bike and pedestrian counts. c. Future Agenda Items Chair Williams suggested a presentation on Spin as well as additional information on the budget. 10. ADJOURNMENT Chu made a motion, seconded by Peyronnin, to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:53 PM by unanimous consent.