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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTRANSPORTATION BOARD - MINUTES - 01/17/2024 TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR January 17, 2024, 6:00 p.m. Online Via Zoom or In-Person at 281 North College Avenue 1 /17/202 4 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Cari Brown Vice Chair: Council Liaison: Ed Peyronnin Emily Francis Staff Liaison: Aaron Iverson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Brown called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Ed Peyronnin, Vice Chair Nathalie Rachline Indy Hart Jess Dyrdahl Jerry Gavaldon James Burtis BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Cari Brown, Chair Stephanie Blochowiak CITY STAFF PRESENT: Rachel Ruhlen PUBLIC PRESENT: David Baker Marcus H 3. AGENDA REVIEW Iverson noted there will no longer be a Bicycle Advisory Committee report as that Committee no longer exists and stated Chair and Co-Chair elections will occur in April or May after new Board Members are appointed. Hart made a motion, seconded by Gavaldon, to table the consideration of nominations for Chair and Co-Chair until April or May. The motion was adopted unanimously. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 2 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION David Baker stated he has applied for a position on the Board and is present to observe. Marcus H. stated he recently moved from Vienna, Austria and is an avid cyclist. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – DECEMBER 2023 Gavaldon made a motion, seconded by Dyrdahl, to approve the December 2023 minutes as written. Yeas: Peyronnin, Rachline, Hart, Dyrdahl, and Gavaldon. Nays: none. Abstain: Burtis. THE MOTION CARRIED. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. SPIN Shared Micro-Mobility Annual Report – Rachel Ruhlen Rachel Ruhlen, FC Moves Transportation Planner, stated this is the second annual report for SPIN. She stated ridership remains strong and the program is outperforming any previous bike or E-scooter share program in Fort Collins, though ridership is down very slightly from last year which is likely primarily due to the weather. Ruhlen showed a graph of ridership by hour of the day noting the devices are now available 24 hours a day. She stated CSU to downtown is the core area of usage and 60% of riders are associated with CSU, 40% of which are undergraduates. Ruhlen discussed the credits provided by SPIN for parking in designated parking boxes and for the Bike Buddies who were mentors for the E-bike grant. She also discussed various tours that utilized the E-bikes. Ruhlen noted climate change is a large motivating factor as to why Fort Collins wants to have bike and scooter share. She stated 62 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions have been avoided since the start of the SPIN program. In terms of transportation equity, Ruhlen discussed the SPIN Access program which reduces the cost of trips. Rachline suggested SPIN Access should be free of charge. Hart suggested people could be provided with a free card for use of SPIN and that would lead to more of a sense of ownership that can lead to a better sense of care for those individuals. Burtis asked if it would be possible to unlock the SPIN devices with a free card rather than a phone. Ruhlen replied that information will be forthcoming in the presentation. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 3 Gavaldon also noted many people do not carry cell phones or credit cards. He also supported free SPIN rides for those who need it. Ruhlen went on to discuss the SPIN Adaptive program which provides 5 total trikes, hand cycles, and recumbent bikes for anyone who requests one free of charge. In terms of how a completely free SPIN program could work, Ruhlen noted a grant from CDOT provided for 75 year-long SPIN passes for low-income individuals, though that program is now over. Additionally, a grant was received from the Colorado Energy Office to provide either E-bikes or SPIN passes to low-income individuals. Gavaldon asked if there have been any issues with the E-devices handling the cold weather. Ruhlen replied she has not heard of any issues. Ruhlen discussed the City’s Get FoCo program that allows individuals receiving government benefits to be eligible for other City programs intended for low-income individuals. She stated SPIN Access has now been integrated into Get FoCo and that has greatly increased the number of those enrolled in SPIN Access. Rachline commented on the fact that outreach to people who are not going to think about looking for the program needs to better occur. Ruhlen noted there is an option to purchase a SPIN cash card for individuals who do not have credit cards and there is a way to use the devices without a smart phone, though texts still need to be sent and received. Gavaldon suggested the possibility of having a SPIN fair at schools, Old Town, or other facilities. Ruhlen noted Get FoCo has arranged to help facilitate SPIN getting to events with the community’s affordable housing partners. Ruhlen discussed the SPIN survey and stated the most common answer to the question of what would help one use SPIN more often was having more bikes or scooters available where they need to start and that even at $0.10 per mile on the Access program, it is still too expensive. She noted public right-of-way is lacking in some of the areas where socio-economic factors come into play and she is hoping to connect with mobile home park managers to potentially create parking boxes and deployment zones within the parks. Gavaldon suggested the Museo de las Tres Colonias could be used for a deployment zone. Vice Chair Peyronnin asked if there is any thought of opening up the trails to E- scooters. Ruhlen replied the Master Trails Plan is going to be updated this year and it is likely that question will be answered through that process. Burtis stated the bike deployment zones seem to be along major arterials which may not necessarily be accessible to pedestrians. He suggested placing more TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 4 deployment zones in neighborhoods. Ruhlen replied the deployment zones were examined by SPIN after the first year and a half of service. She stated they prefer to use transit stops and do need to have public right-of-way available. Hart noted most people will not chose to ride one of the devices on some of the arterials. Burtis suggested deploying the devices along the bikeways designated as comfortable if space is available. Hart stated proper parking would need to be provided if scooters are going to be allowed on trails. Ruhlen stated she would follow up with SPIN on why the deployment areas were selected and on what changes were made. She noted SPIN sets its regular rates and SPIN Access rates. Members discussed the survey results around barriers to using SPIN more frequently. Gavaldon commented on the survey question regarding whether lack of access to a phone is a barrier and noted some individuals do not have texting options. Ruhlen commented on the demographic questions asked in the survey and stated the results showed only about ¼ of the SPIN Access riders are affiliated with CSU, whereas 60% of overall riders are affiliated with CSU. She stated Get FoCo is looking into using the Pell Grant as an eligibility option for the program . Ruhlen stated census data shows that about 6% of Fort Collins residents have a mobility disability and the survey of all SPIN riders showed 8% have a mobility disability whereas the survey of SPIN Access riders shows 20% have a mobility disability. Ruhlen outlined the safety data for the report noting five incidents of people falling off bikes or scooters were reported this year. She noted Poudre Fire Authority has inspected the SPIN facility and found everything to be appropriate. Hart commended staff doing its own research as opposed to getting all the information from SPIN. Ruhlen discussed the parking situation noting a great deal of effort has gone into it over the last year. She stated the most common complaint is of improperly parked devices or devices blocking a sidewalk. She stated staff did not feel like they had a good sense from the complaints as to where the problems existed and worked with a graduate student in the Public Health program at CSU to design a study and collect and analyze data for a before and after comparison. The main goal of the study was to determine whether the devices as parked provide a barrier or a barrier for ADA accessibility. She stated 1/5 of the parked devices were found to be a barrier for TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 5 ADA accessibility and just over 1/3 of the parked devices were found to be a barrier under the former parking regulations. Ruhlen discussed the subsequent installation of parking boxes and changes to parking regulations. She stated one legal car parking space has been utilized as of yet. Rachline supported removing more parking spaces for this use or other multi-modal options. Ruhlen also noted the parking ordinance has been changed to allow for the devices to be parked on the street which enabled a parking quiz that was incentivized with a $5 ride credit. Hart stated he did not believe complaints and warnings from SPIN staff should not be correlated. Ruhlen noted only about 25% of complaints result in a warning because most complaints are about bikes or scooters that are not improperly parked. Additionally, SPIN instituted a system involving its drivers reporting parking issues and more than half of the warnings are initiated by SPIN staff. She stated the warning system has three tiers: a warning, a one-day suspension, and a permanent ban and there are very few repeat offenders. Gavaldon asked how many people have been permanently banned. Ruhlen replied only four or five people have been banned and some of those resulted from vandalism rather than parking issues. She noted the bans can be appealed, but the ban is for a minimum of 15 days. Ruhlen stated SPIN has geofenced the parking boxes and provides a $1 credit if a ride ends in a parking box. Ruhlen outlined the study data collected after the parking changes noting there was a 12% decrease in the number of barriers; however, there was not a decrease in the ADA accessibility barriers. The number of legally parked scooters naturally went up given the increase in the number of legal parking spaces. She also noted many sidewalks in Fort Collins are too narrow which causes ADA issues in itself. Gavaldon commented on a 2009 sidewalk mapping study that identified deficiencies. Iverson noted the Engineering Department tracks improvements as they are made and suggested that topic for the Board to discuss. Ruhlen outlined the program plans for the upcoming year, including shifting away from parking and toward equity. She stated outreach to mobile home communities and increasing SPIN Access enrollment will be focused upon. In terms of structural changes, Ruhlen noted Bird acquired SPIN in September and Bird announced a Chapter 11 filing in December, though SPIN does not anticipate that will affect Fort Collins’ operations at all. She noted Fort Collins does ask a lot of requests of SPIN that are outside the contract and because SPIN is expanding to other area communities, some of those requests have not been able to be met. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 6 Ruhlen stated the next renewal of the SPIN contract will start year four in July and the end of the five-year extension period will be in June of 2026. She outlined considerations for providers who are seeking markets and stated the fact that scooters are not allowed on paved trails could be a limitation when Fort Collins seeks to attract an operator. Gavaldon suggested the possibility of a strategic partnership for a long -term contract. Members commended Ruhlen on the presentation. b. Transportation Board 2023 End of Year Report – Aaron Iverson Hart made a motion, seconded by Gavaldon, to approve the 2023 Annual Report as presented. Gavaldon commended Iverson’s work on the report. The vote on the motion was as follows: Yeas: Hart, Dyrdahl, Gavaldon, Peyronnin and Burtis. Nays: Rachline. THE MOTION CARRIED. c. 2024 Topic Ideas/Requests – Aaron Iverson Vice Chair Peyronnin noted the Board would like to discuss the sidewalk program as per the previous discussion. Iverson outlined plans and studies that are happening this year. He stated grants were received to update the EV readiness roadmap and conduct a micro-transit study. He outlined other items the Board will be considering, including the school safety assessment which is ongoing, the Transfort strategic plan, the ongoing Transfort and Poudre School District collaboration study, the Strategic Paved Trail Plan update, an audit of several standards and codes to determine alignment with the Active Modes Plan, Vision Zero Plan, and Climate Action Plan, and the West Elizabeth BRT design. He outlined other topics that may be of interest, including budgeting discussions, Traffic’s annual safety report, the Shift Your Ride program launch, coordination with the new Active Modes Advisory Board, downtown parking, various active modes projects, and ongoing capital projects. Hart noted many of the topics will likely be considered either in coordination with or by the Active Modes Advisory Board. Iverson noted FC Moves will be the liaison to both Boards. Gavaldon noted the Transportation Board will be considering the Master Street Plan and will need to get input from the Active Modes Advisory Board. Vice Chair Peyronnin commented on the importance of the Board being engaged in the process of development of the Active Modes Advisory Board. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 7 Gavaldon questioned whether the new Board would be considering SPIN. Iverson replied many of the details have yet to be worked out, but it is likely both Boards would hear some of the same presentations. Gavaldon noted both Boards will also need to consider the Mulberry corridor. Hart commended the list of topics and noted it is likely one Board or the other may receive more in-depth information on certain topics. Vice Chair Peyronnin stated he would like to ensure Transfort is being discussed as a solution to affordable housing. Rachline suggested an item related to linking and measuring the impact of transportation on climate as a recurring topic. Burtis concurred and noted transportation is linked to both climate and equity issues. Dyrdahl stated she would be interested in discussing the E -bike grant mentioned by Ruhlen. Gavaldon suggested discussing the Land Use Code updates and snow routes. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Gavaldon commented on the prior success of snow routes in Fort Collins and suggested staff work with SPIN to ensure good visibility of the program for CSU home football games. Additionally, he suggested the use of parks and the Museo de las Tres Colonias for SPIN parking boxes and commended Ruhlen on her work with SPIN. He thanked Rachline for her service on the Board and encouraged her to reapply. Rachline stated snow removal on bike lanes is still lacking and the lanes and sidewalks become unmanageable and dangerous during freeze and thaw cycles. She stated she would like to see more buses on the roadways. Dyrdahl reported she just returned from east Africa and discussed a shuttle trip she took from Tanzania to Kenya as well as other transportation options. She also stated her time on the Board is up in March and she opted to not reapply as she may not be in Fort Collins during the fall. Hart reported on Transfort updates and noted he could have taken a bus to and from this meeting based on the extension of times. He commented on desiring more reliability over more frequency and stated reliability has improved over the past few months. He stated he is looking forward to biking more once the snow and ice has melted. Burtis reported the situation with cars parking in bike lanes on City Park seems to be improving. He noted MAX is running later and reported on taking the Landline bus to the airport from CSU. He also reported on watching a delivery person riding an E-bike in the snow at night on the throughway in New York City. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 /17/2024 – MINUTES Page 8 Vice Chair Peyronnin reported on the recent Planning and Zoning Commission work session during which some extension projects were discussed. He stated he presented to the Commission about the Board’s recent discussion of roundabouts. He noted Commissioner Shepard expressed concern about using too many collector streets, particularly in the northeast part of town. Vice Chair Peyronnin reported he will be attending Civic Conversations at Horse and Dragon on Monday during which affordable housing will be discussed. He stated he will be bringing up Transfort as part of affordable housing. Dyrdahl stated she may need another member to attend the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on February 9th. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. City Council 6-Month Calendar Review Iverson stated Council will be setting their priorities for the coming term and will be considering the renewal of the ¼ cent CCIP tax that sunsets in 2025. Additionally, the State of the City will occur February 26th and Council will discuss the Strategic Plan on February 27th. In April, Council will discuss how the newly adopted tax will be appropriated. Gavaldon noted Council will be considering increasing fees on February 6th and expressed concern those increases could impact housing affordability. b. Staff Liaison Report None. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:07 p.m. by unanimous consent.