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HomeMy WebLinkAboutActive Modes Advisory Board - MINUTES - 08/19/2024 ACTIVE MODES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR August 19, 2024 6:00 p.m. Online via Zoom or In Person at 281 North College 8 /1 9 /202 4 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Bruce Henderson Vice-Chair: Kevin Krause Staff Liaison: Lauren Nagle 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Henderson called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Henderson, Chair Kevin Krause, Vice Chair Tim Han Jared Hanson Wallace Jacobson Cameron Phillips Kat Steele Kristina Vrouwenvelder CITY STAFF PRESENT: Lauren Nagle Rachel Ruhlen Araceli Newman Maya Swanson ABSENT: Destiny Dominguez PUBLIC PRESENT: Chris Conway 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Henderson outlined the published agenda. 4. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION Chris Conway spoke about organizing YIMBY Fort Collins, an affordable housing advocacy group. He commented on a recently passed State House Bill which prevents cities from requiring parking close to public transit and certain other areas and stated his group has been circulating a letter to groups around town trying to get the City to ACTIVE MODES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /1 9 /202 4 – MINUTES Page 2 consider removing parking minimums altogether from the Code. Conway requested the Board consider either signing the letter or passing a motion asking Council to remove parking minimums which would help increase active modes use and prioritize people over parking. Conway discussed the benefits of eliminating parking minimums, including having more space for affordable housing, reducing sprawl, increasing transit efficiency, and decreasing costs. He stated his recommended solution is to change the parking minimum requirement to a parking recommendation. Conway discussed some of the objections that are heard when considering eliminating parking minimums, including issues for people with disabilities , among others. He noted Longmont has already made this change as have many college towns nationwide. Vice Chair Krause asked if there is a timeline for Council to begin to take up addressing the state bill. Conway replied they are folding it into the phase two Land Use Code updates and stated his group is trying to send its letter in the next couple months to get the conversation started. Hanson asked about the ultimate desired end goal. Conway replied his group’s focus is on making it affordable to live in Fort Collins, and parking is just one thing contributing to the lack of affordability. He stated he would like to see Fort Collins become more of a walkable and bikeable city in general , which would be aided by increased density and less parking. He stated the hope would be for some large parking lots to be converted to housing. Hanson asked if there are examples of predatory real estate practices or situations where parking lots have been left in derelict conditions in other communities that have done away with minimum parking requirements. Conway replied most of the communities that have adopted this change have had success in seeing parking lots turning into more housing and other business opportunities. Steele commented on a building in Austin that was constructed with virtually no parking and the associated parking impacts on the predominantly single-family neighborhood nearby. Conway replied solutions could include providing those who live in the single- family neighborhood with parking permits or creating a parking benefit district which would involve metered parking on the street, the revenue from which would go directly back into that district. Chair Henderson asked members if they would be interested in reviewing the letter template and potentially having it reformatted for the Board to provide to Council. Members replied in the affirmative. Nagle noted the commercial side of the Land Use Code revisions will be coming before the Board in the fall and suggested this could be paired with that effort. Chair Henderson suggested placing the item on the next agenda for discussion. ACTIVE MODES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /1 9 /202 4 – MINUTES Page 3 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 2024 Vice Chair Krause made a motion, seconded by Jacobsen to approve the minutes of the July 2024 meeting. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Active Modes Advisory Board and Transportation Board Liaisons Chair Henderson provided a summary of a meeting with the City Attorney’s Office around the legal guidelines and requirements for working with other Boards. He noted the previously arranged situation wherein each of the Boards sent a non - voting representative to the other Board meeting does not work well with the concept of having distinctive operations between the Boards, therefore, that practice will discontinue. Chair Henderson stated the City Attorney’s Office put forth the option of quarterly meetings between the two Boards. Nagle noted that frequency is hypothetical and may be too frequent, though Super Issues meetings could also be used for Boards to communicate with one another. Nagle stated the staff liaisons have discussed a January joint meeting at this point. Steele requested additional information about the Super Issues meetings. Nagle replied those meetings would allow members from any Board to have discussions and the meetings are publicly notified so they meet open meetings requirements. Nagle outlined how the Super Issues meeting topics are determined by staff. Chair Henderson noted any member of the Board could attend any other Board meeting, though they cannot speak for their Board and must disclose the information they discussed with their Board. Nagle encouraged members to reach out for guidance should they want to participate in another Board meeting. Vice Chair Krause concurred with the idea of having at least an annual joint meeting and stated it may be nice to have a joint meeting prior to work plans being established. Chair Henderson stated the Transportation Board has just started on its 2025 work plan whereas the Active Modes Advisory Board has yet to do so. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Preliminary Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons Study – Maya Swanson Maya Swanson, student at the Colorado School of Public Health at Colorado State University, discussed the intersection of public health and active modes , noting that walking and bicycling reduce all-cause mortality and are good at preventing cardiovascular disease and death. Swanson stated active modes infrastructure promotes walking and bicycling and helps with reducing fatalities and injuries. ACTIVE MODES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /1 9 /202 4 – MINUTES Page 4 Swanson discussed the Active Modes Plan recommendation to add more pedestrian hybrid beacons throughout the city and noted their use has been shown to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Swanson stated the aim of this study was to determine whether there is driver noncompliance at pedestrian hybrid beacons in Fort Collins and how the beacons affect traveler behavior. Swanson discussed data collection efforts which involved video footage over 14 hours during the school year and discussed the four locations analyzed. Swanson stated results of the study showed generally high driver compliance at the pedestrian beacons and noted an individual did file a complaint about noncompliance at the site with the lowest compliance. Swanson also noted there is inconsistent signage at the pedestrian hybrid beacons and what behavior is expected on flashing red changes between the signs. Swanson discussed the behaviors observed at the beacons, including some problematic opportunistic behavior, and discussed data related to the number of active mode users who use the beacons versus those who do not. Additionally, Swanson outlined the limitations and challenges of the study and discussed opportunities for improvement, including posting consistent signage, adding signage preventing the blocking of beacon intersections, and adding signage preventing right turn movements when a beacon is active . Phillips asked about the typical behavior exhibited by the person crossing when instances of noncompliance were witnessed. Swanson replied most of the noncompliance issues arose between the time of flashing yellow and solid red, and during that time, the pedestrians would still be on the curb. Han noted the signal studied at Prospect and Welch is the only one of the four that is on a hill and asked if the re was a directionality component to the noncompliance there. Swanson replied in the negative. Vice Chair Krause commended the attention to the topic and asked if the study collected any qualitative data from users. Rachel Ruhlen, FC Moves, replied user behavior was observed, though individuals were not engaged in conversation. Vice Chair Krause suggested qualitative data could be collected via a QR code at the location and commented on his negative experience at the Prospect and Welch hybrid beacon location. Phillips asked if there is data collected related to the number of times a hybrid beacon is activated in a day. Ruhlen replied Traffic Operations may have that data. b. Trail Pop-up Education Ideas – Lauren Nagle Nagle discussed previous trail pop -up events during which courtesy speed limits, passing on the left, audible signals, and the like are discussed with trail users. ACTIVE MODES ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8 /1 9 /202 4 – MINUTES Page 5 Nagle stated the next event is planned for the Power Trail near Golden Meadows Park and asked members to weigh in on potential locations or topics. Han stated the Power Trail and Mason Trail both have issues with speed. Steele suggested doing an event in the middle of the trail where users may be speeding faster. Jacobson commented on the area where the Spring Creek Trail goes under the railroad tracks and overlaps with the Mason Trail. He noted there are stop signs at all three directions and the visibility at the intersection is terrible. Steele suggested good locations for pop-ups would be where trails intersect with crossing traffic. Ruhlen stated trail speed studies have shown the average speeds of E-bikes are a bit higher than the average speeds of traditional bikes and the maximum speed observed was a traditional bike. Vice Chair Krause commented on the importance of thinking about motivations for trail users and their speed. He commented on trail signage in Breckenridge and suggested some of the pop-ups could consider experimenting with larger scale shorter phrases to help catch trail users’ attention. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Staff Liaison Report Nagle stated the asphalt art installation was completed at the Magnolia/Canyon/Sherwood intersection and most of the ADA truncated domes and all of the flex posts have been installed. Nagle thanked the volunteers who helped paint. Nagle discussed the ‘Which Wheels Go Where’ campaign and provided members with informational fliers. Ruhlen encouraged members to take and share the survey. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by unanimous con sent at 8:00 p.m.