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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 06/21/2000Draft minutes to be approved by the Transportation Board at their July 19, 2000 meeting. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD June 21, 2000 5:45 p.m. City of Fort Collins — City Hall West 300 LaPorte Avenue FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Tim Johnson................416-0821 Vice Chair: Chris Ricord.................472-8769 Staff Liaison: Randy Hensley.............416-2058 Admin Support: Cynthia Scott ...............224-6058 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Gould Bruce Henderson Tim Johnson Tom Kramer Brad Miller Ray Moe Chris Ricord Brent Thordarson (late) Heather Trantham (late) Mary Warring Steve Yeldell CITY STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: John Daggett Linda Dowlen Susanne Durkin Tom Frazier Randy Hensley Cam McNair Ron Phillips Cynthia Scott Marlys Sittner ABSENT: GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE: Kathryn Johnson — D-A-R Committee Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 5:53 p.m. At Scott's request, Chair Johnson explained that the recordings of the last few meetings have been poor. He asked that members speak louder and clearly to help Scott obtain a better recording. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21.2000 Page 2 PUBLIC COMMENT None APPROVAL OF MINUTES There was a motion and a second to approve the May 17, 2000 Transportation Board meeting minutes as presented. Discussion: Warring stated that the Traffic Enforcement Safety statement discussion beginning on page 2 does not adequately reflect the gist of the discussion. She contacted Scott and made arrangements to go to the Transportation Services office to listen to the recording of that portion of the meeting in hopes of capturing the discussion that she remembered Unfortunately, she felt that the recording was very poor and of no use. There being no other discussion about the minutes, Chair Johnson called the vote. The minutes were unanimously approved as presented For clarification, Hensley stated that Scott is not expected to produce verbatim style minutes and that she is has been researching options in purchasing a new recording system and is authorized to purchase a new system when the appropriate one is chosen. 3. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT None 4. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) TRANSFORT ROUTE CHANGES — M. Sittner Marlys Sittner, Transfort Operations Manager, went over all changes route by route. The changes are to take effect July 1, 2000. Comments from board members are as follows: Route 1 — Ricord said that most people attend classes at Front Range Community College after 6 p.m. He feels they should be accommodated if possible. Route 4 — Miller suggested eliminating a bus stop in order to help the bus time wise. Route 14 — Warring asked if the Cloverleaf Mobile Home Park could be accommodated and Sittner said that staff did look at that, but it wasn't feasible. General comments: Miller: Recalled that at a recent meeting, there was a discussion about broader coverage versus a grid system. He inquired how this relates to that discussion. Sittner said that the route changes presented today are not related to that. These changes were done to fine-tune the existing system. Chair Johnson: Expressed that the changes are a great improvement. He also commented that it would be good idea if future editions of the schedule were to show the start and end points as larger symbols to make them more easily seen. Tom Frazier said that the schedule is also available in large print, Braille, and Spanish. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21, 2000 Page 3 b) MASON ST TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR UPDATE — S. Durkin Durkin reported that there was an excellent turnout at the last work session held at the Lincoln Center. Moe displayed the corridor in seven segments. He talked about design issues/changes segment by segment. Public Outreach: There will be another public open house at Foothills Fashion Mall on August 26. The committee will put out another newsletter, more video, and utilize 30-second spots on TV. The committee realizes that more intense coverage needs to be done for those who are most affected, therefore, people will be going door-to-door to invite people to a special focus group meeting just for their specific neighborhood area. Owners of Markely Motors, Fossil Creek Nursery, the ditch company, and others are being contacted on a one-on-one basis and all appropriate boards and commissions will be presented with project updates. Durkin then closed with an invitation for comments on the approach the committee is taking. Kramer: Why are you negotiating just south of Prospect? That's real narrow through there. RM: We are within the R-O-W at that location on the eastside of the tracks, and yes, it is narrow. That shopping center is one of the businesses that we want to spend time with and show them the dimensions. Chair Johnson: Is it an option to re -look at the east/west movement on Drake Road? I know you went through some of the negatives earlier in your update, but I still think it's doable and would have a major impact on the west side traffic. SD: Would you like us to do more engineering on Dan's (Gould) idea? TJ: Yes, please. There needs to be a major change in east/west traffic movement as it is pretty limited and I think this would also be an added bonus to sell with the whole package to the community. Thordarson: I talked to Ron Rapinski at the open house and he said that the railroad might be interested in moving that track up a foot or two. c) TRANSPORTATION FUNDING ISSUES - Hensley Hensley explained a year ago in April, a transportation tax initiative was brought forth that the voter's did not approve. That left a variety of unfunded transportation needs. Next Tuesday night, at the Council Study Session, they are to set some policies about the direction that staff should take in the future to address those unfunded needs. Hensley distributed the same background material that the City Council Finance Committee was given — "Updated Snapshot of Annual Transportation Needs." He also explained the Pavement Management graph, noting that it is the top priority. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21, 2000 Page 4 He then explained the various options that will be presented to Council at their meeting on Tuesday. Hensley asked Board members to monitor the Study Session and said that depending on the outcome, the Board may want to develop a recommendation. Chair Johnson stressed that the General Fund MUST pay for more basic needs. 5. ACTION ITEMS a) CMAQ PROJECT SELECTION PROCESS — J. Daggett Daggett gave a Power Point presentation on the Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality fund project selection process. These funds are awarded to Colorado non -attainment areas since the ISTEA legislation was enacted in 1991. CMAQ was reauthorized with TEA-21 in 1996. The North Front Range contains only one non -attainment area - an area bordered approximately by the urban growth area of the city of Fort Collins. In the beginning, the amount of CMAQ funds reaching northern Colorado was quite small. With the advent of TEA-21 in 1996 however, those amounts have increased each year and are now seen by the State Transportation Commission and the Federal Highway Administration as substantial and in need of a more formal project selection process. The greater Fort Collins area will be allocated an average of $1.2 M a year over the next three years in CMAQ funds. Those funds can be expended in the non - attainment area for a variety of transit, TDM, bicycle, pedestrian, and roadway projects for capital, operating, marketing and planning purposes. These funds must be expended in the non -attainment area or for projects that will show air quality benefits in the non -attainment area. A CMAQ steering committee was established to help the MPO and City staff develop a project selection process that: meets Federal regulations; meets the needs of the City of Fort Collins; selects projects in an objective manner; selects projects with air quality benefits; accommodates VMT reduction, tailpipe emission reduction and Qualitative Projects; and includes all parties that could potentially submit proposals. The Committee recommends that projects be grouped into three categories: 1) Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) projects, 2) Tailpipe Emission Reduction Projects, and 3) Qualitative Projects. VMT reduction projects primarily function to reduce vehicle miles of travel. Examples include vanpool, carpool, transit, bikeway and pedestrian improvements in either service or infrastructure. Tailpipe Emission Reduction Projects primarily reduce tailpipe emissions. Examples include inspection/maintenance programs, signal timing, and intersection improvements. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21, 2000 Page 5 Qualitative Projects are the most difficult to define. This type includes programs or projects that don't fit clearly into the previous two, but have air quality benefits that can be defined. Examples include marketing, educational, planning, and other programs targeted at behavioral change. The Steering Committee recommends establishing two independent committees: 1) an Allocation Committee and 2) an Evaluation Committee. The Allocation Committee's sole purpose is to make a policy recommendation the MPO Council on the amount of CMAQ funds to be allocated to each of the three project categories listed above over the three year period: 2001-2003. The purpose of the Evaluation Committee is to score projects within each of the three project categories and provide the MPO Council with a recommended list of projects to be funded. This committee would most likely produce most of the projects competing for CMAQ funds. Both committees would report independently, but directly to the MPO Council. The Evaluation Committee would provide information and a constrained list of recommended projects to the Technical Advisory Committee JAC) for reference only. There are two primary categories of criteria: 1) the Air Quality Benefit and 2) Other Benefits. Daggett explained the details on each of the two benefits above, as well as criteria weighting and scoring. The Project Selection Process is as follows: 1. Call for Projects - The MPO staff will issue a formal call for projects. Projects are due in 60 days. 2. Project Eligibility Screening — MPO staff to determine CMAQ eligibility will review all projects. 3. Project Scoring — the Evaluation Committee will score all eligible projects. 4. Project List — A constrained project list will be prepared. 5. MPO Council Approval — The constrained project list will be forwarded for MPO approval and inclusion in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) Upon conclusion of the presentation, Daggett repeated that he is asking the Transportation Board to recommend adoption of the proposed process to the MPO Council. The immediate next step is that the MPO Council acts on the proposed process at their meeting on July 6. Then the Allocation Committee recommends CMAQ allocations for three categories of projects to the MPO. When questioned about the public process by Warring, he stated that the call for projects is the public process in his opinion. Hensley agreed with Daggett's statement adding that that is where the public process starts. He explained that all 14 people on the Evaluation Committee have their own constituencies, both public and private and it is up to all of those members to solicit projects from all of the input groups, of which the Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21. 2000 Page 6 Transportation Board would be one. He stated that there is also a second place for public comment, which is when the results of the Evaluation Committee are forwarded to the North Front Range Council. During their meeting, before the process is approved, there is time for public comment. Warring stressed that it is very important the Fort Collins community be able to comment on the projects. Since the North Front Range Council alternates their meeting locations to accommodate the various entities that are represented, she suggested that the particular Council meeting where the list of projects is discussed should be held in Fort Collins. It should be in an open house format so the public is sure to have an opportunity to have input. Hensley said that having that type of an open house would give the public an unreasonable expectation that the projects would or could be re -ranked, when in fact, the State and Federal guidelines say that the projects with the highest air quality benefit is a priority. The selection process is truly is a quantitative process — there are formulas behind all of the activities so each (project) can be measured quantitatively and ranked against each other purely from an air quality point -of -view. Phillips added that what Warring is requesting is met in the Regional Planning process because one of the requirements is that these projects be projects in the Regional Transportation Plan. There is an extensive public process as the Regional Plan is developed and then CMAQ projects are simply extracted from the Regional Plan. Warring asked if it is possible to request that the MPO Council meeting be held in Fort Collins. Phillips said that he would have to talk to the Council about that. There was more discussion covering topics such as normalizing, how it came to be that there is more CMAQ funds available today, and how project benefits over time were considered in the equation. There was a motion to recommend adoption of the CMAQ project selection process to the MPO Council. There was a second and the motion carried unanimously. Warring made a motion to recommend that the MPO Council meeting, where Final approval of the project list will take place, be held in Fort Collins. There was a second and the motion carried unanimously. Durkin publicly recognized Daggett and his team who worked on the process, thanking them for all the hard work that has gone into this effort. b) TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENTISAFETY CAMPAIGN — Sub -committee Warring distributed the "Preliminary Draft of Traffic Enforcement Issues for Council Consideration." She apologized for not sending this draft out ahead of time via e-mail as originally intended. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21, 2000 Page 7 Each change from the last iteration was explained by Warring. Chair Johnson asked the board members for comments. There was consensus that the essence is contained in the draft. Chair Johnson asked that Warring e-mail it to everyone and if they think of anything specific they would like to see in it, they can let her know. He also suggested that one or two members sit down with Chief Harrison and briefly discuss the draft with him. Chair Johnson will set this up. Board members thanked Warring for her hard work and for producing an excellent document. 6. REPORTS a) Board Member Reports Trantham: Kids on Bikes. Heard on National Public Radio that the number of kids riding bikes as a main activity is declining due to safety reasons. Parents don't want their kids to ride as it isn't safe! Makes one wonder what the next generation is going to be like. Warring: Roundabout. What are the costs? Also, who dictates what "failure" is in terms of the City promising to replace it if it does? RH: We have those figures and can get an answer to you on the other question. Gould: Bicycle Safety Panel. There was a bicycle injury/safety panel sponsored by the City and CSU. Some mapping where bicycle accidents were happening has been done. During the panel discussion, I noticed cynicism on the part of the Mayor and Officer... when law enforcement as it relates to bicycles was brought up. Bike/Pedestrian Underpass. Bike/Pedestrian underpasses are critical issues for the Mason Street Transportation Corridor. It was amazing to see the one done over a single weekend on College Avenue near Pitkin. Thordarson: Bike Path. Next month there will be another choice on how to get to DIA. A bike path is going to be constructed. Electric Bikes. These have been in the press lately. Next time I'll bring some materials on it. Hensley said that the City has one and anyone is welcome to take a test ride on it. Mason &Howes. I've talked to several people about the idea of Mason & Howes going back to two-way streets again. So far, everyone seems to like the idea. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes June 21, 2000 Page 8 Miller: S. Taft Hill Meetina. At the last meeting, Jerry Mead talked about the S. Taft Hill Widening project. I was contacted by their group and invited to their homeowner's meeting last Tuesday, which lasted about 2 A hours. I won't be here next month, but I have several pages of hand-outs and notes I took. I'll make sure that I'll send these out before the meeting. I urge you to really listen to these folks. One of the major complaints they have about things is that the City, in their view, isn't listening to them. They feel that they are trying to work with the City, but the City isn't reciprocating. Johnson: Mean Streets 2000 Report. Report from the Denver Post that rated the streets in different cities on how mean they were for pedestrians and cyclists! b) Staff Reports Hensley: Roles of Boards and Commissions. An updated document from the City Clerk's office was distributed to all members for their information. NEXT AGENDA - S. Taft Hill Widening Project — McNair & Lang - Transportation Maintenance Fund Issues Update — Hensley - Mason Street Transportation Corridor - Durkin - Transportation Planning Items (x 2?) if needed - Traffic Enforcement/Safety Update - CMAQ Update — Hensley - Talk about information on the intergovernmental agreement on the roundabout in staff reports as an FYI. OTHER BUSINESS There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Cynthia L. Scott Executive Administrative Assistant