Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 05/17/2000I -I L Draft minutes to be approved by the Transportation Board at their June 21, 2000 meeting. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD May 17, 2000 5:45 p.m. City of Fort Collins — City Hall West 300 LaPorte Avenue Chair: Tim Johnson................416-0821 Vice Chair: Chris Ricord.................472-8769 Staff Liaison: Randy Hensley.............416-2058 Admin Support: Cynthia Scott ...............224-6058 Bruce Henderson Tim Johnson Tom Kramer Brad Miller Chris Ricord Brent Thordarson Heather Trantham Mary Warring CITY STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: Susanne Durkin Randy Hensley Ron Phillips Kathleen Reavis Cynthia Scott Tom Shoemaker Brian Woodruff ABSENT: Ray Moe Steve Yeldell GUESTS IN ATTENDANCE: Jerry Mead (Taft Hill Rd. Area Resident) Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 5: 53 p. m. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 2 PUBLIC COMMENT Jerry Mead addressed the Board with respect to the Taft Hill Road Expansion Project. He stated that he was speaking on behalf of The Citizens of South Taft Hill. He distributed a cover letter and the citizens' group proposal for the expansion of Taft Hill. Concern that City staff are not listening to the group's issues was expressed. One of the main issues is that the City is proposing to widen Taft Hill 108', which the group feels is too wide. Their proposal indicates that 86' is sufficient. The 108' City proposal presents many concerns to the group such as: safety issues (emergency vehicles ability to turn around); "retrofitting" new development expansion plans into a pre-existing community; inappropriate use of tax dollars and water resources; environmental impact (i.e. how many trees will have to be removed); and personal impact (i.e. property value, home business, noise, etc.). Cam McNair stated that this issue is slated to be on the Board's July agenda. Mr. Mead thanked the board for their time and Chair Johnson requested that staff copy Mr. Mead's materials and distribute them to the board. When Mr. Mead obtains a final copy of his group's latest document, he will send it to Hensley who will then copy and distribute it to the board. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES There was a motion and a second to approve the April 19, 2000 Transportation Board meeting minutes as presented. Discussion: Warring stated that on page 5, two items were missing from the summary of board member comments under the Transfort Strategic Operating Plan discussion. The addition of "public relations" and "don't leave anyone high and dry" was noted. The minutes were unanimously approved with the addition of the two above stated comments. 3. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT None 4. ACTION ITEMS a) TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT/SAFETYSTATEMENT—Sub-committee The statement was distributed and read by the board. Hensley suggested that the letter state the desired outcome and leave it up to the administration to "effect" that desired outcome. The subject of truck issues was brought forth and a discussion about how to handle it ensued. Chair Johnson stated that it should be a separate issue from the enhanced law enforcement issues/letter. Ricord said that he is not confident that the truck issues (Vine/Timberline) can be covered under Building Community Choices. Warring expressed her concern about separating the two issues and Chair Johnson explained that it could be more beneficial to split them as it would be enhanced as its own separate issue and would not get lost or overlooked that way. Chair Johnson asked for other comments from the board: Henderson: All we need to do at this point is bring up that it needs to be investigated. Make Council aware of the issues, bring up the need for education and then figure out the funding. Transportation Board • • DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 3 Trantham: I agree with that because I think it is important at this point to keep the truck issue under the heading of safety issues. Otherwise, it kind of loses some of its importance. Hensley: That might be a good point because I'm not aware right now of any tools that enforcement officers have to keep any trucks off the city arterials. We can put up portable scales, we can stop trucks, we can write them violations, etc. but that still doesn't keep them off the arterial the next time they come to town if they're legal. In order to keep them off the arterials, you're going to have to have a City ordinance about weight restrictions. That is a separate exercise, which provides a tool so that if we ever did get funding we have something to enforce. McNair: There are some specific criteria in the City Code about noise on rights -of -way. That may be a tool you could use because some trucks are pretty noisy, but I think to really get at it, Chief Harrison suggested that the City designate a truck route through the city that might be US 287/SH 14, and say that everything that is passing through must remain on the route and any other truck traffic must be local delivery only. Chair Johnson: So, the notion I'm hearing is that we carry the truck issue here and later in the summer we can talk about the issues in depth along with funding. Miller: The comment about linking it (truck issue) with the safety item is important. If you pull it away from the safety aspect it is probably a mistake. We need to get as much leverage as we can off the Building Community Choices source. Ricord: Being specific about where the funds will come from is not our expertise. Staff should explore that and recommend the best option to us. Hensley: The reason I said what I said earlier — that I don't think we have any tools in place to keep trucks off of arterials is because we've been researching weight issues. We had signs put up a long time ago (Mulberry west bound) and we know that they are not current. We're checking into this problem. Phillips: We're doing an RFP for a project that is going to look at how to keep thru trucks on 1-25 and 1-80. We want to look at what can be done to discourage truck traffic — this will be an in-depth process. I'm not trying to discourage you from what you're trying to say in your letter, I just want you to understand what's going into that RFP for consultants. Thordarson: We should hit the enforcement issues first, then go into the safety issues and then we can look at adding additional regulations. Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 4 Chair Johnson: Let's ask the sub -committee to redraft the letter. There was a motion by Miller.to authorize the sub -committee (Ricord, Warring and Gould) to edit the document, send it via e-mail to the rest of the board for review/approval and then it can go to Council. The motion was seconded by Thordarson. The motion carried unanimously. 5. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) PEDESTRIAN PLAN UPDATE Reavis presented the board with an update on the Pedestrian Plan with a Power Point presentation including photos and hand-outs. Reavis described each of the Year 2000 Projects, which are: • Underpass @ CSU • Pedestrian crossing on Laurel eastside by park • Pedestrian crossing on Drake @ Yorkshire • Sidewalk on Taft Hill @ Blevins • Sidewalk on Prospect @ Remington • Sidewalks in Prospect and Whitcomb neighborhood • Sidewalk on Sherwood @ Lee Martinez Park • Sidewalk on S. College @ Foothills Mall • Bridges on LaPorte @ Grandview Cemetery • Downtown 4 corners project • Safe route to school fund • Pedestrian safety and education • Pedestrian audible signals • Pedestrian access — city wide, 50/50 • Admin, patching, traffic control & contingency — all projects Next, Reavis went over each of the Future Projects, which are: • Sidewalk on Lemay @ Parkwood • Sidewalk on Drake @ RR tracks • Sidewalk @ median on S. College @ Frontage Road • Sidewalks in Buckingham/Alta Vista/Andersonville neighborhood • Sidewalk on Riverside between Mountain @ Mulberry • Access to trail from Taft Hill south of Harmony • Campus West BOARD COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: Warring: Are these projects in priority order and how are the priorities determined? Reavis: We used a point system. Thordarson: If you had $1 M per year, how many years would it take to do all? Reavis: A long, long time — 25 years?! Gould: I have been impressed with the contractors who are doing the work. Transportation Board • • DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 5 Henderson: Hopefully extra funds can be found to do more. Warring: The BAVA neighborhood streets and sidewalks are really sorry looking. Ricord: One area that should be looked at is around the hospital. People cross Lemay south of the designated crosswalk where it isn't safe. I also applaud the 50/50 program. I used it and was pleased with it and I hope it's continued. Chair Johnson: One area of concern I have is the west side of Lemay near Elizabeth. The bike lane is too narrow and is treacherous, especially in the winter. b) HARMONY RD/SOUTH COLLEGE ACCESS PLAN — Reavis Reavis explained that both Harmony Road and South College Avenue have Access Control Plans that were developed about 10 years ago. Due to the tremendous amount of growth and development of the southern part of the city during the last 10 years, the City, County and Colorado Department of Transportation have begun the process to update these Access Control Plans. The consulting firm of Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig (FHU) has been retained to assist in this process. The most important partnership in the development of a successful access plan is the one between the planners and the businesses and residents who will be most affected by any future changes along the roadway. Public workshops were held on May 3rtl and May 8`" Reavis gave a Power Point presentation showing the various access issues along Segment 1 (Harmony Road). Those issues include lack of defined access, no formal sidewalk, and unsafe left turns. Access issues in Segment 2 (South College between Swallow Road and CR 32) include the proximity of the frontage road west of College Avenue, insufficient pedestrian facilities, unsafe left -turns, and undefined/open access. Long-range access/circulation plans for both segments were shown and described by Reavis. The next steps are: • Final round of property owner meetings • Draft Access Control Plan Update Reports complete, including cost estimates and recommended priorities for corridor improvements • Final presentation to: - Planning & Zoning Board (City) - Transportation Board (City) - Council (City) - Board of Commissioners (County) - Chamber of Commerce Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 6 • Finalize two Access Control Plan updates and Intergovernmental Agreements (one for each corridor), among: - City of Fort Collins - CDOT - Larimer County • IGAs to include an amendment process requiring agreement among all three agencies and updates at least every three years • Amend the Master Street Plan to reflect Access Control Plan updates as necessary Upon conclusion of the presentation, comments from the board expressed that that they do not want to see multiple turn lanes put in as it creates more of a barrier to pedestrians and that bicyclelpedestrian accessibility are concerns that should be integrated as early in the process as possible. Reavis thanked the Board for their time and said she would be back with more information in July or August. c) LUTRAQ — VMT REDUCTION PROJECT — Tom Shoemaker/Brian Woodruff Tom Shoemaker, Natural Resources Director, stated the recently completed Mobility Report Card revealed an increase in vehicle travel in Fort Collins and the region. This trend is contrary to adopted goals for air quality and transportation. As a result, the City Council Policy Agenda directed staff to evaluate the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction programs and see whether any changes are warranted at this time. The review of the VMT reduction programs is being reviewed by the Land Use, Transportation, and Air Quality (LUTRAQ) team - made up of 10 members from 2 service areas that include 8 departments. To date, written summaries of 22 plans, programs, and projects that have a role in reducing VMT growth have been written; a half -day workshop for the LUTRAQ Team was held; a consolidated listing of barriers and solutions to VMT reductions has been prepared; a set of actions to improve the City's overall VMT-reduction efforts for board and Council review have been proposed; and the recommendations have been reviewed with four boards. Recommendations 1 — 5 are actions needed to complete the City Plan and Transportation Plan implementation. They are: 1. Secure Transportation Funding 2. City department/staff awareness 3. Community awareness/readiness 4. Internal policy conflicts 5. Monitoring/forecasting of population and VMT Recommendations 6 — 8 are new actions needed for a comprehensive VMT-reduction program. They are: 6. Regional LUTRAQ strategy 7. New policy on jobs/housing balance 8. Mandatory trip -reduction measures and travel pricing measures Transportation Board • • DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 Page 7 Upon conclusion, Shoemaker asked for comments. Warring: Are the recommendations in order? TS: No, not within the groupings. Warring: I would suggest that #8, #3 and #4 are linked and that #4 should be #1. Ricord: After #4 as #1, 1 would make #3 into #2. Trantham: Make sure mandatory measures are not continually put off because it's too difficult. It's the only way to see big results. Miller: On the flip side, you can't come across like you're forcing someone do something like walk — you get resistance when you come across like that. Gould: This is one of the best overviews I've seen on. You're right on track in getting to the issues. There could be emphasis in a couple of areas: Pacification of our streets and affordable housing should be expanded. Thordarson: A gas tax for travel pricing seems like a good idea. Kramer: In the case of households who have more than two cars, for example, kids who are driving, each additional vehicle should be penalized. Henderson: It's important to have a regional solution and staff did a good job of connecting plans (City Plan & Transportation Plan). Chair Johnson: Integration and connectivity of facilities is important. 6. REPORTS a) Board Member Reports Gould: Mason Street Transportation Corridor. The next MSTC workshop will be held on May 18 from 6-9 p.m. at the Lincoln Center in the Ludlow Room. This is not an open house, but a workshop. All are invited to participate. Thordarson: The modeling workshop for the MSTC was interesting in terms of being able to run it from a laptop. Kudos! The connection between Silver Oaks and Quail Hollow opened in the last two weeks. There have been a large number of kids using it to cycle to school now. Henderson: Taft Hill Widenina. I attended the open house and in general, people recognize there is a need to widen the road. Fossil Creek Project. Are there plans to have streettaccess impacts presented to this board? Transportation Board DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes May 17, 2000 b) Page 8 Warring: CMAQ. What is happening with CMAQ information to this board? RH: I'll have information to present at the June meeting. Transfort Strategic Plan. I attended an open house recently and I am concerned from a social aspect — I asked if the Affordable Housing Board had seen the presentation and they had not. I also checked around with other groups. I think it would be helpful to get a broader spectrum of input. People were upset that they (Affordable Housing Board) had not seen it. Article Distribution. "Cars, Cars Everywhere" was distributed to everyone. Miller: Underpass Alternatives along McClelland. Dan Gould came up with a great idea for an underpass of Drake/RR/Redwing as an alternative to other changes proposed. I think we should talk about it. DG: I recently got that idea down on paper and sent it to Ray Moe and Susanne Durkin. Phillips: Roundabout Meeting. CDOT Staff will take the information we provided and develop a recommendation to Tom Norton next week. If members are so inclined, it wouldn't hurt to call or e-mail Norton with a message in support of the roundabout. rA t111 V[CL- 4I IV - CMAQ Information - Transportation Maintenance Fund Issues - Transportation Planning Item (probably MSTC) - Traffic Enforcement/Safety OTHER BUSINESS There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. 42§�t) Cynthia L. Scott Executive Administrative Assistant