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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 08/21/1996TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES August 21, 1996 Paul Valentine, Chair Paul Perlmutter, Vice Chair Will Smith, City Council Liaison The meeting of the Transportation Board began at 5:30 p.m. at the City Hall West building in the CIC Room, Fort Collins, Colorado. Board members present included: Chairman Paul Valentine, Mark Egeland, Sara Frazier, Donn Hopkins, Tim Johnson, Kathleen Kilkelly, and Ray Moe. Will Smith, Council Liaison, was present. Staff present included: Bob Noe, Ron Phillips, Dick Schaffer, Susanne Edminster and Tom Frazier. Kay Rios with CSU and Ms. Deanie Kelly, visitor, was also present. Approval of Minutes: There was an approval of the minutes from the past two meetings. Capital Improvement Program: Susanne Edminster presented with the aid of an overhead chart showing the results of the survey. There were so many project survey results above 50 percent that, obviously, a great job had been done in figuring out what the people of the community relate to and how to catch their attention. If funding is not obtained for all of the projects, it does not mean that Council will not try to determine an alternative way to complete the projects. 1. There will be an open house on September 12. This will be the first time the public will see the list that Council will have to wrestle with. 2. A motion was made to come up with a priority list within $25 million. Paul Valentine suggested: Pedestrian Improvements, Transit Development Plan, Multi - Modal, Prospect Road, North College Corridor, Northeast Bypass and Laurel Street. There were motions to add Shields Street, Harmony Road Bikeway, and Taft Hill. The list currently stands at $25.8 million. 3. There was group discussion regarding whether or not to prioritize the list and, if so, in what manner. The top ten out of nearly 200 projects is what will be submitted to Council. Council will be apprised as to the process undergone to arrive at the top ten. The list will not be prioritized. If for some reason Council would like the Board to prioritize the projects, it will be dealt with it at that time. Transportation Board Minutes August21, 1996 Page 2 4. Even though the recommendations that are made to Council may not make the final balance, the Board is still making a strong statement to Council that the projects need to be funded. Operation and maintenance fees for each of the projects will also be submitted to Council. Northeast Bypass: The State Highway Department is saying if the effects are within the city limits, it is probably best handled locally. Federal legislation mandates that local and state government join forces to prove a need to have trucks removed from a state highway. There is not opposition to removing trucks from Riverside, Jefferson, and North College; it is a matter of identifying where they will need to go. It is imperative that studies are promptly undergone and decisions made so that funding may be approved. 1. It may be productive to have the Northeast Bypass on the project priority list now in order to get the design study underway and have time to let other funding accumulate for the project. It is critical to have the environmental work and engineering done; State money is contingent on those factors. 2. There was lengthy discussion about whether making a final decision and then funding the project was the best thing to do; or whether money should be set for the project and then get something done. The impression from the public is that there has been enough talking; something should be done. Transportation Board Minutes August21, 1996 Page 3 3. Donn Hopkins suggested that the North College Corridor and the Northeast Bypass may be done as one project since whatever decisions are made with the trucks may affect the North College activity. The two projects would merge well. Ron Phillips also suggested that if the projects were merged, they may be funded in phases. Parking Plan: Tom Frazier, of City, and Kay Rios, of CSU, presentation. The recommendations need to be tightened down. There is a good idea of what the revenues and expenditures are going to be. Mr. Frazier and Ms. Rios were looking for comments and feedback rather than recommendations. There are three parts to the plan: the CSU neighborhood, the CSU campus, and the Downtown Plan. CSU's campus section is a study, not a plan. 1. CSU Neighborhood: In the CSU neighborhood, parking congestion is caused by businesses and rental housing. There is approximately 4,800 parking spaces to deal with. The parking study indicates that there is about a 1,200 parking space shortage on campus. Because there is this parking shortage the area is very chaotic. After meeting with the people residing in these neighborhoods, the following suggestions were made: A. Re -stripe some of the area to provide diagonal parking spaces. Re - striping would potentially provide 15% more parking spaces. Work crew for this option is needed to re -stripe and paint curbs. B. Set up reinforced two-hour parking zones. A work crew for this option is required to put up signs, paint, and reinforce the time limits. More office staff and equipment would be needed to process fines incurred. C. Set up residential permit programs. There would have to be studies done to select the type of permit program that would be best for the area. Permit programs are the most restrictive and administratively the most difficult to do. This is the most expensive option. More people and time would be required for the enforcement of permits. More office staff and equipment would be needed to process fines incurred. Transportation Board Minutes August21, 1996 Page 4 Any decision on the above -mentioned suggestions would be made with the neighborhood so that they will be aware of their individual impact. 2. CSU Parking Study: The CSU parking study considered issues that tied into the CSU neighborhood. The focus group included staff, administrators, students, and representatives of the community that are taking classes. A. Issues included: (1) Fines were not high enough to deter the kind of violation rate that is present. There is a high violation rate. (2) Increase in the parking permit rates would force people out into the neighborhoods. (3) People must be enticed back onto campus. Moby Arena is free parking. That was re -striped and gained more spaces. There is another free lot down by Aggie Village that is being reopened. B. There was a study done, with positive response, asking how many would support garages; however, there is not the same reaction to financially supporting the garages. Hopefully, that situation can be addressed through alternative transportation and not through the construction of garages. A. Paul Valentine and Deanie Kelly asked whether there was a need for a long-term parking lot and suggested behind the Holiday Inn as a good place. However, the problem is that that area would have to be re -zoned. CSU Parking cannot put money into an area which doesn't generate revenue. B. Hughes Stadium is a good place for some kind of a park and ride shuttle system. The stadium is under the athletic department. C. Kathleen Kilkelly inquired about why the new buildings were not constructed with an underground parking facility. Kay Rios responded that State legislature demands that those who park will pay. Cost was more than likely the issue. 0 Transportation Board Minutes August21, 1996 Page 5 D. Laurel Street has a few different possibilities: re -striping; remove parking to provide bikeway. Re -striping would probably be better received by the merchants. Re -striping may also include lanes of traffic, a bikeway, and parking. E. There is confusion for visitors and newcomers. The information office is located at Laurel and Loomis so that people can stop in, get a permit, and be on their way. F. Paul Valentine inquired about methods to encourage alternate methods of transportation. In order to try to encourage alternate methods of transportation, there are current discussions about staff/faculty bus passes. There is also a campaign with City staff this fall to push alternative transportation. On Pitkin, parking was lost but bikeways were gained. A study conducted comparing pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists revealed bicyclists had the overall advantage and the motorists have the least advantage. We have to appeal to their conscience too. G. Will Smith suggested that raising the permit fees now would allow the progress to take place concurrently and would put the economic incentive in place to reflect the true cost of the parking structures and lots, without burden on the neighborhood areas. H. Deanie Kelly noted that permit parking is still third on the list and people in those impacted neighborhoods are crying for relief. The issue is that the neighborhood has to be re -addressed with the option to ensure cooperation. She also inquired about the legality of certain numbers of people in the rentals. Tom Frazier pointed out that there is a committee in the City dedicated to deal with rental units and housing issues. Advice from the the City Attorney is that it is not enforceable. I. Tim Johnson inquired about the CSU policy going out to freshmen and their vehicles. Mark Egeland stated that it is CSU's responsibility to paint the picture that if you bring your vehicle, it is going to be tough. Ms. Rios responded that emissions control is stressed. When talking to parents, the bus pass is stressed. It is difficult to tell people not to bring their vehicles. The age of the traditional student is more mature now. These are people with families and jobs who need their vehicles to get around. Transportation Board Minutes August 21, 1996 Page 6 4. Downtown Parking: The business generated in the area of Laurel and Mason is primarily provided by students. When a solution is decided upon, the merchants would possibly like to be involved. A. Financing for the maintenance will be provided through our fees and fines. Replacement or new lots will not be covered. Finestfees will be raised on a graduated scale. There would be a major maintenance fund setup and kept constant. B. Employees and employers would no longer be taking up two-hour parking spaces because the fines would be higher. The fine would go up with each successive violation. C. Should government employees pay for parking? There are two-hour public parking spaces in the government parking lots. Thoughts raised: Thl taxpayers paid for the lot. CSU employees have to pay for parking. Bus passes could be provided to employees to promote alternate transportation. Charge more for parking than for transit. D. Downtown parking will be addressed at the next meeting. T NOTES: Tom Frazier gave updates. 1. Kathleen Reavis met with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the Harmony Interchange improvements. That is going very well. Ray Moe is also on that team. They will be asking the City of Fort Collins for about $30,000 in design fees to help design a park & ride. The park & ride will not be traditional in design. It may have bike lockers, a connecting bikeway, a mini rest area for more than just a park & ride. 2. The Rail Committee is very strong. There have been a lot of phone calls and lots of interest. 3. The following plans passed last night: Master Street Plan, Pedestrian Plan, and the Harmony bikeway project's first phase. Transportation Board Minutes August 21, 1996 Page 7 Reports: Paul Valentine gave the presentation. 1. There was a meeting attended by Planning & Zoning, Advisory, Natural Resources and Transportation. The meeting was held because the chair of Air Quality felt overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done on the City Plan. Some things learned from the meeting are: To ensure that on any given subject the Board is the first interaction that staff has. The Board is tied for second place with the most meetings after Planning and Zoning. Chairs want to meet more often. 2. Staff was asked to keep briefing shorter to allow more time for questions. Board members will be expected to have read material they get in the mail. 3. Bulleted reports will be given to Council so they don't have to read our entire meeting minutes to glean out the actions taken or suggestions. We also want to do reports to other boards. Will Smith pointed out that the minutes with the point -by -point letter were easily digested. 4. Dick Schaffer announced that he is leaving the employ of the City. He is resigning his position. He will stay in the area. 5. Will Smith noted that it was evident at the Board Chairs meeting that this Board pretty well has its act together. The Board is well supported by staff. Some of the other boards are overloaded due to the lack of staff. 6. Nine speed humps will be put into the Clarendon Hills neighborhood. The speed humps will be paid for by the neighborhood. 7. Two thousand tickets were issued in the first two weeks of camera radar. In addition to the tickets, the radar does speed monitoring. We should have speed measurements before and after the program became effective to compare what begins to happen to the speeds. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 9:23 p.m.