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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 08/16/2006MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD August 16, 2006 5:45 p.m. City of Fort Collins Municipal Building 215 N. Mason Street — Community Room FOR REFERENCE: CHAIR: Brent Thordarson VICE CHAIR: Gary Thomas STAFF LIAISON: Mark Jackson ADMIN SUPPORT: Cynthia Cass BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: James Clausen Don Edmondson Sara Frazier Jeannette Hallock-Solomon Ed Robert Gary Thomas Rick Price CITY STAFF: Timothy Wilder David Averill Randy Hensley Mark Jackson David Kemp Nicole Hahn 679-2165 482-7125 416-2029 224-6058 ABSENT: Tim Johnson Kevin Westhuis Neil Grigg Brent Thordarson OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Mark Andre: Bike Fort Collins 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Thomas at 5.55 p.m. 2. AGENDA REVIEW No changes. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. APPROVED Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 Transportation Board August 16, 2006 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (July 2006) There was a motion and a second to approve the July 2006 Transportation Board meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried by a unanimous vote, 7 — 0. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT None. 6. ACTION ITEMS a. NORTHWEST SUB AREA PLAN - T. Wilder Timothy Wilder, Advance Planning, gave a presentation on the Northwest Sub -Area Plan, and was seeking a recommendation. He discussed the process the plan has followed. He explained the goals of the plan including allowing for flexibility for services and utilities. The joint City and County plan looks for changes in land use Wilder explained. After a brief discussion, the Board requested that Wilder return next month when the plan is in its final stages and action will be taken on this item at that time. 7. DISCUSSIONANFORMATIONAL ITEMS a. TRANSPORTATION FINANCE OVERVIEW —PART 3 —R. Hensley Hensley gave a brief synapses of 2006 budget. Hensley stated that the city is 5.8 million dollars short of its planned 2006 budget. The City Manager is looking at the following solutions to the deficit: ■ A smaller increase in employee pay ■ Consolidation of IT department ■ Given list- Cuts that were offered up by departments. ■ Expenditure and Service Cuts • New Revenue 1. Transportation Maintenance Fee ■ The fee is assessed at each residence, by the average number of trips for each kind of lot. • The fee can be passed by City Council and does not need to be voted on. 2. Parks Maintenance Fee b. SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL- D. Kemp Kemp gave a description of the Safe Routes to School Program developed by Kurt Ravenschlag, who could not be present for the board meeting. Nicole Hahn gave a tour of the Safe Routes to School webpage (www.fcgov.com/saferoutes). Board Member Price commented that he had seen opposition in other communities for Safe Routes to School Programs. He asked if Poudre School District is on board with this project. APPROVED Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 Transportation Board August 16, 2006 Kemp replied that this project is still in its beginning stages and contact has not yet been made with the Poudre School District. Jackson added that there has been a working relationship with the school district for years, and he hasn't heard any flash back from the school district; it has always been a very valuable relationship. Vice Chair Thomas asked to see the roundabout brochure. Board Member Hallock-Solomon suggested that the roundabout brochure be placed in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, or into utility bills. Board Member Clausen asked if there is a way to track the usage of the website. Kemp replied that there is a tracker for website usage. Kemp described the group of fall programs and events for safe, sensible, and steady transportation, called `Back to School Shuffle' the program includes: • Safe Routes to School ■ Bike to School Tuesdays • International Walk a Child to School Day ■ Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day • Grand Opening of the Mason Trail Board Member Frazier made the comment that there is no "NO PARKING SIGN" on Laurel Street. Board Member Price made the comment that he had been hit by an object on Laurel Street, by a resident on Laurel Street. As for having a Fort Collins Police Officer make a presentation to the Board, Kemp explained that staff has asked officers to come, but so far, have been unresponsive. Board Member Robert suggested that Kemp contact Police Officer Spence Elvord and get a presentation for the board. Vice Chair Thomas asked Kemp to keep attempting to get a police officer to give a presentation. If there is no response, someone from the Board will more than likely submit a request to City Council. c. BIKE PLAN UPDATE-D. Averill Averill gave a verbal update of his process on the bike plan, and also gave the direction in which he plans to go. An evaluation of the plan by Matrix will take place. The updates are partially based on the round of public meetings last spring. Several completed projects have opened up recently such as bike lanes on Laurel, Timberline, and South Taft Hill Road. The Mason Trail is complete. The facility management is improving and will allow for better management and record of all assets. Board Member Robert asked if there was a way to do a bike count on the bike lanes. Jackson responded that there are methods to count bicycle traffic. Downtown bike parking inventory has taken place. There are some issues that need to be resolved. Staff wants to look at public agencies, and bus stops to make sure there are enough bike racks. Averill would like to look into completing a Network Analysis to grade the quality of the bike lanes. He would like to run a bicycle compatibility analysis for all on street bicycle facilities in town. He would like to get a level of service for each facility. It could be APPROVED Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board August 16, 2006 Page 4 of 5 used as a new method for creating a bike map. He explained that not all bike lanes are created equal, and there needs to be a way for novice bicyclists to understand the routes. The revised Plan will be taken to all of the other departments. This will allow for all of the departments to provide input and voice their opinions and suggestions. Averill is also putting together an advisory board that will help shape the revision of the bike plan. Board Member Price asked what the time frame is on the bike plan revision. Averill answered that the project should be completed by the first quarter of 2007. 8. REPORTS a. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Price: Presentation: I have returned from my travels and would like to share my Presentation during a board meeting in the future. Robert: Train at Lemav and Riverside: The train situation at Lemay and Riverside has gotten worse. For three days in a row I sat for more than 30 minutes. Jackson replied that the City Manager's office has contacted Great Western Rail Road and Burlington Northern to see what could be done. They had said they made some changes, it got better for a few weeks, but now has gone backward. The City Manager is very upset and we are still working with the rail roads. Hallock-Solomon: Safe Routes to School: Should I teach my 5 year old son to ride his bike on the sidewalk or on the streets? Averill: It depends on the type of facilities available; obviously safety is the largest concern. It is a parental decision, but also good to learn about bike lanes at a young age. Frazier: Grand Opening of CSU Transit Center: I think we should invite the community to ride to the grand opening on the bus, and possibly offer free rides on Transfort for the entire day. Bike Lanes on Laurel Street: Are bike lanes on one side of the street an option? Edmonson: Trail not listed on bike man: I was riding my bike and I found a section of trail not listed on the bike map. It is located by Blevins Park west onto Ross Street. It stretches about % mile with portions that are new. Setting traffic signals to allow bikes to cross: The light settings will not change for a bike alone. For example, Swallow to access Spring Creek Trail, the light will only change if button is manually pressed. Other examples include Swallow and Taft, Centre and Shields, and Mountain Avenue and Shields Street. APPROVED Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 Transportation Board August 16, 2006 Thomas: RTA: I would like to have an RTA presentation in the future. b. STAFF REPORTS Jackson: Roundabout of Kechter and Zeigler: The roundabout at Kechter and Zeigler streets is complete and open. It actually opened three weeks early. Laurel Bike Lanes: Full bike lanes have been implemented on Laurel Street and all parking has been removed. It was a smooth transition with the exception of a few parking tickets. Timberline Project: Timberline project is running ahead of schedule. Taft Road Project: The Taft Road Project will be completed within the week. Mason Trail: The Mason Trail project is complete and the grand opening is scheduled for September 22, 2006. CSU Transit Center: The transit center grand opening is scheduled for August 28`" at 1:00pm. Next Agenda • Budget Update • Mason Trail • Transfort/DAR • TMF Presentation • FCPD • Action item: Northwest Sub -Area Plan recommendation 9. OTHER BUSINESS None. 10. ADJOURN Vice Chair Thomas adjourned the meeting at 8:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, d is a ransportation Planning Intern City of Fort Collins — Transportation Services