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Home My WebLink AboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 03/19/2008MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD March 19, 2008 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason Street Fort Collins, CO 80521 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Gary Thomas 492-7125 Vice Chair: Ed Robert 224-4864 Staff Liaison: Mark Jackson 416-2029 Administrative Support: Polly Bennett 224-6058 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Sara Frazier Bill Jenkins John Lund Kip McCauley Shane Miller Ed Robert Sid Simonson Garry Steen Gary Thomas Scott VanTatenhove ABSENT: James Clausen CITY STAFF PRESENT: Mark Jackson, Interim Transportation Group Director/Staff Liaison Polly Bennett, Executive Administrative Assistant Jeff Scheick, PDT Director OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Fred Kirsch, Citizen Nancy York Wade Troxell, Council Liaison CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Thomas at 6:02 p.m. 2. AGENDA REVIEW The March agenda was accepted. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (February 2008) Robert moved to approve the February 2008 Transportation Board meeting minutes. There was a second by Simonson. The motion carried unanimously. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Wade Troxell, Council Liaison Mr. Troxell did not attend. Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 Transportation Board March 19, 2008 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. Transportation Master Plan Primer — Mark Jackson Jackson presented a mesmerizing 3-hour study session on the Transportation Master Plan. Overview: • What is the Plan? A subset of City Plan; includes the Master Street Plan; gives a long-range vision; looks at current & forecast system performance and needs analysis; the prudent way to do a Transportation Plan from a fiscal consideration; includes a strategic implementation element helping to prioritize Capital Improvement Projects and action items and to provide a clear accounting of transportation capital needs and resources. • Plan structure? Eight chapters: Goals, Principles & Policies; Recent Trends; Transportation Demand; Mobility & Access; Environmental Considerations; Implementation; Capital Improvement Plans (by mode); Recommendations & Next Steps • Key issues & recommendations • Upkeep & next steps. The plan gets revised on a five-year cycle concurrent with the City Plan update process. Thomas How do you forecast out where people will move? Jackson: Infrastructure will drive land use and visa versa. There is an art and science to forecasting. VanTatenhove: Can the capacity rating change during the day? Jackson: Yes. The goal is for traffic lights timed for both peak and off-peak. Thomas: If a light only fails for 15 minutes a day, do we build infrastructure to solve that? Jackson: Peak spread is a real issue around the country, because the peak is spreading due to flex time and people wanting to avoid the rush. Schools also create micro -bursts of traffic congestion. McCauley: Does lack of capacity affect peak spread? Jackson: Quality of life and job flexibility affect it more. You will see a peak, but not as high. Robert: Is lane flow/direction looked at? Jackson: Probably isn't worth it in a community this size. Fiscally constrained CPI: Miller: What happens to speeds in the red areas? Jackson: They reduce to 20 - 30 mph on a good day compared to "free flow speed" (unimpeded). Robert: Assuming 6 lanes on I-25? Jackson: 4 lane. This was done before the I-25 EIS. Jenkins: What are other consequences to VMT? Jackson: Air quality, safety, sustainability issues due to sheer number of vehicles on the roads. Robert: Does the VMT figure include traffic outside our GMA? Jackson: Yes, this is a regional forecast model. Mobility & Access: Robert: Will there be a Railroad Plan? Jackson: There could be a strategic plan, but not a vision plan. These are vision plans. Environmental Considerations: Jackson: The improvement in air quality is primarily due to replacement vehicles being cleaner. Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board March 19, 2008 Page 3 Jenkins: Do these graphs mesh with the information the Climate Task Force shows? Steen: Yes, although we want to reduce emissions further. Jackson: Access to safe, efficient transportation has an effect. Thomas: How do you build into the equation when you replace vehicles with more buses? VanTatenhove: Most of our transit riders are transit dependent right now. Robert: I haven't heard you mention "activity centers." Do those figure in? Jackson: The land use that comprises what an activity center is is addressed in this Plan. Minimizes trip length, maximizes the ability of modes to work together, etc. Implementation: Thomas: How did you prioritize projects? Jackson: Accident rates/safety issues, level of service, available funding from all sources (multi - agency cooperation), political sensitivity. Troxell: Can you explain how Transportation interacts with MPO? Jackson: Managing funding was their traditional role, but as funding dried up, they shifted into forecasting, which much of our work relies on. They are the collector of regional land use/demographic/employment data, and produce travel shed analyses, etc. They also have the VanGo program, which has exploded in use. We pay an annual fee in the range of $90k for their services. We get that back ten times over when you consider the amount of money we bring in through grants. Troxell. When you interact with Loveland and Greeley, do you do it directly or through the MPO. Jackson: There is a regional TAC committee, plus a formal interaction. From a staff -level perspective, interaction is really good. BUCKET LIST FOR LATER DISCUSSION: Roundabouts — why for/against? Revisit FCMoves, and metrics, in general. Contra flow lanes. Why don't we consider trains/light rail versus BRT? Enhanced corridor study — is the window slipping away? Mode shift to transit. ACTION ITEMS None. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Frazier: Thank you for the PDT organization chart. The new Bike Map is great. McCauley: None, Lund: None, Simonson: I went to the Transit Open House at CSU today. There were a lot more people than he expected. Lots of games and contests. Jenkins: Ditto. It was very well organized. Miller: None. Steen: Climate Task Force reconvenes March 31. Robert No report. Thank you for a good overview of the IMP. Thomas: Mandatory Boards & Commissions training. Don't forget! Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board March 19, 2008 Page 4 MPO Summit on March 26th at the Budweiser Center, 9am — 1 pm. Lunch is being served. Joint Board session in the Brown Room of the Exhibition Hall immediately after the Summit. Do you hear anything that the three Boards should be working on? Shamrock agreed to run two 12-passenger buses from The Square Shopping Center at 17 minutes past the hour. It was offered to the disabled community first, but if there is room I will let you know. Troxelk The reason Ritter, Salazar and Allard are involved is to encourage the communities in northern Colorado to work together. 9. STAFF REPORTS Jackson: March 26 — Transportation Planning is hosting an evening program at the Senior Center "Fort Collins in Motion." 2008 Cone Zone Report — all of the major projects that we will work on in 2008. The attached spreadsheet tells who the responsible agency is, who the project manager is, what the project duration is, anticipated closer dates, etc. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:46 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Polly Be sett Executive Administrative Assistant Transportation Group Administration