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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNatural Resources Advisory Board - Minutes - 09/17/2008NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD Regular Meeting September 17, 2008 DATE: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 LOCATION: 215 N. Mason - Conference Room 1-A TIME: 6:00pm For Reference: Alan Apt, NRAB Chair 221-9875 Ben Manvel, Council Liaison 217-1932 John Armstrong, Staff Liaison 416-2230 Board Members Present: Liz Pruessner, Heather Manier, Linda Knowlton, Phil Friedman, Joe Piesman, Glen Colton Board Members Absent: Alan Apt, Clint Skutchan Staff Present: Natural Resources Department: Alexis Hmielak, John Armstrong, As Alan Apt was absent, Vice Chair Liz Pruessner called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.. A quorum was achieved for the meeting. Introduction of Guests Matt Wempe, Transportation Planner Denise Weston, Senior Transportation Planner Agenda Review • Liz Pruessner added the NRAB work plan for 2009, to the agenda. Public Comments none Review and Approval of August 20, 2008 Minutes Linda Knowlton moved and Heather Manier seconded a motion to approve the August 20, 2008, minutes. Motion approved unanimously Bicycle Plan Denise Weston, Senior Transportation Planner, addressed the Natural Resources Advisory Board (NRAB) regarding the 2008 bicycle plan. She presented the final draft that is going to Council on October 7, 2008. The final draft will be available at httv:Hfcaov.com/bicycling/bike-plan.php by the end of the week. • Basically, the 2008 Bicycle Plan is an update of the 1995 program. Much has been done in the past 13 years and this draft reflects these changes. Denise has presented this plan to many boards and commissions, the downtown development group and Bike Fort Collins and gathered much input so the final plan will reflect the goals and objectives of the community. The greatest comments were to add three new sections: Economy, Environment and Community in order to reflect the trend bicycling has in Fort Collins. The 2000 census data reflected Fort Collins has 5.8% journey -to -work trips by bicycle Engineering Recommendations o Implement Hot List I from the 1995 plan = proposed infrastructure improvements such as bike lanes o Hot List II was put together by a Community Advisory Committee that identifies additional infrastructure needs for bicycle facilities. o Many interim solutions have already been implemented and will continue to be implemented as identified. o Continue the implementation of the master plan and the master street plan, assuring bicycle lanes are incorporated in them. o Improve signal detection loops, evaluate current ones and institute an education program for bikers to know loops are there. o Promote innovative bicycle traffic solutions ■ Paint Bike Boxes above the right turn lane so cars do not turn into the lane and hit bikers. ■ Institute Bike Boulevards to discourage cars on certain roads. o Education and encouragement programs, especially for CSU students. ■ Promote innovative education and encouragement programs, campaigns, and events. ■ Develop relationships between non -profits, advocacy and community groups and build public -private partnerships. ■ Consider Cyclovias (closed streets for car -free events). ■ Enhance way -finding for bicyclists to help bicyclists find good parking. ■ Implement safety education programs like bike -to -school programs and bike shops programs. o Enforcement Recommendations • Develop proactive educational campaigns with local enforcement agencies like CSU, Fort Collins, Latimer County, etc.. • Liz suggested more active bicycle registration events that also stress the bike rules. • Joe pointed out there has been an upsurge of aggression with motorists and suggested Denise's group provide more education around this. Denise stated "Share the Road" is one such program. Disseminate current and consistent information. Coordinate training sessions (Share the Road Class) with both police officers and the public correctly learning the bike rules. Establish techniques for handling special events/protests from a proactive angle. • Coordinate "sting" operations in coordination with local enforcement agencies to address bicycle theft/traffic-law evasion. o Economic Recommendations ■ Support bicycle sporting events, recreational biking and bicycle facilities. ■ Attract new employers, new residents, businesses and visitors. ■ Encourage bicycle -related businesses and manufacturers to come to Fort Collins.. o Environmental Recommendations to establish measurement methods of environmental benefits. ■ Establish measurement methods for environmental benefits. ■ Coordinate with other City initiatives to measure environmental benefits such as the City's Climate Action Plan and ClimateWise program. o Community Recommendations ■ Pursue formation of a Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) with decision -making ability to respond to Council or the Transportation Board and to have input on bike programs in Fort Collins. ■ Pursue Platinum Level designation with the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). ■ Establish performance measures for bicycle programs and facilities. ■ Maintain support for existing programs. o Multi -Modal Recommendations ■ Expand opportunities for bicycle—transit/bicycle- pedestrian/bicycle-auto linkage and more ability to put bikes on busses. ■ Incorporate bicycle parking at transit stops and stations. ■ Improve and expand bicycle parking throughout the City. ■ Encourage installation of showers and changing facilities at public facilities and work with employers in area. In conclusion, Denise stated: • The 2008 Bicycle Plan is intended as a guide for continuing to develop and support a healthy bicycling community. • A good bike plan must remain fluid while responding to the needs and expectations of the residents and visitors of Fort Collins. The NRAB discussed the presentation. • Glen Colton asked where scooters fall in this plan. o Denise pointed out 50cc and under scooters and electric bikes are allowed in bike lanes but not on the bike trail system. o Phil Friedman strongly suggested the education component in the bike plan should include scooter users. Denise stated they are currently compiling this information. o Joe Piesman also suggested the plan allow flexibility to address non- traditional vehicles such as golf carts, etc. • Linda Knowlton suggested education for dismount zones and stop signs. She also suggested the Bike Library be sure to inform people of biking rules before they check out a bike. • Liz also suggested bicyclists be educated to not listen to music with ear buds but to listen to traffic for safety's sake. • Joe Piesman stated the Smart Trips/Downtown Bucks program to encourage alternative transportation commuting had created much momentum for bicycling and wondered if it could be brought back. Denise was not sure why it ended. However, FC bikes does work with employers and there is a current program with City and county employees to encourage biking to work. John Armstrong stated the Climate Wise program also encourages alternative transportation. • Joe also stated commuting via the north/south bike trails is harder than cast/west ones. And wondered if there are plans to remedy this. A few bike/ped overpasses are in the Bike Plan. • Liz wondered what it would take for Fort Collins to achieve Platinum status. Denise stated it is a goal of the bicycle community, but it is very difficult to achieve and does not have a straightforward checklist to accomplish. • Heather stated there are many bike lanes that are poorly marked and wondered if the City has plans to mark them better. Denise stated the City tries not to paint local streets so there is more flexibility in the of the use of the lanes. In summary, because the bike plan was not finalized and presented to the NRAB at this meeting, and because staff did not ask the NRAB for a formal recommendation, the NRAB did not make any formal recommendation to adopt the 2008 Bike Plan. o The bike plan will be voted on by City Council before the next meeting, so the group agreed to read the plan on line. Denise will send the NRAB the link to the plan on the fcgov.com website. o If individual members of the NRAB wanted to, they could attend the Qttober 7 meeting and speak during the public input period or they could send personal emails to Council members. o Denise pointed out that the NRAB has already given informal support for the plan as a whole at a previous meeting. New Business 2009 NRAB Work Plan. o Liz Pruessner pointed out the NRAB needs to submit a draft of the 2009 NRAB Work Plan to Council liaison Ben Manvel by November 30, 2008, for him to submit to Council for approval in December. o As background, John Armstrong presented the 2008 NRAB Work Plan for the members to read and check their progress. He will also email it to the NRAB members for their use. 0 o Alan Apt was nominated and Liz Pruessner volunteered to draft the NRAB 2009 Work Plan. Other members of the NRAB will email them any input they have. o As staff member Rosemarie Russo is the City's internal Sustainability Coordinator, John Armstrong suggested the NRAB think about external sustainability issues. Liz suggested it makes more sense to have community sustainability issues be a part of the regular NRAB agenda, not handled by a sub -committee. o Glen Colton wondered if one of the 2009 goals should be an "Environmental Status Report for the Community" that informs the community how Fort Collins is doing and where it is going regarding sustainability. Joe Piesman stated that a Sustainability Action Plan for the community could include metric tracking mechanisms. If the NRAB agreed to do this, perhaps they should lobby Council to approve the effort by staff. o In summary, Liz Pruessner and Alan Apt will consider incorporating the sustainability suggestion into the 2009 Work Plan with a possible "State of the Environment" report. Memo Air Quality Advisory Board (AQAB) sent to Council about trash services study • There was interest by AQAB members to perhaps have the NRAB and AQAB put together a joint memo to Council to say both boards are in agreement about trash districting. Liz asked the NRAB if they are interested in doing this. o John Armstrong pointed out a lot hinges on next week's work session. Ann Turnquist will come back to the NRAB in October with an update. He also pointed out it is a transportation and air quality issue. Next week's work session will show the direction Council wants to go. • Liz stated the AQAB asked for more information on how to regulate commercial trash hauling in order to get a 50% diversion rate. a • Linda Knowlton voiced her concern that waste reduction and diversion should not be tied to trash distriging because trash districting may not happen and there are other things the City could do. o Joe Piesman agreed, but stated trash districting is not the only vehicle to set down many regulations for solid waste reduction, but is an important opportunity. o John Armstrong pointed out the City already has a licensing requirement and can tie performance to the licensing requirements for trash haulers. • Glen Colton, Linda Knowlton and Phil Friedman all stated to have yard waste picked up by all haulers is very important in order to keep yard waste out of landfill. Linda also stated a stronger pay -as -you -throw program is necessary. • John Armstrong stated he expects many of these questions to be addressed at the Council work sessions. • Liz Pruessner summarized there is enough interest to continue dialogue regarding the trash districting issue. West Nile advisory panel Joe Piesman gave a final report. o The mosquitoes were not bad this year. The Culex population was very low and West Nile activity was much lower than 2007. As a result, the West Nile Advisory Committee did not have any difficult decisions this year. Perhaps the weather was overriding issue. Announcements John Armstrong announced it is the recruitment season for new board members and handed out a brochure how to recruit new members. Applications are being taken through the end of September. The NRAB will bring on two new members in January. The City council recommends personal recruitment and John suggested the group refer to the information on the city's website. o The NRAB can recruit for any board or commission and the candidates must live within the City's urban growth management area. Council Six Month Planning Calendar John gave preview of October meeting • Rosemarie — Internal sustainability ■ Ann/Susie — Trash services ■ Presentation — Stormwater/utilities — CIPO project at Fox Run Natural Area • Lucinda — Climate Action Plan ■ Presentation — Carol Webb — chemical pesticides - tentative Adjourn Joe Piesman moved and Phil Friedman seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.. Submitted by Alexis Hmielak Administrative Secretary I Approved by the Board on /"��L1X 5� , 2008 Signed /! Admin�s' trative S6creta6 I Date