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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 04/15/20151 MINUTES of the CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD April 15, 2015 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Olga Duvall Vice Chair: Eric Schenk Staff Liaison: Paul Sizemore 970.224-6140 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Olga Duvall, Chair Gary Thomas Eric Schenk Pat Jordan Annabelle Berklund York Greg Oakes Sid Simonson ABSENT: Boardmember Kevin O’Toole Councilmember Ross Cunniff ENERGY BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Pete O’Neill, Energy Board Paul Sizemore, FC Moves Tessa Greegor, FC Bikes John Phelan, Utilities Lisa Rosintoski, Utilities Joe Olson, City Traffic Engineer Dan Weinheimer, City Manager’s Office Dawn Kennedy, Admin Assistant BAC MEMBERS PRESENT: Sylvia Cranmer Ragan Adams Ed Ossello Mark Houdashelt Patrick McCarty Cathy Busch-Kinkaid 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Duvall called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm with a quorum. 2. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Duvall requested a change in the agenda to allow Tessa Greegor to present first. Sizemore stated the agenda stands as written. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Schenk made a motion, seconded by Thomas, to accept the March 2015 Board minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. 2 5. COUNCIL LIAISON Councilmember Cunniff was unable to attend. 6. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT – Paul Sizemore Sizemore stated the report will be part of upcoming agenda items. 7. DISCUSSION/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS • Laurel Street Bicycle Infrastructure Pilot Project – Tessa Greegor Greegor presented information regarding the pilot project and discussed its goals and implementation timeline. Additionally, Greegor detailed current and future data collection plans and the reasons Laurel Street was selected for the project. She went on to report on the specific plans for the project including various types of protected bike lanes. Greegor stated she has received somewhat mixed feedback from area businesses given the impact the plans will have on parking in the area. Jordan asked about the impact of the project on individuals with disabilities in terms of access. Greegor replied parking is still available in dedicated parking lots. Greegor discussed the planned education and outreach component of the project and asked for suggestions in that regard. • Bicycle Advisory Committee 2015 Work Plan – Chair Duvall and BAC Members Sylvia Cranmer, BAC Chair, stated the Work Plan endorses and supports the City’s Bike Plan and is an update to the 2011 Work Plan. Thomas discussed the history of the BAC and noted the Committee provides regular input to the Transportation Board. BAC and Board members held a discussion regarding the expectations and role of the BAC. Thomas noted the importance of the role of bicycles in all areas of transportation. Chair Duvall discussed the way in which BAC recommendations are included in Transportation Board recommendations. • Energy Policy 2015 Update – Lisa Rosintoski Rosintoski discussed the history of the Energy Board and the guiding documents behind the Energy Policy, which charts the City’s energy future ten years and beyond. John Phelan, Utilities, discussed the structure and components of the Energy Policy. Peter O’Neill, Energy Board Chair, stated many of the Energy Policy’s goals were driven by the Climate Action Plan and detailed the components of the Policy. Additionally, he discussed the upcoming public process and schedule for placement of the Policy on Council’s agenda. Boardmembers and staff held discussions regarding specific energy-related items, including electric vehicles and vehicle miles travelled. 3 8. ACTION ITEMS • Train Horn Waiver – Dan Weinheimer Weinheimer stated he is seeking the Board’s support for the City’s train horn waiver application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). He discussed the specifics of the waiver including safety details related to train/vehicle interactions and requested Board support of the waiver. Thomas stated he would not support the waiver and expressed concern regarding closing intersections and the potential impact on traffic flow. Weinheimer clarified the proposed intersection closures would only apply to vehicles, not to bicycles and pedestrians. He stated the request for no horns would start from Cherry at the north to a block south of Laurel. Additionally, it was clarified horns could still be blown if an engineer sees a vehicle or pedestrian near the tracks. Chair Duvall asked about the possibility of a wayside horn. Weinheimer replied that type of horn sits at intersections and blows up and down the cross street in a more directional fashion; however, that solution did not seem like much of a fix in this situation as the horns would need to be situated to blow in four directions. Thomas expressed concern regarding the street closures and Simonson expressed concern regarding the possibility of pedestrians not seeing or hearing trains at night. Joe Olson, Traffic Operations, stated staff is not concerned about the proposed closures from a traffic operations perspective and clarified this item would waive the requirement for gates at each intersection. Should the waiver be granted, the next step would be the implementation of the quiet zone. Additionally, Olson noted all of the railroads have expressed adamant opposition to the quiet zone in principle. Thomas asked about staff’s timeline for information. Olson stated the official 45-day comment period will begin in approximately a week. Chair Duvall asked if the Board would agree to waiting until the next meeting to take action in order to allow time for additional research by Boardmembers. The Board agreed. 9. REPORTS • Boardmember Reports Thomas reported on the passing of the two City tax extensions at the recent municipal election. York reported on the Built Environment Working Group meeting, noting the group may not continue for various reasons. He also reported on new thoughts for safe crossings at Bennett and Tavelli Elementary Schools. • Staff Report Sizemore discussed Karen Cumbo’s retirement and replacement recruitment process noting the finalists are Laurie Kadrich, Gwen Halsmith, and Wayne Reid. Additionally, Sizemore discussed Randy Hensley’s retirement and replacement recruitment process. He reported on new rounds of federal transportation and infrastructure grants stating the City would be submitting applications for a grade separated crossing at Vine and Lemay and for building out all or most of the Harmony enhanced travel corridor. 4 Sizemore also reported on CSU’s design processes relating to the stadium and stated CSU staff has been very open with City staff regarding those plans. Sizemore went on to discuss various plans around the city and announced the development of the 2014 Traffic Safety Summary from Traffic Operations. He stated a Planning, Development and Transportation open house would be occurring at Everyday Joe’s on May 6th. Thomas asked about the parking lot expansion at the Harmony Park and Ride. Sizemore replied staff opted not to take the proposal forward to Council given Board discussion. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. by unanimous consent.