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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 09/21/20161 MINUTES of the CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD September 21, 2016 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason Street Fort Collins, CO FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Eric Shenk Vice Chair: Annabelle Berklund Staff Liaison: Paul Sizemore 970.224-6140 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Eric Shenk, Chair Annabelle Berklund, Vice Chair Gary Thomas York Cari Brown Pat Jordan Tim Sutton Olga Duvall ABSENT: Councilmember Ross Cunniff Amy Lewin PUBLIC PRESENT: Cheryl Distaso Mike Devereaux Terry Schlicting Misty Gregory 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Shenk called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. AGENDA REVIEW Sizemore stated there were no changes to the published agenda. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT Cheryl Distaso, Fort Collins Community Action Network, discussed a new coalition called Sunday Service Now which is dedicated to moving the Sunday Transfort service offer above the line for funding. She urged the Board to make a recommendation for funding the offer. Mike Devereaux urged the Board to make a recommendation for funding Sunday Transfort service. Terry Schlicting, Commission on Disability, urged the Board to make a recommendation for funding Sunday Transfort service. 2 Misty Gregory urged the Board to make a recommendation for funding Sunday Transfort service. Thomas asked the speakers if they have an opinion regarding just operating MAX or offering only limited hours of operation on Sundays. Mr. Schlicting replied having MAX run on Sundays would be better than nothing; however, full service would be preferred. Ms. Gregory asked about projects with federal matching funds. Thomas replied the existing Dial-a-Ride system is heavily funded through 5310 funds. Boardmembers and participating citizens held a brief discussion regarding transit and funding. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Jordan made a motion, seconded by Brown, to adopt the August 2016 minutes as presented. The minutes were adopted unanimously. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON Councilmember Cunniff was unable to attend. 6. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT - York York stated BAC Work Plan will be discussed later in the meeting and noted the Committee is looking at 2017 as a learning year. 7. DISCUSSION/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS • Downtown Plan - Lewin Lewin discussed the public engagement process to this point and discussed the pedestrian-oriented and inclusive nature of Downtown. She reviewed the table of contents and overall organization of the Plan, discussing mobility sharing programs, a downtown circulator, additional park-n-ride parking, and the bus stop improvement program. York asked if monitoring travel behavior ties in with the BFO offer regarding the travel behavior survey. Lewin replied the survey could potentially feed into this; however, intersection counts and other things are also part of it. Lewin stated the complete pedestrian network policy, as written, is focused on the sidewalk network. York commented on the importance of making pedestrian or human- powered transit the shortest line between destinations. Brown discussed the importance of involving a Police Services perspective regarding safety. Lewin discussed the parking aspects of the Plan, including monitoring aspects, enforcement, public-private partnerships, revenue options and pricing, and the possible reevaluation of on-street paid parking. Additionally, a more comprehensive management plan for bicycle parking is included. Mr. Schlicting commented on the lack of disabled parking in the Downtown area. 3 Berklund discussed the fact that the construction of more Downtown parking runs counter to encouraging multi-modal transit. Lewin discussed the third principle of the Plan related to communication and noted there is a perception that going Downtown is difficult. She asked if the current separation of pedestrian wayfinding in the document should be reconsidered. York replied all wayfinding should be consistent and included together in the document for a more comprehensive approach. Lewin discussed marketing regarding transportation and working with employers to provide employees incentives to use modes of transit other than vehicles. Brown stated a viable alternative needs to exist for long-term employee parking. Boardmembers discussed the importance of wording the document to strongly encourage the creation of parking structures away from Downtown and the use of transit into Downtown. Lewin discussed Plan aspect relating to Riverside and Canyon. She stated the Plan should be out for review in the fall followed shortly by review by Council. 8. ACTION ITEMS • 2017 Board Work Plan – Board York suggested incorporating the Bicycle Advisory Committee’s work plan into the Transportation Board work plan or mentioning support of the BAC work plan in particular. Thomas suggested language indicating support of the BAC 2017 work plan and other efforts. Thomas made a motion, seconded by Brown, to adopt the 2017 Work Plan as amended. The motion was approved unanimously. (**Secretary’s Note: The Board took a brief recess at this point in the meeting.) • Budgeting for Outcomes Recommendations – Board Thomas stated 50% of Keep Fort Collins Great revenues were for transportation and a majority of that was for streets with about 15% for other transportation issues, including transit. He stated some of that 15% currently goes to fund roads and bridges and other things and encouraged the use of that funding for transit, including Sunday service. He suggested the Board make that recommendation. Thomas also noted the KFCG tax sunsets in four years and, should Sunday service be instituted using those funds, voters would need to renew the tax in order to keep the service. Berklund suggested language that the KFCG funding could be included as a possible option for Sunday service. Brown discussed and supported the currently funded offers for sidewalks which could bring all sidewalks up to ADA standards within ten years. 4 Chair Shenk noted bicycle safety and promotion programs were not included in the recommended budget. Sizemore replied FC Bikes has had a congestion mitigation and air quality (CMAQ) grant for the past three years which has provided an extra couple hundred thousand dollars a year for bicycle safety, education and events. That funding has now ended; therefore, this offer of $80,000 per budget year would continue most of that level of service, including Open Streets. Thomas suggested including language that the Board support the BAC recommendation that this offer be funded. Brown expressed concern adding additional language will dilute the importance of the Sunday service recommendation. Boardmembers discussed snow removal being below the budget funded line, and reviewed the text of the draft letter. York made a motion, seconded by Jordan, to accept the Board recommendation letter as written. The motion was approved unanimously. 9. REPORTS • Boardmember Reports Jordan expressed concerns with the current taxi voucher program stating it makes scheduling very difficult. Mr. Schlicting echoed her comments. York reported on the Built Environment Working Group meetings, the Tour de Fat event, the Coalition for Infrastructure, the Open Streets event, and bicycle counts. Duvall commended FLEX and Transfort service. Brown announced two events for the ARC of Larimer County: a legislative breakfast forum and its annual meeting at the Drake Center. Berklund commended the completion of the bike lanes on the Remington bikeway. Chair Shenk noted Boardmembers Duvall and Jordan will have terms expiring at the end of the year and noted the Board is still short one member. Sutton reported on the protected bike lanes in Switzerland. Chair Shenk commented on the completion of the protected bike and pedestrian lane near Tavelli Elementary School. • Staff Report Sizemore noted the Tavelli project received funding from a Safe Routes to School grant. He reported on the Pitkin low-stress network project stating there were no bids presented on the project for this fall. He reported on small scale traffic calming projects which are being completed and announced the Malcolm Baldridge National Performance Excellence Program award is being considered for Fort Collins. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 5 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. by unanimous consent.