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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 06/21/20171 MINUTES of the CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD June 21, 2017 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason 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 Cari Brown Valerie Arnold Indy Hart Andrew Bondi Karl Ayers Nathalie Rachline York ABSENT: Councilmember Ross Cunniff Annabelle Berklund, Vice Chair Paul Sizemore Joe Olson Chad Crager Tracy Oschner PUBLIC PRESENT: Sheble McConnellogue, Colorado Clean Cities Ann Marie Heinrich, Larimer County Department of Health and Environment 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 None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES York made a motion, seconded by Brown, to adopt the May 2017 minutes as written. The minutes were adopted unanimously. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON Councilmember Cunniff was unable to attend. DocuSign Envelope ID: BAC476A0-2CEC-4EDF-952F-8AA62AB6931B 2 6. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT – York York stated the Committee has one new member, Alan Beatty from the Senior Advisory Board, and is currently short one at-large member. The Air Quality Advisory Board has expressed interest in the E-bike study, the front building of the Bike Co-op is structurally complete and the Co-op is looking for a front desk representative. Poudre School District did a number of bike trips during the last couple weeks of school. York stated the Laurel Street pilot project and E-bikes were also discussed and Greegor announced Fort Collins remains one of five platinum bicycle friendly communities in the country. Moving up to the diamond level would require a significant increase in ridership in the community. A Boardmember asked about trail and sidewalk connectivity requirements for new developments. Sizemore replied those requirements are part of the development review process, and to the extent possible, developments pay their own way. 7. DISCUSSION/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS • Infrastructure Services Director Introduction – Sizemore/Crager Sizemore introduced Chad Crager, the new Infrastructure Services Director, and presented the City organization chart. Crager discussed his background and previous positions. He discussed the importance of coordination efforts and mentioned various projects across town. • Northern Colorado Clean Cities – McConnellogue McConnellogue, Northern Colorado Clean Cities Executive Director, introduced herself and discussed the history of Northern Colorado Clean Cities, a non-profit whose goal is building partnerships to cut petroleum use in transportation. She stated the organization advances the energy, economic and environmental security of the United States. McConnellogue discussed the services the organization provides for the Department of Energy, including vehicle fleet reports for both private and public entities, an anti-idling challenge, and a new project involving “Smart Cities.” Tracy Oschner, Assistant Operation Services Director, discussed the City’s Electric Vehicle Readiness Roadmap Project, which is a collaboration between FC Moves and the Environmental Services department. McConnellogue discussed the Refuel Colorado project which involves work with fleet managers to incentivize alternative fuel sources. She detailed various fleets in the area which use or could benefit from using natural gas vehicles. McConnellogue went on to discuss business charging stations and various businesses which charge or do not charge employees to use the stations. Sizemore mentioned the importance of fuel efficiency to meeting the Climate Action Plan goals. Oschner stated the City has recently applied for a grant for electric buses for Transfort. DocuSign Envelope ID: BAC476A0-2CEC-4EDF-952F-8AA62AB6931B 3 • Map NoCo Project – Heinrich Heinrich discussed the County’s receipt of grant funding to work on the built environment. The goal of this project is to increase plans and policies that promote health in the built environment, including multi-modal transportation and active living. This project involves infrastructure assessments and walking audits to help identify areas needing improvement and to inform different policy solutions. The project is a collaborative effort between the County, Cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, the North Front Range MPO, Safe Routes to School, Institute for the Built Environment, Bike Fort Collins, and CSU. The tool itself is an on-line interactive tool based on crowd source data aiming to build a database of infrastructure gaps and assets throughout the community. Tool surveys relate to pedestrian and bike routes, public transportation, and transit stops. Heinrich discussed the tool stating it is available on mobile devices and is available fully translated into Spanish. Additionally, the data is fully transparent and accessible to anyone. She stated the City of Fort Collins already has sidewalk quality data; however, this tool adds information regarding perceived feelings about the built environment on a larger scale. She noted Access Fort Collins should still be used to report issues needing immediate attention. Heinrich announced a community competition for launching the tool and discussed efforts being made to reach various residents through key community leaders and organizations. • Adaptive Signal Timing Projects – Olson Olson stated funds are available for an adaptive signal project on Harmony this year and Timberline next year. Benefits of adaptive control include environmental and neighborhood quality of life. Adaptive signal control will automatically adjust the green time to adjust for varying traffic volumes. Cameras will be placed on the roadways which will allow the algorithm to do a near real time arrival profile at each intersection. Boardmembers and Olson discussed cost savings in terms of time and fuel. The cost per intersection to implement the system is approximately $15,000. Boardmembers discussed other benefits including crash and complaint reductions. Olson stated this project will likely be up and running in the fall. 8. ACTION ITEMS None. 9. REPORTS • Boardmember Reports Chair Shenk showed the plaque that will be presented to Gary Thomas at his going away party. York discussed the Larimer County Built Environment Program newsletter and discussed the need to reduce bicycle involved crashes as part of the diamond certification for Bicycle Friendly Cities. Brown announced Sunday bus service has been approved and will start August 21st. DocuSign Envelope ID: BAC476A0-2CEC-4EDF-952F-8AA62AB6931B 4 Bondi expressed appreciation for the discussion regarding road congestion in Fort Collins. He asked what kinds of Transfort service increases could occur with a sales tax increase. Boardmembers discussed current Transfort service and problems with timing and routes. York stated it is difficult to get bus service to all neighborhoods given infrastructure. Boardmembers discussed cultural and educational issues relating to bus usage and discussed whether it is worth investing more in the system or doing the best with the current funding. Sizemore stated the Board should have a discussion item on Transfort and its funding. • Staff Report Sizemore stated first quarter sales tax revenue came in below expectations which relates to changing the scope of the Transportation Master Plan update. He stated the Bicycle Advisory Committee would like to invite Boardmembers to an E- bike demonstration at its June 26th meeting and discussed appropriate protocol for Boardmembers speaking at City Council meetings. Brown noted the Boards and Commissions manual is not consistent with the request for Boardmembers to identify themselves as such. Sizemore stated Christine Macrina, Boards and Commissions Coordinator, and a representative from the North Front Range MPO will be at the next meeting. 10. OTHER BUSINESS Chair Shenk noted the Board’s work plan is due in September and encouraged members to use some of the discussions from this evening as possible topics. 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. by unanimous consent. DocuSign Envelope ID: BAC476A0-2CEC-4EDF-952F-8AA62AB6931B