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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAir Quality Advisory Board - Minutes - 01/28/2019AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR January 28, 2019 5:30 – 8:00 pm Colorado River Room, 222 Laporte Ave. 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:30 pm 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present − Karen Artell − Greg Clark − Jim Dennison − Harry Edwards − Arsineh Hecobian, Chair − Jason Miller − Matt Tribby − Chris Wood • List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused; if no contact with Chair has been made − N/A • List of Staff Members Present − Cassie Archuleta, Staff Liaison − Jamie Gaskill, Program Specialist, Fort Collins Bikes − Aaron Iverson, Senior Transportation Planner • List of Guests − Jakob Lindaas (pending AQAB Member, to be appointed in February − Hugh Mackay, Citizen 3. AGENDA REVIEW • Arsineh reviewed the current agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • Hugh Mackay, former AQAB Board Member, enquired about the board formed to address the City’s CAP and asked if the AQAB would be involved. − The Climate Advisory Committee has been formed to advise City Staff regarding the CAP. The AQAB has several items on its 2019 agenda that AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 2 directly relate to the CAP and plans to continue involvement with the CAP in any way possible. • Hugh asked if it would be possible for AQAB minutes to be posted to the City’s website in a more timely manner. − Arsineh responded that AQAB Members would also like to see meeting minutes posted sooner. The Board must vote to approve meeting minutes, so they cannot be posted sooner than one month after the meeting. The Board will speak with City Staff to try and get minutes posted as soon as they’re approved. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Chris moved and Greg seconded a motion to approve the December 17, 2018 minutes as revised. Motion passed, 4-0-4. • The Board would like to simplify meeting minutes going forward and have requested more concise summarizations of presentations and discussions. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • N/A 7. NEW BUSINESS a. E-bikes, 5:45 Jamie Gaskill, Program Specialist, discussed a possible pilot program to allow Class 1 and 2 E-bikes on Fort Collins paved trails. This is scheduled to be presented at a Council Work Session on February 12. Background • E-bikes are rapidly growing in popularity in the US. Neighboring jurisdictions now allow e-bikes on trails. With new regional connections (e.g.,. the Longview Trail) and more people commuting to Fort Collins from surrounding towns, it’s a good time to consider allowing e-bikes on paved trails. • Under Colorado House Bill 17-1151, there are three classes of e-bikes. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are allowed on pedestrian or multi-use paths; local governments have the authority to allow or prohibit them on trails. Class 1 bikes provide electrical assistance only while the rider is pedaling, up to 20 mph. Class 2 bikes provide electrical assistance regardless if the rider is pedaling or not, up to 20 mph. Class 3 e-bikes provide electrical assistance only when the rider is pedaling, up to 28 mph. Fort Collins currently prohibits the use of e-bikes while the motor is engaged on bike or pedestrian paths and on recreational trails, unless noted by City Code. Pilot Program • The Bicycle Advisory Committee and Transportation Board would like to initiate a one- AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 3 year pilot program to test out the use of Class 1 and 2 e-bikes on paved trails in Fort Collins, with extensive education outreach and evaluation for the duration of the program. The pilot will cost approximately $7,000 - $10,000. o Education will include trail etiquette guidance, information on how to provide feedback and report conflicts, trial signage, outreach events, brochures, handouts and posters, website and social media updates, and e-bike demo days. o The evaluation process will consist of measuring safety, perceptions, use and perspectives on allowing e-bikes on trails including a speed study, noise assessment, surveys, and review of reported conflicts and general comments. • After the pilot is complete, findings will be presented to a cross-departmental Review Committee, Boards, Commissions, and City Council to determine if the program should be extended, made permanent, or terminated. Discussion • The Board discussed some technical aspects of e-bikes, including various assist levels, and speeds and ranges associated with each class. E-scooters are not involved in the pilot as they are considered toys. They are currently only allowed on sidewalks in Fort Collins. • Board members expressed concern that the presence of e-bikes may discourage other modes of travel on the City’s paths; they enquired if this affect had been documented in other pilot programs. − There is no definitive data documenting suppression of usage in response to the presence of e-bikes; Staff noted a Jefferson County study in which e-bike users were undetectable to other users. • The Board discussed the speed study proposed as part of the evaluation process. Past studies have shown that e-bikes travel slower on multi-use trails than regular bikes, but City Staff want to see if this will hold true in Fort Collins. There is currently a recommended cap for speed at 15 mph, but it’s not necessarily enforced due to the capacity of rangers. • The Board expressed concern with the overpopulation of trails if e-bikes become popular quickly. They suggested confining the pilot to one trail or to bike lanes on roads to limit its impact; however, this approach may not provide enough valid data as population imbalances near different bike paths/lanes may skew the data collected. Furthermore, maintaining a low-stress bicycle trail network is a City priority and the multi-use trails are an important component in that network. Performing the pilot on these trails will be essential to measuring use and assigning value based on usage change. • The Board asked if any studies have been done to determine how much vehicle-use would be reduced if e-bikes were available and whether emissions from tires on a AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 4 paved path have been quantified. Jamie responded that she wasn’t aware if such statistics were currently available. Staff Follow-Up: Jamie will follow up with the Board regarding vehicle emission reductions and possible emissions from tires. • The Board discussed items to include in the evaluation survey, including a question to quantify the number of trips that people rode an e-bike instead of driving a vehicle. The survey will be comprehensive and collect data for all trail users, not just e-bike riders. • Board members are generally in favor of the pilot, but noted a few concerns including overpopulation of multi-use paths and safety concerns, particularly for older citizens who utilize the bike paths. − Jason moved and Matt seconded a motion to support the implementation of the proposed e-bike pilot as presented. Motion passed, 8-0-0. b. City Plan and Air Quality Plan, 6:15-7:15 Aaron Iverson, Senior Transportation Planner, provided an overview of the City Plan Update process, and opportunities to provide feedback. The City Plan is scheduled for a Council Work Session discussion on February 12, and Council adoption on March 19. • The City Plan will include updates to three policy-level plans including the Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Master Plan and Transit Master Plan. The City is in the adoption phase, during which it will be presented to the public for feedback before Council adoption on March 19. • The Plan strives to emphasize three core community values including livability, community and sustainability. Within these areas, the following have been identified as community priorities: − Housing o More options outside of houses and apartments o Increasing attainable housing options o Maintain and increase the number of affordable units − Transportation o Adding more high frequency transit o Enhanced bike, pedestrian and transit networks o Roadway congestion management o Improve regional transit o Better connections between where we live/work • Three possible scenarios that address these priorities at different levels have been analyzed (based on VMT/Mode Shifts). Based on this analysis, the preferred scenario falls somewhere between 2 and 3 and will greatly reduce vehicle miles traveled and AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 5 yield a potential Green House Gas reduction of ~ 6% - 9%: 1. Baseline (funding level remains approximately the same), which continues the path the City is currently on including the ongoing redevelopment pattern and emphasis on the low-stress bike network and sidewalk improvements with limited transit expansion. 2. Targeted changes (additional funding required), which involves a greater mix of redevelopment with more variety of housing types, expanding BRT to limited areas, small increases in transit frequency and biking and walking routes. 3. Broad changes (additional funding required) include redevelopment along transit corridors, more residential density, expansion of BRT throughout the City and investment in biking and walking routes. • Key changes in the Transportation Plan include the improvement and expansion of the City’s transit system and services, expanding the City’s bicycling and walking network to accommodate all ages and abilities, to lead transportation innovation, and optimize traffic flow through mobility management and system improvements. • Key changes to the Transit Master Plan include the addition of BRT/Rapid Bus lines to West Elizabeth, North College and along Harmony, higher frequency bus service to Drake, CSU, Prospect/Timberline, Shields and Mountain Vista, implementing a base service of 30 minutes and creating new partnerships and investing in micro-transit opportunities for innovation zones. • Citizens can visit ourcity.fcgov.com/cityplan to comment on the City Plan. Staff Follow-Up: Cassie will extract the air quality principles and accompanying policies from the City Plan and send them to the Board for comments. Commentary can be sent back to Cassie and she’ll ensure that they’re communicated in the City Plan. She will also send out the link for people to comment on the City Plan. Discussion • The Board discussed concerns with TNCs and driverless vehicles being worse for the environment (not shared rides, no passengers); however, the City considered such issues when developing the aforementioned scenarios and the policy language in the new plan will emphasize shared/pooled rides. In addition, the plan focuses on making different modes of transportation readily available and educating citizens on their availability to reduce car trips. • In the preferred transportation scenario, there would be a double in service and double in budget to attain the 2040 vision, which would give 90 % of residents access to transit by 2040 and improve high frequency transit availability to nearly 60% of the population. c. Annual Report, 7:15-7:30 • Arsineh amended the Annual Report based on email comments that she received to AIR QUALITY ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1/28/19 – MINUTES Page 6 include suggestions about future directions regarding issues such as oil and gas regulations and radon testing/mitigation. − Harry moved and Greg seconded a motion to approve the Annual Report. Motion passed, 8-0-0. Staff Report • There will be a RAQC meeting on Friday, 2/1 in Denver. • Council did not support the recommended permitting system for outdoor residential wood fires, and has instead requested code modifications that make current requirements more enforceable for smoke impacts. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • 01/17/19 – Governor Polis signed an executive order to transition to zero-emission vehicles; AQCC will consider a rule to adopt a Zero-Emission Vehicle standard. • 01/29/19 – State of the City meeting at The Lyric from 6 – 8 pm. • 02/04/19 – Boards and Commissions Super Issue Meeting at 222 Laporte Ave from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. • The Board discussed the lane expansions currently underway on I-25 and whether Fort Collins had input on this decision or if an alternative such as light rail was considered. 9. OTHER BUSINESS • The Board will revisit liaisons with other Boards and Commissions once all new members have been confirmed. AQAB may request agendas further in advance. Staff Follow-Up: Cassie will reach out to RAQC Staff to ask if they can present to the AQAB. • The 6-Month Planning Calendar has been incorporated into a table with AQAB agenda topics so that the Board can make recommendations on upcoming Council decisions. 10. ADJOURNMENT 7:47 pm