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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 08/19/2020 TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR August 19, 2020, 6:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting Via Zoom 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Indy Hart Vice Chair: Council Liaison: Nathalie Rachline Kristin Stephens Staff Liaison: Aaron Iverson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Hart called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Indy Hart, Chair Nathalie Rachline, Vice Chair Jerry Gavaldon York Ellen Boeke Kevin Borchert Cari Brown Matt Liberati BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None CITY STAFF PRESENT: Drew Brooks PUBLIC PRESENT: None 3. AGENDA REVIEW Iverson stated the City budget update will need to be rescheduled. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 2020 Iverson stated he made a wording change per York's request. York made a motion, seconded by Rachline, to approve the July 2020 minutes as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 2 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. City Budget Update – Noelle Currell (**Secretary's Note: This item will be rescheduled.) b. Transfort – COVID Impacts to Transit Service – Drew Brooks Drew Brooks, Transfort, discussed ridership numbers noting they were down about 91% on April 30th and are still down about 74% as of last week. He noted college towns nationwide have seen the most dramatic decreases in ridership. Brooks stated fare collection stopped on March 19th in order to help keep operators safe. Additionally, chain separators have been installed and all loading is done at the rear of the bus unless an individual with a mobility device is boarding. Brooks stated an emergency regulation was signed April 18th to dramatically reduce Transfort service and regional service was also dramatically decreased in order to decrease regional spread of the coronavirus. He stated there has been a 17% reduction in service hours. He noted a no charge taxi service is available for individuals needing transportation. He stated transit centers have also been closed. Rachline asked how the taxi service was advertised. Brooks replied it is one of the rotating banners on the Transfort website, each bus stop contains information, and the service was advertised on social media and in press releases. Liberati asked about the delta between the 17% reduction in service hours and the much larger reduction in ridership. Brooks replied the reduction in service was meant to have the least amount of impact to riders and be somewhat easy to understand. Brooks discussed the CARES Act funding that was earmarked for transit and discussed likely increases in service that will be occurring once CSU resumes classes next week. He also noted parking could be impacted as students may opt to drive individual cars and park in neighborhoods near campus rather than ride Transfort. Brooks noted there have been few COVID outbreaks that have been traced to public transit use. He discussed a transit survey that is currently ongoing. Boeke commented on the messaging around using Transfort only for essential trips. Rachline asked if route changes have been considered to get people to essential destinations. Brooks discussed micro-transit and stated some of those options have been discussed; however, those options are more expensive than running fixed route service. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 3 Borchert asked how the management of mask wearing is occurring. Brooks replied masks are being provided for individuals without them. He went on to detail the cleaning procedures being used for busses. Rachline asked if coordination with neighboring municipalities is occurring regarding resuming service. Brooks replied in the affirmative and noted the Flex route was one of the first to resume. Brooks discussed the difficulty in hiring and training new drivers. He stated he is not anticipating operating at full service in 2020. He discussed projects that are moving forward due to grant funding including the West Elizabeth bus rapid transit 30% design project, the North College transit-oriented development study, and the installation of electric busses. Gavaldon asked if Transfort is still receiving contributions from its partners and how the loss of fare dollars has impacted the budget. Brooks replied fares account for around $600,000 per year and fares have not been collected since March. He stated CSU has not asked for a credit for any of its contributions despite the loss of service and stated there will likely be credits as part of next year's agreements with Flex partners. Brooks discussed parking impact of COVID noting parking enforcement ceased in March with the exception of public safety and ADA violations. He stated parking enforcement officers helped bolster staffing in other City departments including Parks and dealing with new outdoor dining options. Boeke asked how long the outdoor dining spaces will be allowed and whether they could become permanent. Brooks replied it may not be permanent, but could be retained as a regular program. Brown asked if the curbside pickup spaces in Old Town allow for users to get out of their cars. Brooks replied in the affirmative but noted Parking Services is not actively policing those spaces. Borchert asked who is funding the concrete barriers around outdoor restaurant spaces. Brooks replied it is a partnership and may be able to be reimbursable with CARES funding. Brooks discussed the parking space occupancy monitoring program and stated normal enforcement with some discretion resumed August 3rd. He discussed the current parking garage rates, which include the first three hours being free, noting they are designed to incentivize drivers to use the proper parking space for their use. Boeke asked about the plan for addressing the park and ride lot at Drake and College. Brooks replied staff is not convinced that the majority of people parking in that lot are riding Transfort and stated consideration has been given to charging a fee for use of the lot. He stated a survey of lot users was planned but is on hold due to TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 4 COVID. York stated a survey should include information as to trip origins as well as destinations. He asked when data regarding the success of new parking garage fees will be available. Brooks replied the free three hours began in mid -July; however, there was no parking enforcement at that time. He stated he anticipates having some data by the end of August but a couple of months of data will be needed to determine whether the free hours are affecting change. Chair Hart commended the work on the Linden Street project in terms of acquiring data from businesses. Borchert asked if the parking space sensors are embedded in the asphalt. Brooks replied in the affirmative. Liberati asked if there are plans for congestion pricing. Brooks replied there are no on-street paid spaces currently; however, that could be considered if an on-street pricing model were adopted. He stated congestion pricing may be counterproductive in garages if it does not exist on-street. He commented on the contentious nature of managing the two-hour timeframe that currently exists and noted paid on -street is easier to manage. Chair Hart suggested the Board discuss Liberati's emailed question from earlier in the day. Liberati questioned whether CSU is paying its fair share of Transfort service. Brooks replied CSU accounts for slightly more than 50% of Transfort's ridership and it pays slightly more than 10% of the total operating budget. From a fare per spective, Transfort gets about a 20% recovery from CSU rides; however, on the rest of the system, that number is less than 8%. Therefore, the cost per ride is higher for the rest of the system. Brooks discussed the positive impacts of pulling vehicles of f streets which is an associated benefit of serving CSU. He also noted CSU students contribute to the local economy and sales tax revenue which is a primary source of funding for Transfort. York commented on CSU students being members of the community a nd stated they are taxing themselves more than the rest of the population for the same service. Gavaldon suggested the overall fare system may need to be examined in order to strike a fair balance of contributions. Brown stated the CSU contribution is more of a political rather than policy decision and CSU could always opt to not provide additional funding. Brooks noted CSU has provided funding for other things that are not just operating budget oriented. For example, the West Elizabeth corridor 30% design project is being 25% funded by CSU. Chair Hart noted CSU staff also benefit from Transfort service. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 5 York discussed the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority and its multiple funding sources. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Borchert asked about the status of the Reimagining Boards and Commissions project. Iverson replied there have been no final decisions but stated transportation staff would like its associated Boards to work more closely on a liaison or Chair level. Chair Hart noted the Transportation Board's minutes regarding the Timberline expansion project were part of Council's meeting packet. Boeke commented on the high use of the whitewater park. Liberati asked if there is a repository for documents and/or a schedule listing when major things happen such as plan updates. Iverson replied there is a location where all plans are stored and he will send that link to the Board. He stated the City Clerk's Office keeps a record of all plans and update schedules. Rachline suggested members begin thinking about what questions they would like to ask at the budget discussion next month. Brown stated the City Manager's recommended budget will be released September 1st electronically and will be a one-year budget this year due to the pandemic. York reported on the City's surveys related to the Climate Action Plan update noting one is related to transportation. He reported on the recent Planning and Zoning Board work session during which the Reimagining Boards and Commissions process was discussed. He noted the City Clerk's Office has all City plans available for reference on its webpage. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Bicycle Advisory Committee Report Chair Hart noted the Bicycle Advisory Committee's minutes regarding the Timberline expansion project were also part of Council's meeting packet. Gavaldon reported on the BAC discussion of the Timberline expansion project and noted it received $2.9 million in grant funding. He expressed concern regarding the maintenance of the Mulberry protected bike lanes and stated staff will be looking at that prior to the Timberline project being completed. Gavaldon outlined the agenda for the next BAC meeting and stated the Committee should be receiving more details on the September bike month. Iverson stated the September bike month has an overarching theme of 'shift your ride' and will include some types of low-key events. Borchert noted volunteers can sign up on Engage to be part of the annual bike TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/19/2020 – MINUTES Page 6 counts. He asked what the BAC is doing regarding electric bikes on trails. Gavaldon replied enforcement has not been detailed; however, only type 1 and 2 E -bikes are allowed and are to follow rules of the road. Rachline noted it is not necessarily an E-bike issue on trails, but rather a speed issue of all riders. b. City Council 6-Month Calendar Review Iverson reported Council will discuss the Parks and Recreation Master Plan at the August 25th worksession and noted the first set of hearings for the budget are in September. He also stated there will be a worksession in October looking at the E - scooter program and the Our Climate Future plan update will be discussed in November. c. Staff Liaison Report Iverson reported on the impacts to traffic during the pandemic quarantine. He stated traffic has been about 10% less than usual since things have begun to reopen and peak hours have changed slightly. Liberati asked if there have been any traffic light adjustments resulting from the changing traffic patterns. Iverson replied adjustments are constantly ongoing. Borchert asked how City employees are faring in light of the pandemic. Iverson replied most seem to be fairly optimistic and commended the ability of the City to protect jobs. York noted Joe Olson and Martina Wilkinson left the City organization to start their own company, and given the current situation wherein the City is not hiring from outside the organization, there are several interim positions in place. Iverson stated Nicole Hahn is the current interim Traffic Engineer. York noted the Board's annual report and work plan will be due shortly. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. by unanimous consent.