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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 08/18/2021 TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR August 18, 2021, 6:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting Via Zoom 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 1  FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Nathalie Rachline Vice Chair: Council Liaison: Cari Brown Emily Gorgol Staff Liaison: Aaron Iverson 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Rachline called the meeting to order at 6:03 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Nathalie Rachline, Chair Indy Hart York Diego Lopez Kevin Borchert Rob Owens BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Cari Brown, Vice Chair Jerry Gavaldon CITY STAFF PRESENT: Ryan Mounce Melina Dempsey Aaron Guin PUBLIC PRESENT: Dan Gould 3. AGENDA REVIEW Iverson stated there were no changes to the published agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – JULY 2021 York made amendments to five words in the minutes. York made a motion, seconded by Borchert, to approve the July 2021 minutes as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 2  6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Land Use Code Housing Update – Ryan Mounce Ryan Mounce, Planning Department, discussed the purpose of the Land Use Code and noted it was adopted in 1997, and though regularly updated, it has been determined a more thorough review is necessary. Phase one Land Use Code updates will be examining large housing topics and potential changes with the purpose of ensuring the Code continues to meet community goals. Mounce outlined some of the larger community changes that have occurred since the Code was adopted, including the types of housing developments and a greater focus on affordable and attainable housing. He noted the recently adopted Housing Strategic Plan is helping to set the basis for some of the Land Use Code updates. Mounce noted other community changes that have occurred since 1997, including a greater focus on bicycling and transit. Mounce stated the phase one Land Use Code updates could include changes such as updating definitions for various housing types, redefining accessory dwellings, changing density requirements, and recalibrating affordable housing incentives. Additional Code changes may include the consolidation of similar standards, improving user-friendliness, simplifying language, and improving clarity and consistency. Mounce stated that, even though this phase is focused on housing, staff does see some overlap with transportation in areas such as the TOD overlay zone, density requirements, incentives for housing near transit, and parking. He provided an overview of key steps and the timeline for the updates. Hart asked if it is likely these changes will be able to be adopted by 2022 as proposed in the timeline. Mounce replied it is difficult for staff to plan an exact time for adoption and acknowledged there are likely to be some controversial changes proposed that will lead to a great deal of discussion. York stated the budget currently prioritizes automobiles over other modes and suggested changes to the Land Use Code should be made to help prioritize human- powered and transit modes. He asked how that will play into this process. Mounce replied there has been a great deal of discussion recently with the Housing Strategic Plan adoption and updates to City Plan about future transit and bicycle networks and how that interacts with the constrained environment for additional vehicular infrastructure, especially in the core of the community. He commented on possible changes such as the requirement of including housing in retail developments in TOD zones. York asked what could be considered in terms of options from the transportation side TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 3  that would help promote things like placing housing in the TOD zones. Mounce replied he looks at things more from a land use perspective and suggested the possibility of looking at minimum floor area requirements as opposed to maximum and of exploring minimum densities for zones around the MAX line. He also noted there have been discussions around parking reductions in TOD zones. York asked if tiny houses will be included in these updates. Mounce replied defining additional housing types will be important, and tiny houses could be included in that. He stated they are now treated as single-family homes if on a foundation; however, they are not allowed currently if they are on wheels as they are considered a form of camping. Rachline stated she would like to have additional information regarding what the outside consulting firm will be asked to do and asked if it is clear the consultant needs to consider multi-modal transportation. Mounce replied the consultant has asked staff to model where there are areas for additional housing capacity, which includes areas around transportation and transit corridor investments. He stated a great deal of the work does have a transportation focus and one of the consultant partners is looking at things from an equity perspective. Rachline asked if checks and balances ensuring objectives are met are included in the process. She also asked how these changes link to climate action issues and whether the consultant has been asked to provide examples of model changes in other cities. Mounce replied the consultant will be helping out with engagement and scoping; however, there will also be a great deal of internal work as well. He stated the consultant has experience working on Code updates and similar issues in other communities; however, Fort Collins’ unique attributes will likely require original solutions. Rachline noted transportation must include transit and human-powered modes. Owens asked if the scope of this work considers the controversy that may arise from some of these topics. Mounce replied there will be several opinions and disagreement; however, things are set up well to move forward. He noted the appropriation Council did to start this phase happened at the same time as the adoption of the Housing Strategic Plan which provides an approved roadmap; therefore, some of this process is more implementation oriented. Mounce asked if the Transportation Board would like to receive future updates and have direct involvement throughout the phase one Land Use Code update process. Members replied in the affirmative and Borchert stated he would like to see a table and perhaps a graphic representation that compares current standards with future standards. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 4  b. Introduction to the North College MAX Plan – Melina Dempsey Melina Dempsey, Transit Planner, outlined the North College MAX Plan study area and noted the plan is for high-frequency service with perhaps a dedicated travel lane, or hybrid lane, similar to the current MAX line. She stated this plan addresses at least four of Council’s top priorities, including improving air quality, responding to climate change, and helping to create 15-minute communities wherein day-to-day needs and amenities can be met within 15 minutes by bike, walking, and transit. She stated this process is being led with equity and inclusion and will include a focus on bicycling and walking both along and connecting into the corridor, as well as on land use and developments along the corridor. Dempsey stated the engagement and outreach process was recently started and she outlined some of the considerations for the project, including the route, station design and placement, safety, and phasing of transit improvements. She outlined the timeline for the project to adopt the Plan and discussed aspects of the existing conditions report provided by the consultant. Dempsey discussed input received from the community advisory committee. She asked members to provide input on what would make the addition of MAX on North College appealing and what concerns members would have with brining MAX to North College. York asked if transit-specific traffic lights or other infrastructure are being considered as part of the plan. Dempsey replied in the affirmative and stated the entire system will be examined holistically including signals, transit priority, and crossings. York asked about train mitigation. Dempsey replied that is also being considered in terms of how it will function with the train. She noted there are already two transit routes that run along North College and, just like other traffic, they sometimes get stopped by trains. York asked if there has been any outreach to mobile home park residents as those areas show relatively low ridership numbers on existing routes. Dempsey replied in the affirmative and stated residents are part of the community advisory committee. Additionally, focus groups will be conducted with mobile home communities. She stated issues with safety, route frequency, and destinations have been mentioned as barriers. York asked how that data will be captured in the preliminary information. Dempsey replied all input and conversations will be documented to help identify challenges and solutions thereto. Hart stated any questions or comments he has are meant to support this effort, not challenge it. He also noted the existing MAX route must stop and wait for trains. He supported improvements to the area for bicycle and pedestrian comfort. He stated high- frequency service in the area will likely be more important than making this an extension of MAX per se or using an articulated bus. Dempsey replied the articulated bus can TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 5  make the turn at Willox and one of the goals is to keep the turn from having to happen at Poudre Valley Mobile Home Park while still being able to serve it with high-frequency transit. Owens expressed support for the plan and suggested the possibility of a park ‘n ride being placed at the north end of the route. He asked if the rest of North College would be looking at a road diet should one lane become a dedicated bus lane and asked if the initial thought is to run this in tandem with route 8 and then have route 8 continue. Dempsey replied the routes on the east side are not set to be eliminated, though they may function differently. She stated that is being considered as part of the existing conditions report and alternative scenarios. Owens agreed the bicycle facilities on North College are not comfortable. Borchert mentioned the Colorado School of Mines new autonomous rovers and questioned whether that could be a good solution for trips north of the Downtown Transit Center. Dempsey replied staff has yet to explore micro-transit within the North College corridor itself in lieu of the fixed route. She mentioned the innovation zone concept that is part of the Transit Master Plan. The concept involves a focus on high-frequency linear routes for the future of fixed-route transit with micro-transit feeding into those fixed routes. York asked if there have been any thoughts about trying to develop partnerships and merging systems with developments such as The Outpost which operates its own buses to CSU. Dempsey replied Transfort staff members are having conversations with CSU about ways to better access and serve student housing; however, discussions have not occurred with those types of private entities. She stated she would note that suggestion. York suggested partnerships with private student housing developments such as The Outpost could be helpful for funding. Dempsey mentioned the funding study RFP the City is working on to implement the Transit Master Plan. York discussed the importance of ensuring funding is in place for an extended duration of a study. He stated he would like to see some data regarding how increasing the number of buses would impact the number of crashes on North College, which seem to already be high based on the presentation. He stated the Transportation Board should be involved, before this plan moves to the next phase, about the goals of the project. Owens asked if updating the North College area in this regard would also change any of the land uses in terms of the Land Use Code. Dempsey replied staff will be working closely with Mounce and his group on the Land Use Code changes and there will likely be recommendations to change land use, TOD overlays, et cetera. Hart subjectively disagreed with York that the North College crash data numbers are high. He noted this meeting is an opportunity to provide input and suggestions for the consultant team. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 6  Chair Rachline agreed with Hart that this project is important and stated she would like to see additional analysis for more of these types of routes. She stated it is important the Downtown Transit Center is not a hard stop for the route and stated a park ‘n ride at the north end could help to identify a more integrated urban area. She thanked staff for brining this to the Board early in the process. Owens commented on the possible need to run this route outside normal commuting hours. Rachline commented on the importance of using input from the Board and the community to build options and solutions that make sense. Hart suggested keeping Council priorities in mind when working on design options would be beneficial, particularly improving air quality, responding to climate change, creating 15-minute communities, and leading with equity and inclusion. He also commented on the possibility of working through solutions using current conditions such as increasing the frequency of existing routes. York stated connectivity on the north end would be important, either in the form of parking infrastructure or regional connections to Wellington and Laporte. He also stated his concerns would be with the buses being stuck behind traffic and trains and therefore not getting people to destinations on time. Rachline thanked Dempsey for her presentation. c. Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) – Continuing Review and Feedback Iverson provided the working list of budget items being discussed by the Board and stated he did not get any specific questions from Board members regarding capital projects since the last meeting. He noted the City Manager’s recommended budget will be released at the end of the month and suggested the Board take any desired action in September or October based on that recommended budget. York noted the Board discussed having people come in to talk about specific offers, specifically Dan Woodward among others, which is why he did not pose questions since the last meeting. He stated he thought more information was to be presented on specific offers discussed at the last meeting. Rachline suggested it may have been a misunderstanding and noted staff could still make a presentation if desired. Iverson replied Dan Woodward has left the City; however, someone from capital projects could still come in. He asked if the Board would like someone to talk about the trails offers 35.3 and 41.1, or if the information he provided via email was sufficient. York replied he would get back with him. Rachline suggested the Board raise any specific questions and staff request a presentation from appropriate staff at the next meeting. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 7  8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Borchert reported on a map of CDOT projects around the state and commented it would be helpful for more advertising addressing the end of MAX service being at 7 PM not 9 PM. Iverson stated he would provide that feedback to Transfort staff. York reported on the recent Planning and Zoning Commission work session during which the Northfield development was discussed, including the bike and pedestrian trail that is set to run from the whitewater park to the northeast along the irrigation ditch. He stated the Commission also discussed the Fairway Apartments complex proposed for a site just east of the south MAX station. The site is in the TOD overlay and includes a pedestrian spine from College Avenue to the MAX station. He stated the Commission also discussed the implementation of 1041 regulations that would help define permits to control development that would normally go through a SPAR process. York asked about the progress of the Prospect Road widening between Sharp Point and I- 25. Iverson replied funding is being sought for that project and stated he would follow-up with additional information. Hart concurred there is a need for additional advertising about the daily end of bus service. York stated that has been a concern for a few months and agreed signage should be better maintained for the current situation. Hart also noted Google Maps is not updated with the current route times. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Bicycle Advisory Committee Report Rachline asked if Gavaldon had sent a report on the BAC meeting and noted his term on the BAC expires in November; therefore, a new member will need to take that position. York stated he did not believe there was a BAC meeting since the last Transportation Board meeting. b. City Council 6-Month Calendar Review Iverson stated Council will be discussing general planning issues in northeast Fort Collins and Council priorities at the August 31st work session, the series of BFO meetings will be held in September 1041 regulations and the greenhouse gas inventory report will be discussed September 21st, an update on the East Mulberry Plan will occur October 12th, and Dempsey and her team will be discussing the North College MAX study on January 11th. c. Staff Liaison Report Iverson stated he had received an email from Gavaldon regarding Raising Cane’s. He stated the restaurant has all permits in place to complete its drive-through TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 8/18/2021 – MINUTES Page 8  remodel to increase the on-site capacity for vehicles. He discussed data provided by Nicole Hahn that shows an ongoing decrease in vehicle stacking times for both Raising Cane’s and Starbucks. Rachline asked about the timeline for the Raising Cane’s construction. Iverson replied he would follow-up. Iverson commented on the Mountain Avenue reshaping project and stated the plan is to have an initial presentation for the Board at its September meeting. He encouraged members to look at the project website, discussed the objectives of the study, and noted there will be a design charette in September. York noted volunteers are being sought for Open Streets on September 18th. Iverson stated a final decision on whether that event will occur has yet to be made. York stated volunteers will also be sought for the bike and pedestrian counts the week of September 20th. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. by unanimous consent.