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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 10/22/2018 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR October 22, 2018, 6:00 p.m. Community Room, 215 North Mason Street, Fort Collins, CO 10/22 /2018 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Luke Caldwell Vice-Chair: Aaron Buckley Staff Liaison: Tessa Greegor 970-416-2471 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Caldwell called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL CITY STAFF PRESENT: Luke Caldwell, Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board Karl Ayers, Transportation Board Bruce Henderson, Bike Fort Collins Chris Hunt, Poudre School District Marcia Patton-Mallory, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Mark Houdashelt, Air Quality Advisory Board Sylvia Cranmer, Colorado State University Kelly Smith, Parks and Recreation Board ABSENT: Aaron Buckley, Vice Chair, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Alan Beatty, Senior Advisory Board Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Annie Krieg, At Large Member Terri Marty, At Large Member Aaron Iverson Nick Heimann PUBLIC PRESENT: None 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Caldwell reviewed the agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/22 /2018 – MINUTES Page 2 None. 5. APPROV AL OF MINUTES Hunt made a motion, seconded by Henderson to approve the minutes of the September 2018 meeting as amended. The motion was adopted unanimously with Cranmer abstaining. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chair Caldwell suggested the Work Plan may need to be discussed. Ayers reported the Transportation Board is satisfied with all of the efforts of the BAC. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. City Plan Update – Aaron Iverson Iverson stated this discussion will surround the scenarios developed as part of the City Plan, Transportation Master Plan, and Transit Master Plan efforts. The scenarios will focus on land use and transportation visions for the city's future and the end result for recommendation will likely be a compilation of the three scenarios. Iverson stated livability, community, and sustainability were the three main priorities resulting from the visioning efforts. Housing attainability, affordability, and type as well as transportation were included as main concerns. Iverson stated all three scenarios included assumptions that a focus on natural areas, parks, recreation, and arts and culture will continue, the growth management area will not change, and population growth will continue at the same rate. Scenario one, or the baseline scenario, involves keeping the status quo and moving forward with plans as they exist now with similar development patterns and transportation projects. Scenario two involves more targeted changes for land use including North College, the Mason corridor, and in and around downtown. This scenario would also involve additional accessory dwelling units in certain neighborhoods. Chair Caldwell noted increased housing density leads to smaller yard space and possibly a demand increase for trails and parks. Hunt asked about the possibility of changing the U+2 ordinance. Iverson noted that was brought up at the Transportation Board meeting and will be discussed among the group as a whole. Iverson stated scenario two assumes expansion of bus rapid transit service on West Elizabeth and North College. This scenario attempts to keep funding as similar as possible to scenario one; therefore, resources would need to be shifted. Changes in BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/22 /2018 – MINUTES Page 3 zoning and development standards would be required for scenario two. Cranmer asked if housing affordability is being affected by rental housing stock being pulled from regular rentals to VRBO and Airbnb type rentals. Iverson replied that has been discussed. Chair Caldwell suggested the creation of a desired density matrix to help identify density goals for certain parcels. He also suggested the City should place affordable housing requirements on new housing developments. Hunt discussed the importance of planned walkable mixed-use neighborhoods. Iverson stated scenario three involves broader changes and adds the Mulberry and Harmony corridors as future areas of intense development with associated transit support. Bus rapid transit would be expanded to Harmony and additional high- frequency service on the major arterial corridors would be added. Regional transit would also be a priority in scenario three. Chair Caldwell asked what type of outreach to neighboring communities has occurred. Iverson replied there have not been many City Plan related conversations with neighboring communities; however, those would be positive conversations to have. Houdashelt stated using flat open land for parking is a bad use of space and asked if that has been addressed in any of the scenarios. Iverson replied some structured and underground parking has been included in scenario three. Committee members commended the bicycle and pedestrian investments in scenario three. Chair Caldwell stated ditch easements may end up saving future bike and pedestrian lanes. Patton-Mallory stated including east-west connections as well as north-south is important. Iverson encouraged members to complete the City's survey on the City Plan update. Houdashelt asked about EV penetration in the various scenarios. Iverson replied the inclusion of the EV readiness roadmap was a baseline assumption. Cranmer asked what the largest transportation-related changes are between the scenarios. Iverson replied the transit investment between scenarios two and three is immense as scenario three includes the Harmony and Mulberry corridors. b. Bike to Work Day Initiative – Nick Heimann Heimann stated staff has taken on an initiative to increase overall participation, first- time participation, female participation, and family participation in Bike to Work Day and Open Streets events. He discussed the importance of activating the infrastructure BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/22 /2018 – MINUTES Page 4 for both events. Heimann stated Bike to Work Day survey data is being used to measure barriers, which are consistently darkness, weather, and having too much to do. He discussed the survey improvements made for the events and noted Fort Collins has some of the largest proportion of its population participating in these events. Heimann stated the largest Bike to Work Day station is at the intersection of the Mason and Spring Creek Trails and stated three stations hit over 900 visitors at the summer Bike to Work Day. He noted there is an effort at ensuring homeless residents and other populations are included. Heimann discussed the City's "Take Two" campaign and this year's actions included going car-free for one trip per week and replacing the four most frequently-used light bulbs with LED light bulbs, which were provided to customers at Bike to Work Day and other events. Heimann stated the future goal is to increase the number of stations at more logical locations. Chair Caldwell suggested making bike shares free during Bike to Work Day hours. Heimann stated that could be possible. Committee members discussed other possible ways to increase ridership and rider motivation on Bike to Work Day. c. Safe Routes to School Infrastructure Grant – Letter of Support Request – Tessa Greegor Greegor discussed the project staff is hoping to fund with the grant, a portion of the Hampshire Bikeway. She noted the location is important for Blevins Middle School students among others. The grant would fund a signalized crossing, the concept designs for which have already been completed. Greegor stated the City is requesting $500,000, which is the cap for the grant request, and the remainder of the funds for the project would be provided by the City as part of its matching funds. Greegor stated the grant requires education and encouragement to be included as part of the grant request. Henderson asked if there are estimates as to how many children would use the crossing daily. Greegor replied Nancy Nichols is working with Blevins to get that information. Patton-Mallory made a motion, seconded by Hunt, that the BAC draft a letter of support for the grant application, including rationale being the focus on the Middle School and importance of this link to the Bikeway as a whole. The motion was adopted unanimously. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/22 /2018 – MINUTES Page 5 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS a. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REPORT – Ayers Ayers reported the Transportation Board was very amenable to having a joint meeting with the BAC and the Board is getting exactly what it wants from the BAC in terms of recommendations. The Board also suggested there is no need for an annual report and the work plan is generally a document for the BAC. He stated the Board thanked the BAC for its work on the stop-as-yield conversation. b. COMMITTEE MEMBER REPORTS/COMMENTS Patton-Mallory reported on the Land Conservation and Stewardship Board's recent meeting during which the Montava development and trails were discussed. Chair Caldwell reported the Natural Resources Advisory Board discussed Meadow Springs Ranch and the proposed transmission line crossing. Cranmer reported the electric scooter issue has been a large topic at CSU and the transportation and parking departments are working on a program called Rams Ride Right, which is an incentive program awarding proper bicycling behaviors. Smith reported the Parks and Recreation Board received a presentation from Overland Mountain Bike Club about its master plan. Houdashelt reported the Air Quality Advisory Board discussed residential burning at its last meeting. Henderson reported Bike Fort Collins finished its election recommendations. Hunt reported on his free after-school tennis program for younger children and the Eco Week programs. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Staff Report Greegor reported she provided the Natural Resources Advisory Board a presentation on E-bikes and members unanimously supported moving the pilot program forward. She stated staff is reexamining the proposed Magnolia and Shields crossing. Patton-Mallory suggested an examination of the flashing yellow left turn lights. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:35 PM by unanimous consent.