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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 10/28/2019 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR October 28, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Conference Room A, 281 North College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 10/28 /2019 –MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Aaron Buckley Vice-Chair: Marcia Patton-Mallory Staff Liaison: Tessa Greegor 970-416-2471 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Buckley called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Aaron Buckley, Chair, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Mike Webber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Bob Mann, Natural Resources Advisory Board York, Transportation Board Chris Hunt, Poudre School District Rick Arneson, Bike Fort Collins Marcia Patton-Mallory, At Large Member Becky Cramer, At Large Member ABSENT: Mike Tupa, Parks and Recreation Board Sylvia Cranmer, Colorado State University Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Dan Woodward PUBLIC PRESENT: Stephen Beckley BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2019 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW There were no changes to the published agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Stephen Beckley, Fort Collins Cycling Club, commented on the Northern Colorado Bike Summit and the extension of signage from Boulder to replace the 'share the road' signage. He showed videos from bike tail cameras and discussed their use to commend drivers. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – SEPTEMBER 2019 Patton-Mallory made a motion, seconded by Hunt, to adopt the September 2019 minutes as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Laporte Avenue Redesign – Dan Woodward Dan Woodward, Engineering Department, stated the Laporte Avenue improvements from Sunset on the west side to Fishback are primarily bicycle and pedestrian related. Cramer asked if there are future plans to connect these improvements with the eastern section of Laporte Avenue. Woodward replied in the affirmative. Woodward stated there is only funding available for 30% of the design at this point; however, there is full funding for design and construction of the two bridge replacements. He discussed the public outreach process and stated the best-case scenario is spring of 2021 construction. Woodward stated staff is working with the Traffic Department to address impacts from a future housing development in the area. Woodward discussed the public input related to providing dedicated space for both bikes and pedestrians. York asked if there are drainage plans for the area. Woodward replied there is a master plan for drainage improvement for the corridor. Woodward stated next steps including continuing outreach, meeting with directly affected property owners, coordinating with staff internally, getting feedback from the Transportation Board, and seeking grants. The bridge construction is set to begin in the fall and winter of 2020 but that would be pushed to spring of 2021 should additional funding for this project come forth. Committee members discussed the raised bike lane option versus other options. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2019 – MINUTES Page 3 Patton-Mallory asked if the speed limit in the area affects the viability of various bike lane options. Woodward replied this part of Laporte is an arterial with relatively high volumes and even though the speed limit is 35, higher speeds can be seen; therefore, more protected bike lane options are advised. York asked if this plan includes lighting elements. Woodward replied lighting is not currently proposed, but that could be considered. b. West Mulberry Street Project Evaluation – Tessa Greegor Greegor stated this project was completed a little over a year ago and she detailed the protected bike lanes that were funded as a pilot project. She stated the goal of the pilot projects around town is to develop best practices from a design and maintenance standpoint. Greegor outlined the public outreach survey. York asked if bus drivers along the corridor have provided feedback. Greegor replied she was unsure if that has occurred, but stated staff is in the process of reaching out to the different service providers such as UPS, USPS, and others in the area. She stated outreach to bus drivers is a good suggestion. Greegor discussed the preferred bicycle and pedestrian lane protection methods for various user groups. She stated traffic volumes along the corridor have increased slightly over the past year and travel times have not changed much. Greegor outlined crash data stating there has been a decrease both in the number of crashes and number of crashes involving some level of injury; however, the number of motor vehicle fixed object crashes is up over the year. In terms of maintenance, staff noted the number of snow instances was lower than usual and there was a total cost of about $5,000 for all maintenance. The most challenging type of infrastructure to maintain was the bike rails; however, new maintenance equipment and procedures are coming online. Greegor stated future recommendations may include replacing of the bike rails with a different type of protection, addressing the intersection of Mulberry and City Park to improve the transition. Committee members discussed the advantages of utilizing curbing for the protected bike lanes in this section. York commented that this project has met the expectation of illustrating the viability of different protected bike facilities. Greegor stated next steps will involve getting this information out to the public and the production of a final report and implementation of recommendations. c. Design Concepts: West Elizabeth and Ponderosa – Tessa Greegor BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2019 – MINUTES Page 4 Greegor discussed the current conditions at West Elizabeth and Ponderosa noting about 13,000 vehicles per day go through the corridor. She stated improvements are planned to be constructed next year and discussed the proposed conceptual designs. Cramer questioned whether there are too many pedestrian crossings on West Elizabeth. Other Committee members discussed the need for the crossings in the area and discussed whether the signal should be overhead or on the sides. Committee members discussed a preference for the concept design which is similar to the crossing a Laporte and Loomis. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Webber reported on the Natural Areas annual retreat. Cramer asked about the new buffered lanes on Vine east of Lancer Drive and questioned why concrete curbing was not used. Greegor replied curbing was not used as the area is a floodway. Mann reported the Natural Resources Advisory Board did not meet this month. Hunt reported there have been no major issues with the new school start times for kids biking to school. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report York reported the new BAC liaison is Jerry Gavaldon. He reported the Transportation Board received presentations on Smart Cities, exterior lighting standards and downtown dismount zones. He also reported on the community gateways presentation, the joint 'Our Climate Future' Boards and Commissions meeting, and the review of development fees. He stated it may be time to start considering advocating for budget priorities for the upcoming budgeting for outcomes process. b. Staff Liaison Report Greegor reported on the e-scooter launch and announced the upcoming end of the year-long e-bike pilot project. She requested input regarding the December 23rd BAC meeting. Committee members supported cancelling the December meeting and having a full November agenda. Nancy Nichols, Safe Routes to School, stated the fall semester activities are concluding and announced she will be presenting on bike field trips and the use of adaptive equipment at the Safe Routes to School national conference. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/28 /2019 – MINUTES Page 5 c. Call for Agenda Items Arneson stated he would like to get on the agenda to present some signage ideas for which Bike Fort Collins is beginning to advocate. Nichols stated she would like to make the presentation she will be making at the Safe Routes to School conference. Arneson introduced Bike Fort Collins' new Executive Director, Dave Dixon. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:57 PM by unanimous consent.