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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 10/26/2020 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR October 26, 2020, 6:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Aaron Buckley Vice-Chair: Marcia Patton-Mallory Staff Liaison: Tracey Lipfert 970-416-2355 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Buckley called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Tracey Lipfert Aaron Buckley, Chair, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Jerry Gavaldon, Transportation Board Marcia Patton-Mallory, At Large Member Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Mike Webber, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Mike Tupa, Parks and Recreation Board Jason Miller, Air Quality Advisory Board Dave Dixon, Bike Fort Collins ABSENT: Ben Mayer, Poudre School District Greg Wells, Senior Advisory Board Kevin Krause, Natural Resources Advisory Board Becky Cramer, At Large Member Ed Peyronnin, Colorado State University Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee Rick Arneson, Bike Fort Collins Caleb Feaver PUBLIC PRESENT: Stephen Beckley, Fort Collins Cycling Club BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW There were no changes to the published agenda. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Stephen Beckley stated he was excited to see the Harmony Road – Power Trail underpass item on the agenda. He discussed the recently held NoCo Bike Summit meeting during which a statewide implementation of the Idaho stop law, or safety stop law, was discussed. Gavaldon asked if the Committee will be providing feedback to Council on the safety stop law. Chair Buckely replied that is open for discussion. Patton-Mallory noted that was a discussion point during the last year and the Committee made a recommendation to not move forward with the safety stop law in Fort Collins. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – SEPTEMBER 2020 (**Secretary's Note: The Committee postponed consideration of this item to the end of the meeting due to the limited number of members present at the start.) The minutes were approved by unanimous consent. Tracey Lipfert, Interim FC Moves liaison to the Bicycle Advisory Committee, introduced herself. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Harmony Road – Power Trail Underpass – Caleb Feaver Caleb Feaver, City Engineering Department, discussed the location of the project and need for the underpass at this location. He outlined difficulties with the project including an overhead power line, underground utilities, and challenges with construction timing given the business of Harmony Road. Feaver outlined the five alternatives examined and robust evaluation process undertaken by staff for this project. He discussed the funding sources for the project including part of the Community Capital Improvement Program (CCIP) sales tax that is dedicated to bike and pedestrian grade -separated crossings, the transportation capital expansion fee, and pending grant funding from the state. He noted additional grants are being sought. Feaver reviewed the timeline of the project noting staff is currently moving toward a 30% design of the recommended alternative. He stated the hope is for the project BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 3 to be fully funded by 2024 noting it is quite an expensive project and the budget offer for this year was put on hold due to COVID. He outlined the recommended alternative of a traditional cut and cover underpass located halfway between the railroad tracks and Innovation Drive. He stated this option is more user friendly than others and is consistent with the City's expectations. He also discussed the plan to build necessary trail connections as part of the project. Feaver requested input as to when the Committee would like him to report back. Dangerfield commended the preferred option and asked about the planned tunnel width. Dan Belter, OTEC??, replied it will be 16 feet wide. Feaver noted a wider underpass is more comfortable given the length. Gavaldon asked about the projected cost of the project. Feaver replied it is currently $7 to 10 million. Gavaldon asked if that includes inflation over the next four years. Feaver replied in the affirmative and discussed some of the cost mitigation tactics such as getting a contractor involved early. Gavldon asked if there is a plan in the case of cost overruns. Feaver replied risks are identified and mitigated as well as possible early on in all projects. He stated there is a good plan in place to seek funding as design is furthered. Gavaldon requested Feaver provide a detailed cost analysis. He raised concerns about the project being too expensive and located too far west. He stated he would need to see more compelling reasoning before offering any support for the project. Gavaldon asked if there is user data that would indicate this is needed. Feaver replied he would provide the cost estimate but noted the design is not far enough along for much detail; therefore, there is a high contingency built into the current estimates. He stated he will also provide user data. Feaver discussed the other design options and their estimated costs. Dangerfield asked how much funding is currently in place. Feaver replied about 1/3 of the funds are actually secured and appropriated; however, there are additional funds identified through the CCIP sales tax that is dedicated to pedestrian grade- separated crossings that will get the project to the point of being about half funded. He noted there are upcoming grant opportunities for multi -modal and bike projects and this is a high priority project on a regional level as well which should lead to additional support for it receiving those grant dollars. Dangerfield questioned whether something can be done with McMurray and Harmony that could be an affordable interim fix. Patton-Mallory requested Feaver come back before the Committee at the time of future budgeting. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 4 Chair Buckley commented on the NoCo Bike and Ped Collaborative and the 12 regional trail connections that connect different communities. He noted there is currently an open public comment period on the Active Transportation Plan. He also discussed the cost estimate as likely being accurate and commented on the demand for a safe connection at this location. Gavaldon discussed the underpass constructed at Shields and Elizabeth and noted there is a guaranteed user base for that location as opposed to this one. Dangerfield asked about the cost of the South College underpass noting it was once justified as is a similar length. Feaver replied he was unsure of the exact cost but would research the topic. He added that the City's traffic department does not fee much can be done with the McMurray/Harmony intersection right now due to the fine balance between avoiding traffic backing up to the railroad tracks and pedestrian safety. He stated he will again contact staff to determine whether there are any other interim solutions. Chair Buckley requested staff provide some cost comparisons of existing underpasses. b. How Can BAC Comment on Current Parks Plan – Aaron Buckley Chair Buckley stated the draft version of the Parks Plan has just been released and staff is seeking comments on the City's web page. He discussed the Overland Mountain Bike Association and Fort Collins Cycling Club possibly joining the BAC. Lipfert noted there are three positions on the BAC that are planned to be filled soon. Gavaldon commented on how the Committee should provide input on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Chair Buckley replied he would be happy to head up a letter of comments from the BAC if that is desired. He requested comments be provided to him by November 13th in that regard. c. BAC Work Plan – All Chair Buckley discussed the draft work plan he provided. Patton-Mallory suggested having a meeting early in the year regarding the Bike Plan particularly given the possibility of new members coming on board. Iverson noted both the Bike Plan and the Pedestrian Plan need to be updated and hopefully that can be accommodated in the 2022 budget. Chair Buckley asked if staff could provide a synopsis of the existing Bike Plan at next month's meeting. Iverson replied in the affirmative. Chair Buckley discussed other topics he had placed on the work plan for future meetings over the next year. Miller commended the overall plan and suggested ensuring the Committee keeps BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 5 up with E-mobility issues and the future bike share program. Tupa mentioned including the topic of trail life cycle maintenance. Dangerfield recommended pushing the downtown alleyway presentation a bit later in the year. Chair Buckley asked Gavaldon if a joint meeting with the Transportation Board would be possible. Gavaldon replied he would like to push that toward February given onboarding of new members. Gavaldon and Iverson stated they would work with the Transportation Board to coordinate a meeting. Gavaldon suggested the Committee receive presentations from the Finance Department and on protected bike lanes. He commented on Aurora's protected bike lanes. Patton-Mallory suggested leaving space for brainstorming around the next Bike Plan. Members discussed combining the November and December meetings into one date. Chair Buckley asked if there is an existing Pedestrian Plan. Iverson replied in the affirmative noting it was last updated in 2011. He stated there has been some discussion around combining the Bike and Pedestrian Plans into one active modes plan. Chair Buckley stated forming an active modes plan would mirror the regional plan from the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization. Gavaldon suggested leaving space for consideration of the 'reimagining' Boards and Commissions project. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Chair Buckley reported the Fort Collins Bike Co-op has had a successful season. Patton-Mallory commented on snow plowing efforts on her street. Webber reported on the recent Land Conservation and Stewardship Board meeting during which trail placement in the Soaring Vista Natural Area, the Strauss Cabin Road right-of-way and parking, and water line work in the Maxwell Natural Area were discussed. Tupa reported on the recent Parks and Recreation Board meeting during which the use of the conservation trust fund for capital investment projects and parks trails maintenance was discussed. He also reported the City Park restroom is under construction, the Eastside Park ribbon cutting occurred last month, and a fundraising campaign for paving stones for Spring Creek Park is underway. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 10/26/2020 – MINUTES Page 6 Patton-Mallory asked about the source of funds for the conservation trust fund. Tupa replied it is state lottery funds. Dangerfield reported on the progress of the alley project design noting he has presented to the Landmark Preservation Commission and will be presenting to the Commission on Disability. Dixon reported Bike Fort Collins has had some preliminary conversations around a 'paint the pavement' project that will use art and paint as an opportunity for traffic calming at certain intersections. He stated he would like Bike Fort Collins to make additional presentations on city intersections at future meetings. Miller reported the Air Quality Advisory Board has been focusing on fire smoke issues and will be addressing electric vehicles moving forward. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Transportation Board Report Gavaldon reported on the recent Transportation Board meeting during which the Board's 2021 work plan was discussed. He noted the Board made a number of changes to the work plan and stated he will provide it to the Committee once it is complete. He asked Dixon if he would be willing to make his intersection presentation to the Transportation Board. Dixon replied in the affirmative. b. Staff Liaison Report Lipfert stated the Active Modes Manager position advertisement will close on November 6th. She noted Nancy Nichols will be making a presentation at the November meeting and will be seeking a letter of support from the Committee for a grant she is seeking. She stated her group is planning 'Light up the Night' events during which bike light sets will be given away in November and December. She stated a request for proposal is out for the E-scooter and bike share programs. Chair Buckley noted CSU students will be leaving prior to Thanksgiving and will not be returning to campus until mid-January. c. Call for Agenda Items 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM by unanimous consent.