Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBicycle Advisory Committee - Minutes - 11/27/2023 BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING –REGULAR November 27, 2023 6:00 p.m. In person at Streets Department, 625 9th Street 1 1 /2 7 /2023 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Jordan Williams Vice-Chair: Kevin Krause Staff Liaison: Lauren Nagle 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 6:04 PM. 2. ROLL CALL (INTRODUCTIONS) BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Steve Arnell, Darrin Moritz, and James Reed, Streets Cortney Geary, Araceli Newman, FC Moves Jordan Williams, Chair, At Large Member Kevin Krause, Vice Chair, Natural Resources Advisory Board Marcia Richards, Parks and Recreation Board David Hansen, Colorado State University Tim Anderson, Fort Collins Bike Co-op Elisabeth Cairnes, At Large Member Whitney Allison, At Large Member Mike Moses, Bike Fort Collins ABSENT: Todd Dangerfield, Downtown Development Authority Bruce Henderson, Senior Advisory Board Scott Mason, Land Conservation and Stewardship Board Jerry Gavaldon, Transportation Board PUBLIC PRESENT: None BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /2 7 /2023 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Chair Williams outlined the changes to the published agenda to have the Streets Department presentation at the end of the meeting. 4. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – OCTOBER 2023 Chair Williams noted the recording of the October meeting was started late; therefore the Unfinished Business discussion was not captured, nor were the motions to approve the August and September minutes. Cairnes made a motion, seconded by Moses to approve the October minutes as written with the caveat that minutes do not include the Unfinished Business discussion nor were the motions for the August and September minutes captured. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. December Meeting Chair Willimas noted the December meeting has been moved to December 11th at New Belgium with invitations going to previous BAC members as well. b. Review Active Modes Advisory Board Work Plan Recommendation Chair Williams noted this item has moved from approving a Work Plan for the Active Modes Advisory Board (AMAB) to looking at what resources the BAC could provide to the new Board. He discussed comments provided by Henderson to add a statement that the BAC created a document as a starting point and indicating one of the new Board’s first tasks should be to finalize its Work Plan. Additionally, there was a suggestion to not require a joint meeting between the Transportation Board and the AMAB but to allow for them to meet as necessary. Additionally, the AMAB should become a resource to hear citizens’ concerns regarding active modes. Krause expressed concern about how some of the bigger goals are to be achieved without having some cultural awareness around bicycles in the community. He suggested adding some language to that effect. Cairnes concurred with the suggestions. Members agreed to draft one more version of the document prior to the December meeting. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /2 7 /2023 – MINUTES Page 3 7. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Moses reported on the Bicycle Film Festival at the Lyric and discussed the recent Council work session during which having ex officio members on Boards and Commissions was discussed. He stated the outcome seemed to be that it was not going to happen, though Boards can seek input from any expert community members. He noted the only ex officio member that currently exists is on the Affordable Housing Board, and that position is specifically called out in the Code. Anderson reported on the Bike Co-op continuing to stay busy and mentioned the upcoming holiday Bikes for Tykes program. Geary noted Winter Bike to Work Day will be February 9th. Newman commented on the success of the recent bike light giveaway event. Richards reported on a KUNC interview on an asphalt art intersection project. She also thanked the Streets Department for its proactive anti-icing efforts prior to the recent storm. Geary noted the interview referenced is related to a Bloomberg grant for traffic calming at Magnolia, Canyon, and Sherwood which may potentially include a traffic circle. 8. NEW BUSINESS a. Tour of City of Fort Collins Streets Department Facility and Associated Presentation – Streets Department Staff James Reed, Transportation Operations Senior Manager, noted Fort Collins is a biking community and that is taken into account with streets operations. He stated the Streets Department consists of two paving crews, a graffiti abatement group, traffic control, crushing facility, and a sweeper team. Darrin Moritz, Streets Maintenance Program Manager, stated the Streets Department budget is $28 million with $18 million of that going to the maintenance program. He discussed the coordination of various departments, including FC Moves, during resurfacing projects. Steve Arnell, Streets Manager, thanked Richards for her feedback and stated Streets is constantly working to better its maintenance efforts for bicycle facilities. Moritz commented on the importance of ensuring maintenance funds are provided with new projects. He discussed the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) which rates roadways on a 0-100 scale based on a third-party engineering firm analysis every three years. He stated the City’s goal is level of service B for the entire street network, which equates to a score of 71-85, and that score is currently 73.3 based on the last assessment. He noted good roads cost less to maintain. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /2 7 /2023 – MINUTES Page 4 Moritz provided examples of some streets and discussed repaving projects around the city that have included bike facilities. He provided information about the Streets Department funding sources, including Keep Fort Collins Great and the street maintenance tax which remains in place until 2025. He also discussed the increasing costs of street maintenance. Members commented on the fact that increasing active modes trips will help ease the burden on street maintenance needs. Arnell stated roadways with both cars and protected bike lanes can actually be more expensive in terms of maintenance unless vehicles are fully eliminated. Chair Williams commented on the heaviness of electric vehicles. Arnell stated projects have taken some of that into account, particularly in the case of electric buses and trash trucks. Reed further detailed the responsibilities of the Streets Department, including the adopt-a-street program and 24/7 response to any debris or other right-of-way issues. Moses asked if there is a value to street sweeping beyond cosmetic. Arnell replied it removes debris from riverway streams and bike lanes and helps reduce fugitive dust. Reed noted Fort Collins has its own paving team, and many municipalities do not. Arnell discussed the crushing and recycling operations noting 130,000 tons of material has been diverted from the landfill this year. He also noted the program recycles toilets and asphalt and concrete material from private parties. Anderson asked which material, asphalt or concrete, has a higher cost. Moritz replied that varies from year to year, though concrete is more expensive right now. Concrete is generally used when there are more forces and weight, though many factors are considered. He noted about 98% of the roadways in the city are asphalt. Arnell also noted asphalt roads melt quicker than concrete. Arnell discussed the street sweeping team noting major arterials are swept every two weeks at night, the downtown area is swept twice a week, collectors four times a year, and residential streets four times a year. He noted protected bike lanes are also swept at night once a month with a specialized machine. He stated over 3 million pounds of debris was swept in 2022. He also stated Fort Collins had the third electric sweeper in the world and has since acquired a second one. He noted leaves are recycled though the rest of the debris goes to the landfill. Arnell discussed the graffiti abatement team and stated over 4,000 tags were removed in 2022. He noted the team will help private property owners if they cannot remove the graffiti themselves. He stated response time is within a day BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 1 1 /2 7 /2023 – MINUTES Page 5 for graffiti reports. Hansen asked how the street sweeping frequencies are established. Arnell replied the protected bike lanes are swept once a month and possibly more if the team is caught up with other sweeping. Arnell discussed the snow plowing operations efforts and stated 55-60 employees work at a given time during a storm in 12-hour shifts. He stated there are 8 different priority routes. He discussed anti-icing efforts and Reed noted the anti-icing solution is made in house. Arnell noted sodium is most used for snow removal followed by magnesium chloride. Arnell discussed the monitoring of roadways around the city that helps drive decisions on products to be used. He also commented on the on-truck monitors that automatically dispense product which, in beta testing, resulted in a 60% savings on product usage. He provided details on the plows themselves. Chair Williams asked if the Streets Department has returned to pre-pandemic staffing levels. Reed replied in the affirmative stating the department is fully staffed, though many of those employees are newer and have required training. Arnell commented on the recently approved sales tax that will aid in Parks Department funding noting the Streets Department will likely aid in parking lot construction. (**Secretary’s Note: The Committee members departed the meeting to take a tour of the Streets facility and equipment at this point in the meeting.) 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:06 PM by unanimous consent.