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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 03/06/1996Draft Minutes to be approved by the Transportation Board at the March 20,1996 Meeting. TRANSPORTATION BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES MARCH 6,1996 5:30 p.m. FOR REFERENCE: Chair................................................Colin Gerety................................................... 546-0460 Vice Chair........................................Paul Valentine ................................................ 493-0100 Council Liaison...............................Will Smith ....... ............................................. 223-0425 Staff Liaison.....................................Tom Frazier .................................................... 224-6052 Secretary ...........................................Micki White ................................................... 221-6608 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mark Egeland, Sara Frazier, Dolores Highfield, Donn Hopkins, Elizabeth Hudetz, Tim Johnson, Paul Perlmutter, and Paul Valentine. BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Alan Beatty STAFF/COUNCIL/GUESTS PRESENT: Ron Phillips, Susanne Edminster, Tom Frazier, Dick Schaffer - Staff Kay Rios, CSU Parking Services Manager AGENDA: Call to Order Approval of Minutes A. PUBLIC COMMENT B. ACTION ITEMS C. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Status on Dial -A -Ride - Tom Frazier 2. Passenger Rail Study - Ron Phillips 3. Transportation Plans: Scope and Time Frames 4. T-NOTES (UPDATES) - FYI - Q & A a. Harmony Road Bike Corridor - Kathleen Reavis b. Parking Plan - Dick Schaffer 5. Board Member Reports 6. Council Liaison Reports 7. Staff Reports 8. Summary/Next Agenda TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 2 Colin Gerety, Chair, called the meeting to order at approximately 6:05 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: There was a motion and a second to approve the March 6,1996 Transportation Board meeting minutes. Motion carried unanimously. Colin Gerety asked the Board to comment on the last meeting. General comments from various board members included remarks about the building of a new Civic Center, enlarging City Hall, areas where more space is needed, locations and times where additional bus routes or pass incentives would be an encouragement to the public to ride rather than risk a possible DUI. Additional comments from members included possible locations of the Transit Center and a new library, the river plan and the length of the previous Board meeting. A. PUBLIC COMMENT None B. ACTION ITEMS Letters of appreciation were signed by the Board members present. On completion of the signatures, these letters will be presented to John Fischbach, City Manager, and Ron Phillips, Director of Planning for their efforts in upgrading the design of two street projects which will make the College Avenue/Drake Street intersection and West Drake Street much safer and accessible for both pedestrians and bicyglists. C. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Dial - A - Ride Status - Tom Frazier Tom Frazier informed the Board that the transition that took place from 12-95 to 1-96 went along fairly successfully with the exception of their having much more customer feed -back than had been expected. He went on to explain that when Care -a -Van went out of business one of the things that was tried was to move people out of the taxis into the blue vehicles because they cost much less to operate. Those presentations have been made to this Board several times. Tom explained to the Board that some of the problems that were encountered, initially, were due to several factors. Some of the passengers that had been riding taxis had been receiving individual attention and didn't want to change to the blue vehicles where this was not necessarily the case. TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 3 There were some computer crashes which caused problems. The drivers hired were experienced Care -a -Van drivers, but most of their knowledge of their customers were those disabled, not senior citizens. They weren't as familiar with the senior citizens' addresses or where they were located and there were a lot of call-backs to find out locations. Because of some of these initial problems, there was a high number of phone calls and complaints. Also, to complicate matters, this area received three major snow storms which caused delays due to road conditions, wrecks, or trains. As a result, January was a real challenge. The month of February was spent working with concerned citizens and trying to reestablish good communications. As a result, this month there have only been a few phone calls, which is normal. Plans are now being made for both fixed route and para-transit drivers to be trained in order to deal with a variety of customers in the best way possible, such as those with cognitive problems, for example. Tom Frazier told the Board there were problems but is anticipating significant changes in the future. Tom then included a January ridership for the Board's inspection which showed an increase in riders, at a decreased cost, compared to January `95 costs. Targeted savings for 1996 over 1995 is $100,000. Tom Frazier then asked the Board for comments, questions, or concerns. There was a lot of miscellaneous discussion -concerning various aspects of the program. 2. Passenger Rail Study - Ron Phillips Ron Phillips informed the Board that he was appointed by the North Front Range MPO Council to represent the region on the statewide steering committee for the Colorado Passenger Rail Study. The first meeting of approximately 50 members was in early February. The afternoon was spent working with a consultant team outlining and understanding the calender, the process, the issues, talking about which corridor should be in, which should not. No early decisions on that have been made. Those decisions will be made in approximately four months. A lot of basic information was shared with the group. The process is scheduled to take nine months. Completion date is estimated to be some time towards the end of October. The steering committee will be meeting every other month. The next meeting is scheduled for April. Ron told the Board members he felt things were moving very well. The various statewide entities finally came up with matching monies. The total study cost is an estimated $270,000. CDOT put up half, the Commission put up half, and our region put up $20,000. Additional amounts have come in from other entities throughout the state to make up the match. Ron Phillips told the Board he was on the screening committee that interviewed the consulting teams that presented work proposals. He felt a very good firm had been selected and was excited about the TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 4 project. Ron felt his goal would be readiness to begin the corridor feasibility study as soon as the state wide study is completed. Costs are projected to be $500,000 - $1,000,000. Potential entities for raising funds will be City of Boulder, Boulder County, Longmont, Loveland, Larimer County, Fort Collins, Greeley, Weld County, railroads, and any private sector group that can be influenced towards an interest in this project. Board members then offered questions, input, and discussion with Ron Phillips concerning the project. Ron Phillips told the Board he would be bringing them another update after the April meeting. 3. Transportation Plans: Scope and Time Frames - Tom Frazier Tom Frazier talked with the Board about the different projects being planned. He told the members that all of the project time frames are being coordinated with the City Plan. The City Plan, at this time, is going through a transition period. They are a little behind on their Structure Plan. Tom Frazier continued with informing the Board that the Pedestrian Plan (Kathleen Reavis, Project Manager/Ray Moe, Consultant), Parking Plan, Master Transportation Plan and the Civic Center Plan, are all tied in, along with the other city plans that are going on within our area of influence, directly in with the City Plan. Data and information must be fed to them at the right moments so they can continue with their Structure and Policy Plan. All of the above mentioned projects and plans are under way. They are due for completion in May or June of 1996. 3a. Pedestrian Plan Scone - Ray Moe Ray Moe began by complimenting the City of Fort. Collins for wanting to do a Pedestrian Plan. He stated that he is excited about his participation. Balloffet & Associates is the consultant and Ray said he feels that the sub -consultants hired are excellent. Ray said the step process includes problem identification, developmental standards, policies, funding, engineering, etc. He stated he hopes to come back before the Board with updates in approximately six weeks. 3b. Master Transportation Plan - Tom Frazier Tom Frazier stated that this plan sets out to set up a level of service for the different modes, design criteria for our streets, establish environmental review criteria when dealing with different modes, creating a master street plan which will be more than just a wall drawing. This plan will also cover design guidelines so that during development review, there will be definite guideline to go by. There will also be an integration of all these other plans (bikeway, pedestrian, parking, TDP). TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 5 Ron Phillips, at that time, commended Paul Perlmutter for staying late at the previous night's City Council meeting and speaking on behalf of the Transit Development Plan which was approved. Tom Frazier then went on to state that all of the above components are part of the Master Transportation Plan. This plan is to coordinate all of the individual plans that are going on. It is also designed to provide different types of criteria in setting up a very important street plan. Presently, Tom stated, our first four tasks; the level of service, design standards, environmental criteria, and the Master Street Plan, are all going on within a staff level discussion, trying to define things, trying to put options together. When these options are put together, Tom and staff will be coming back before the Board and is optimistic that this will be in April. At that time, they will be looking forward to some feedback from the Board. 3e. Residential and Collector Streets - Tom Frazier Tom Frazier talked with the Board and informed them that he and staff had met with a group of architects and developers today at lunch. He said the meeting was extremely informative and positive. There was good dialogue and rapport within the group. All agreed they would like to see some changes in street sizes, not necessarily appropriate in all parts of the city, but in specific areas of the communities where the change will be very important. There was also a level of agreement on alley changes. Both Tom Frazier and Ron Phillips indicated to the Board that they would be coming back before them at different points with updates on the various projects since they are all in different phases. Tom also indicated that they will move fairly rapidly. 3d. Bikeway coordinator - Tom Frazier Tom noted to the Board that the number one priority in the Bikeway Plan is to get a Bikeway coordinator. They are still working on fitting this into the 1996 budget. 3e. Vermont underpass - Tom Frazier Tom informed the Board that the design on this project has been completed. The bid has been put out and accepted. It came in under budget. The agreement has all been worked out with the railroad. Engineering has Tom Chapel, who is also working on the Harmony Road Corridor as project engineer, working with Mark Sears. Baldwin Construction got the bid. They have done work with the City before and has done a very nice job so they are all very enthusiastic and excited about this project. TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 6 X Transportation Demand Management - Tom Frazier The TDM program was approved by City Council last night, March 6, 1996, along with the Transit Development Program. Thursday night, March 7, 1996, it goes to the Front Range Council. If it is approved by the Front Rarige Council, Tom stated they would be going ahead and putting together the TDM program. Other good news, he stated, was that David Lily from Steamboat Springs accepted the job as Transit Manager, beginning March 27, 1996. Tom was also optimistic that a TDM coordinator would be hired by the following week. 4. T-Notes - FYI - Q & A rr=:rr:"11r1r1M1M1 512lWon, 7 rMe Kathleen Reavis discussed the handouts she provided for this meeting, which will be discussed in greater depth on March 20, 1996, at the next Transportation Board Meeting. Because of its length, she felt the Board should have it well in advance of the next meeting. Kathleen went on to say that they were winding up the planning stage of this project. The handout was a Draft Consensual Plan for the entire corridor from College Avenue out to I-25. There are plans to have displays and information in different businesses and areas throughout the city. This will be taking place in the next two week time period. Mark Egeland suggested having a display in the Hewlett-Packard cafeteria. Kathleen felt this would be a good idea. She also remarked that the Citizen's Advisory Committee was instrumental in prioritizing the areas along the corridor. Kathleen informed the Board that she will back at the next Board meeting to give the presentation. 4b. Parking plan - Dick Schaffer Dick Schaffer then passed out handouts of the Downtown Parking Supply and Demand. This is the first technical report that he has gotten back from the consultant on the Parking Plan. He explained further that the purpose of the Parking Plan is to look at three areas; downtown area, CSU, and the neighborhoods around CSU. Dick's report also identified the objectives and phases of the three different areas. Dick noted that there are t 1,000 parking places downtown. That includes 51 % off street and 49% on street. He explained that while that is a large amount of parking availability, the majority of people want to park as close as possible to their destination rather than walk any distance. Dick also passed out color coordinated charts to show the areas where the different types of parking TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 7 are located; metered, honor boxes, two hour zones, garage, lots, and free. After some discussion, Dick Schaffer then introduced Kay Rios, CSU Parking Services Manager. She discussed with the Board CSU's own Parking Plan in relationship to the CSU Master Plan and the impact of the parking demand on the neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Kay also discussed with members future structures planned, revenue, ticket costs, and associated concerns, student options and alternatives. 5. Board Member Reports Paul Perlmutter stated that he had attended the Civic Center Master Plan meeting. He felt it was a very interesting plan and a little controversial. He commented that there were a fair number of people who attended. Mark Egeland told the Board that he had attended the last City sponsored Timberline forum. He felt this forum, also, was controversial. 6. Council Liaison Reports Will Smith reported to the Board that the TDM program and the TDP had been approved at the previous night's City Council meeting. 7. Staff Reports Susanne Edmmster talked briefly about the Transportation Maintenance Fee. She told the Board that they were still proceeding on the original schedule with the exception that, just this week, the Mayor Pro:tem requested of the City Manager that the first meeting of the ordinance be postponed to April 16, 1996. This request was granted. The reason for this scheduling is due to the Cost of Services Fee going at the same time and it was felt that these two fees should be presented simultaneously. This does cause a delay of one month, but Susanne was hopeful the momentum would continue. Susanne told the Board there was a citizen meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, 1996, beginning at 3:30 p.m. and continuing on until 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be an "open house" type of format. The meeting will be held at 281 North College in the main conference room. They are hoping for more citizen input at this time. Susanne expressed hope that members of the Board would attend, if possible. Susanne also informed the Board that the Transportation Services team completed some Capital Improvement projects criteria and she will have this information at the next meeting for their inspection. TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEETING MINUTES March 6, 1996 Page 8 Paul Perlmutter noted that on the comment board at Hewlett-Packard, the comments pertaining to the TMF were, for the most part, negative. 7. Summary -Next Agenda ***Budget issue identification (Service Issues) ***Harmony Road Bike Corridor ***Capital Improvement Program Update ***Timberline Extension OTHER BUSINESS Tom Frazier told the Board the Congress of Neighborhoods will be coming. He said he understands it is an excellent program. There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Micki White Transportation Board Secretary SECTION III Tran•rtation Services IN Office of the Director Iag3113011MIZElilul DATE: March 14, 1996 TO: City of Fort Collins Transportation Board FROM: Susanne Edminster, Transportation Policy Analyst RE: Capital Improvement Program Staff developed two sets of criteria for prioritizing capital projects. The first will be used as a "rough cut" for placing projects in "high," "medium," and "low" categories. The longer list will then be applied within each category to further prioritize the projects. These are provided for your reference and to give you some ideas for the criteria the Board will apply. Criteria for Prioritization Suggested criteria for that "first cut:" Customer Needs Safety Efficiency Balance Criteria to be applied after the initial sorting: Professional View Fit with our vision/goals Consequence of not doing this Balance 1. Level of service standard for all modes meeting reasonable expectations 2. Safety including neighborhood traffic mitigation 3. Is part of or supports goals and objectives of adopted master plans on a macro or micro level 4. Leverages existing funding sources or generates revenue 5. Connectivity/contiguity between modes and activity centers 6. Accessibility/mobility balance among all modes of transportation 7. Increases use of alternative transportation 625 Ninth Street • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (303) 221-6615 Transportation Board March 14, 1996 page two 9. Visionary 9. Promotes economic vitality 10. Improves quality of life 11. "Ones" we can't live without Review of these criteria and the Board's adoption of their own criteria will be scheduled as an action item in May. 0 • SECTION IV