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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 06/20/2007MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD June 20, 2007 5:45 p.m. City of Fort Collins Municipal Building 215 N. Mason Street — Community Room FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Gary Thomas 482-7125 Vice Chair: Vacant Staff Liaison: Mark Jackson 416-2029 Administrative Support: Polly Bennett 224-6058 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: James Clausen Don Edmondson Sara Frazier Neil Grigg Bill Jenkins Ed Robert Garry Steen Gary Thomas CITY STAFF: Mark Jackson Polly Bennett David Averill, Transportation Planner David "DK" Kemp, Bicycle Coordinator Kathleen Bracke ABSENT: OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Kevin Westhuis Tim Kent, Director — Real Estate, Great Western Development Trey Shafer, President, Great Western Railway Bob Briggs, Rocky Mountain Rail Authority Tim Johnson Blue Hovatter 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Thomas at 6:00 p.m. 2. AGENDA REVIEW The agenda was accepted unanimously. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (May 2007) Edmonson moved to approve the May 2007 Transportation Board meeting minutes as presented. There was a second by Robert. The motion carried by a unanimous vote. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 Transportation Board June 20, 2007 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Wade Troxell, Council Liaison. Edmonson: Is there a possibility that Council might consider other funding options for Transportation in light of the failure of the RTA. Troxell. One thing that came out was the fear of running into a tax ceiling in light of other proposals that may be coming forward. The RTA provided relief from that ceiling, but currently we are operating under sales tax constraints. There has been some discussion regarding development fees, etc. The question is at what point we reach limits there. I don't have an answer for you. Troxell and Kelly Ohlson interviewed two candidates to replace the members who resigned. Both were favorable. Thomas: If anyone is interested in the Vice -Chair position, please see me. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. Great Western Development Company Tim Kent, Director — Real Estate Kent: As the development arm of Broe Company, provide logistics, real estate transactions for large-scale development. Great Western Industrial Park: 1400 acre development in Windsor surrounding the Kodak facility at Eastman Park Drive and Great Western Drive. A rail -served, Foreign Trade Zone industrial park Edmondson: How many other companies are working in this arena? Kent: We are unique. Averill: How many transfers in/out are we talking per day? Kent: The center itself isn't a transfer hub, so transfers are per tenant. Diverse. Shafer: Great Western (a Class III short line RR) has 80 miles of railroad serving Northern Colorado. 30,000 rail cars last year. Great Western interchanges daily with two Class I railroads, UP and BNSF. One rail car = 4 semi trucks. Thomas: Where do you stand with blockages and working with the City of Fort Collins? Shafer: We are trying to do switching during off -hours whenever possible, and get in and back out quickly when not possible. Thomas: Will the large wind blades come through Fort Collins? Kent: It depends on where the wind farms are, but they won't be coming through Fort Collins. They will go through Loveland or Greeley. Jenkins: Any discussion about passenger rail since you go through all of these cities? Kent: There has been a lot of discussion about it. Investment/funding is one hindrance. Blue: What is carried on the cars coming through Fort Collins? Shafer: Wood, sugar, other commodities. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Robert: Can the tracks be used to run to Denver? Shafer: We have tracking rights that we have to follow. Clausen: Do you operate the yard on Vine? Shafer: Yes, that is ours. Clausen: do you go outside Windsor, Greeley, Loveland & Fort Collins? Shafer: Longmont. Robert: Any plans to automate the switching process (i.e. no switchman aboard)? Shafer: No. Thomas: Are you still trying to prep ahead of coming into town? Shafer: Yes, our goal is to get in and out quickly. Page 3 Kent: Tenants include Universal Forest Products; Owens-Illinois; Packaging Corp of America, Kodak; Anheuser-Busch; Front Range Energy; Carestream Health; Vestas Blades. Grigg: Do you expect traffic to increase? Kent: Yes, working to come through Greeley with unit trains. Grigg: Have you looked at the 392 crossing? Kent: Yes, would love to have other than at -grade crossings. Robert: Are we to expect an increase of traffic through town? What level increase? It would be nice to have numbers to support over/under passes. Kent: I don't have any facts on that. Averill: Are you amenable to considering bicycle underpasses in your right-of-way like there are in the new Mason Corridor? Kent: Yes, as long as safety is considered. Frazier: You said you would like to see passenger rail. Has there been any discussion? Kent: I haven't been personally involved, so I can't address it, but we would definitely want to be an active partner. Frazier: How does one go about getting active participation? Kent: I would need to go back and review the previous conversations. b. Rocky Mountain Rail Authority Bob Briggs Passenger Rail Hindrances: 1) Burlington Northern says they would turn over right-of-way from Casper, WY to Trinidad, CO if the Monument Hill problem could be resolved (3% grade makes timely passage impossible). 2) The Moffat Tunnel was engineered in 1903 and completed in 1923... no EPA requirements. The air pollution is so bad in the tunnel that only one train every 45 minutes is allowed through. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Page 4 Bond financing would be 1/3 interstate highways, 1/3 state highways, 1/3 rail. Grade separated, double -track rail would be built. They would want to negotiate with both UP and Burlington Northern so they could do freight deliveries from midnight to 5am and for passengers during the day. They would go to the legislature asking that a State authority be formed to run the system. Griggs: What is going to be on the ballot in 2008? Briggs: Not fully defined yet; vehicle mileage tax, gas tax Clausen: Do you have a timeline? Briggs: We think we can get the bulk of it done in 6 months. Clausen: 31 local governments are part of this. Does that include Fort Collins? Briggs: No. I am here to request a recommendation to Council that Fort Collins join RMRA. Clausen: What is the largest community member? Briggs: Colorado Springs. Cities and counties belong. Clausen: Regarding the bond issue that could possibly go through, would the 1/3 designated for rail go to RMRA in full? Briggs: We are trying to address how it all goes together. Jenkins: How does one get on the RMRA board? Briggs: Each entity joins and appoints a representative to the board, preferably an elected official. Robert: If this proposal went on the ballot, would the Denver area be part of it? Would we let them use our system? Briggs: Denver would be part of it and would fall under the same tax, so yes, the system and facilities would be shared. Thomas: Do you envision multiple corridors? Briggs: Yes. We would work with OmniTracks to put passenger rail on their tracks. T-Rex gets 40,000 riders per day ... parking was full the first day. Robert: Is "super slab" a possible solution to the Monument Hill problem? Briggs: There will only be one set of tracks built. If they get their act together, we'll let them build it. c. Bike Week David Kemp, City of Fort Collins Bicycle Coordinator We had a great spring roll out with a bike fair including a classic bike show, bike shops brought their bikes, bike co-op sold inexpensive bikes. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Page 5 The program received both CMAQ funding and funding for the Bicycle Library! Library involves 4 — 5 stations where people can check out a bike for as short as an hour or as long as a week. Cafe Bicyclette: Opened June 8". A small shop in the old information kiosk building in Old Town Square. The DDA is letting us use it. Displays include a historic interpretation of biking in Fort Collins with vintage photos. There was a group ride on Friday and a bike race on Sunday. Recycled bicycle project: 20 red bikes were an in -kind donation from New Belgium to the bike co-op who rehabbed them for the bicycle library. Bikes are kept and maintained/rehabbed in the garages on the Police grounds on LaPorte Avenue. 2nd Annual Bike Week: June 25. Bike to Work Day is June 27`s. Troxell: What about District 4? DK: Looking for a non-profit in the south west area. Edmondson: Lots of informal organizations out there... spin off from Newcomers Club, recumbent people. They probably belong to other groups, too, but it isn't enough for them. Johnson: The loop including the Mason Corridor is about a marathon worth of a ride ACTION ITEMS a. Bike Plan David Averill, Transportation Planner Averill: Did everyone get a chance to read the Bike Plan? Frazier: It was very complete. Averill: Citizen's Advisory Committee, the original plan was adopted in 1995. Action items were in four categories: Engineering (changed the LCUASS to include biking), Education (got the Bicycle Coordinator position written back into the budget). "Bikes in Transit" wasn't addressed too fully. Land Use Code was changed to include bicycle parking. I tried to review where we came from to determine what we are doing well, what can be done better. Grigg: Linkage between the Bike Plan and City Plan? Averill: This is an update report to the 1995 document. Goals, principles, policies: City Plan outlined that there would be a document defining bike policies. Grigg: I would suggest a cover that explains that it is a subset to the Transportation Plan. Frazier: You've done a great job with the Bike Plan. My concern is that there will be a big increase in the number of bikers, and we need to push being courteous motorists. We need to stress, "If you can't see the driver, he can't see you." Robert: Where is the Motor Vehicle Plan? How do we tie this into the motor vehicle public? i.e. people using bike lanes as right -turn lanes, etc. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Page 6 Averill: It's an outreach. Bicycle Colorado is working to get more awareness, more coverage in driver's manuals. You can now get a "Share the Road" license plate. Bracke: My daughter is taking drivers training. I asked her how much of the training includes bicycle information and she said a lot of the questions include it. DK: FC Bikes is striving to bridge the gap between bicyclists and drivers. Edmondson: On page 22 you have a list of projects. The grade -separated pedestrian crossing at Troutman isn't on there. Averill: Kathleen caught that and it will be added. We just got construction funding for it for 2008/2009. We will be looking at both an underpass and/or an overpass. Johnson: Use of bike map helps a lot. Planning a bike route is very different than planning a motorized route. If bikes get off the main roads it is much safer, as traffic is dramatically cut back. Averill: Working to show alternative routes and directions to safe crossing places. Thomas: I am leery of endorsing something when I don't understand what it is modifying. Averill: Capital expenditures are nominal. Includes a full-time Bicycle Coordinator and minor infrastructure improvements, $70 per sign. Not calling for drastic changes. Thomas: Are we going to wipe out parking to provide bike lanes? Averill: What is indicated is signs telling people they are on a bikeway. Jenkins: Existing bike network, planned, proposed additions. Page 20 & 22: what is the relationship? Facilities are already there, but need better maintenance. Project list exists, but projects weren't prioritized. The Citizen's Advisory Committee looked at that. Action requested: Requesting that the Transportation Board recommend that City Council adopt the Bike Plan as an update to the 1995 Bicycle Plan and Program. Edmondson moved that we recommend that the City Council adopt the Bike Plan as an update to the 1995 Bicycle Plan and Program. Steen seconded. Discussion: Grigg requested that we add a cover with a title explaining that it is an update to the 1995 Bicycle Plan and Program. Thomas has a concern that the Board needs to see a complete product before sending it to Council. Jackson explained that Averill is leaving the City in 2 weeks which creates a time crunch getting it to Council. Jackson assures that the document will be complete. The recommendation passed unanimously. Jackson commended David for his phenomenal work while here. 8. REPORTS a. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Griggs: Wall Street Journal article about how street cars revive cities more than Wort stadiums. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Page 7 Edmondson: Hanover bike trail entrance is obstructed by bushes creating a line of site problem. Need a sign there reminding people not to stop there and talk. Clausen: Liked Bob Briggs' presentation. Will we formulate a recommendation? Thomas: Would entertain a motion to recommend that we ask Council to join at the $5,000 level. Clausen moved, Frazier seconded. Discussion: Edmondson: I had difficulty following his presentation. Thomas: Money could only be given to a government entity or an "authority," hence, the RMRA was formed. Robert: Joining doesn't mean we're endorsing anything. It just gives us a voice. Edmondson: It is a voluntary organization. Griggs: I'd like to know it isn't a one-man show. Thomas: Karen Wagner believes it is something Fort Collins should join. Griggs: Would like to have some language specifying that we will have a voice at the table. Steen: This is for the feasibility study, correct? Thomas: Yes. They are also planning to go after Federal money. Griggs: CDOT would have to enforce controls over how the money is spent. Jenkins: RTA, railroad guy, north I-25 impact analysis. Three separate things? Any synergy here? Seems like they will all fit together eventually. Edmondson: Seems that we are recommending involvement with an organization that is exploring getting a grant to write a report that no one has requested. Clausen: Analogous to the 392 issue. This organization wants to bump up the rail issue for the good of the community. Thomas: A transition between a citizen's initiative and an authority. This is the in-between study phase. Good question was why CDOT didn't do this. Clausen: If there is something we don't like, are we committed forever? Thomas: The Council could clarify. Blue: There was a CDOT process he followed to get this far. Robert: Friendly motion to amend the motion to say "seriously consider." After additional discussion, the friendly motion was withdrawn and the motion passed with Edmondson dissenting. Frazier: The UniverCity Transit Mobility document was included in your packet. Fort Collins Interpretive Planning Course begins Phase II of UniverCity. National Association for Interpretation (NAI), a local organization, does consulting work world-wide. Would like to have us bring them in to make their presentation. Bracke: There was a lot of work by our task team in putting the Transit Mobility document together. Thomas: Perhaps we should have more than just the NAI's presentation. Kathleen, DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board June 20, 2007 Page 8 Blue, others could perhaps do a total presentation. Frazier: I feel a bit of urgency to do this because they are trying to figure out Phase II. Thomas: Will work with Mark to get some calendar time for a presentation. Elizabeth Street flashing red light: people don't stop. Robert: Observation: I was on I-80 headed west and saw flatbeds heading east carrying trolley cars. Steen: Climate Task Force open house Tuesday night at the Lincoln Center. Still open to input on greenhouse gases, etc. Thomas: Electronic packets? No. b. STAFF REPORTS Jackson: City Engineer position: To be posted again this month. Traffic Engineer: Eric Bracke is leaving the City at the end of the summer, a wonderful move for him, very sad for us. The skill set we are losing is tragic. He is staying through the BFO process and the Environmental Analysis of the two-way conversion of Mason Street. Thomas: Invite him to come before he leaves so we can recognize him. BFO: Great team reviewing offers. They are looking for ways to make Transportation succeed ... a huge change from the last cycle. CMAO awards: It's official. We brought in nearly $6 million dollars for the next CMAQ cycle. New Traffic Licht: Lemay & Carpenter. Harmony & Shields: Traditional intersection design is being recommended to Council. Roundabout was less expensive, but uncertainties trumped it. July Agenda: • Safe Routes to School August Agenda: • UniverCity presentation 8. OTHER BUSINESS None. 9. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 9:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Polly Be ett Executive Administrative Assistant