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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 04/16/2008MEETING MINUTES of the TRANSPORTATION BOARD April 16, 2008 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason Street Fort Collins, CO 80521 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Gary Thomas 482-7125 Vice Chair: Ed Robert 224-4864 Staff Liaison: Mark Jackson 416-2029 Administrative Support: Polly Bennett 224-6058 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Sara Frazier Bill Jenkins John Lund Kip McCauley Shane Miller Ed Robert Sid Simonson Garry Steen Gary Thomas Scott VanTatenhove ABSENT: James Clausen CITY STAFF PRESENT: Mark Jackson, Interim Transportation Group Director/Staff Liaison Polly Bennett, Executive Administrative Assistant OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Bruce Hall, CSU Professor Anita Basham, Senior Advisory Board member 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Thomas at 6:00 p.m. with a quorum present. 2. AGENDA REVIEW The March agenda was accepted with one change — allow Sara Frazier to present UniverCity update first. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES (March 2008) Robert moved to approve the March 2008 Transportation Board meeting minutes. There was a second by VanTatenhove. The motion carried unanimously. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 Transportation Board April 16, 2008 5. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Wade Troxell, Council Liaison Mr. Troxell did not attend. 6. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. UniverCity Connections — Sara Frazier A positive outcome of the group is that funds were provided, by the DBA/DDA and others, to join the National Association of Interpretation (NAI). NAI has been meeting all week to come up with plans for UniverCity Connections. Sara is working on the Legacy Parkway project, including stops where people can learn about the past/present/future of Fort Collins along the Mason Corridor, Poudre River Corridor, and in Old Town. b. Bike Events - DK DK presented a spellbinding presentation (including gifts!) about upcoming Bike events in Fort Collins. His goal was to bring all of the discordant groups together in a cohesive effort to promote biking. The FC Bike Library — The grand opening on April 5, 2008 resulted in 100 people who signed up and 60 bikes were checked out! This was a year in planning, and it has received national attention. Promotes recreation, tourism, all that Fort Collins has to offer. (fcbikelibrary.org) Earn A Bike Program — For at -risk individuals who need a bike. Questions: • Concern about the security of the sign-up website. DK will follow-up. • How are bike retailers reacting? They had to do some marketing with them, but they are now on -board, understanding that there is no competition as far as selling bikes. Bicycle Retailers Advisory Group was formed to get their input. • Who did the logo? Ryan Burke, City of Fort Collins • How are you preventing theft? Bikes are checked -out with a lock, helmet, lights, and a bell. If a bike isn't returned we attempt to contact the person. If that fails we have the Police contact them. If all else fails, they get turned over to collections. • Are volunteers trained to recognize people who are drunk wanting to check out bikes? Good point. DK said he will bring that point up with others involved in the process. • What is the youngest age allowed to check out a bike? 18 without parental consent, 14 with it. c. West Harmony Road Improvement Project (College to Seneca) —Dean Klingner Dean is a Civil Engineer/Project Manager for the Transportation Engineering Department. The project will widen 1.7 miles of West Harmony Road between College Avenue and Seneca to 4- lane arterial standards. Concerns about the potential of a roundabout at the intersection were discussed. General consensus was that it wasn't the right place/right time. Recent roundabouts are enjoying positive approval ratings (Taft Hill & Vine is running +/-87% positive), so the opinion is changing. This project was the #2 project on the 2007 Capital Improvements Project list. Funding took awhile. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board April 16, 2008 Page 3 The overall HRIP project will last through 2009. Work will also include the College & Harmony intersection, which is just entering design. Intersections will include right turn lanes on all four comers, and pedestrian refuges on all legs. There is a public open house at the Harmony Library on May 5'h to discuss the project and schedule. Questions: • Which type of intersection is more cost effective to build? It depends on the intersection (right-of- way acquisition costs, etc.). They can be less expensive. • How many of the trees that were removed were sick? Five of the seven were considered immediate hazards. The other two had some hollowing. One came down in the road and resulted in a road closure while it was removed. Fortunately, it didn't hit a car when it fell. • Will there be a signal at Front Range Community College? That is a separate issue from this project, but traffic counts don't warrant a signal at this time. • What type of traffic lights will be installed? Are there cameras? Opticon for emergency services will be there, as well as Traffic Op Center cameras. Camera radar is installed if there is a problem, but the intersection is designed to alleviate problems. It is a Police Department call whether camera radar is necessary. • What level of service will this design provide? It will go from a "D" to a "C" but will fall back to a "D" eventually. You can only do so much when you have 60,000 cars a day. • What would the level of service have been with a roundabout? "A" or `B" and would have stayed there for a long time. • Was there discussion about building a roundabout with an over/underpass for pedestrians? Based on all the data we could find, the traffic volume and political climate at the time would have made it difficult. Strategically, it would have been difficult to build future roundabouts if it failed. d. MPO Summit/Three Board • Lund: Great opportunity to look at long-range plans, but whether the cities actually get together to do something to benefit the area is a question. • VanTatenhove: I enjoyed the message of "get yourself organized if you want any dribbling of federal money." Salazar indicated that unless there is a regional organization to funnel money into, there won't be any money forthcoming for rail. I was the only Fort Collins person at my table, and felt like everyone wanted to know why Fort Collins messed up the RTA. • Miller: I was dismayed at the failure to address specific needs of the communities. No one discussed raising gasoline taxes to fund infrastructure for vehicles. It would be nice to know the missions of the other two Transportation Boards so we know where we have common ground. • Jenkins: Discussion would be more open without Council involvement. • Robert: I thought it was preaching to the choir. It is more of problem of how you're going to fund transportation. Good session afterwards. • Steen: I came away feeling like we have a serious problem. We have a Governor and Senators who are telling us to "get our act together." Collectively, we may have a voice to get funding to get something done. • Jackson: I had a similar experience to Scott's. There is an impatience with politicians and people feel like they are "the stick in the spoke." There was a feeling of"lead, follow, or get out of the way." • Thomas: I thought Shane summed up the day well. We all agree, but don't know on what. • Miller: Are there areas where merging together to leverage buying power would lower the cost of materials? What projects serve each community's need? That question mark is not DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board April 16, 2008 Page 4 filled in. We need to discuss our differences, so we understand what we need. I think we could take a leadership role in bringing the communities together to define each one's needs. • Kip: Why is Fort Collins the perceived "bad guy?" Thomas: When the last RTA effort was put together, Weld County dropped out early, without notice. Loveland waited to see what Fort Collins would do. The City Council then declined to proceed. Without Fort Collins' participation, others dropped out and it failed. Jackson: • Lund: Could we do a facilitated session with Loveland and Greeley to define needs? Thomas: if the Board wants to, we could propose it. • Jenkins: If we could come up with a common focus that all three agree on that would be a good direction. • Robert: If the three communities could come up with a list ahead of time it would save time when we get together. • VanTatenhove: I think we need to refocus and concentrate on our Council after that happens. • Miller: Who doesn't need pavement management money? That question is what prompted my question about purchasing power. • Steen: Was there a defined scope to the last RTA attempt? Thomas: there is a defined list of what can be included. There is nothing that says it has to look like an MPO. It can be any size that makes sense. • What do we want to do? Options: • 1) Do nothing • 2) Take a leadership role with the other Boards to see if we can do what staff hasn't been able to do. • If we go forward, it would be good to have a small committee. Miller, Lund, and Steen volunteered to work with Thomas. e. Harmony Corridor Update — Mapes The Harmony Corridor "Gateway Area" presentation to Council is posted online if you want to review it. The essence of this update is a change to the existing map of the area. The amendment would change the land use designation to Mixed Use: open lands, activity center [mixed -use, multi- story]. The area is all in the flood plain. Most allowed development would be on the south side of Harmony Road, potentially down to Kechter. There is a reservoir in the middle of the area that would remain filled as a water feature. It will be a more attractive gateway to the city. Buildings would be 5 — 6 stories high, pedestrian -oriented site layouts. Transit is a driving consideration behind this amendment. • Jackson: Great presentation. Well-done. This is the corridor that is set-up and planned as a regional connection to the I-25 corridor in terms of inter -regional transit. • VanTatenhove: Where does the water in the canal come from? Mapes: It is groundwater in the gravel pits. It migrates through the pits and isn't stagnant. No water comes from the river unless there is a 100-year storm. • Basham: Is the water part of the Cooper Slue? Mapes: No, that is intercepted by the river. • Thomas: What is the proposed density? Mapes: I don't know yet. There will be a minimum percentage of each type of use. NRAB also asked about density. I'm talking more about orientation toward pedestrians. There isn't anything in this area that is similar. Vail might be similar. Parking will be kept out of the way. • Jackson: Is the Stapleton development similar? Mapes: Similar, but most of it is a grid of neighborhood streets. The core part is similar with mixed -use. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board April 16, 2008 Page 5 • Thomas: If we look at Denver, development grows around light rail. Here we are building a transit -oriented development without transit. Mapes: We've discussed quite a bit. This will be a place where you can walk to shopping, restaurants, health facilities, etc. It won't matter how you arrive here. It is still worth doing. It follows CityPlan. • Jackson: There is transit that goes as far down Harmony to Ziegler. It may not be the regional connection for awhile (or ever). • McCauley: Would there be a specific minimum for each use? My concern is that profitable retail might override minimums for residential and employment. Mapes: Residential, retail, and employment would definitely have specific minimums, but it hasn't been defined. Orientation of buildings toward pedestrian areas will be defined/required. I will bring the actual plan amendment, standards, and guidelines next month. • Robert: I have a couple of questions. 1) Will there be connection with the south route of Kechter? Mapes: Country Road 7 (Strauss Cabin Road) will be improved and tied to Kechter. There may be another street coming into the development. 2) Is the commercial junk yard operation (Shamrock) going to be eliminated? Mapes: It isn't required that it go away, but future development and possible expansion of the transit center site on the north side would affect it. • Miller: I've read research on how density affects mode for transportation that says there is a threshold below which it doesn't affect people's modes. Has there been a traffic analysis to determine how this will affect VMT in Fort Collins? Are the guidelines for density going to be based on the transportation mode threshold? Jackson: The MPO did a "sensitivity analysis" that we can incorporate into next month's presentation • VanTatenhove: For future funding, is this urban renewal/TIFF? Mapes: Urban renewal no, TIFF maybe if the floodway is altered to flow under Harmony. E Prospect Rezoning — Jackson • Last night Council was asked to consider rezoning the northeast corner of Prospect and I-25 for a large scale regional shopping center. Council voted it down 4/3. It will remain industrial. • General Growth Partners announced today that Dillards chose to sign at Grand Station in Loveland. They are searching for other anchor stores. State Highway 392 (Carpenter Road). Council directed Fort Collins and Town of Windsor staff to do an analysis of the proposed interchange. We are involved in CDOT's 1601 Process right now. Consultant selection is being wrapped up. There are Team Managers from both Fort Collins and Windsor and it is a highly collaborative process. It involves environmental clearance, technical engineering, and a financial process. ACTION ITEMS None. S. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Simonson: No report McCauley: No report Lund: There was a manhole cover off at northbound Shields north of Harmony Road and John's wife hit it. She was concerned about getting reimbursed for damages. Why wasn't it welded down? Jackson will contact Streets to be sure it is repositioned. They aren't welded down. Follow up: Risk Management handled the claim. The Lunds were reimbursed. The manhole cover was repositioned by the time the Streets Department was notified. DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes Transportation Board April 16, 2008 Page 6 VanTatenhove: No report. McCauley: Curious why southbound cars on College Avenue (that are south of the railroad tracks) get a red light when there is a train crossing College Avenue. Jackson will refer the question to Traffic and/or Mike Herzig in Engineering for response. Jenkins: None. Miller: None. Steen: Climate Task Force meets on May 1. There are a few Transportation -related issues on the upcoming agenda. I will forward the list to you for input. Robert None. Thomas: When Dial -A -Ride was cut back, the Transit Task Force and the Larimer County Mobility Council were formed. The Transit Task Force disbanded last fall. The Latimer County Mobility Council found some money and will be the ongoing group. City and County Managers get together once a month. I got an invitation to attend a meeting to discuss regionalization. They've come up with some ideas about resource sharing (i.e. fuel). I was at CDOT yesterday. Criteria will be set, and an RFP will be issued, meaning the possibility of several hundred million dollars in available funding. Green Summit sponsored by the Northern Colorado Business Report at the Hilton on May 24 from 8am — 3pm.. $50. I am the speaker. 9. STAFF REPORTS: Jackson: Kathleen Bracke was appointed Transportation Planning & Special Projects Director, eliminating another "Interim" in Transportation. She definitely earned the job. We hope to have her department fully -staffed by the end of 2nd quarter. City Traffic Engineer: Four candidates being interviewed on May 5. I am hopeful that one of these will be the right person for the job. Bill Kaufman, northern Colorado commissioner confirmed the downturn in Federal funds coming to Colorado. We will see cutbacks as soon as fiscal year 2009. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, t2�lLi Polly B nett Executive Administrative Assistant Transportation Group Administration