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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 02/17/20161 MINUTES of the CITY OF FORT COLLINS TRANSPORTATION BOARD February 17, 2016 6:00 p.m. Community Room 215 North Mason Fort Collins, CO, 80521 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Olga Duvall Vice Chair: Eric Shenk Staff Liaison: Paul Sizemore 970.224-6140 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: CITY STAFF PRESENT: Olga Duvall, Chair Gary Thomas Tim Sutton Annabelle Berklund (via Skype) Cari Brown ABSENT: Boardmember York Boardmember Pat Jordan Vice Chair Eric Shenk Councilmember Ross Cunniff Paul Sizemore, FC Moves Program Manager Dan Woodward, Engineering Tessa Greegor, FC Bikes Program Manager Tim Kemp, Engineering Nick Heimann, Bikes Program Specialist Jamie Gaskill-Fox, Bikes Program Specialist Mark Jackson, PDT Deputy Director 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Duvall called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm with a quorum. 2. AGENDA REVIEW Sizemore stated there were no changes to the published agenda. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Thomas made a motion, seconded by Sutton, to accept the January 2016 Board minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. 5. COUNCIL LIAISON Councilmember Cunniff was unable to attend. 2 6. BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT Berklund stated she will begin attending the Bicycle Advisory Committee meetings. Sizemore noted Oakes has accepted a position with the City of Fort Collins and is therefore no longer eligible to be on the Transportation Board. Greegor stated the Old Town Neighborhoods Plan and the Pitkin Bikeway project were discussed at the last meeting. 7. DISCUSSION/INFORMATIONAL ITEMS • Pitkin Bike Corridor Design – Woodward/Greegor Woodward discussed the history of the low-stress bicycle network throughout the city and stated Pitkin was identified as a main east-west route for the network. He went on to discuss the planned route and schedule for its completion, noting complete funding is in place. Woodward detailed the plans for arterial crossings and signalization using Hawk signals. The Board held a discussion regarding the specifics of various types of crossings for bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles. Thomas expressed opposition to taking away vehicular turning movements at intersections. • Vine and Lemay Design – Woodward/Kemp Kemp noted this intersection, including a realigned Lemay Avenue, has been a part of the City’s planning focus for years. He stated funding has been provided for planning, design, and right-of-way for the Vine and Lemay intersection itself, including an assessment of the BNSF crossing; however, Kemp noted no construction funding is in place. Goals for the project are to relieve congestion, increase safety and neighborhood access. Kemp stated a Council worksession is scheduled for August during which time staff would like to present a more detailed alternatives analysis and a funding and finance plan. He went on to detail various alternatives for the intersection and railroad crossing and stated the next step in the process is a specific set of meetings with Andersonville and Alta Vista residents. Kemp discussed the recent open house at the Streets Facility, stating it was very well-attended. He stated the second public meeting is planned for late spring. Thomas commended the work thus far. Sutton asked if the right-of-way acquisition is going to be difficult. Kemp replied the City is actively pursuing right-of-way and noted the Capstone project includes dedicated right-of-way. Additionally, he noted two TIGER grants have been applied for but not received. 3 • FC Bikes Program Update – Greegor/Heimann/Gaskill-Fox Greegor introduced Nick Heimann and Jamie Gaskill-Fox. She stated two goals fundamental to the 2014 Bicycle Master Plan relate to increasing bicycling and improving safety. She briefly discussed the bicycle wayfinding plan and the 2020 low-stress network. Thomas noted there is only one plow truck in the City fleet that can plow the roundabouts and asked if the roundabouts on bicycle routes are being plowed well enough. Greegor replied she has not heard feedback specific to the roundabouts. Sizemore stated FC Moves will be working with Streets for a collaborative budget offer looking at enhancements to the low-stress network snow maintenance. Greegor made an announcement about the upcoming bike share program. Heimann stated FC Bikes has been making efforts to coordinate its program with the Bicycle Master Plan and announced new seasonal bike campaigns for 2016. Additionally, he stated the program has pushed a consistent, seasonally branded look on social media sites. Heimann went on to discuss the success of the Winter Bike to Work Day and announced various spring campaigns and events. Brown asked about Women’s Bicycling Month. Heimann replied it is not a brand new initiative; however, it takes some existing classes for women and brands them together and incorporates a large social media aspect. Heimann discussed the two 2015 open streets events and announced possible streets for the upcoming 2016 events. Gaskill-Fox provided handouts for the Bicycle Ambassador Program and the Bicycle- Friendly Driver Program. She discussed educational and collaboration efforts in relation to the Bicycle Master Plan and discussed the class for the Bicycle-Friendly Driver Program, which has been focused on companies with vehicle fleets. Gaskill-Fox also discussed the School Bicycle Ambassador Program noting the Bicycle-Friendly Driver Program will likely be part of that program. Thomas suggested the Board take the class and Gaskill-Fox noted there are public sessions available through the Recreator. Thomas asked if vehicles can use bike lanes when turning right. Gaskill-Fox replied in the affirmative. (**Secretary’s Note: The Board took a brief recess at this point in the meeting.) • Interstate 25 Status Update – Jackson Jackson discussed the importance of I-25 to the region and noted a great deal of Interstate-oriented development has occurred in neighboring communities. He noted Fort Collins has specifically opted out of that type of development, at least for the time being. Jackson stated the overarching document which will be used to make improvements to the corridor in Northern Colorado is the North I-25 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which was passed in 2011. Jackson discussed the components of the EIS relating to high-occupancy vehicle lanes, new bridges, and transit, as well as 4 commuter rail service. Additionally, Jackson discussed upcoming construction projects to create a semi-truck climbing lane and to address safety issues at the Crossroads intersection. He stated Colorado was not selected for the Presidential Sustainability Resiliency Grant and went on to discuss funding sources which do exist, including those from Larimer County. Jackson also discussed lobbying efforts for funding at the State level, noting CDOT can barely afford to maintain its existing infrastructure. The state is currently seeking a sustainable funding source for maintenance. Jackson discussed possible plans for the corridor in terms of transit and discussed the Bustang service and its success to this point. He stated transit is polling more popularly than ever. 8. ACTION ITEMS • Election of Officers – Duvall/Sizemore Duvall noted this is her last year on the Board and expressed concern regarding a Chair vacancy for January and February of 2017. She asked Berklund if she would consider the Chair position. Thomas suggested the possibility of Shenk moving from Vice Chair to Chair. Sizemore noted the Board has until March to make the decision should members want to wait until more members are present. After a brief discussion, the Board opted to reschedule the item to March and email suggestions on Chair and Vice Chair nominations as necessary. 9. REPORTS • Boardmember Reports Duvall announced the Super Board meeting for tomorrow. • Staff Report Sizemore provided an update on snow plowing to this point in the season. He stated he is working to get a meeting scheduled at Traffic Operations. 10. OTHER BUSINESS None. 11. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:56 p.m. by unanimous consent.