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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTransportation Board - Minutes - 11/20/2019TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR November 20, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Conference Room A, 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 11/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 FOR REFERENCE: Chair: Indy Hart Vice Chair: Council Liaison: Nathalie Rachline Kristin Stephens Staff Liaison: Paul Sizemore 970.224.6140 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Hart called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. 2. ROLL CALL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Indy Hart, Chair Nathalie Rachline, Vice Chair Eric Shenk Jerry Gavaldon York Ellen Boeke Cari Brown BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Valerie Arnold CITY STAFF PRESENT: Tessa Greegor PUBLIC PRESENT: None TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 3. AGENDA REVIEW Sizemore stated the Harmony Gateway Plan has been pulled from the agenda for additional analysis. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION None. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – OCTOBER 2019 Shenk made a motion, seconded by Boeke, to approve the October 2019 minutes as written. The motion was adopted unanimously. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. West Mulberry Project Evaluation – Tessa Greegor Tessa Greegor, Active Modes Program Manager, stated the planning for the West Mulberry protected bike lane pilot project began in 2017 and the project has now been in place for about a year. Greegor stated the goals of the project were to increase safety and comfort for all corridor users, increase bicycle ridership, and develop best practices from a design and maintenance and operations standpoint. She discussed the projects that were combined with the pilot project including a resurfacing and signal improvements and detailed the location of the pilot project. Greegor discussed the public outreach and survey process and stated an additional community survey is planned now that the project has been in place for over a year. She stated the project has achieved its goals by improving safety, increasing bicycle ridership, providing a platform for testing four different types of protected bike lanes, demonstrating and evaluating new bicycle infrastructure treatments at intersections, and developing improved maintenance approaches for this type of infrastructure. She noted there is still room for improvement moving forward. Greegor discussed the comments from the public survey that occurred a couple months after the project installation and noted positive and negative responses were about even. She detailed the questions asked in the survey and discussed the opinions about various protected bike lane treatments for each travel mode. Greegor discussed the snow plowing techniques used. Gavaldon asked if there are cost estimates for maintenance before and after the TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 project installation. Greegor replied she could work with the Streets Department to get that information. Gavaldon suggested waiting until after winter to the follow-up survey. Rachline asked if there is any data to show increased student ridership. Greegor replied she does not have those specific numbers but tallies at the intersection have shown an increase in ridership. Greegor continued to discuss speed and crash data on Mulberry before and after the installation of the pilot project. She stated speeds have generally decreased and bike crashes, while up by numbers, are lower by volume. She stated there has been about a 50% increase in daily bike ridership along the corridor. Chair Hart asked if the bike ridership increase has been similar city-wide. Greegor replied in the negative. Greegor stated the Streets Department has preliminarily estimated a cost of $5,000 for maintaining the protected bike lanes. She noted the preferred protection has been identified as the concrete curb based on this project. York asked if any of the road alignment changes would fit into the City Park refresh efforts. Greegor replied she did not believe the two are currently related but agreed they could be. Greegor discussed the two-stage turn for bicycles at Mulberry and Taft Hill noting additional education and signage may need to be part of that treatment. Greegor stated a project information session will be held early next year in order to share this information to the public. A final report will ultimately be created after which recommendations will begin to be implemented. York stated the installation of protected bike lanes may need to be more aggressive if the City has a goal toward a mode shift to help meet climate action goals. Gavaldon stated he would support moving forward with additional projects; however, he stated balancing interests is important. Chair Hart asked members which type of protected bike lane they prefer. Gavaldon replied he prefers the curb and Rachline replied the type needs to be adapted to the street and situation. York replied he prefers an elevated lane that is level with the sidewalk for new roadways and a curb with flexible posts for existing roadways. Brown replied she prefers wider bike lanes for safety, but the flex posts are her preference when space does not allow wider lanes. Chair Hart stated he prefers to take a travel lane in certain situations; however, he acknowledged most drivers do not know how to handle that. He stated he would be happy with a painted bike lane. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 Greegor asked if he prefers to have a protected lane. Hart replied his preference is whatever type of treatment would get the path cleared. Shenk stated he prefers the concrete barrier from an aesthetic and durability standpoint; however, he stated those would visibly disappear in a deep snow. Therefore, the installation of flex posts every so often would aid in directing plow drivers. Boeke stated her preference has less to do with what is comfortable and more to do with what is safe; therefore, she prefers anything that will physically stop or slow down a car. Rachline discussed the importance of mindset, education, and shifting the way people drive in general. b. Harmony Gateway Plan – Action Item – Cameron Gloss WITHDRAWN 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Rachline reported on a recent trip to India noting the massive numbers of cyclists seem to function well there. Gavaldon reported on trips to North Carolina and San Diego and transportation-related observations. York reported on the Harmony Gateway public workshop, the recent Planning and Zoning Board work session during which the City Council Appeals Code amendments, the Harmony Gateway Plan, and a new Montessori School were discussed. He stated Boardmembers also commented on the launch of the Bird e-scooters. York mentioned the possible need for increased enforcement related to parking in bike lanes, particularly around schools. Brown reported the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization's Planning Council received a presentation on a 'One Call One Click Center' which could enable connection for seniors or individuals with disabilities needing rides. Chair Hart reported on the decrease in his commute time as a result of new bus schedules. Shenk reported on riding an e-scooter on campus and stated the new roundabouts at Highway 402 are open though they seem to contain too many directional signs. He also discussed a new apartment complex in Arizona that will not allow cars at all. Boeke reported on the whitewater park opening and related river crossing. Members discussed how to address abandoned e-scooters. TRANSPORTATION BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/20/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Bicycle Advisory Committee Report York reported on the recent Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting during which the Laporte Avenue/Taft Hill redesign and the West Elizabeth and Ponderosa intersection upgrade were discussed. b. City Council 6-Month Calendar Review Sizemore reported the mobility work session is on Tuesday, a staff report on the Lincoln Middle School bike and pedestrian improvements will be on December 3rd, the 'reimagining' boards and commissions work session will be on December 10th, and a work session on Our Climate Future will occur on January 14th. c. Staff Liaison Report Sizemore reported on the e-scooter launch on October 23rd. He stated there are 500 scooters between the city and CSU currently and stated the city has found Bird to be quite responsive about complaints. He stated over 19,000 trips have been taken by over 6,000 unique riders, with an average ride time of just under 9 minutes and less than a mile in distance, since the launch. He also noted 80% of trips are being generated by CSU. York asked if there have been any reported collisions. Sizemore replied in the negative. York asked about the definition of a timely response. Sizemore replied Bird is supposed to respond within 2 hours when told of a scooter that needs to be picked up. Members discussed individuals under the age of 18 riding the scooters. Sizemore reported the new Planning, Development, and Transportation Director will start December 2nd. He also discussed the items that will be on the next agenda. Chair Hart reported on the bike light giveaway event on December 5th. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. by unanimous consent.