Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/18/2012 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 100, 2012, APPROPRIDATE: September 18, 2012 STAFF: Nancy Nichols Aaron Iverson AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 16 SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 100, 2012, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Transportation Services Fund for the State Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Safe Routes to School Program. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The City of Fort Collins Transportation Planning Office has received a $27,500 federal grant through the Colorado Department of Transportation for the FY 2012–13 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the City’s Safe Routes to School Program, administered and staffed by Transportation Planning, to enhance its pedestrian and bicycle safety education programs. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The City of Fort Collins Transportation Planning staff develops and administers the local SRTS program. The success of the program is based on collaborations with local partners, including Poudre School District, Thompson School District, Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (and its local members), Bicycle Colorado, Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County, various City departments (Traffic Operations, Police, Engineering, Streets), individual schools and parents, and FC Bikes. Both the 2008 Bicycle Plan and the 2011 Bicycle Safety Education Plan (BSEP) call for the City and community partners to provide bicycle education for children. The BSEP specifically recommends that at least 11,000 K–12 students are engaged in safety education annually, and that at least one “Train the Trainer” graduate is in each school in Fort Collins. A major goal of the overall SRTS program is to double the number of kids who safely bike and walk to school — from less than 20% of local schoolchildren currently to 40% to 50% by 2015. Per the grant scope of work, the Fort Collins SRTS program will work with local schools as well as law enforcement officers during the 2012–13 school year. Specific objectives of the grant include: • Continuation and expansion of the “Train the Trainer” program to reach an additional 20 PE and other teachers, in addition to at least 30 parents and volunteers. This program provides instruction on how to deliver SRTS training to students in local schools. • Development of new SRTS “Bike Rodeo” instruction kits that will be part of the growing SRTS lending library of resources for teachers and trainers. • Training of law enforcement officers in the principles of SRTS to help with safety enforcement in school areas. • Expansion of the Family Bike Rodeo program, which provides free community events focusing on safe-cycling instruction and resources (including free helmets for families with low incomes) to help kids and their parents become safe, confident cyclists. • Maintenance and transportation of the SRTS bike fleet, which now numbers 40 bicycles ranging from strider bikes for kindergarteners to single-speed road bikes for middle-school students. September 18, 2012 -2- ITEM 16 This project directly supports City Plan and the City’s Transportation Master Plan: City Plan: Policy SW 2.3 - Support Active Transportation Support means of physically active transportation (e.g., bicycling, walking, wheelchairs, etc.) by continuing bike and pedestrian safety education and encouragement programs, providing law enforcement, and maintaining bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, lighting, and facilities for easy and safe use, as outlined in the Pedestrian Plan and Bicycle Plan. Transportation Master Plan: Policy T 8.1 – Support Active Transportation Support physically active transportation (e.g., bicycling, walking, wheelchairs, etc.) by continuing bike and pedestrian safety education and encouragement programs, providing law enforcement, and maintaining bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, lighting, and facilities for easy and safe use. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is providing 100 percent of the funds, with no required local match. The funds will be allocated as outlined in the CDOT-approved scope of work (see Attachment 1). The City can begin utilizing the funds immediately upon City Council’s approval of this appropriation. Many governmental and nonprofit research organizations are beginning to quantify the economic benefits of active transportation. Economic savings are a clear result when people shift away from motor vehicle use, particularly for short trips, and opt instead to walk or bike. These savings are realized by both individual families as well as the larger community. Choosing to walk or bike translates to personal savings for families through fewer car trips and reduced costs for vehicle maintenance and fuel. For the larger community, fewer automobile emissions and a more physically active populace translate to lower health-care costs by reducing the incidence of disease associated with physical inactivity and air pollution. Shifts to active transportation modes also impact the community’s economy through less wear and tear on roadways (and hence less road maintenance expenditures) and higher home values in areas with less traffic congestion and air pollution. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Public-health and environmental agencies are recognizing the connection between active transportation choices and improved health of both people and the environment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Expanding the availability of, safety for, and access to a variety of transportation options and integrating health-enhancing choices into transportation policy has the potential to save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing and preventing motor-vehicle-related injury and deaths, improving environmental health, while stimulating economic development and ensuring access for all people. With this goal in mind, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified transportation policies that can have a profound positive impact on health. CDC supports strategies that can provide a balanced portfolio of transportation choices that supports health and reduces healthcare costs. Transportation policy can: • Reduce injuries associated with motor vehicle crashes • Encourage healthy community design • Promote safe and convenient opportunities for physical activity by supporting active- transportation infrastructure • Reduce human exposure to air pollution and adverse health impacts associated with these pollutants September 18, 2012 -3- ITEM 16 • Ensure that all people have access to safe, healthy, convenient, and affordable transportation.” Programs such as Safe Routes to School help to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution throughout the community while also promoting healthier, active lifestyles. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. PUBLIC OUTREACH The 2012–13 SRTS grant application was developed and written by the City’s Transportation Planning staff and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Education Coalition (BPEC). Public outreach will continue throughout the school year. Student, teacher, principal, PTA/PTO, and parent feedback will be used to refine the current and future programs to be responsive to community needs. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2012–13 SRTS Grant Application ATTACHMENT 1 ORDINANCE NO. 100, 2012 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FUND FOR THE STATE FISCAL YEAR 2012-2013 SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM WHEREAS, the Safe Routes to School Program established by the Colorado Department of Transportation (“CDOT”) is designed to promote the safety of students traveling to and from school and to encourage more students to choose walking or bicycling to and from school; and WHEREAS, the City’s Transportation Planning Division has received a Safe Routes to School Program (the “Program”) grant in the amount of $27,500 from CDOT for State fiscal year 2013 - 2014; and WHEREAS, the grant funds will be used to continue and expand the “Train the Trainer”program, develop new Safe Routes to School “Bike Rodeo” instruction kits, train law enforcement officers in the principles of Safe Routes to School, expand the Family Bike Rodeo program, and maintain and transport the Safe Routes to School bike fleet; and WHEREAS, there is no requirement for local matching funds associated with the Program; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the City Charter permits the City Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year, does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff has determined that the appropriation of grant funds totaling $27,500 will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Services Fund - FY 2012-2013 Safe Routes to School program to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated for expenditure from unanticipated grant revenue in the Transportation Services Fund the sum of TWENTY-SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($27,500) for the Safe Routes to School program. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of September, A.D. 2012, and to be presented for final passage on the 2nd day of October, A.D. 2012. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 2nd day of October, A.D. 2012. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk