HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/07/2012 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 006, 2012, APPROPRIDATE: February 7, 2012
STAFF: Nancy Nichols
Kathleen Bracke
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 8
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 006, 2012, Appropriating Unanticipated Grant Revenue in the Transportation Services
Fund for the FY 2011-12 Safe Routes to School Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fort Collins Transportation Planning Division has received a $50,176 federal grant through the Colorado
Department of Transportation for the FY 2011–12 Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. This funding will allow the
City of Fort Collins’ Safe Routes to School Program (administered and staffed by the Transportation Planning Division)
to provide new, higher quality bike racks at public schools within the City of Fort Collins and roll out a new “Bicycle
Parking at Schools” educational program.
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 (PSD), Healthier
Communities Coalition, Bicycle Colorado, Fort Collins Bike Co-op, Bike Fort Collins, various City departments (Traffic
Operations, Police, Engineering, FC Bikes), individual schools, and parents.
This project builds on a long-term partnership between the City and PSD to construct infrastructure improvements to
support walking and bicycling to school. In the past, this has included a complete streets policy, coordination on
sidewalk and bicycle parking provision, and installing signalized pedestrian crosswalks near schools. As a result, Fort
Collins has a growing number of students walking and biking to school.
The federal grant will be utilized as follows:
• Fund installation of 20 new bicycle racks at 10 Poudre School District elementary and middle schools within
the City of Fort Collins.
• Fund a “Bicycle Parking at School” program. The City and PSD will collaborate to teach students how to
efficiently and safely use the new bike rack design.
New Bicycle Racks
Providing convenient, high-quality storage for bicycles is a key component of getting more schoolchildren biking to
school. Most of the grant ($48,595) will fund the installation of 20 new bicycle racks at 10 Poudre School District
elementary and middle schools within the City. The following elementary schools have already been selected: Bacon,
Bauder, Bennett, Dunn and Zach. Lesher Middle School has also been selected. Four additional schools will be
selected in spring 2012 based on recommendations from PSD. The bicycle racks will expand on existing bicycle
parking at these schools.
The project is a pilot program to identify a new design for bicycle racks at elementary and middle schools within PSD.
Currently PSD uses A-frame racks due to ease of use and high capacity. However, these racks are widely known as
“wheel benders” due to the potential for damage to bikes when racks are overfilled, as is the case at many schools.
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
February 7, 2012 -2- ITEM 8
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.
The City has received national recognition as a gold-level Bicycle-Friendly Community from the League of American
Bicyclists (LAB). With so many cyclists in the community, the City and LAB have noted a major obstacle to continued
growth is end-of-trip facilities, including bike racks at schools. This project helps mitigate this issue in the community.
In addition to the bike racks, the project includes funding for installation pads when necessary (concrete pads to install
bolts). After installation, PSD Facility Services will maintain the bike racks; maintenance funding is dedicated in the
PSD operating budget.
“Bicycle Parking at School” Program
The grant will also fund an educational component, a “Bicycle Parking at School” program ($1,581 of the total grant).
The City’s new SRTS coordinator will collaborate with individual schools to educate students how to efficiently and
safely use the new bike rack design. School staff in charge of morning and afternoon supervision will assist with the
training. Students will learn, as they park their bicycles, how to properly load and unload bikes with respect for their
own and others’ bicycles. They will also learn how to safely secure their bikes to the racks to avoid theft. Spring Bike
to School Day will offer another opportunity to provide education on using the bike racks. In coordination with the non-
infrastructure SRTS program, the City and PSD hosts Spring Bike to School Day. As a part of this event, the City and
PSD will create encouragement activities specific to the new bike racks, such as a ribbon cutting with the principal and
parent-teacher organization president and bike decoration for students.
FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS
A bicycle is an economic investment for a family. If there is the potential that this investment may be damaged due
to the design and capacity of a bicycle rack, parents may be less enthusiastic about allowing their children to bike to
school. High-quality bike parking encourages more families to make this investment in active transportation. Many
of the bikes used by local schoolchildren are purchased at local bike shops, boosting the local economy as well.
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is providing 100 percent of the funds for this project, with no
required local match. The funds will be allocated as outlined in the City Engineering Cost Estimate/CDOT-Approved
Scope of Work.
A purchase order from CDOT will identify a “start date” when the City can begin utilizing the grant funds. This date is
expected to be in March 2012.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
More and more, public-health and environmental agencies are recognizing the connection between active
transportation alternatives 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.
February 7, 2012 -3- ITEM 8
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 policies 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
• Ensure that all people have access to safe, healthy, convenient, and affordable transportation.”
Promoting active transportation to and from school will help reduce air pollution around schools as more students walk
or bike to school rather than get dropped off by motor vehicles. Programs such as SRTS, which promote safe, active
transportation, reduce pollution throughout the community while also promoting healthier, active lifestyles.
Project engineering will conform to PSD Sustainable Design Guidelines.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
The Bicycle Advisory Committee reviewed the 2011-12 SRTS grant application at its November 8, 2010, meeting prior
to submittal to CDOT. The BAC did not provide any comments at the meeting, but was invited to share any additional
thoughts with City staff via email. No additional comments were received.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The 2011-12 SRTS infrastructure grant application was developed and written by the City’s Transportation Planning
staff with input from PSD, including its SRTS liaison and its facilities team. Input was also received from the Bicycle
and Pedestrian Education Coalition (BPEC), part of the Healthier Communities Coalition.
Public outreach began in early 2011 with a news release about the grant. Outreach will continue throughout the
remaining 2011–12 school year and the fall semester of the 2012–13 school year. Student, teacher, parent, and
principal feedback will be used to refine the current and future programs to be responsive to community needs.
ATTACHMENTS
1. City and CDOT Intergovernmental Agreement
2. Example of New Bike Rack Design
3. Photos of Existing Bike Racks at PSD Schools
4. PSD Letter of Responsibility
5. City Engineering Cost Estimate (CDOT-Approved Scope of Work)
6. Bicycle Advisory Committee minutes, November 8, 2010
ATTACHMENT 1
Printed on recycled paper
www.dero.com 1.800.298.4915
The Dero Campus Rack was created in cooperation with the
City of Madison to provide superior bike support, orderly bike
parking and high security. The design of the rack supports both
the wheel and frame of the bike, and university campuses love
its orderly and efficient bike parking. The single sided model
keeps bikes parked on one side of the rack, making it ideal
for sidewalk placement. The Dero Campus Rack’s complete
welded construction means easier installation, and thieves
cannot disassemble the rack.
• Orderly single or double sided parking
• Great for sidewalk placement
• Multiple configurations available
Campus RaCk
DERO
ATTACHMENT 2
Appendix: Bicycle Rack Photos
Bennett IB World School – East Bike Racks (November 2010)
Bennett IB World School – West Bike Racks on Bike to School Day (Spring
2008)
1
ATTACHMENT 3
Bauder Elementary School (November 2010)
Bacon Elementary School (November 2010)
2
Zach Core Knowledge (November 2010)
Zach Core Knowledge (November 2010)
3
Zach Core Knowledge (November 2010)
Lesher Middle School (November 2010)
4
Dunn IB World School – North Bike Racks (November 2010)
Dunn IB World School – South Bike Racks (November 2010)
5
ATTACHMENT 4
ATTACHMENT 5
ATTACHMENT 6
ORDINANCE NO. 006, 2012
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED GRANT REVENUE IN THE
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FUND FOR THE FY 2011-2012
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 $50,176 from CDOT to provide new, higher
quality bike racks at public schools within the City and to initiate a new “Bicycle Parking at
Schools” educational program; and
WHEREAS, twenty new bicycle racks will be installed at ten Poudre School District
elementary and middle schools and the City and Poudre School District will collaborate on teaching
students how to efficiently and safely use the new bike rack design; 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 $50,176
will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Transportation Services Fund - FY 2011-2012
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 FIFTY THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SIX
DOLLARS ($50,176) to provide new, higher quality bike racks at public schools within the City of
Fort Collins and to initiate a new “Bicycle Parking at Schools” educational program.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of
February, A.D. 2012, and to be presented for final passage on the 21st day of February, A.D. 2012.
_________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21st day of February, A.D. 2012.
_________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk