HomeMy WebLinkAboutFORT COLLINS DISCOVERY MUSEUM - PDP - 6-10 - REPORTS - CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONSteve Olt -Citizen Input to P8Z re: Stray' kiting and Noise Mitigation near the Outdo 'rogram Space of the Discovery MBage
problems through telescopes). Also, uneven surfaces such as wood
chips would be problematic for setting up telescopes, and could be
unsafe when kids stand on stepstools to look through the telescopes
(and likely not be the best for other uses of the outdoor program
space, anyway).
I greatly appreciate the Planning and Zoning Board and architect David
Schafer listening to these concerns. I would hope that only minor
modifications by the City of Fort Collins would be necessary after the
building construction is completed. And I also hope that any work done in
support of telescope star parties would benefit many other types of
outdoor programs, and create an even more pleasant corridor along College
Avenue.
I believe the new Discovery Museum facility will be a wonderful resource,
and I look forward to participating in activities there!
Sincerely, Andrea Schweitzer
Andrea Schweitzer, Ph.D.
Northern Colorado Astronomical Society
www.neastro.org
schweitzer -at- frii.com
cell: 970-691-4747
This letter is also co -signed and supported by NCAS members and FtC
residents:
Bob Michael, President of the Northern Colorado Astronomical Society (NCAS)
Dan Laszlo, Vice-president of NCAS
Greg Halac, Outreach Coordinator of NCAS
Gerald Reynolds
W. Jeffrey Blume
CC:
Annette Geiselman, Discovery Science Museum
Jason Wolvington, Discovery Science Museum
Ron Kechter, Facilities Project Manager for the City of Fort Collins
Note: I am submitting two letters to the P&Z Board:
- this one regarding the outdoor program space
- and also a letter regarding parking/walking/biking near the museum
CC: schweitzer@frii.com; Robertmchl@aol.com; djlaszlo@aol.com; RKechter@fcgov.com;
jolvington@fcmdsc.org; ageiselman@fcmdsc.org
Steve Olt -Citizen Input to P8Z re: Stray I ' -titing and Noise Mitigation near the u or rogram Space of the Discovery M6'age 2
(which hopefully will be simple and not too expensive for the City of Fort
Collins to implement):
- Lighting and sources of glare
There are three potential sources of stray lighting and glare which
are likely to affect the outdoor program space after dark:
1. the tall lamps on the east side of College Avenue
2. the illuminated globe lights on the bridge of College Avenue
3. the bank of lights at the nearby softball field to the west
I would suggest waiting until after the building and outdoor program
space are completed, and then do a survey from the final location
about which fixtures produce bright light and glare through the trees
surrounding the space. Likely only a small number of fixtures would
require shielding, because the space has many trees around the
perimeter and the building itself will block some of the College
Avenue lights. The globe lighting on the bridge may be more difficult
to shield, and replacement with attractive and safer down -lit fixtures
might end up being a better solution (and I and NCAS would be happy to
provide suggestions for fixtures, if that would be helpful).
I appreciate that the Discovery Museum plans already call for quality
outdoor lighting for the building and surrounding areas, and the
lights near the outdoor program space would be controllable so that
all evening outdoor events could have the option of lit, partially
lit, or unlighted surroundings. Thank you!
- Noise from the traffic on College Avenue
Depending upon the level of traffic along College Avenue, ongoing
noise reaches the outdoor program space. This noise could also be
reflected and concentrated when bouncing off of the north side of the
future museum building.
On a Sunday afternoon (April 25th between 5:00 and 6:00 pm), Dan
Laszlo measured 60-66 decibels of traffic noise at the location of the
future outdoor program space, with much higher spikes when large
trucks passed by. Note that 60 decibels is roughly the noise level of
normal conversation. This would affect not only the star parties, but
could interfere with listening to a speaker during any type of outdoor
program.
A berm, plantings or other landscaping installed by the City to the
west of College Avenue could easily help to muffle the vehicle noise,
while creating an attractive view when driving along College.
- Vibrations from the traffic on College Avenue / material for outdoor
program space
When a telescope is set up on the concrete path in the park, near the
future outdoor program space, College Avenue traffic causes tremors
and poor viewing through the telescope eyepiece. Dan Laszlo wrote:
"It was possible to damp the vibration by setting up on the dirt
beside the trail. I would therefore recommend that the courtyard
design allow for [telescope] setup on non -paved surface. Grass is
ideal for lack of thermals and dust, and most forgiving on dropped
eyepieces. We would just have to dodge sprinklers at night."
Thus, we would appreciate grass, hard -packed dirt, flagstone or
concrete with gaps or non -resonant fill, or any other
vibration -dampening surface for the outdoor program space. We would
prefer not to have large concrete slabs (which will transmit
vibrations and could take awhile to cool down, causing thermal seeing
Ste -Citizen Input to P&Z re: Stray' ' Ming_ and Noise Mitigation near the�Outdor` -1roo aam Space of the Discovery MBage 1
From: <schweitz@frii.com>
To: dschafer@OZARCH.COM; SOLT@fcgov.com
Date: 4/27/2010 3:56:13 PM
Subject: Citizen Input to P&Z re: Stray Lighting and Noise Mitigation near the Outdoor Program
Space of the Discovery Museum
Dear Mr. Olt,
Please forward this letter about stray lighting and noise mitigation near
the outdoor program space of the Discovery Museum to the City of Fort
Collins Planning and Zoning Board.
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Andrea Schweitzer
schweitzer -at- frii.com
cell: 970-691-4747
Citizen Input to the Planning and Zoning Board
re: Stray Lighting and Noise Mitigation near the Outdoor Program Space of
the Discovery Museum
27 April 2010
To the Planning and Zoning Board, architect David Schafer, and the City of
Fort Collins planners,
As a Fort Collins resident and a member of the NCAS (Northern Colorado
Astronomical Society) astronomy club, I am very pleased to see the plans
for the new Discovery Museum!
I am writing to request the city Planning and Zoning Board consider
supporting the new museum project by improving some of the city amenities
that surround the new museum. I certainly would not want this request to
cause any delay in approval, only to suggest some minor modifications that
could be done in conjunction with the City of Fort Collins after the
building construction is completed.
For many years the Discovery Science Museum, together with NCAS, has
hosted popular telescope star parties. I very much appreciated the P&Z
interest in and support for these star parties, and I believe it was Board
member Andy Smith who spoke about the fun of looking through a telescope
to view Saturn's rings. We want to be able to continue these star parties
at the new museum!
Even though the new location will be near College Avenue and Old Town in
one of the brightest parts of the city, we are confident that the stray
lighting, noise and vibration concerns ought to be manageable, and would
improve the outdoor program space in ways that would support other outdoor
events beyond the star parties.
I thank Dan Laszlo from NCAS for visiting the site and taking pictures of
the nearby lights and for testing the site with his telescope and his
sound meter.
These are the sources of concern, along with some suggested modifications