Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFORT COLLINS DISCOVERY MUSEUM - PDP - 6-10 - REPORTS - CITIZEN COMMUNICATION (3)E re: not go through to the park, and please plan for other traffic -reduction options in the event that traffic does become a problem on this private road. Thank you very much for reading this long letter. I want to do my part to provide citizen input. And I appreciate the City taking steps to address these concerns, so that the burden of solving the parking puzzle does not rest with the Discovery Museum staff and architects. I also hope that these suggestions will make Mason Street, as well as the intersection at Cherry Street, a more pleasant area for walking and biking which will benefit not only the museum, but support the surrounding neighborhood, city park, Poudre trail system and bus system. Sincerely, Andrea Schweitzer Andrea Schweitzer, Ph.D. Martinez Park Neighborhood and River Rock Cohousing www.riverrock.org schweitzer -at- frii.com cell: 970-691-4747 This letter is also co -signed and supported by Fort Collins residents: Mary Pat Aukema, River Rock Cohousing Pieter Aukema, River Rock Cohousing Laura Butler, River Rock Cohousing Arlene Hoffman, River Rock Cohousing 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 P8Z Board: - this one regarding parking/walking/biking - and also a letter regarding the outdoor program space CC: schweitzer@frii.com; RKechter@fcgov.com; jolvington@fcmdsc.org; ageiselman@fcmdsc.org Steve Olt -Citizen Input to P&Z re: Parkir "Nalking/Biking near the Discovery Museur w Page 3 To manage parking during the building construction phase, please consider creating a parking plan and additional signage for parking options. To encourage biking to the park, softball fields, and Mason Street North businesses, please consider installing a bicycle rest area, such as with a water fountain and tire pump. This could tie-in with and support the Mason Street Corridor. Perhaps more bicycle parking near the softball fields could also be helpful. To encourage walking (including walking from the city parking garage) and use of the local bus system, please consider improvements to the sidewalk along the east side of Mason Street, between the bus terminal and Cherry Street. The current sidewalk goes along an empty lot and is fine for an adult like myself with no mobility concerns (I often walk that way to Old Town). However, a wider sidewalk inset away from Mason Street, and with some attractive landscaping on both sides of the sidewalk, would provide a much more inviting and safer walk for families, especially those with young children. This would also provide continuity with the wider, pleasant sidewalks that already flank Mason Street near the bus terminal, parking garage and city buildings. To provide better safety when crossing Cherry Street in front of the museum, please consider improvements for pedestrian and bicycle crossing. I frequently cross the current intersection on foot. As an adult walking during low -traffic times, I have had no difficulties with the crossing. However, during high -traffic times such as around 5:30 pm, I have sometimes needed to cross halfway, stand in the middle of the intersection, and wait for traffic until I could complete crossing the road. Likely there will be additional traffic in this area once the museum is completed, and I would like this Cherry Street crossing to be safer for families and those needing additional time to walk across. Perhaps a raised or well -marked crosswalk with a push-button that would cause lights to flash on the road signs to signal the drivers to wait for pedestrians? This will be especially helpful as families come to live in the Penny Flats complex and want to walk to the park and the museum. To create some overflow parking near the museum, please consider options for parking near or in the open 'triangle area" of the railroad tracks. This would not work well for parents with strollers, but could be fine for other people. To provide improved signage, please consider these ideas: - signs to encourage the more able-bodied to park further away, allowing the closer museum parking to be available for families with small children, and visitors who require more accessibility - signs to mark Mason Street North parking for business customers - not posting signs for Martinez Park in this area, since there will not be any parking for park access - or if a Martinez Park sign will be posted, indicate that there is park access for people walking or bicycling, but not for vehicles (such as "vehicle access via Sherwood Street" and directional arrows pointing westward along Cherry Street, for example) - signs to designate that the road to the west is a private road and does re: access, and the local businesses in addition to the parking needed for the museum (and also during the construction phase). I appreciate the work that architect David Schafer is doing to accommodate parking, but I believe that he and the Discovery Museum planners should not be expected to solve what is a more complex city parking situation. Thus, I would like to encourage the Planning and Zoning Board to approve the building design and allow the museum project to move forward (thus preventing costly delays), while simultaneously working together with a broader group of City staff and concerned neighbors such as myself to solve the larger parking issues. At the last P&Z meeting on April 15 various creative options for parking were discussed, and I have included many of those ideas in my letter. I believe that we should not "pave paradise to put up a parking lot," but at the same time should have a plan -- including better signage and education/encouragement for alternative transportation -- to help prevent the future parking problems which are likely to occur. Also, I want to echo Board member Gino Campana's concerns that parking next to the museum be kept available for families with small children and those who could not comfortably walk longer distances. I trust that architect David Schafer and the museum staff will plan for and provide adequate parking for typical museum usage. However, I would like to request that the Planning and Zoning Board and City planners also take steps to provide for adequate parking in this area overall, since there are parking needs beyond that for the museum. I would also like to ensure that there will be adequate parking during occasional larger museum events, likely by making good use of other parking lots and structures in the area, combined with advanced notice of parking and alternative transportation options described in the event advertising. I raise this concern because I live near The Farm, another wonderful city facility, but some of The Farm events have become so popular that the overflow parking spills into non -parking areas (such as along the railroad tracks), and into the private parking areas (such as the River Rock Cohousing lots). Those of us living at River Rock have to keep track of large Farm events and put out special "no parking -- we really mean it" signs to discourage desperate families with small children from parking in our lots (even though we already have clearly marked signage which is respected at other times). I am very happy to have The Farm and the future museum in our neighborhood, and I want to do my part to be a good, flexible partner who is fortunate to live in such a nice location near downtown and the park! But I also feel a responsibility to speak up about potential problems and to offer some suggested solutions. I would like to ask the Planning and Zoning Board and City planners to consider these options when planning for the extended parking needs I have mentioned above: re: From: <schweitz@frii.com> To: dschafer@OZARCH.COM; SOLT@fcgov.com Date: 4/27/2010 3:52:21 PM Subject: Citizen Input to P&Z re: Parking/Walking/Biking near the Discovery Museum Dear Mr. Olt, Please forward this letter about parking, walking and biking concerns in the neighborhood near the Discovery Museum to the City of Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board. I look forward to attending the meeting this coming Thursday at 6:00 pm. Thank you very much! Sincerely, Andrea Schweitzer schweitzer -at- frii.com cell: 970-691-4747 Citizen Input to the Planning and Zoning Board re: Parking, Walking, Biking near the Discovery Museum 27 April 2010 To the Planning and Zoning Board, architect David Schafer, and the City of Fort Collins planners, 1 would like to thank all the Board members, the architects, and the City staff for their hard work — it is exciting to see the final plans for the Discovery Museum! And I appreciate this opportunity to provide citizen feedback on the project. I live in the Martinez Park Neighborhood, at River Rock Cohousing just to the west of the future museum site, and along the private road that connects Mason Street North with Sherwood Street. While I am very pleased to see the museum coming to our neighborhood, I have some concerns and thoughts regarding the current and future parking situation, and to improve the area for walking and bicycle riding. Parking in the area near Mason Street North and Cherry Street is already affected by: - businesses near Mason Street North, such as Dazbog Cafe - softball games in Martinez Park —other visitors coming to access Martinez Park, the Poudre River, and the trail system I have counted parked vehicles and conferred with others in the neighborhood, and we have seen typical parking usage of: 12-20 vehicles in the unpaved land on the NE corner of Mason Street North and Cherry Street 2-6 vehicles parking along the side of the Mason Street North road During softball season the parking lot down in Martinez Park fills, and has overflow parking up the access road that connects Sherwood Street and the Martinez Park lot. (There are softball league games during most evenings from late spring through early fall.) I would like to ensure that there is adequate parking for softball, park