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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2015-12-16Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, December 16th, 2015 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Rooms 202 & 203 of Town Hall, in said Town of Estes Park on the 16th day of December, 2015. Present: Kimberly Campbell Gregg Rounds Stan Black Amy Hamrick Belle Morris Ann Finley Bryon Holmes Gordon Slack Thom Widawski Also Present: Greg Muhonen, Director of Public Works John Ericson, Town Board Liaison Samantha Phillips, Contract Administrative Assistant Larry Haas, CDOT Region 4 Traffic Operations Engineer Michael Crow, CDOT Region 4 Traffic Engineer Kevin Ash, Engineering Manager Kate Rusch, Public Information Officer Bob Holcomb, Town Trustee Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. GENERAL DISCUSSION It was moved and seconded (Rounds/Black) to approve the November minutes with minor amendments with the motion passing unanimously. Chair Kimberly Campbell introduced Gordon Slack as the new Board member. It was announced that Kimberly Campbell would be assigned as Slack’s mentor throughout his orientation process. Transportation Advisory Board Officer Elections will be held in January for the Chair and Vice-chair. STAFF UPDATES ON TOWN PROJECTS Public Works Director Greg Muhonen gave a project update on the Transit Facility Parking Structure. The Public Works department has been in dialogue with the Bureau of Reclamation in regard to the Environmental Assessment which has been released for a 30-day public comment period. Public Works will now be waiting until the finding of ‘no significant impact’ to move forward with the final design. Involving the Downtown Estes Park Loop, conflicts currently exist with buildings, curves, and utilities. The team is looking to confirm collective comfort with the idea that a signal or roundabout will fit. Draft EA for the Downtown Estes Park Loop is now anticipated to be released in April. Public Works Engineering Manager Kevin Ash presented a brief project update involving the Dry Gulch Road Rehabilitation Project. Public Works has the easements for the drainage and sanitary lines done. It is to be determined whether or not a special use permit is needed or if The Town is able to amend the current one. Pavement Manager Kelly Stallworth is within 8-9 days of finishing his pavement assessment of Transportation Advisory Board – December 16th, 2015 – Page 2 The Town’s roads. There is hope of going to the Town Board with both updates and recommendations for how to move forward with the new pavement program, PAVER. Stallworth plans to present the assessment rankings of roads and justification to values and numbers for recommending a certain direction. TRAFFIC Q & A WITH LARRY HAAS Larry Haas, CDOT Region 4 Traffic Operations Engineer, held the guest speaker position for the December TAB meeting. He began the Q & A session by discussing signals and timing, specifically involving Elkhorn Avenue and the intersection of 34/36. He explained that the programming is based on fixed time coordination for Highway 34. Haas further elaborated on the seasonal timing programs that CDOT uses which includes a summer program (May 1st to October 31st) and a winter program (November 1st to April 30th). All of the intersections in Estes Park are sensor driven. Haas made it clear that CDOT had no plans to reinstate the Barnes Dance; citing the summer study which showed that traffic is greater when all 4 directions must stop for pedestrian crossing. Chair Campbell suggested that at night, lights could flash yellow and red. CDOT will not support this suggestion for liability reasons. Haas clarified that Manford Avenue is on the same timing as 34/36. The concern regarding the speed limit on 36 entering Estes Park was addressed. Larry Haas warned of unintended consequences when requesting a change involving speed limit. CDOT is obligated to enforce the speed limit of the 85 percentile of drivers which means that the speed could potentially be raised if the study finds that 85% of drivers drive a higher speed. He advised that The Town conduct a study first so that way, the speed limit could remain the same if the study was found to be against what TAB desired. Many other possibilities were discussed involving speed, signage, bicycle lanes, etc. OTHER BUSINESS The Board will now have the Town Board Trustee Liaison present his/her updates at the start of the meeting each month. With no other business to discuss, Chair Campbell adjourned the meeting at 1:56 pm.