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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2015-05-20Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, May 20th, 2015 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee 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 20th day of May, 2015. Present: Kimberly Campbell Ann Finley Belle Morris Stan Black Gregg Rounds Also Present: Greg Muhonen, Director of Public Works Kevin Ash, Public Works Civil Engineer Jen Imber, Public Works Administrative Assistant Brian Wells, Shuttle Coordinator Teri Salerno, Visitor Services Manager Sandy Osterman, Shuttle Committee Representative John Ericson, Town Board Liaison Absent: Cory LaBianca Thom Widawski Amy Hamrick Bryon Holmes Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. GENERAL DISCUSSION Public in attendance declined to comment. Since a quorum was not present, the approval of meeting minutes was postponed until the June meeting. Sandy Osterman reported about 600 shuttle riders during Stanley Film Festival. Shuttle number goals have been raised for 2015, so ridership is being highly encouraged. The Town shuttle system is celebrating its ten year anniversary; to mark the occasion the core mission was distributed and reviewed. Sandy encouraged the support of TAB through the July budget process when the Shuttle Committee will request expanded funding. TAB members had suggestions on the marketing of special events and weekends. TAB members requested the Shuttle Committee present on their expanded budget proposal at the August TAB meeting. STAFF UPDATES ON TOWN PROJECTS Director Muhonen reported that a conference call with CDOT regarding signage changes did not go as well as had been hoped. Another meeting has been scheduled in June as a follow-up. CDOT did not respond to the 34/36 intersection mast arm comments. They also felt that guide signageis beyond the scope of their current project and would prefer to discuss requests for signage coloring changes outside of this project. CDOT will study the effect of the Barnes Dance on traffic and pedestrians this summer by trialing it on one major downtown intersection. Director Muhonen feels both major downtown intersections need to be trailed and synced for this study to show conclusive results. The Trustees feel a four-weekend trial would be best, with different scenarios Transportation Advisory Committee – May 20th, 2015 – Page 2 each weekend to monitor. The impact of pedestrians at crossings on Moraine Avenue was discussed, as well as timing the pedestrian crossings with the Barnes Dance. Increasing effectiveness of directing guests to the Fairgrounds Park n Ride were discussed. It was suggested to place signs on Hwy 34 in advance of Mall Road and other key areas directing vehicles to the Park n Ride, and placing appropriate signage directing guests to the shuttles. Chair Campbell stated people do not respond well to the name Park n Ride because it is suggestive of daily commuters instead of vacationing guests. Gregg Rounds proposed the term “free shuttle” would be more effective than just “shuttle”. TAB members supported placing signs along 4th Street instead of Community Drive to direct traffic to the parking lot and shuttles. This more direct route was felt to be more effective than sending traffic down Community Drive. RMNP met with Town representatives and expressed an interest to supplement both East side park entrance stations with variable message boards to notify traffic of wait time at each station. The Town contacted CDOT to request message boards, and it was agreed to install them July 1st through October for this purpose. RMNP will contact CDOT to change the messages as needed. Ideas TAB members may have for variable messages to display on these boards can be sent to Chair Campbell and will be passed along to RMNP officials. Drawings of the Estes Park Transit Facility and Parking Structure at the South Site location were reviewed. The wildlife viewing tower and staircase invoked a strong association with a forest lookout. The possibility of postponing that architectural feature to a future phase was discussed. A Tiger Grant is being pursued for additional funds to build additional levels 3 and 4 of the structure. The Tiger Grant would also allow for the purchase of parking technology. Director Muhonen was approached by a citizen who asked if the Town would consider seasonally closing Big Horn Drive at Elkhorn Avenue. A study could be performed to monitor the impact of the intersection closure and could be tacked onto the Barnes Dance study. Chair Campbell suggested taking the idea a step further and closing off the block of Elkhorn Avenue west of the Moraine intersection. Director Muhonen proposed doing this during an event or weekend to trial this idea, perhaps in conjunction with a Performance Park event when a stage could be placed in the street. DRY GULCH IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT Kevin Ash gave an update on the Dry Gulch Road Rehabilitation project. A presentation was made to Town Board at the May 12th Study Session. Four options were presented and discussion ensued regarding design and costs. Staff was directed to move forward with the selected option and to put an eight foot walk on the west side, which eliminated the $500K hand rail necessary for an east-side walk. DOWNTOWN PARKING STRATEGY Chair Campbell reviewed the 2011 study “Evaluation of an Intelligent Transportation System for Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park” and its impact on parking and transportation. Chair Campbell created an outline of a draft parking master plan containing key points of the plan. Volunteers from the board were requested to help flesh out the plan. Belle Morris and Ann Finley will tackle the section on cycling and walking access to the Downtown district. Employee parking incentives and strategies will be handled by Stan Black and Gregg Rounds will work on paid parking and alternative downtown parking. Transportation Advisory Committee – May 20th, 2015 – Page 3 Chair Campbell will flesh out the section on special needs parking, including RVs and buses. With no other business to discuss, Chair Campbell adjourned the meeting at 1:55 p.m.