HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2021-01-20Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 20, 2021
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on the
20th day of January 2021.
Committee: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Janice Crow, Ann Finley, Larry
Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Ron
Wilcocks
Attending: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Janice Crow, Ann Finley, Larry
Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Ron
Wilcocks, Trustee Carlie Bangs, Public Works Director Greg
Muhonen, Engineering Mgr. David Hook, Parking & Transit
Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee, Rocky Mountain National Park John
Hannon
Absent:
Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:25 p.m. (due to technical difficulty)
PUBLIC COMMENT
No electronic submissions of public comment were received prior to the deadline and no
public was in attendance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded (Slack/Hanick) to approve the December meeting
minutes as amended and all were in favor.
2021 OFFICER ELECTIONS (Chair, Belle Morris)
Chair Morris indicated she and Co-Chair Street had spoken about their current roles
and both agreed they’d be willing to serve again in 2021. Morris invited input from the
TAB members and there were no comments. A motion was made and seconded
Slack/Hanick) to have Morris remain Chair and Street to remain as Co-Chair. All were
in favor.
SRTS TASK FORCE & SIDEWALK NEEDS INVENTORY (Chair, Belle Morris)
There have been three meetings to date. Currently, the Task Force (TF) is creating a
survey directed to school families regarding their experience walking or biking to school.
The TF is also generating a document auditing the deficiencies or impediments to
biking/walking to school. Member Slack thanked the TF members for the efforts
invested.
2021 TAB PRIORITIES & CATEGORIES (Chair, Belle Morris)
The listing of TAB’s priorities is reflected in an Excel document that Administrative
Assistant Van Hoozer would provide as a shared document to the TAB, along with any
needed instructions on providing individual member priority rankings.
PROJECT UPDATES (Parking & Transit Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee)
Transit: Solesbee shared the presentation that would be presented to the Town Board
regarding 2021 Transit plans. The presentation reflected the potential relocation of the
transit hub from the parking structure back to the Visitor Center (VC). Solesbee will also
discuss this potential with the shuttle drivers to gather more feedback.
The members shared their thoughts on the move. Member Slack stated that the new
traffic signal at the entrance to Steamer Pkwy. should create gaps for the shuttles
exiting the VC. Hanick feels the parking structure is a safer place for the hub due to both
pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Gamble stated that the priority should be the smoothest
flow in and out of the hub, which appears to be from the parking structure and both
Finley and Moulton concurred. Co-Chair Street suggested running another pilot year
before evaluating the parking structure hub’s efficacy.
Transportation Advisory Board – January 20, 2021 – Page 2
Rocky Mountain National Park’s (RMNP) John Hannon informed the group that the plan
is to run the Hiker Shuttle full schedule beginning the Friday before Memorial Day
through Columbus Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Parking: Matt Eisenberg shared that the division is preparing parking enforcement
revisions to the Estes Park Municipal Code, with comments being due by January 28,
2021. Director Muhonen requested edits to language of “booting” to “barnacle” on the
immobilization slide. He reminded that the Town Board does not increase fines, but the
judge does. The request to the Town Board is for support to request a fine increase.
Solesbee wanted to share with the group that the Electric Vehicle & Readiness Plan
would be presented to the Town Board Trustees at the January 26 study session, and
then in a Town Board meeting on February 9 as an action item open to public
discussion. Solesbee stated she’d like some additional time allotted on the February
agenda to share updates on planned seasonal paid parking outreach and
communication efforts.
Visit Estes Park’s Abi Huebner stated that the 2020 visitation figures were only
minimally reduced from 2019. She anticipates increased travel in 2021 due to COVID -
19 vaccine availability.
PROJECT UPDATES (Engineering Mgr. David Hook)
Manager Hook provided updates on active Engineering projects.
Graves Ave. Improvement Safe Routes to School (SRTS): The Town is ready to sign a
Notice to Proceed for a design consultant to begin this project. Hook plans to return to
the TAB for a special meeting in March, specifically for this project, to gather feedback
on conceptual design options. The consultant will be tasked with creating a bilingual and
interactive website in lieu of live meetings to receive community feedback. This will
include posting of videos, like the March presentation. The TAB agreed to this request
for public feedback solicitation in March. Moving forward, Hook will bring back to TAB
both the 30% and 90% design drawings as they become available.
There exists an opportunity for TAB members to assist with education and
encouragement efforts on this project. Rather than conducting a separate meeting for
those who solely speak Spanish, the Town has decided to direct all community
members to the consultant-created bilingual website. Morris suggested reaching out to
the Estes Valley Recreation & Parks District Community Center visitors for input as well.
The consultant will be conducting a presentation of SRTS program overview. Morris
requested this be a separate meeting from the special meeting discussed previously.
2021 Parking Wayfinding: A Notice to Proceed was signed this week to finalize bid
documents.
Fall River Trail: The railing is complete yet there are still punch list items remaining for
Spring completion. The 2021 bid package is currently under development.
PROJECT / ADMINISTRATION UPDATES (Public Works Director Greg Muhonen)
Director Muhonen requested from the TAB, any suggestions or questions on the Manual
on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) for the upcoming 11th edition. Provide
input directly with him if interested in sharing thoughts.
Downtown Estes Loop: Muhonen shared the road designs depicting Moraine Ave.
crosswalk relocation south to the end of the shown diagonal parking, as discussed
previously. He stated that this frees up two additional parking spaces and eliminates the
safety risk of vehicles backing into crosswalk when leaving space.
The TAB agreed that the concern remains for pedestrian safety when crossing Moraine
Ave. The recommendation was made for either an elevated crosswalk; having
motorcycle-only parking near the crossing; or the potential elimination of the two parking
Transportation Advisory Board – January 20, 2021 – Page 3
spaces nearest the crossing.
Muhonen went on to share the revisions to the crossing at Elkhorn Ave. Public Works is
researching durability and maintenance demands with Denver and Brighton. The TAB
agreed that the preference from the perpendicular crossing would be colored concrete.
The thermoplastic white starter bars existing are not visible in the winter. Thermoplastic
would prove high maintenance due to de-icing and snow plow operations.
TAB BYLAWS (Chair, Belle Morris)
According to section VI General Provisions of the TAB Bylaws, a 20 -day notice of bylaw
changes are required to be provided to all members. A vote on the proposed changes
will be taken at the February 17 meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS (Chair, Belle Morris)
There being no further business, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.
Megan Van Hoozer, Recording Secretary