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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Transportation Advisory Board 2019-2-20 A EP TOWN OF ESTES PA I Transportation Advisory Board Agenda February 20,2019 Current Members: Belle Morris(03/31/20) 12:00 PM—2:00 PM Stan Black(03/31/20) Gordon Slack(03/31/21) Room 202&203 Ron Wilcocks (03/31/21) Tom Street(03/31/19) Estes Park Town Hall Ann Finley (03/31/20) Linda Hanick (03/31/19) 170 MacGregor Ave Amy Hamrick(03/31/19) Janice Crow(3/31/21) Public Comment Approval of January Meeting Minutes (5 min) Chair Belle Morris Officer Elections (10 min) Chair Belle Morris Parking Warrant Discussion (30 min) Parking& Transit Manager Vanessa Solesbee Trail Master Plan(15 min) Chair Belle Morris Update&Prioritize Complete Streets Policy Update (15 min) Chair Belle Morris Engineering Manager David Hook Project Updates (15 min) Public Works Director Greg Muhonen Project Updates (15 min) Engineering Manager David Hook Project Updates (15 min) Parking& Transit Manager Vanessa Solesbee Other Business Adjourn The mission of the Town of Estes Park Transportation Advisory Board is to advise the Board of Trustees and the Public Works staff on Local and Regional Comprehensive Transportation Planning Policies; Maintenance, Operation and Expansion Programs; and Transportation Capital Projects. Carlie Bangs, Town Board Trustee Liaison Greg Muhonen, Estes Park Public Works Staff Liaison RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 16, 2019 Minutes of a regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Room 202 of Town Hall on the 16th day of January, 2019. Present: Gordon Slack Tom Street Belle Morris Stan Black Amy Hamrick Ann Finley Janice Crow Linda Hanick Also Present: Trustee Carlie Bangs, Town Board Liaison Greg Muhonen, Public Works Director Vanessa Solesbee, Parking & Transit Manager Megan Van Hoozer, Public Works Administrative Assistant David Hook, Engineering Manager Ryan Barr, Pavement Manager Justin Kearney, Streets Supervisor Brittany Hathaway, Planner Christy Crosser, Grant Specialist Absent: Ron Wilcocks Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public was in attendance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: A motion was made and seconded (Street/Finley) to approve the December meeting minutes and all were in favor. 2019 STIP PRESENTATION (R. Barr): The Town's Pavement Manager, Ryan Barr presented the 2019 Street Improvement Plan (STIP) to the TAB. Barr provided a review of the 2018 program and provided updates for the 2019 plan. He shared the different pavement conditions to benchmark the 2024 goal of 70 PCI system-wide. Barr went on to show the TAB what improvements have been completed within the entire network as part of the STIP program since inception. Also introduced was the 1A trails work to be completed including available grant opportunities. Barr then provided an update regarding the repaving of East Elkhorn which was approved by CDOT. An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) will be entered into, with the Town of Estes Park to perform the mill and overlay work. Chair Morris asked about the possibility of adding road width. This IGA covers only the critically needed maintenance work and doesn't include redesign to accommodate widening. DOWNTOWN WAYFINDING UPDATE (D. Hook): Engineering Manager David Hook presented updates on the Downtown Wayfinding Project. This project is currently scheduled as a Town Board action item at the February 26, 2019 Town Board meeting. There will be another opportunity for review of the proposal at the February TAB meeting. Planner Hathaway and Manager Hook have worked collaboratively on this initiative with the primary information being taken from the Downtown Plan adopted in 2018. Transportation Advisory Board —January 16, 2019 — Page 2 Hook stepped through the presentation material (mission, history, timeline, etc.) and provided an overview of the newly planned sign locations. There are now more kiosks (nearly double) and fewer directional pedestrian signs (approximately half) in the plan. All changes made took public comment into account based on outreach efforts. Hathaway discussed the proposed destinations and the higher utilization of symbols. Final design efforts are pending AECom signage designs for the Downtown Estes Loop project. Many details are still being finalized but the team is utilizing consistent colors and/or themes for consistency. Member Slack expressed his agreement with the design presented. Member Black asked if there had been any consideration for lighting of the signs. Hathaway stated the kiosks will be backlit and potentially interactive to allow updates to locations of areas that may move. Other signage will be strategically placed near lit areas. Hook introduced the Public Works Grant Specialist, Christy Crosser, and requested her feedback based on her research of the interactive signs. Crosser stated there is a wide variety of off-the-shelf products to be considered. Wall mounted screens would be easy to install based on the current design taking into account accessibility. She stated the importance of being fiscally responsible when selecting any signage options. Member Hamrick asked the TAB the intended goal of the kiosk, to allow discussion about the type of interacting visitors will be expected to perform. There is a desire for smart phone capability, potential for a QR code to download a static map, or to bring interactive potential to the phone. It was stated the Town should establish a base of static wayfinding prior to working toward all electronic. Member Slack asked if an option exists to start the project with static signage with later addition of electronic capabilities. TAB members concurred that at least a couple kiosks should be static to see how it goes. Muhonen confirmed and stated the goal is simply to let visitors know where they are and the location of their destination. There are pros and cons to both styles. Black advocates for all electronic signage and suggested that Visit Estes Park may be able to help provide some funding for this information to be distributed. It is uncertain, at this time, who will manage the information provided on the wayfinding signs. Member Hanick also expressed her support of all electronic signs due to societal changes. She feels we should plan to do all interactive and prioritize from one to ten what signs should be installed first. Planner Hathaway will bring a plan back to the TAB with sign pricing to help make the needed decisions. Manager Solesbee asked about any utilization tracking of electronic signs to paint a clear picture of how often a given sign is being utilized. Crosser stated that google analytics would be available. Trustee Liaison Bangs requested information on what other communities are using. Crosser stated that kiosks are used heavily in Vail, in a variety of different styles. Crosser has found them extremely useful. COMPLETE STREETS POLICY REVIEW (D. Hook): Manager Hook presented updates for the Complete Streets Policy which was distributed on January 15 to the TAB requesting edits. Suggestions will help advance the documents in preparation of the February 12 Town Board Study Session presentation. Understanding that the review period for this information was very short, Hook suggested a discussion occur at today's meeting and any additional suggested edits be provided by February 1 for incorporation into the presentation material. Hook reminded the TAB that within the Resolution all the WHEREAS statements were extracted from the adopted Downtown Plan. The primary changes made by Hook to the draft policy and resolution prepared by Co-Chair Street and Chair Morris were grammatical, modified for consistency, and spelling errors. Transportation Advisory Board —January 16, 2019 — Page 3 Co-chair Street incorporated the information received from Hook into the originally created document with the exception of those for which he disagreed. Street stated that he agreed with 90% of the proposed changes, with any needed formatting changes to be completed by Administrative Assistant Van Hoozer. Street would provide the updated document to Hook and Van Hoozer. Hook provided suggested changes to verbiage on how to handle exceptions to the policy (i.e. if a Public Works employee determines they're unable to apply the Complete Streets checklist, in its entirety, to a given project). The original document created reflected the approval of exceptions be required by the TAB, Public Works and the Town Board. Hook's changes reflected approval by Public Works only. Street expressed his strong disagreement with this edit. Hook stated that Public Works must have administrative freedom to perform the work even when all the new principals cannot be applied. Street feels there is a need for appropriate checks and balances. Director Muhonen stated that he doesn't want to create a new variance/waiver process but would prefer to follow existing protocol. Muhonen suggested Street and Hook work through details. He and Hook will then review the development code to explore the current variance process. Once done, the issue will be reviewed by the Town Attorney and will be brought back to the TAB before going to the Town Board. Coming to the TAB for approval of a process exception would be inappropriate as the TAB is not a regulatory board. The Town Board is too high a level for approving these exceptions but the Board of Adjustments would be a logical place for approvals. Street feels it is important that the TAB be made aware when an exception is required, even if not providing approval. Street and Hook will meet and/or collaborate via email. Hook reminded the TAB that in order for this policy to be fully effective, the Estes Valley Development Code needs changed primarily for enforcement and to add the requirements to future development. TRAIL MASTER PLAN: Postponed until the February TAB meeting due to time constraints. PROJECT UPDATES (G. Muhonen — Public Works Administration) Muhonen reported that the January 8 Town Board Study Session received a presentation on roundabouts which generated outreach. PROJECT UPDATES (D. Hook — Engineering Manager) No project updates were provided from Manager Hook due to time constraints. PROJECT UPDATES (V. Solesbee — Parking & Transit) Estes Transit: A special shuttle services will be provided for Winterfest and the Wine & Chocolate Festival. Solesbee will provide a ridership report at the February TAB meeting. The Town has received approval from CDOT on the new Electric Trolley order. There is a moratorium on capital expenditures at this time due to the Federal government shutdown. The lead time for the new shuttle is now set for September. The 2019 shuttle sponsor program has launched. Solesbee reported that sponsorships for 2018 generated just over $13K. As of Friday, January 11, the sponsorships were already at $9K. The gas-powered trolley, thanks to the Fleet Division, has been repaired and is now ready for the season. Parking: The 2019 Residential Parking Permit program began and permits are being are now being issued. The current rate for both residents and businesses is $30 per year. Next year, Solesbee will be reviewing and modifying this rate. Needed repairs are being made to the Digital Message Signs and the software is being updated. Solesbee reported they're discovering that the existing software has many more Transportation Advisory Board —January 16, 2019 — Page 4 capabilities than originally thought. It now needs determined if the switch to a new software is necessary. Solesbee met last week with a company that provides License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology and is waiting on their quote for the Town's technology needs. LPR is a big priority for 2019. Solesbee is visiting with other communities on how best to make objective, data-driven, informed decisions on whether or not to initiate paid parking. Manager Solesbee shared with the TAB the presentation material for the new paid parking warrant process. Early conversations have been initiated with other communities. After reviewing the presentation material with the TAB, due to time restraints, Solesbee stated she'd send the material to all TAB members with a list of questions as homework for the next meeting. OTHER BUSINESS With no other business to discuss, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:04 p.m. Recording Secretary Megan Van Hoozer, Public Works Department