HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2022-11-16
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, November 16, 2022
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY
BOARD of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held
in the Municipal Building in said Town of Estes Park on the 16th day of
November, 2022.
Board: Chair Belle Morris; Vice-Chair Kristen Ekeren; Members
Javier Bernal, Jessica Ferko, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda
Hanick, Mark Igel, and Gordon Slack; Trustee Patrick
Martchink; Staff Liaison Greg Muhonen
Attending: Chair Morris, Vice-Chair Ekeren; Members Bernal, Ferko,
Finley, Gamble, Hanick, and Slack; Managers Hook and
Solesbee; Trustee Hazelton; Director Muhonen, Recording
Secretary McDonald; Jeff Bailey, Public Works Engineer;
Dana Klein (Manager, The Car Park); John Hannon
(Management Specialist, Rocky Mountain National Park);
Colleen DePasquale (Executive Director, Estes Chamber of
Commerce)
Absent: Member Igel; Trustee Martchink
Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
TRUSTEE LIAISON UPDATE
Trustee Kirby Hazelton, attending on behalf of Trustee Martchink, advised that she would
provide the Town Board’s perspective on agenda items throughout the meeting as
needed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES DATED OCTOBER 19, 2022
It was moved and seconded (Slack/Hanick) to approve the October 19, 2022,
minutes, and the motion passed unanimously.
DOWNTOWN WAYFINDING PLAN
Manager Hook summarized the minor content revisions to the Downtown Wayfinding
Signage Program’s Design & Implementation Plan (DWP). Presentation points included
Spanish text requirements on all signs types; ADA navigation support features such as
LiDAR and GPS mapping, which function as audible “beacons” that broadcast information
and directions through mobile phones/headsets; ADA digital signage specifications;
adjustments to the auto directional signs to accommodate the impact of speed on
legibility; consideration of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) right-of-way
Transportation Advisory Board – November 16, 2022 – Page 2
standards for signage design; the addition of the DWP public survey and input results
(Appendix B); and the seating area specifications for information kiosks.
Discussion points included the request for a TAB letter of support to be presented at the
December 13 Town Board meeting, when it is hoped the DWP will be adopted to secure
an early 2023 bid for partial implementation by Memorial Day 2023; anticipated phases
of the full implementation; and positive feedback on the pace, unification of detail, and
polished results of the DWP since its conception. Chair Morris will draft and circulate to
TAB members the letter of support explaining its approval of the current DWP and its
intention to evaluate and confirm the signage style and content after completion of phase
one.
CLEAVE STREET IMPROVEMENTS
Engineer Bailey presented the 60% design plans for the Cleave Street Improvements
project, which is estimated to cost $3.2 million. Presentation points included the
opportunity for a 2023 Revitalizing Main Streets grant to cover utilities work; ADA
improvements such as curb requirements along the north side of the road for accessibility
and cross-slope control; and 100-year storm considerations.
Discussion points included signage and pavement markings to be featured in the 90%
plans; addressing the concerns of some Cleave Street residents and businesses about
the loss of on-street parking; the project’s impact on the downtown parking ecosystem;
options for new parking spaces, lots, and permits; and the TAB’s future review of the
project’s Complete Streets checklist. Engineer Bailey encourages comments from the
TAB and the public prior to the December 13 Town Board Study Session.
TAB members provided supporting points and relevant concerns for Chair Morris to
include in a letter of support for the current design plans. The 90% plans are expected to
be presented at the December 21 TAB meeting.
2023 SEASONAL PAID PARKING PROGRAM
Manager Solesbee advised that she would focus on the learning highlights of the 2022
Seasonal Paid Parking Program report to ensure that time was available to discuss 2023
program options.
The program’s operational investments included reduced program hours; more
payment/kiosk options; elevation of customer service; improved signage; and in-person
engagement and trust-building with the downtown business community by Manager
Solesbee and The Car Park’s Manager Klein. Parking occupancy data held mostly steady
from 2021, but reflected more activity in the gravel lots and along the roadways; data also
showed exceptionally strong results between August and October, possibly due to better
weather and decreased gas prices. Revenue decreased less than expected, and
expenses increased due to the program’s improvement costs. Staff recommends that the
data-driven, incremental approach to the program’s expansion be continued, with
sensitivity to the larger parking ecosystem resulting from the area’s major construction
projects. This recommendation retains the 2022 season length, hours, and rates;
Transportation Advisory Board – November 16, 2022 – Page 3
transitions the 41-space Davis Lot to a paid area; and prohibits the weekend use of
employee permits on Virginia and East Riverside.
Discussion points included the popularity of the paid parking pocket maps, and the
possibility of the same format for the 2023 transit brochures; pros and cons of all 2023
program options, and the impact of a fee increase; the importance of promoting use of
the parking structure, especially through signage on US 34, US 36, and a possible banner
on the structure; the most logical areas to transition from free to paid parking; parking
mitigation factors when construction affects the use of the dirt lots; staff parking for the
Estes Valley Library; and improved engagement with lodging entities to communicate
parking and transit options.
Manager Solesbee emphasized that there will be a two-meeting, public hearing process
before 2023 overall changes are proposed, but that fee changes must be proposed before
the December 13 Town Board Study Session. The Parking Revenue Task Force has
assembled to develop recommendations to the Town Board on how parking revenues
should be spent.
MOBILITY SERVICES UPDATES
Manager Solesbee reported that the new, second trolley is arriving November 18; the
other trolley will be hauled away on the same flatbed and then returned—at no expense
to the Town—after installation of the new battery technology. CDOT is providing $70k for
the Town’s 2023 transit operations and administration.
The transit branding project is underway and will be presented to the TAB in December
(regular or special meeting TBD). The Town, Visit Estes Park and Simply Christmas are
partnering on the “Jolly Trolley” for the November 25 Catch the Glow Parade and
throughout the holiday season. A February Town Board Study Session will be held
regarding the Town’s participation level in a new regional transportation and Travel
Demand Management (TDM; US 34 Coalition) group; a presentation to the TAB would
follow.
DOWNTOWN ESTES LOOP UPDATES
Director Muhonen invited TAB attendance and a letter of support to be presented at a
November 17 Town Board special meeting for the Downtown Estes Loop (DEL) project.
The meeting memo, which TAB members were invited to review prior to this TAB meeting,
detailed one option to stop the project and two to advance it.
Discussion points included the original purpose of the DEL nine years ago and how
factors such as paid parking have eased certain concerns that motivated the project;
details of the options laid out in the memo, and each member’s option preference; the
project’s safety and infrastructure improvements, and the independent cost of those
improvements if the project is canceled; and the pros and cons of holding a public vote in
March about the project’s future. It was moved and seconded (Finley/Ekeren) that the
TAB letter for November 17 state support for memo option three, and the motion
passed 6-0 with one member absent.
Transportation Advisory Board – November 16, 2022 – Page 4
ENGINEERING & ADMINISTRATION UPDATES
Director Muhonen advised that the required five-year sunset review for the TAB would
take place at the November 22 Town Board Study Session. The US 36/Community Drive
Roundabout bid will be announced November 17 for a bid opening of December 15; the
project will be approved by the Town Board in early 2023 depending on funding and the
CDOT Concurrence to Award.
The annual appreciation meal will be provided during the December 21 TAB meeting.
Recording Secretary McDonald will coordinate the details and remind TAB members
when she emails the December meeting packet.
Other engineering and administration updates were postponed due to meeting time
considerations.
OTHER BUSINESS
None.
There being no further business, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:19 p.m.
Lani McDonald, Recording Secretary