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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Safe Routes to School Task Force 2021-01-04 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 4, 2021 Minutes of a scheduled meeting of the Safe Routes to School Task Force of the Transportation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on the 4th day of January, 2021 Task Force: Belle Morris, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton Attending: Belle Morris, Larry Gamble, Scott Moulton, David Hook (representing Public Works), Blake Robertson, and Christy DeLorme Absent: Ann Finley, Linda Hanick Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:01 p.m. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT The Task Force Meeting was advertised and a link to the virtual meeting was provided. Members of the public participating in the meeting included Blake Robertson and Christy DeLorme. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made and seconded (Moulton/Delorme) to approve the December 21 meeting minutes and all were in favor. NEW BUSINESS At the December 21, 2020 meeting Task Force members were given the assignment to identify 3 - 4 questions that could be included in a local survey about walking or biking to/from school. Delorme really liked the Oregon Safe Routes to School Parent/Caregiver Survey. This sample survey is available on the shared Google Docs drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BLnzgUqMd52cTbt0meiAslMRgt_Fyh0b To keep things simple we do not need to “reinvent the wheel.” Gamble also liked the Oregon survey, and he had identified four questions that could be used in the Estes Park survey. He mentioned that some of the questions on the Oregon survey aren’t relevant to Estes Park and can be deleted. Morris and Moulton both suggested that one of the impediments that should be added to the Estes Park survey is “bad weather.” All meeting attendees agreed that the Estes Park survey should include a question on impediments to walking or biking to/from school. Robertson recommended that the Task Force should determine what survey instrument would be used. SurveyMonkey® is one possibility, and it can compile the results if we stick to multiple choice questions rather than narrative questions. Because there may not be access to email or a computer in every home, the survey may need to be printed out and distributed as well. One possibility would be for the school to hand out a paper survey for students to take home with them. Delorme wanted to know the end goal of the project and the timeframe. Is it primarily to obtain project funding? She pointed out that in-person learning will not happen in the schools for another two weeks. Chair Morris responded to Delorme’s questions by stating that the Task Force had set up three meetings to get this “task” on track. As a group, an official timeline has not been established. The purpose of the project is to capture data that can assist with grant writing and to inform the Town of Estes Park Public Works Department of on-the- ground infrastructure deficiencies that need to be addressed. The task force will develop a working document (spreadsheet) to capture data and that can be continually added to over time. TAB chose the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) process because it provides a funding source and there are lots of guidelines and examples available. Morris is trying to maintain Task Force focus on an initial 1-mile radius around the schools. We should try to reach agreement on the process by the end of January. Delorme wanted to know if the school district has done anything to promote SRTS? She also wanted to know if there has been any communication between TAB and the school district. Chair Morris indicated that to the best of her knowledge there has been no communication with the school district. Delorme indicated that she can initiate communication with the school district (John Bryant) when needed. Chair Morris reiterated that the Task Force focus at this time is on “Engineering,” which is just one of the six Es of the SRTS program. What we accomplish initially will be incorporated into a larger project involving the entire Estes Valley. The initial task is to identify “engineering” needs within a 1-mile radius of the schools. The survey that is being developed will determine who the users are (walking and biking to/from school), and impediments to walking or biking to/from school. The audit to be completed (spreadsheet) will help to identify where there are deficiencies in the infrastructure. The Task Force and likely others will be doing a “boots on the ground” inventory to determine where the deficiencies are. Moulton gave a brief update on the process to date and where we find ourselves today. Three TAB meetings ago the Task Force members were tasked with identifying infrastructure defects. SRTS was chosen as a way to guide the Task Force. The end product was to create a centralized database or spreadsheet that would inform Public Works where project dollars would be needed to make improvements. Robertson mentioned that we may be talking about a “video inventory.” At least there would be multiple “eyes” assessing the situation which could then be distilled into useful information for Public Works. Chair Morris informed the group that we need to have a conversation on how to document the deficiencies and needed improvements. At a minimum there should be photographs. The original task was to look valley-wide. However, that would be too cumbersome and a huge undertaking. It was initially decided that SRTS could be used as guide, and if successful, the process and materials we develop now can be used for a valley-wide inventory. Delorme believes that having “boots on the ground” is a great idea. She did have a concern that the survey may make it difficult to limit the results to the 1-mile radius around the schools. Conceivably, the survey could produce information that would cover much of the Estes Valley. She recommended starting with the “boots on the ground” inventory first, then move forward with the survey. Moulton suggested that with a mail out survey it could be confined to the 1-mile radius around the schools. However, the survey could ask parents/caregivers how far they live from the school. The Task Force could initially screen out those that are more than 1 mile away. Even with responses from greater than 1 mile, it would be good information to have. He also mentioned that SurveyMonkey® questionnaires can also be printed and handed out. Chair Morris stated that the Task Force needs to develop an on-the-ground audit form. Robertson recommended that information be obtained from the school district on the criteria they use to determine who can or cannot ride the school bus. There may be distance criteria involved. Gamble wondered if the Task Force would want to narrow down the on-the-ground inventory to those routes where students are currently walking or biking to/from school. Hook stated that Public Works was interested in information beyond just the routes that students were using to walk or bike to school. Chair Morris wanted to know what information Public Works needs from the audit. She wondered if there are certain things that need to be captured in the database or spreadsheet. Hook stated that Public Works can come up with a list of 6 - 8 things that should be captured during the audit. These could be termed “absences” (for example a sidewalk that simply dead ends) and/or deficiencies (for example a deteriorating concrete sidewalk). Chair Morris suggested that the Task Force could focus first on developing and populating the spreadsheet. Then as a group, priorities would be established for the items on the spreadsheet. The spreadsheet could be melded with the survey (for example, the survey could help to establish priorities). Robertson wanted to know if the Town’s “video car” could be used to capture video along the streets. Hook will check and see if the “video car” has that capability. It is currently configured for license plate recognition. Robertson suggested that at a minimum GPS encoding should be enabled when taking photos. Also, photos should include a description indicating the cardinal direction the photo was taken and perhaps reference how far the photographer was standing from a known feature. Chair Morris suggested that the map developed by Robertson could be divided into segments that could be assigned to Task Force members and others who might assist with the inventory. Robertson wondered if the Town had mapping capability that could assist with the project. Hook stated that presently the Town has no dedicated GIS person. However, he thought that a list of street names could be developed for use in the spreadsheet, and could possibly be divided up into geographic areas. Hook stated that it is not likely that the school district would provide email addresses for the Task Force surveys. For that reason the school district may need to email the surveys, if that is how they will be administered. Delorme wanted to know if it is okay to involve the school district at this point? Chair Morris responded that involvement of the school district will be key. The school district should know that the TAB is working on the first phase (1 mile radius around the school) which will be a model for future phases. Our initial focus will be on “Engineering” within the 1-mile radius. The survey results will hopefully provide information that will assist with other 5 Es in the SRTS framework. Hook stated that we do desire to have an ongoing partnership with the school district. Morris mentioned that there are other groups that could be part of the partnership. Estes Valley Investment in Childhood Success (EVICS) and the Estes Park Learning Place are two such examples. There may be other groups and services that engage with students of all ages. Chair Morris reiterated that the on-the-ground audit should not just be confined to where students walk or bike. There are other streets and locations that would benefit from an audit. IDENTIFIED NEXT STEPS 1. Every Task Force member is to identify survey questions. These are to be emailed to Larry Gamble and Belle Morris ASAP. Gamble and Morris will put together a draft survey for review at the January 11 Task Force meeting. The goal is to finalize the survey by next week. Gamble email: pinewood670@gmail.com Morris email: BelleSMorris@hotmail.com 2. By group consensus, two questions will be included on the survey: A. How far the respondent lives from the school campus B. Include “bad weather” as an impediment to walking or biking to/from school 3. Hook will determine what audit information Public Works would like to have on the spreadsheet. 4. Hook will look into the potential for developing a list of street names that can be incorporated into the spreadsheet. 5. Moulton will incorporate Public Works audit needs into the spreadsheet and will develop a draft naming convention for photographs or videos that are taken during the audit. The Task force will review these items at the next meeting. 6. Delorme will communicate with the school district and request information on school busing criteria and will determine if it is possible to email the survey to parents/caregivers.