Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Safe Routes to School Task Force 2021-02-01 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, February 1, 2021 Minutes of a scheduled meeting of the Sidewalk & Trail Needs Task Force of the Trans- portation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on the 1st day of February, 2021 Task Force: Belle Morris, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton Attending: Chair Belle Morris, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Public Works Director Greg Muhonen, Christy DeLorme, and Blake Robertson (Joined at 12:30 via phone) Absent: Scott Moulton, Ann Finley Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT The Task Force Meeting was advertised and a link to the virtual meeting was provided. No members of the public participated in the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the January 25, 2021 Task Force meeting were amended and distrib- uted for review to all who attended that meeting. A motion was made and seconded (Hanick/DeLorme) to approve the January 25 meeting minutes as amended and all were in favor. NEW BUSINESS The Task Force reviewed the Brodie Avenue pre- and post-project surveys for applica- bility to the current task of conducting an audit of walking and biking pathways to/from the school campus and identifying impediments to walking and biking. Gamble thought the survey results provided good information. Many of the written com- ments identified impediments to walking or biking to/from school. Director Muhonen reported that Town staff consulted with the CDOT SRTS contractor, and the result of that communication was that the Brodie Avenue post-project survey (completed in December 2020) can be used as Graves Avenue pre-project survey. Therefore, another survey isn’t really needed at this time. Chair Morris found that the Brodie Avenue surveys contained interesting information on the routes to school. She noted that several families appeared to be very engaged in the potential to walk or bike to school. The surveys also revealed that wind is an impedi- ment. Director Muhonen was surprised to learn that at least one bike had been stolen and there was fear that others could be stolen at school. He assumed that every school had a bike rack where a bike could be locked. Chair Morris reported that each school has a bike rack, but they are not conveniently lo- cated. She wondered if bike rack location and lack of bike locks was an impediment. Both could be corrected fairly easily. Hanick also suggested that the schools could re- consider bike rack location so they are closer to the main entrance and more visible. Hanick noted that the survey results indicate that there is a fear of crossing Highway 7. This confirms how important an option such as an underpass may be. She also noted that at least one student would like to ride to school from Old Ranger Road, but the mul- tiuse path is on the opposite side of West Elkhorn Avenue, so a crosswalk may be needed. Director Muhonen shared that the only new sidewalk west of downtown on the south side of West Elkhorn Avenue is to extend from the entrance to the Elkhorn Lodge to Mrs. Walsh’s Garden. Hopefully the need for a crossing at Old Ranger Road will show up in the pathway audit and can be addressed in the future. Chair Morris pointed out that there is already an accessible ramp on the multiuse path at Old Ranger Road. What is needed is a crosswalk at that location. Chair Morris believes that the Brodie Avenue surveys provide legitimate data, and the Task Force could identify a few questions that could be included in a future survey. For the future there could be questions on why a pathway was perceived as too narrow, and would families be interested in the concept of shared space streets? Director Muhonen stated that more education would be needed before a respondent could answer those questions. He believes that the consultant could address the shared street idea with Graves Avenue design concepts. That concept could then be part of the community outreach. Gamble mentioned that Christy Crosser had told the Task Force that the Brodie Avenue surveys were standard SRTS format and were administered on the national SRTS web portal. Those surveys were therefore limited to standard questions. He also was in- trigued with a comment that suggested suspending school bus service within 1 mile of the school campus. DeLorme responded that she would be hesitant to suspend school bus service within 1 mile because of weather. She also pointed out that some parents are more comfortable putting kids on the bus rather than walking or riding a bike. Hanick stated that the Brodie Avenue surveys contained lots of good information. She went on to say that if she had a student in school she would not want them to ride a bike on the street. Highway 7 in particular is a big impediment. Chair Morris pointed out that it is clear that students who live further out aren’t walking or riding to/from school. To this point, Gamble responded that it is amazing how many students are driven to/from school. The Task Force reviewed the Pathway Audit Checklist prepared by Gamble. Chair Mor- ris wanted to determine how the auditors would map identified locations. Director Muhonen suggested that the on-the-ground work needed to be divided into log- ical segments, and the team needed to be thoughtful about how the data was to be col- lected and interpreted. He wondered if the data could be collected using software that could tabulate responses rather than on paper copies. Because of the significant effort involved he recommended that the Task Force identify highly used corridors within the 1-mile radius around the school campus and focus on those routes. Gamble also rec- ommended that the team focus on streets and pathways that students are actually using at this point in time. Hanick suggested that the team should look at the main “spokes” radiating out from the school campus along with the major streets. She wanted to ensure that the team knew exactly what information to capture. Director Muhonen pointed out that the community had identified missing trail/sidewalk links in the Master Trails Plan. He believes there is value in having the team identify main corridors or routes and to survey them first. He recommended using the 1-mile ra- dius map that Roberson developed and literally use a highlighter to identify the main routes to be surveyed. The Master Trails Plan could be used in the next phase (outside the 1-mile radius) to identify key routes. He recommended that the team use Graves Av- enue as a pilot for the Pathway Audit Checklist. It was pointed out that the Master Trails Plan was not really fine grained enough to de- finitively show needed improvements in the downtown area. The plan was focused more on the periphery. Chair Morris mentioned that the Brodie Avenue surveys clearly identified a lack of con- nectivity. She also pointed out that the Stanley Park Master Plan should also be refer- enced as it also contains mutiuse connectivity recommendations. She also recom- mended that the team could invite residents known to team members to participate in the pathway audits in specific neighborhoods. The team should definitely look at the Master Trails Plan to see what is proposed within the 1-mile radius from the schools. DeLorme is aware of several pathway gaps in the area of Mountain Top Preschool. Muhonen acknowledged that providing connectivity to the preschool would be important It was at this point in the virtual meeting that Blake Robertson was able to join via phone. Robertson has a measuring wheel, and he asked if it would be helpful to identify specific locations along a route. Muhonen responded that it would be useful if the starting point was clearly identified (0+00) and the station of the identified need was recorded (for ex- ample: 2+75 = 275 feet from the starting point). Chair Morris pointed out that photos would be important as well. Robertson suggested that the station where each photo was taken should also be recorded. He also thought about mounting a GoPro camera on the measuring wheel so the entire route would be captured on video. He advocated for capturing sufficient information so the route did not have to be walked again. He also supported doing a “test run” on Graves Avenue so the Task Force would then know what is useful data to collect. Chair Morris responded that she did not believe we needed to capture video of the entire area. Chair Morris stated that she had some concerns with the more technical terms in the Pathway Audit Checklist. For example “deflection.” She requested that the boots-on-the- ground team receive some interpretation from Public Works so they get the information they need. Muhonen suggested trying out the checklist in the field and rewording as needed. The Task Force agreed to meet for 1 hour to conduct a test audit on Graves Avenue starting at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9. The lower lobby at the Recreation Center is the meeting location. Action Items 1. Muhonen to have Town staff upload the Master Trails Plan and the Stanley Park Master Plan to the shared Google drive 2. Gamble to upload the 1-mile radius maps Robertson created to the shared Google drive 3. Muhonen to arrange for virtual meetings at noon on February 8, 15, and 22. Public Works will set up the virtual meetings, send invitations, and notify the public of the three virtual meetings and the February 9 audit of Graves Avenue. Meeting adjourned at 1:09 p.m.