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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Safe Routes to School Task Force 2021-03-08 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, March 8, 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 8th day of March, 2021 Task Force: Belle Morris, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton Attending: Chair Belle Morris, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Ann Finley, Public Works Di- rector Greg Muhonen, and Ryan Barr Absent: Scott Moulton Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:03 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 A motion was made and seconded (Hanick/Finley) to approve the March 1 meeting minutes and all were in favor. NEW BUSINESS Director Muhonen asked Ryan Barr to attend because he and Christy Crosser are work- ing on developing maps for the Master Trails Plan addendum. These include trail up- dates for Brodie Avenue, Graves Avenue, the proposed roundabout at U.S. 36 and Community Drive, and along the west side of Highway 7 from Pine Knoll Drive to Peak View Drive. Director Muhonen pointed out that the Trails Master Plan has three parts: The narrative, maps, and an appendix. Barr mentioned that he had looked at the initial Task Force map that showed trail gaps and existing pathways to be evaluated for deficiencies. From his perspective the map looked comprehensive. He offered to assist with mapping using ArcGIS. Chair Morris shared the Gaps Map she had developed and explained the legend for Barr’s benefit. She informed those present that she had added a crosswalk on Manford Avenue from the high school parking lot to the Stanley Park athletic fields. Currently there is a crosswalk on Manford Avenue near the Community Garden and the tennis courts, but since there is no sidewalk on the north side of the street, the crosswalk does not connect to anything. She also added a sidewalk along the west side of Community Drive heading south from Graves Avenue, which would provide additional connectivity. The Gaps Map she prepared also shows a sidewalk along the west side of Highway 7 from Graves Avenue to Peak View Drive. Barr concurred that it was a good idea to provide a sidewalk on Country Club Drive be- cause of the new Peak View Apartments being constructed on the west side of Highway 7, opposite Country Club Drive. It was agreed among the group that there will likely be a need for a pedestrian-activated crossing signal in that vicinity to assist pedestrians and cyclists to cross Highway 7. Chair Morris asked if a roundabout at Peak View and High- way 7 could be considered in the future to provide an “entrance” to the Highway 7 corri- dor. She further explained that the roundabout could encourage slower speeds given the current speed limit in the area is 50 mph. As a follow-up to the conversation at the last Task Force meeting about the Reclama- tion Neighborhood, Director Muhonen indicated that the Town had not developed plans for the internal walkways that extend from Second Street to Third Street. He thought it would be a good idea to include improving those internal sidewalks to accommodate pe- destrians and cyclists. As an overview for Barr, Director Muhonen pointed out that the Gaps Map was intended to show corridors. On a project-by-project basis determinations would be made regard- ing on which side of the street a sidewalk would be developed, sidewalk width, and other details. Finley asked Director Muhonen if sidewalks along a street will slow traffic speeds? Di- rector Muhonen responded that would likely only happen if pedestrians were present. Although not a safe environment for pedestrians, cars will slow down if vehicles are parked along the side of the street. It was discussed among the group that on street parking can present its own safety issues (i.e., obstruct visibility). Director Muhonen informed the group that he spoke to CDOT Region 4 about the sign- age and striping plan for U.S. 34. He requested that CDOT share the plan with the TAB. He pointed out that it will likely not be available for review until the 3rd quarter of this year. Chair Morris asked if a “green” pathway (marked bike lane) should be shown along Mall Road to extend from U.S. 34 to the Lake Estes Trail to provide connectivity. The group concurred that this would be a good idea. Chair Morris proposed an idea regarding a multi-use path that would extend from Man- ford Avenue through the school campus. The amount of pedestrian and vehicle traffic was noted as a barrier in the Brodie Avenue survey. Could designs be cconsidered to help with this problem? Barr informed the group that Dave Coleson, Transportation Manager for the school district, should be contacted about pathway connectivity through the school campus. He mentioned that the school district is considering resurfacing parking lots and that could possibly include reconfiguration of parking lots. Director Muhonen pointed out that internal pathway needs would be eligible for SRTS funding. The school district would manage construction contracts, not the Town. However, the Town and the school district could jointly apply for SRTS funding. It is not certain that there will be a funding call in 2021. Barr suggested that the next SRTS grant application could be for a more integrative approach and could be used to develop an SRTS plan. Chair Morris shared the Deficiencies Map for review. She pointed out that the existing sidewalk along the south side of U.S. 34 needed to be added to the map. Barr agreed to transfer the Gaps and Deficiencies maps to ArcGIS. He thought he could send those out to the Task Force in the near future. The Task Force reviewed the potential for a sidewalk along First Street. Gamble pointed out that cars park head-in at El Mexcal and at MedX and cars would back out over a sidewalk on the east side of the street, creating an unsafe situation for pedestrians. He preferred that the sidewalk be placed on the west side of First Street. Chair Morris pointed out that the pedestrian crossing between the Ridgeline Restaurant and El Mex- cal is well-used, but difficult for pedestrians. Pedestrian safety is compromised because vehicles pull out onto Highway 7 from First Street, and there is very limited sight dis- tance. She asked if parking could be excluded in the vicinity of the intersection for better visibility. It was concluded that a pathway/sidewalk connection should be shown along First Street, but the details would be worked out at the project level. Barr showed the group a satellite image that revealed that there are existing crosswalks on Manford Avenue in the vicinity of the high school. In response, Chair Morris advo- cated for a crosswalk at the east end of Manford Avenue. In addition, a sidewalk is needed on the north side of Manford Avenue in the vicinity of the high school. So that Barr will be up-to-date on what the Task Force has been doing, Gamble agreed to send him the minutes from the March 1st Task Force meeting and he will also send a link to the audit spreadsheet that is on the shared Google drive. The Task Force reviewed the audit spreadsheet and Gamble pointed out the edits he had made. It was agreed that data could be entered directly on the spreadsheet and those doing data entry should not type over existing entries. Everyone is to work off the spreadsheet on the shared Google drive. Director Muhonen stated that the data collected and entered into the spreadsheet should be a “high level” summary of deficiencies. He suggested that those collecting in- formation could use satellite imagery instead of walking every street and pathway. The spreadsheet can be initially populated using satellite imagery, a windshield survey done as a next step if needed, and finally a walking survey if needed. The Gaps Map, the Deficiencies Map, and the audit spreadsheet will be presented briefly at March 17 TAB meeting, and TAB members will be polled to see if they are available to conduct pathway/sidewalk inventories. Director Muhonen volunteered to preload the spreadsheet with street segments, which can then be divvied up among TAB members to be inventoried. He will also add a col- umn to the spreadsheet where the name of the surveyor can be entered. The maps and the preloaded spreadsheet can be included in the TAB packet for the March 17 meet- ing. The Task Force agreed to complete the pathway/sidewalk inventory within a 1-mile ra- dius of the school campus by April 14, which is one week before the April 21 TAB meet- ing. It was further agreed that the Task Force would not be meeting until it was recon- vened again for Phase 2 of the pathway/sidewalk gaps and deficiencies process. The meeting was adjourned at 1:11 p.m. Action Items 1. Gamble to send Barr the minutes from the March 1 TAB Task Force meeting and a link to the audit spreadsheet on the shared Google Drive. 2. Muhonen to add a column to the audit spreadsheet for the “surveyor” and preload the spreadsheet with street segments to be inventoried. 3. Chair Morris to include the Deficiencies Map, the Gaps Map, and the audit spread- sheet in the TAB packet for the March 17 meeting. 4. Barr to transfer the Gaps Map and the Deficiencies Map to ArcGIS for the area within a 1-mile radius of the school campus.