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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Committee 2015-1-21 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, January 21st, 2015 Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Room 203 of Town Hall, in said Town of Estes Park on the 21st day of January, 2015. Present: Kimberly Campbell Ann Finley Stan Black Cory LaBianca Gregg Rounds Thom Widawski Belle Morris Bryon Holmes Also Present: Greg Muhonen, Director of Public Works Kevin Ash, Public Works Civil Engineer Jen Imber, Public Works Administrative Assistant Sandy Osterman, Shuttle Committee Representative John Ericson, Town Board Liaison Christy Crosser, Grants Specialist Chief Wes Kufeld, Estes Park Police Department Absent: Amy Hamrick Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. GENERAL DISCUSSION No public was in attendance, so public comment was not heard. Minutes from the November and December meetings and the Special Meeting on 12/3/14 were reviewed by members. It was moved and seconded (Finley/Labianca) to approve all aforementioned minutes, with the motion passing unanimously. The draft bylaws were reviewed and discussed by members. A few minor amendments were proposed. It was moved and seconded (Finley/Rounds) to approve the amended bylaws, with the motion passing unanimously. Ann Finley nominated Kimberly Campbell for committee chair. It was moved and seconded (Finley/LaBianca) to elect Kimberly Campbell as committee chair , with all voting in favor and Kimberly abstaining from the vote. It was moved and seconded (Finley/Morris) for Cory LaBianca to be re-elected as vice-chair and it passed unanimously. Cory LaBianca, Greg Rounds and Kimberly Campbell have expiring terms on March 31st, 2015. Applications were passed out to these members and each was encouraged to apply for reappointment. Sandy Osterman gave a brief update on Shuttle Committee happenings. 2015 will see new logos featured on side of shuttles, new shuttle signage, another trolley will be rented for use on the silver route and the brown route will get larger bus. STAFF UPDATES ON TOWN PROJECTS A brief update was provided on the Downtown Estes Loop project. The Dry Gulch project has been awarded for design to Farnsworth in Fort Collins. The floodplain may cause bigger issue than originally anticipated for the Dry Gulch project, since the Transportation Advisory Committee – January 21st, 2015 – Page 2 floodway comes onto the road, which may cause additional processes and phasing of construction. Obtaining ROW from private property owners could also have an impact on the schedule. An update on the progress of flood recovery projects was also provided. Fish Creek will be completed in two phases - utility work and trail/street work. Utility work has been bid and awarded for design. ROW issues and environmental concerns will take time, construction will probably happen in 2016 with final completion in 2017. MAJOR EVENT TRAFFIC CONGESTION MANAGEMENT Chief Wes Kufeld joined the committee for the major event traffic management plan discussion. Chair Campbell gave a brief overview of the concept. Chief Kufeld said special events take months of planning, including outlying intersect ions as well as the downtown corridor. Necessary manpower for such events includes all officers as well as 20 auxiliary members. Chief Kufeld has found signage has been the most effective tool for traffic control during events. The Police Department currently struggles with manpower needs and cannot dedicate officers or auxiliary to the proposed traffic management plan. Chief Kufeld suggested formation of another volunteer organization dedicated to traffic control, with the Police Department helping to train them. Chair Campbell asked if signage at Community Drive directing traffic to Fairgrounds and school parking would help congestions. Chief Kufeld indicated that awareness and direction to the location of available parking would be beneficial. He also said events in Bond Park cause backups at the Highway 34/36 intersection because many motorists are slowing down to look at event as they drive by. He believes a person physically standing in the road directing traffic can/will cause another huge backup; it is a delicate balance to avoid creating problems elsewhere. Chair Campbell suggested making the distinction that TAB is taking on parking management and not traffic management, with the primary goal of getting downtown visitors out of their cars as efficiently as possible. Focus on signage with a simple message would be most effective. TAB should discuss what type of message should be delivered through signage, such as directing traffic to free parking areas or indicating that downtown parking was full. Director Muhonen recommended this as a component of the overall downtown parking strategic plan, with effective communication to the motorist being key. Chief Kufeld is supportive, but his department has limited manpower resources, so trained volunteers capable of handling traffic is vital to the success of the plan. The lockup of traffic is concerning on many level, causing road rage and problems getting emergency vehicles through downtown. RV parking and handicap parking are also huge problems. RV parking removed from Visitor Center and Municipal lots would cause complaints, especially from buses dropping off large groups. Chief Kufeld sighted it as more of a traffic issue than a safety issue with large vehicles pulling into the Municipal lot and causing a blockage. If Municipal RV spots are eliminated, they would need to be reallocated somewhere else downtown. Tour buses and RVs need to be a specific component of parking plan. Special event management will be a sub-topic of overall downtown parking strategic plan. TRANSIT HUB PARKING STRUCTURE Transportation Advisory Committee – January 21st, 2015 – Page 3 Director Muhonen reported the south side parking lot is not a viable option for the parking structure in accordance with using grant money. In order to obtain the needed additional 500 parking spaces, structures will be needed on both sides of the river on the Visitor Center campus. At this point the Town needs to decide if the grant money will be used to build on the north side or if the money will be returned to the Feds. Director Muhonen gave an overview of several new options and costs for the north side structure. A smaller building could be built on the north side to utilize the grant money, with the south side site being revisited in the future as a new project. Chair Campbell asked if the board was in favor of recommending the project on the north side, with a show of hands indicating six members were in favor of moving forward with a structure on the north lot and two opposed. With the majority of the board in support of the original location of project, they will move forward with a recommendation to build a structure with a smaller footprint on the north lot. Chair Campbell proposed appearing along with Director Muhonen at a Town Board meeting to summarize TAB discussion on the project, but that the board hasn’t reached consensus. The Transit Hub Parking Structure discussion will continue at the February meeting. With no other business to discuss, Chair Campbell adjourned the meeting at 2:09 p.m.