HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2021-06-16
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, June 16, 2021
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on the
16th day of June 2021.
Committee: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda
Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack
Attending: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda
Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Public Works Director
Greg Muhonen, Engineering Mgr. David Hook, Parking &
Transit Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee, The Car Park Matt
Eisenberg, Rocky Mountain National Park John Hannon,
Pedi-Cab Business Owner Ryan Hale, Town Board Trustee
Carlie Bangs
Absent:
Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No electronic submissions of public comment were received prior to the deadline and no
public was in attendance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded (Slack/Gamble) to approve the May meeting minutes
with edits and all were in favor.
PEDI-CAB IN ESTES PARK (Ryan Hale, Pedicab Business Owner)
Chair Morris introduced Ryan Hale, owner of the local pedicab business. Hale’s
participation and discussion today is intended to introduce members to another
transportation mode as part of a multimodal discussion and share its successes and
challenges.
Hale shared that he owns Hale Pedicab. He stated that when he previously worked as a
Community Service Officer (CSO), he saw someone walking from the parking structure
to Performance Park at the opposite end of downtown. He concluded that short-
distance transportation services would be helpful to many individuals. The pedicab
business runs on zero emissions, using only leg power and serves the Estes Park
downtown area. Additionally, pedicabs are made in Broomfield, Colorado. The original
individuals operating Hale’s Pedicab now both have employment that is not conducive
to continuing the performance of short-distance travel services. The pedicab, when
operating is now provided as a public service, with rides being free and tips being
welcomed. Hale invested $6K in the pedicabs. While it is now more of a hobby, Hale
would love to see 2 dozen pedicabs downtown. He was able to earn back his
investment in the first year of pedicab service.
Member Hanick asked if people have the ability to call and request a ride. Hale stated
that those seeking a ride can contact 970-215-4030 to make their request. At this time
there is no existing website or Facebook page, however business cards are available
and much of his service is generated based on word-of-mouth.
Member Gamble extended his appreciation for Hale’s time in presenting to the TAB. He
then asked Hale what demand he feels is accurate and how many pedicabs would be
required to meet the demand. Hale stated that the service period would be May through
October. Hale explained the business thoughts behind the plan, but stated it is difficult
to determine business potential.
Member Slack recommended Hale attend the upcoming Bike to Work day to visit with
other participants.
Transportation Advisory Board – June 16, 2021 – Page 2
BYLAW TEMPLATE & POLICY 102 DISCUSSION (Director Greg Muhonen)
The TAB has been working on bylaw updates for well over a year and have
spearheaded much change. Muhonen shared that the recommended changes by TAB
carried through to other advisory boards. The Code of Conduct and Job Description
triggered broader discussion. Eventually the discussion resulted in a new template, with
the Code of Conduct and Job Description being added to Policy 102 which is applicable
to all Town advisory boards. Relating to process, the bylaws currently identify that if any
revisions are made, 20 days must be allowed for review and comment. Muhonen asked
the TAB to review the information, to be sent after the meeting, and be ready to discuss
and vote at July meeting. Muhonen reminded the TAB that staff have limited discretion
on changing the bylaws.
COMPLETE STREETS POLICY DISCUSSION (Chair Belle Morris)
Referencing last month’s discussion, a street hierarchy needs to be determined. Morris
requested Director Muhonen guide the discussion. Muhonen stated the thought process
behind the suggestion for added discussion spun from a couple things. The first being
the Safe Routes to School Task Force evaluated the pedestrian facilities within one mile
of the school, and had many findings. Although it is not reasonable to add sidewalks to
every street in Town, the policy doesn’t clarify. The types of transportation modes on
defined types of streets needs to be determined. The determination basically comes
down to the average daily traffic in a given location. There are a variety of modes that
the policy does not address, making the policy not accommodating, but restrictive.
Morris agrees that based on the Task Force’s street survey, the improvements and
desired upgrades would be very expensive and time consuming. The Task force
identified a type of ranking and hierarchy during the walking audits which may be a
good starting point. Member Gamble agreed and stated that the definition of a street,
within the policy, is a bit broad and concurred with Muhonen that a hierarchy should be
well-defined.
Member Slack has understood that the current policy is working well, although only
used a couple times. Muhonen stated the importance of defining this is due to the
communications and comments that have been made indicating the policy is not being
satisfied. TAB can attack this proactively and provide suggestions to staff or when staff
is ready to implement new street standards, get involved at that time, either perform
proactively or reactively. Slack further stated that Graves Avenue is a high-traffic street
both for pedestrians and vehicles and suggested leaving it to Public Works to make the
decisions on how to implement the projects.
Morris stated that, for the Graves Avenue Improvements, the presentation only provided
3 options and the fact that there were no bike lanes was startling. The modifications to
the designs were still not acceptable.
Manager Hook offered his thoughts, stating that there had not been many applications
of the policy. Although the policy was not created perfectly, these early applications
have brought improvement opportunities to light and has initiated conversation. Work on
the Complete Streets Policy will continue without great urgency. Morris agrees this is
not a TAB top priority and recommended reviewing the policy again in December.
Gamble stated that, based on feedback from Greg and knowing that the Complete
Streets checklist has been used, there aren’t many modifications needed.
PARKING & TRANSIT UPDATES (Parking & Transit Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee, The Car
Park Mgr. Matt Eisenberg)
Parking:
Eisenberg shared information about the paid parking program launch, improvements,
and successes. Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Dashboard is now available on the
Town’s website.
Transportation Advisory Board – June 16, 2021 – Page 3
Identified areas for improvement: The signs are too high, are hard to read, and it is
difficult to scan the QR codes. Feedback has also been received stating that the signs
are confusing.
Compliance: The Car Park has not seen the level of compliance expected. There are
25-40% of vehicles that are not paying or are not displaying the proper permit. Although
improved signage may help, there is also a need for increased enforcement.
Estes Parking App: Individuals that own the newer iOS Apple phones are having
difficulty with the app. The Car Park is working with their vendor to correct the issues.
Public Outreach – The Car Park and Town parking staff continue to communicate with
individuals around town. Eisenberg has been walking into businesses to ask how
everything is going. Additional steps are forthcoming.
Eisenberg then listed the successes with this year’s program:
• Since May 28 the free lots are up 48% in occupancy
• When viewing the peripheral lots it is showing occupancy in the parking structure
is up nearly 50%
• The average revenue is at $5,614 per day which is good, but an increase is
expected beginning in July
• Mobile Payment Adoption is at 49%. Eisenberg shared that when working in
Boise, Idaho the adoption was only at 20-30%.
Solesbee stated that the Parking & Transit Division is also tracking all comments
received from residents and visitors and qualitative perspectives to share with the Town
Board. Member Slack stated that he has witnessed, when driving through the lots, that
there are actually open parking spaces, specifically in the Town Hall lot which hasn’t
been seen in the past. This is a good sign and has achieved the desired result.
Solesbee stated she’s received this feedback as well.
Member Hanick also feels the program is a success. She added that the only real
problem is the Public Relations part of it, identifying that the signage definitely needs
work. She reminded the TAB that the average reading is at a 4th grade level. Hanick
also stated that the signs do not contain enough information, adding that they need
hours of required pay and the charge. Managers Solesbee and Eisenberg are working
toward solutions for signage improvement.
Vice Chair Street has seen individuals lined up at the payment kiosks, adding some
people don’t know they can use their phone to pay until they get to the kiosk. Street is
still hoping the congestion lessens as was anticipated as being one of the points of paid
parking. Eisenberg suggested that once the wayfinding signage is installed, it may help
this situation. Muhonen will be working to establish traffic counts and has hired a traffic
counting company to perform these measures. Once completed, Muhonen will perform
a comparative analysis of past years.
Transit:
Solesbee shared that on July 3 there will be a ribbon-cutting for new trolley and the
launch of Bustang services. Solesbee invited all to attend.
Public Works would like to pursue FTA funding 5311 operating dollars. The Town is
eligible and the Town’s Grant Specialist Christy Crosser will help complete and submit
the grant application. The additional funding totals $360K with no required match.
ENGINEERING UPDATES (Engineering Mgr. David Hook)
Manager Hook provided project updates since the last meeting.
Parking Wayfinding:
Phase 1 destination signage installation is complete. The Phase 2 directional signage is
scheduled to begin with installation next week. This phase includes the street name
Transportation Advisory Board – June 16, 2021 – Page 4
signs being installed that are located on mast arms, with the color and formatting of the
other recently installed signage.
Graves Avenue Improvements:
A Virtual Open House was held since the May TAB meeting with 2 weeks allotted to
provide input. There were also 2 different in-person open houses resulting in excellent
turnout. The North side improvements received the highest ranks and the design
concept is moving forward. The options presented have been merged resulting in the
following plan: Extend the existing 5’ sidewalk on the North side; slim down travel lanes;
maintain parking on both the North and South side. Install 10’ sidewalk on the South
side. This work will be done using a phased approach as the budget for this project has
been far exceeded with the suggested changes. The next opportunity for a Safe Routes
to School (SRTS) grant would provide for improvements not captured in the initial
phase, as well as provide for trail improvements along Community Drive for trail
connectivity.
PROJECT / ADMINISTRATION UPDATES (Public Works Director Greg Muhonen)
Muhonen shared that advisory boards have been released to meet in-person after the
first Town Board meeting is held in-person, potentially occurring in July but may not be
until August.
There is a funding shortfall for the Community Dr./US 36 Roundabout. There is however
a Federal Invest in America grant opportunity for $850K. Additionally there is an
opportunity for a Revitalizing Main Street Large Project Grant with a cap of $2M per
agency. An application has been made for $1.7M to aid in the funding of this project.
Muhonen provided the TAB with an update on the 2022 Strategic Plan and 2022
Budget. A special study session was held on Monday to go through the proposed 1-year
objectives. Once the information is received by Public Works, the information will be
distributed to the TAB, allowing an opportunity to provide feedback to the Town Board
prior to the July deadline.
OTHER BUSINESS (Chair, Belle Morris)
There being no further business, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:13 p.m.
Megan Van Hoozer, Recording Secretary