HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2021-08-18Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, August 18, 2021
Minutes of a Regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in Room 202
of Town Hall on the 18th day of August 2021.
Committee: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda
Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack
Attending: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick
(virtual), Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Public Works Director
Greg Muhonen, Engineering Mgr. David Hook, The Car Park
Matt Eisenberg, Town Board Trustee Carlie Bangs,
Community Development Director Jessica Garner
Absent: Ann Finley
Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No electronic submissions of public comment were received prior to the deadline and no
public was in attendance.
The TAB welcomed the new Community Development Director Jessica Garner. Director
Garner has a 20-year passion for transportation planning in conjunction with land use
planning. She desires heavy involvement with the TAB due to connections with land use
planning. The two are arms on the same body. Garner looks forward to collaboration and
invited members’ comments and questions if ever needed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded (Gamble, Moulton) to approve the June and July
meeting minutes with minor edits and all were in favor. Members Hanick and Slack
abstain from the vote on the July minutes due to their absence from the July meeting.
BYLAW TEMPLATE & POLICY 102 DISCUSSION (Chair Belle Morris)
Based on discussions from the July meeting, and the review period provided prior to the
August meeting, Member Gamble made the suggestion to remove superfluous
language from the ‘Quorum’ section of the bylaws and adjustments were made by Town
Attorney Kramer.
It was suggested that the bylaws use the TAB abbreviation throughout the document
once identified at the beginning. It was also recommended that the adoption date be
reflected as XX-2021 until adopted. Muhonen expressed his appreciation to the group
for the thoughtful feedback.
After additional discussion about the board’s definition of ‘present’ for voting meeting
members, it was determined that ‘present’ can be virtual or in-person.
A motion was made and seconded (Gamble/Street) to approve TAB Bylaws and all
were in favor.
PARKING & TRANSIT UPDATES (The Car Park Mgr. Matt Eisenberg, Public Works
Director Greg Muhonen)
Parking:
Manager Eisenberg shared an update regarding the tracked Key Performance
Indicators for July. Peak occupancy, comparing 2021 to 2019, reflects the free lots
received consistently more use overall.
Dramatic increases were shown in average occupancy for free lots in 2021 over 2019.
The paid parking program appears to be doing what was intended. Even with an
Transportation Advisory Board – August 18, 2021 – Page 2
increase in visitation, individuals are not afraid to pay to park. Moving forward,
Eisenberg will include the utilization of the temporary gravel lots as well.
Eisenberg went on to summarize revenue statistics and registration information. He
reminded the group that all data is provided on the website at
www.estes.org/paidparking.
He also shared that based on feedback related to the free 30-min. residential permits, a
majority of comments stated that 30 minutes is not long enough so they don’t use the
permits at all. A majority of the responses requested it be changed to 60 minutes.
Town Board Meeting Presentation:
Eisenberg shared that there was a Town Board update presentation on August 10,
providing the Key Performance Indicator data. Once the season is finalized an
additional presentation will be made to the Town Board. A preliminary draft will be
provided to TAB at the September meeting. The presentation will lead into 2022
recommendations. Although nothing firm has been decided the team has the overall
sense that after 3+ years of intense change, COVID-19, and feedback received, no
major changes should be recommended for 2022.
Muhonen agreed and said that it would be good to take 2022 as another year to
evaluate, allow us to respond to the downtown business feedback. 2022 can be a trust-
building year rather than additional program expansion. Implementation of this program
is not a race, but a journey with the community.
Eisenberg stated that the paid parking revenue is in line with earlier projections, and
may be a bit higher when violation revenues are factored into the equation. Chair Morris
suggested that with any overage on revenue, tangible items be purchased/installed to
help beautify the town and create more support of the program. Eisenberg stated that
Manager Solesbee does have some things in mind and can bring TAB up to speed on
her thoughts at the next meeting.
Transit:
Director Muhonen provided the Estes Transit update in Manager Solesbee’s absence.
Through the end of July, there were nearly 30,000 transit riders which is 79% over 2020
and 25% lower than 2019. In a recent call hosted by CDOT, they stated that most
Colorado transit agencies are running around 50% of their 2019 ridership numbers.
Bustang to Estes carried 455 passengers during its first month of weekend-only service.
Ridership was lower than expected but CDOT indicated they are still optimistic about
the program.
New this year is inclusion in the Ride Northern Colorado (RideNoCo) initiatives, which
brings together human service agencies, transit agencies, community members, and
staff from the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization and Larimer
County to ensure residents of the region have mobility and access. A formal
announcement is coming soon.
Town staff were approached by an organization called SWEEP (Southwest Energy
Efficiency Project) to see about the Town’s interest in pursuing a “GoEV Resolution”.
The resolution is a pledge to develop an EV Action Plan with the goals and
implementation strategies required to transition the local transportation sector to zero-
emissions vehicles. Pursuing a GoEV Resolution for the Town of Este Park was one of
the action items in the recent EV Plan. Solesbee plans to discuss at the September
meeting.
Solesbee sends her thanks to Chair Morris and Vice Chair Street for attending a short-
notice listening session with Congressman Neguse.
A joint meeting will be held in the coming months, with the TAB and the Shuttle
Committee to discuss 2022 transit program.
Transportation Advisory Board – August 18, 2021 – Page 3
ENGINEERING UPDATES (Engineering Mgr. David Hook)
Manager Hook provided project updates since the last meeting.
Capital Project(s):
Parking Wayfinding: Member Slack asked Manager Hook if he’d received any feedback
on the wayfinding signage. Hook stated that, during installation, he received some
negative feedback but that there hasn’t been much since the installation. Director
Muhonen shared that he’s received positive comments. This project was originally
intended to be completed in 2020. In 2021 the project went over budget. The Town now
has the funding and discussions are being held.
Graves Ave. Improvements: The public comment period for this project has closed. The
consultant is consolidating the feedback received. Additionally, a utility coordination
meeting and field inspection review meeting have occurred with feedback received.
Muhonen informed the TAB that the requested traffic calming via travel lane reduction
received feedback from the Estes Valley Fire Protection District requesting the Town not
reduce the lane widths. They shared that their apparatus would be larger than the
narrowed lanes. In order to achieve the wider lanes, the distance will be taken from the
trail width (8.5-ft rather than 10-ft).
PROJECT / ADMINISTRATION UPDATES (Public Works Director Greg Muhonen)
Action is now being taken regarding on-street parking. The Police Department is now
informing folks that they are no longer able to park on the narrower roads per the
Town’s Municipal Code. There are several challenges to allowing vehicles to park on
narrower roads (emergency, snow plowing, sweeping, etc.). The Public Works
Department will do what they can to accommodate on-street parking where appropriate
and will start by installing striping along Virginia in the wide portion of the road, in line
with the requirements reflected in the code.
The Town is doing the same on Cleave Street. At this point, the most difficult area is
Crabapple Lane. It is simply too narrow to allow on-street parking which became more
evident during the fires in the last year. Work continues to find a viable solution for those
in that development.
Member Moulton clarified that Vista Ridge, which has the same road width issue, was a
housing authority development that met the parking code at that time. He went on to
state that most garage spaces in that area are being used for storage. The issue is how
parking spaces are being utilized in the area. There was an agreement made between
the Town and the Vista Ridge HOA allowing parking.
OTHER BUSINESS (Chair, Belle Morris)
Chair Morris asked the members if they’d prefer to continue the in-person meetings with
a mask requirement or if the members would prefer to have virtual meetings again.
Those individuals that had a preference stated theirs for the in-person meetings with
masking.
There being no further business, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:03 p.m.
/s/Megan Van Hoozer, Recording Secretary