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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES Transportation Advisory Board 2021-02-17 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, February 17, 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 17th day of February 2021. Committee: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Janice Crow, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Ron Wilcocks Attending: Belle Morris, Tom Street, Janice Crow, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton, Gordon Slack, Ron Wilcocks, Trustee Carlie Bangs, Public Works Director Greg Muhonen, Engineering Mgr. David Hook, Parking & Transit Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee, The Car Park Gen. Mgr. Matt Eisenberg, Rocky Mtn. Park John Hannon Absent: Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:00 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/Street) to approve the January meeting minutes and all were in favor. APPROVAL OF TAB DOCUMENTS (Chair, Belle Morris) TAB Bylaws: A few modifications to the bylaws need discussed prior to both TAB and Town Board approval can occur. Public Works will make the updates and have the Town Attorney review prior to submittal to the Town Board for approval. Director Muhonen informed the group that a situation recently occurred wherein it was discovered that the various advisory boards are inconsistent within the individual bylaws. The Town Clerk is actively working on a more standardized bylaw template. Recommendations for change included expansion of the ‘Role’ section of the TAB; replace, under ‘Members and Quorum’, the language referring to the “Estes Valley Planning District” with “Estes Park School District R-3”. A motion was made and seconded to approve recommended revisions to the TAB Bylaws (Wilcocks/Hanick) and all were in favor. Code of Conduct: No changes Job Description: Replace language referring to the “Estes Valley Planning District” with “Estes Park School District R-3”. A motion was made and seconded to approve the recommended revision to the TAB Job Description (Wilcocks/Finley) and all were in favor. REVIEW 2021 TAB PRIORITY OUTCOMES (Chair, Belle Morris) Chair Morris shared her screen showing the TAB Priority Matrix with each members’ top four listed priorities. Belle will send out link for further review. Member Gamble recommended a system that would calculate what the overall priority is for all of TAB. Wilcocks discussed a method he is very familiar with and offered his assistance. He will bring the item back to the March meeting but will make it availab le prior to that time. Transportation Advisory Board – February 17, 2021 – Page 2 MULTIMODAL SIDEWALKS & NEEDS INVENTORY (Chair, Belle Morris) Morris shared that a walking audit was performed last week along Graves Ave. The audit got into technical details that are not needed until the actual work is performed. The task force will refocus its efforts and plan to use Graves Ave. as a test run for how these audits are performed beyond the 1-mile radius. Muhonen recommended the deliverable from task force should consist of: Part 1: Identify trail or sidewalk gaps within the current system. This could be done with three maps: Areas needing improvement within 1) a 1-mile radius of the school; 2) a 2-mile radius; and 3) beyond the 2-mile radius. Color-coded line work could depict those of high-value, med value, and low value. Part 2: Identify safety issues or deficiencies. The spreadsheet Member Moulton initially worked on was a good start. An alternative would be to identify key safety issues that are concerning to the TAB, and create columns with numeric scores along with a column for notes. The initial walking audits concluded that the highly detailed audit form puts the auditor in difficult position due to the detail. Additionally, filling out paper forms is undesirable for processing. This type of information needs to be processed electronically. It will be found that there are more needs than there are funds. However, the data is collected it will need to have a shelf-life. Within the existing Estes Valley Trails Master Plan some gaps have been identified. Public Works is hoping to update the plan and have a staff member working on this now. This deliverable may be incorporated into the plan. PROJECT UPDATES (Parking & Transit Mgr. Vanessa Solesbee) Parking: The Electric Vehicle & Readiness Plan was adopted at the last Town Board meeting. Manager Solesbee thanked the TAB for submitting a letter of support. Solesbee has been in communication with the Colorado Clean Cities Coalition and the current discussions dive into the implementation matrix. Solesbee asked if anyone would like to volunteer to assist. Member Finley volunteered to be involved. Solesbee has been working with the Town Attorney on modification of the Municipal Code related to parking enforcement which will then be presented at a Town Board Study Session. Revisions will provide options for unpaid parking citations. Solesbee anticipate the ordinance for this change will be prepared and ready to return to the Town Board in March. The language may also allow for motorcycle exemption from standard enforcement if they park in a designated motorcycle parking space. Trustee Liaison Bangs stated the Trustees have questions regarding that language that will be brought up when presenting. Solesbee stated that paid parking implementation efforts are in full swing. There was early focus this year on communication and outreach, including frequent website updates. She stated that another wave of updates will be coming in a week or so. All updates to the website are being shared with the community via email and social media simultaneously. Several meetings and forums with groups within town are planned. The paid parking infrastructure and equipment installation is planned for May. Employee permits may be shared, if needed, by multiple employees as long as only one car is using it at a time. Transit: Sponsorship opportunities are open, with those sponsoring in 2020 being provided first option, then to new sponsors. Solesbee stated that she received notification from CDOT – Rural Communities that Estes Park will be receiving additional funds for transit. The funds total between $350K and $360K, with no local match, with up to three years to spend the funds. Additionally, notification has been received that, in accordance with the recently passed Senate Bill 267, the Town has been granted over $1M requiring local match. These Transportation Advisory Board – February 17, 2021 – Page 3 funds are for transit projects across the state. Solesbee is working to identify the local match. These funds would potentially allow for a redesign of the Visitor Center parking lot. The funds can be used for both current and future transportation needs. Wilcocks asked if there had been any plans for adding any structures for those waiting on the buses/shuttles. With a future potential for year-round transit service, winter would be cold while waiting. Solesbee confirmed that she has pushed for transit stop improvements to be one of the top three items to address with the funds. Solesbee informed the TAB that she has been gathering feedback from several individuals regarding the shuttle stop being located at the parking structure. Solesbee was also notified by the Parks Division, of their plan to upgrade the area located near the shuttle area with additional picnic shelters and a climbing boulder for all ages. Taking all feedback and project information into account, it was determined the shuttle stop would move back to the Visitor Center. Driving tests confirm that, even with the addition of the Farmers Market, the shuttle stop would work at the Visitor Center. Member Gamble recommended that, with the new traffic signal being installed on US 34, to wait and observe the traffic behavior before tackling the reconfiguration plans for the parking lot. It will be required that shuttles/buses turn right onto US 34 when exiting the Visitor Center. Muhonen stated that if the observation concludes it is vitally important for buses to have the ability to turn left, he may approach the Estes Park Sanitation District to propose a shared driveway to get the shuttles/buses to the new traffic signal. Morris expressed her disappointment with the determination to move the shuttle stop back to the Visitor Center, given the robust discussion at TAB’s January meeting. Members had expressed concern for pedestrian safety, increase in traffic conflicts, and reduces positive experiences by visitors. Member Crow likes idea of moving the service back to the Visitor Center lot, but it would be much safer to remove some parking spaces. Solesbee confirmed this would be taken into account prior to the start of the transit season. Chair Morris requested the TAB invite the Parks Division to present the plan for the Big Thompson Recreation Area and the climbing boulder at the March meeting. PROJECT UPDATES (Engineering Mgr. David Hook) Manager Hook provided project updates since the last meeting. Parking Wayfinding: Bid documents for sign creation and installation are being finalized. The Town will be soliciting bids this month with acceptance of a bid in March. 2021 STIP Program: As in prior years the 2021 Street Improvement Program presentation will occur at the next Town Board Study Session. The overview will include significant work planned for the Performance Park parking lot. Plans also include completion of Cleave Street design, postponed from last year. Improvements are planned to occur in 2022. Graves Ave. Improvements: A Notice to Proceed for work on Graves Ave. was issued. Data is already being collected by surveyors. Hook plans to share a detailed updated in March with concept drawings being available for the April meeting. PROJECT / ADMINISTRATION UPDATES (Public Works Director Greg Muhonen) Muhonen updated the TAB that feedback provided to him on the Downtown Estes Loop crosswalks has been provided to the design team, who is fine-tuning and will take the feedback into account. The design team is also working on proving CLMRs showing no - rise levels to the floodplain. Muhonen stated the traffic signal planned at Steamer Drive has until May 2021 to be installed. All caissons have already been installed. Transportation Advisory Board – February 17, 2021 – Page 4 OTHER BUSINESS (Chair, Belle Morris) There being no further business, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 1:48 p.m. Megan Van Hoozer, Recording Secretary