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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPACKET Transportation Advisory Board 2018-5-16Carlie Bangs, Town Board Trustee Liaison Greg Muhonen, Estes Park Public Works Staff Liaison Transportation Advisory Board Agenda May 16, 2018 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Room 202 & 203 Estes Park Town Hall 170 MacGregor Ave Current Members: Stan Black (03/31/20) Vacant (03/31/18) Ann Finley (03/31/20) Amy Hamrick (03/31/19) Belle Morris (03/31/20) Gordon Slack (03/31/21) Tom Street (03/31/19) Vacant (03/31/19) Vacant (3/31/18) Public Comment Approval of April Meeting Minutes Shuttle Updates TVC Goals / 2019 Priority Planning Estes Park Regional Transportation Project Priority List TAB Member Update Project Updates Project Updates Other Business Adjourn Chair, Belle Morris Transit Program Manager, Brian Wells Chair, Belle Morris Public Works Director, Greg Muhonen Chair, Belle Morris Engineering Manager, David Hook Public Works Director, Greg Muhonen Chair, Belle Morris The mission of the Town of Estes Park Transportation Advisory Board is to advise the Board of Trustees and the Public Works staff on Local and Regional Comprehensive Transportation Planning Policies; Maintenance, Operation and Expansion Programs; and Transportation Capital Projects. Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, April 18, 2018 Minutes of a regular meeting of the Transportation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held in the Room 203 of Town Hall on the 18th day of April, 2018. Present: Gordon Slack Tom Street Belle Morris Stan Black Ann Finley Also Present: Bob Holcomb, Town Board Liaison Greg Muhonen, Public Works Director David Hook, Engineering Manager Megan Van Hoozer, Public Works Administrative Assistant Absent: Ken Zornes Amy Hamrick Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m. The TAB was unable to vote on the March meeting minutes due to the lack of a quorum. This item will be tabled until the May meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT: No public comment. HIGHWAY 7 PROJECT UPDATE: Keith Wakefield of CDOT was in attendance to explain the plan for resuming the Highway 7 Project to the TAB. Also in attendance were James Usher and Scott Kendrick of CDOT to help answer specific questions. On Highway 7, CDOT will perform m ill and overlay to resume where phase one ended. CDOT shared that the developer of a new planned development at L exington Lane has submitted a permit application for push button crosswalk access at that intersection. CDOT stated having a new push button crosswalk at Lexington Lane, with one already in the approved CDOT plans for the intersection of Highway 7 and Graves Ave., would Transportation Advisory Board – April 18, 2018 – Page 2 conflict with CDOT standards. The final determination of the developer-submitted permit has not been made. Wakefield proceeded to share the planned bike lanes with the TAB. The planned bike lane stops at Graves Ave. and will not be categorized as a CDOT compliant bike lane, but a shared bike lane. A suggestion was made to have more frequent markings to remind motorists that the lane is shared. CDOT requires there be 400 to 500 feet between bike markings along highway. Chair Morris suggested CDOT provide additional safety for bikes, potentially utilizing green swath painting for noticeability. Wakefield stated this type of marking is more slippery with the addition of ice than other markings and is harder to maintain due to snow plows. Wakefield suggested using the Homer Rouse Trail as a workaround for cyclers traveling through the segment of highway containing no extra safety measures or shared lanes. Wakefield added that the Saint Malo area will be gaining an additional four feet on the shoulder which was appreciated by the TAB. CDOT’s contractor, Flatiron Constructors will begin work on May 7 performing culvert work at mile post 10.5. Single lane closures with flaggers or utilization of temporary signals will be implemented. Chair Morris requested rock blasting to allow more space for bikes between Carriage Dr. and Mary’s Lake Road. James Usher stated that if additional funding is identified, a Change Order could be processed to include this work, however no funds are available at this time. The current funding is from FHWA Flood Recovery and the CDOT resurfacing program. This was not identified in the initial scope, nor during the initial visit with the TAB so it was not considered. Wakefield stated that all culvert and preparation work on Highway 7 will take place in 2018. The plan for paving outside of town is anticipated to begin in the Summer of 2019, with in-town paving occurring in the Fall. All ADA requirements will be updated along public intersections. Some variances may be needed due to the mountain terrain. Wakefield reported that the crosswalk design near the businesses at 1st Street and Highway 7 has changed. CDOT will be moving the crosswalk back to where it currently exists rather than making the change in the initial plans. The business owners in the area did not want to lose any parking spots for a crosswalk. Additionally, t here will be no flashing beacon due to the lack of crash data. These types of changes require data- centered justification in order to incorporate. CDOT will restripe the existing crossing and will make the crosswalk more visible. However due to the busy conference center and Transportation Advisory Board – April 18, 2018 – Page 3 restaurant on the west side of the road, Wakefield will go back to the table to take another look at what can be done. Wakefield will also check to see if portions of the first parking space at both 1st Street and at 2nd Street, where traffic pulls onto Highway 7, can be striped and made No Parking for purposes of clear visibility. SHUTTLE UPDATE Transit Program Manager Brian Wells provided this month’s shuttle update. • Barlow Plaza shuttle stop has been eliminated. If geography of the Barlow Plaza stop can be corrected, Wells would advocate the return of the Gold Route stop. • The Sponsorship is essentially wrapped up. Still opportunity for interior and exterior bus sponsorship due to materials not needing to be finished until mid-May. To date, $15,725 has been received and are grateful for the support. • Working to create ‘Real-Time Passenger Information Service • Hiring a seasonal employee to assist riders and have seven days coverage this summer • With the help of the Events Center staff, shuttles will be serving the Wool Market and FACE of Fiber event locations on June 9-10. • The FTA approved the submitted 5339b Grant for c apital bus replacement funds. The Town requested 80% of the funds needed to purchase a fully electric trolley to replace the Elkhorn Express. The expectation is the newly built trolley will be here in time for the 2019 shuttle season. PROJECT UPDATES, David Hook, Engineering Manager Downtown Estes Loop: CDOT has initiated conversations, and there is movement on, the ROW acquisition phase of this project. Chair Morris asked if there would be public communications from CDOT for people to get the updates. Member Black reminded the TAB that CDOT held a study session open to the public on March 13. Manager Hook anticipates additional public outreach to occur but has not participated in these discussions. Fall River Trail Extension Manager Hook met in field with Colorado Parks & W ildlife (CPW) to view the trail alignment for which grant funding was requested. 2018 Street Improvement Program (STIP): A grant was awarded from the Colorado Safe Routes to School program for the Brodie Avenue Improvements. The scope of the work on Brodie Avenue has changed. Until the Transportation Advisory Board – April 18, 2018 – Page 4 grant agreement is fully in place, work is unable to occur. CDOT anticipates their process to take several months. The new plan for construction is anticipated to occur the summer of 2019, taking into account the school season. Bids for the Chip & Crack Seal program and Overlay program solicitations are due today and all bids will be opened this afternoon. Once reviewed and a selection is made, approvals will be requested at the May 8 Town Board meeting. Moraine Avenue Improvements: The project continues to progress. The concrete pour of the top deck was completed last week. This week contractors finished post-tensioning, giving the bridge its strength. Next steps include performing utility installations and backfilling. The plan is to have all of Moraine work done by Memorial Day with benches, planters, and sidewalk work to continue. Member Slack reported that there are continued traffic issues with drivers running stop signs at both the intersections of Riverside Drive & Ivy Street, and Riverside Drive & Rockwell Street. Slack suggested tying bright streamers or something to the signage to improve awareness. Utility work on Elkhorn Avenue is going smoothly and progressing on schedule. It is anticipated that paving will occur by the end of next week. There will be replacement striping for the entire intersection and diagonal striping for the Barnes Dance. This concept will be followed all the way to the bridge. US36 / Community Drive Turn Lane: Manager Hook introduced the plans for the US 36 & Community Drive Turn Lanes to the TAB. Ideas were shared and will be provided the design consultant for consideration. DMS – Dynamic Message Sign Installation: CDOT disqualified the initially selected construction contractor due to not being a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contractor, which is a grant requirement. The official notice of the disqualification was received last week. Manager Hook is currently rushing to secure an understanding with second low bidder to reach a feasible contract amount. Work is taking place to modify the scope of work to reduce cost to fit the available budgeted funds. The Town of Estes Park will self-perform some of the tasks being removed from the scope of work. Public Works hopes to issue a Notice to Proceed next Transportation Advisory Board – April 18, 2018 – Page 5 week, assuming Town Board approval at the April 24 meeting. The contractor assured Hook that once things get going, the work can be completed by Memorial Day. Floodplain Management: The new Floodplain Boundary maps are still in the works. Critical review of the modeling is taking place by CDOT. There are no maps currently to share with community. The runoff volumes have been well established. This all plays into the transportation network – primarily pedestrian and vehicular bridges which are very much impacted by flood flows. The Stormwater Master Plan will be indirectly affected by this data (containment of flood flows). Bridges can easily become the bottlenecks for flood flows if not properly identified. The Town is working toward an effective public outreach process to educate and gain community input for future adoption and funding requirements. COMMUNITY DRIVE / US 36 TURN LANE REVIEW: The design consultant, Cornerstone Engineering completed the 30% design phase. Manager Hook handed out the 30% drawings for shared review and proceeded to explain the concept. Director Muhonen suggested TAB input on a change to the plan. He proposed looking at a roundabout rather than turn lanes. A roundabout will naturally lower the speed coming into, and leaving, town. It would also increase the traffic flow and reduce backup. This option may require approval of a Special Use Permit with the US Bureau of Reclamation unless there is a configuration change placing the roundabout only on Town property. This would also play into the Events Complex land use planning which is currently taking place. There’s also potential for an access directly to the Events Complex from the roundabout. TAB likes the idea and would like the Town to explore this option. Muhonen will discuss this option with the design consultant. At that time he can determine the additional cost for a conceptual design, the cost for final design and determine if it’s feasible. He will also discuss the idea with Director Rob Hinkle of the Events Complex. OTHER BUSINESS With no other business to discuss, Chair Morris adjourned the meeting at 2:07 p.m.