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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES TAB Task Force 2021-03-01 Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado, March 1, 2021 Minutes of a scheduled meeting of the Sidewalk & Trail Needs Task Force of the Trans- portation Advisory Board of the Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held virtually on the 1st day of March, 2021 Task Force: Belle Morris, Ann Finley, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, Scott Moulton Attending: Chair Belle Morris, Larry Gamble, Linda Hanick, and Public Works Director Greg Muhonen Absent: Ann Finley, Scott Moulton Chair Morris called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT The Task Force Meeting was advertised and a link to the virtual meeting was provided. No members of the public participated in the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made and seconded (Morris/Gamble) to approve the February 22 meet- ing minutes and all were in favor. NEW BUSINESS Director Muhonen described the proposed improvements to Third Street, North Court and South Court in the Reclamation Neighborhood. The current sidewalks along these streets are very narrow and the curb is mountable so vehicles parallel parked along the street are often partially on the sidewalk. Current sidewalks are not pedestrian friendly. The proposed improvements include one-way traffic on Third Street, and sidewalks on both sides of all three streets. Director Muhonen requested input from the Task Force. Director Muhonen suggested that at a higher level, criteria could be developed to deter- mine where and what type of sidewalks are needed along streets. Criteria could include thresholds for Average Daily Traffic, Peak Hour Volume, or traffic speed. Chair Morris reminded the group that traffic volume is seasonal, and can include traffic from vacation rentals in some neighborhoods. Hanick suggested that population (or number or density of dwelling units) along a street should also be used as a criteria. For example multifam- ily housing would make a difference in the number of pedestrians and vehicles. Director Muhonen stated that the proposed sidewalks in the Reclamation Neighborhood would be wider and would be protected by a vertical curb. The Task Force recommended that there be sidewalks on both sides of Third Street and a sidewalk on one side of North Court and South Court. Neighborhood input will be needed to determine what sidewalks the neighborhood would like. The Task Force also discussed First and Second Streets in the Reclamation Neighbor- hood. First Street is more “Commercial” with the American Legion, MedX, and the Mt Calvary Lutheran Church. There is connectivity to the traffic signal and pedestrian crossing at the U.S. 36 and Highway 7 intersection. A sidewalk along First Street would be essential. Chair Morris pointed out that the sidewalk along the south side of U.S. 36 from the Highway 7 intersection to Fourth Street is badly deteriorated. This will be cap- tured on the “Deficiencies” map. Chair Morris asked if the Fourth Street multiuse sidewalk should be replicated else- where? She suggested that the Fourth Street design should become the standard where warranted. Director Muhonen recommended that the TAB should identify high priority multiuse routes that would use the Forth Street design. The high priority routes and the standard design should be included in the Trails Master Plan update and ulti- mately in the development code. The Town and developers would then adhere to the design standard where it applies. Director Muhonen expressed an idea that progress on sidewalk upgrades could happen if a sales tax initiative was leveraged with grant money. Significant improvements could be justified if part of a larger connected system of pathways. However there are numerous issues to surmount such as insufficient right- of-way, difficulty with snow removal if sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate equip- ment, etc. The Task Force reviewed the map that Chair Morris developed to show pathway gaps. The following changes to the “Gaps” map were identified: 1. Add a sidewalk on the south side of U.S. 36 to extend from Fourth Street to Commu- nity Drive. 2. Remove the segment of Community Drive that is served by the sidewalk in the Mat- thew Circle neighborhood. 3. Add a sidewalk on the north side of U.S. 34 to extend from Dry Gulch Road to Steamer Drive. Remove the sidewalk along North Lake Avenue. The Task Force also identified the following changes to the “Deficiencies” map 1. West side of Highway 7 from Dollar General north to the East Side Food Store - en- sure sidewalk is clearly delineated for pedestrian safety. 2. Add the sidewalk in the Matthew Circle neighborhood 3. Add the sidewalk along the south side of U.S. 36 from the Highway 7 intersection to Fourth Street 4. Add the connector sidewalk that utilizes the underpass on U.S. 34 from the Lake Es- tes Trail to Dry Gulch Road. The Task Force discussed whether pathways internal to public or private property should be included on the Gaps or Deficiencies maps. An example is the promenade in Stanley Park. It was decided that those pathways would not be shown on the maps. Chair Morris’ Gaps map included crosswalk recommendations for a number of loca- tions. It was agreed that crosswalks would only be considered if there was a sidewalk on both sides of the street (i.e., the crosswalk would connect to sidewalks on both sides of the street). Director Muhonen informed the group that CDOT is working on designing an overlay of U.S. 34 from the U.S. 36 intersection to Mall Road. He suggested that a request could be made of CDOT to stripe the roadway for bike lanes. He will request a review of the design. Chair Morris suggested that CDOT be invited to a future TAB meeting to share information on pathways and roundabouts. The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Action Items 1. Morris to update the Gaps map to reflect the changes captured during the meeting 2. Morris to develop the Deficiencies map and to capture the recommendations cap- tured during the meeting 3. Gamble to update the audit spreadsheet on the shared Google drive to reflect his proposed change regarding pathway gaps 4. Muhonen to contact CDOT regarding review of the U.S. 34 overlay design (striping and signage)