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Minutes Transportation 07/08/2002 • TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD FINAL MINUTES JULY 8, 2002 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT John Tayer, Jim Rettew, Brant Liebmann, Jerry Wyss, and Krista Holland STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Tracy Winfree, Randall Rutsch, Bob Whitson, Kate Patterson, Micki Kaplan, Mike Gardner-Sweeney and Robin Madel, secretary PRE-MEETING DINNER WITH REGIONAL PARTNER The pre-meeting dinner was cancelled in lieu of the Transportation Master Plan Update Phase 2 Open House that was held from 5-6 p.m. before the TAB meeting. AGENDA ITEM 1 • Call to Order John Tayer, chair, called the meeting to order at 6:08 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 2 Approval of Minutes Minutes from the May 13, 2002 and June 10, 2002 meetings were not approved because of several issues with the wording of the Longwood NPP item. Both sets of minutes will bc- revised and resubmitted at the next meeting. Minutes from the June 3, 2002 retreat were not submitted for approval. These will be submitted for approval at the next meeting. Brant Liebmann asked to have the May 13 minutes include a more specific discussion about the safety issues regarding the Longwood NPP. He also said that the restrictions on Greenbriar were not changed and this should be included in the discussion. Jerry Wyss pointed out that the date at the bottom of the notes from June 10, 2002 read May 13, 2002. • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page I John Tayer said that the with regards to notes about the Longwood NPP from June 10, 2002, he said that it is the prerogative of any TAB member to move to reconsider a motion that they previously voted for. John Tayer said that he did not remember making several statements attributed to him in the notes. The statements will be verified and the minutes corrected where appropriate. AGENDA ITEM 3 General Citizen Participation Mim Dixon, 1618 Spruce St., Boulder, 80302, said that she has been a participant in the NTMP and NPP processes for the Whittier neighborhood. She said the staff is doing an excellent job of listening to the residents and reflecting their wishes in the recommendations. Crystal Gray, 1709 Spruce St., Boulder, 80302, said that she thought the NTMP process went well and that the staff really listened. She said that the design will be really important and she is disappointed to see the funding dwindling down to nothing. The memo states that the process started in 1995 but Gray said that it started at least a decade before that. Gray also said that she thought the city council had directed staff to find a new term to describe delay-inducing devices. Gray said that the memo did not mention • the reduction in injury accidents in the Whittier from four per year to zero. Finally, Gray said that since the Whittier NPP has been managed by the Downtown Management Commission, enforcement has trailed off and she asked to have its' management returned to the Transportation Department. Premena, P.O. Box 1038, Boulder 80306, spoke about bike signage. He said that he spoke with staff about the policy for placement logistics of signs. He said that for years the issue hasn't been solved. There is a standard in effect for such areas as the Broadway Boogie but there is no standard that deals with path crossings, although there is one for autos. He pointed out that in the Boulder Valley Connections Plan there is nothing about bike signage and using bike paths as an alternative mode system. He said there is no concept of how signs should be placed to indicate a crossing and would like to have some indication that there is a route. He said there could be something in the criteria about the logistics of how and where signs should be placed. Alan Streater, 2830 Dover Dr., Boulder, 80302, said that the Americans with Disabilities Act has been a tremendous benefit to all people who ride bikes and skateboards or push strollers, etc. because ramps have to be built to adequately accommodate people in wheelchairs. He said that the ramps built in Boulder, especially South Boulder, are inadequate because there is no staging zone and the ramps are slanted enough that they dump the wheelchair into the street. He said that rebuilt sidewalks are being constructed in the same manner. The ramps are hard to manage in a wheelchair or • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 2 on a bike. He asked the staff to review the standards and to stop building inadequate • ramps. He said the city might be vulnerable to legal action for building against the standards. Kim Hult,1837 Mapleton Ave., Boulder, 80302, said she lives in Whittier and shares the compliments for the staff. She has concerns with the existing speed bumps on Mapleton. She said they have flattened out and the cars don't really need to brake much to get over them. She is asking for additional speed bumps in the area and she said that she heard that the design being considered now is different from the design of those that are installed on her street. David Newman, 2502-B Bluff St., Boulder, 80304, lives in the Whittier neighborhood and said that the intersection of the 2400 block of Spruce Street has slipped through the cracks, especially where Greenleaf Park exits onto Spruce Street. He said thafthere is no good place to cross the street and would like to see a small pedestrian island included in the NTMP for that area. TAB comment Brant Liebmann asked about the sidewalk issue that Alan Streater spoke about. Tracy Winfree said that she would get back to the TAB on that issue. She said that in South Boulder the sidewalks are adjacent to the street and the city would need to take more property for a right of way to completely move the sidewalk and/or change the drainage. • Jerry Wyss said that he looked at the national standards for sidewalks and ramps and couldn't find the standards that Streater says the city is violating. Tracy Winfree said she would research the applicable standards and the ramp issue. General Citizen Participation was closed. AGENDA ITEM 4 TAB review and input on the Transportation Master Plan Update - Phase 2: Policy Refinement phase completion. Randall Rutsch briefly discussed the open house that was held prior to the TAB meeting. At the open house there were display boards with presentations about the process and the schedule. Jean Townsend with Coley-Forest discussed funding sources to achieve the programs outlined in the TMP update. She said that almost 50% of the city's revenues are generated by sales and use tax and the city's largest transportation expenditure is on transit. The city has made a commitment to fiscally restrain the cost with the activities. • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 3 • Townsend discussed the selection of financial tools that will be used during the update. She also discussed innovative financing ideas used by peer cities. Jerry Wyss commented on some of the presentation materials that he said were hard to read and not clear. Brant Liebmann asked if one of the financial tools, user fees, which are parking based, is still on the table. Townsend said that all the financial tools are still under consideration, however all the items listed as "less likely to be considered" truly are not likely candidates for consideration. Jerry Wyss asked about the analysis of the gas tax and how much of it is generated in the Boulder Valley region versus how much of it is returned to Boulder. John Tayer asked to have a breakdown of how much the city is spending in particular areas (versus funding from other entities). Ray Moe with LSA Associates discussed the multi-modal corridor and regional connections components of the TMP update. He discussed the purpose and objectives. He discussed the analysis of segments that were defined as one-quarter mile on either side of a major roadway. He discussed the facility rating for pedestrian, bike and transit ways. For performance, he looked at level of service from automobiles, pedestrians, bikes and transit. He discussed land use along the corridors, which was defined by density and employment and design and performance. Finally he discussed local and regional • components and regional travel. Krista Holland asked about the areas that are not along main corridors that are still considered important for alternative mode traveling. Tracy Winfree said that the bike plan will be updated as part of the TMP update and will include an evaluation of other alternative mode corridors. There will be other parts to the update, such as a "technology section" that addresses clean burning fuels and vehicles. The specifics of each graph were discussed. Jerry Wyss said that some of the graphics were unreadable. Wyss recommended showing graphs with less detail and more information. John Tayer said that he thought the graphics give a good idea of the generalities. Randall Rutsch pointed out that in the packet, it is stated what the city is trying to do and why with respect to TDM. He said the approach is that all the corridors are not the same and the one-size fits all approach doesn't work. This shift in "one size does not fit all" thinking is a departure from the current TMP. Rutsch asked the TAB for input on this approach. David Un eg mah with Urban Trans Consultants discussed Travel Demand Management (TDM). He discussed the objectives of TDM, the TDM subcommittee, the strategies and the evaluation criteria to be used. • Transportation Advisory Board Final-Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 4 . The main objective is to maximize existing resources and utilize the existing infrastructure more effectively. A TDM subcommittee was formed to evaluate these objectives. Ungemah discussed the strategies evaluated to promote TDM and the evaluation criteria that were used for the different TDM methods. Brant Liebmann asked if the TDM Quick Primer that was supplied in the packet was based on a universal definition or if it was something created for the city of Boulder. Ungemah said that although some of the principles are common among communities, the primer for Boulder can be shaped however the community wants it to be. Krista Holland asked if the staff had found a new name for TDM. Tracy Winfree and David Ungemah said that the evaluation of a new name concluded with the feeling that TDM really describes what the city wants to do, so therefore it is an appropriate term. Jim Rettew asked if the information presented about "making the business case for TDM" was a task that had been completed or was a future endeavor. Ungemah said that the concept is flexible and allows businesses and employers to help structure the program so it is a future endeavor. Jerry Wyss suggested taking a single TDM concept and following it through to implementation in the presentation to the city council. • Tracy Winfree said that Phase 3 would focus on integrating the four focus areas and will include modeling, evaluation of alternatives, updates of the system plan and inclusion of a technology section. Winfree said that the item would be presented to the city council on July 23, 2002. She added that the TDM portion would be a big support to the Jobs to Population project and that the findings from that project would help support the modeling efforts being done as part of the TMP update. Winfree said that the study committee as a whole met once in Phase 2 and would meet more frequently in Phase 3. However, there has been significant effort in the subcommittees of the study committee in Phase 2. Citizen Participation Fred Porter, 706 Iris, Boulder, 80304, was involved in the last update and worked a lot on bike issues. He has since joined a group that works on energy efficiency and renewable energy in response to the interest of some city council members to meet Kyoto principles. The group is trying to integrate transportation plans into their program. He said that the Transportation Master Plan Update lacks a focus on fuels or energy efficiency and he asked the city to consider adding a section on this. He recommended a program at the National Renewable Energy laboratory that distributes expertise and funding to Front Range municipalities to deal such issues. Richard Parish administers that program. Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 5 • TAB/Staff Comments Tracy Winfree said that the staff had received a request from the city council in March to include a technology component in the TMP update. Winfree said that Joanna Wilson has been assigned the lead staff role for developing this technology section, which will address clean-burning fuels and vehicles. She said that she would have Joanna Wilson contact Fred Porter to exchange information. She said that the component would include an evaluation of city, transit and private fleets. Citizen Participation was closed. TAB Comments Brant Liebmann said that he thought the staff and consultants were doing a fabulous job with the TMP update. Krista Holland said that the project seems really thorough so far although she said she is having a hard time getting the big picture, in part because she is new to the board. She said she thinks the "one-size doesn't fit all" approach is a good message. Jim Rettew said he also supports the "one-size doesn't fit all" approach. He advocated getting a jump-start on "making the business case" before the TDM plan goes into effect. • Rettew asked if the funding source list would include specifics about where the city would save money to support the effort. He recommended making cost savings a major heading on the funding source list. Jerry Wyss said that he thinks the staff and consultants are doing a fantastic job in presenting a lot of information. He answered the three questions listed in the agenda item memo: 1. Is the work in each policy focus area comprehensive such that we have not missed any major technique or important area of concern? 2. Do you agree with the study approach in each policy focus area and the way the information is presented in each focus area? 3. Does this information provide a strong basis to move on to the next phase of plan development? Wyss answered all three questions with yes and made some suggestions for improving the information presented in the focus areas. John Tayer said that the notion of the energy component was exciting but not as integral as the other components. He said that another source of financing is to allow companies to advertise on bus shelters. Tayer also said that he agreed with Jim Rettew about making • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 6 • the business case earlier by putting something concrete together to bring to the businesses. Tayer urged the staff to ensure that this information goes to the media. Jerry Wyss said that the premise of the update is that Boulder is close to build out of its facilities. Wyss said that some people might not agree with this premise and feel that if money were spent on facilities then TDM wouldn't be necessary. Wyss recommended addressing this concept up front. AGENDA ITEM 5 Public hearing and consideration of a recommendation to City Council on the Boulder Valley Regional Center (BVRC) Connections Plan. Bob Whitson gave a brief overview of the map, which the TAB had seen before. He said that the map had been updated and talked about specific points on the map. He said that the Transportation Connections Plan was not the same thing as the Transportation Network Plan. Whitson said that the map and plan would someday become an amendment to the TMP. Whitson said that there are several connections shown on the plan and the Transit Village is the focal point. He also said that CU would be a significant location within the plan. Whitson pointed out the need for really good connections between the Transit Village • and the Crossroads area. He also said that the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) thinks that the 29t` St. crossing will be the most critical crossing but they didn't indicate a grade-separated crossing in their contribution to the plan. Bill Fox with TransPlan consultants discussed the plan associated with the map. Fox said that they started with a map-based plan and they wanted to make sure that the plan could be implemented. The plan emphasizes the flexibility shown on the map. Fox reviewed specific sections of the plan and said that there is a process included for amending the plan. TAB Questions Jegy Wyss expressed his confusion with respect to the legal consequences of not following the plan if it is adopted by BURA. Bob Whitson said that a process doesn't have to be adopted by BURA for it to become part of the site review process. Wyss added that the Planning Board gives BURA a lot of deference. Wyss asked several questions about the process to modify the plan in the future. Whitson pointed out that any changes to the plan would not necessarily impact development. Jim Rettew asked if there is a mechanism in place to prioritize the additions. Whitson said that the document prioritizes the projects. Whitson pointed out that the level of detail • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 7 shown in the plan is greater than that shown in the TMP. Whitson said the document • aspires to doing the best transportation planning for all modes. The projects are opportunistic and the map spans the next 20 years. The trails on the map came from the bicycle/pedestrian master plan. In fact, all the existing guidance plans were incorporated into this plan and used as a starting point to create a multi-modal plan. Krista Holland said that the flexibility in the plan is good. She cautioned against having bike paths that look good but aren't very practical. Holland asked if the funding for the improvements outlined in the plan would be paid for by developers. Whitson said that it would be. Holland asked about the lack of on-street bike lanes on 28`h St. Holland said she would like to see some bike paths added to prevent conflicts on the multi-use paths. Whitson said that there would be a huge economic impact to adding on-street bike facilities in this stretch of 28th St. Brant Liebmann pointed out that this plan is not a design document and the specifics of the corridor would be determined by the 28th St. mid-section CEAP. Whitson said that the document would be reviewed again when something happens with Crossroads Redevelopment. John Tayer asked if the CU transportation plan was incorporated into the plan. Whitson said that Jim Bailey, from CU, was on the transportation task force and he made sure that CU's needs were addressed. • Citizen Participation Premena, P.O. Box 1038, Boulder 80306, discussed the Burlington Northern Trail that could be used but has been closed off. He also discussed the plan and asked the staff to pay attention to limiting serpentine routing. He said he is opposed to a shared lane for bikes, buses and right turning vehicles. He said he was glad to see so much energy being put into the plan. Citizen Participation was closed. TAB Comments Jim Rettew said that he thought that adoption of this plan would hold up any chance for a roadless redevelopment of Crossroads and said he would like to see "TBD" in the whole Crossroads inner space area. John Tayer said that those who are evaluating what should be done with the space have included a roadless option in the evaluation process. Tayer felt it would be inappropriate for the TAB to reject the roadway option at this late hour in the process. Jerry Wyss said that adoption of the plan doesn't preclude amending it at a future date. He added that the plan represents a consensus of a lot of groups. Whitson said that this is the staff's best recommendation based on current land use and if the land use were to change the staff might not make the same recommendation. • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 8 . Krista Holland motioned to recommend TAB approval of the Transportation Connections Plan with a recommendation that staff look at putting an on- street bike facility on 28th Street from Arapahoe Avenue to Pearl Street during final design of 28th Street. Brant Liebmann seconded the motion. John Taxer said that the motion would just ask the staff to evaluate whether or not it is feasible to include an on-street bike facility. Jerry Wyss disagreed with adding the recommendation for evaluation of the bike facility in the overall motion because he said it detracts from the overall recommendation. Brant Liebmann motioned to suspend the rules and continue the meeting past 10 p.m. Jerry Wyss seconded the motion. The vote was 4-1 in favor of the motion. Jim Rettew opposed the motion. Krista Holland withdrew her motion. Brant Liebmann withdrew the second. Jerry Wyss motioned to recommend the Transportation Connections Plan for approval. Jim Rettew seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. • Krista Holland motioned to recommend that staff look at putting an on-street bike facility on 28th Street from Arapahoe Avenue to Pearl Street during final design of 28th Street. Brant Liebmann seconded. The vote was 3-2 in favor of the motion. Jim Rettew and Jerry Wyss opposed the motion. AGENDA ITEM 6 Matters From Staff: • Kate Patterson spoke about sunsetting commuter permits in Neighborhood Permit Parking (NPP) Zones. John Tayer said that his wife was a facilitator in the process of evaluating this program. Tayer said he spoke with one of the city attorneys to determine whether or not he had a conflict of interest with this item but the attorney said that he doesn't. Patterson said that the program would sunset on 12/31102 if no action is taken by the city council to renew it. Patterson said she would bring the staff proposal about the program to the TAB in fall 2002. • Kate Patterson gave an update on the Longwood NPP. Patterson stated that the city manager's recommendation would be to include a portion of the north side of Gillaspie Dr. in the NPP, from the entrance to student the parking lot to the fire hydrant approximately 170 ft. away. • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 9 • Teresa Spears discussed the Whittier and Balsam/Edgewood Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Plans. The staff went through the full public process to create proposals for both neighborhoods. Residents of the Whittier neighborhood fully embraced the proposal. Residents of the Balsam/Edgewood neighborhood had some concerns regarding the expense for a traffic circle at 17th and Alpine because of flood mitigation issues. They felt the money would be better spent on photo radar. Spears said that the emergency service personnel were supportive of the staff proposals. Jim Rettew said that his office is very close to this area and was not sure why he wasn't informed of the process. Spears said she would check into the situation and get back to him. Rettew asked if the final solution would be all or nothing or if there would be a way for the neighborhoods to "tinker" with the possibilities. Mike Sweeney said that it was possible to end up with a plan that includes some treatments that don't have neighborhood support. Sweeney said the plan would be all or nothing by device and location. Spears said that in addition to working with the emergency service personnel, she has also worked with Special Transit, ambulance services and the Center for People with Disabilities. Jerry Wyss asked if the traffic circles cause accidents. Sweeney said that the city's data indicates a reduction in accidents from traffic circles. Bill Fox said that he was not aware of any definitive national study that addressed traffic circle accident rates. John Tayer recommended not doing a "cheap" job when designing the treatments because it detracts from people's perceptions. • Tracy Winfree stated that, due to a light schedule for the August meeting, it could work to defer items to the September meeting allowing TAB a recess in August 2002. Winfree spoke with the city attorney's office to assure that this was possible. The • attorney's office said that it was allowed under the ordinance and that the Planning Board has done it. All the members agreed that they would like to take a recess. Jerry Wyss motioned for the TAB to recess in August 2002. Krista Holland seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. Matters From the Board: • Jerry Wyss said that the bike path at the Elks Club on U.S. 36 is covered in dirt from a construction project. Robin Madel said she would check into it and respond to Wyss. • Krista Holland asked when the city's new sign policy will be presented to the TAB. Winfree said she would look at the To-do list and schedule it. • John Tayer requested that the pre-meeting dinner in September have as the guest the new acting city manager. AGENDA ITEM 7 There was no discussion of the next meeting agenda since the August meeting has been recessed. • Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 10 • AGENDA ITEM 8 Adjournment Jim Rettew motioned to adjourn the meeting. Jerry Wyss seconded. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 11:13 p.m. Next Meeting September 9, 2002, 6:00 p.m., Transportation Advisory Board regular meeting, at the City Council Chambers. Minutes roved o By . Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes July 8, 2002 Page 11