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Minutes - Transportation 11/25/2002TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD FINAL MINUT~S NOVEMBER 25, 2002 BOARD M~MB~RS PR~SENT Jim Rettew, Brant Liebmann, Jerry Wyss, Krista Holland; John Tayer was absent STAFI' M~MBERS PRESENT Tracy Winfree, Mike Sweeney, Bill Cowern, Teresa Spears, Steve Stolz and Robin Madel, secretary Regional Partner Outreach Dinner: with Kirk Ogelsby from the ciry and county of Broomfield AGENDA IT~M 1 Call to Order Jim Rettew, vice-chair, called the meefing to order at 6:03 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 2 Approval of Minutes Signing of the minutes from Oct. 28, 2002 was held untii the next meeting because several changes had to be made. Jerry Wyss said that the moYion regarding the parking permit program should read "...motion to recommend that the staff consider an increase in the resident parking permit fee ..." in both the summary and full minutes sets. Krista Holland pointed out that the summaiy notes in the Citizen Participation section of the Whittier CEAP should read "...Vicki Naber ...was shocked that some tenants did not get ballots." Krista Holland also said that the notes should have inciuded Jim Rettew's opposition to creating a new sunset date for fhe Neighborhood Parking Permit (NPP) program. Transportation Advisory Hoard Fuial Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 1 Jerrv Wyss said that the motion regarding Che sunset date of the NPP program should read "Jerry WYSS...motioned to recommend the staff recommendation with the additional provision of a five year sunset date." Brant Liebmann said tbat in Che Balsam/Edgewood agenda item in tbe Citizen Participation section of the ~'inal Minutes, on page 8, where Crystal Gray is quoted, it should read "She said..." The minutes were approved as amended. Brant Liebman motioned to approve the minutes as amended. Krista Holland seconded. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the motion. AGENDA ITEM 3 General Citizen Participation Crvstal Grav, 1709 Spruce St., Boulder, said that she requested that staff do more white space studies under the parking permiY program at the previous meeting because the staff was recommending doing more white space studies. She also addressed the NTMP topic that was discussed the previoas week. She suggested doing a survey or holding a focus group of the two neighborhoods that are already in the process to evaluate the process. She said that she walked around the neighborhood surrounding the intersection aY 16`h and Spruce streets with Vicki Naber and Yhey found thaY of Yhe 96 units that were eligible Co receive ballots, only 46 actually received them. She said that including those households would have made a huge difference. She also said that the questions asked in the balloting didn't obtain the information required by the ordinance. NaneV Blackwood, 1065 9~" St., Boulder, said that her quality of life has diminished to the lowest level due to increased volume and speeds on 9`hSt, which she said are unbearable. There are 85 households within four blocks, which is a lot in a concentrated area. Her involvement goes back 10 years. She said the neighborhood has been successful in getCing 9`h St. declassified and the speed lowered to 25 mph. Ninth St. was ranked 4`h on the NTMP list in 1996 and then it was put on hold because of funding concerns. David Miller, 902 9°i St., Boulder, said that the NTMP is one of the most important issues for Boulder and without action by the TAB and the cify council this neighborhood concern would be neglected. The NTMP is an opportunity to put a stamp of livability in the city. The area along 9~~' St. is a neighborhood but it has failed to make it to the final phase of the program. He said he is hopeful that it will make it there because it is an obvious choice far the program. He reviewed other neighborhoods about their eligibility and found some erroneous information about the other neighborhoods. He asked the TAB to push through the glitches because the program is a good one. The program is suited to Transportatian Adviso~y Board FinalMfnutes November25, 2002 Page 2 stop Che degradation of the neighborhood. He said he is hopeful that the TAB will work wiCh the staff to overcome tbe stumbling blocks. Rob C1ark,1003 9~h St., Boulder, briefly discussed the traffic mitigation plan. He urged the TAB to keep going in spite of any errors. Alan Streater, 2830 Dover, Boulder, spoke to the TAB about wheel chair ramps. He said the slopes in South Boulder curb cuts make going straight on sidewalks difficult. He said he has discussed the situation with Stephany Westhusin and she has answered many oP his questions. He said that the Americans with Disabilities Act specifies a ramp slope less than or equal to 1:12 where feasibly possible. Streater said that we should build the ramps at a slower rate and build them properly. He said it wouldn't take more resources. He suggested that the TAB look into the issue. Brant Liebmann asked about the issues with the sidewalk ramps. Tracy Winfree said that the staff is reconsidering the approach to rebuilding sidewalks. Winfree said that Stephany Westhusin would bring a presentadon to the TAB at a future meeYing. Jerry Wyss asked what the process is for Stage 3 of the NTMP program and how much discretion the TAB has. Bill Cowern said that the process is supposed to be objective but some of the neighbors have pointed out areas where the process is not as rigid as it could be. That is why the staff goes to the TAB meeting for recommendations on the appropriateness of their recommendations. Cowern said that at the April TAB meeting the staff would present the ranking for all the neighborhoods in the NTMP. The top two neighborhoods will be worked on next. General Citizen Participation was closed. AGENDA ITEM 4 Public hearing and TAB consideration of a recommendation to City Council on the consideration of the use of delay-inducing traf~c calming devices as part of the 17`n Street bikelane project design process. Teresa S~ provided a brief background of the project. She said fhat the larger project is the 17~ St. bikelane project but elements of Yhe project include evaluating the use of traffic mitigation devices in the Hillside and Goss-Grove neighborhoods. Specifically the staff is asking the TAB to recommend whether or not to include the consideration of the use of delay-inducing, traffio-calming devices in the design/public involvement phase of the project. Transpormtion Advisory 6oard Final Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 3 Bill Cowern presented two diagrams showing speeds at intersectious and collisions for streets in the study area. Cowern said that the project would incorporate as many efficiency elemenYs as possible. Steve Stolz said that the Fire Department does not support adding a.ny delay-inducing traffic calming devices on 17`hSY. because it is a Critical Emergency Response Route (CERR). Stolz detailed the districts that are served by 17~hSt. The s~aff recommendation is to not consider using delay-inducing, traffic-calming devices in the project. Jerry Wyss commented that it would be helpful to show the limits of the Hillside and Goss-Grove neighborhoods on a map in the packet material. Bill Cowern discussed the collision map. There is an average of four accidents per year at the UniversiCy Avenue turn into 17~~'SC. Jim RetCew asked if the mitxgation devices on University are working. Cowern said the marked crosswalk is helping with compliance but the other devices aren't working. Jim Rettew asked if traditional enforcement is working. Cowern sai d that traditional enforcement was only done during phase II and the data from that period hasn't been analyzed yet. Jim Rettew asked how the bike lanes would affect traffic. Cowern said that without some lype of mitigation the speeds would increase. Krista Holland asked if the fines for speeding could be raised to cover the cost of adding more traditional enforcement. Bill Cowern said that the program will noY allow the use of speed enforcement as a means for raising revenue. Jim Rettew asked if NTMP mitigation was considered when Che staff was evaluating what to do with University Ave. Cowern said that they discussed what the options were but they decided that they mighY not have been able to use delay-inducing devices. Rettew asked if the staff had any data about the barrels in front of tkie journalism school. Cowem said that the data that has been collected is for the barrels a~~ting as a pedestrian compliance device and not as a traffic calming device. Citizen Participation Carl Menthei,120517~h St., Boulder, said that the number of acci~ents on his street is much higher than what is reported. He said the improvements made on University did nothing to mitigate the volume or speed of cars on 17th SC. Also, the car volume has doubled since the Broadway Reconstruction project started and there are now 400 buses per day on the street. The speeds make the street dangerous and have caused a low quality of life for residents. He said that traffic delaying devices wouldn't affecY emergency vehicles. T~•ansportation Advisor'y Board Final Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 4 Paul Levitt, 1610 Hillside Rd., Boulder, said that he wants delay-inducing devices. He asked the TAB to think about something radical like barring traffic from the center of town. He said he doesn't understand the paradox - we all want SUVs and two to three cars but we don't want traffic. He said that in the past there was a promise made thati 17~h St. would not become a major artery and would remain a residential street. MartY Crieler, 2137 Grove St., Boulder, was there representing the neighborhood association for Goss-Grove. He said he wants to go on record to request a traffic mitigation device. He said that the association would like a raised pedestrian crossing. Michele Bishou, 1705 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, said that Grove and 17`h St. is a dangerous intersection and from 1995-2000 there were 14 accidents. The intersection is very busy during four hours per day when the speed limit is 20 mph. The city toolbox says that a raised crosswalk is appropriate. She said compliance is bad at the crosswalks and even at the crossing wich flashing lights. She said that the city should get drivers to change their focus from the next intersection to the current crossing. Jim Rettew asked if both 17`h St. and Pine St. are CERR streets. Cowern said that they are. Rettew said that he was leaning toward not allowing delay-inducing devices based on the Fire Department recommendation. Jerry Wyss said that it would be helpPul to have a map thaY shows the fire stacion districts, neighborhood boundaries and response routes. Brant Liebmann asked what the classificafion of 17th St. is. Cowern said that it is a collector street just like Pine St. is. Citizen Participation was closed. They discussed whether it was equitable to consider the use of delay-inducing devices on Pine St. but not on 17`h St. Liebmann said that it would be hard to consider allowing the devices on Pine St. but not on 17`~' SC. Krista Holland said Yhat she was leaning toward accepting the staff recommendation but she said that she could see that speeding was a big problem. She said she is strongly recommending avoiding them but was willing to consider using them. Jerry Wyss said that it was worth spending money on the analysis and looking at the requirements of the Fire Department and Police Department and also to look at Che matCer comprehensively. Jim Rettew said that he wanted to honor the Fire DepartmenYs input especially because the TAB has trumped them on two major arteries before. Brant Liebmann said that in Goss-Grove, once the bike lanes were installed the speeds would likely increase so tbat neighborhood would quality for inclusion in the program. T~•ansporta[ion Advisory /3oard Final Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 5 Jim Rettew asked why 17`h St. is such a problem. Mike Sweeney said that 17th St. is unique because of Boulder Creek. There are no side streets for the traffic spillover. Jim Rettew said that he was concerned that if delay-inducing devices are recommended then it will be difficult to not use them. Wyss poinYed out that the TAB has a say in the final plan. Brant Liebmann asked if the Fire Department could support some level of delay-inducing devices. Stolz said that there is a threshold beyond which the Fire Department would not support the plan. Krista Holland asked the TAB to consider thinking outside the box and wark on reducing traffic in Boulder. .Terrv Wvss motioned that the TAS recommend that delay-inducing, traf~c- calming devices be considered for the 17~h St. bikelane project. Brant Liebmann seconded the motion. Krista Holland asked to add the stipulation that the TAB prefer that the staff not consider using delay-inducing devices. Rettew said that the TAB should not hamper the evaluation. Wyss pointed ouY that it is part of the recommendadon that Che TAB does not want to predetermine Yhe outcome of the evaluation. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the motion. AGENDA ITEM 5 Staff briefing and TAB input on the Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation Program Guidelines. Teresa Spears said that the staff looked at the elements of the program that were questionable. Jerry Wyss said that the current process seems piecemeal. He said that the process is complicated and the whole seems to work better than the individual devices. Wyss recommended that the whole neighborhood should get a say on the whole neighborhood. Jim Rettew asked what changes could he made within the guidelines. Cowern said that changes such as those made by Wyss would have to be approved by the city council. Jim Rettew asked about items that could be changed without a city council vote. Transportation Advisory Board Frnal Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 6 Jerry Wyss asked about changing the polling process. He recommended using the GID rules. Then all registered voters in the district and all property owners would get a vote. Krista Holland said that she was interested in reviewing residential versus commercial neighborhoods. Mike Sweeney said that he thinks there needs to be a better way to assess quality of life between the two land uses. Jim Rettew asked the board members to give a list of their recommended changes to Bill Cowern. Jim Rettew said that the current process questions the legitimacy of the voting results. Rettew said that bad turnout is an issue and he would be interested in increasing voter turnout. Jim Rettew said that we need a beefed-up, quantifiable Phase 1 and 2. Rettew said that we need to get the city to come through with traditional enforcement. Mike Sweeney said that enforcement needs to be reflective of what the Police Department can do all the time. Cowern said that NTMP guidelines specify that if fraditional enforcement works then the city has to keep doing it. Rettew said he thought that the point was to beef up traditional enforcement. Jim Rettew said that it would be good to get a plan with options rather than a black and white choice. He also questioned whether the transportation department should be doing elections. Jerry Wyss said YhaY he agreed with Jim Rettew. He said he would like to see the whole process simplified. He said he would like to see Phase II shortened to three months. He said he would like to see the staff get more discretion to handle the process more efficiently. Brant Liebmann said that he thinks that the voting process is important but he would like to see a neighborhood vote. He also said that he would like to see Phase I eliminated because it is ineffecYive. Steve Stolz added that everyone in the neighUorhood should get a vote. Krista Holland said that at this point it wouldn't be good to make major changes to Che voting process. Bill Cowern said that it would make sense to make a list of the less controversial items that could be put into place befare the next two neighborhoods begin the process. Teresa Spears said that Chere is the potential to use Phase I more fully to change people's attitudes about speeding. Transpmtation Advisory Board Final Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 7 AGENDA ITEM 6 Matters rrom Staff: Tracv Winfree announced that the Transportation Master Plan item that was on the agenda would not be discussed at this meeting but would be discussed at the December 9, 2002 meeting as a study session. Jerry Wyss asked to have changes to the agenda announced at the beginning of the meeting. Tracv Winfree discussed the impending severe reductions to JUMP and BOUND service, which were planned to start in January. Winfree said that staff inembers have convinced RTD to delay the changes until May 2003 so the staff can evaluate the situation more fully and develop solutions. There will be changes to the LEAP service in January. The route will be expanded to include Route 206 but with 30 minute frequency. The route will go from Fairview to 55"'St. The new route will combine the 206 and the LEAP. Winfree discussed the strategies the staff has developed to handie the service changes, including building a consortium of Boulder County communities that could possibly manage their own transit services. The changes could impact the other regional services. Jerry Wyss said that he thinks it is an opportunity because the city will finally get a community network going and we could get a community pass program in place. Wyss said that now the city can create a new level of service requirements for the city. He said the city shoulddt give up regional service because it is a money maker. Matters From the Board: • Jerry W~}_ss noted that John Tayer's absence was his 3"~ and he wasn't sure if it would compromise his standing on the board. They passed a resolution giving John the board members' permission to miss the meetings, in case there was an issue in the Rules of Procedure. ~errv Wvss motioned to give John Tayer permission to be absent tonight. Jim Rettew seconded the motion. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the motion. • Jerry Wvss discussed the South Boulder Creek Confluence Plan memo that was included in the board packet. He asked several questions regarding the bike path through Valmont Park. • Krista Holland asked about the wheelchair ramp issue that was raised by Alan Streater during Citizen Participation. Winfree said that Stephany Westhusin would be giving the TAB a briefing on the issue at an upcoming meeting. . Jim Rettew asked about electric bikes. There was an e-bike shown in Time Magazine that exceeds 17 mph but one of the other board members pointed out that the bike does not have pedals and doesn't qualify as a bike in Boulder. • Krista Holland asked about the green bikes program. Winfree said that the bikes ended up going to needy families. Transportation Advisory Board Final Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 8 AGENDA ITEM 7 Next meeting agenda The Dec. 9, 2002 meeting will be a study session on the TMP Update. The Jan. 13, 2003 meeting does not have agenda items scheduled yet but there several discussion items are scheduled at this time. AGENDA IT~M 8 Adjournment Brant Liebmann motioned to adjourn the meeting. Krista Holland seconded. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:58 p.m. Next Meeting December 9, 2002, 6:00 p.m., Transportafion Advisory Board regular meeting, at Grace Lutheran Church. { Minutes approved on ~ ~ ° 3 By T~•ansportation Advisory Board Pinal Minutes November 25, 2002 Page 9