M I N U T E S

CITIZENS’ TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD (CTAB)

August 1, 2006

Alamo Corporate Center, 102 S. Tejon Street

First Floor Conference Room

1. CALL TO ORDER/ESTABLISH QUORUM: Chairperson Gary Bradley called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. and invited the many citizens in attendance to introduce themselves.


Members present: Gary Bradley, Gene Bray, Dan Cleveland, Jane Dillon, Bob Hartwig, Joe Henjum, Don Schley and David Whitehead.

Members absent: Ann Oatman-Gardner, Brian Risley and Joe Vaccaro.

Staff present: Bill Healy, Planning and Community Development Director; Cam McNair, City Engineer; Bruce Thorson, Roadway Design Manager; Robin Kidder, Senior Civil Engineer; Lydia Maring, City Engineering; Scott Logan, Traffic Engineering Division Manager; Dave Krauth, Principal Traffic Engineer; Craig Blewitt, Transportation Planning Manager; Kristin Bennett, Senior Transportation Planner; Corinne Donahue, Senior Transit Planner; Mary Scott, City Public Communications; and Beth Diana and Gaye Smith, Transportation Planning.
Others present: Julie Armstrong, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services; Mary Alice Ayling, Susanne Barr, Bruce and Pat Doyle, Kalah Fuller, Cathy Mundy, Dave Munger and Mark Nelson, Old North End Neighborhood (ONEN); Jan Doran, Council of Neighbors and Organizations (CONO); Beth Kosley, Downtown Partnership; and citizens Mel and Louise Eskanos.

2. CITIZEN COMMENT: Jan Doran and Beth Kosley asked to speak during Agenda Item 4, Trucking Issues Subcommittee Report.


Mel Eskanos then spoke of his attempts to work with the Transit Division on the Downtown Transportation Station. He owns property on Colorado Avenue at the Ross Auction site and has offered to sell it for the Transportation Station, as it meets all the project’s requirements. He is bringing this to the attention of CTAB because he understands that Transit Division staff will be presenting a plan to City Council and he thought that CTAB should look into this so that it can make a recommendation to Council. Gary Bradley noted that CTAB is aware of this situation.

Corinne Donahue confirmed that this item will be presented to Council on August 21 and said that two sites are being reviewed as part of the federal National Environmental Protect Act (NEPA) process. Staff will provide a debriefing to CTAB after the Council meeting. Gaye Smith noted that before setting the August agenda, she had contacted Tim McKinney, Transit Division Principal Analyst and project manager, to see if this item was ready for presentation to CTAB. Tim said that staff is looking for direction from Council and was therefore not ready to take this item to CTAB for a recommendation.

3.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Three sets of meeting minutes were presented to the Board for approval. Board members agreed to approve each set of minutes separately.

·  The minutes of the June 6, 2006 regular meeting were presented. Gene Bray asked that the minutes be amended to reflect that he left the meeting before a vote was taken on a motion regarding Agenda Item 5D, Regional Transportation Improvement Program, due to a conflict of interest. Dan Cleveland moved to approve the minutes as amended, Jane Dillon seconded, and the amended minutes were unanimously approved. Absent: Oatman-Gardner, Risley and Vaccaro.

·  The minutes of the June 27, 2006 special meeting were presented. Jane Dillon motioned for approval, Joe Henjum seconded, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Absent: Oatman-Gardner, Risley and Vaccaro.

·  The minutes of the July 11, 2006 special meeting were presented. David Whitehead motioned for approval, Jane Dillon seconded, and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Absent: Oatman-Gardner, Risley and Vaccaro.

4.  TRUCKING ISSUES SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT: Bob Hartwig thanked Board members for approving Mike Smith’s nomination to the Subcommittee. He described TISC’s process of looking at data on 41 roadways as part of its truck route network review. After the review is complete and preliminary findings have been formulated, TISC will meet with CTAB, and staff will set up a schedule of about three public meetings to get citizen input. The public meetings will be a combination of open house and presentation style, so that citizens can look at the maps and other information being provided, hear the formal presentation, and ask questions and/or fill out comment cards. After the public meetings, TISC’s recommendation will be finalized for CTAB, taken to the Planning Commission, and then to City Council for approval.

Gene Bray asked what the process was for determining whether a roadway will be added or removed from the truck route network. Bob said that TISC has not decided yet. The roads have been scored by the Subcommittee members, and staff has developed a table of criteria and scores and has rank-ordered the roads. At the next TISC meeting the scores will be discussed, but this is not a totally numeric process. Bob compared TISC’s process to the process CTAB followed when it developed a transportation project list for Council, with project scoring being one tool used to assist in formulating a list.

Jan Doran then addressed the Board and said that she was concerned about TISC’s process but commended the use of a rating system. She said that once the rating is completed, wherever the ratings fall is where the projects should stay on the list and that it is not then up to the Subcommittee to decide if the rating system is right or wrong. Otherwise, it would be “ridiculous” to bother with scoring and TISC could just as well have gone with a majority vote. She asked that the process and criteria set forth in the Intermodal Transportation Plan be looked at, such as proximity to schools, parks, hospitals, colleges and historic areas. She also encouraged a “theater-style” presentation for the public meetings to allow people to interact as a group, as well as stations with maps and information. This will help give citizens a more global perspective, rather than focusing only on their neighborhood.

Jan then asked Bob how much time citizens would have to speak at the next few TISC meetings that will be addressing this issue or would it be necessary to get letters to the Subcommittee in advance of the meetings. Bob said that TISC has allowed citizens to speak at its meetings and during discussion of issues. He also encouraged written input, as it allows citizens to organize their thoughts and facts. Jan asked that TISC consider how emotional this issue was and to not dismiss letters that are more subjective than the Subcommittee might like. Gary Bradley commented that he has been to a Subcommittee meeting and that TISC was even more open than CTAB and took comments throughout the meeting.

Don Schley, CTAB representative on the Subcommittee, stated that he supports maintaining the rating system and is concerned about preserving its integrity. He feels sure that some of the additions that TISC makes will strengthen the truck route system.

Beth Kosley provided a letter to TISC from the Downtown Partnership, which states that the Downtown Partnership has reached a consensus that continuing the designation of a truck route on Nevada Avenue from Fillmore through downtown to the Interstate is unnecessary and that additional truck route designations in the downtown area are not needed and are not desirable. The Downtown Action Plan is an attempt to make this area pedestrian friendly and increase the residential density, goals that are not compatible with truck route designations. Gary suggested that perhaps staff could provide TISC with an update regarding the master plan for downtown. Craig said that TISC does have the city-wide comprehensive plan and the land use map overlaid with the truck route network. Beth noted that the maps do not provide value statements.

David Munger said that he has been attending the Subcommittee meetings. The ONEN is very concerned that there has not been adequate consideration given to safety factors, and that those criteria should receive more weight in TISC’s scoring than other criteria.

5. OLD BUSINESS:

A. Transit Update – Corinne Donahue provided an update on the Front Range Express (FREX). If FREX does not receive additional funding, service will end in December. Transit Division has applied for Senate Bill 1 state funds for new commuter vehicles. This bill provides $8 million in transportation funding, and FREX is one of the projects under consideration. Staff hopes for a decision by the end of August, with final approval probably given in October.

B. Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority Update – Cam McNair reported that more revenue than anticipated for 2006 has been received to date, but unfortunately asphalt and other costs have risen more than the increased revenue, which means not as much can be done with the same amount of money as before. The Union/Austin Bluffs Parkway interchange is now in the contractor selection process and the Woodmen Environmental Assessment process continues, with construction scheduled to begin the end of 2007. This project is still in the design phase, and approval has been secured for early acquisition of homes of owners who are eager to sell. Federal and state funding has been secured for the Woodmen/Powers interchange, and CDOT has put this project out to bid. Construction is expected to begin later this fall.

C. US 24 West Environmental Assessment Update – Craig Blewitt said that City Councilmembers had requested that the project team find a different location for future public meetings, as the space now being used is too small. It is too late to change the location for the meeting scheduled later in August, but the team will try to find another location for other meetings. Also, the format of the meetings is being changed as requested. The new group formed by Sallie Clark has met and seems to be doing well; the project team has embraced it as part of project input. Gary asked that this item be kept on future CTAB agendas so that Board members can continue to receive updates.

6. NEW BUSINESS:

A. Proposed Roadway Noise Control Plan – City staff is developing a proposed Roadway Noise Control Plan, which is intended to address adverse noise impacts on residences from roadway noise. This item was brought to CTAB in February, when staff was gauging support for the plan. Since that time, Hankard Environmental has been hired to assist staff, research has been conducted on how other cities address traffic noise issues, and options have been developed for community discussion and input. Cam McNair gave Board members a presentation on the Roadway Noise Control Plan and said that staff is seeking feedback and input on the options. This presentation has been given to the Planning Commission, and will be presented to the Council of Neighbors and Organizations.
A key decision that needs to be made is what the appropriate citywide noise threshold should be:

·  66 dBA – CDOT’s and most Federal agencies’ threshold

·  60 dBA – minimum threshold considered feasible

·  63 dBA – middle ground

Proposed ways to implement the plan include

·  Retrofitting: Create a “Quieting Our Streets” policy and manual for retrofitting neighborhoods; neighborhoods would apply to the program and initiate a Local Improvement District to pay the cost. Cost sharing would be dependent on available funding.

·  New Residential Developments: Create a “Roadway Noise Control” design manual appendix to the Subdivision Policy Manual.

·  Roadway Projects: Prepare “Roadway Noise Control” design manual that would apply to both public and private projects.

Once a noise threshold has been selected and “Quieting Our Streets” and “Roadway Noise Control Manual” drafts have been completed, there will be another round of public outreach before implementation by City Council resolution.

Board members mentioned the Colorado Springs Airport requirements and Cam said that he had talked with airport personnel. The Board agreed that the City should try to be consistent with the Airport and the County, and perhaps could adopt the same standard.

B. Road Dieting – Kristin Bennett explained that when a street is resurfaced, staff typically reviews the current lane striping for possible changes. In response to these reviews, several streets have been “dieted” in the City of Colorado Springs, primarily due to excess capacity. The FHWA Highway Safety Research Center defines a “road diet” as the reallocation of space on an existing roadway. A typical road diet is the conversion of a four-lane street (two travel lanes in each direction) to three lanes (one travel lane in each direction and a center turn lane) with the remaining space allocated to bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and/or parking. Road dieting can be a cost effective way to improve a corridor’s safety and accessibility for all modes of travel, and three roads are being road dieted this construction season as part of routine street maintenance projects:

1.  Cheyenne Boulevard from Tejon to Cresta

2.  S. Tejon Street from Moreno to Fountain Creek

3.  E. Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard from Highway 115 to Springmeadow

Benefits of road dieting include accident reductions, traffic calming, improved emergency response time, improved bicycle and pedestrian safety, and an increase in roadway longevity by moving traffic out of the gutter pan area, which is a roadway’s weaker part. Drawbacks can be loss of passing opportunities, increased delay at driveways and side streets, and possible need for signal timing modifications at intersections. The road diet concept is consistent with the City’s Intermodal Transportation Plan.