M I N U T E S
CITIZENS’ TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY BOARD (CTAB)
November 6, 2007
City Administration Building, 30 S. Nevada Avenue
4th Floor Conference Room, Suite 401 Large
1. CALL TO ORDER/ESTABLISH QUORUM: Chairperson Dan Cleveland called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.
Members present: Gary Bradley, Gene Bray, Dan Cleveland, Jane Dillon, Bob Hartwig, Jim Ramsey, Brian Risley, Joe Vaccaro, Randy Welsh and David Whitehead.
Members absent: Chad Hartley (non-voting alternate) and Don Schley.
Staff present: Cam McNair, City Engineer; Robin Kidder, Roadway Engineering Manager; Scott Logan, Traffic Engineering Division Manager; Dave Krauth, Principal Traffic Engineer; Sherre Ritenour, Transit Services Division Manager; Craig Blewitt, Transportation Planning Manager; Kristin Bennett, Senior Transportation Planner; and Gaye Smith, Transportation Planning Analyst.
Others present: Al Brody, Pikes Peak Area Bikeway Coalition; Lisa Bachman and Kate Fancy, PRACO; Jan Doran and Francine Hansen, Council of Neighbors & Organizations (CONO); Rich Guy and Beth Kosley, Downtown Partnership; Chris Jenkins, Nor’wood; Rick Hoover; Nancy Matthys, Park Hill Neighborhood Association; Marla Novak and John Kisiel, Housing & Building Association; David Munger, Old North End Neighborhood (ONEN); Jason O’Brien, Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG); Rich O’Connell, Trucking Issues Subcommittee (TISC); and John O’Donnell, Surface Transportation Advisory Coalition (STAC).
2. CITIZEN COMMENT: Al Brody had three items he wished to bring to the Board’s attention. He expressed concern about repaving at Rockrimmon and I-25 due to unstable soils; before repaving, work on the mine subsidence area to deal with soils should be completed. He commented that the Two-Way Tejon Street proposal, which would be presented later during the meeting, was a good idea. Mr. Brody also had a question about vehicles using trails; because the vehicles were possibly involved in utilities work, Board members suggested that he check with the Utilities Department directly.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the October 2, 2007 Annual Meeting of the Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Board meeting were presented. Joe Vaccaro motioned for approval, David Whitehead seconded, and the minutes were unanimously approved. Absent: Ramsey, Hartley and Schley.
4. TRUCKING ISSUES SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT: Dan Cleveland said that presentation being prepared for City Council and shown at the October 2 CTAB meeting has been revised based on Board members’ input, and hopefully addresses Councilmember and CTAB comments. The presentation to Council had been tentatively set for October 22, but is now scheduled for November 26. Dan said that he will make the presentation to Council, not only because Bob Hartwig will be out of town, but because this is CTAB’s report. Bob Hartwig, Craig Blewitt and Rich O’Connell then reviewed the revised presentation.
- - - Board Member Ramsey arrives - - -
Bob was asked why North Carefree was being recommended as a restricted delivery corridor, and he responded that this was a connectivity issue, due to a lack of east-west corridors in the City. Gene Bray commented that the question regarding North Carefree was appropriate, and that Constitution also suffered “fatal flaws,” with its steep grades and mostly residential nature. He also thought that these flaws also applied to Rockrimmon and Pikes Peak Avenue.
Dan Cleveland said that he had reviewed the videotape of the July 9 Council meeting in order to be certain that all of Councils’ concerns were addressed. Randy Welsch noted that the presentation was vastly improved but could still be refined, and offered to help with the final product. Dan then opened the floor for public comment, noting that CTAB is not approving anything at this time, but is only going to Council to ask that the Board be allowed to take its preliminary recommendations to the citizens to receive their input.
Francine Hansen, President of the Council of Neighbors & Organizations (CONO), said that the members of CONO were upset, and that CTAB must answer questions and should provide justifications for recommendations road by road. Other concerns were the subjective roadway ratings, what the problem is that CTAB and its Trucking Issues Subcommittee is trying to solve; what is the pain and gain of the proposals? In response, Board members noted that the last truck route review was in 1996, and a review is needed to keep the City contemporary and up to date with its Truck Route Plan. This is a forward-thinking process, taking the 2035 long-range Regional Transportation Plan into account; citizens generally fault the City for not planning in advance.
Jan Doran, past president of CONO, said that her understanding was that initially, concerns regarding North Nevada Avenue and downtown were being addressed by CTAB, and now a “bushel basketful” of routes were being reviewed, and criteria is needed to justify individual routes. CONO wants the best it can have for the community and neighborhoods. Craig Blewitt noted that staff has kept a record of the pros and cons discussed by Subcommittee members as each roadway was reviewed. David Munger said that one of the issues that aggravates CONO is that truck routes should not pass by schools if there is a reasonable alternative, with North Carefree and Pikes Peak Avenue being examples, and that TISC has largely ignored this, although quality of life for neighborhoods exists in City planning documents. He said that the Old North End Neighborhood has committed itself to restricted truck travel on North Nevada, but he is not sure this concept needs to be applied across the board.
Rick Hoover commented on the Constitution Road segment and concerns about east-west routes, noting that now that Powers Boulevard is open to Highway 83, it becomes an east-west route, and at least 8 of the 13 restricted delivery corridors are east to west. Sharing the pain of trucks on roadways should not be a part of the criteria. Nancy Matthys spoke against including Pikes Peak Avenue on the truck route system, noting its proximity to Platte Avenue, which is already a truck route. John O’Donnell said that the TISC has been working on this issue for 2½ years, and a lot of the information such as truck counts and noise surveys, will be made available in public hearings. He said that this should be taken to City Council and allowed to go out for public input. Board members reiterated that CTAB is an advisory board to City Council; it has been given this charge, and is only going to Council to ask that it be allowed to hold public meetings for citizens’ comments and input.
Dan Cleveland then asked the Board members what they wanted to do. Comments received were:
· Joe Vaccaro: There will always be objections, and that growth has its pains; this needs to get to the public
· Gary Bradley: Dan should improve on the presentation to Council, and this should go to the public
· Jane Dillon: Agree with previous comments; visit neighborhood groups when requested; no major revisions
· Randy Welsch: No major revisions to presentation needed, just sharpen
· Brian Risley: Some refinement to presentation needed, but it is time to get public input. If reaction is that no one wants changes to the roadways, then that is the input.
· Bob Hartwig: Time to move forward.
· Jim Ramsey: Complex series of issues; need to acknowledge complexity and contentiousness. CTAB needs a one-page Executive Summary to make a clear statement. Jim offered to work on that.
· Gene Bray: Need public input. He was concerned that the product CTAB presently has might damage its credibility if taken to Council. He suggested that it be stressed that CTAB is not offering a solution, but these preliminary recommendations are some considerations being offered for public comment.
· David Whitehead: He hears concern over answering the questions from City Councilmembers, but often it isn’t government officials asking the hard questions, it’s the neighborhoods. CTAB needs to be ready to answer those questions.
Chairperson Cleveland said that this issue needs to go forward, and if Board members had further comments and suggestions on the presentation, they should forward those to Gaye Smith. Board members offering their assistance will be contacted.
5. OLD BUSINESS:
A. Transit Update – Transit Services provided its monthly update as part of the CTAB meeting packet. Sherre Ritenour asked if Board members had any questions, and there were none.
B. Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority (PPRTA) Report – Cam McNair said that the Cimarron Street Bridge has been closed down on schedule, and a major shift of traffic has been made at the Union/Austin Bluffs Parkway intersection to start the next phase of the interchange project. Ron Mitchell said that the PPRTA budget will be presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee on November 7, and then will be taken to the Board of Directors at its next meeting. The budget is essentially the same as what was brought to CTAB last month, except for some decisions regarding transit.
6. NEW BUSINESS:
A. PPACG Regional Non-motorized Transportation Plan – Jason O’Brien described the process that the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments (PPACG) has undertaken to develop the Regional Non-motorized Transportation Plan. The intent of the process, which has included public participation, has been to determine what projects should be funded, taking into account criteria such as demographics and safety. Bicycle and pedestrian accident history was reviewed in order to identify projects that would address safety issues. He said that PPACG was now ready to receive public comment at www.ppacg.org. Craig Blewitt commented that City staff has participated in this effort, which has been a good opportunity to work with other jurisdictions. Staff is also working on the Colorado Springs Pedestrian Plan, which dovetails with the Non-motorized Transportation Plan and will be presented to CTAB next year.
B. Proby Parkway Project Update – Andy Garton said that the parameters of the Milton E. Proby Parkway project are from State Highway 115 to Powers Boulevard. The project concept is for a 6-lane expressway, which will widen South Academy from 4 to 6 lanes; a new expressway will be constructed from Academy to Powers; 3 interchanges will be upgraded and 3 new grade-separated interchanges will be built. Five public outreach meetings have been held, alternatives have been reviewed and neighborhood concerns addressed. Additionally, the Colorado Springs Police Department has reviewed the project. The proposed west Drennan Road access alternative to allow neighborhood connectivity minimizes the number of homes to be acquired, with only two houses affected. Proby Parkway will be built 20 feet below grade, which provides tremendous visual impact mitigation, and virtually eliminates noise. The proposed alternative is based on future traffic forecasts of 40,000 – 45,000 vehicles per day on Proby Parkway with the future expansion of the airport and business parks. The project is at the concept level, currently within budget, and the right of way acquisition process has funding. The project is scheduled for construction in 2010. The interchange at Academy and Powers is a Colorado Department of Transportation project.
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C. Two-Way Tejon Street and HES Projects – Scott Logan said that the Two-Way Tejon Street conversion plan would be presented to City Council on November 27, and that he was asking for CTAB’s support. The conversion plan was initiated by Downtown stakeholders through the Downtown Partnership’s “Imagine Downtown” sessions in 2006, designed to find ways to improve traffic flow, access, circulation and the economic viability of Tejon Street. Research, economic studies, traffic analyses, opinion surveys and outreach programs have been conducted by the City’s Traffic Engineering Division and the Downtown Partnership for the last 18 months. The Downtown Partnership has paid for an analysis by BBC Research & Consulting to examine the potential impacts of converting the one-way segment of Tejon Street to two-way traffic. Scott explained the key findings of the study and business survey. The cost of the conversion would be $125,000, which includes pavement marking changes, traffic signal modifications and additional traffic signs. If approved by Council, implementation of the two-way traffic flow plan would be scheduled next spring to coincide with the opening of the Cimarron Street Bridge.
Rich Guy, Chris Jenkins and Beth Kosley spoke in favor of the project. Board members noted that two-way traffic has the effect of “calming” traffic and slowing cars down and appeared to be good for downtown. When asked if the Downtown Partnership had taken a position on this project, Beth said that it has expressed support. Scott was asked how the project would be funded, and he said it was funded as part of the City’s 2007 Capital Improvement Program.
Bob Hartwig moved to support the Two-Way Tejon Street Conversion Plan as presented. Gary Bradley seconded the motion, which passed 8 to 1.
In favor: Bradley, Bray, Cleveland, Dillon, Hartwig, Ramsey, Welsch and Whitehead. Opposed: Vaccaro. Absent: Risley and Schley.
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Scott then presented two Federal Hazard Elimination and Safety (HES) grant projects for the Airport/Powers intersection and Platte Corridor improvements. The Airport/Powers Intersection has received $200,000 in HES funds and $50,000 in State funds to address the high accident rates experienced along the roadway and the congestion, which is due to higher traffic volumes and lack of adequate capacity of the four through lanes. The Platte Corridor project, from Union to Hancock, has received $240,000 in HES funds, with the City providing $60,000 in Capital Improvement Program funds. During the past three years, approximately 100 accidents have been attributed to the lack of turn lanes and high traffic volumes along this segment of the corridor. This project will include a strong public outreach program to address neighborhood sensitivities. Scott asked for the Board’s support of these project plans, which will be presented to City Council at its November 28 Formal meeting.
Gene Bray moved to approve support of the two Federal Hazard Elimination and Safety projects as presented. Bob Hartwig seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Absent: Ramsey, Risley and Schley.