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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-08-13 PZC MINUTES• • • CITY OF ENGLEWOOD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION STUDY SESSION August 13, 2002 I. CALL TO ORDER The study session of the Englewood Planning and Zoning Commission convened at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room of Englewood Ci vie Center, Chairman Waggoner presiding. Present: Absent: Staff: Welker, Willis, Roth , Schum, Diekmeier, Krieger, Waggoner Parks, Lathram, Mueller (all with previous notice) Senior Planner Harold Stitt Senior Planner Mark Graham Planner I John Voboril Traffic Engineer Ladd Vostry Traffic Analyst Wendy Gracy Director of Public Works Ken Ross Chairman Waggoner asked that everyone introduce himself or herself. II. TRANSPORTATION ACTION PLAN Mr. Ross presented a synopsis of the Transportation Action Plan and led discussion of the projects listed on this synopsis. Mr. Ross emphasized that what is before the Commis- sion is an "unconstrained wish list " in the amount of $38,108,200 . This will have to be pared down to fit monetary constraints . Bikeffrail Projects were discussed. Mr. Ross noted that a pedestrian bridge over the Platte River at Dartmouth A venue is not included on the list before the Commission . He stated that he would like to see a separate bridge to accommodate bicyclists across the Platte at Dartmouth -this would cost in the neighborhood of $600,000. Mr. Ross noted the existing Dartmouth/Platte River bridge has an efficiency rating of 68.4 currently. Mr. Ross discussed the hazards of trying to blend bicycle/pedestrian use into the vehicular use of the Dartmouth/Platte River bridge. Members of the Commission and Mr. Ross briefly discussed possible construction scenarios for a new bridge . Mr. Waggoner questioned whether Detector Loops, and Bike Parking/Air Stations are really needed improvements . Mr. Ross reiterated that this is a "wish list", but spoke to the importance of "air stations", and noted these facilities could be located at fire stations, or other locations where there is already a City "presence". The Big Dry Creek Trail bridge was discussed. Mr. Ross stated construction of this facil- ity is scheduled to begin in September 2002. H:\group\boards\plancom\minutes\minutes2002\pcm 08-13 -02 1 • • • Mr. Willis asked if completion of the trail along Little Dry Creek is priority. Mr. Ross stated that he considered it high priority -it is a "missing link" needed to complete the Little Dry Creek trail. Completion of the trail to tie in with the South Platte River area was discussed. Mr. Welker noted that he is a member of the South Platte River Open Space Committee. He noted that this group is looking at the redevelopment of some properties along the river -both sides; there is a lot of potential for development on the east side of the river. Mr. Ross further discussed possible bridge construction over U.S. 285 at Santa Fe and over Oxford A venue. Both of these bridges would provide safer pedestrian access to light rail transit stations on the east side of Santa Fe Drive. A proposed tunnel under Santa Fe could provide another trail link to the South Platte River, together with Big Dry Creek and Little Dry Creek trails. Mr. Waggoner stated that there should be destination points at both ends of trail extensions. Mr. Schum pointed out that the trail system along the South Platte River is a "destination" for bicyclists. Mr. Willis asked about routing of the bicycle trail extension from the Little Dry Creek Plaza to tie in at Dartmouth. Mr. Ross traced a proposed route -extending the trail along Hampden to Cherokee, north on Cherokee to Englewood Parkway, thence to Floyd Ave- nue, along the north side of Floyd A venue to Inca, to the bus loop to the CityCenter area and light rail station, or just proceed directly north on Inca from Floyd Avenue to Dart- mouth. Mr. Willis asked if there were alternate routes for consideration. Mr. Ross stated that this route seemed to be the easiest when he and Ms . Gracy rode possible routes . Mr. Willis commented that it seemed unwise to mix bicycle riders and cars on Hampden. Mr. Graham noted that Mr. Ross had stated the efficiency rating of the Dartmouth/Platte River bridge was 68.4; does this mean that the life cycle of this bridge may end within 20 years; would it be cost efficient to construct a new bridge. Mr. Ross reiterated his prefer- ence for separate structures for vehicles and bicycle/pedestrian trail traffic. Further dis- cussion ensued on construction of a trail system for bicyclists and pedestrians , including going under Platte River Drive . Ms. Krieger noted that if this trail is intended to also serve pedestrians, placing a portion of the trail underground is unwise -pedestrians do not want to enter a below-grade tunnel. Mr. Schum agreed, and stated that women in par- ticular do not want to use a below-grade system. Mr. Ross agreed to add the bicycle bridge over the South Platte River to the project list. Pedestrian Projects were the next topic of discussion. Mr. Ross noted that the Belle- view Sidewalk from Broadway to Logan is completed, and should be removed from the list. Sidewalks along University Boulevard from Dartmouth to U.S. 285, and Belleview Avenue from Federal to Lowell Boulevards, are slated for completion in 2003. Mr. Ross discussed this facet of the "missing link" program; the program was established by City Council last year, and funds have been allocated to complete sidewalk improve- ments where needed. Mr. Welker commented that he did not recall ever seeing pedestri- ans walk along Belleview from Broadway to Logan, and even now that this link is com- pleted, there are utility poles in the way . He commented that nothing grew along this H:\group\boards\plancom\minutes\min utes2002\pcm 08-13-02 2 • • • area because of salt splash during the winter months. Mr. Ross stated that his department had received complaints from pedestrians that there were no sidewalk facilities, or that weeds were growing along this area. Chairman Waggoner suggested that there are areas that pedestrians do not use; why are these areas included on the list. Mr. Ross stated that the list was compiled in response to telephone calls from people complaining about the lack of sidewalk in a specific area. Chairman Waggoner then asked if there is need for sidewalk improvements on both sides of a street. Mr. Ross suggested that it might depend on the street. Mr. Waggoner asked if any of the sidewalk installations are on the "railroad side" of a street. Mr. Ross re- sponded that sidewalks on South Windermere leading to the light rail station are on the railroad side of the street; people have been walking in the middle of Windermere to reach the transit station . He noted that 1,000 feet of this sidewalk project is completed. Mr. Schum asked who is responsible for snow removal along such sidewalks; does RTD remove the snow within the 24-hour requirement, or does the City take responsibility to remove the snow. Mr. Ross stated that there are some sidewalks that the City will take care of. He stated that sidewalks should be constructed wide enough to allow use of small snowplows to clear them. Mr. Willis discussed pedestrian crossing over South Broadway. Mr. Ross discussed ADA standards for pedestrian/handicapped bridges. He distributed photos of elevated pedestrian crossings that were taken in Las Vegas. Las Vegas had to construct "walls" or fences along streets to force people to use the bridges . He commented that "people will take the shortest route", even crossing at grade versus using an elevated crossing. Mr. Schum asked why a bicycle trail cannot go through the Wal-Mart property . Mr. Welker recalled discussion of bicycle trails through the CityCenter redevelopment area when the PUD District Plan/Site Plan was considered. Routes through the redevelopment were not designated. Mr. Welker noted that linkage for bicycle routes would be benefi- cial for youngsters riding bikes from northwest Englewood to the High School. Mr. Willis stated that this bicycle linkage really needs to be considered. Mr. Ross suggested that if the Phar-Mor site undergoes redevelopment, perhaps some other routing could be identified across the Elati Street/Phar-Mor sites to tie in with the existing route. Discus- sion ensued. Mr. Graham noted that the Commission had expressed a lot of interest in the GIW Traffic report, and felt there were some deficiencies that need to be addressed. How would the missing links program work to tie the GIW redevelopment into the bicycle/pedestrian trail system. Mr. Ross suggested design of the trail system from GIW should be delayed until there is more information on possible development on the Winslow property. This could determine whether the route would be on-street or off-street. Mr. Diekmeier inquired about pedestrian bridges at Oxford and Santa Fe and U.S. 285 and Santa Fe. Mr. Ross stated that if he received approval and funding, the next step would be to hire consultants. Mr. Vestry pointed out that the Oxford light rail stop is ac- H:\group\boards\plancom\minutes\minutes2002\pcm 08-13-02 3 ,, • • • tually in Sheridan, and that a pedestrian crossing at Santa Fe and U.S. 285 would also be into Sheridan. Mr. Ross stated that Sheridan has put in a 10 ft. wide sidewalk along Ox- ford. He noted that with the width of Oxford Avenue in Englewood, a nice on-street bi- cycle path could be developed, but the crossing of Santa Fe will not be easy to accom- plish. Mr. Ross stated that there is CDOT land available to work with on the U.S. 285 crossing; RTD needs additional parking, and the Cultural Arts Commission is also look- ing at land on the west side of Santa Fe. It might be feasible to develop a crossing under Santa Fe at this location . Mr. Willis discussed a rumor of possible demolition of the South Drive-In Theater and development of apartments on the site. Mr. Welker stated that access to the site is a huge problem. Chairman Waggoner noted that a lot of the projects are dependent on develop- ment that may or may not occur. Mr. Willis stated that Englewood has a lot of people confined to wheelchairs, and we need to look at safe means for these people to cross Broadway. Mr. Willis noted that there are two "pocket parks" in the 3400 block of South Broadway that might be used to provide a terminus for a pedestrian overpass. Ms. Krieger stated that the pocket parks would be lost -the ramping area for the overpass would use all of the pocket park areas. Further discussion on trail connection along Little Dry Creek and crossing Broadway en- sued . Bike/pedestrian paths connecting parks -specifically Rotolo and Jason Parks -were dis- cussed. Road Projects were then discussed. Mr. Ross stated that development of some streets in Northwest Englewood has not been completed. Some Northwest Englewood residents aren't really interested in adding more streets or having to pay for street improvements . Mr. Waggoner stated that is no reason to remove the need for these streets from the list. Mr. Ross noted that some projects, such as widening the underpass on #285 under Broadway, is a CDOT issue, and the $14,000,000 cost is not a City cost. The City's share is $350,000. The grade separation at Santa Fe and Dartmouth A venue is another CDOT project; the City 's cost is estimated at $500,000; CDOT cost is estimated at $21,000,000. These CDOT figures ($14 million and $21 million) are not part of the total $38 million in PIF/CIP projects. Design of an interchange at Dartmouth and Santa Fe was discussed. Mr. Waggoner and Mr. Vostry both spoke to distance factors that would inhibit a full interchange at Dart- mouth. Mr. Ross stated that the DR COG Metro Vision 2020 Plan does show a grade separation at this intersection. Mr. Ross discussed upgrade of traffic signals to use of LED bulbs; use of these long- lasting bulbs is a safety factor for the traffic maintenance crew; they do not have to have H:\group\boards\plancom\minutes\minutes2002\pcm 08-13-02 4 • • • their vehicle out in heavy traffic while changing bulbs as often. Traffic signals could be operated on battery power during electrical outages. Paving of all alleys in the City was discussed. Chairman Waggoner stated he would ap- prove this project only if the property owners paid for the paving, and not the City. Mr. Roth stated the need to pave alleys may have to do with the terrain of an alley. Ms. Krieger stated that there are lots of reasons to pave the alleys, but there are also lots of reasons not to do so. She stated if you want people to drive down the alleys, it makes sense to pave them. Mr. Willis asked why small strips between the curbs and sidewalks -maybe six to eight inches in width -were not paved when new sidewalks were poured. He cited areas along Floyd Avenue and Girard A venue -in one area this small strip was paved, in the other it was left unpaved. Mr. Ross said he could not provide rationale for this discrepancy, but would look into it. Mr. Ross stated that an estimated 23,000 workers come into the City on a daily basis, us- ing City streets and other facilities; he would like to explore possible means to get pay- ment from this group of users to help pay for some of the street/alley improvements. Mr. Graham noted that there are some neighborhoods that carry medium to high-density zoning but are not developed to capacity. Paving the alleys would provide a second means of access that would allow development of "carriage houses" on the rear of some properties. Mr. Welker asked how much is spent each year to grade and maintain the alleys. Mr. Ross estimated $50,000 per year for grading and maintenance. Mr. Ross discussed the truck traffic on Union A venue. He stated that with truck traffic not being able to travel Union A venue all the way to Federal, but using the Santa Fe/Union intersection exclusively, this intersection has an "E" service level because of congestion. Mr. Ross discussed a possible improvement of South Wyandot street be- tween Union A venue and Belleview A venue to provide truck traffic a secondary point of ingress/egress. However, a portion of this route would extend through the City of Little- ton, and they are not interested in improvement of the street to accept Englewood traffic . Traffic Calming Projects were discussed. Mr. Ross stated that several means to calm traffic were considered when developing the transportation plan. Several of the calming methods make use of landscaping features, including medians and small traffic circles. Mr. Ross stated that these proposals, if funded, would require study, design, and then construction. Mr. Ross stated that care would be required on the traffic circles that emer- gency vehicles can successfully maneuver around and through them. Ms. Krieger asked whether there have been speed checks on South Broadway since the "bulb-out" installation, and how current speeds compare with speeds prior to the installa- tion . She expressed the opinion that traffic has slowed. Mr. Ross stated that he did not H:\group\boards\plancom\minu1es\minu1es2002\pcm 08-13-02 5 , • • • have before and after speed information, and agreed that this would be interesting infor- mation. Ms. Krieger stated that she really likes the "bulb-outs" around Bishop Elemen- tary School. Mr. Waggoner asked what impact the bulb-outs have on snow-removal pro- cedures . Mr. Ross stated that the bulb-outs do have an impact on snow-removal; how- ever, so far they have been placed only along South Broadway, and the snow-removal crew knows where they are. Chairman Waggoner asked what to expect with traffic calming measures -reduction of speed, traffic circles, etc. -where does the traffic go if the motorist feels impeded on a particular street. Mr. Ross stated the goal is not to create issues where motorists simply move to another street, just to reduce the speed traffic travels. Mr. Welker said he would like to see something done at intersections along Dartmouth. Use bulb-outs, signalization -something to make motorists aware of the need to drive slower. Transit Projects were then discussed. Mr. Ross noted that there are no cost estimates listed for these projects. Projects along U.S. 285 should be CDOT funds , and projects affiliated with the light rail should be RTD funding. Mr. Ross noted that the grand total , estimated, for these projects he has outlined is $38, 108 ,200. He stated that the next step is to "pare down the wish list to a fiscally con- strained list". He asked Commission members to call him if they see something they feel should be considered that has not been included on the list. Mr. Schum excused himself from the meeting. III. BICYCLE ROUTE PLAN Mr. Ross introduced Ms. Wendy Gracy, Traffic Analyst with the Public Works Depart- ment. Ms. Gracy has been designing a proposed bicycle route system for the City, link- ing and expanding existing routes within the City, and linking with routes in other cities. Ms. Gracy stated that one of the goals in the proposed Bicycle Route system is to connect trails in Englewood with trails in adjoining cities. She stated that she has worked closely with Denver personnel to tie the trails to the Denver trail system. Ms . Gracy discussed the numbering system shown on the maps Commission members received in their pack- ets. Denver also has a numbering system for their bicycle paths: even numbers for north/south routes, and odd numbers for east/west routes . Ms. Gracy stated that when the proposed routing plan is approved, it will be placed on the City WEB site, will be made available at bicycle stores and other locations cyclists frequent. Chairman Waggoner asked if the trail system will also tie into the Cherry Hills Village, Littleton, and along the South Platte River. He also asked whether the DRCOG person- nel who work with bicycle trail/paths programs have reviewed the proposed plan. He asked where the proposed route along Floyd A venue extends -what does it tie into east H:\group \boards\plancom\min ute s\min utes2002\pcm 08-13-02 6 • • • of University Boulevard. Mr. Ross stated that it connects to the trail along the Highline Canal. Mr. Waggoner stated that connecting route numbers need to be indicated, or at least indicate by arrows that trails extend into another jurisdiction. Mr. Welker noted that there is no number indicated for the Big Dry Creek trail. Ms. Gracy clarified that if it is a "trail" it is so designated by name ; if it is a "route" it will carry a numerical designation. Mr. Waggoner asked if any on-street parking would be eliminated to provide bicycle lanes. Mr. Ross stated that this is not proposed. Some streets would require striping to designate bicycle lanes. Mr. Waggoner asked if routes would be on major streets or mi- nor traffic carriers. Ms. Krieger noted that probably three-quarters of the bike riders crossing Santa Fe from the west go north to Cornell to complete their ride rather than us- ing Dartmouth. Mr. Waggoner suggested the possibility of considering minor streets for designation of bicycle routes . Ms . Krieger excused herself from the meeting. Mr. Ross stated that development of the bicycle trail system is an important focus of the Public Works Department. He asked if the Commission has any questions or comments to please contact him . Mr. Welker discussed South Clarkson Street , the boundary between Englewood and Cherry Hills Village. He expressed concern regarding centerline striping , and the fact that people ignore stop signs. IV. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE Mr. Graham reminded members of the Board and Commission appreciation night sched- uled for April 26, at 5 :30 p.m. The City Manager's Office has requested a head count of those who will be attending . Members asked if spouses were included; staff stated that inasmuch as the celebration is planned over the dinner hour, that spouses were welcome. Mr. Waggoner, Mr. Welker, Mr. Roth , Mr . Willis , and Mr. Diekmeier all indicated atten- dance . Staff will check with other members who unable to be present this evening. The meeting adjourned . Gertrude G. Welty , R ecording Secret~ry H:\group\boarcls \plan com\minutes\minutes2002\pcm 08-1 3-02 7