Sprawl and Transportation Committee

Minutes

Nomad Commons House 5/13/04

1. Update on S&T goals for 2004 developed in January:

Bill will provide the committee with updates on TAB agenda items in the next few months.
TAB items:
June 22 - a) Public hearing and recommendations on Crossroads Redevelopment Plan and requested amendments to Boulder Valley Transportation Connections Plan. b) Public hearing and recommendations on 2005-2010 Capital Improvement Plan.
July 12 - a) Probable public hearing and recommendations on 17th Street bike lane project
August 9 - a) Public hearing and recommendation on Arapahoe Avenue Transportation Network Plan

- Adriana and Eric agreed to ping people they know on Planning Board to get a sense of what's coming up. If other S&T members attend Planning Board meetings on first Thursday of every month (when upcoming items are discussed) please pass that information along to the S&T committee.

2. US36 EIS

Public workshops will be held on Wednesday May 19 in Broomfield and Thursday May 20 in Boulder. Adriana has forwarded details to the S&T committee email list. Issues: a) Tolling may be a big issue to get US36 widened. b) Jon Caldara is getting a lot of press as an opponent to Fastracks. Caldara and Will Toor will debate Fastracks on KGNU on Thursday May 20 from 6-7pm. c) PLAN-Boulder County will sponsor a Friday brown bag lunch on Fastracks in June.

3. Discussion of developing talking points on the impacts of growth on the environment.

These would be available for S&T members when discussing growth issues with neighbors and friends, writing letters to the editor, etc. Many resources are available, including Colorado governor's smart growth initiative, CU Environmental Center. Sierra Club c(3) grants may be available to develop educational materials.

4. Fastracks.

a) Completed petitions can be given to Adriana or directly to the Fastracks campaign. b) Best sound bite for Fastracks: 4 pennies on a $10 purchase gets a rail line between Boulder and Denver. c) We need to continuously respond to Caldara's attacks on Fastracks. d) Can we encourage the Camera to write an article on the success of light rail in Denver? What can this bring to Boulder?

5. Crossroads/Twenty-Ninth Street alternatives.

Seven main points have been developed by a citizens group offering an alternative plan for Crossroads: a) Building fronts should face the street, not parking lots. b) Plan should contain mixed use zoning. c) Decrease surface parking. d) Include green space - central park or civic space connected to multi-use paths in the area (Boulder Creek, Goose Creek). e) Coherent, phased urban design. f) include green/environmentally friendly construction/operation features.

Julie showed an alternative plan that maintains the same retail square footage as current proposal yet includes the features mentioned above and increases the number of access points for peds. The S&T committee should develop a supporting statement for the alternate plan, and get before Planning Board expressing support for the alternative. Earliest Planning Board will see the Crossroads plan is early July. TAB will discuss transportation elements in June. Julie will distribute the write-up for the alternative plan.

S&T ACTION: Provide comments via email on the alternative Crossroads plan.

6. Streetcar

Mark discussed the potential for a streetcar as a circulator between Pearl Street and Crossroads, and beyond. Eric offered several examples of successful introduction of streetcars in urban areas, e.g. Charlotte NC.

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