A Not-Particularly-Public Meeting
This meeting of the Mobility and Transporation Advisory Board (MTAB) was originally scheduled for September 28th but had to be postponed due to lack of a quorum. Unfortunately, tonight's make-up meeting will be held in a conference room in the Public Works building (1445 10th St.), which is not equipped with cameras or the ability to broadcast live. Staff generally tries to make an audio recording, but those tend to be patchy and hard to follow.
New Business
- Meeting Agenda
- Attend the meeting @ 1445 10th St. (Map)
- Send comments on any of the following topics to jpuhr@cityofgolden.net BEFORE 3PM
- Provide in-person comment (limited to 3 minutes) during the meeting, at 6PM.
North Ford Street
The Board will discuss changes to convert North Ford Street into a "complete street." The meeting memo (pp. 7-58) includes 196 survey responses.
Downtown Dismount for Bikes
The packet includes a memo analyzing whether bicyclists should be required to dismount in the downtown area (p. 4 of the meeting packet). The board will provide comment.
Unfinished Business: Redesigning Ford and Jackson Streets
This group last met on August 28th. Their topic that evening was a plan to redesign Ford and Jackson Streets through the Central Neighborhoods. The proposed changes include adding a bike lane, separated by a curb, on Ford Street and reducing Jackson Street from two lanes to one in front of Safeway. There were several controversial aspects to this plan. Three people appeared to offer public comment, and a fourth provided written comment.
Public Concerns
Those who commented were concerned about the safety of the planned bike lane and the city's ability to keep it clear of snow, leaves, and broken glass. They thought that trucks (such as the delivery trucks servicing Safeway) and emergency vehicles might be unable to navigate the narrowed intersections. They were concerned that many much-needed parking spaces would be eliminated on Ford. They wondered where people would put their trash & recycling bins on garbage day. They pointed out that there were many more cars on Ford Street than bicycles, and that the proposed changes would hurt more people than they would help.
MTAB Concerns
The MTAB board members also had reservations about the plan. They were concerned about making the streets and intersections too narrow for trucks, but added that if the design didn't work out, they could rebuild it. On the other hand, they agreed that narrower streets and slower traffic were safer for pedestrians. They asked whether they had to formally recommend the plan. The answer was a bit vague.
Unfulfilled Promise
Staff said they would summarize the discussion and address the concerns at the next meeting. Since the meeting was canceled, that didn't happen, but the project has since appeared on GuidingGolden. The plans are now described as 100% completed, and as far as I can tell none of the public concerns were addressed in the design.
Safeway and Parking
I sent some follow-up questions. I asked whether Safeway had been consulted about the plans to narrow the street in front of their store (thinking that might affect their delivery trucks). No discussions with Safeway took place; they were "notified of the meetings," as were all of the businesses along the affected route. I also asked how many parking spaces would be lost. We will lose 121 parking spaces to this project. Staff pointed out that parking could migrate into the side streets along the Ford-Jackson corridor.
No More Public Input
According to the GuidingGolden page, there will be one more open house about this project, but they will not be soliciting public comment:
"Since the project will have already been bid for construction, the meeting will not be an opportunity to revise the 100% design plans that were developed based on feedback from past community engagement opportunities."
Study Session
At this point, the board will move into study session. Staff will provide updates regarding Arapahoe pedestrian improvements, Hwy 93, Colfax, and other projects as applicable.
Board members will present any new topics for discussion.
Location:
City of Golden Planning and Public Works
1445 10th St (Map)
