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36

6

14

20

26

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The year 2007 proved to be a year full of challenges and opportunities for the City of Fort Collins Transportation Group. An unusually severe winter and continued budget and resource struggles did not slow the six Transportation departments from making significant contributions to the community and to the City of

Fort Collins organization. Providing safe, well-maintained, efficient and easily accessible transportation choices is the mission of the Transportation Group. Transportation is vital to any community’s health and well-being. It is closely linked to economic health, providing goods, services and workers to jobs throughout the community. It provides opportunities for all within the community to access goods, services and enjoy a high quality of life. The transportation system must provide all these services while respecting the natural environment and striving to mitigate and even improve any impacts it may cause or exacerbate. No small task for any community, but the City of Fort Collins Transportation Group made great progress in many areas in 2007. The extreme conditions of the 2007 winter snow storms put a great strain on snow removal and pothole repair demands. Record numbers of responses were made to citizen needs and concerns throughout the winter and spring. Streets Department plowed over 70,860 miles of roadway, including residential streets impacted by record snowfalls. Streets also filled a record 11,918 potholes throughout the spring. The City Engineering Department made major improvements to the Harmony Corridor and Ziegler Road in anticipation of the Front Range Village shopping center slated to open in summer of 2008. Additional improvements to surrounding roads and intersections will be completed prior to that time. Intersection improvements and major road rehabilitation projects were completed throughout the community. Transfort/Dial-A-Ride added three new bus routes on key city arterial streets such as Harmony, Timberline and Prospect Roads. The newly built Transit Center on the CSU Main Campus received Gold level LEEDS certification, the first City building to attain this award. Faced with significant reductions in funding, Transfort/

Dial-A-Ride staff worked closely with community representatives to find ways to better serve those riders needing para-transit service in the community. Traffic Operations made improvements in traffic signal timing on key corridors, allowing for less delay, greater safety and improved mobility throughout the community. Traffic Operations also debuted the city and region’s first real-time traveler web site. Travelers can go online and view traffic conditions throughout the community and be immediately linked to all transportation resources. Parking Services continues to bring parking management into the 21st century. They have upgraded software applications for the City’s two parking structures as well as improved the efficiency and user friendliness of parking enforcement in the downtown and mid-town areas. Finally, Transportation Planning & Special Projects received approval from the Federal Transit Administration to enter into project development for the five-mile long Mason Corridor, making the city eligible for 80 percent federal funding of this important community legacy project. Staff refined and developed very successful alternative travel mode programs such as FCBikes and Safe Routes to School. Transportation Planning is also taking the lead in developing exciting new concepts for the Downtown River District, I-25 corridor and North College area. The year was not without its challenges however. The snow removal budget was completely exhausted as a result of the harsh winter, forcing use of transportation reserve funds. Budget shortfalls will again impact the City’s Pavement Management program, as well as key maintenance activities such as snow removal and street sweeping. As a result, Transportation Group staff were challenged to become more resourceful, efficient and make use of alternative funding sources such as grants and partnerships. To be so successful in the face of these challenges is tribute to the talent, dedication and hard work of many professionals in the Transportation Group. It is an honor to work closely with them all.

Mark Jackson

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Planning, Development & Transportation Director

Mark Jackson Interim Transportation

Group Director

Polly Bennett Executive

Administrative Assistant

Helen Migchelbrink City Engineer

Engineering

Randy Hensley Parking Services & Transportation

Budget Manager

Parking

Larry Schneider Superintendent

Streets

Ward Stanford Interim

Traffic Engineer

Traffic

Kathleen Bracke Interim

Transportation Planning & Policy

Director Transportation

Planning

Marlys Sittner General Manager

Transfort Dial-A-Ride

TRANSPORTATION BOARD

The goal of the Transportation Board is to promote the implementation of a balanced transportation system that provides choice, mobility, access, congestion mitigation and safety for all people while achieving:

1. Efficient and Effective movement of people and goods throughout the community;

2. A reduction in the rate of VMT growth to equal the rate of population growth; and

3. Enhanced mobility through emphasis of modal shifts.

OVERVIEW Transportation Administration provides direction, support, planning and coordination to the Transportation departments. In addition, the Director’s office provides policy support to the City Council and City Manager; acts as a liaison to the State and regional agencies, other local governments and the City Service Areas on transportation matters; and staffs the Transportation Board.

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Transportation Board Members: Don Edmondson, Neil Grigg, Gary D. Thomas, James Clausen, Shane C. Miller, Edmund L. Robert, Kevin Westhuis, Sara Frazier, Bill Jenkins, Garry W. Steen, Scott VanTatenhove. Staff Liason: Mark Jackson, Interim Transportation Group Director. Staff support: Polly Bennett, Executive Administrative Assistant.

The Engineering Department provides a full range of Civil Engineering services, with a primary focus on transportation projects. From surveying, design and drafting, to construction management and inspection, Engineering provides total project management capabilities for the Transportation Group. Services are also offered to other City departments and to other government agencies for projects within the Fort Collins growth management area.

OVERVIEW

The Engineering Department also serves as the right-of-way manager for the City. This responsibility includes:

• Plans Review and Construction Inspection for all new streets and utilities being constructed with new developments.

• The Street Oversizing Program, which is responsible for assessing impact fees on new developments and for managing the widening of existing streets. Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) are also handled by Street Oversizing.

• The Pavement Management Program, which is responsible for the major maintenance performed on the street system.

• Maintenance, repair and upgrade of bridges and railroad crossings.

• Permitting for all activities that occur in the City's 420 miles of street right-of-way, such as utility excavations, driveway installations, signs and banners.

• Archiving and document management for the site plans, utility plans and other design and construction reports related to the street system.

for the 2006 award program, indicating a high level of pride in asphalt pavement construct ion in Colorado.

The Engineering Department won the “City Street, New or

Reconstruction” award for the Timber l ine Road Widening project.

I n Feb rua ry 2007, the Colorado Asphalt Pavement “Best in Colorado” Quality Awards were presented in acknowledgement of the quality efforts o f a s p h a l t p r o d u c e r s , contractors and agencies/owners in the state of Colorado. More than 80 nominations were received

AWARD WINNING DEPARTMENT

14 DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES Engineering routinely supports 14 departments and agencies, including: • Colorado Department of

Transportation

• Larimer County

• City of Loveland

• Poudre School District

• Colorado State University

• Police Services

• Natural Resources

• Parks

• Electric, Water, and Stormwater Utilities

• Real Estate Services

• City Attorney’s Office

• Current and Advanced Planning

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Street Oversizing

The surveyors also completed a city-wide bridge location survey, several projects for the City’s Stormwater Utility, three crime scene location surveys for the Fort Collins Police Services and legal surveys for the proposed kayak course east of College Avenue.

An important survey completed for the Natural Resource Depart-

ment was the preliminary bound-ary survey and legal descriptions for the proposed AVA Solar site and land swap at I-25 and Pros-pect Road.

The technical services area completed the Southwest Enclave Phase Two Annexation, and the electronic drawing for the City-wide plat index map.

PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT Eastdale Drive, funds were com-bined with a City Utilities project to minimize impact to residents and maximize construction effi-ciency.

During the 2007 budget proc-ess, staff committed to commis-sion a study of the Pavement Management Program to verify that the program is providing the

most efficient services to the citi-zens. The purpose of the study was to examine the City’s pave-ment management practices, and provide appropriate recommenda-tions regarding funding and main-tenance techniques.

Key findings of the study in-clude:

♦ Fort Collins pavement man-agement practices are ranked among the most successful

across the country.

♦ The software used for data collection and analysis is state-of-the-art, internation-ally recognized, and provides project and treatment rec-ommendations that make the most cost-effective use of available funds.

♦ Pavement management information is effectively integrated into decisions about realistic and imple-mentable treatment strate-gies.

♦ The City of Fort Collins cost to conduct road mainte-nance and rehabilitation is very much in line with the costs expended by other agencies.

Not only has this report vali-dated the processes currently in place, but the Pavement Man-agement group is comfortable applying these recommendations to the program.

The Pavement Management Pro-gram completed another productive schedule in 2007.

Engineering completed 18.5 miles of street maintenance and rehabilita-tion. Nine miles of asphalt overlay was placed, including major recon-struction of East Mulberry Street, Remington Street, Boardwalk Drive, and Landings Drive.

Six and a half miles of local streets were slurry sealed and three miles of hot-in-place recycling were completed on Boardwalk Drive, Oakridge Drive and West Harmony Road. The program installed 130 pedestrian access ramps adjacent to the mainte-nance areas.

The Pavement Management Pro-gram manages a variety of projects including overlays and sealcoats, hot-in-place recycling, crack seal, asphalt and concrete street patching, and curb, gutter, and sidewalk repairs.

The 2007 program encompassed 11 areas at various locations throughout the City in 2007. On

“Fort Collins pavement management practices are ranked among the most

successful across the country.”

In 2007 Surveying and Technical Services have completed the follow-ing preliminary surveys:

• The Harmony Road “BOB” pro-ject

• The Mason Corridor “MAX” pro-ject

• Phase II and the NRRC Overpass projects in the Mason Corridor

• The West Elizabeth project for

SURVEYING

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As of December 31, 2007, 68 new projects were submitted into the development review system. This number primarily reflects development projects, but also includes annexations, zonings, site plan advisory reviews and modification requests. This number does not include County Referrals, minor amendments or revisions to existing plans that were submitted this past year. Engineering Development Review has 74 current projects in the system at some stage in the development review process. Forty Three (43) Development Construction Permits (DCP’s) were issued to date, allowing construction to begin on private developments such as: • Provincetowne 3rd Filing (primarily residential

development with 147 single family dwelling units and 151 multifamily dwelling units)

• Penny Flats (a mixed used development with 147 dwelling units and 29,246 sq ft of retail/commercial space)

• Front Range Village (850,000 sq ft Retail/commercial development at the north west corner of Harmony Road and Ziegler containing Super Target, Lowes, and many other retail shops)

• Pads at Harmony (a 71,445 sq ft retail/commercial development)

• Sunrise Ridge 1st filing (residential development containing 7 single family units and 10 multifamily units)

• Agnew Car Wash (car wash at the south east corner of Mulberry and Lemay)

• Observatory Park (residential development on

Prospect Road containing 61 multifamily dwelling units)

• Midpoint Self Storage (50,830 sq ft of storage units)

Fifty-seven sets of mylars for new projects were approved and filed in our system to date in 2007. There were 35 sets of revisions to approved plans approved to date. There were also two Right-of-Way vacations, five Right-of-way dedications, 10 easement vacations, and 51 easement dedications processed to date.

DEVELOPMENT REVIEW

“We strive to work with each developer, property owner, and citizen to make each development an attractive, functional, pedestrian friendly and a

multi modal asset to this exceptional community.”

INSPECTION

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Over 28,200 linear feet of new water line and nearly 12,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer line was completed, tested and accepted by the inspection group in 2007. Countless measures of other infrastructure including storm water systems, communication and service utilities are also inspected by the staff. Over 800 certificate of occupancy inspections were conducted on the behalf of the Engineering Department. Moreover, a very thorough program of re-inspection of all subdivisions was conducted once the developers/owners warranty reached its expiration date. In addition to new construction, the Engineering Inspection Group permitted or inspected 250 encroachment, drive approach and banner permits in 2007.

The Engineering Inspection Group is instrumental in the oversight, inspection and approval of many large and small development projects throughout the City of Fort Collins. The Engineering Inspection Group assures the highest quality infrastructure is installed properly in city streets and rights of way. All of the projects identified in the Development Review section of this report were field inspected and accepted, or will be when completed by the inspection staff. A statistical report of the infrastructure completed in 2007 includes the completion of 4.35 miles of new, primarily collector and residential, roads including the related curb, gutter, sidewalk and access ramps. What is seen on the surface is only a part of the overall contribution to transportation infrastructure.

Agnew Car Wash located at the south east corner of Mulberry and Lemay

Bank of Choice located at the north east cor-ner of Harmony and Boardwalk

Front Range Village— 850,000 sq ft retail/commercial development at the north west corner of Harmony Road and Ziegler containing Super Target, Lowes, and many other retail shops

Pads at Harmony— a 71,445 sq ft retail/commercial development

Provincetowne 3rd Filing—primarily residential development with 147 single family dwelling units and 151 multifamily dwelling units

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Two buried spillway structures were built along the east bank of the Poudre River to allow 100-year flood flows to safely pass through Riverbend Ponds and under the new bridge on the newly opened Prospect Road.

Three City departments, Transportation, Natural Re-sources and Storm Water, partnered to equally fund this pro-ject, since the improvements will protect Riverbend Ponds Natural Area and Prospect Road from extensive flood dam-age.

LPATH

DRAKE AND ZIEGLER ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, PHASE TWO With the improvements to Drake Road, from Timberline to Environmental Drive, completed in 2006, the Street Oversizing Program com-pleted Phase Two of the of the realignment of Zeigler Road to a minor arterial street in 2007. Prior to the actual construction of roadway im-provements, several major drainage improve-ments need to be made in the area. This second phase of construction completed the drainage improvements and placed the roadway embank-ment for the roadway construction scheduled for next year.

A large siphon structure from the Rigden Pond 216 underneath two irrigation ditches was completed. This work consisted of approxi-mately 300 feet of twin 48 inch concrete pipes. One and a half mile of open ditch to the Poudre River was excavated, with material going to the roadway embankment for Zeigler Road. This work completes the outfall channel from the

EAST MULBERRY RECONSTRUCTION– COLLEGE TO RIVERSIDE

Mulberry Street

AFT

ER The annual City of Fort Collins Street Overlay and Seal Coat Project

began work on East Mulberry Street in September.

Concrete curb, gutter, and sidewalk repairs were followed by reconstruction of the asphalt roadway in October and early November.

To avoid cutting the new street in the future, a variety of utility repairs and improvements were also completed in advance of the asphalt paving.

North Tributary drainage basin to the Poudre River.

Water and Sewer utilities were installed along the new alignments to replace existing lines disrupted by the construction. Six hundred feet of the Fossil Creek Inlet Ditch was realigned to accommodate the eventual wid-ening of Zeigler Road, and an old one lane County bridge was removed. A new bridge was then installed over the ditch for the new alignment of William Neil Parkway.

Construction began March 26th and was completed June 31st, 2007. Gerrard Excavating was the contractor for the project.

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HARMONY & ZIEGLER ROAD IMPROVEMENTS – at Front Range Village Development

work zone quickly and safely was a huge concern. In addition, with several schools in the area, it became important to reopen all major movements in three major intersections by the

start of the school year on August 19th, since traffic volumes jumped another 15 to 20 percent. The contractor, LaFarge Corpo-ration, began the construction with a frenzy of activity and pushed hard throughout the summer to accom-plish this difficult project. Much of the initial work, such as utility relo-cates, stripping and preliminary

grading was accomplished with-out impacts to traffic. Once the traffic control was put in place, they worked six days a week from 5:00 am until 6:00 pm every day in order to meet project mile-stones. Harmony Road was improved to six lanes from the BNRR to Harmony Technology Parkway, approximately a mile and a half, including landscaped medians, bike lanes, traffic signals and street lighting. Zeigler Road was improved from Harmony to Horsetooth, including land-scaped medians and a new signal at the Avago/Front Range Vil-lage entrance. The project was a great suc-cess in completing a large road-way project in a minimum of time. By using a team work ap-proach throughout the planning, design and construction, the con-struction was completed in a minimum amount of time while keeping traffic flowing smoothly through the work area.

In 2007, the Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards (LCUASS) were revised. LCUSASS is the design and con-struction street standards for Fort Collins, Loveland, and the Larimer County Urban Growth areas. The Standards were originally adopted in 2001, and were last revised in 2002.

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In order to facilitate the Front Range Village Development, the Street Oversizing Program stepped in to construct the off-site im-provements to Harmony and Zeigler necessary to get the project open in June of 2008. This was a fast track project with tight dead-lines on a high traffic major arterial and entryway into the City. With such an aggressive sched-ule, Street Oversizing staff worked side-by-side with the developer’s design engineer, Stantec, to finalize the design of both Harmony and Zeigler Roads within two months. Staff used a teamwork approach to accelerate the design process. Staff also worked with Traffic Operations to come up with a traf-fic control plan to minimize the traffic delays on Harmony Road, while facilitating the construction of a mile and a half of six lane arte-rial roadway and a new concrete intersection at Harmony and Zeigler. With over 44,000 vehicles traveling through the corridor every day, getting traffic through the

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Landings Drive between Horsetooth and Board-walk: Reconstructed in July and August 2007 - The existing asphalt pavement was removed and the soil beneath the street stabilized with a fly ash treatment to minimize any further settlement of the street. The first of two layers of asphalt pavement were placed, followed by a final as-phalt overlay in August.

Remington, between Olive and Locust: Concrete repairs began in July, followed by complete asphalt reconstruction in July. Several blocks of the high-back style curb and gutter, many as high as 18 inches, were removed and replaced with standard curb and gutter.

2007 STREET MAINTENANCE PROJECT

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Throughout 2007, Parking Services continued to focus on its mission-based core activities as defined in the 2004 Downtown Strategic Plan: ♦ Insure on-street parking is a priority for customers and visitors ♦ Provide long-term parking alternatives for downtown employees ♦ Help to insure that traffic and safety regulations are enforced ♦ Support the quality of life in neighborhoods through parking management initiatives In general, the work activities and future plans for Parking Services all stem from the Parking Services mission, which states “Our mission is to help support the economic growth and vitality of Downtown Fort Collins by creating parking space turnover and providing parking alternatives for those with long-term parking needs; and, to contribute to safe and orderly traffic flow and neighborhood quality through the enforcement of parking regulations.”

OVERVIEW

STATISTICS AND DATA Parking Services had another productive year in 2007. Short-term parking space availability continues to improve in Downtown Fort Collins for customers and visitors. For long-term parkers, the number of permits in use in 2007 was very close to the number in use in 2006 (average of 1,326 in 2006 and average of 1,316 in 2007.) One of our long-term revenue goals is to make a gradual shift in the amount of revenue that is received from citations and permit sales. We would like for citation revenue to decrease due to better compliance, and we would like permit revenue to increase due to more usage and sales. In 2007 we saw this trend being realized as citation revenues declined moderately, and fee revenue increased somewhat. Expenses in all three parking cost centers (Operations, Old Town Structure and Civic Center Structure) showed moderate increases that are in line with budgeted expectations.

Parking Permits ♦ Regular monthly- $44 ♦ Rooftop monthly- $24 ♦ Shared rooftop permits monthly- (2-3

persons) $24 ♦ Hourly rate– 50 cents per hour, first

hour free

Old Town Parking booth

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I n a d d i t i o n t o n o r m a l operational activity, many of our efforts in Parking Services in 2007 were focused on three major projects. The biggest project was a long-overdue upgrade and replacement of the parking access and revenue control system (PARCS.) This is the system that controls the gates and access to the parking structures, and keeps the records of revenues collected from customers. This system was old and outdated, and required frequent maintenance. It also did not offer certain customer amenities, like the ability for customers to pay with a credit card. The old system also did not provide adequate financial tracking and audit capabilities. As part of this project, we replaced or refurbished all of ou r mechan i ca l components and software. This included the cash registers and ticket validators in the parking structure booths, gate arm motors and actuators, access card readers, tickets dispensers, central and peripheral computers that run the system, count monitoring system, and the access and revenue control software. We also installed new pay-in-lane machines that will allow operations after the booths are closed. This will increase revenue collections and provide for better ticket auditing and accountability.

A new video security system for the front office and the e n t r a n c e / e x i t areas in the parking structures w a s a l s o implemented in 2007. S e v e r a l i n c i d e n t s involving irate c u s t o m e r s prompted the need for this system. In addition, the new video system will complement the operation of the

new pay-in-lane machines mentioned above by allowing us to view and record license plates and financial transactions after-hours, thus enhancing the service that can be offered to late-night customers without having personnel on site. Finally, there were some revenue accountability issues in 2005 that created a need for video surveillance in the booths. The new video system was installed and became operational in November of 2007. Lastly, staff worked to upgrade

the parking management software that is the heart of the customer

services functions offered by Parking Services. This software allows customer service agents to process citation payments, to inventory and sell parking permits, and to maintain a customer and vehicle database of all transactions involving citations and permits. The system is linked to the

handheld computers used by the parking enforcement officers in the field. The software upgrade allows customer service representatives to maintain better customer records and better response to customer inquiries. It also streamlines the enforcement process and increases enforcement officer productivity. The bulk of the software upgrade was completed in April of 2007, including installation and training. There are some data interface issues that remain to be completed in 2008.

“Staff worked to upgrade the parking management software that

is the heart of the customer services functions offered by

Parking Services.”

Old Town Parking Garage Entrance

MAJOR PROJECTS

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DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION Parking Services continues to implement the recommendations of the 2004 Downtown Strategic Plan (DSP). Those recommendations came from a recognition of the economic value of an on-street parking space as summarized by Bob Gibbs, a nationally renown retail consulting expert, after he made a review of Downtown Fort Collins: “Each on-street parking stall can generate up to $300,000 in annual retail sales. The importance of having stalls available to the shopper cannot be over-emphasized.” This recognition lead to the adoption of two principles, one p o i n t e d t o w a r d m a k i n g customers and visitors a priority for on-street spaces, and the o ther a imed a t f ind ing alternatives for long-term parkers. T h e c o n t i n u i n g implementation plan focuses on a combination of enhanced enforcement and reconfiguration of certain downtown parking resources. The key elements of the program include an escalating fine structure (see Figure 1), the so-called “four-hour rule,” modified rates and permit programs in the parking structures, the exploration of public/private partnerships to optimize downtown parking resources, the possible use of residential permit programs to enhance neighborhood quality of

life, and the integration of parking issues into the broader Downtown perspective through education, marketing, development review, and resource management. Most, if not all, of these recommendations are supported by our continuing investment in new technology, such as portable handheld computers, a license plate

recognition system, and an updated parking management system software package (described above in the “Major Projects” section.) Additional details about this on-going program to implement the DSP recommendations can be found in the 2004 TSA annual report.

Number of citations in last 180 days

Amount of Fine Amount if not paid within 8 days

1st overtime Warning N/A

2nd overtime $10 $20

3rd overtime $25 $50

4th or more… $50 $75

Figure 1: Escalating Fine Structure

Mason entrance to the Civic Center Parking Structure

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In addition to the goal of supporting the Downtown economy, Parking Services has another, equally important mission - the safe and orderly conduct of traffic and parked vehicles. This mission is accomplished through the enforcement of the Traffic Code and the application of administrative guidelines. Several accomplishments in 2007 serve to highlight this area, including: • Enhanced maintenance and repair programs in partnership with the Facilities department. • Implementation of a new fines in partnership with Municipal Court. • Modification and upgrade of the forms and le t ters used to communicate with customers about non-payment of citations. • Restructuring and optimization of the enforcement routes. • Continuation of the free weekend parking structure program during the holiday season • Participation in the development review process with respect to p a r k i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d configurations for several projects in the Old Town area. • D e v e l o p m e n t a n d implementation of traffic code

the next level, including the optimization of the parking resource, the ability to enter into public / private partnerships to build new infrastructure, and the ability to generate more revenue. The paper proposes a parking district as the best tool to accomplish these things. The paper in currently being reviewed by City management. • Completion of all normal maintenance and repair activities

associated with parking facilities, including pressure washing of the structures, re-striping of certain surface lots, numerous repairs and maintenance to signs, cleaning and repainting of citation drop boxes, repair of the fence in the Jefferson lot. • Partnership with the Facilities department to complete a condition appraisal of both parking structures, and to contract for services to complete the high priority repairs recommended in the appraisal. • Filled vacant positions in Customer Service and Parking Enforcement. • Participation by the Parking Services Manager in state and national peer group collaboration and idea-exchange with other parking agencies and professionals, including a presentation to the International Parking Institute annual conference on the use of technology in parking management in Fort Collins. • Set-up a new training center in the Parking Services area and convening a weekly training session with staff to focus on consistent processes and learn our new software.

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changes for failure-to-pay in the parking structures and the Mason surface lot. • Revision and updating of the annual downtown parking map and i n f o r m a t i o n a l b r o c h u r e i n partnership with the Downtown Business Association. • Work with business owners in s eve r a l l o ca t i ons to make modifications and improvements to parking configurations. • Completion of a new bicycle parking facility at the Civic Center Parking Structure. • Partnership with other agencies, including City departments and the County, to allow parking structure customers to enter and exit the structures by using their building access cards. This eliminates the need for people to carry two different cards. • Reorganization of Parking Services to better distribute the work load. The former night Lead Parking Attendant is now a direct report to the Parking Services Manager, and all Parking Attendants (including full-timers) now report to the Lead Parking Attendant. • Completion of a white paper on how to move downtown parking to

OTHER PARKING SERVICES PROGRAMS

Left: License plate recognition system. Above: Sharon Fessler greets customers at the front desk.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2008 Left: Parking Services staff. Bottom: Snow removal at the OTPS. Right: License plate recognition software system screen.

The biggest challenge for Parking Services in the future continues to be accommodation of the growth that is occurring in and around the downtown area. Several new mixed use developments are in the works, and some new residential developments have been competed recently. In addition, a new downtown hotel project is in the planning phase, the river district project is gathering momentum, and the Mason corridor is likely to become a reality in the near future. All these projects will require carefully planned parking that is integrated with the existing parking throughout Downtown. The topic of on-street pay parking and the possibility of a downtown parking district will likely be discussed in 2008. Recent research in the parking industry has shown multiple benefits to on-street pay parking, including a concept called “optimizing the parking resource.” This is a phase that refers to establishing optimal occupancy rates and the maximization of parking space turnover, two statistics that are vital to bringing more customers to the downtown area and establishing the best platform to sustain the economic vitality of downtown. On-street pay parking has several other benefits, such as reduction in traffic congestion and air pollution, as well as the establishment of a revenue stream that can be used for new parking resources, downtown beautification, support of the parking structures, and more.

Neighborhood issues continue to “wait in the wings.” Some neighborhoods are feeling the impacts of growth spill-over from nearby Downtown

projects, but the critical demand necessary to create and sustain a residential permit program has not yet been realized. At some point as more projects come to fruition, resources will need to be found to address the impacts on neighborhoods surrounding Downtown Fort Collins. Parking Services will continue its efforts to reserve on-street parking for customers and visitors, and to market the parking structures and encourage Downtown employees to buy permits. As development increases, it will be necessary to look at developing more parking inventory, particularly for the new downtown hotel project, the Mason Corridor and the river district projects. Another idea that was developed in the Downtown Strategic Plan but not yet realized is the Downtown Parking Cooperative (a public/private partnership to bring more spaces into the usable inventory.) As downtown demand increases, the cooperative may be a way to fill the gap between today’s limited inventory of spaces and tomorrow’s increased demand. And finally, it may be necessary to revisit the question of on-street pay parking as a way to balance the demand between long- and short-term parkers throughout the downtown area.

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The Streets Department carries out its work within five different divisions: ♦ Street Maintenance– fills potholes, crack

seals and performs street maintenance patches.

♦ Alleys and Road Shoulders– this division maintains 240 alley blocks as well as arterial road shoulders.

♦ Sweeping Operations– concentrates on three programs; downtown sweeping, residential sweeping and arterial sweeping on a near year-round basis.

♦ Work for Others– within this program, the Streets Department contracts with other City departments to perform billable work such as traffic control, street rehab, patching and crushing operations.

♦ Snow Removal– when winter knocks, the Streets Department responds, plowing streets and sidewalks 24 hours a day. Plowing operations concentrate primarily on 540 lane miles of street priorities.

The Streets Department is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the health and safety of the community by maintaining public roads and right-of-way. To carry out this mission Streets: ♦ Patches roadways ♦ Improves and maintain alleys ♦ Repairs potholes ♦ Seals cracks ♦ Sweeps streets ♦ Mows road shoulders ♦ Removes snow and ice from streets and sidewalks

OVERVIEW

Rehab crew paving on Harmony Road

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Due to the hard winter and the moisture that accompanied it, the Streets Department put together an additional patching crew to replace temporary patches with permanent patches, especially in high traffic areas. Together the patching crews were able to repair 11,918 potholes resulting in a cost of $198,735. This redirection of funds proved to be beneficial by

STREET MAINTENANCE– A RECORD YEAR!

Department’s service patches. In 2007, 10,555 tons of asphalt was placed for permanent patches around town and for utility patches. A total of 29,728 pounds of crack seal material was applied in 2007. That number is down from previous years due to the severe winter storms. Snow and ice covered the roadways for many weeks which left the cracks in the street too wet to work with for quite some time.

increas ing the number of permanent pothole patches (1,700) and potholes filled by more than 260 percent over the previous year’s total of 4,096. At times, Streets had anywhere from one to three crews filling potholes. The Street maintenance crew provides proactive maintenance and responds to service requests from other departments, including Utility

The alley crew prepares to blade recycled asphalt a residential alley.

The spray patcher fills a pothole.

Potholes Filled 1999-2007

88199501

5076

8738

4572

62638225

6339

11918

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

UNPAVED ALLEYS & ROAD SHOULDERS

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The Streets Department’s Alley Maintenance crew was faced with rutted, potholed alleys due to an increase in moisture from the harsh winter. The crew was able to routinely maintain 200 alleys, an increase of 15 percent over last year, and reconstruct 9 blocks of alleys. The Streets Department’s Mowing crew saw increases in the number of passes made along road shoulders and medians. Due to the prolific growing conditions resulting from an increase in moisture, some road shoulders and medians were mowed an additional 2-3 times as compared to the three times in 2006. Some areas such as Harmony Road were mowed 6 times in 2007 compared to 3 times in 2006. This resulted in an overall increase of 37 percent at a cost of $88,119.

U s i n g a dv an c e d w e a t h e r monitoring systems and pavement sensors, the Streets Department is prepared 24 hours a day during the winter snow season. A fleet of 20 snow plows is generally on the street within one h a l f h o u r a f t e r notification begins. The year started out with one of the hardest winters on record and city crews and contractors continued working 24 hours a day, seven days a week opening residential streets, bike lanes and clearing sidewalks. The city responded to 15 storms in 2007. During January, February and March, $1.4 million was spent on snow and ice removal operations. With a 2007 snow budget of $1.1

million, $700,000 was allocated from Transportation reserves to get through the rest of the year. Streets crews and

contractors worked a total of 25,791 hours which is 14,959 hours over the average winter. January 2007 finished as the 8th coldest January in Fort Collins’ weather history. The average temperature was 20.8 degrees, 8.4 degrees below normal in contrast to January 2006 which was 8.2 degrees

above the normal temperature of 29.2 degrees. Temperatures also fell below normal levels in February by

4.1 degrees, with the month average being 29.1 degrees. As you can picture, with the cold temperatures the 33.5 inches of snow that fell from the December 2006 blizzard combined with the 16 inches that fell in January and February, the snow never melted.

The new de-icing facility was finished in late November of 2006, just in time for the harsh winter. Many cities in Colorado ran out of de-icing materials which was not the case in Fort Collins. The new facility holds 160,000 gallons of liquid and 10,000 tons of granular material.

Following the 2006 Blizzard city crews started out the new year by working 24 hours

a day, seven days a week for nearly four weeks straight to clear streets , parking lots

and sidewalks of snow and ice.

RECORD SNOW FALL SPILLS INTO 2007

The back-to-back storms in late December 2006 brought historic snow fall depths to Fort Collins that continued in 2007. Snow removal crews begin the task of clearing roadways.

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With the completion of a state-of-the-art Deicing Facility, the Streets Department’s snow and ice operations finally have a place to call their home base. The project was completed just in time for the December 2006 blizzard, 12 months after the initial groundbreaking. With 50 percent more storage space than the existing Old Sand/Salt storage facility, the site proved to be invaluable for snow and ice operations during the December storms. The dome structure is designed to be corrosion resistant to all types of deicing materials with a storage capacity of 11,400 square feet of space. This unique structure also provides a permanent enclosed space to hold 160,000 gallons of liquid deicer and up to 10,000 tons of granular material. The storage capacity provides enough space to get through 8-10 typical storms and was essential in stock piling material for 2006-2007 winter season. The Old Sand/Salt Building was originally constructed in 1907 as part of the Great Western Sugar Beet Processing Facility, and is considered a historic structure. The storage of granular deicing products over the past 20 years has taken its toll on the structure. The steal beams were heavily corroded and the bricks were extremely deteriorated to the point where some areas were starting to crumble. The structure was completely restored in 2007 and is now used as a vehicle storage garage.

DEICING FACILITY View of the new Deicing Facility.

View of old Sand/Salt building.

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Snow Removal 1999-2007

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S w e e p i n g O p e r a t i o n s concentrates on three programs: downtown area sweeping three times per week, arterial streets and arterial bike lane sweeping once every two weeks and residential sweeping once per quarter. As a whole, the Sweeping program swept 19,089 miles in 2007. The Streets Department recently purchased a new air sweeper which has the advanced technology to sweep up fine particles, which in turn improves air quality. Residential Sweeping This year the residential sweeping program introduced roll-off dumpsters on neighborhood streets. This improved the efficiency of the program by eliminating trips back and forth to the landfill. At the end of the day, the roll-off dumpster is taken to the landfill to deposit all of the street sweepings collected. For the fourth quarter residential sweeping, the Streets Department launched the Operation Clean Sweep program, which enhanced our efforts to thoroughly clean residential streets, with the goal to remove all of the leaves and debris that have fallen naturally into the street, curb and gutter during November and December. It is critical to remove debris from storm drains to facilitate proper snow and ice drainage during the winter season. Clogged storm drains may cause localized flooding and standing water will continually freeze and thaw in winter months that result in premature damage to streets.

SWEEPING OPERATIONS

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A roll-off dumpster is dropped off on a neighborhood street.

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WORK FOR OTHERS PROGRAM The Work for Others Program had another successful year. With this program, the Streets Department contracts with other City departments to perform billable work at costs significantly lower than private contractors. The Streets Department Work for Others Rehab crew laid 39,982 tons of asphalt, doing work for the Engineering Department’s Pavement Management program. This is down slightly from last year due to delays in concrete work being completed. The Streets Department Traffic Control division aided in safety and set up equipment, signs and barricades for 349 work sites in 2007. The crew also provided flaggers for job sites and maintained a safe environment for crews, motorists and pedestrians. The Streets Department also provided a variety of services to other City entities in 2007. Some of the projects completed include: Natural Areas road improvement, parking lot construction at the Primrose facility, resurfacing 1.3 miles of path at River Bend ponds and the construction of a crossing over the railroad tracks at the former I-25 rest area. Roadways at Bobcat Ridge and Soapstone were maintained as well. Parking lots were built and paved at 518 N. Loomis and The Gardens, and an asphalt pad was paved at Carr Ranch. A house was also demolished and cleared at 300 N. Howes.

The Crushing Operations program had another successful year in 2007. This program provides recycled asphalt from milled street projects, concrete and other materials for sale to the public and to other City departments. The Streets Department also uses the recycled materials, especially recycled asphalt, for numerous projects including: road resurfacing, road shoulder reconstruction and alley maintenance. In 2007, 20,219 tons of concrete, 67,565 tons of asphalt and 780 tons of leaf compost were sold.

CRUSHING OPERATIONS

Rehab paving on Remington Street

Resurfacing project at the River Bend Ponds

CRUSHER SALES 2000-2007

$- $100,000

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OVERVIEW Traffic Operations is made up of five basic groups:

1. Administration 2. Traffic Signals 3. Signs and Pavement Markings 4. System Design and Monitoring 5. Work Area Traffic Control

The Traffic Operations Department is responsible for the repair, maintenance and installation of traffic signals, school flashers, sign fabrication and installation, pavement markings, Work Area Traffic Control Plans (WATC), traffic counts and studies, and the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program (NTSP). The department takes great pride in providing a safe and efficient transportation system for all modes of transportation.

TRAVELER WEB PAGE– FCTRIP

FCTrip is a web-application that allows users to view current traffic conditions on the web. Users of the web page are able to access real-time information r ega rd ing t r a f f i c f l ows , congestion levels, speeds, weather information, and construction activities. Current number of visitors since implementation is 43,583.

Users are also able to find information on alternative modes of transportation, and links to statewide travel information. The FCTrip applicat ion necessitated the installation of three different types of data collection tools including:

• Installed 16 CCTV cameras as part of the project for a total of 26

CCTV Cameras – providing live video that is converted into snapshot images • Installed 20 video detectors as part of the project for a total of 36 – providing data used in calculating congestion levels • Installed 120 pavement sensors – providing data used in calculating congestion levels

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TRAFFIC ENGINEERING– MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

During the course of 2007 the Traffic Engineering Division completed or was involved with the following tasks: ♦ Completed signal timings on four major corridors ♦ Participated in the development review process ♦ Worked in conjunction with the Engineering department on street improvements ♦ Completed 137 volume studies for the 2007 Signal Count Map ♦ Completed 89 peak-hour turning movement studies at signalized intersections ♦ Completed 17 peak-hour turning movement studies at un-signalized intersections ♦ Completed 35 peak-hour travel time studies along major arterials ♦ Completed 40 speed studies in April and October for the Compliance to Neighborhood Speed Limit

Indicator ♦ Completed 22 volume studies for yearly comparisons in April and October ♦ Completed 28 speed studies for Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program, Police Services, and Planning ♦ Completed 1 multi-way stop warrant ♦ Completed 5 Pedestrian/Bike studies at various locations ♦ Completed 4 left turn warrants for possible additions to signalized intersections ♦ Completed 4 signal warrants for possible future signals ♦ Deployed the Speed Display Sign/Trailer to 102 locations throughout the city ♦ Completed comparison studies for implementation of detection equipment for FCTrip Web Page

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Lemay at Carpenter signal

SIGNAL MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION

Signal Maintenance Maintaining the traffic signal system is a major element of keeping the transportation safe for all users. The traffic maintenance crews completed the following in 2007: ♦ Performed preventive maintenance on all 248

signal locations twice within the year. ♦ Responded to 860 service calls: LED/Lamp

replacement, service calls, accidents, CCTV, camera problems, daily maintenance, and vehicle detection/loops.

Signal Construction The City is in the fortunate position to have staff that can not only maintain and operate the traffic signal system but also construct traffic signals. By constructing our own traffic signals, the City saves approximately 40 percent of the cost over a private contractor. During 2007, the City constructed five traffic signals, at the following locations: Lemay & Carpenter (State Highway 392), Timberline & Battle Creek, Harmony & Corbett, Harmony & Ziegler, and Ziegler & Council tree.

Arctic Fox signal

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Sign on Battlecreek

The signs and paint crews completed the following: ♦ Painted 1500 crosswalks ♦ 123 gallons of MMA for stencils. ♦ Completed 1,537 Lane Miles of Striping. ♦ Replaced 117 Stop Signs, 422 - 9 inch street

name signs and 279 Metro’s ♦ Repaired 1,046 signs ♦ Installed 13,242 gallons of white paint and

7,599 gallons of yellow paint were used to date this year, bringing the total to 20,841gallons.

Timberline Road

In 2004, the department implemented a new work management system that is intended to improve the way we do business in terms of tracking costs and projects. The Cityworks software program proved to be a valuable tool for responding to customer service requests, streamlining work flow and tracking maintenance and project costs. Cityworks is a Geographic Information System (GIS) program that allows work orders to be attached to

points on a map. This feature makes it easy to track and report the installation, repair and maintenance of assets such as traffic signs, signals and pavement markings. Much of Traffic Operation’s work is done repeatedly, for example; painting crosswalks and

performing preventative maintenance on the traffic signals. signals.

The number of assets/locations where work was performed in 2007: • Crosswalks and Stencils = 5,525 • Traffic Signals = 1,761 • Traffic Signs = 1,892 ♦ Street Segments = 5,448

Total asset/location to date 14,626

TRAFFIC ADMINISTRATION

SIGNS & PAVEMENT MARKINGS

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Major Projects for Signs and Paint this year included: East Harmony Road/Zeigler Road, Mulberry Street from College Avenue to Riverside Avenue, Snow Mesa at Harmony Road, Remington Street from Olive Street to Locust Street, and West Harmony Road project. The Signs and Paint Division continues to use latex paint, which is water based and considered to be safer for the environment. The division began to use epoxy paint in the pavement stencil operation. The budget savings in the long run are expected to be considerable since the epoxy paint is more durable and will last two to five years, whereas the latex paint will last up to a year depending on the location.

Flashers: Vine and Irish and Vine and Lincoln.

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OUTLOOK FOR 2008 & BEYOND CMAQ Approved Projects Traveler Web Page Update This project will include the addition of 10 Variable Message Signs (VMS) to be used to inform and direct motorists for the purpose of traffic control, incident management and to provide timely traveler information. In addition to VMS, this project will provide motorists with access to traffic information via handheld devices allowing them to make informed travel decisions by providing a reliable picture of the road ahead resulting in minimized commute times and frustration levels. The project would also add 10 additional cameras to the network to provide wider coverage of the urban area. Responsive Signal Timings

Responsive signal timing is a state-of-the-art process for adjusting signal timings based on real time traffic flows. As traffic volumes increase or decrease on five to 10 minute intervals, traffic signal timings can be automatically adjusted to progress traffic efficiently. The process will involve installing detection devices in the pavement along the Harmony Road to continually count traffic. The traffic system will adjust timing plans based on those counts.

Comprehensive Signal Timings This project is intended to develop comprehensive signal timings for both the peak and non-peak hours throughout the city. A complete recount of the city’s traffic volumes during the prescribed periods will be obtained. Signal timing plans will then be developed. It is anticipated that a reduction of travel time and emissions can be obtained. The City will use both consulting services and staff for the project. Uninterrupted Power Supply During power outages, the traffic signals fail to operate causing delays and congestion throughout the City. Power outages have been known to last several hours which cause not only congestion issues but issues for emergency vehicles and major influxes in emissions to the atmosphere. The project will install fifteen battery backup cabinets to major intersections on Harmony Road and College Avenue.

• 1,828 WATC Plans submitted and approved ♦ 62 Special Events permits The Traffic Department assisted in the following major projects in 2007: East Harmony Road project, East Mulberry Street project, Ziegler Road Project, Carpenter Road at the railroad, East Vine railroad and West Prospect railroad projects, Locust Street Outfall project, and the West Harmony Road project.

Conducting work safely in the right-of-way (ROW) is an essential component of the Work Area Traffic Control unit of the department. Activity performed in the ROW must be approved and authorized in order to ensure that the work is being conducted safely, according to standards, with minimal impact to the users of the transportation system. The following WATC permits were issued by the department:

WORK AREA TRAFFIC CONTROL

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00 00

Transportation Planning strives to be a resource to the community-at-large and City of Fort Collins organization. This department serves to better the quality of life for the community, neighborhoods, and individual users by developing short-term and long-term solutions to transportation, mobility, and safety needs for all modes of transportation.

OVERVIEW

GRANT FUNDING Transportation Planning secured over $3.3 million in Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality (CMAQ) funding and $500,000 in Enhancement funding through the Colorado Department of Transportation & North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization for the 2008-09 funding cycle for the following projects: Mason trail extension from Spring Creek trail to Colorado State University, Mason trail grade separated crossing at Troutman Parkway, North College bicycle/pedestrian/streetscape improvements, Linden Street streetscape improvements and the Jefferson Street/State Highway 14 design project. NORTH 1-25 EIS The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), have initiated preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to identify and evaluate multi-modal transportation improvements along approximately 70 miles of the I-25 corridor from the Fort Collins-Wellington area to Denver. Transportation Planning actively participated on CDOT’s Technical & Policy committees for the development of the North I-25 EIS study. MASTER STREET PLAN UPDATES The Master Street Plan (MSP) is a map-based representation of the City of Fort Collins' long-range vision of its major street network. First implemented and adopted in 1981, the MSP is intended to reflect the functional class (the category of street, e.g. arterial, collector, etc.) of the ultimate street network in the City of Fort Collins. The MSP also helps to guide the development of the future street system for the City and its Growth Management Area (GMA). The MSP provides a reference for planning and layout of existing and future development's key transportation and circulation connections. Transportation Planning completed annual updates to the City’s Master Street Plan at the end of 2007. Additional analysis and recommendations are being worked on for several other potentially significant amendments to the MSP that will likely take through 1st quarter 2008 to complete the full analysis, recommendations and community outreach process.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

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Mason Corridor and MAX Updates: • Preliminary Engineering – completed in July 2007. • Environmental Assessment – draft document completed at end of 2007 • Monthly Design team meetings – conducted inter-department design meetings throughout the PE/EA development process. • Public Relations – Extensive public outreach campaign including print materials, media, website, and creation of the 3-D video simulation DVD. Worked with the Public Information Office staff to re-brand the Mason Corridor Bus Rapid Transit system as “MAX” or Mason Express. On-going meetings/presentations to community organizations and individuals.

• On-going Coordination with Federal Transit Administration & Colorado Department of Transportation • Funding strategies developed to secure local & state financing for the project. • Land Use – Worked with Community Planning to develop new “Transit-Oriented Development” Overlay Zone District to support & encourage high-density, mixed use development at the MAX stations. • Trail projects – completed design of the trail extension north of the Spring Creek trail to connect to Colorado State University. Initiated the design process for the new grade separated trail crossing to connect the Natural Resources Research Center (NRRC)/CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital campus to the University Mall/Whole Foods shopping center.

will feature the MAX, or Mason Express, Fort Collins’ first Bus Rapid Transit System. The BRT service will operate nearly twice as fast as auto travel along College Avenue, as well as provide high frequency service every 10 minutes. Stations will incorporate new high-quality amenities that are similar to light rail, with low floor boarding platforms, sleek new busses, next bus

MASON CORRIDOR

The Mason Corridor is a five mile north-south byway within the city of Fort Collins which extends from Cherry Street on the north to south of Harmony Road. The corridor is centered along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway property, located a few hundred feet west of College Avenue (US 287). The Mason Corridor includes a new bicycle and pedestrian trail and

Rendering of the Mason Express, or MAX.

arrival information, and pre-pay fare machines. The Mason Corridor will link major destinations and activity centers along the corridor i n c l u d i n g t h e D o w n t o w n commercial, cultural, and business centers, Colorado State University, Foothills Mall, and South College retail areas. Additionally, Future regional transit connections will link to the Mason Corridor.

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SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL The Safe Routes to School Program was designed to promote the safety and environmental conditions for students traveling to and from school. With the hope to increase the numbers of students walking or bicycling to school, this program uses the Four E's to provide a comprehensive approach to traffic safety problems around schools. The Four E’s include: ♦ Education programs teach

motorists, pedestrians and b i c y c l i s t s a b o u t t h e i r responsibilities and about traffic rules.

♦ Enforcement enlists the help of local law enforcement to focus

efforts in problem areas and increase community awareness of school safety issues.

♦ Engineering tools include a variety of street design techniques that can reduce traffic volumes, decrease speed, and improve safety.

♦ E n c o u r a g e m e n t i n c l u d e s developing awareness and building enthusiasm for walking and biking.

Transportation Planning developed and implemented extensive Safe Route to School programs in five local elementary schools as well as several minor capital projects (sidewalks, street crossings, etc.) to enhance bike/pedestrian safety for neighborhoods and schools.

The River District includes the area just northeast of Old Town Square including Jefferson, Linden, and Willow Streets and Lincoln Avenue. The project is a partnership between the City of Fort Collins and the Downtown Development Authority designed to create a new sense of place by making the area welcoming, visually pleasing, and ready for infill development. Transformation of the River District will start with the necessities, such as util ity improvements, sidewalks and crosswalks, parking, and improved intersections.

Enhanced aesthetics and amenities in public areas such as an interpretive mill race water feature, brick streets, roundabouts, and art elements give

people reason to linger, a m b l e , a n d f u l l y experience the District. Private investment will he lp comple te the t r a n s i t i o n b r i n g i n g restaurants with outdoor café seating, galleries, uniquely Fort Collins retail stores, coffee shops, and more. Transportation Planning completed the project

report, including design r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s , prioritization l ists, and implementation strategies.

DOWNTOWN RIVER DISTRICT

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SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAMS • Inaugural year of "Roll into Spring" program of events. "Roll into Spring" offered FC residents 14 events to encourage and educate citizens on the benefits of bicycling. Events were very well received and attended. • 2nd Annual "Bike Week." We offered a refined Bike Week from 2006 while offering several new events. Bike Week received great press and was well received by the public. • Inaugural year of "Fun Fall Bike Events." Fun Fall Bike Events offered a variety of bicycling events for people of all ages. From bike races to bike parades to safety fairs, this Fall program filled the months of September and October with great bicycling events. Inaugural year of "Bike Winter Fort Collins." This winter event program offers a winter bike to work day, a winter workshop based on gearing up for the winter months, and a group ride. GRANT/AWARD DESIGNATION • 2008-2009 CMAQ grant for FC Bikes program • 2008-2009 CMAQ grant for the FC Bike Library program • League of American Bicyclists "Bicycle Friendly Community" program designated FC as a Silver level. In addition to the designation, the League offered the comment that, "Fort Collins is on the cusp of Gold." ADDITIONAL DELIVERABLES: • Update to the 2005 Bicycle Master Plan. FC Bikes contributed to this effort. • 2007 Cycling Calendar brought together the many facets and people behind the bicycling movement in FC while illustrating specific events throughout the year. • 2007 Bike Map - update to the bike map had not occurred since 2003. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS The bicycle is very interrelated within the community of Fort Collins. In 2007, we established partnerships with the DDA (Downtown Development Authority), CSU, the CVB (Convention and Visitor's Bureau), most City departments, many local businesses and several local non-profit organizations. Through these partnerships we are collaborating on a variety of projects that create better bicycling in Fort Collins.

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2007 was the year of the bicycle in Fort Collins. We gained a lot of momentum this year with our

efforts in what some bicycle community leaders are calling a

"bicycle renaissance" In Fort Collins.

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F la

OVERVIEW

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Fixed route ridership increased 11 percent over the previous year, with an average of 5,347 passengers daily or 25 passengers per hour on every bus. Transfort strives to exceed a benchmark goal of 20 passengers per hour identified in the Transfort Strategic Operating Plan, adopted by City Council in February 2002. All fixed route buses are fully accessible and passengers requiring use of lifts has increased dramatically this year due to the changes in our paratransit service. In 2006, 2,720 trips were taken on fixed route buses in which lifts were needed by passengers with disabilities. This year the number of trips rose to 5,011, a remarkable 84.2 percent increase. Multi-modal connections were enhanced in 2007 with three-position bike racks installed on the front of all City buses replacing dual bike racks. This action resulted in a 16.4 percent increase of bike rack usage compared to 2006, with 64,137 annual bike trips in 2007. Since the implementation of the new three-position racks, bicyclists are choosing Transfort’s Bike-n-Ride combination for commuting and running errands.

Transfort bus transporting a disabled citizen.

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Transfort’s fixed route service includes 18 routes, served by 23 buses during the school year. Transfort has a fleet of 27 fixed route buses that operate throughout the City and connecting to Loveland. Total revenue service miles traveled for fixed route were 774,545 miles. Dial-A-Ride is a door-to-door paratransit service for individuals who, because of a disability, are prevented from using Transfort, the City's fixed-route bus service. Effective January 2, 2007, the City of Fort Collins modified Dial-A-Ride service to align with the minimum service requirements of the American's wth Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The ADA requires entities that provide fixed route bus service to provide complementary paratransit service to persons who have a disability that prevents them from being able to use the fixed route bus service. As a result, paratransit ridership decreased 39.6% compared to 2006, with an average of 163 trips daily. The Dial-A-Ride fleet consist of thirteen paratransit vehicles and the revenue service miles traveled for paratransit service was 348,953 miles. Dial-A-Ride ontracts with Shamrock Taxi to provide close of 50% of the paratransit passenger trips.

2007 ACCOMPLISHMENTS CSU Transit Center Recognized as Gold LEED Certified The addition of a Transit Center to the Lory Student Center on Colorado State University’s main campus has earned the Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the US Green Building Council. The “green” building practices that were used during construction of Transfort’s Transit Center were unprecedented in Fort Collins. It is the first building to achieve LEED Gold certification in Fort Collins.The location and transit oriented nature of the project helped to achieve several points in the Sustainable Sites category of LEED. The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED consists of five main categories (Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy ad Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality). Along with these five categories, projects are also eligible for Innovation and Design credits.

Mayor Doug Hutchinson accepts the LEED Gold Certification Award for the CSU Transit Center.

Transfort received the Transit Marketing Program of the Year award from the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies (CASTA). The award recognizes an effective and innovative marketing program among the ninety transit properties across Colorado. Transfort received the award for its new, easy-to-read bus schedule format. The new format was based on

findings from a study conducted by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR). The findings of this authoritative national transit research organization’s report recommended testing of other schedule formats “to see if these can improve the public’s ability to select correct bus times”.1 1 Cain, A. (2005) Design Elements of Effective Transit Information Materials. National Center for Transit Research, Report 527-12. Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida pp 72-75.

TRANSIT MARKETING PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

View of the CSU Transit Center

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Transfort was fortunate to receive three Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Capital Grants in 2007 totaling over $1.5 million. The projects awarded grant funding include replacement of three Transfort buses, real time bus arrival information, and expansion to the Transfort Test Ride program. The grant to replace three Transfort buses will be used to purchase three 35 foot Compressed Natural Gas buses. The buses will replace three 14 year old diesel-fueled buses averaging 475,000 miles. The new buses should be in operation by mid 2008. The funding for the real time bus arrival information project will fundamentally change the interaction and availability of information about the bus routes and where the buses are in real time. The basic building block of the project is the implementation of the Automatic Vehicle Location / Global Positioning Satellite / Computer Aided Dispatch system (AVL / GPS / CAD). The CAD system will show real-time bus schedule adherence of each Transfort vehicle and their location. The ability to manage Transfort proactively will result in better schedule adherence and better interactions with customers.

The grant to expand the Test Ride Transfort pilot program aids select businesses in discovering the benefits of transit commuting for their workforce, in a no risk, no cost manner. “Test Ride Transfort” allows participating businesses to “test” interest among their employees in using transit before committing to the purchase of PassFort passes. PassFort is a special offer for businesses only. They may buy annual bus passes at a “bulk” rate of $50 per pass.

Transfort Receives $1.15 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Capital Grants

Effective January 2, 2007, Fort Collins City Council modified the eligibility criteria and coverage area for paratransit service. Only those individuals who live in Transfort’s coverage area (3/4 mile from Transfort fixed routes) and individuals who, because of a disability, are prevented from using Transfort, the City's fixed-route bus service, are eligible to use Dial-A-Ride services. Dial-A-Ride continued to contract with Shamrock Taxi to provide a portion of paratransit service in 2007. The Transfort/Dial-A-Ride staff processed over 1000 eligibility applications during the recertification process.

Changes to Dial-A-Ride

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With three additional bus routes started in an un-served part of the city, increasing gasoline prices, and aggressive transit marketing campaigns, Transfort recorded a 11 percent ridership increase compared to 2006 with more than 1.6 million trips. Transfort’s New Bus Routes The three additional bus routes have d isp layed sa t i s fy ing performance exceeding ridership expectations compared to other new routes from previous years. Route 16 (East Harmony Road) held the most consistent and rapid

Development” phase of the 5309 Small Starts grant program. The Project Development phase includes Final Engineering, Environmental Clearance, and the Construction Grant Agreement. Related activities in 2008 will include bus procurement, the completion of the Environmental

Assessment, the start of Final Engineering, and continued public outreach within the community. These efforts will require careful coordination and planning in order to stay on schedule for opening day operations in late 2010.

The Mason Corridor Once again 2008 provides great opportunities for Transfort/Dial-A-Ride as well as challenges with the Mason Corridor Bus Rapid Transit project. The exciting news is that the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) has advanced the Mason Corridor p ro jec t in to the “Pro jec t

Transit Ridership Successes growth since its opening. This can be contributed to the convenient 30 minute headways. Route 18 (East Prospect Road) has been a steady performer for the first time since its inaugural month of operation, with ridership exceeding 4,000 trips in October. Once the new retail center (Front Range Village) along Harmony Road opens in fall 2008, we have forecasted that ridership on Route 17 will significantly increase. The new bus routes have dramatically impacted overall r i d e r s h i p a n d positively influenced Transfort’s traditional ridership “dip” during summer months which did not occur this year. CSU Students Success with the Transit Center at Colorado State University is

evident by more than 11,000 bus passes distributed to students through December 2007 and an 8.7 percent increase in CSU student ridership. Transit promotions at CSU were noticeably hands-on this fall. With the assistance of temporary workers, Transfort staff participated in Residence Hall check-in by distributing 3,319 bus passes to all interested CSU freshmen. This is in

contrast to years past where bus passes were simply left in each dorm room for the student’s to find as they moved in.

PassFort Overall, ridership by passengers issued PassFort passes increased 8.7 percent

compared to 2006, with a 12 percent increase among City employees using PassFort passes. This year 477 PassFort passes have been sold resulting in 138,321 trips taken.

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2008 CHALLENGES

The FTA annual Section 5307 formula funding is changing. The 2000 census results caused the US Census Bureau to join Fort Collins, Loveland and the Town of Berthoud together into the Fort Collins Transportation Management Area. This designation for areas of 200,000+ residents directly impacts Section 5307 formula funding eligible activities. Beginning in 2008, these funds can no longer be used for operations, only capital and planning activities. This funding restriction has the greatest impact on our smaller transit partners. Transfort/Dial-A-Ride staff is working with FTA to capitalize as many activities as possible, reducing the impacts of these restrictions on the City of Fort Collins.

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5307 Funding

Due to the large amount of capital funding required to complete the Transit Center at Colorado State University, the Transfort/ Dial-A-Ride capital plan has been playing catch up for the past two years. Although Transfort is behind schedule for replacing older buses, during 2008, three buses will be replaced with new Compressed Natural Gas buses. Transfort will continue to seek opportunities to replace older buses, since equipment replacement is a priority to Transfort/ Dial-A-Ride in maintaining a safe, efficient fleet.

Transfort/Dial-A-Ride Operating Plan Update

Progress of the Capital Program

41 During the 2008/2009 budget process, City Council approved funding to complete a much needed update to the 2002 Strategic Operating Plan. The 2002 plan is very thorough and still relevant in terms of service philosophy, policy, procedures, and the plan to transition Transfort’s service to a grid network through a four-phased approach. The missing element of the 2002 plan is a fiscal implementation strategy of these four phases. The 2008 Strategic Plan Update will focus on addressing a responsible fiscal implementation strategy for the transit grid network. Additional efforts will address current operational efficiency and performance; and service standards. The challenge will lie in identifying the available and feasible funding mechanisms to move Transfort forward.