Thread by @shayshinecastle

Next: Transportation priorities, by Benjamin and Friend

Another area where staff said they can't add anything new without compromising existing work. Here, though, the limitation was budget, not staff. (Although maybe it's both; they focused on the budget.)

65% of crashes occur on our arterial roads, Benjamin says. So that's where the vision is:
- Dedicated bus lane on Broadway
- Baseline protected bike lanes between 30th and Foothills
- Iris protected bike lanes
- 30th St protected bike lanes

- Colorado Ave bus priority and protected bike lanes
- Gunbarrel low-stress connection via 63rd

Right now, Friend says, just 1.5 miles of protected bike lanes in the city. This goal would add ~8 miles.

Again, 65% of serious accidents occur on these arterial roadways, but they are only 16% of actual road miles.

The plan is called Yes we CAN, where CAN = Core Arterial Network

In addition to the above, it calls for study of:
- Folsom protected bike lanes
- N 30th and East Pearl corridors
- Downtown multi-modal placemaking (no idea what that is, sorry)

Also maybe some closures on east Pearl, a la the West End during COVID

To free up staff time, they are suggesting delaying the next Transportation Master Plan (which was just updated in 2019)

"We don't think we need a new one," Friend says. "We need to accomplish what's in the last one."

Also, stop focusing so much on neighborhood streets, which are low-speed and don't have as many crashes.

Benjamin and Friend have slides, a map and a catchy acronym. This is the pithiest transportation presentation I've ever seen (and that dept always has some of the best presentations).

Timeline:
Start in Q1
Planning for 2-3 months
2-3 months of public outreach "remembering that it's the quality, not the quantity" that matters, Benjamin says
Then start construction in Q1 2023

These crashes cost Boulder $7M each year, Benjamin says (not sure where he got that #). So we're paying either way.

Brockett: This is a fantastic direction. Does staff have anything to add? We're working on Bus Rapid Transit on 119, then Arapahoe. How do those feed west into downtown?

Erika Vandenbrande on the vision: "It provides focus, it provides definition, and offers 'can' to the community."

Should mention that TAB member Alex Weinheimer put the map together (and maybe the whole plan).

Vandenbrande: It is a question of tradeoffs. To accomplish this, we do need to add additional staff or take them off current projects.

Friend: We did speak with staff and TAB. There is support for it, and we recognize the tradeoffs. That neighborhood work is really time-intensive.

Me on Tuesday: Nothing is going to get done on transportation.
Me today: This is an amazing plan for transportation that *might* actually happen.

Next transportation item (if that wasn't enough): City wide bus pass and parking

Specifically, a study session to explore possible revenue sources. And to see if we can update the *last* study on this, from 2015 or 2016.

One revenue idea, from Folkerts: Transfer the city's parking program from Community Vitality to Transportation.

The last study was from 2014, per this Kind Reader.

https://twitter.com/ericmbudd/status/1484721332319240193?s=20

Vandenbrande: The previous study, "our transit landscape has changed significantly" since that time. RTD is only forecasting bringing back 85% of the 2019 levels of service in 5 years, system wide. That doesn't mean *Boulder* will get back to 85% of service.

In order to have free bus passes, we have to have the transit service actually running, Vandenbrande says.

Wallach not stoked on transferring parking away from Community Vitality.

One of their jobs is to look out for small biz, he says. I don't want to see that ability be lost.

Benjamin: That was a recommendation from TAB. This is not a new idea. We need to think of the larger, more comprehensive goals.

Benjamin: "It seems a little disconnected that transportation is overseeing the entire movement of a vehicle up until it goes into parking," when we think about our climate goals.

Wallach: Is Community Vitality on board?

No answer for that (yet)

And we're out of time anyway. So we may pick this back up tomorrow; we certainly will be prioritizing things.

See you at 8 a.m. Dear GOD.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thanks!