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HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Only 121223AGENDA INFORMATION UPDATE December 12, 2023 5:00 PM, City Council Chambers 427 Rio Grande Place, Aspen I.Information Update I.A Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project I.B Pedestrian Bikeway Snow Removal I.C Durant Intersections APD - Selected as an ABLE Partnering Agency.pdf 2023.12.07_Ped Bikeway Snow Removal_Info Memo_FINAL.pdf Durant Intersections Info Memo.docx 1 1 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Kim Ferber, Chief of Police THROUGH: Sara Ott, City Manager MEMO DATE: December 6, 2023 RE: Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Project REQUEST OF COUNCIL: The police department would like to provide City Council an informational memorandum about being selected as an ABLE partner agency. DISCUSSION: The ABLE Project was developed by the Georgetown Law Center for Innovations in Community Safety, in partnership with global law firm Sheppard Mullin. ABLE was designed to help officers prepare to successfully intervene to prevent harm and create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention. Years of academic, evidence- based research, has demonstrated active bystandership can be taught and agency members who routinely intervene and accept intervention prevent misconduct, avoid police mistakes, and promote officer health and wellness. To become an ABLE partner, agencies must apply, provide an implementation plan, commit to meeting program standards, and submit letters of support from agency leaders as well as community organizations. In May of 2023, Police Chief Kim Ferber sent an informational email to all members of the Aspen Police Department introducing the ABLE Project, discussing the potential benefits to employees, the organization, and the Aspen community. The team was invited to research the ABLE Project and provide feedback. In conjunction, a volunteer was sought to serve as the agency’s ABLE Program Coordinator. Sergeant Ritchie Zah was selected to serve as the agency’s Program Coordinator and the Wellness and Peer Support team members reinforced the potential value of ABLE training and its benefit to the community. Subsequently, four volunteer members of the police department joined Chief Kim Ferber in attending an exploratory ABLE training in Silverthorne, CO. The team unanimously agreed the additional learned skillset and policy development/changes would further enhance our commitment to community policing and care of our community. Since the training, five team members volunteered to support agency-wide implementation by attending a future ABLE train the trainer course, Sergeant Zah 2 drafted an implementation plan, and Aspen Family Connections, Mind Springs Health, City Manager Sara Ott, and Police Chief Ferber wrote letters of support that were submitted to the Center for Innovations in Community Safety, Georgetown Law. Within weeks, Chief Ferber received notification the Aspen Police Department was accepted to join the ABLE Project as a partner agency. The Aspen Police Department is pleased to be one (1) of 370 law enforcement agencies across the nation to be accepted to the ABLE Project. Over the course of 2024, the police department ABLE instructors will provide training to all members of the organization, updates will be provided to our community partners, policy revisions will be completed to ensure the program’s effectiveness and sustainability, and building upon a culture that embraces the duty to intervene is more than a legal requirement. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: 3 INFORMATION MEMORANDUM TO: City of Aspen Mayor and Council FROM: PJ Murray, EIT – Engineering Department Trish Aragon, PE – City Engineer Matt Kuhn – Parks and Open Space Director Brian Long – Trails Manager Parks and Open Space Daniel Maldonaldo – Streets Superintendent THROUGH: Tyler Christoff, PE – Deputy Director of Public Works Scott Miller – Public Works Director MEMO DATE: December 5, 2023 RE: Information Only: Winter 2023/2024 Snow Removal Practices on the Hopkins and Hallam Ped-Bikeways SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND: In response to public comment on November 14, 2023, during a regular City Council Meeting, the Streets, Parks, and Engineering Department convened to formulate winter maintenance strategies for the pedestrian bikeways on Hopkins Avenue and Hallam Street. The key focus areas were snow plowing, snow storage techniques, operational flexibility, potential equipment needs, multi-modal travel considerations, and associated budgetary impacts. DISCUSSION: Currently, the Streets Department prioritizes Main Street and bus routes for snow plowing and removal. Neighborhood streets are addressed as capacity allows. Parks focuses on snow removal on trails servicing key areas (high school, Rio Grande, ABC trail, etc.). Recognizing the growing importance of winter bike commuting, Streets, Parks, and Engineering have undertaken operational changes to address winter conditions on the City’s Ped-bikeways. A trial period through early January is proposed to assess operational effectiveness and resource allocation. Staff discussed two phases to snow removal techniques; during the event -while it is actively snowing and post event -when snow it typically removed from town. These proposed practices have been integrated into current operations on a trial basis. Phase 1: During snow events - Parks trail plowing staff will integrate ped bikeways into their morning deployment route. - Streets will include ped bikeways in their high-priority route, adding approximately 10 minutes to the route. To ensure safe conditions for the largest portion of our traveling public Streets operations will continue to prioritize Main Street and bus routes during large weather events. 4 - Temporary snow storage (windrows) will be created on the south side of Hopkins and the road centerline of Hallam. Phase 2: Post snow events - Streets will remove windrows from ped bikeways, potentially requiring additional hauling assistance during significant snow events. - Traction material will be applied on Hallam during icy conditions, recognizing the critical winter pedestrian connections. These strategies will be implemented throughout December, with a planned re-evaluation during the first quarter of 2024. Streets and Parks will assess equipment needs and third- party contractor requirements to estimate long-term budgetary implications. FINANCIAL IMPACTS: Council will review budgetary requests in the Spring 2024 supplemental associated with hauling and material costs associated with this program. This trial period utilizes existing staff and equipment; however, future operations may require equipment, such as trail plowing equipment or plow attachments, in which case additional funding will be required and proposed by staff during the annual budgetary process. 5 COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO:Mayor and City Council FROM:Jack Danneberg, P.E., Project Manager THROUGH:Trish Aragon, P.E., City Engineer Sara Ott, City Manager Scott Miller, Public Works Director Tyler Christoff, Assistant Public Works Direction MEETING DATE:12/12/23 RE:Durant Ave. Intersections COUNCIL DIRECTION:During the regular council meeting on October 10th, 2023, City Council engaged in discussions concerning the intersections of Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St. as well as Durant Ave. and S. Garmisch St. The primary concerns raised by council members related to pedestrian safety and unsafe interactions with buses. Consequently, council directed the staff to provide an informational memo updating the existing conditions at these mentioned intersections. DISCUSSION: Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St.: This intersection is a four-way junction where S. Aspen St. serves as a through street with Durant Ave. having stop signs. South of the intersection, S. Aspen St. ascends a steep hill toward the 1A chairlift, boasting grades exceeding 10%, making it one of the steepest streets in the city. Due to icing issues, this road section demands additional attention from the Streets department, receiving heavier sanding for improved traction, refer to Figure 1 illustrating the nearby heavy sanding routes. 6 Figure 1: Streets Department Heavy Sanding Routes In addition to heavy sanding the Streets Department uses salt in areas where busses are starting and stopping. This intersection and the surrounding streets receive salt to improve traction beyond what sand provides. S. Aspen St. functions as a collector roadway, attracting vehicles and cyclists traveling north and south around the core. The collector road distinction, coupled with the risk of vehicles sliding down the steep S. Aspen St. hill, dictates the through alignment at Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St. Notably, two bus routes traverse this intersection, with a downvalley bus route turning from Durant Ave. northward onto S. Aspen St. with the support of a dedicated turning lane. Conversely, an upvalley bus route proceeds eastbound through the intersection on Durant Ave., where the bus route's stop sign yields right-of-way to S. Aspen St. traffic. Within the South Aspen Townhomes and previous Lift One Lodge Development plans the possibility of snowmelt on South Aspen Street was explored to mitigate the concerns of vehicles traveling north on South Aspen Street from sliding out into Durant Ave. At the time it was determined the cost and environmental impacts did not warrant the placement of snowmelt on South Aspen Street. The current Lift One Lodge and Gorsuch Development plans will further analyze the need for snowmelt given the anticipated additional vehicle use that those developments will create. At this time there are not plans to include snowmelt on the road and the preferred configuration is to leave Aspen Street as the through street with no stop sign. 7 Figure 2 provides accident data collected by the police department, highlighting the intersections with the top ten accident occurrences. The roundabout has the most accidents at 146. Mill St. and Main St. intersection has the fourth most accidents at 84. Hunter St and Main St. intersection has the tenth most accidents at 54. The Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St. intersection has recorded 16 accidents, including 7 vehicle vs. parked car, 4 vehicle vs. vehicle, 3 with no report, and 1 vehicle vs. bicycle. Figure 2: Traffic Accident Locations Durant Ave and S. Garmisch St.: This three-way intersection sees S. Garmisch St. and Durant Ave. converging, with S. Garmisch St. extending south of Durant Ave. and connecting to Juan St., a one-way southbound street. Limited northbound access to the intersection from S. Garmisch St. is regulated by a yield sign. The predominant traffic pattern is through traffic from S. Garmisch St. to Durant Ave. The Engineering Department has identified this intersection as oversized and is currently under review for potential pedestrian safety improvements. A contributing factor to the wider than normal condition is the head in parking on both the north and south sides of Durant. The head in parking makes the parking lane appear to be a part of the travel lane and gives a wider than standard condition. Despite serving as an upvalley bus route, all roads at this intersection are considered local streets. According to staff observations, the majority of traffic at this intersection is local. Unlike the Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St. intersection, the Streets department has not identified the Durant Ave. and S. Garmisch St. intersection as requiring an above- average amount of sanding or salt for increased traction. 8 Accident data for the Durant Ave. and S. Garmisch St. intersection indicates a total of 11 recorded accidents, involving 5 vehicle vs. parked car, 4 with no report, and 2 vehicle vs. vehicle incidents. Pedestrian amenities surrounding this intersection will be improved in 2024 with a dedicated sidewalk along Koch Park on the west side of Garmisch. There are also private development plans to install sidewalk along the Timber Ridge condominiums parcel on the south side of Durant. This improvement is a part of the Lift One Lodge Transportation Impact Analysis. The sidewalk is a mitigation measure aimed at improving pedestrian connections within the walkshed of the development. The current design will keep the head in parking. The timeline for this sidewalk installation is unknown at this time. STAFF RECOMENDATION: Durant Ave. and S. Aspen St.: Staff recommends maintaining the existing conditions at the intersection, with no stop condition going downhill due to the steep grade (exceeding 10%) and icy winter conditions. Staff suggests keeping this intersection physically unchanged. Durant Ave and S. Garmisch St.: Staff recommends that this intersection be redesigned, and funding be added to the 2025 budget for improvements. The improvements will focus on enhancements of pedestrian safety, right sizing the roadway and improving sight lines for vehicles. Winter management of this intersection could be increased to include heavy sanding and salt for increased traction. 9