Agenda Date: 10/19/2021
Subject:
Title
Resolution 44-2021: Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Littleton and the Colorado Department of Transportation for reimbursement of costs associated with the Broadway Corridor Study
Body
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Prepared by: |
Heather Ferrari, Executive Assistant, Public Works |
PURPOSE:
Does city council support an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Littleton and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for reimbursement of costs associated with the Broadway Corridor Study?
PRESENTATIONS:
Staff Presenter(s): Keith Reester, Director of Public Works and Utilities
Additional Presenter(s): N/A
SUMMARY:
In 2019, staff submitted a grant application for the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) administered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) through the Arapahoe County Subregional Forum. This project did not rank as high as other projects selected with the available funding. As part of the TIP development process, each subregion, in this case Arapahoe County, created a list of projects to place on a waiting list in the event that municipal sponsors of awarded projects changed their scope or cancelled projects, or if additional federal funds became available.
In December 2020, the federal government passed a COVID relief package which contained funds dedicated to surface transportation improvements. The funds allocated to the State of Colorado were divided up according to established TIP policy. These funds, combined with changes in existing TIP projects, resulted in the availability of approximately $7.7M in the Arapahoe County subregion. This allocation was offered first to projects on the waiting list, including the Broadway Corridor Study.
Staff worked with Arapahoe County, DRCOG, and CDOT to advance the Broadway Corridor Study to a TIP project. The cost of the corridor study is anticipated to be $1M, with $800,000 in federal funds and a $200,000 local match. The grant funds are administered through CDOT.
A Broadway Corridor Plan will incorporate land use, access control, multimodal transportation and design concepts supporting potential future land use and possible future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Broadway between Belleview Avenue and C-470. The study will assess the current and future land use constraints and changes necessary to accommodate right-of-way, access control, zoning and technology to support the growth of a multimodal, mixed-use corridor that supports enhanced transportation options in the future. The project will allow the city of Littleton and its partners to assure that opportunities are not lost for future options while enhancing opportunities to improve the corridor in preparation.
This portion of Broadway varies greatly in its cross-section width, number of lanes, access control, and adjacent land use. As travel on the corridor increases, a cohesive and well-planned vision will be needed to efficiently move people through the corridor and guide development to support future transportation. This plan will also help prevent this section of Broadway from becoming a bottleneck in the future which could impact nearby municipalities.
In addition, RTD has identified Broadway as a potential BRT corridor in their January 2020 BRT Feasibility Study. With redevelopment already occurring on the corridor, and traffic volumes increasing, this corridor study will examine how BRT might best fit into this changing corridor before future growth precludes the best possible application of BRT.
Along with benefitting the City of Littleton, this project will benefit adjacent municipalities such as Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Englewood, and Douglas County.
PRIOR ACTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS:
The recommendation for advancement of the Broadway Corridor Study as a result of supplemental federal funding was discussed with Council on February 16, 2021.
ANALYSIS:
Staff Analysis
A Broadway Corridor Study was adopted by City Council on February 7, 1989. In the past 32 years, Littleton and the entire Denver metro area have changed significantly.
Over the past 36 months, the City of Littleton has placed great emphasis on examining and defining the community and providing a vision for the future through completion of the Envision Littleton Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Master Plan, and ULUC projects. These plans and subsequent zoning/subdivision code will help to clearly enunciate our community goals and community character for the future.
Outside of the Santa Fe Drive corridor, the Broadway corridor continues to have the highest number of crashes in the city. There are four intersections along Broadway within the top 15 highest frequency of injury crashes within the city. Many intersections have deficient turn lanes lengths, inconsistent access management, and inadequate bicycle/pedestrian facilities. In addressing issues like access management, signal timing, and design options this study will look at crash data for the corridor and prioritize solutions that address accident prone areas of the corridor.
Broadway is a major north/south arterial for the City of Littleton and the Arapahoe County subregion. While there is sidewalk throughout the corridor, the width and type vary from block to block and in several places doesn’t meet current ADA standards. Additionally, there is no bike infrastructure along the corridor or on nearby parallel facilities for cyclists to access. This is despite there being a nearby parallel route north of the proposed extent in Englewood, and a bike lane on Broadway south of the extent in Highlands Ranch. This study will look at the best solution for providing bike infrastructure along-or nearby and parallel to-the corridor and how best to tie into adjacent bike and pedestrian infrastructure. In addition to being a primary north/south arterial, the Broadway corridor is intersected nine times by bike facilities, such as the Highline Canal, within the proposed project extent. This study would examine each crossing then determine the best way to connect proposed bike and pedestrian infrastructure with intersecting facilities. By studying how to best upgrade and fill in gaps in the local multimodal network, this study will help increase the reliability of the overall regional multimodal network.
The Broadway corridor is already feeling the effects of growth in the region. Some areas of this corridor see traffic volumes of over 50,000 vehicles per day. As redevelopment continues it has the potential to limit future transportation options by restricting the land available for right-of-way acquisition, and by establishing land uses that are not transit supportive. This study will determine what transportation facilities need to be included on, or near, the corridor, and establish land use policies that guide growth to areas that support future transportation on the corridor. This study will aim to create a cohesive vision for the corridor that provides the necessary transportation infrastructure to accommodate future growth, a growing regional bike and pedestrian network, and possible BRT.
The travel demand on the Broadway corridor is already leading to significant levels of congestion which is expected to worsen by 2040. Broadway is a regionally significant corridor that provides access from Downtown Denver to Highlands Ranch and several jurisdictions along the way. As the region grows there is a unique opportunity to make Broadway a multimodal corridor that spans a number of jurisdictions and serves as an example of how to facilitate increased travel demand through dedicated regional facilities for transit, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
The Broadway corridor has ranked high on RTD’s list of potential future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes. This project will plan for future BRT and examine several BRT models to determine the best model given the context and constraints of the corridor. If the corridor is not ultimately selected for BRT, this study will examine what changes can be made to the corridor to enhance existing transit and set the stage future high capacity transit.
Staff feels that on the heels of completion of the Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Master Plan, and Unified Land Use Code (ULUC), a corridor study on Broadway would be beneficial to aid in defining the vision for this corridor as the community seeks to optimize land use, improve traffic operations and transit options, and enhance economic vitality throughout the corridor, which would benefit several communities.
If council approves this resolution, staff will proceed with hiring a consultant to prepare the corridor study in 2022.
Council Goal, Objective, and/or Guiding Principle
This project is specifically identified in the Transportation Master Plan.
2021 Goal 1; Objective 1; Phase 1 - ULUC - Mixed-Use Corridor
2020 Goal 3; Objective 3 - Strategic Partnerships
Fiscal Impacts
The cost for this project is $1 million. The grant provides for 80% federal funding ($800,000) and requires 20% local agency match ($200,000). The project will be programmed for 2022 with the local match being funded from dedicated transportation funding.
Alternatives
If council does not approve, this project will not be completed until funds are available. Leveraging grant funds for projects such as this is critical to complete projects the city would unlikely be able to afford on its own. Forgoing this opportunity would put Littleton at a significant disadvantage in attaining community goals related to transportation, economic development, and quality of life. Turning down the funds would also put Littleton at significant disadvantage in competing for future transportation funding that is available through CDOT.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the Intergovernmental Agreement.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve Resolution 44-2021 authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Littleton and the Colorado Department of Transportation for reimbursement of costs associated with the Broadway Corridor Study.