COUNCIL COMMUNICATION

TO: Mayor and Council

FROM: Maria D'Andrea

DEPARTMENT: Public Works

DATE: October 26, 2020

SUBJECT: US 85 Planning and Environmental Linkage Study Update DESCRIPTION: US 85 Planning & Environmental Linkage Study Update RECOMMENDATION: Staff will present a brief update on the status of the US 85 Planning & Environmental Linkage (PEL) Study and respond to questions or comments from the City Council. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: On October 1, 2018, the City Council authorized the Mayor to sign a letter of support, including financial contribution, towards the Study. On February 18, 2020, the City Council approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for to US 85 (Santa Fe Drive) Planning and Environmental Linkage Study. The City contributed $61,800.00 towards this project. ANALYSIS: The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is undertaking a US-85 Planning and Environmental Linkage (PEL) study on US-85, between C-470 and I-25/Alameda Avenue (approximately 11 miles). The cities along the US 85 corridor, including Englewood, are participating in the study. The PEL study will assess the needs of US 85 and identify improvements for all modes of transportation in and across the corridor. The study will focus on the issues identified by various stakeholders along the corridor and develop alternatives to address such issues. The study will be the first step in establishing a vision for improvements, operations, and changes within the corridor and will prioritize such for further evaluation, level of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) action required, design, and implementation. Another goal would be for consideration of the results/recommendations to be included in various other plans, (i.e. DRCOG 2050 Plan, CDOT statewide Freight Plan, etc.). The purpose of the recommended transportation improvements from this study is to improve safety for all users, improve operational performance, and enhance multimodal connectivity for the Santa Fe Drive (US 85) corridor from C-470 to I-25 through Arapahoe County, City and County of Denver, Douglas County, Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan.

The goals of the project are to: • Consider local community surroundings and context • Support local and regional planning efforts • Minimize environmental impacts as practicable • Balance local access and regional travel with consistent application of the defined

access category for Santa Fe Drive • Optimize transit use and multimodal travel opportunities for the travel corridor. • Enhance connections and wayfinding to adjacent pedestrian and bicycle facilities • Provide redundancy for the regional transportation system to accommodate traffic when

incidents impact other north-south routes such as I-25, Broadway, or Federal. The study is expected to be completed in November 2021. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A CONCLUSION: No action is required at this time. This is an update to help keep the City Council apprised of the status of the project. ATTACHMENTS: Presentation

City Council UpdateOctober 26, 2020

Local Agency Partners

Project Overview and Schedule

• CDOT, in partnership with Arapahoe County, Denver, Douglas County, Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan, is conducting a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study.

• 11-mile stretch of Santa Fe Drive (US 85) between C-470 and the junction of Alameda Drive and I-25.

• The study will: • Identify transportation issues and community and

environmental concerns.• Develop short- and long-term alternatives that

create a clear vision for the transportation function of the corridor.

Project Overview

Overall Schedule

Elected Kickoff

EOC #2

EOC #3

EOC #4

EOC #5

Elected Officials Coordination Plan

• Elected Official Coordination Meetings• #1 to kickoff coordination (October 2020)• #2 to review results of Level 1 Alternatives

Evaluation (December 2020)• #3 to review results of Level 2 Alternatives

Evaluation (May 2021)• #4 to review draft recommended projects,

project costs (July 2021)• #5 to endorse final recommendations and early

action projects (November 2021)

• Bi-monthly Newsletter

• As Requested/As Needed: • Individual meetings• Presentations for councils or commissions

Elected Officials Coordination Plan

Elected Officials Coordination

Endorsement of Purpose and Need

The purpose of the recommended transportation improvements from this study is to improve safety for all users, improve operational performance, and enhance multimodal connectivity for the Santa Fe Drive (US 85) corridor from C-470 to I-25 through Arapahoe County, City and County of Denver, Douglas County, Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan.

Draft Purpose Statement

Purpose and Need

●Vehicular

○ Total crash rates on all segments of Santa Fe Drive exceed the CDOT average rate for an expressway facility

○ Common crash types are typically related to vehicular congestion

○ Crashes highly concentrated during the peak commuting periods at the signalized intersections

Need Factors – Safety

Purpose and Need

●Access

○ Areas with more frequent direct access driveways and intersections see an increased proportion of rear end and angle crashes, and an increase in overall crash frequency

●Congestion and Travel Time Reliability

○ Travel times during the AM and PM peak hours are up to 40% longer than the travel time to drive the corridor at free flow speeds

○ Bottlenecks with congestion and long queues regularly occur at the signalized intersections ●Access

○ Inconsistent spacing and types of intersections and driveways contribute to operational issues

Need Factors – Operational Performance

Purpose and Need

●Freight

○ The percentage of truck traffic to the overall daily volume is approximately 4 times higher than a typical urban principal arterial highway approximately 2% (Santa Fe is 7.5% - 9.2%)

○ Unreliable or unpredictable travel times along the corridor cause difficulty in trip planning and have negative impacts for freight operators

●Pedestrian and Bicycle

○ Santa Fe Drive lacks adequate facilities to accommodate pedestrian and bicyclist crossings of the highway with connections to area sidewalks, trails, and LRT stations

Need Factors – Multimodal Connections

Purpose and Need

●Transit

○ Lack of sidewalks and pedestrian crossing opportunities impact comfort and safety at bus stops on streets crossing Santa Fe Drive and along Santa Fe Drive such as at County Line Road and Mineral Avenue

○ Access to adjacent LRT stations is impeded by the lack of connections across the Santa Fe Drive corridor

●Consider local community surroundings and context

●Support local and regional planning efforts

●Minimize environmental impacts as practicable

●Balance local access and regional travel with consistent application of the defined access category for Santa Fe Drive

Goals (slide 1 of 2)

Purpose and Need

●Optimize transit use and multimodal travel opportunities for the travel corridor.

●Enhance connections and wayfinding to adjacent pedestrian and bicycle facilities

●Provide redundancy for the regional transportation system to accommodate traffic when incidents impact other north-south routes such as I-25, Broadway, or Federal.

Goals (slide 2 of 2)

Purpose and Need

Alternatives Evaluation Process

• Level 1. Purpose and Need Screening

• Level 2. Comparative Screening• 2A. Infrastructure Options• 2B. Corridor Alternatives

• Recommendations

• Project Definition and Costs

• Recommended Plan and Identified Projects

Alternatives Evaluation Process

Stakeholder and Public Involvement Plan

• Involvement Tools• Community Ambassadors• One-on-one meetings• Online public meetings• Digital surveys• Educational video

• Notification Outlets• Website • Email & hotline• Social media• Press releases

• Collateral Materials• Comment Management

Stakeholder and Public Involvement Plan

https://www.codot.gov/projects/santafe-pel

• General recognition and agreement that the corridor is too congested• West-east connectivity issues for walking and biking

• Not safe for pedestrians• Crosswalk signals aren’t long enough

• Need for consistent intersections• Traffic and car crashes are an issue along Santa Fe• Santa Fe and Mineral is a challenging intersection• Access turn lanes are unsafe • Bottlenecks at various spots along the corridor

• Santa Fe and Mineral• South end with two lanes• I-25 on-ramp

• Stakeholders willing to promote the projects and opportunities for engagement

Summary of Results

Stakeholder Interviews

• Develop Range of Alternatives • Conduct Level 1 Alternatives Evaluation • Prepare Public Meeting Materials• Next Elected Officials/EOC meeting December 2020

Next Steps

Questions or Comments?