Niwot Transportation And Marketing - June 2011

BY KIM GLASSCOCK

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Boulder County Transportation Department officials and the Niwot Local Improvement District Advisory Committee have agreed to split the cost to hire a consultant to draw up a comprehensive transportation and connectivity plan for Niwot.

At the May 3 LID meeting, board members recommended allocating $5,000 a year, up to $25,000, to fund half the cost of the plan. County transportation funds will pay the other half of the cost. The LID also stipulated that the plan should focus first on local mobility and access, and include recommendations for any needed changes to Boulder County’s land use code.

Boulder County Transportation Director George Gerstle told LID members that the county transportation department would front the money for the study. He said his department should be able to solicit bids from consultants by early June.

The plan will include preliminary design plans, along with regulatory and program recommendations to improve access to and between Niwot’s business areas, cultural amenities and neighborhoods. It will focus on increasing parking availability and supply, and improving bike-pedestrian connections between Old Town Niwot, Cottonwood Square, the sculpture park along Niwot Road and 79th Street, and the adjacent and nearby residential neighborhoods. The plan also will focus on local and regional mobility issues.

“I have heard from Niwot residents about traffic concerns, specifically speeding on Niwot Road,” he said. “People also would like more connectivity and not be forced to drive into town to get to the business districts.”

The plan was proposed by county officials after meetings of a working group composed of Boulder County staff and members of Niwot community groups.

Gerstle told LID members that the consultant would do the technical work on the plan, but the working group would provide the overall scope and guidance for the plan. “Doing this study without input and buy-in from the Niwot community won’t work,” Gerstle said.

LID members questioned the need for regional transportation planning in the study.

“Why is regional mobility being included?” asked LID member Laura Skaggs. “It doesn’t seem to be useful to us, and it will increase the cost of the plan.”

“I don’t see a demand for RTD bus service in Niwot, and RTD won’t change their routes to make the bus more convenient; Niwot is too small,” commented audience member Cotton Burden. “It would be more useful to provide a way to walk into town, and have the local community use their shoe leather.”

“I think the plan’s scope can be guided by the working group,” Gerstle said. “The oversight committee can tell the consultant to de-emphasize or emphasize certain issues.”

LID member Bruce Warren said he also supported moving forward with planning. “There are a lot of issues that can be addressed by a consultant with expertise. For example, there are some land use code issues which make it difficult and unattractive for some businesses to locate in Niwot.”

Warren added, “I’m looking for someone from the outside with expertise who can look at the code and say that those restrictions should be changed.”

Jim Eastman agreed that an expert consultant would be useful. “If we spend $50,000 on a study and county staffers say no to the recommendations, then I think we can ask the county commissioners why we spent the money,” he said.

Gateway Sign

Plans for a gateway sign for Niwot are moving forward, NBA Historic Projects subcommittee Chair Tim Wise told LID and NBA members at those meetings in May.

At the NBA’s May 10 meeting. Wise said he had received written approval late that afternoon from Colorado Department of Transportation officials for Niwot to place a gateway sign within CDOT right-of-way.

The sign also must be approved by Boulder County officials.  Boulder County staff members were  waiting for CDOT approval before they considered the request, Wise said.

“We have a preliminary representation, drawn up by Anne Olson Architecture, of a possible sign which uses the Niwot logo and train tracks,” Wise said.

The sign is expected to be placed 45 feet away from the turn lane line at the Second Avenue entrance to Niwot from the Diagonal Highway. The sign will be about 14 feet high at its highest point, and will have as much surface area as CDOT and Boulder County regulations will allow, Wise said. Because of the distance from the highway, the sign does not need to be a “breakaway” sign, but instead can be a monument-style sign.

“The more monumental and visible the sign is, the more visible Niwot is,” said LID member Tony Santelli.

Wise said the representation is not the final sign design, but is “representative” of the type of sign that LID members would like to see at the entrance to Niwot. Once Boulder County approval is received, final designs and bids for the sign will be solicited.

When asked whether the sign could be lit, Wise told NBA members that CDOT does not generally favor lit signs. However, reflective paint is permitted, he said.  “We will see if lighting can be incorporated, but I’m not optimistic.”

Jazz On 2nd Avenue

LID members approved allocating $3,500 for marketing of the proposed “Jazz on 2nd Avenue” festival planned for Aug. 20. LID members added a provision to their funding approval that any profits from the jazz festival would be held by the Niwot Business Association and banked as seed money for the event next year.

Event proponent Howard Treppeda of Treppeda’s Italian Restaurant told LID members he estimates that the festival will cost about $40,000 to put on, with funding coming from sponsorships, vendor fees and liquor sales, and the possibility of ticket sales. He expects to have six bands playing from noon to 9 p.m., with the University of Colorado Boulder Jazz Band kicking off the festivities.

“There is a lot of interest from musicians in this event,” Treppeda told LID members. “Some of the area’s jazz greats, like Nelson Rangell and Don Grusin, are interested in playing.”

Rhythm On The Rails

The LID approved spending $3,500 for promotional expenses to market the Rhythm on the Rails concert series in Niwot. The Rhythm on the Rails concert series, operated by Boulder Creek Events, will host 11 concerts on Thursday evenings this summer from June 9 through Aug.18, according to Wise, a member of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association.

Proceeds from the tip jars at the margarita booth will go to a different Niwot-area charity each week. Interested charities can apply by calling 303-845-3077.

So far, Wise said, proceeds will go to help fund Nostalgia Day, First Friday Art Walk, the sculpture park, the mural project, the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, Ni-Wot Prairie Productions, the Niwot Community Association and Niwot Moms for Cookies for the Troops.

The park opens at 5:30 p.m. with happy hour until 6:30 p.m. Music starts at 6:45 p.m. and continues to 8:45 p.m.