City Council Minutes 2000 12 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville City Council Meeting December 19, 2000 Page 9. overcoming those problems or meeting those needs. The MIS uses public input to identify the problems, needs and potential solutions. Balser stated that the US 36 MIS process has been ongoing for approximately 3 years. Two advisory committees, policy and technical, were established to provide overall guidance for the US 36 MIS. The policy committee is primarily comprised of elected or appointed officials from municipalities and agencies within the corridor, while the technical committee includes staff member from the same organizations. Balser noted that Councilman Mayer represented the City of Louisville's interest. After much discussion, the individual alternatives were refined and narrowed down to four "packages" of alternatives. Balser stated that Mayor Davidson was concerned that there was not a consensus along the corridor and met with all the Boulder County Mayors to discuss individual needs. A consortium of mayors, along with City Council members, the Transportation Department and Regional Transportation District leaders selected Option A+, a locally preferred alternative at the November 30, 2000, US 36 MIS meeting. The proposed package of improvements is considered a draft, as it has yet to go to the RTD Board for approval. The packages of improvements were multi-modal, combining roadway, bus and rail options into comprehensive transportation solutions. Balser reviewed the highlights of the packages: · Additional roadway lanes (one lane on each side up to 96th Street). · An additional accel/decel lane to McCaslin. · An additional Bus lane up to Table Mesa. · Starting a commuter-rail system on one new track with one track shared with BNSF, the rail line would have five stations between Denver and Boulder, to include Louisville. · Building a bikeway from Boulder to Westminster. Balser stated that Council approval is required for the adoption of the US 36 MIS Locally Preferred Alternative. Sisk asked Councilman Mayer for his comments on the US 36 MIS project. Mayer stated that this project originally started as a RTD process. He stressed the importance of the US 36 MIS to obtain Federal Funds. He stated that the MIS was an examination of all possible alternatives that include meetings and focus groups, businesses, and organizations. He noted that public meetings were held to evaluate a series of possibilities, including light rail, commuter rail, additional lanes, HOV lanes, rapid transit, and accel/decel lanes. He noted that extensive studies were done by DRCOG to ascertain which improvements would be the most cost effective. He stated