To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Daniel Sailer, P.E. Public Works Director
Title
Resolution Adopting the Town of Castle Rock 2022 Downtown Alley Plan
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The purpose of this item is to approve a resolution regarding the Castle Rock Downtown Alley Plan (DAP).
During the development of the plan, the Town worked with the consultant, HDR Inc. and various stakeholders to develop a framework to activate the Downtown alleys into safe walking and biking facilities as well as create enhanced functional spaces for adjacent businesses. Downtown alleys are an untapped opportunity to improve mobility, safety, and provide opportunities for local businesses to thrive. This project was done through a $180,000 grant as part of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) Community Mobility Planning and Implementation (CMPI) program. The Town provided a 20% match, or roughly $40,000 for the plan.
The proposed DAP is one recommended step in the Town’s Downtown Mobility Master Plan (DMMP) for improving bike and pedestrian mobility. In the mobility plan, the alleys were identified as a means to improve safe bicycle and pedestrian mobility. While the Town has an excellent off-street trail system to bring people downtown, there are no designated bicycle lanes or facilities that provide a low-stress bicycling environment in Downtown. In fact, many of the roadways are considered high stress for cyclists and some sidewalks are very narrow. Only 40% of Downtown is currently accessible by low stress bike facilities, and with the alley improvements and some roadway restriping, over 85% of the downtown will be accessible by low stress facilities.
The alley plan has created conceptual designs and identified elements to improve the bicycle/pedestrian environment that will activate the shared alley. Improving the pedestrian environment will also create unique opportunities for businesses to expand outdoor dining, install entrances off of the alleys, or simply improve the aesthetics of their property. Several businesses and property owners expressed these interests during the plan’s public outreach. Major project components included extensive public and business outreach, utility coordination, and a comprehensive design process to develop the conceptual design elements. These elements include a pavement design
that is welcoming to bikes and pedestrians, street furnishings, opportunities for public art, increased lighting, and overall aesthetics. Funding for implementation of plan recommendations has not been identified. Staff will be seeking grant opportunities, funding partnerships, and prioritizing Town funds with other project priorities Town wide as part of our annual budget planning process.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
Public outreach efforts were imperative in the development of the DAP. A comprehensive effort was conducted to collect public and stakeholder input to develop the plan and identify opportunities to improve mobility, include public art, and create a positive business environment. The following list shows some of the various efforts the project used to solicit input.
• An interactive project web page
• Online questionnaires; one for residents and another questionnaire targeting businesses and property owners
• Two online self-guided virtual meetings
• Quarterly newsletters
• A project hotline to answer questions and provide information
• Five community ambassadors made up of Downtown business owners
• Three public pop up events (1st Friday concert, Oktoberfest, and a Saturday at the ice rink
• Stakeholder meetings (Town departments, utility companies, business/property owners)
• Two presentations to the Downtown Alliance Board (Oct. 2021 and April 2022)
• Two presentations to the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce (Oct. 2021 and
• May 2022)
• Presentation to the Planning Commission (Sept. 2021)
• Two presentations to the Public Works Commission (Sept. 2021 and June 2022)
• A social media campaign
• News Releases and articles
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
In 2021 the Town Council approved funding to conduct the Downtown Alley Plan (DAP). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the project was delayed several months and finally kicked off in the spring of 2021.
On June 6, 2022, the DAP was presented to the Public Works Commission. Commissioners inquired about how the project would be implemented. It was explained that improvements would likely occur on a block by block basis. Starting with the alley between Wilcox Street and Perry Street and from Festival Park to 3rd Street. There was also a question if other alleys could be improved first if all the businesses along that alley wanted to contribute financially to the improvements. While the DAP only identified four alleys for improvements the plan is intended to act as a framework plan to improve any alley Downtown. And priorities could change based on available funding. It was made clear to the Commissioners that the DAP and the improvements are currently unfunded and that they will have to compete with other Town priorities through the annual budget process. There was consensus among the Commissioners that whatever alley goes first that it should be designed as a show piece to succeed and lead to future alley improvements. Finally, some Commissioners thought that personal vehicles should be restricted from using the alleys, but since there is still parking permitted in the alleys this would likely not be acceptable. However, vehicles in the alleys could be limited during high pedestrian or bike use periods, such as during events. Commissioners unanimously approved the motion recommending Town Council adopt the Downtown Alley Plan.
Other presentations were provided to the Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Alliance (DA) Board which includes members from the Downtown Development Authority and Downtown Merchants Association. The Planning Commission appreciated the opportunity to provide input. The DA Board and Chamber also appreciated the opportunity to provide input and were very supportive of the project and opportunities that it could create for the Town residents and businesses.
Discussion
The Town retained the services of HDR, Inc. to help develop the DAP. The development of the plan took 12 months and included an extensive public outreach and engagement, which included stakeholders like Downtown businesses and property owners, as well as utility companies such as CORE, Black Hills Energy, and trash/recycling companies. Current operations such as deliveries and trash/recycling will still occur in the alleys, and private parking will be maintained. Although it’s expected that these services will be better coordinated with the adjacent businesses in the final design phases of projects. Outreach efforts will be particularly important, especially coordinating the trash service and how to address the overhead electrical lines. The long term plan is to bury the overhead lines as funding becomes available.
In addition to the community and stakeholder involvement, the plan also evaluated and generated the following:
• Assess existing conditions and create a baseline report.
• Analyze Downtown alleys including their strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities
• Generate various options to improve street crossing safety
• Identify opportunities for public art, which could include murals, sculptures, functional art, interactive art, etc.
• Create concept plans for several Downtown alleys that includes framework designs, renderings, and 3D visualizations
• Generate planning level cost estimates for each conceptual alley design
While the DAP identified four alleys for future improvements and created conceptual plans for three alleys, all Downtown alleys are candidates for improvements. For example, alleys south of the Riverwalk development project can also be improved for walking and biking. The DAP is a guiding document that can be used to improve all of the Downtown alleys. Alleys can be improved as abutting properties redevelop or as the Downtown alleys. Alleys can be improved as abutting properties redevelop or as funding becomes available. Final construction drawings are still required before improvements can be made. Specific alley details will be identified in these plans, including close coordination with services such as trash and deliveries with the adjacent business/property owners.
Budget Impact
The DAP was budgeted in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and FY 2022. As mentioned earlier nearly 80% of the plan was funded through the CMPI grant program administered through DRCOG. The grant amount was $180,000 which required a local match from the Town for roughly $40,000. Recommendations and improvements identified in the plan are not funded at this time. Implementation will require a set of construction drawings and have to be considered against other priorities by Town Council during the annual budget and CIP discussions. Grant opportunities will be explored for construction as opportunities present themselves.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that Town Council approves the resolution adopting the Downtown Alley Plan as presented by staff.
Proposed Motion
“I move that Town Council approve the Downtown Alley Plan as presented by staff.”
or,
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title, with the following conditions: (list conditions)
or,
“I move to continue this item to the Town Council meeting on (date) to allow additional time to
(list information needed).”
Attachments
Resolution
Exhibit 1: Downtown Alley Plan