Denver Mayor’s Bike Advisory Council
Board Retreat
1999 Broadway, Suite 2200, Denver CO 80202
January 10, 2015
Member Participants: Meg Alderton, Alyssa Alt, Antonia Banducci. Parry Burnap,
Tracy Davis, JJ Folsom, Paul Garcia, Libby Kaiser, Katie McKenna, David Mintzer,
Chad King, Shelly Smith, Ean Tafoya (for AM), Julio Trujillo, Barney White, Kevin
Williams, Absent: Matt Couzens, Mark Kelley, Aylene McCallum, Rocio Rowland,
Doug Shinkle, Tom Wagner,
Guest Participants: DPW -Dan Raine (AM only); Bike Denver - Molly North & Sam
Lauer
Facilitator: Lisa Carlson
Desired Outcomes
 Review 2014 retreat results and work plan
 Identify 2014 accomplishments and progress
 Craft a preliminary work plan/schedule for 2015
 Clarify role of MBAC and dynamics of change within the Denver multi-modal
transportation transformation
 Develop and agree on next steps including committee structure, roles, and
assignments.
 Have fun!!
Agenda:
9:00 AM
9:10 AM
9:20 AM
9:50 AM
10:05 AM
10:15 AM
10:30 AM
11:15 AM
Noon
12:30 PM
Welcome, introductions, ground rules (Lisa Carlson)
Review/Clarification of 2014 retreat products
Review of 2014 Work Plan Progress
--Committee Chairs/all
Overview of what is coming in 2015 and beyond (Dan Raine)
Q&A
BikeDenver Overview (Molly North, Executive Director)
Break
Identify needs for 2015 Work Plan
--small groups (utilize color-coded “post its”)
--by committee?
2015 Work Plan
--Small groups report out
--Utilize “sticky wall” with calendar
Lunch
CIP Priorities
1:30 PM
1:45 PM
2:30 PM
2:45 PM
3:00 PM
--Present/clarify/agree on criteria
--Identify/agree on top priorities
Break
MBAC Role
 What did we learn (what worked/didn’t in terms of our role)
 Strategies for role clarification given our work plan
Develop and agree on the next steps
 Anything specific right now?
Wrap up and meeting evaluation
Adjourn
Opening Comments
 Parry - MBAC has evolved to the point where committees accomplish the
majority of work and the monthly meeting is largely focused on committee
reports
 Kevin – there’s been a lot of progress in the last few years with new
infrastructure and staff, but we need to keep the pressure up to continue to
make Denver a great place to bike
 United Way Building is available for any non-profit meetings free of charge
 Lisa Carlson, our facilitator, is a partner at Engaged Public
o Presented agenda, reviewed material from 2014 retreat, including
what characteristics we identified last year that would represent a
successful biking scene in Denver in 2020
Status of 2014 Goals
 Each committee presented the status of 2014 goals – see presentation for
overview; some highlights are below
 Policy
o Report Card has been a citizen-led initiative, but it will need a home,
which may be Bike Denver
o Stop as Yield was the first time City Council asked MBAC for a white
paper, and although it didn’t gain traction, it gave us street cred
o We would like to become a resource for bike-related issues in all
neighborhood plans, and are finally making connections in CPD
o Mayor did use a few talking points in his State of the City speech
o Mayor’s office was initially not receptive to MBAC discussions about
changing legal status of MBAC after receiving very first, un-vetted
draft of possibilities prior to committee full study, finalization of
options and analysis.
o New Bike Plan should be comprehensive and cover everything MBAC
is about
 Infrastructure
o RFQ released for Broadway cycle-track study from downtown to I25,
which has funding for design
o Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals is starting a
Colorado chapter for continuing education and sharing best practices,
which should facilitate communication among jurisdictions
 Education
o Website is ready to go upon our review
o Did a lot of outreach to RNOs
Discussion
 We need to formalize the process by which the whole committee reviews
products created by each subcommittee
 We need to keep in mind that the Mayor’s office is our primary audience, not
the public
 We need to better participate in bike-related issues in the city and expand
beyond just talking to PW
 Website should be a resource to share information rather than email
 We should document our accomplishments in a thank you letter to those you
helped us achieve what we did
Dan Raine of PW
 Provided a calendar so that we can anticipate when to provide input
 W. 35th, Garfield, and E. 12th bikeway studies will begin in April
 Arapahoe and Lawrence designs should be complete by July
 Bicycle Safety Action Plan will be kicking off soon – one person from each
committee should attend the charrette to provide input and establish
relationship with others in the industry
 Rachel and Michael’s positions have been made permanent from their
previous time-limited positions
 Any questions we have regarding the overall budget process, resurfacing, etc.
should be sent to Parry for consolidation and forwarded to Dan
 All presentations, meeting minutes should be put on MBAC website
Molly North of Bike Denver
 Now up to 5 staff
o Sam: membership, bike parking, SRTS
o Carina: Ride on Auraria, large events, communications
o Peter: Ride on Auraria
o Stephen (who’s also doing our economic research): business outreach
o Molly: fundraising, advocacy
 Hosts several events throughout the year to engage the community and raise
funds
 Provides temporary bike parking at events
 Education programs include SRTS, Ride on Auraria, Protected Bike Lanes,
Volunteer Courtesy Patrol
 Advocacy efforts include Denver Bike Congress (2nd Wednesday of every
other month – email Sam@BikeDenver.org to get on email list; people attend




to network and advocate for safety), Business Network, I25 Ribbon Cutting
for bike/ped bridge, Connect the City, and Inclusivity
Bike Denver’s audience is the public, but their responsibilities are aligned
with ours in many ways:
o Policy – also pushing for ordinance for bikes on 16th Street on
Saturdays, parking, and bike master plan
o Infrastructure – working on signage, Broadway, Brighton (February
3rd public meeting to review design), and parking: want businesses to
incentivize riding via parking and discounts
o Education – business outreach, RNOs, citywide survey to be
distributed in May or June to id the demographics of members and the
major barriers to biking
Dan asked about how Bike Denver’s priorities for protected bike lanes aligns
with Denver Moves – Molly said Bike Denver has been evaluating whether
other corridors should be considered
Dan also asked when 6 Traffic Skills 101 classes will be provided, but the
schedule hasn’t been determined yet. Dan would like to know what parking
lot would be good for training.
Bike Denver and Rachel are working to bring Bike Life magazine to Denver,
which will include Spanish articles
Infrastructure Priority Criteria Discussion
 Criteria will help prioritize projects and are divided into four tiers, which are
listed in order of importance and could be weighted
o Tier 1: Safety, potential to increase ridership; inclusivity (ethnic and
economic diversity of projects); potential to reduce SOV trips; kids on
bikes
o Tier 2: connectivity to transit and ped facilities; small-scale (local)
connectivity; large-scale (city-wide) connectivity; consistency with
long-range plan; funding availability
o Tier 3: leveraging opps; cost; enhancement of cycling efficiency
o Tier 4: recreation; public support; ROW acquisition
 The criteria are focused on biking for transportation, rather than recreation,
but we need to acknowledge the importance of trails for commuting and how
to rank Parks projects, as well as PW projects
 Since so many criteria are interdependent, the weighted tiers may not be
necessary, so we considered getting rid of the weights and scoring everything
equally – at the next Infra meeting, a couple projects will be scored using
both methods
Refined chart below:
Priority
Tier
Safety
Potential to
Increase
Ridership
Kids and
elderly on
bikes
Potential to
Reduce
single
Occupancy
Vehicle trips
Connectivity:
Transit &
Pedestrian
Facilities
Small scale
(local)
connectivity
Tier 1
Tier 2
Inclusivity: Ethnic & Economic Diversity
of Projects
Large-scale (City- wide Connectivity)
Consistent with Investment toward
Long- Range Plan
Tier 3
Leveraging
Opportunities CostEnhancement of Cycling Efficiency
Effectiveness
--e.g. funding
available, etc.
Tier 4
Recreation
Other brainstormed criteria:



Obstacles (funding, ROW, Support, etc.)
ROW Acquisition needed
Is funding available?
2015 Goals [See MBAC 2015 Work Schedule under separate document]

Education
o Will select new leadership at end of January
o Facilitate education in conjunction with infrastructure projects,
including the I25 bridge (Transportation Solutions is already planning
some education with the opening of the bridge)
o Launch website
o Draft safety report to be presented at March meeting
o Identify how to support city’s bicycle safety campaign
o Coordinate with Bike Denver to create schedule and plan for outreach
o Consider continuing community outreach to address new
developments that initial report doesn’t address and draft a phase 2
report
o Determine how to support Bike Denver’s survey
o Barney mentioned that the Association of Ped and Bike Professionals
has a library that includes a description of the role of police, but
Education doesn’t feel there’s any traction with PD; Parry suggested
inviting PD to April meeting prior to May blitz; committee has
previously encouraged police to give people educational cards rather
than citations; with Rachel’s accident data, we can now measure
whether police behavior influences cyclist behavior; should we be
advising the police or the Mayor? Both.

Infrastructure
o Prioritize / rank facilities: sharrows, lanes, cycle tracks, boulevards
o Recruit members to Infrastructure
o Stay involved with capital planning, specifically on Broadway and
Brighton (Katie will attend Brighton meetings) and update MBAC
o Communication with DPW, Parks, Denver Bike Congress, and
consultants working on bike projects
o Define what makes the best bike boulevard: elements, routes, review
Knox Court design
o Discuss 2016 CIP projects with PW and Parks
o Intersections: safety, signal priority, bike specific signals, mixing
zones
o Input on signage: location, routes (change names from numbers to
something meaningful)
o Ride with new councilmembers
o All MBAC members should ride their districts and let infrastructure
know what your priorities are
o Barney said we need to proactively identify infrastructure projects
rather than just react to PW projects, and JJ said the committee does
consider other priorities

Policy
o Continue review of ordinances and regulations
o Continue to foster relationship with Jerry Tinianow, as ermerging
Mayor’s office Bike Champion
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Review bike parking ordinances and regulations
One-page overview of 2014 accomplishments to widely distribute
Input to Bike Denver survey
Contact Scofflaw regarding cycle survey research
Continue to develop bike economics survey
Provide recommendations on Bike Report Card
Develop stronger relationship with Parks
Develop stronger relationship with CPD
Work with Bike Denver and PW on bike count methodology
Encourage Bike to Work Day rides with policymakers
Ride with new councilmembers
Further research bike master plans
Develop talking points for Mayor’s State of the City Speech
Participate in Blueprint Denver Update
Get bike projects on the bond
Ask CPD to present at MBAC periodically
Distribute Stop as Yield paper
Continue to explore the feasibility of MBAC authority status change
Monthly Agenda
 Feb: website, Dan Raine’s calendar
 Mar: wayfinding, signage
 April: report card
 May: DPD
 June: CPD
 July: Member recruitment conversation
 Aug: Infra priorities for DPW 2016 work plan
 Sep:
 Oct: DPW winter cycling program
 Nov:
 Dec:
 Committee mtg agendas should be added to website calendar
Miscellaneous
 Union Station Bike Hub
o Molly is on board; city contributed $250,000; board has raised
$25,000-$50,000; project will cost $2 million; there could be a
sponsor; construction should start in the fall
o If public can attend board meetings, Paul and Tracy are interested

How do we encourage better maintenance of bike infra, particularly when it
snows?
o There is a city policy to plow four priority routes, but if you notice it
isn’t sufficient, then call 311; Cherry Creek and trails in general are
well plowed, but 16th Ave, which is a priority route isn’t; Alyssa will
write a letter to PW regarding maintenance issues

New Communication Protocol
o We need a protocol for how our information is shared with city staff
and distributed to prevent draft materials from being circulated
prematurely
1. Committee finishes research, anlayisis and polished draft. Votes to
recommend for full MBAC
2. Committee brings to full MBAC for vote before a document goes
public (including to the Mayor’s Office or any other external partners.
2. Draft document should say “draft”
3. During committee meetings, utilize MBAC “work session” for MBAC
only brainstorming draft documents
4. Be clear and state ground rule “Please do not share this!” until draft
document is vetted internally and approved by full MBAC
o DPW staff have offered to attend all committee meetings. Committee
chairs should put topics in question at end of agenda so staff can
recuse themselves from meeting to allow MBAC to vet ideas and to
avoid putting staff in an awkward situation
o Committee chairs should distribute agendas the week prior so city
staff and other MBAC members can decide if they want to attend
o Co-chairs will talk to Dan, Emily, Rachel and Jay about new
communication protocols

Meet with mayor about Work Plan and priorities
Subcommittee Meetings
 Policy: 3rd Thursday at 5pm, City County Building
 Infra: 3rd Weds at 5pm at Bicycle Café pending input from other members
(changing from Thurs)
 Edu: 4th Weds at 6pm at Coffee at the Point
Other next steps:
1. Infrastructure Committee will run both scenarios for “scoring” priorities
(with and without Tier structure) in January
2. Have a computer lab in Webb Building before and after meeting in February
3. Molly will check on Union Station to see if meetings are open for MBAC
4. Ask Rachel about final report (crash data)—Is it any different than before?
5. MBAC draft letter re: maintenance e issues in winter (Alyssa by next meeting
for MBAC approval)
6. Put DPW presentations on MBAC and Mayor’s websites
7. MBAC members join Bike Denver!
8. Get timelines for Agency Budgets
9. Talk to Transportation Solutions (Education Committee)
Meeting Evaluation:
What worked?
o
o
o
o
o
o
Facilitation
Room
Lunch
Meeting Organization
Utilizing sticky wall
Updates from DPW and Bike Denver
What would you change?
o Have list of CPD
o Have presentations from Parks and Recreation
o Set date Earlier
2016 Retreat Date: January 23, 2016