CHRISTOPHER KELLEY
NEDERLAND – In 2023, the Town of Nederland’s Board of Trustees (BOT), after collaborative work sessions with representatives from the Department of Local Affairs and with the Town’s department heads, developed a Strategic Plan to guide them through the remainder of that year and through 2024.
The plan included six prioritized objectives, the third of which is to “promote orderly, sustainable and resilient development in the Town through thoughtful, engaged and equitable planning processes.”
Detailed within Objective #3 of the Strategic Plan are the seven different plans, assessments, and studies that the Town was engaged in, most of which launched in 2023.
Since the implementation of the Strategic Plan, the Housing Needs Assessment, the Marketing and Branding Strategy Project, and the professional water and sewer Rate Study have been completed, as has the Multimodal Transportation Plan (MTP).
The MTP, as it features recommendations crafted from research and community engagement for improved streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, and trails, also directly impacts Objective #4 of the Strategic Plan, which is to “continue modernizing the Town’s infrastructure to reduce public safety risks, promote economic growth and improve the quality of life for our residents.”
The Town of Nederland was awarded funding from the Denver Regional Council of Governments Fiscal Year 2022-2025 Transportation Improvement Program in September of 2022 for the drafting and implementation of a MTP.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on April 25, 2023, with four prospective consultants applying by May 22. Those four proposals were reviewed by a committee consisting of then-Town Administrator Miranda Fisher, Community Planner Britt DeMinck, then-Streets Manager Mark Hall, Parks Manager Nicki Dunn, and then-Executive Director of the Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services, Katrina Harms.
Page six of the 134 page RFP details the criteria that the committee used to evaluate each proposal.
“The scoring criteria are not price based, but solely based upon the qualifications of the proposer to meet the program objectives,” the RFP reads. “The Town of Nederland shall coordinate the selection with input/influence from any identified participating agencies in accordance with CDOT Local Agency requirements.”
These criteria include the applying firm’s qualifications; approach to the work; ability to furnish professional services; abilities of their personnel; past performance; volume of previously awarded contracts; and willingness to meet the time and budget requirements.
Of the four proposals, the three highest scoring consultants, Bohannan Huston, Fehr & Peers, and Felsburg Holt and Ullevig, were chosen to be interviewed by the committee. The interviews, which were held on May 30, were also scored by the same criteria.
The firm Fehr & Peers scored the highest, with the committee particularly impressed by their experience in the field. Fehr & Peers has developed transportation plans for Evans, Vail, and Windsor, a Circulation Plan for Fruita, and a Regional Plan for Moab and Spanish Valley in Utah.
Fehr & Peers has also collaborated with SE Group on a Trails Master Plan for Frisco and on several other projects. The opportunity to bring on SE Group as a sub-consultant on Nederland’s MTP was also considered by the committee as a benefit to hiring Fehr & Peers, as SE Group was the firm hired to draft the Town’s Comprehensive Plan update.
On June 6, 2023, the BOT voted to approve Resolution 2023 – 30, authorizing Mayor Billy Giblin to sign a contract with Fehr & Peers.
The hired team was headed by Senior Associate Transportation Planner Carly Sieff and Principal-In-Charge Charlie Alexander, and consisted of Lead Transportation Planner Annie Rice, Traffic Operations Support Kelsey Lindquist, Data and GIS Lead Sydney Provan, Transit Lead Jason Miller, and Safety Lead Patrick Picard.
The firm defines a MTP as a tool to “help local governments create an equitable transportation system that aligns with community goals and objectives in the medium to long term” while focusing on “surface transportation including walking, bicycling, transit, and motor vehicle travel.”
With Fehr & Peers focusing on the transportation planning and engineering portion of the MTP, SE Group was being subcontracted to handle land use and trails and recreation. The SE Group team consisted of Engagement and Recreational Planning Supports Gabby Voeller and Ayden Eickhoff, and Local Expert Engineer Olivia Dawson.
Over the summer of 2023, Phase I of Fehr & Peers’ plan of development for the MTP began with a kickoff community outreach event, the release of the first online survey, and using the Nederland Farmers Market for additional outreach.
Phase I also included data collection from the many community outreach events, as well as from research conducted on Nederland’s “existing conditions,” which involved the Town’s traffic patterns, posted speed limits, the level of stress for drivers and pedestrians, and crash patterns. The area of the most concentration was the roundabout.
From this data, guiding principles and draft recommendations were formed, which Fehr & Peers presented on February 27, 2024, to a “task force” of Town staff, officials, and community stakeholders.
The Task Force consisted of Harms of Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services; Landon Hilliard, the Senior Transportation Planner for Boulder County; Nathan Skalak of the Town’s engineering consultancy JVA; Steve Rowntree, the Director of Business Operations at Eldora Mountain Resort; and Ron Mitchell, at that time Chair of the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA).
Alexander and Sieff reported at that first Task Force meeting that they had engaged so far with up to 300 Nederland residents, including at the Community Thanksgiving Potluck and the Town-run Holiday Mountain Market, and that the biggest concerns of the community were about crosswalks, sidewalks, and road maintenance.
The guiding principles that Fehr & Peers developed out of Phase I included a focus on sustainability, and to make driving, bicycling, and walking through Nederland safe and reliable.
A vision statement inspired by the community outreach reads: “Nederland’s transportation system is safe and accessible for users of all ages and abilities. Travelers in Nederland have equitable access to various and sustainable modes of transportation through a connected network of trails, sidewalks, and roadways.
“All modes of transportation including walking, rolling, biking, riding transit, and driving are convenient, reliable and are supported by programs and policies that can adapt to emerging mobility and technology.”
As for the many recommendations regarding safer crosswalks, uniform sidewalks, formalized trails, a second bridge across Middle Boulder Creek, and mitigating concerns related to transit and to parking, these would evolve and change over time as engagement with the public, with the Task Force, and with the Town’s boards would continue into Phase II of MTP development.
One such recommendation made by Fehr & Peers early on in development was met with immediate resistance: replacing the Town’s only roundabout with a traffic signal.
For a complete report on the February 27, 2024, Task Force meeting, go to: https://www.themtnear.com/stories/multimodal-transportation-plan-recommendations,12441.
Fehr & Peers would not meet again with the Task Force until May 23, spending that time presenting their Phase I findings to each of the Town’s advisory boards, starting with the BOT, then with the NDDA, the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB), the Planning Commission, and the Sustainability Advisory Board.
During the firm’s presentation to the BOT on March 19, Trustees asked for additional consideration to be made on potential second bridge locations, and on the possibility of a pedestrian underpass beneath Highway 119 near the Visitors Center intersection.
On May 16, PROSAB were presented with information related to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, which included recommendations for crosswalk improvements, parks facilities maintenance, a street-sweeping plan, Wayfinding projects, a traffic impact study, and providing roundabout education.
Board members suggested that Fehr & Peers look into various possible trail connections, including connections to the Nederland Middle-Senior High School and to the Nederland Elementary School.
On May 22, the Planning Commission were presented with the recommendations for roundabout redesigns, for mitigating traffic congestion in key areas, for instituting speed cameras, for parking management and creation (including neighborhood parking permits), and for a pedestrian-actuated traffic signal at the Highway 119 crosswalk in front of the Visitors Center.
Commissioners warned that many of the recommendations made within the MTP, particularly concerning neighborhood parking permits, speed cameras, and the traffic signal for a major crosswalk, will be “hot-button” issues in the community.
With Phase II of outreach well underway, and Fehr & Peers able to gather feedback from each of the Town’s advisory boards, the Task Force was presented with a more robust and precise list of recommendations during their second meeting.
The recommendations for roadway, parking, and transit improvements, and for better bicycle and pedestrian accessibility and mobility, were delivered to the Task Force in great detail, and accompanied by more direct program and policy recommendations, including requiring developers of any large residential or commercial projects to provide a Traffic Impact Study.
For a complete report on the May 23, 2024, Task Force meeting, go to: https://www.themtnear.com/stories/redesigning-neds-roads-sidewalks-and-trails,12985 .
Phase II continued through the summer as a second online survey was released, and with representatives for Fehr & Peers attending more Nederland Farmers Market events and conducting outreach during the Town’s 150th Anniversary celebration, engaging with over 100 residents.
Through this ongoing outreach the Nederland community indicated that the Town should prioritize the intersection of Lakeview Drive and Bridge Street and the intersection of Highway 119 and Eldora Road, regarding mitigating congestion and instituting traffic calming measures.
On September 23, during the third meeting of the Task Force, several Town officials in attendance reiterated their belief that traffic calming should begin at the pedestrian crossing across Highway 119 at the Visitors Center, where Fehr & Peers have recommended the installation of a pedestrian-actuated traffic light.
Parks Manager Dunn also assisted Fehr & Peers in identifying which of the Town’s crosswalks should be prioritized in the MTP.
As for those troublesome intersections, the MTP recommends the creation of turning pockets and receiving lanes, which in some cases may require navigating adjacent private property.
Rowntree, the Director of Business Operations at Eldora Mountain Resort, and a member of the MTP Task Force, stated during the meeting that Eldora was open to possibly using a portion of their land adjacent to the Highway 119 and Eldora Road intersection for the creation of turning and receiving lanes, or even a potential roundabout.
In terms of the roundabout which currently funnels all of Nederland’s through traffic, the concept of a traffic light replacement had been completely removed from the MTP. Instead, Fehr & Peers were recommending adjusting and increasing the size of the splitter islands that lead into the roundabout.
The Task Force provided their final input on the MTP, specifically Fehr & Peers’ recommendations, before the last draft of the plan was to be drafted and submitted to the BOT for approval,
For a complete report on the September 23, 2024, Task Force meeting, go to: https://www.themtnear.com/stories/transportation-plan-rounds-final-bend,15399 .
The BOT reviewed the MTP one more time during an informational presentation on October 15, and Fehr & Peers incorporated the Board’s last suggestions into their final draft.
To the suggestion of incorporating more traffic calming at the Town’s entry points and at East Street, Fehr & Peers are recommending a proposed raised median be created at the Nederland Community Center as a short term solution, with a roundabout suggested as a long term solution.
Regarding an additional pedestrian crossing near the community center, Fehr & Peers are recommending a future crosswalk be created at Highway 119 and Forest Road.
On December 17, after some concern was raised by Trustees that the recommendations within the final draft of the MTP read as too binding or mandatory, the BOT voted unanimously to approve the plan.
Though the MTP has been approved, none of the recommendations made within have yet been proposed to the BOT as actionable measures. However, some issues that the plan considers priority are in progress of being rectified, as PROSAB is actively working on formalizing the Town’s informal trails and on implementing trail connectivity. Further, the Town’s Safer Main Streets and sidewalk improvement projects are expected to be completed in 2025.
To review the complete Multimodal Transportation Plan and read the results of months of community outreach and deliberation with Town officials and stakeholders, go to: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/document/117479/7.1%20Nederland_Report_241204.pdf?handle=EFC0AA1EFC354B8FB1F3B97823656D03 .
To review the State of the Community by Fehr & Peers, go to: https://engagenederland.us.engagementhq.com/multimodal-transportation-plan.
