Foxfield Traffic Committee IDENTIFY TRAFFIC CHALLENGES AND FORMULATE SOLUTIONS BASED ON EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND FEEDBACK FROM RESIDENTS PRESENT RECOMMENDATION TO FOXFIELD BOARD OF TRUSTEES COMMUNITY PRESENTATION ON AUGUST 23, 2018 1
Foxfield Roads Timeline New Fugitive Dust Paving Communities/ Foxfield Village Control Plan Completed Developments Center developed 2001 2003 Future 2006 2004 1994 2002 2016 Future 1 st Traffic Foxfield General Traffic Study Add’l Road Incorporates Obligation Committee Maintenance Bonds Passed 1994: Town Incorporated- the Town owns the roads and right of ways and is responsible for their maintenance ; this is the Town’s largest asset 2001: Fugitive Dust Control Plan- by 2001, Foxfield was regularly seeing over double the number of daily vehicles that is recommended for dirt roads; “fugitive dust” causing us to exceed air pollution limitations; ordered by Tri-County Health to submit a plan of action; strong chance that one agency or another was going to force paving 2002: GOB passed- roads were paved in 2002 following a vote by residents to take out General Obligation Bonds to fund the project; bonds always go to a vote 2003: Paving Completed 2004: 1 st Traffic Committee (since paving)- already seeing cut-through traffic and speeding; their research was helpful for the current committee to build off of since they faced many of the same challenges we still have today in developing a solution 2006: ESTIP formed- beginning of the Foxfield Village Center development 2016: Traffic study- professional traffic study by SEH (engineering firm contracted by Foxfield), found very similar traffic conditions and feasible options, focused on questions pertaining to gating the south end of town and installing speed humps **Future: Add’l maintenance- excessive speeds and volume of cars do wear our roads more quickly, all maintenance costs come out of the Foxfield budget (our money); SEH’s estimate for this year’s maintenance is $68,000. SEH also included estimates for chip sealing the entire town ($650k) and needed mill and overlay work ($150k) for future budgets. **Future: New Communities/Developments- Kings Point to the south; Centennial is currently in the middle of a traffic study to alleviate congestion on Arapahoe Rd, with one possible option being to make improvements to Broncos Pkwy- while this may improve traffic flow on Arapahoe, it will only make it more tempting to cut through Foxfield 2
Map of Foxfield Link to Map: https://tinyurl.co m/FoxfieldRoads This map shows the boundaries of Foxfield and the roads that we are responsible for. We have 8 entrances and only 2 lights out to Arapahoe (at Richfield and Waco). We connect to our neighboring communities of Chapparal to the east and Chenango to the south. To the north of us are several large communities including the Farm. A couple major roads to point out: • Richfield- connects Buckley to Broncos Pkwy; major cut-through route for commuter traffic • Hinsdale- connects Chapparal to Broncos Pkwy; another cut-through route • West part of Hinsdale- not currently a cut-through route; need to be careful not to divert traffic to Fremont entrance where there is no light • Buckley- another commuter and school cut-through • *Easter- major road for Foxfield traffic; tends to see both higher volumes and speeds; some cut-through; newly installed stop signs may help • *Waco- very high volumes of traffic here; has a light and a large church; possible cut- through from Chapparal 3
Foxfield’s Property Taxes 100% of Foxfield’s tax Tax Authority Tax Rate Percent of goes to ACSO (police Total Taxes department) Town of Foxfield 0.004982 5.84% Cherry Creek School District 0.049687 58.24% 0% goes to Foxfield’s Arapahoe County 0.012817 15.02% General Fund or to pay Fire Department (SMFR) 0.009250 10.84% for roads Arapahoe Library District 0.005853 6.86% Developmental Disability 0.001000 1.17% Arapahoe County Recreation 0.000708 0.83% Cherry Creek Basin Authority 0.000453 0.53% Urban Drainage 0.0005 0.59% Urb. Drain.- S. Platte 0.000057 0.07% Totals 0.085307 99.99% I’m going to spend a couple minutes on Foxfield’s budget, just for a little background. • The paving bonds were paid off last year causing your Foxfield taxes to drop to 4.982 mils. This is a little less than 6% of your total property tax bill, which is less than you pay the library district. • Almost 60% of your taxes go to the school district. • 100% of the Town of Foxfield tax goes to our contract with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office • Which leaves 0% that goes to the General Fund • So to be clear- none of your property taxes currently fund road maintenance or projects 4
General Fund – Significant Revenue Sources Sales Tax 1. Highway User Tax 2. Franchise Fees 3. Use Tax 4. Specific Ownership Tax 5. Motor Vehicle Registration Fees 6. Enhanced Sales Tax Incentive Program (ESTIP): Recently ended in June 2018 Our sales tax revenue will increase significantly; ~$130k per year Potential resource for road project funding So how is our town funded then? Sales Tax is the bulk of our revenue; 3.75% of the 8% sales tax goes to Foxfield. ~$165K. Other revenue sources come from: • Highway User Tax ~$40K, • Franchise Fees seen as a tax on Xcel, IREA & Cable, ~$35K, • Use Tax for purchases not charged sales tax, ~$10K • Ownership Tax on vehicles, ~$6K • Motor Vehicle Registration Fees, ~$4K **Figures from the 2018 Foxfield Budget, found on FoxfieldColorado.com When FF Village Center was developed, the Town entered into an ESTIP agreement (an Enhanced Sales Tax Incentive Program) to help fund the necessary infrastructure. These types of agreements are fairly common. The Town agreed to give the developer half of the sales tax revenue generated by the Village Center until their bonds were paid off. They paid off their bonds much earlier than anticipated, this past June, so Foxfield now keeps 100% of the sales tax revenue. We expect roughly an addl’ $125 K per year of revenue and have already stopped making ESTIP payments. **Takeaway- The roads were paved several years before the Village Center existed so bonds were the only option to fund that project, especially considering the magnitude of the project. Now, however, we have a thriving commercial district with the added benefit of no ESTIP payments. As a committee, we see no reason why any traffic calming projects proposed tonight would require additional funding other than from the Foxfield General Fund. 5
The Problem: Traffic Volume and Speed Overuse of roads Inconvenience & reduced quality of life for residents Unsafe conditions for pedestrians Reduced property values Road & property damage Northbound on Richfield August 14, 2018 about 5:30 pm Photo courtesy of Shadia Ahmad Overuse of Roads • Requires more frequent and costly maintenance, • Other communities did not buy these roads or pay to maintain them Inconvenience & Reduced Quality of Life • Unable to exit their driveways due to back up of cars • Potential inaccessibility for Emergency vehicles during traffic congestion • Does this picture look rural residential to you? Unsafe Conditions for Pedestrians • As well as, children, strollers, cyclists, horseback riders, dogs, etc Reduced Property Values • We’re a sought after community specifically because of the rural feel Road & property Damage • Due to cut-through vehicles making U-turns; can damage the edge of the road, the right of way, and private property 6
Summary of 2018 Weekday Traffic Data 85 th Percentile Speed Direction Street & Address Volume per Day SB Buckley (6809) 188 cars 30 mph WB Costilla (16815) 130 cars Error 1 WB Easter (7091) 611 cars 28 mph EB Easter (7130) 466 cars 30 mph EB Hinsdale (18150/18058) 299 cars 30 mph WB Hinsdale (17544/17644) 257 cars 33 mph NB (N) Richfield (6888) 788 cars 29 mph SB (N) Richfield (6917) ~600-800 cars 2 26 mph NB (S) Richfield (7172) ~600-800 cars 2 26 mph SB (S) Richfield (7376/7378) 559 cars 29 mph SB Waco (6959) 696 cars 3 28 mph NB Yampa (7187) 204 cars 3 30 mph Foxfield has two speed radar signs that record data on speed and volume of traffic. They are moved around town periodically so you’ve probably seen them at some point. This table has a lot of information on it. This is the location and direction the cars are traveling, the volume of cars per day, and the speed of the 85 th percentile. You can dive into this table more on your own and are welcome to ask us questions about it later. I want to direct your attention to the highlighted cells. Municipalities and agencies set various thresholds to determine if a road has a traffic problem. As a town, we have the ability to set our own thresholds. I noted roads that have in excess of 400 cars per day traveling on them and locations that have 85 th percentile speeds at or exceeding 5 mph over the speed limit. So you can see that we have several problem areas. **Transition- That’s some background… Let’s shift our focus to solutions… **Arapahoe County’s Criteria for considering traffic calming measures include volume exceeding 800 vehicles per day on a residential street and/or that the 85 th percentile speed exceeds the posted speed limit by 5 mph or more. Foxfield’s signs only see one direction of travel so I used 400 vehicles per day. Footnotes: 1: Sign measuring very high number of below 10 mph readings 2: Terrain at this location causes the sign to count cars multiple times 3: Possibly counting extra cars 7
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