Meeting Notes
Meeting:	Trucking Industry Issues Workshop
Date:	March 6, 2001
Location:	CMCA Offices 4060 Elati Street Denver
Attendees:
Mark Jackson, City of Fort Collins R.A. Plummer, PBS&J Carrie Cloud, PBS&J David Millar, PBS&J Carla Perez, Carter & Burgess Chris Horn, FHWA Teresa Lawser, CDOT Teresa Carrillo, CDOT Scott Hersh Jr, Hersh Trucking Greg Miller, HVH Transportation	Steve Woodward, Fort Collins Feed Alan Rutledge, Department of Revenue Bob Parish, Colorado State Patrol Bob Thorne, Don Ward Transport Jay Gould, WYDOT Norm Carter, Don Ward Transport Rick Peterson, Wy Patrol/POE George Woods, Wy Patrol/POE Art Ballah, Ballah & Associates Greg Fulton, CMCA
Agenda:	Welcome Study History and Parameters Study Structure and Committees Study Process and Schedule Truck Origin and Destination Study Existing Conditions Proposed Improvement Non-Route Based Strategy Discussion Other

II.   Study History and Parameters
Mark Jackson, City Project Manager for Fort Collins, discussed the history of the project. The white paper was discussed that details the project history since 1966. The project was initiated by Ballot Initiative 200 and includes three elements. The first phase looks at non-route based strategies to encourage through truck traffic to use the Interstate Highway System (I-25 and I-80). Through traffic is classified as trucks that access SH 14 from I-25 and use the SH 14 and US 287 route to get to I-80 in Laramie. The strategies will be developed and refined by working closely with the trucking industry, various stakeholders, and affected agencies. The second element focuses on developing and analyzing alternate truck routes. As stated in Ballot Initiative 200, the alternate truck route must be located at least two miles north of the Fort Collins Growth Management Area. This requirement means that the southernmost alternate route that is eligible for evaluation in this study is County Road 58. Alternate truck routes will be developed through the alternative evaluation process with input from the various stakeholders. The third element deals with developing a funding plan for study recommendations and evaluating next steps that need to be taken. Funding may include a combination of regional, state, Federal, and innovative sources.

III.   Study Structure and Committees
R.A. Plummer (consultant project manager) presented the following teams and committees involved with the study:

• Project Management Team
    - City of Fort Collins
    - Larimer County
    - Upper Front Range Regional Planning Commission
    - CDOT Region 4
• Policy Advisory Committee
    - Fort Collins City Council
    - Larimer County Commissioners
    - City of Cheyenne
    - CDOT Region 4
    - WYDOT
    - Upper Front Range
    - Town of Wellington
    - City of Laramie
    - North Front Range MPO
• Stakeholders Committee - Various representatives from affected agencies and the public
• Trucking Industry Workshops will be scheduled to determine non-route based strategies
    - Colorado Motor Carriers Association
    - Ports of Entry
    - Law Enforcement
    - Private Trucking Firms
    - American Trucking Association
    - Railroad Industry Representatives
    - WYDOT
    - City of Cheyenne
    - City of Laramie
    - Local Agencies
• Other public/agency outreach will include:
    - Elected Official Presentations
          - City of Fort Collins Transportation Board
          - Larimer County Commissioners
          - City of Fort Collins City Council
          - Others
    - Special Group Presentations (HOA's)
    - Public Open Houses
• Other ways to stay informed include:
    - Project Web site (www.sh14truckingstudy.com)
    - Newspapers (Fort Collins Coloradoan and North Forty News)
          - Public Meeting Advertisements
          - Public Meeting Announcements and Informational Inserts
    - Contact Study Team
          - R.A. Plummer (Consultant Project Manager)
            (800) 497-5529
          - Mark Jackson (City Project Manager)
            (970) 416-2029

IV.   Study Process and Schedule
Attendees were briefed on the project's historical background, structure, and anticipated schedule. R.A. explained the study process discussing both the overall study process and the alternative evaluation process. These processes are highlighted in the attachments to those notes. The schedule for the study was also discussed, and is currently scheduled for completion in November 2001.

V.   Truck Origin and Destination Study
R.A. discussed the preliminary results of a comprehensive Truck Origin & Destination Study performed in November and December 2000, the purpose of the study, and how the results will be used. The purpose of this study was to clearly define through truck volumes that could be served by non-route based strategies or an alternate route. The results will serve as a means of evaluating the cost /benefit of various strategies and alternate routes. This data was collected through a license plate survey during daylight hours and vehicle descriptions during night. Vehicle classification counts were collected to supplement O&D data collected. The classification information was grouped into three categories; passenger vehicles such as cars and motorcycles, single unit vehicles such as two axle delivery vehicles, and multiple axle vehicles that consisted of any trucks with three or more axles. Two handouts were discussed, the first consisted of the origin and destination preliminary results along with a figure of the locations data was collected. The second packet included figures of average daily traffic (ADT) vehicle classification information averaged over five days (both weekdays and weekends) and line charts that showed average daily traffic by location and time. Preliminary analysis of the data shows approximately 20-25 percent of northwest bound truck trips and 25-30 percent of southeast bound truck trips are through trips. This equates to approximately 550 to 625 existing external to external daily truck trips that could possibly be diverted from the existing route. Attendees were also briefed on results of this effort compared to previous City, State, and citizen-led Origin & Destination efforts.

VI.   Existing Conditions
The existing traffic and conditions in the regional area was discussed:

• A large percentage of the truck traffic in the Owl Canyon area is from the cement plant, 50% uses Owl Canyon/50% goes into Fort Collins, expect a 50% increase in the summer
• Budweiser may be going from 300-600 trucks per day, some go west and do use 287
• Construction beginning on I-25 from the state line to Cheyenne over the next 5 years
• 3000 trucks westbound on the weekend, 3000 trucks Tuesday thru Thursday eastbound in Cheyenne
• 500-600 trucks in the Summer in each direction at Laramie
• 10% pre-pass usage in Cheyenne, 20% in Fort Collins
• Low percentage of overweight permits on 287 at port
• Existing VMS coming out of both Cheyenne and Laramie
• CDOT website for weather and traffic information (cotrip.org)
• Wyoming weather and traffic site (wydotweb.state.wy.us)
• Wind speed problems on I-80, headwinds, less on US 287
• Accident rates are similar along both routes