June 2019

Here’s my mid-month update for June 2019 for things going on in Superior. Hope you find it interesting and helpful.

Community Space in Downtown Superior:

On Monday, June 17, 2019, the Town Board will hold a Special Meeting to discuss plans for “Civic Space” in Downtown Superior.

In the governing documents which approved tax increment financing for Downtown Superior (the “Cost Sharing Agreement”), the Developer agreed to contribute $10 million towards the cost of Civic Space. The Town Board and the Developer will be working to coordinate on plans for what this Civic Space commitment will look like, how big it will be, where it will be located, and what amenities it will include.

If you’re interested in playing a part in how the civic space component will come to fruition, please consider attending the Town Board special meeting on Monday night.

Airport Update:

The Town Board receives complaints every week on the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (“RMMA”) and the noise that is generated by the airplanes flying in and out of RMMA. To try to address these complaints, the Town (in conjunction with the City of Louisville) has engaged a consultant (“ABCx2”) to assist the Town with understanding what can be done to address concerns related to RMMA/airplane noise.

First, it’s important to understand that the Town does not have jurisdiction over the RMMA. The airport and the airplanes that fly out of it are governed by Federal Law, and are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The airport is also located in Jefferson County — not the Town of Superior. Also, the Town is not a party to the Avigation Easement between the airport and Richmond Homes (who developed Rock Creek Ranch in the 80s and 90s).

At the May 13th, 2019 Town Board Meeting, Paul Anslow — Director of RMMA — presented to the Board and the community on RMMA’s growth plans. In that presentation, Director Anslow represented that RMMA “wants to be good neighbors” and indicated that working with our consultant will create some good steps for the short term and long term.

Also at that meeting, our consultant ABCx2 presented their Baseline Report which shows what many of us already knew — that the majority of airport traffic (and noise generated from it) comes from “touch and go” flight school/general aviation traffic. ABCx2 recommended developing strategies and working with RMMA and air traffic control to adopt strategies like raising flight pattern altitude, adopting community friendly ingress and egress (ways to avoid Rock Creek), alternating runway rotation, and changing the use of touch and go patterns. ABCx2 is also working on an “Education & Outreach” piece that would involve working with flight schools (instructors & students) and airport staff, briefing to local pilots, and flying clubs to encourage them to be mindful of the communities they fly over.

Next steps: ABCx2 is creating a portfolio of strategies and will vet them through air traffic control, RMMA administration, and industry advisory group. They are preparing for a July community outreach event and will present portfolio of strategies.

Here’s a link ABCx2’s Baseline Report.

Traffic & Safety – Crash Data:

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department provides the Town’s Transportation and Safety Committee with annual reports of vehicle crashes that occur in Superior. At its most recent meeting, the Sheriff’s Department presented the following data:

In 2018, there were 155 total vehicle crashes in Superior.

• 97 on public roads (63%) – majority at the intersections of McCaslin & Marshall and McCaslin & 36.
• 58 on private roads (37%) – with the majority in private commercial lots (Costco, Target, Whole Foods, Safeway) – “People back into one another” according to Sgt. Chamberlain.
• Total crashes increased by 12% (133 to 155 crashes) in 2018, but most of the increase occurred in private parking lots.

I was surprised to see how high the % is in parking lots. Sergeant Chamberlain said that we “only need half of people to pay more attention, to avoid an accident. If 1 out of 2 is paying attention really well, the accident doesn’t happen. They can avoid it.”

Superior’s transportation consultant has compared our crash data to that from Windsor & Boulder, other towns that the consultant works with. When compared per capita to Windsor & Boulder.

• Superior: .0073 crashes per person
• Windsor: .012 crashes per person
• Boulder:.027 crashes per person

Consequently, our consultant said that Superior has a “very low crash rate” and our “crash rate per capita is very low” although no crashes is always the goal. I’ve attached a map that shows the crash locations and frequencies.

Jefferson Parkway:

In my mid-month update for April 2019, I provided a summary of Broomfield’s consideration of spending an additional $2.5 million on plans for the Jefferson Parkway.

Broomfield is scheduled to have a “Study Session” on Tuesday, June 18, 2019. Then, if the Council wishes to move forward with the funding commitment, they would consider that issue at a formal City Council meeting on June 25, 2019.

If you are concerned about this project, which will not complete the beltway around Denver and is slated to travel along Indiana Street to the East of Rocky Flats — an area where there is known historical plutonium contamination — please consider attending one or both of these Broomfield City Council meetings. Also, please consider emailing the Broomfield City Council (council@broomfieldcitycouncil.org) and urge them to vote “NO” on spending additional resources on the Parkway project.

Upcoming Events:

Mark your calendars for Superior’s 4th of July Festivities (1 mile race down Rock Creek Parkway, parade, and pancake breakfast.) Also be sure to save the date for Superior’s “The Main Event” on July 20th from 5-8pm at the Superior Marketplace. It will be an immersive arts festival headlined by the Salida Circus, with music, food trucks, and a beer & wine garden. See you there!