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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee - 04/09/2014 BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE MINUTES 04-09-2014 The Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 5:30 pm in the small conference room at the city office building. Members Present: Matthew Boulanger, Chair; Michelle Connor, Vice Chair, Dana Farr, Clerk; David Jacobowitz, Miranda Voegeli Members Absent: Cathy Frank, Donna Leban, Roy Neuer City Representative: Todd Goodwin, Director of Recreation & Parks Meeting began at 5:37 pm. 1. Changes or additions to the agenda None 2. Comments from the public not related to the agenda None 3. Accept & approve Minutes of February 12, 2014 meeting Michelle: Moved to approve the minutes David: Second Vote: Unanimous 4. Discuss: City Center/Market Street Changes Matt discussed some emails and web posts of note.  Change is being discussed for the festival area due to drainage issues. The plan for this area may be altered to include a curb.  Matt saw a note voicing that cyclists would need to “Get used to the reality that the area is a fast-moving traffic area.” Matt will look into this to see if it is appropriate to make a statement as a committee indicating that the area is not intended for high-speed traffic, and is instead a model of a new street approach which includes a more complete vision for the area. 5. Discussion: Future Priorities for the Committee David and Matt met with Jason Van Driesche, Local Motion’s Director of Advocacy & Education, to discuss the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly City designation. Very few cities have this designation, and it would be an honor for South Burlington to be awarded this distinction. Jason has agreed to help with: Local Motion intern- Gathering census data Jason- Review draft of the essay answers Matt created a Google Doc version of the application and requests that committee members edit and add comments. By the middle of June we should try to have completed this document, so that we can work with Jason to fill in any gaps. https://docs.google.com/a/vtinfo.com/document/d/1I_jpxbxID_ypRdIB4S5HblTH9BKVCGZr_- azjqcbGQ8/edit Justin and Matt will cycle Williston Rd through to Williston Village within the next week or so to look at easy ways to make the route safer. Striping, for example, is something that they will discuss. Matt attended a council meeting Saturday morning (April 5) and shared what our committee is doing. Matt shared the committee’s work during his tenure as Chair. Todd- Regarding committee: Council appointed two council members to review the committees and to then determine what the optimal arrangement and tasking. Melding the committees, while at the same time expanding their reach is being explored. Todd shared that City Council appointed two council members to review the committees and to determine the optimal arrangement and tasking. Melding the committees, while at the same time expanding their reach is being explored. Todd will meet with Jesse Bridges, Director of Parks and Recreation for Burlington, on April 17 to discuss connectivity and winter maintenance. After meeting with Jesse, he will share with the committee what was discussed. David suggested that Todd discuss these sections of the bike path:  Where Queen City Parkway crosses Route 7, goes into Lindenwood and turns into the path.  Where cyclists come in on the Champlain Path by Pine Street, and go through to the Kmart workaround to bypass a portion of Shelburne Road.  How can the path connect to Patchen Road? 6. Development Review Nothing new. 7. General matters 2014 Vermont Walk/Bike Summit Cathy, David and Matt attended the Walk-Bike summit. Matt indicated that the VTrans representatives expressed an interest in cycling issues. Matt shared some of what he took away from the meeting:  He attended a seminar which discussed planning for public health goals and how they nicely align with the committee’s bike-pedestrian goals. -A more active community is a healthier community is.  A project may be easier to get approval for if it was there is a pilot program. David shared some of what he took away from the meeting:  The Bike Path Rehabilitation Project is underway. The project will entail rerouting, widening, fixing and rerouting portions of the path.  The city of Rutland, Vermont has been putting considerable time and effort into their bike path. It connects the school, downtown and the recreation area.  The psychology of slow bicycles- Kids who are driven to school, when asked to draw a map of their area draw one which looks like a television screen of their view from the window. Kids who cycle or walk to school are able to draw a more route-oriented map. Cycling and walking helps with your cognitive map of the world. Cathy was unable to attend tonight’s meeting but requested time on the May agenda to discuss seminars that she attended. Laurel Hill Neighborhood issues  David reported that City Council met at Orchard School to discuss the storm water project and speed bumps on lower Laurel Hill. The meeting was well attended. Lower Laurel Hill has significant potholes and erosion. Residents wondered if the speed bumps had caused these problems. Justin Rabidoux, DPW Director, shared that the speed bumps were not incorporated into the original design of the road. They were a later add-on. The question posed by residents was whether the speed bumps should be in included correctly when the road is repaved, or removed.  People indicated that they would like traffic calming measures at “the turn”. Some residents proposed a stop sign. David argued that if you put in walk and bike paths, this would also have a traffic calming effect. 8. Adjourn David: Motion to Adjourn Miranda: Second Vote: Unanimous Meeting ended at 6:36 pm. Respectfully submitted, Dana Farr, Clerk