HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee - 09/14/2016BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE
MINUTES 9/14/2016
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Commi ee held its regular monthly mee ng on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 5:30 pm
in the small conference room at the city office building.
Members Present: Dana Farr, Chair; Cathy Frank, Vice-Chair; Jamieson Goodwin, Clerk; Roy Neuer; Donna Leban; Jim
Grossman (arrived 6:30)
Members Absent: Bob Bri ; Amanda Holland
City Representa ve: Holly Baker, Assistant Director of Recrea on & Parks
Also Present:
Mee ng began at 5:30 pm.
1. Changes to Agenda –a. Roy – Would like to reinforce the use of the website SeeClickFix.com as a means for ge ng andsubmi ng informa on about issues found in the area.2. Approval of prior minutes – Cathy mo ons to approve, Jamieson seconds. Vote is Unanimous among commi eemembers present.3. Comments from public not related to Agenda – None.4. Welcome to new commi ee members – (Delayed un l Jim’s arrival) Introduc on of Jim to the commi ee.5. SBBPC priori es map and report – No significant update, there have been difficul es in sourcing a new map. Holly to reach out to cartographer, CC Cathy & Dana to get new map for updates.6. Planning commission mee ng 9/13/2016 –a. Four projects presented; Allen Rd from Spear St to exis ng shared use path, Dorset St from Old Cross Rdto exis ng path near Autumn Hill Rd, Airport Parkway from Kirby Rd to Lime Kiln Bridge, and Spear Stfrom the “Jug Handle” near Williston Rd to exis ng path near Davis Rd. Preferred solu ons were alsopresented. Mee ng was not necessarily about seeking input on iden fied projects, but more aboutpriori za on among the 4 alterna ves. One ques on raised was regarding the meline on pursuing theproposed projects. The response is that ability to move forward and take ac on depends on the source offunding. One poten al source of funding is from Federal grants, but the city’s ability to pursue thosegrants is limited. It was also remarked that federal grants add complexity to any project due to differentregula on standards for the work being proposed which also affects costs. Planning commission seekinginput on which of the four projects should be priori zed. Due to limita ons in the city’s ability to requestand administer grants, only 1 project grant per year can be considered. Should the commi ee maintain apriority list for projects with grant poten al? The commi ee decided that a separate list should not bemaintained, but the Commi ee is happy to priori ze the given list and send a response to the PlanningCommission.b. Commi ee’s statement of priori za on: The South Burlington Bicycle and Pedestrian Commi eesupports and endorses all the iden fied and scoped projects presented by the Planning Commission inthe “South Burlington Pedestrian and Bicycle Feasibility Study,” dated September 13, 2016. TheCommi ee’s analysis and prior interac ons with users of the recrea on and bike paths to place ourrecommenda on to complete, as quickly as possible, the Dorset St proposal and subsequently the AllenRd proposal.c. Cathy mo ons to approve recommenda on. Donna seconds the mo on. The vote is unanimous toapprove the statement with Jim abstaining. The above statement to be sent to Holy Baker, whom willforward to Paul Conner and PC.7. Chamberlain Neighborhood – Airport Planning Commi ee report –a. The Commi ee reviewed proposals iden fied in the report as striping for bike lines, crosswalks,whimsical crosswalks and sidewalk. b. Statement on reviewed proposals: Overall, the Commi ee is in agreement with the basic proposals in thereport and will be happy to assist in providing further feedback on them as iden fied in the report“Chamberlain Neighborhood Land Use and Transporta on Plan,” found on pgs. 117-119. The Commi eealso proposes some ini al feedback and recommends using a narrower vehicle lane width when stripingfor on-road bike lanes where appropriate. Also, the use of whimsical crosswalks, if implemented, shouldbe closer to schools or parks. It should be noted that these projects should not be priori zed above otheriden fied SBBPC priori es. c. Forward statement to Holly Baker, and she will send to Paul Conner and Planning Commission. Cathymo ons to approve, Jamieson seconds the mo on. Unanimous approval.
8. Updates from the City: Holly Baker –
a. Briefly highlighted some upcoming plans to update facili es and area parks.
b. Bikes and Bites – new event an overall success! A endance recorded as over 300 on the first event, and
1200 last event. Last event of the season is on 9/15/2016.
c. Sept 24 is “Bike your Park” day.
d. Underwood property update – Holly provided the vision framework to the commi ee and gave some
general updates. Some basic trails have been cut, and Common Roots is also building a public garden.
Cathy asked for feedback on why the commi ee wasn’t addressed as part of the vision framework when
it was developed. Holly to follow-up.
9. General Ma ers
a. Discussion: Cathy; Should SBBPC change mee ng date(s)? – No change proposed due to many conflicts
in city schedule.
b. Report: Roy;
i. Marking hazards on bike paths that cannot be moved – this coincides with recent reports of
drain grates being sunken/too low along Patchen Rd. Recommend Commi ee makes
recommenda on to DPW to mark these low spots for bikes using reflec ve paint.
ii. BTV Walk Bike – Commi ee recommends the city work with LocalMo on as a way of
promo ng content like this for the city.
iii. Songbird crossing @ Dorset St – Commi ee expressed concerns over foot traffic in this area,
especially due to students going to/from school.
iv. Lime Kiln Rd – No crosswalks @ Winooski Gorge park. Commi ee agrees this should be
reviewed.
v. Dorset St. pedestrian crossing difficul es at Garden St. – Result of development over me.
No current proposals, but this area is going to be heavily reviewed. Changes to pedestrian and
vehicular interac ons are complicated by the older equipment and med light sequences in the
immediate area. Current design heavily favors car traffic, but should be reviewed. Minimum
necessary ac on should include striping a crosswalk to heighten awareness of pedestrians for
passing vehicles, but also recommends the city look into delayed signaling to allow safer crossing
for pedestrians.
vi. SB Pedestrian Access Study – To be followed up with Jus n Rabidoux at next monthly DPW
mee ng.
vii. Dumont Park; City Center – This was men oned primarily for review. No input at this me.
c. Elec on of officers – Donna mo on to keep current officers. Roy seconds mo on. Unanimous approval.
10. Confirma on: Next mee ng October 12 at 5:30.
Mo on to adjourn –
Mee ng ended at 8:00 pm.
Respec ully submi ed,
Jamieson Goodwin, Clerk
These mee ng minutes were approved by the Commi ee on June 14, 2017.