HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee - 03/06/2019Bike & Pedestrian Committee
Special Meeting Agenda
March 6, 2019 @ 5:30 pm
South Burlington Police Station 2nd Floor Conference Room 19 Gregory Drive
Members Present: Dana Farr (Chair), Cathy Frank (Vice Chair), Shawn Goddard (Clerk), Bill
Wooden (Co-Clerk), Donna Leban
Members Absent: Bob Britt, Amanda Holland
City Representative: Ashley Parker, Project Manager (Absent)
Also Present: Nic Anderson & Bob Dale (Gotcha Bikes), and Bryan Davis (CCRPC), Paul
Conner (South Burlington Planning), Joey Waldinger (The Other Paper)
Meeting folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1MLP71EymlYBlWFORmMmjS1BUVvV-vUvE
1. Welcome and directions on emergency evacuation procedures
2. Changes or additions to the agenda
3. Comments from the public not related to the agenda
4. Consideration of minutes from the previous meeting(s)
a. Reviewed a few minor changes that were made from the February meeting.
b. Cathy moved for approval, Donna seconded. All in favor (Bill was absent for
the vote)
5. Presentation: Bikeshare program updates - Nic Anderson & Bob Dale (Gotcha Bikes),
and Bryan Davis (CCRPC) - Gotcha presentation starts on slide 8 of 22.
a. Current - 105 bikes (no electric), moving to
b. E-Bikes - Proposing ??? e-assist bikes:
i. Migrate to all electric-assist bikes (only provides assist when the rider
is peddling).
ii. 20mph max e-assist
iii. Move from 17 hubs to ~25 hubs, but with the added capability to have
geo-hubs (i.e. virtual hubs that can be updated as needed).
c. Scooters - Proposing 200 e-assist scooters
i. 15mph max e-assist
ii. Would also use virtual geo-hubs
iii. Without the e-assist these scooters don’t move well, so if people try to
use them in restricted areas (Church St for instance), the scooter
wouldn’t work well enough to make it effective.
d. General Info:
i. Sticking with Old Spokes Home for maintenance & chargings
ii. Both will use geo-hubs w/ability to define new or temporary virtual
hubs as needed.
iii. New App (Name: Gotcha - Ride On) will provide additional functionality
for user & Greenride Bikeshare team.
iv. Pay-as-you-go options, as well as memberships
e. Questions:
i. How precise is the geo-fencing to prevent riding the bikes in restricted
areas (sidewalks for instance)? Answer: 3-5’ accuracy
ii. Can geo-fencing be used to change the max e-assist speed? Answer:
Yes. They can define it independently by location, path, municipality,
etc.
iii. Can the hubs be placed more widely so people can more easily get to
these hubs from neighborhoods? Answer: They are evaluating where
the hubs will go for the new system, but this is a factor they are using
to help define those new locations.
1. Even though a resident’s initial trip may be via car to get to City
Center (for instance), subsequent trips around City Center will
be viable for using the bike/scooter share.
iv. If the new system is incentivizing people to return bikes to geo-hubs,
won’t that make it difficult for the system to learn how to adjust hub
locations for better customer service? Answer: They are discussing
this, because they want to consistently use data to improve hub
locations.
1. Suggestion to create an app feature to allow people to suggest
hub locations.
2. Suggestion to use current data from the last year - the initial
system allowed people to leave bikes anywhere within the
system.
v. Can people get an introduction before they just jump on and ride?
Answer: When riders sign up there are informational/educational
slides. There will also be public demo days.
vi. How are helmets factored into the bike/scooter share? Answer: This is
an issue with every bike/scooter share system. They are working with
Bern and are thinking through how to partner with local bike shops to
have helmets available. This is a tough question, beyond just a bike
share program.
vii. How do the scooters handle pot holes and rough terrain? Answer: They
are much better than expected. It’s dependent on the user, but these
are very stable scooters (wider platforms and larger wheels than
typical scooters).
f. Concerns:
i. In other cities some members have observed the scooter users as
riding very erratically and potentially causing dangerous situations.
1. Gotcha is trying to counter this behavior through education
and standards being clear and readily available.
ii. What implications do the e-bike/e-scooter use have for municipality
regulations? At a future bike/ped meeting we should discuss this topic.
6. Presentation: Ebikes and Escooters, Toole Design Market Study and Legal Summary -
Bryan Davis, CCPRC
a. CCRPC/Gotcha have some consultants from Toole Design coming in to help
with the roll-out.
b. They’re looking at the 2018 Greenride ridership data to help more effectively
design the system.
c. They’re looking at regulations around e-bikes/e-scooters
d. They’re looking at whether there’s any permitting required for the hubs.
e. Meetings with stakeholders - bike shops, human service providers, other
transportation partners in the area, business owners, etc.
f. They are planning demo days
g. CCRPC is building an online map to show where current stations are and where
preferred locations are, or where safety/pinch-point issues exist.
h. CCRPC is creating an online survey to help get feedback from the public
7. Presentation: Role of the City - Paul Conner
a. E-bikes exist in current state law, but there is research that is ongoing to
determine if e-scooters do.
i. Burlington is researching the regulations around e-scooters now.
ii. It would be good if there was some consistency across towns.
iii. E-Bike program is on version “2.0”
iv. Paul - there aren’t many opportunities to pilot programs like this, good
opportunity and only 1 year commitment.
b. There’s an open question about whether South Burlington should participate in
the e-scooter program in the 1st year.
i. Decision needs to be made by March 18th (City Council decision) as to
whether South Burlington will participate.
ii. City Council is interested in getting recommendations from South
Burlington Bike/Ped Committee to help with that decision. Advise city
council not necessarily if we agree 100% with the pilot program, but
more so if we don’t agree to participate, to voice that to them.
They/we understand there are still talking points to figure out before
the launch.
iii. Lots of questions about whether we allow the scooters on sidewalks.
iv. B/P council asked to see regulations before meeting next week
v. Paul suggested first question “is there a universe where these
programs can work?” If yes, that is all the council needs at the next
meeting - Municipalities can spend next few months working together
to develop rules
vi. Is there an age restriction? - 18+. Gotcha insurance will cover this, or
under age riders??? Non Gotcha Scooter riders under 18 will need to
be addressed by SBBPC
vii. Drinking and “riding” - Can pull/remove scooters from areas before
prime bar times.
viii. There is model language available, but will not have recommended
language until after municipalities have spoken.
ix. Sales of e-bikes may increase at local bike shops, while rentals may go
down.
c. It’s highly likely that the Burlington college campuses will be a prime user
location for the e-scooters.
8. Discussion: General Discussion of topics 5, 6 & 7
9. Review: Homework for next meeting - Ashley
10. Confirmation: Next meeting Wednesday, March 13
11. Adjourn - 7:10pm