HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee - 03/09/2022 South Burlington Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 @ 5:30 p.m.
Virtual Meeting Only
Note: The public meeting has an in-person option (City Hall, 180 Market Street, Room 301),
but the Committee’s regular meeting is virtual ONLY.
Interactive Online Meeting (audio & video): https://meet.goto.com/465880661
By telephone (audio only): 1-872-240-3311; Access Code: 465-880-661
In all cases, you will have the opportunity to both listen AND speak.
AGENDA
1. Welcome and Virtual Meeting Instructions – Havaleh (5:30)
2. Enter Public Meeting: Bike/Ped Connections, Queen City Park Rd & Austin Dr – CCRPC (5:35)
3. Changes or additions to the agenda – Havaleh (6:35 pm)
4. Comments from the public not related to the agenda - Havaleh (6:40 pm)
5. Consideration of minutes from the February 9, 2022 meeting – Havaleh (6:50 pm)
6. Updates from the City – A. Parker (6:55 pm)
7. Bicycle Friendly Community Report Card Review – Havaleh (7:15 pm)
8. Updates Ongoing Committee Work – (7:30 p.m.)
a. Monthly DPW Meeting – Bob, Dana, Amanda, Donna
b. Climate Action - Donna
c. DRB Update – Cathy
d. Communications/Outreach – Cathy, Donna (Havaleh)
e. Safety – Bob, Matty, Dana
f. Mapping – Amanda/Nic
g. Signs – Nic, Donna, Dana
h. Bike Friendly Community Planning – Nic, Matty
9. Confirmation: Next meeting Wednesday, April 13, 2022 @ 5:30pm
10. Adjourn (by 8:00 p.m.)
1
South Burlington Bike & Pedestrian Committee
DRAFT Regular Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 @ 5:30 p.m.
City Hall Room 301
Committee Attendees: Havaleh Gagne (Chair), Nic Anderson (Clerk), Bob Britt, Amanda Holland, Dana
Farr, Donna Leban, Cathy Frank
Committee Absent: Matty Larkspur
Other Attendees: Ashley Parker (City Liaison), Sai Sarepalli (CCRPC), Paul Connor
Public: None
1. Welcome, Virtual Meeting Instructions, and Emergency Evacuation Procedure
2. Changes or additions to the agenda
a. None
3. Comments from the public not related to the agenda
a. None
4. Consideration of minutes from the January 12, 2022 meeting
a. Updating public person’s name to Michael Powers.
b. Motion by Bob to approve with name update
c. Seconded by Dana
d. Havaleh abstained. Matty not present. All other members voted yay.
e. Minutes approved
5. Updates from the City – Ashley Parker
a. Read updates from the packet
b. Hinesburg Road requests are coming in from all over. Will need to strategize a list.
Havaleh suggested doing at end of agenda and then Ashley will add the items she has
received.
c. Bob asked how much Nowland Farm Road and Szymanski path maintenance would cost.
d. Ashley thought more than 30K likely. Stonehedge is going to require more work. Could
require design work because of stormwater challenges. Path needs a full reconstruction
and may need to wait to be repaired until FY24 at the time that the entire park’s path
system is scheduled to be repaved.
e. Bob said that if only Nowland Farm path can be fixed that perhaps the crack filler work
needed on path between Butler Farms and Golf Course could get done this year with
the excess from the paving budget.
f. Crosswalk painting – Nic wants to make sure Hinesburg Rd is done. And Williston
Rd/Hinesburg Rd didn’t get done last summer. Missed one of 4 crossings.
g. Bob asked if a committee member could be on the Maintenance Scoping Study project
team. Ashley said not yet but this may change as they look at the equity components
etc. Amanda would like to have more regular updates and would like to know more. Did
they use our documents or do a fresh assessment? Would be good for this to come back
to us so we know if the City wants us to continue our role on maintenance issues. If the
city finds our maintenance lists valuable or not would be good to know. Ashley - The city
folks all have the maintenance workbook. They will use this for the maintenance budget
in the planning. There will be metrics. Equity will play a role in that in all parts of city.
Can’t tell if they will use the spreadsheet but hope they do use it as a tool. Donna asked
who started the project. Ashley – UPWP project. Amanda would more like to know what
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our role could be in the future and where we can assist. DPW are short staffed and with
the Director being gone for a month. Once we have a new person, we will have more
stability.
h. Bob asked if RRFB upgrades are June 30th or the end of 2022. Ashley noted its FY22 so
June.
i. Bob asked about fence near Songbird and north of Grandview and hoped Tom and
Adam were aware of the full scope of the project.
j. Bob asked about the Committee being involved in projects like Hubbard Park, Kimball
Ave and the Kennedy Drive crosswalk as Ashley keeps referring to “project teams”. He
agreed that Amanda and/or he have been present for Queen City Parkway scoping study
advisory committee meetings.
k. Ashley has been asked by Marla to have a public forum to talk about both Kimball Ave
and QCP scoping studies. Ashley noted Bike ped being asked to host it. Will have chance
to have input there. QCP in March meeting and Kimball in April.
l. Sai asked about timeline on Dorset St Rec Path project. Ashley noted CIP has it starting
in FY24 pending ROW. Funded with Penny for Paths and VTRANS Large Scale bike ped
program.
6. Mary Street Pedestrian Facility Alternatives
a. Paul Conner, Director of P&Z reviewed memo in packet.
b. Discussion of Fire Department desire.
c. Noted that once this is done it will serve a lot of additional people, even without cars.
d. Havaleh asked about the alternatives which show biking.
e. Nic thinks that safety needs to be mentioned in the need.
f. Amanda thinks softening the grid wording to connections would be better.
g. Reviewed alternatives in packet
h. Bob wouldn’t want residents to lose parking; suggested resident only parking on street
to compensate for lost driveway space. Paul said that SB does not have a Residents Only
parking program at this time.
i. Nic would rather have a straight sidewalk that maintains a green belt instead of being
right beside the road. Could possibly address residents by creating parking on their
property. Nic would like to have a curb to stop people parking over sidewalk. Could have
no parking on that side of street.
j. Amanda commented on compaction and drainage. Asked about curbing. Chat
comments:
i. 1. Interested in knowing the difference in LT maintenance cost between curbed
and uncurbed? Does curbed add infrastructure considerations for drainage?
ii. 2. Concern that if uncurbed will have parking on greenway. Heavy cars =
compaction of soil = drainage issues. I know in my neighborhood there is a lot
of front yard parking in winter due to winter parking ban.
iii. 3. I apparently have a storm water theme. I see a lot of catch basins on both
sides, even in yards. An indication of drainage issues. I would support the traffic
calming for the dual purpose of storm water. BUT I would hope there is a
analysis done to determine proper placement.
k. Sai commented on stormwater components
l. Amanda likes chicane features and maybe they could incorporate stormwater features
in the traffic calming.
m. Paul noted higher maintenance requirements for stormwater features for DPW and
would not want to create a maintenance challenge.
3
n. Amanda – Sees a lot of catch basins there so looks like water management needed.
o. Paul – Traffic calming could be done as more of a pop up for $1000-2000 to see how it
worked.
p. Donna tends to prefer curb but would like to talk about mountable curbs. When there is
no curb, the greenbelt doesn’t do well. Small change in elevation helps water to stay
out. Would street trees be installed in green belt? May be nice to help the argument of
additional pavement. Would want to make sure no trees are removed.
q. Paul doesn’t think any trees are being removed.
r. Donna asked how this would fall into the street typology. Is it a Mews?
s. Paul more a Neighborhood Narrow. Mews is very different. Would not want that off an
arterial and also a school. Did also consider an edge road lane but didn’t think it met the
projects need for pedestrians to provide a safe environment.
t. Donna thinks you need a change of elevation. Could you get away with not needing
green strips.
u. Paul mentioned snow storage is the main reason for a greenbelt.
v. Nic thinks the more greenbelt the better.
w. Bob asked about funding
x. Paul – Possibly with Impact Fees or various City Center funds. If project gets expensive it
could require us to be more creative. Not P4P.
y. Havaleh – Likes it being on the west side and having the traffic calming already in place
before the street is opened up because they would already be used to the calming
features. Prime place to put in calming features.
z. Donna asked if all houses were residential?
aa. Paul as far as they know the only commercial ones are Berkshire Hathaway and the Bank
at the intersection with Williston Road. A lot of the residential properties are owned by
one property owner. There were previous talks about the relocation of Mary Street. It is
presently in T4 zoning district which means any home could be used for non-residential
purpose.
7. Review Status of the Kennedy Drive/Twin Oaks Crosswalk Project
a. Ashley – Significant cost differences from scoping to concept. Lowest bid was $310K.
Significantly higher than design cost estimate. Gone over all options. Cost of material
and cost of labor. This is best time of year to bid projects. Important to have lighting
given the location. May not have been scoped. Drainage issues and paving much higher.
Compared with Allen Rd project and pretty much everything was more expensive.
Would need to have City Council review and approve asap to be able to get done this
year. She would use some cost savings from previous projects and looking at higher
grand list for P4P it could be covered by P4P but would be significant difference. Have
$75K from VTRANS. Could try to rebid but advice was that it wouldn’t change. We had it
as $169K in CIP after we increased.
b. Donna asked about lighting.
c. Ashley noted FHWA requires lighting for this type of project. Our decision but would
recommend. Paul is talking about potential lighting for the future on Kennedy at
pedestrian scale.
d. Bob asked if there were RRFB’s in three locations [including the refuge] or two.
e. Ashley noted getting RRFB’s in time could be hard. All components are higher, even
flaggers.
f. Bob asked if they could take RRFBs from Deerfield Dr. where they are underutilized.
g. Nic doesn’t think we should skimp on lighting because it is a safety feature.
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h. Havaleh asked what City Council approval is needed.
i. Ashley – Need to have City Council signature on bid projects. Wanted to connect with
committee before that. Wanted ideas on how it could be changed but doesn’t think
there is much potential. We have seen savings from previous projects so it could be OK.
Do think the money is there to cover this cost.
j. Motion by Nic to recommend Ashley continue with this project at the higher cost.
k. Seconded by Donna
l. Unanimously approved.
m. Nic asked if Ashley can forward the finalized plans to Committee. Yes, she said.
8. Discussion: Planning for Future Council Presentation
a. Havaleh asked that with DPW being short staffed and without a Director, could we delay
this presentation.
b. Amanda – Could do the presentation or not.
c. Bob noted we were supposed to present the status of meeting our goals.
d. Ashley is doing that for the committee with the spreadsheet Jessie sends to Council.
e. Amanda would like to propose that we develop a presentation and we can either hold
onto it for once we have DPW staff. Thinking of creating 10-15 minutes to be a snapshot
of the committee work with a broad overview of the work. Could send out the workplan
where we grouped actions into three key themes which were
i. Cultivate and maintain network of bike and ped infrastructure
ii. Strengthening communication
iii. Promote culture of walking and biking
f. Amanda asked about things worth highlighting. Greenway could be one.
g. Nic – How do we show just how many things that are going on in the bike ped world.
There are SO many future things, not just the City but developers too are all making the
City better in isolation but all are cultivating the network.
h. Feel free to connect with Bob, Dana or Amanda if there are any other thoughts. Bob will
not be here in March for meeting. Or May, June or July.
i. Dana – Being an advisory committee that is very active. A word cloud or some graphic
may convey it.
j. Nic thinks a graphic of a wheel with P4P being the hub and all the projects are the
spokes. Like the Wheel of Fortune wheel.
k. Bob noted that Ashley already had a great presentation on those pieces. She will send to
Committee members.
l. Donna thinks we have the wrong audience. City Council knows but it’s the public we
need to show where the P4P money is going. Could get in The Other Paper and inform
the public more.
m. Nic agrees that it should be ALL projects, not just P4P but also Ilona’s TIF projects and
other developers projects we have commented on.
n. Cathy is happy to do a The Other Paper submission on all the projects if that works. By
next week to get ahead of the elections.
o. Bob mentioned we have the P4P dollar figures if needed.
p. Cathy has Ashley’s list. Not sure deadline but will.
q. Havaleh – important to highlight that the P4P money has opened other doors for grant
funding that would not have been possible without it.
r. Dana asked if we Cathy was writing as a citizen or representing the committee.
s. Havaleh thinks that people can email individually without breaking any rules.
5
t. Nic – Be interesting to highlight all grant money we got by grants that were matched.
Almost a million??
u. Bob – Has all that. Can send to Cathy. More than $1 million.
9. Discussion: VT-116 Speed Limits
a. Havaleh asked if we wanted to just use this time to create list of Hinesburg Rd Requests
i. RRFB’s at new crosswalks. Ask for help on understanding what metrics are
needed to show demand or demonstrate use. States preferred approach is to
take step approach to improvements. Idea always was to go back at a later date
to approve RRFB’s. They did not say they would not consider it.
ii. Crosswalk Painting
iii. Revisiting speed limit south of Kennedy using proposal Justin gave. 35mph from
Kennedy to just south of Van Sicklen and then 45mph after that to
Cheesefactory Road.
iv. CIP – Crosswalk at Dubois – Bob McDonald presented at City Council and
followed up with Letter. Would like no passing zone. Also rumble strips. Bob to
send out Bob McDonald correspondence.
v. Painting 10ft lanes from Williston Rd through as far as possible so that shoulders
are wider (may also help reduce speeds). Justin was OK requesting that. Ashley
to convey to Tom and Adam so that they further convey that to VTrans.
vi. Replace sidewalk from Williston Road to Kennedy Drive
vii. Ask for Church crosswalk upgrades to signs called for by State to be
implemented.
viii. Havaleh – Have heard of desire for shared use path for Dubois Dr going north to
Eldredge then Wellesley Grove to Kennedy.
ix. Nic would like to see paint changes in front of Price Chopper. Will send that
through in aerial photo form.
10. Updates Ongoing Committee Work
a. Quarterly DPW Meeting –Bob – On hold until City ready to meet with new director. Sent
email to Jesse with scope of coordination.
b. Climate Action Task Force – Donna. Next meeting is Thursday. CCRPC have broken out
pieces of states climate action report and filling in pertinent facts. Customizing the
report for SB. Detail will start tomorrow.
c. DRB Update –Cathy. Beta Technologies at end of airport. Bike path extended along
Williston Rd and into their property. Nic asked if Art Klugo is going to come back to
committee. Ashley said he has been non-responsive. Members should look at the DRB
packet. O’Brien haven’t been back. Have had exchanges with Marla on removing left
turn lane into Spear Meadows. Nic thinks that having a turn lane would actually make
the street worse. Is happy to not have it. O’Brien’s Old Farm Rd project hasn’t come
back.
d. Communications/Outreach–Cathy – Will do Other Paper post.
e. Safety –Bob – Sent to committee the list of items that the subgroup came up with.
Would love feedback on them. Wants to make sure full committee wants these items on
the list and maybe suggesting next steps for moving them forward.
f. Mapping –Amanda/Nic – Amanda connecting with Pam tomorrow to get update on map
that they have already done. Asking if City doing updates. Will ask if we can see current
draft. Nic has edits. Doesn’t know what the next steps are. Ashley’s report noted that
maintenance is going to be plugged into City’s data. Need to figure out next steps and
what we want for mapping.
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g. Signs –Nic – Has been busy with a new work promotion. Needs to get cracking. Will
connect with rest of group so we can get something in the ground this summer.
h. Bike Friendly Community Planning -Nic. Email from Ashley from Andrew. Need to get to
subgroup and Jonathan to work on next steps.
11. Confirmation: Next meeting Wednesday, March 9, 2022 @ 5:30pm. Virtual still. Public forum for
QCPR so need to keep it. Will be first hour and then rest of meeting after. We are just host, not
running the meeting.
12. Adjourned 8:11pm
Bike/Ped Staff Update – 3/9/2022
• DPW Director Transition: We are still transitioning. Tom and Adam continue to fill Justin’s shoes
as the search for a new DPW Director continues.
Penny for Paths Projects Updates – 3/9/2022
• South Dorset Street Shared Use Path: VTrans has agreed to let the project team enter into
conversations with landowners to begin the ROW process. We are still waiting for VTrans to
officially approve the ROW plans. We cannot begin negotiations with landowners until VTrans
has approved the ROW plans. Staff is currently working to better understand the identified
project impacts so that we have a clear strategy for communicating with landowners.
• Hubbard Recreation & Natural Area Shared Use Path: The Project Team is still waiting for the
archaeology work to take place. This work can’t happen until the spring of 2022, so the project
is on hold until the archaeology work can be completed (including the design for the shared use
path and other proposed park elements).
• Kimball Culvert & Bike/Ped Infrastructure: Construction has been on hold for the winter
months. The rec path work will take place spring 2022.
• RRFB Upgrades & Dorset Street Barriers: DPW staff will continue install/upgrade of all RRFBs for
completion in FY22 (likely to start up again in the spring). DPW is still moving the Dorset Barrier
project for completion in FY22.
• Twin Oaks/Kennedy Drive Crosswalk: Council authorized a construction contract with Don
Weston to build this project. We have a project completion date of July 2022 in our SOW.
• Spear Street Phase 1: The project team has identified a path layout on the west side of Spear
Street. The consultant will begin designing this layout and submitting documents as part of the
NEPA permitting process. Once we have a layout designed out, there will be another
opportunity for public input.
• Hinesburg Road Crosswalks: DPW has relayed that striping will not occur until the spring. They
are now in winter mode.
• Williston Road Crosswalk Project: The project team has reviewed designs for each of the three
proposed crosswalks. There will be some temporary rights for construction needed. We are in
the process of moving the concepts into a 30% design. That will give us a better idea of what
impacts there will be. We are also connecting with Green Mountain Transit to discuss conflicts
with existing bus stops at two of the intersections.
• Queen City Park Scoping Study: This scoping study is having a public forum at the top of your
meeting tonight. You can find out more information about the study here.
• Kimball Ave (Phase 2) Scoping Study: There will be a public forum at the top of your regular
meeting in April. Stay tuned for more information about this.
35%35%
»Continue to expand the bike network and ensure that your
community follows a bicycle facility selection criteria that
increases separation and protection of bicyclists based on levels
of motor vehicle speed and volume. On roads where automobile
speeds regularly exceed 30 mph, it is recommended to provide
protected bicycle infrastructure such as protected bike lanes/
cycle tracks, buffered bike lanes or parallel 10ft wide shared-use
paths (in low density areas). In slower speed areas such as quiet
neighborhood streets, develop a system of bicycle boulevards
that create an attractive, convenient, and comfortable cycling
environment welcoming to cyclists of all ages and skill levels.
»Develop a design manual that meets current NACTO
standards or formally adopt the NACTO Urban Bikeway
Design Guide or the FHWA’s Small Town and Rural Multimodal
Network Guide. This will make it easier for city staff to propose
and implement bicycle facility designs that have been shown
to improve conditions for people who bike in other cities
throughout the United States.
»Continue to increase the amount of high quality bicycle
parking throughout the community. Ensure that APBP-compliant
bicycle parking is available in areas near popular destinations
and urban activity centers. Without secure and convenient bike
parking it is difficult for a person to choose to ride their bicycle
for transportation or utilitarian trips.
»Expand bicycle safety education to be a routine part of
education for students of all ages, and ensure that schools and
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT
53%
NEEDS
IMPROVEMENT
5%
NEEDS
IMPROVEMENT
YES
MEETS AT LEAST MONTHLY
EXCELLENT
SOMEWHAT
1 PER 24K
10 BUILDING BLOCKS OF
A BICYCLE FRIENDLY COMMUNITY South Burl-
ingtonAverage Silver
High Speed Roads with Bike Facilities
Bicycle Education in Schools
Share of Transportation Budget
Spent on Bicycling
Bike Month and Bike to Work Events
Active Bicycle Advocacy Group
Active Bicycle Advisory Committee
Bicycle–Friendly Laws & Ordinances
Bike Plan is Current and is Being
Implemented
Bike Program Staff to Population
48%
GOOD
11%
GOOD
YES
MEETS EVERY TWO MONTHS
GOOD
YES
1 PER 78K
LEARN MORE » WWW.BIKELEAGUE.ORG/COMMUNITIES SUPPORTED BY
KEY OUTCOMES
RIDERSHIP
Percentage of Commuters who bike
SAFETY MEASURESCRASHES
Crashes per 10k bicycle commuters
SAFETY MEASURESFATALITIES
Fatalities per 10k bicycle commuters
KEY STEPS TO SILVER
POPULATION DENSITY
118319,509
TOTAL POPULATION
TOTAL AREA (sq. miles)
16.49
# OF LOCAL BICYCLE
FRIENDLY BUSINESSES 0
# OF LOCAL BICYCLE
FRIENDLY UNIVERSITIES 0
South Burl-
ington
1.63%
289.02
0
Average Silver
2.7%
537
6.3
Spring 202₁
AND LEAGUE MEMBERS
Total on- and off-road
Bicycle Network Mileage
to Total Road Network Mileage
KEY STEPS CONTINUED ON PAGE 2...
CATEGORY SCORES
ENGINEERING
Bicycle network and connectivity
EDUCATION
Motorist awareness and bicycling skills
ENCOURAGEMENT
Mainstreaming bicycling culture
EVALUATION & PLANNING
Setting targets and having a plan
4.15/10
2.20/10
1.30/10
3.48/10
»19418
»19418
»South Burlington, VT
»19418
»South Burlington
the surrounding neighborhoods are particularly safe and
convenient for biking and walking. Work with the school
district, local bicycle groups, and interested parents to create
Safe Routes to School programming for all K-12 schools.
»Expand bicycle education opportunities for adults by
offering more educational opportunities per year. Host
a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) seminar to increase the
number of local LCIs in your community, allowing you to
expand cycling education for youth and adults, deliver
Bicycle Friendly Driver education to motorists, and have more
experts available to assist in encouragement programs. Visit
bikeleague.org/ridesmart for more information.
»Improve Bike Month activities by creating a Bike to
Work Day event, Bike to School Day event, and/or a Mayor's
Ride. Bike to Work Day events can include competitions for
participation between businesses and "energizer" stations
where people can get coffee on the way to work. Bike to
School Day events can include competitions related to bicycle
use, outreach to parents, and coordination between the
schools and the city to create safer routes to schools. Find
more ideas for National Bike Month at
bikeleague.org/BikeMonthGuide.
»Develop education and encouragement outreach methods
and programs that specifically target families, women,
seniors, low-income, and non-English speaking communities,
in addition to general non-targeted outreach and media
campaigns that discuss current and new bicycle facilities, safe
driver and bicyclist behavior, and events related to walking
and biking.
»Develop and adopt an official dedicated bicycle
master plan for your community. A bicycle master plan is
a critical step to improving conditions for bicycling and
institutionalizing processes for continual improvement, and
should complement South Burlington’s 2016 Comprehensive
Plan by including specific and measurable goals and
performance measures and establishing a dedicated budget
for implementation.
»Create a bicycle count program that utilizes several
methods of data collection to create an understanding of
current bicyclists and the effects of new facilities on bicycling
in South Burlington. Automated bicycle counters provide
long-term data on bicycle use at fixed points in a community
and mobile counters can provide periodic or before/after
data related to a change in your community's road or bicycle
network. Observational counts and surveys can supplement
automated data in order to collect demographic information
and examine social equity goals.
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT
LEARN MORE » WWW.BIKELEAGUE.ORG/COMMUNITIES
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUPPORTED BY AND LEAGUE MEMBERS
MORE RESOURCES FOR IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNITY:
»League of American Bicyclists: https://www.bikeleague.org
»Guide to the BFC Report Card:
https://bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/Guide_to_the_Bicycle_Friendly_Community_Report_Card.pdf
»Resources for Building a Bicycle Friendly Community: https://bikeleague.org/BFC_Resources
»Building Blocks of a Bicycle Friendly Community:
https://bikeleague.org/content/building-blocks-bicycle-friendly-communities
»The Five E's: https://bikeleague.org/5-es
»Smart Cycling Program: https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart
»Advocacy Reports and Resources: https://bikeleague.org/reports
»Bicycle Friendly Business Program: https://bikeleague.org/business
»National Bike Month: https://bikeleague.org/bikemonth
KEY STEPS TO SILVER CONTINUED
Spring 2021