HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee - 03/11/2015BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE
MINUTES 03-11-2015
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, March
11, 2015 at 5:30 pm in the small conference room at the city office building.
Members Present: Matthew Boulanger, Chair; Cathy Frank, Clerk; Roy Neuer
Members Absent: Dana Farr, Donna Leban
City Representative: Paul Conner, S Burlington Director of Planning & Zoning
Guests: St. Michaels College students Clare Cavanaugh and Ariana Jennell (as observers as
part of a study assignment, Tom Chittenden
Meeting began at 5:15 pm.
Note: The meeting started outdoors due to the City Offices being locked. Paul Conner arrived at
6:15 to open the door at which time the meeting moved indoors. Thomas Chittenden arrived at
5:30 but had to leave at 6:00.
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 11, 2015 meeting
Moved to approve the minutes as amended: Roy
Second: Cathy
Vote: Unanimous
4. Paul Conner – There being no immediate business before the committee, Paul Conner gave
us an up date on the major issues before the Planning and Zoning Department and how these
would affect the city going forward and the work of the Bike and Pedestrian Committee. Below is
a summary of some of the topics discussed.
Form Based Code – Among other things, South Burlington’s Form Based Code puts more
emphasis on what goes between buildings. While there is built in bike/pedestrian path language,
the city is trying to look at all transportation modes as we have traditionally looked at roads. For
example, not all streets, such as many neighborhood streets need 5 ft bike lanes. At the same
time the city is trying to establish a bike hierarchy. Determining where the major bike venues are
that we need to provide a higher level path even though the street may not be wide. *The Form
Based Code includes a variety of ‘Street Typologies’ where specific usages can be prioritized.
South Burlington wants a walkable, bikeable downtown. Williston Road presents a major
challenge to achieving that goal. There are no easy or short term answers.
South Burlington is undergoing a slow transition from a suburban environment to an urban one.
Some major problems are:
a. Lack of Interconnected streets -the city does not have a lot of interconnected street so some
intersections get really bogged down ( Ex: Swift and Dorset, Swift and Spear, Kennedy Drive
and Dorset, Dorset and Williston Rd.) To improve transportation flow (vehicles, bikes,
pedestrians), the city needs to improve this. How do we make Williston Rd a safer
environment?
b. Need to establish a sense of community where a person can park once and do lots of things.
There are not many places now this can happen. The two sides of Dorset Street are a good
example of this problem. There are stores on both sides of the street, yet those on the
University Mall side are separated from the street by a huge parking lot with few pedestrian
walkways. Also crossing Dorset Street is not user friendly.
CATMA – Chittenden Area Transportation Management Association. (“provides simple
transportation solutions to improve your commute, support a healthy lifestyle and reduce
congestion in your community!”) They help provide transportation from parking to one’s place of
work. Current members include UVM, UVM Medical Center, Champlain College, downtown
Burlington. South Burlington is now working with CATMA to see if something like that can be
provided for the city center. For example can the city rent the under utilized multi-level Sears
Parking garage at University Mall and provide parking for people that work on the other side of
Dorset St, assuming there is a way to solve the problem of a pedestrian being able to get safely
across Dorset St. How do we get someone commuting to work some other way. Problem is we
are suburban today and there is free parking so there is not a big incentive to get people to
commute some other way.
Dorset Street adaptive traffic control system in the works. Traffic control is not a predictable
science and traffic flow on Dorset Street is a problem. (“Conventional signal systems use pre–
programmed, daily signal timing schedules. Adaptive signal control technology adjusts the
timing of red, yellow and green lights to accommodate changing traffic patterns and ease traffic
congestion.” Fed. Highway Adm website)
New challenges and focus for Bike/Ped Committee. In the past the committee’s major focus
was where to put the bike/ped path. The new challenge for us it to help plan out the hierarchy of
the bike/ped metric. How do we build a complete system without putting all our money on 2
sides of one street? Time has come to rethink all of that.
Before we let Paul go, Matt asked him how real is the potential for a pedestrian connection over
I89 – While there is no doubt that such a connection is needed, the prospects of any Federal
funding being available for it are slim at this time..
5. Adjourn
Roy: Motion to Adjourn
Cathy: Second
Vote: Unanimous
Meeting ended at 7:34 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cathy Frank, Clerk