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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-07-15 Bicycle & Pedestrian_MIN Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission July 15, 2004 Regular Minutes Roll Call Members present: Chair Lexi Delgado Tracy Bungay Tom Marvin Vice Chair Brad Knickerbocker Dylan Robbins (late) Jack Christman (late) David Chapman (absent) Jack Catron (absent) Council Liaison: John Morrison (absent) Staff: Maria Harris, Associate Planner Derek Severson, Assistant Planner Tom Cook, APD Officer RVTD liaison: Paige West, RVTD/TDM Planner (absent) High school liaison: Cory Lescher (absent) SOU liaison: None assigned Call to Order Delgado called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. Approval of Minutes June 17, 2004 Christman/Marvin m/s to approve the minutes of June 17, 2004 as presented. Voice vote: All AYES, with Marvin abstaining due to his being absent last month. Motion passed. Public Forum Scott Kurtz, chair of the Trail Master Plan Committee of the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission, discussed the background and mission statement of his committee and suggested that cooperation might be mutually beneficial as some of the goals of the two groups overlapped. He explained that the Trail Master Plan Committee was working on a map and accompanying document for eventual inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. He discussed the main lateral corridors (the Bear Creek Greenway, Central Ashland Bikepath, and the Ditch Trail) and the Roca, Clay, Hamilton, Tolman, Wright's, and Ashland Creek drainages as logical interconnections to interconnect the laterals. He noted that the hope was for a series of loops connecting each neighborhood to the overall system, and eventually tying in to regional features such as Mount Ashland, Emigrant Lake, Grizzly Peak and the Pacific Crest Trail. th Kurtz explained that there would be a meeting September 13 for property owners in the vicinity of proposed trails, and he added that the committee was writing grants and looking to acquire easements. Kurtz concluded that completion of the Trail Master Plan was a top priority of the council this year. He noted that the committee meets the third Thursday of every month at 1:00 p.m. in the Parks Department office, and he encouraged Bicycle and Pedestrian Commissioners to attend and get involved. nd Car Free Day Event (September 22) nd Delgado stated that she would like to support the Car Free Day event activities to be held September 22. Harris pointed out that staffing levels in the Department of Community Development meant that less staff support would be available to the commission over the next 4-6 months. Delgado suggested that a Car Free subcommittee be formed to support the event within the realities of timing and staffing. She added that what she had in mind was doing some public relations and outreach to involve the schools and working with the Tribune/Tidings, RVTD and Peace House, and getting some restaurants to again sponsor the event. Harris noted that staff time to coordinate the event set-up would be difficult; Delgado responded that they would look at using restaurant staff and volunteers to prepare booths, tables, and possibly distribute promotional t-shirts. Marvin concurred and stated that he was all for a low- maintenance event. Delgado stated that she hoped to provide some incentive for expanding participation, and suggested that some funds be allocated to public relations and advertising. Marvin suggested that a participant survey could be placed in the Tidings. Delgado reiterated that she would like to form a subcommittee. Robbins/Bungay m/s to form a Car Free Day event subcommittee. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. 2004-0715_Bike Min Page 1 of 3 Delgado/Knickerbocker m/s to recommend allocation of $500 in commission program funds to support the Car Free Day event. Discussion: Harris explained budgetary authority, noting that the commission had an annual budget of $750 to support its activities and that there was a $3300 program budget that was allocated by the Director of Community Development. She stated that she did not see a problem with supporting the Car Free Day event as suggested here. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Goal Setting Delgado explained that her interest and motivation were to encourage more bicyclists and pedestrians, and that she would like to work on Car Free Day by contacting schools, newspapers, restaurants, Peace House, and RVTD. She added that she would like to get t-shirts printed for distribution as part of the event. She noted that she would like to improve bicycle parking at businesses in Ashland, and that she would like to develop a form letter to be sent to businesses to encourage them to improve their bicycle parking. Bungay stated she would be willing to table at events, and be at the Ashland Food Co-Op and the Farmer's Market, and to gently nudge people to bike, walk and generally be more responsible. Knickerbocker noted that he bikes around town and is aware of the issues cyclists face. He stated that he would like to address speeding. Harris noted that speeds were something staff could work with Public Works, Engineering and Traffic Safety to address in areas under city jurisdiction, but she added that there were added levels of complexity involved in those portions of Main Street and Ashland Street still under state jurisdiction. Members discussed the politics of the proposed lease/swap of greenway property to the developers of the Billings golf course. Delgado questioned whether the commission could draft a letter in support of keeping the land as greenway. Harris explained that the portion of the greenway involved was under county jurisdiction. She noted that this commission serves as an advisory body to the city council and as such the appropriate way to address this would be through a letter to council. She concluded that because the council has no jurisdiction in county matters it would be inappropriate to draft a letter of recommendation to them. Robbins stated that he would like to address the psychological, attitudinal, and infrastructural barriers to the use of alternative transportation. He stated that he was very interested in working on education and outreach, and he added that he would like to look at introducing the SprocKids program (http://www.sprockids.com/program.html) to Ashland. He noted that he would like to have bicycle maintenance, women's cycling classes, afterschool clinics, and to look at planning for less steep roads to encourage more riders. Bungay noted that the Parks Department would be offering some programs in the fall to address these issues. Christman noted that he would like to address bicycle and pedestrian safety in the downtown in the form of bike lanes, speed limit enforcement, and educational efforts. Marvin stated that he hoped to make bicycling easier in Ashland, to identify and remove barriers to cyclists, and to look at ways to improve and increase right-of-ways for cyclists. Delgado stated that from the discussion, it appeared that the formation of three new subcommittees was in order: Education/Youth Outreach; Safety/Speed/Access; and Outreach/Broader Education. She added that these were in addition to the shorter term Car Free Day subcommittee already discussed. Members were reminded that subcommittee meetings need to be noticed in the newspaper, that minutes needed to be taken, and that staff should be made aware in order to address the noticing requirements. Review Street Improvement Projects Harris presented the upcoming year's plan for smaller retrofit projects, and members noted issues they would like staff to verify. Hersey Street - Members requested that staff verify that the proposed design would include a striped bike lane. East Main - Project was for re-paving only, and members had no concerns. 2004-0715_Bike Min Page 2 of 3 Walker - Commissioners noted the need for a crosswalk on East Main at Willow Wind to facilitate access to the Learning Center, and also noted that easements to connect the Central Ashland Bikepath to such a crosswalk through the Science Works and USFWS Forensics Lab properties should be pursued. Staff was asked to look at the feasibility of a left turn lane from East Main into Willow Wind. Tolman Creek - Commissioners expressed concern with buses stopping and idling in the bike lanes, particularly during driver breaks, and their impact to bicycles accessing the bike lane, as well as the adverse effects on vision clearance farther up Tolman when the bus is idling in this manner near the exit to the Albertson's parking lot. Commission requested that staff look into the possibility of stops that would accommodate buses outside of the travel lanes as has been done on Siskiyou near SOU and discuss the issue with RVTD staff. Rolling Stops & Walking Christman noted that in observing the intersection of Beach and Iowa for two minutes, he saw four cars run the stop sign and two more that slowed but turned without stopping. He attributed this at least partly to the fact that lower Iowa has no stops, and expressed his concern for pedestrian safety. He noted that the portion between Wightman and the High School was also a concern due to the on-street parking and inexperienced drivers. He attributed some of this to people wanting to avoid signals and to increased use of neighborhood streets during Siskiyou Boulevard construction. He noted that the police are making enforcement efforts as indicated in their monthly reports, but he suggested that the commission should look at finding a way to address this. Marvin requested that APD increase enforcement efforts. Cook discussed staffing issues, noting that at the present the department has no traffic officers and has reduced patrol from a high of 14 officers down to 8. He noted that new officers have been hired but must complete training prior to being put on patrol. JPR Underwriting Christman stated that he would like the commission to consider underwriting a weekly message on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR). He explained that the message could vary as issues and events came forth, and he added that the cost was $60 per month for one message broadcast once a week, with a one-year contract. Bungay suggested letters to the editor as well. Members discussed use of their affiliation with the commission in their public discourse. Harris noted that on other commissions, the policy has typically been that members not identify themselves with the commission unless they are expressing a consensus opinion of the commission. New Business Delgado noted that she had contacted Youth Liaison Cory Lescher. She stated that the Youth Liaison would likely be in attendance at the September meeting. Delgado added that she and Chapman would be presenting the City Council with the Bicycle Friendly Community th award on July 20. She stated that she would like to put forth a challenge that the city becomes at least a silver medal recipient for 2006. She added that the League of American Bicyclists should be preparing a report on what steps the city could take to improve its standing by September. Agenda Items for Next Month Car Free Day, Speed Limits, SprocKids Program, RVTD Stops, Street Projects Report, JPR Underwriting. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. th Next Meeting: Thursday, August 19, 2004 2004-0715_Bike Min Page 3 of 3