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Home My WebLink About2004-09-16 Bicycle & Pedestrian_MIN Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission th September 16, 2004 Regular Minutes Roll Call Members present: Chair Lexi Delgado Tracy Bungay Tom Marvin Vice Chair Brad Knickerbocker (absent) Dylan Robbins David Chapman Council Liaison: John Morrison (absent) Staff: Derek Severson, Assistant Planner Tom Cook, APD Officer RVTD liaison: Paige West, RVTD/TDM Planner High school liaison: Cory Lescher SOU liaison: None assigned Call to Order Delgado called the meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. Approval of Minutes August 19, 2004 Chapman/Marvin m/s to approve the minutes of August 19, 2004 as presented. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Public Forum Art Bullock/791 Glendower St Nevada Street LID neighbor expressed his concerns with the intersection of Helman and Nevada relative to the bike path entrance, crosswalk and bump-out design in the Nevada Street LID. He presented a map, photos and document outlining his concerns and stated that 97% of 120 daily users he had surveyed were unhappy with the design and preferred a ladder-painted crosswalk without offsets and no bump-outs. Severson advised that he believed the council had made a decision on the design and added that there was no opportunity for a recommendation from this commission now that the public hearing had been closed. Delgado requested that staff follow-up and that this be scheduled as an agenda item for next month. Phil Gagnon/399 Morton Street Cyclist explained that his bicycle would not trigger the traffic loops on the signal at Ashland Street and Siskiyou Boulevard turning on to Indiana Street. Severson stated that he would follow up with Engineering to see if adjustments could be made or other solutions suggested. Brad Jones/837 N Main St Stated that he would be helping with the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Bike th Safety programs. He added that International Walk to School Day was October 6and noted BTA activities for that date including walking school buses. He stated that volunteers were requested and encouraged, and that they would be requesting that the mayor and the press be on hand at one of the schools. Bungay and Robbins agreed to volunteer; Chapman stated that he believed he could help but would check and get back to volunteer coordinator Doug Staples. Jones noted that previous plans had been for weekly events leading up to and/or following this event, th but after looking at logistics and talking to school principals the plan now was to focus on one event on October 6. Car Free Day Delgado noted that the school pledge cards went out today, and that Juli DiChiro, school superintendent, was a strong supporter of the event. She added that both Jefferson Public Radio and the Tidings are aware of the event, and stated that she would like to present a draft letter challenging the Council to participate. Marvin/Robbins m/s to approve the letter for presentation to the Mayor and Council. Discussion: Severson stated that he believed the letter could still make it into the packets for next week's meeting. Bungay stated that she would be on hand at the meeting to read the letter and invite/challenge the Mayor and Council to participate. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Paige West from TDM Planner for RVTD explained that the District was focusing on media and promotion rather than activities this year for Car Free Day. She noted that in addition to the pledge cards, newspaper and radio 2004-0916_Bike Min Page 1 of 3 publicity already mentioned, there was also a television commercial, an RVTD open house at the Front Street Transfer Station in Medford, tours of the new natural gas buses, and human-powered fueling stations being run by City of Medford staff. Lescher agreed to arrange to have the event announced through leadership classes at the high school, and suggested that the pledge cards might wind up creating a trash problem if given out at the high school. Bungay noted that there would be a bike clinic on the plaza starting at 10:00 and that she would be present along with volunteers from the newly revitalized Ashland Community Bike Program. Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Request for Funding Chapman/Robbins m/s to approve the $750 funding request from BTA, with the condition that payment be contingent on BTA providing a proposal detailing specific performance elements with a timeline, providing regular detailed updates on program status, and completely carrying out the program within the proposed timeline. Discussion: Delgado noted that feedback she had received from the Middle School was that the program had not worked well there. West noted that in skills tests given by instructor Doug Staples, who works for both RVTD and BTA, students who went through the classes showed a 20% improvement in their bike safety skills. Marvin emphasized that he would like to see a more detailed commitment. Delgado stated that she would like to see the curriculum to continue to evolve through feedback from the schools. Marvin stated that he would prefer a timeline and some demonstration that the schools are supportive of the curriculum. Delgado stated that she would like to ensure that the commission be kept informed about the classes and made aware of opportunities to volunteer. Severson added that the commission tried for some time to get a program in place in the schools, and that this was ultimately accomplished through a partnership with BTA beginning in 1999. He asked that commissioners keep this historical partnership and the fact that it led to accomplishing a long-held goal in mind in making their decision. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Finalize Goals Delgado summarized the goal setting discussion from July and referred commissioners to the materials in their packets. She suggested that the thing to do from here was to go around the table and identify goal items and subcommittees where individual members would be willing to make commitments. During discussion, it was clarified that the current active subcommittees, in addition to the Car Free Day group, were Education/Youth Outreach with Delgado and Robbins; Safety/Speed/Access with Marvin and Chapman; and Outreach/Broader Education with Delgado and Bungay. Delgado suggested that subcommittees meet and at their initial session arrange for a regularly scheduled monthly meeting to make public noticing of the meetings easier. She also asked for a regular report/minutes from each subcommittee to be included with packets each month. Marvin expressed his concern with the need for a more linear and organized arrangement. Robbins concurred, and stated that he felt members needed to leave the meeting with specific items to be accomplished for the next month. Robbins discussed outreach to local bike shops as a key way to make contact with other segments of the cycling community, and at Delgado's request he agreed to contact shops to gauge interest and report back Members also discussed creating a calendar that would include meeting dates, events like Car Free Day and Walk/Bike To School, as well as holidays, for distribution through bikeshops, ECOS at SOU, and the Ashland Community Bike Program. JPR Underwriting This item was continued to next month. Draft Downtown Plan Update This item was continued to next month. 2004-0916_Bike Min Page 2 of 3 Bike Rack Standards Members stated that they hoped a new design could be selected and installed at business owner request, by the city and at city expense. Also requested that staff contact the Public Arts Commission to see if they would be interested in working together to arrive at a new design. Subcommittee Reports None. New Business Bungay expressed concern with the amount of Cycle Oregon signage and the failure of event organizers and participants to clean up after themselves. She suggested calls to the Visitors and Convention Bureau that sponsored the event to make them aware of these concerns. Delgado asked that the Mayor be made aware of the Commission's interest in having a liaison appointed from the University. Delgado discussed her interest in the "Who Rides?" project, that would be a series of articles in the Sentient Times highlighting individuals who exemplify the ideals of the commission in integrating walking and cycling into their lifestyle. Agenda Items for Next Month Nevada Street LID discussion, Bike Shop Outreach and Community Relations, JPR underwriting, creating a calendar, Bike Racks and the Downtown Plan, SprocKids program, Who Rides, Transit discussion Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:04 p.m. st Next Meeting: Thursday, October 21, 2004 2004-0916_Bike Min Page 3 of 3