Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-18 Bicycle & Pedestrian_MIN Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission th May 18, 2006 Regular Minutes Roll Call Tracy Harding (absent) Arnold Bleicher Tom Marvin David Young (absent) Chair Dylan Robbins (absent) Vice Chair Julia Sommer Selene Aitken (late) Paul Rostykus Council Liaison: David Chapman Staff: Derek Severson, Assistant Planner Steve McLennan, Police Officer RVTD liaison: Paige West, RVTD/TDM Planner (absent) High school liaison: Vacant SOU liaison: Nathan Meyerson (absent) Call to Order Vice Chair Sommer called the meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. th Approval of Minutes – April 20, 2006 th Marvin/Sommer m/s to approve the minutes of April 20, 2006 as presented. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. New member Arnold Bleicher was introduced to the Commission. Public Forum Egon Dubois, Bicycle Safety Instructor for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) expressed his concern over conflicts between bicycles and cars on A Street near the entrance to the Central Ashland Bikepath. He suggested that caution signs be placed to warn people of potential conflicts. In discussing the matter, Sommer suggested that someone should champion this issue. Bleicher noted that there was also a need for coordinated signage on the Greenway. Severson stated that he could follow up to verify signage possibilities relative to the alley between the A Street buildings and the Central Ashland Bikepath, and added that a lot would depend on whether this was public or private property. Rostykus and Bleicher indicated their willingness to work further to address signage issues. Budget Update Severson noted the expenditures to date and added that there was roughly $880 available in program funds. Chapman noted that he was working with the Traffic Safety Commission to distribute bicycle and skateboard helmets in the schools. He explained that Traffic Safety had expended all of their available funds on this program, that they were nearly out of helmets, and that there were two more schools that needed helmets. He requested that the remaining funds be made available for the purchase of helmets. Rostykus/Chapman m/s to authorize the expenditure of the remaining Program Funds to purchase bicycle helmets for distribution in local schools. Discussion: Members noted that a helmet purchase had recently been authorized using Bike Swap funds through the Parks Department, and it was clarified that the helmets purchased by Parks were for sale at cost through the Parks Department. Chapman explained that the request here was to distribute helmets at no cost to any students who needed them. He added that any remaining helmets could be provided to Parks for their distribution program. He concluded that he would review the few remaining helmets in stock, work with Keith Massie of the Traffic Safety Commission to determine the anticipated additional helmets needed, and that they would purchase through Helmets-R-Us. He stated that they would like authorization to spend up to the remaining funds available. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Chapman noted that helmet distribution would be occurring at Helman School and then later at Bellview. McLennan offered to contact the Tidings to see if they would be willing to provide some publicity. Rostykus stated 2006-0518 Bike & Ped minutes Page 1 of 4 that he would be willing to help with helmet distribution and fittings, depending on the time of the events at individual schools. Eagle Mill Road/Placement of Bicycle Friendly Community Signage Severson noted that Eagle Mill Road was a county road and not within the city’s jurisdiction. Chapman added that the placement of the Bicycle Friendly Community sign on Eagle Mill was based on its being an entry to Ashland that was not a state highway and thus not restricted by state signage guidelines. Members suggested that signage could be better located either on Eagle Mill near the entry to the Bikepath or within the city at Oak and Nevada. Under discussion, Bleicher stated that he would be willing to act as liaison to the Jackson County Bicycle Advisory Commission to work on jurisdictional issues of this nature. Marvin expressed his concerns with the ever-increasing size of street signs used in Ashland and elsewhere. Status of Bicycle Friendly Community Application Severson noted that the city’s Bicycle Friendly Community status had been renewed, as indicated in the e-mail he had forwarded to commissioners. SK8GARD Rack Installation Update Severson explained that he had intended to have this addressed by now, and would work with Public Works, the Street Department and the library to coordinate exact placement and installation as soon as possible. Election of Officers Severson pointed out that because Lacy had not been reappointed, the position of Secretary was now vacant. He added that Commissioners could also look at the positions of Chair and Vice Chair if they wished. Those present agreed that since not everyone was in attendance, this item should be postponed until next month. De-Briefing: Earth Day & Bike Swap Sommer recounted tabling at the Earth Day event. Dubois discussed the success of the Bike Swap, noting that it was extremely well attended and generated roughly $22,000 in proceeds in three hours. It was noted that roughly 15 percent of these funds would be retained to support bicycle safety and related programs. He discussed issues with the number of people selling parts and indicated that this could be better addressed next years, and added that vendor fees should be revisited as well. North Main Multi-Use Path (MARVIN) Marvin discussed the information and maps he had previously provided and presented his first draft of a proposal. He noted that this was a proposal that may take several months to finalize, and which he hoped would result in the City providing financial or tax incentives to purchase additional right-of-way for a multi-use path. He indicated that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) appeared supportive of his proposal. Severson pointed out that ODOT was likely looking for a jurisdictional exchange in which they would provide some initial improvements to the highway segment and then turn it over to the city’s jurisdiction as they had done with Siskiyou Boulevard. Members requested maps of the roadway for consideration in preparing a formal proposal. Severson stated that he could likely provide a number of PDF maps of this segment of roadway, but that the output size he could produce was limited to 11x17. Severson noted that he was meeting with the Oregon Department of Transportation and Public Works and Engineering staff in late June to discuss the North Ashland Bikepath, and that he hoped to report back at the next meeting with further details about what this meeting was to address. He indicated that it was likely an initial informational meeting and that he believed it was specific to the section of bike path being provided in conjunction with the development of the Billings Ranch Subdivision. Update on Who Rides Where & Traffic Enforcement Severson noted that this item was originally requested by David Young, and added that Young had asked that it be held until he returned next month. Rostykus requested that a copy of the BTA legal book on cyclist’s rights be made available for that discussion. 2006-0518 Bike & Ped minutes Page 2 of 4 Severson noted that the letter provided in the packet from an cyclist struck while riding downtown was related, in that it raised concern with city ordinance requirements that cyclists ride within five feet of the curb. Members suggested that working to align the ordinance with current state laws be addressed as part of next month’s discussion. Discussion of Striping of Bikelanes & Paths Severson noted that this item was originally requested by David Young, and added that Young had asked that it be held until he returned next month. Car Free Day Severson noted that he had looked into the issue of having commercial activity at the event at Harding’s request. He stated that in order to have sales occur, it would be necessary to make a formal request of the City Council for approval, similar to what is done for sidewalk sales. He added that this would need to include an assessment of what commercial and non-commercial activities would be occurring, and he suggested that the focus of the event should remain primarily celebratory and non-commercial. Sommer discussed the need to encourage employers to provide incentives for employee participation. Severson suggested that employers could provide employees living out of town with bus passes and flexible work-scheduling around the bus schedule to encourage them to be car free, with the added benefit of improving the downtown parking situation. Sommer suggested that someone needed to approach the larger employers, including the school district, OSF, the university, and the city, to discuss participation and employee incentives. She noted that she would like to see JPR underwriting to publicize the event, and discussed the fact that financial support from RVTD for event promotion is uncertain. Sommer pointed out that the YMCA would be participating, both with an informational booth and providing employee incentives not to drive. Sommer stated that the subcommittee meetings would continue to occur, and she added that she hoped they would become more frequent and better attended as the event approached. She also pointed out that the Varsity had expressed willingness to screen a new release bicycle/pedestrian themed movie in conjunction with the event. Powers & Duties of the Commission AND Discussion of Personal Goals and Individual Time Commitment Expectations Severson noted that both of these items were requested by Harding last month, and suggested that members may want to postpone the discussion until next month when she returned. Those present expressed concern that member attendance was impacting the ability to move forward with the work of the Commission. They suggested that it was important to clarify expectations and provide them to new members prior to their appointment. Severson noted that when this issue was previously discussed, the general consensus had been that members could be expected to attend all regular meetings, as well as subcommittees they had agreed to work on, and to contribute at least an hour of week in work outside of meetings. Members discussed whether a different meeting time would make attendance easier, but there was no consensus on a better time. Members also expressed the preference that the meeting agendas be handled in a “crisper, cleaner” manner. Members discussed their individual areas of interest. Rostykus noted that he would be out of town for Car Free Day this year, and stated that he would prefer to focus his energies on other interests, including Marvin’s proposal for a multi-use path along North Main Street. He added that he would like to increase safety for children walking to school, and work to educate kids and parents, as well as drivers. He stated that he would like to promote everyday transportation alternatives to kids and parents in a pro-alternative rather than an anti-car manner. Sommer stated that her focus was on being car free. Marvin stated that North Main was his primary interest. Bleicher stated that he would like to work on issues relating to the Greenway and coordination between cities and the county. Aitken stated that her interests were in reducing car use through methods such as car-pooling. There was consensus of all present that the meetings should begin promptly at 5:15 p.m. and end promptly at 7:00 p.m. 2006-0518 Bike & Ped minutes Page 3 of 4 Subcommittee & Liaison Reports None. New Business Members discussed concerns over businesses such as Rogue Federal Credit Union and the Grange Co-Op not providing adequate bicycle parking. Severson explained that new planning actions had to provide parking in relationship to their required motor vehicle parking. He added that in the downtown, there are no motor vehicle parking requirements and thus no requirements to provide bike parking. He continued that outside of the downtown, new developments must provide parking, however uses which were approved previous to the current parking requirements may still lack adequate bicycle facilities. He explained that in the past, commissioners who were concerned with bicycle parking for a specific business would contact the manager to make them aware that customers would like to see bicycle parking made available. He clarified that the city could not retroactively go in to a specific use and require additional facilities if the use was not increasing over it’s original approval. Agenda Items for Next Month Members asked that much of the current agenda be carried over including an update on skateboard rack installation, a discussion of Car Free Day, personal goals and expectations, and that discussions of bike racks (specifically at the Grange), and signage be included. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Upcoming Meetings: th 5:15 P.M. Thursday, June 15 – Regular Meeting in the Siskiyou Room 2006-0518 Bike & Ped minutes Page 4 of 4