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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-18 Bicycle & Pedestrian_MIN Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission th October 18, 2007 Regular Minutes Roll Call: Vice Chair Julia Sommer, Secretary Selene Aitken, Jim Olney, Mick Church, and Steve Ryan Chair David Young (absent), Matthew Seiler (absent), Tom Burnham (absent) Council Liaison: David Chapman Staff: Derek Severson, Associate Planner Steve McLennan, Police Officer RVTD liaisons: Steve Maluk, TDM Planner High school liaison: Vacant SOU liaison: Vacant Call to Order Vice Chair Sommer called the meeting to order at 5:17 p.m. Approval of Minutes – September 2007 Members discussed the Primary Goal chart attached to the minutes, noting that Sommer did not wish to be included under “Continue to offer bicycle safety education classes…” while Aitken was willing to be added in her place. Church noted that the question mark next to his name could be removed in the Transportation System Plan update item. Olney indicated that he was willing to work on the subcommittee for North Main Street. The minutes of the September 2007 meeting were approved as amended. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Members were directed to follow up with Severson if they wished to make any changes to the chart. Public Forum Huelz Gutcheon spoke about the need to allow bicycling on sidewalks in the downtown provided that it was done at pedestrian speed. He also suggested that signage needed to be changed to be more congenial, and suggested “Please walk your wheels.” It was suggested that he discuss these items with Police Chief Holderness to identify any issues their implementation might create for the Police Department. John Fisher-Smith noted that Oak Street serves as the primary connection for bicyclists coming from the downtown or the railroad district to the Greenway connection at Nevada Street, and suggested that the bicycle facilities on Oak Street are lacking. He stated that the speed humps in place are ineffective, and that drivers do not drive well when they perceive themselves to be in the same lane with cyclists. He discussed the psychological role of bike lanes in easing cyclist and driver discomfort by providing a clear delineation within the travel lane. He noted that the Oregon Bicyclist’s Manual calls for a minimum width of three feet for bike lanes, and suggested that a lane width marker or fog line rather than a formal bike lane could be provided. Sommer suggested that this item be on the next agenda, and that follow up with the Traffic Safety Commission might be in order as well. Subcommittee & Liaison Reports Severson noted briefly that there had been an announcement of the need for youth liaisons mentioned during the last televised council meeting; he stated that with two recent pedestrian involved accidents near SOU some pedestrian enforcement actions would be returning; he presented a map detailing a historic record of accidents in town involving bicyclists, pedestrian and skateboarders; he noted that pedometers, helmets, and lights are now available for purchase at cost in the Parks Office; and concluded that volunteers working on the Wheeldon memorial were in the process of finalizing details of the benches with the Parks Department. Ryan presented an update on the last Traffic Safety Commission meeting. Aitken noted attending the IAMP CAC meeting with ODOT in Young’s place, and discussed draft Technical Memo #4 dealing with Exit #14. She stated that the discussion at the meeting had to do with how the Citizens Advisory 2007-1018 Bike & Ped minutes Page 1 of 4 Committee (CAC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) are working together, resulting in the current changes at Exit #14. It was noted that the current proposal has bikepaths and pedestrian sidewalks on both sides. She added that Exit #19 currently is shown with an 8 ½ foot shoulder. Members questioned the design status, whether the shoulders on Exit #19 were on both sides, and whether the bikepaths and sidewalks on #14 were combined or separate. Members noted they would email questions and comments to John MacDonald, the ODOT staff person on th the project. Aitken noted that the next meeting was scheduled for December 12 at 5:30 p.m. Adult Bicycle Safety Education League of American Bicyclists-certified bicycle safety instructor Bill Heimann noted that most bicycle safety education programs don’t address adults, and he suggested that trained adults can train their children. He emphasized that an adult bicycle safety education program is needed in Ashland, and pointed out that law enforcement officers could be trained, and the local judge could be contacted to more stringently enforce laws relating to bicyclists and impose a diversion program involving bicycle safety education. Heimann stated that there is presently a one-day league road course that is offered regularly; he noted that this course includes both classroom and road components, and suggested that all commissioners should attend. He also indicated that it would be beneficial to contact the University, and suggested that they should require a license, with a bicycle safety education course requirement, before allowing students to ride on campus. Sommer questioned the cost of implementing such a program, and who would put it into place. Heimann responded that instructors could be trained through the League program. He emphasized that he wasn’t looking for a part-time job himself, but stated that he would be willing to help establish a program. Aitken, Chapman, Church, Maluk and MacLennan indicated that they would be willing to discuss this further as a subcommittee. MacLennan noted that the judge was actively enforcing laws relating to cyclists, and added that he thought she would be willing to utilize an educational diversion program if one were available. BTA Request for Support for Bicycle Safety Education Programs Severson provided background on the request. He noted that the request had just been received, and he had not had time to do sufficient research. He expressed concern that fully funding the total amount requested could deplete the available Bike Swap funds, making it impossible to adequately promote the Bike Swap and impacting the ability of the Swap to replenish those funds next year. He recommended delaying consideration of the request for one month to allow him to contact BTA in order to discuss the request, and to contact the Recreation Superintendent in the Parks Department to get a feeling for how much needed to be kept in the Bike Swap fund as a reserve to cover operating expenses. There was discussion of whether the BTA would be willing to subsidize classes if the full request could not be funded. Dubois suggested that in his experience, the BTA has recognized that Ashland has a long history of supporting the program and he thought they would do what they could for Ashland. Severson noted that the amount of the request represented a subsidy already, as other communities trying to establish programs are being asked to fund the full program cost and Ashland is being asked for only about one-half of the total cost. Heimann noted that it seemed like the amount of the request has increased significantly over the years, and he suggested that it seemed like it had reached a stage where it would be more appropriately directed to go through the budget process. He noted that he was on the Budget Committee. Maluk noted that they have used TDM funds to support programs in other communities regionally, and suggested that he would look into whether any funding might be available to help the BTA program in Ashland. Kat Smith, bicycle safety instructor with the BTA, discussed the nature of the programs offered and invited volunteers to assist in the classes. She stated that she would email members to make them aware of the next opportunity to help. Ryan suggested that he would like to see the full cost of the program broken down, along with long range projections. 2007-1018 Bike & Ped minutes Page 2 of 4 There was general consensus to delay consideration of this request until next month to allow staff time to do some follow up research on the request. North Main Eric Dittmer, who noted that he was an SOU professor who commutes by bike on North Main, explained that he had been talking to ODOT about putting a fog line on North Main Street from Schofield into town as far as practical, and stated that he was requesting support for this request. He explained that ODOT had been initially willing to further explore the idea, provided that they had concerns that local cycling advocacy groups would take issue with the painting of a fog line that did not equate to providing a standard-width bike lane. Chapman discussed the issues involved and the history of North Main, and there was general consensus that Ryan would begin a draft letter of support for Dittmer’s request. It was suggested that Dittmer might also approach Siskiyou Velo for similar support, and it was noted that both Bill Heimann and Bicycle & Pedestrian Commissioner Tom Burnham were good contacts at the Velo. Severson noted that the discussion Dittmer had with ODOT and the recent consultant presentation on arterial streets had both raised the issue of further bicycle and pedestrian improvements. One item raised as a public question and discussed by the arterial streets consultants touched on reducing North Main Street to two lanes with a shared center turn lane, and using the additional available width to accommodate bike lanes and sidewalks. He clarified that the consultants had emphasized that at 19,000 average daily trips, North Main was close to the boundary where this was feasible, and added that they had suggested that the Council would need to determine if the additional congestion resulting from a reduction in lanes would be a worthy trade-off for providing needed bicycle and pedestrian facilities. He noted that this would likely only be accomplished through a jurisdictional exchange with ODOT, as had been done with Siskiyou Boulevard, wherein ODOT would redesign and improve the facility and then turn it over to the city to maintain. Sommer noted that something similar had been done in Berkeley on Marin Street, where a successful “bicycle boulevard” was created. Sommer/Olney m/s to recommend that staff look into the options of a jurisdictional exchange on North Main Street to provide bike lanes and sidewalks for improved access and bicycle and pedestrian safety on North Main Street. Discussion: It was noted that the Commission was in favor of the concept of a two-lane arrangement with a shared middle turn lane. Discussion: Aitken noted that she would want some assurance that such changes would not create a problem for emergency vehicles trying to reach the hospital. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Transportation Commission Severson noted that a motion had been passed at the Council meeting on Tuesday night to create a standing Ad Hoc Transportation Commission with the Bicycle & Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Commissions as elements. He suggested that this would move forward the discussion and shift its focus from whether to combine commissions to how to combine commissions. He suggested members begin thinking of issues they feel are important to address in a combined commission, such as how to preserve the advocacy focus of the commission or how to maintain a strong bicycle and pedestrian focus on the new commission. Chapman clarified that his intent in making the motion wasn’t necessarily to combine Commissions, and might instead result in a third commission. He indicated that at this point, staff would be working to bring back recommendations on how to implement the motion. Severson suggested that with staffing issues, he felt it likely that any recommendations would include combining commissions for the potential gain in staffing efficiency. He indicated that he would keep the Commission posted as this item moves forward. Car Free Day & Car Free living – 2007 & Beyond… Tracy Harding presented the Commission with $136.69 that had been generated from T-Shirt sales at the event, and asked that it be added to the Bike Swap fund to support bicycle safety education. She indicated that her involvement in this event rose out of her tenure on the Commission. She suggested that after having the same event in the same place for three years, and with her term on the Commission over, she felt it was time for the Commission to take the reins of the event and let it reinvent itself according to the vision and energy of the current membership. 2007-1018 Bike & Ped minutes Page 3 of 4 Maluk spoke to the value of the event, and noted the importance of maintaining the momentum that had been established. Sommer suggested that Car Free Day be a discussion item on the January agenda so the Commissioners could determine how future observances of Car Free Day would be handled. Holiday Schedules thth Severson asked whether the November 15 and December 20 meeting dates fit everyone’s schedule. Olney noted th that he would be absent from the December 20 meeting, and other members indicated that they would check their schedules and make Severson aware of any conflicts. New Business None. Agenda Items for Next Month On-going goal discussion, Oak Street bikelanes/foglines; BTA Request, North Main fog line letter and follow-up; Transportation Commissions; Glennview Street shared facility request Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Upcoming Meetings: th Regular Meeting – November 15, 2007 at 5:15 p.m. 2007-1018 Bike & Ped minutes Page 4 of 4