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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesBICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES July 17, 2014 PRESENT: Caroline Panske, Adam Bellcorelli, James Michelson, Vicky Redlin STAFF: Benjamin Krumenauer, Assistant Planner CALL TO ORDER Chairman Michelson called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Redlin moved to accept the minutes of the July 7th, 2014 meeting with the included corrections. Ms. Pankse seconded the motion. Motion carried (4-0). NEW BUSINESS 1. Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation Plan Recommendations Workshop Mr. Krumenauer went through a quick discussion of the importance to take a step back and look at the Circulation Plans recommendations and adjust as necessary. The purpose of the workshop today is to look at any committee member concerns, subtractions or recommendations. Mr. Michelson asked if we would be looking at the suggestions at the following meeting before we make official recommendations. Mr. Krumenauer said we would be planning on showing these items back to the committee before we ask the council for additional considerations and approval. He continued by explaining the included maps and how they relate to the Circulation Plan’s recommendations. He recommended that the committee start by looking at the CIP map and look for any relations. New York Avenue, Main Street, Snell Avenue, Hazel Street, Fernau Avenue, Bay Shore Drive and Lake Street are all going to be reconstructed in the next five years. All of these roads with the exception of the east half of Bay Shore Drive and Lake Street are within the Circulation Plan. We will want to make favorable recommendations prior to design. Traffic Review Board will also want to see any of these recommendations for a traffic impact analysis prior to design. Mr. Krumenauer also gave a quick update on Jackson Street. He said that he had a meeting with Jim Erdmann and though he seemed willing to discuss, did not feel it necessary to give his opinion on the matter and deferred any future discussion to ECWRPC instead. Mr. Erdmann did say that he would be bringing up the discussion with the town board at the next meeting. Mr. Krumenauer also brought up Irving Avenue as an appropriate road to look into. Ms. Panske asked if the train crossings on New York Avenue or Irving Avenue would see issues at the tracks. Mr. Krumenauer responded that the new road is 40 feet wide and will be able to accommodate driving lanes, bike lanes and a parking lane without any road work. Mr. Michelson asked what can be done with Nevada Avenue. He said that Nevada Avenue is a great east-west connection and makes a direct connection from Menominee Park directly west to the Town of Algoma. The route change to Nevada Avenue would provide one cohesive route. Mr. Michelson continued to explain that the SE corner of Nevada Avenue and Jackson Street is owned by the City of Oshkosh. He asked if there was a way to soften that corner so it will be easier for all forms of traffic to cross the intersection. Mr. Bellcorelli asked if there were houses on Nevada Avenue. Mr. Michelson said that yes there were houses on Nevada Avenue that would need to have additional considerations. Mr. Bellcorelli asked if the intent was to connect Congress Avenue to Nevada Avenue providing a safer intersection. Mr. Michelson said that is a personal goal of his that he would like to see expanded upon. He felt that both New York Avenue and Nevada Avenue should be bike routes because of their proximity to schools, churches and parks. Mr. Krumenauer asked how many east-west routes are necessary in that particular area. With New York Avenue, Bent Avenue and Linwood Avenue, is it necessary to possibly add Murdock Avenue as an additional route? He also brought up the importance of transportation based routes. Nevada/Congress Avenue route would provide a cleaner route across town, but would have less signaled intersections that provide a safer means to cross intersections. Mr. Michelson said that with the possible addition of Murdock Avenue to the system, it may not be necessary to include New York Avenue as a route. Mr. Bellcorelli said that the Murdock Avenue, Wisconsin Street, Jackson Street area is an important hub for all traffic modes and should be taken into special consideration prior to any facility improvement or route designation. Mr. Michelson said that the biggest issue with Murdock Avenue is the section between Harrison Street and Bowen Street. The road is too narrow and with the tracks congested enough to make any routes difficult. To create the bike facility, you would have to have bike lanes in two sections with the sharrow option between. Those options would make the route difficult to use for new riders and would not provide that continuous route. Mr. Krumenauer explained that a portion of Algoma Boulevard would also have to be designated with facilities so Murdock Avenue would not be constructed as a dead end route. Mr. Bellcorelli asked if the pedestrian flags at Algoma Boulevard and Bent Street could be adapted to Jackson Street and Bent Avenue or Nevada Avenue and Jackson Street. Mr. Krumenauer said the option was viable, but with traffic volume on Jackson Street, pedestrians would still have a difficult time crossing at any intersection that does not have a signal. He continued by stating that our existing route takes into account the location of traffic signals and he stressed that the safest place to cross any intersection is when you have a signal designating safe times. Ms. Redlin said that the purpose of the Circulation Plan is to develop a coordinated system of routes that convey both recreational users and commuter based users in a smooth and fluid fashion. With the addition or deletion of any route, has those considerations been made prior to adoptions. Nevada Avenue is a good example of a straight route that easily connects different points of the city, but does not have as high of value to connections along the route. She continued by stating is it in the Plan’s best interest to add a route when a different route may have more connections. Mr. Michelson asked if we should label Arboretum Drive and River Mill Road as sections of the WIOUWASH trail or if they should be labeled once signed. Mr. Krumenauer brought up the section of the river in front of Century Investments and talked about how the trail could be continued along the river here. He continued by explaining how the owners are willing to look into the option but would need further discussion prior to consideration. Mr. Krumenauer agreed with that assessment. There is no action needed by the committee as the route is already designated on our Circulation Plan. Mr. Krumenauer brought up the crossing island as an option for the intersection. The road is 52 feet wide and could accommodate the island while still maintaining 4, 12 foot, drive lanes and one 4 foot island for safety. Larger beacons could be placed in the intersection to increase the safety of the crossing. Ms. Panske said that Sawyer Street now having bike lanes will increase the traffic in the area and with this intersection improved will vastly increase safety and usability of our trail system and the WIOUWASH Trail. Mr. Bellcorelli asked if there were any considerations possible for Summit Avenue to be turned into a cul-de-sac with a pedestrian path continuing to Oshkosh Avenue. He explained that the crossing is difficult enough for pedestrians, but with the addition of auto traffic also trying to navigate the intersection makes the route too unsafe to cross regularly. Mr. Krumenauer said that our plan has made reference to closing off intersections as options to increase pedestrian safety. There are no current conversations within the city to do any such change, but the option is possible. Mr. Krumenauer brought up Oshkosh Avenue and the Lakeshore Golf Course area. He suggested that additional bike lane accommodations be made for Oshkosh Avenue and possibly a new trail route in the park area. Currently the park is not improved and would need a larger 12’ trail, possibly lights, and buffer materials to protect the pedestrians that may be on the trail. Mr. Michelson said that we will have to work with the Parks Board and residents to facilitate the new pathway. The committee was in support of this area and would like to see additional routes on Oshkosh Avenue area. Mr. Michelson would also like to look into the Fillmore Avenue, Josslyn Street and Bauman Avenue route as a potential recreational route that would connect the northwest corner of the Fox River to the existing Riverwalk sections. An additional recreational path section that should be considered is the remaining pieces of Bay Shore Drive, Lake Street and Ceape Avenue. He reminded the committee that the plan should address all forms of transportation. Mr. Krumenauer recommended that Ceape Avenue be re-designated as a sharrow option. The road right of way is not supportive as a bike lane and should be changed to a sharrow option. The plan says that if the preferred method is not able to be installed, than the next best option is used and so on down the line. This is an example where the plan should be as complete as possible and the bike lanes should be eliminated because of infeasibility. Mr. Bellcorelli suggested that additional considerations be made for the South Park Avenue-20th Avenue intersection and the 20th Avenue – Koeller Street intersection. He was wondering if additional measures could be taken to improve the intersections for all modes of traffic. He said that it can be very difficult for anybody to cross the intersections on foot because of the volume of traffic. Ms. Redlin stated that the Town of Oshkosh has requested that no parking signs be installed on Marine Drive near Ecklund Motorsports. She said that the County will be placing signs on the road but in the future additional parking could be provided to help with the trail use. STAFF STATEMENTS Mr. Krumenauer said that he will be compiling the recommendations made by the committee and providing additional information for the items. At the next meeting the committee will vote to approve the recommendations. FUTURE ITEMS Approval of pedestrian route changes to the City of Oshkosh, Wisconsin Pedestrian and Bicycle Circulation Plan. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business to come before the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and upon being moved and seconded (Panske, Redlin), the meeting adjourned at 5:21 p.m. Dutifully Recorded Benjamin Krumenauer