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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutesBICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES February 19, 2015 PRESENT: Tom Otto, Vicky Redlin, Caroline Panske, Benjamin Rennert and Jay Stengel ABSENT: James Michelson and Adam Bellcorelli STAFF: David Buck, Principal Planner, Alexa Naudziunas, Assistant Planner, Jim Collins, Transportation Director CALL TO ORDER Being that a quorum was present, Vice-Chairperson Rennert called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. 1. STAFF INTRODUCTION Mr. Buck introduced Alexa Naudziunas as the new Assistant Planner on staff and explained that it is still unclear who will be serving as staff liaison in the future. Also, he introduced Jay Stengel as the new commissioner who was appointed at the last council meeting. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Panske noted a typo in Item 4A paragraph four, discussion is held under item C, not B. Panske moved to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2015 meeting as amended. Otto seconded the motion. Motion carried (5-0). 3. OLD BUSINESS A. Ordinance 14-523: Ordinance Pertaining to Bicycle Lane Restriction – discussion on the use of mobility devices within bike lanes Jim Collins and David Buck checked with the City Attorney’s office and the Police Department. Mr. Buck summarized the police report from Sergeant Matt Kroening stating, electronic personal assistive mobility devices are excluded from the bike lane. Self balancing two non-tandem wheeled devices that are designed to transport only one person that has an electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed to 15 mph or less also know as a Segway is what was referenced in the ordinance and is intended to be a regulation for such recreational vehicles. The way the code is written is those that aren’t using a recreational device are considered pedestrians. Persons in wheelchairs, either manually or mechanically propelled, designed for the use of physically disabled persons, are considered pedestrians. Pedestrians are limited to the sidewalk or if there is no sidewalk limited to the street. The committee discussed the situation that if there is no sidewalk and there is bike lanes can somebody in a personal assistive mobility device use the bike lane? The City Attorney has made the judgment, based on the language of the ordinance that they are prohibited from the bike lanes. The way the Ordinance is drafted states that you are a pedestrian and pedestrians are not allowed in the bike lanes. Pedestrians, when meeting a vehicle, must move to the extreme outer limit when traveling on a highway when there is no sidewalk. The City Attorney advised that staff get the committee’s opinion on whether wheelchair assisted pedestrians should use the bike lane or the street for travel. There are two options for moving forward, amend the ordinance and take it to council or “administrative interpretation”. Mr. Buck will see which method would be best to pursue. He stated a preference to go through council and amend the ordinance. There was some discussion on the need to redefine what a pedestrian is as to allow wheelchair assisted individuals to use the bike lane in the absence of sidewalks. Redlin made a motion to amend the ordinance and Otto seconded it. Motion carried (5-0). B. Bicycle and Pedestrian Related Projects in 2015 Capital Improvement Program There are 62 intersections within the city that have crosswalk signals, 7 of which do not have pedestrian signals at all and 25 intersections with countdown heads. There are approximately 30 more to receive pedestrian signals with countdown heads. With the money left in the CIP, 10 more will be installed. At the end of the year there will be 35 that have countdown heads. Mr. Buck recommends that if there are any intersections that the committee finds problematic to notify him and he can pass the word on to the electrician for next year’s projects. City-wide program for bicycle and pedestrian installation includes lane striping, signals, and signage for existing and future routes for which $50,000 has been allocated and such improvements are already earmarked for West Murdock Avenue. The committee went over other items included in the CIP including asphalt path to be repaved at park, curb and paving improvements to provide for ADA, riverwalk construction east of Oregon Street with phases four and five budgeted, and boat launch and park improvements. Redlin suggests the idea of having “Bike Maintenance Stations” installed at trailhead(s) and it was suggested that we contact the Oshkosh Cycle Club. Otto mentions the lack of trash cans on trails. Redlin suggested that Parks could institute, promote, and adopt a site program to have private volunteers empty trash cans, if installed. C. Sidewalk, Curb Ramp Discussion Type 1 ramp and Type 1A ramps should be eliminated according to Otto. Mr. Buck will look into how to proceed with Public Works about the design on Ramps type 1 and 1A. Can they be improved or excluded? Otto would like to see future discussion regarding width of sidewalk increasing as he felt that five feet were not sufficient and that a minimum of six feet should be considered. 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Road Diet Update and Discussion Jim Collins explained the background of the road diet requests. The Jackson Street road diet was turned down because it is an alternate route to Highway 41 in case of emergency and also a major truck route. There was a resident who initiated the request for a road diet because there are speeding problems and many accidents on Jackson Street. The Police Department opposed the idea because it has proven to be a successful alternate to Highway 41, when needed. The West Murdock road diet is a better candidate because it has less traffic and can accommodate the lane reconfiguration easily. The intersection of Vinland and Elmwood has an accident problem as well as the intersection of Elmwood and Wisconsin. The shared turn lane can help reduce the crash risk and is traffic calming. There was some discussion about connecting the proposed bike lanes to the trail through the cemetery, utilizing the private road or fire house and the need to change in the bicycle and pedestrian map to include Murdock if the road diet is instituted. Redlin had an idea of using the Murdock road diet as a good way to advertise and educate the successes of a road diet. B. Bike Registration Fee Holiday and Potential Registration Fee Increase The group agreed to run the resolution for the bike registration fee increase from $3 to $5 and a “holiday for bike registration between April and May. Mr. Buck mentioned that financial resources had been used to provide bike locks at the bicycle rodeo a few years back and would look into a similar thing for this year. Redlin suggested the idea of advertising where and how the money from bike registration is being used. Bike registration is important because bikes cannot be tracked or returned to owner if they are stolen. Stengel had the idea of a family friendly discount/group package with a cost cap of $15 for bike registration as an incentive to getting more bikes registered. It was suggested that we look at the boat ramp permits as an example. C. Proposed 2015-2016 State Budget (Senate Bill 21) – Impacts on Pedestrians and Bicycles The Governor’s proposed budget includes the elimination of the Complete Streets Law even though there are many ways to get exceptions to it. The Transportation Alternatives Program is a state funded program that supports pro-biking initiatives and the Governor has proposed to pull the $2 million of state funds that goes into this program. Additionally, the budget recommends halting all use of the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund to acquire green space, parks and trails. If these funds are removed the only fund left will be Federal, which is a very small amount of money. The committee determined that a resolution should be submitted to Council to support the restoration of the Complete Streets Law, Transportation Alternatives Program and the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Fund. Redlin made a motion to send the resolution to the Transportation Department, Traffic Advisory Review and Parks in case they would like to send a joint resolution to council. Seconded by Panske. Motion carried (5-0). D. 2015 Fox Valley Bike Challenge Information The Fox Valley Cycling Association is helping to promote the 2015 Fox Valley Bike Challenge. The challenge was a success in 2014 ranking the #1 in challenge participation. The Strava cycling app/website will provide a plethora of free data on movements of cyclists and walkers in the city if they get 500 new members from the Fox Valley. The idea of compiling a list of bike shops/clubs and other interested parties was discussed to help promote the bike challenge. Strava can be an excellent resource because it will collect data on what routes riders use the most. 5. AGENDA ITEMS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS Items for future agenda includes the action items for 2015, Wiouwash Trail crossing at Congress and Summit potential median in street, continue discussion about Murdock Ave. at Bowen and Harrison, Jackson Street sidewalks in the Town of Oshkosh and improvements at the roundabout on Jackson and Murdock. 6. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn made by Redlin and seconded by Rennert. The meeting adjourned unanimously at 5:20 p.m.