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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory .0 OF F(C 1 ®� — City of Elgin o�n DDB^ Mayor °karel4ksb Ed Schock Council Members Richard Dunne Robert Gilliam David Kaptain John Prigge John Steffen Michael Warren Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee AGENDA City Manager Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Sean R. Stegall 7:00 p.m. The Centre—West Conference Room 100 Symphony Way Elgin, IL 60120 I. Call to Order II. Introduction of Members III. Visioning for the Committee IV. Overview of the Bikeway Master Plan V. Establish Meeting Schedule VI. Adjournment 150 Dexter Court • Elgin, IL 60120-5555 • Phone 847-931-6100• Fax 847-931-5610•TDD 847-931-5616 www.cityofelgin.org K.(OF Et.c�'L . City of Elgin ;r .. Mayor Ed Schock Council Members Richard Dunne Robert Gilliam David Kaptain John Prigge John Steffen Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Michael Warren November 2, 2009 7:00 p.m. City Manager The Centre—West Conference Room Sean R. Stegall Present: Tom Armstrong, Steve Wasilowski, Chris Manheim, Miguel Martinez, Clee McCraken, Jerry Turnquist, Karen Erickson Staff: Paul Bednar, Park Development Coordinator, Ron Rudd, Engineer, Denise Momodu, Planner, Sgt. Tom Linder, Police Department Call to Order: Paul Bednar called the initial meeting of the committee to order at 7:02 p.m. II. Background Information: Paul Bednar explained the reason for this Committee and read through the duties as defined by the Ordinance creating the Committee. Paul listed a number of items that this committee will have to decide by the end of the meeting including a regular meeting day, length of meeting, and a list of tasks the members' desire. Introduction of Members: Each member then gave a brief bio of themselves. Tom Armstrong is now retired from the City planning Department after 27 years, wrote the ordinance to establish this committee, and recently worked as one of Elgin's Bike Ambassadors this past summer. Steve Wasilowski has lived here for 30 years,has an architecture and banking background, had served on committees years ago and was a recreational cyclist. Chris Manheim has lived in Elgin for 10 years,has an economic development background, was the Economic Development Director at the Elgin Chamber in the past and is a recreational rider. Ron Rudd is a City Engineer, grew up in town, and rides his bike to work every day. Miguel Martinez grew up in town, was a police officer here in the past and now is a bike patrol officer in Mt. Prospect. Tom Linder is an Elgin police officer, lives in town, and rides his bike frequently in the summer and is concerned for bike safety in traffic. Clee McCraken is a student at Larkin High School and uses his bike to get everywhere. Denise Momodu is a planner with the City and has lived here 8 years. Jerry Turnquist is a lifelong resident, teacher at Ellis Middle School, writer at the Daily Herald, and now lives on the west side where it is difficult to walk for lack of connecting sidewalks. Karen Erickson has lived in town for 12 years, spends a lot of time walking and running, and has a background in safety. Paul Bednar has lived here for 22 years and has been active on a number of commissions, has a planning background, now works for the Parks and Recreation Department and rides his bike to work on most good days 6 months of the year. III. Visioning for the Committee: Paul Bednar led a discussion of what members think this committee should focus their efforts on. A number of items were identified, and the initials of members interested in taking an active role are added. The list is as follows: Page 1 S = Steve, T = Tom, C = Clee, Ch = Chris, J=Jerry, K= Karen, M=Miguel Identify unsafe crossings and roadways S,J,K Safety issues, in general M, Ch,J Education, especially to schools M, K High School Bike Clubs C Prepare application for"Bike Friendly" Community and use it as an audit on our current status. Contact other towns with designation T, Ch Gather data in field in order for City to create a map showing all existing bike paths, lanes and sidewalks T,J,K, C Work with staff to develop ordinance language to require bike paths, racks etc at businesses T, K Work on legislation, such as an ordinance modeled after HB 43 T, S, Ch Focus more on bike commuting versus recreational riding M Promote"Complete Streets" language in the ordinances T Work to adopt enforcement policies to clear paths and walks S Review police reports of car/bike traffic safety problem areas J Create education effort for on-street bike riding C Find examples of other bike safety and education programs Promote Elgin with signs along Fox River Trail Facilitate bike repair training programs for at-risk kids Market Elgin as a Bike Town Participate/Partner in coordinating"Bike to Work Week" Paul Bednar noted that the four staff members of this Committee are here to assist in gathering any information to meet the goals of the group.Other comments from the members include: - The Committee must define their goals so that progress can be measured. - City residents, as well as all City departments,must know this committee exists. - The committee needs to know which goals are supported by the City Council. - Any meeting discussion items, where a vote is expected to be taken, must be included on the agenda. - The Committee should use the 5 "E"s as their guide to proceed. The 5 "E"s include: Education, Enforcement, Engineering, Encouragement, and Evaluation. V. Overview of the Bikeway Master Plan: The committee gave their opinions of the Bikeway Master Plan. All thought that the manual should be used as a reference for our work. Some thought the committee should be responsible for implementing the recommendations identified in the Plan, especially monitoring the plans for the four priority bikeways in Appendix L. Some members felt that we should start our work by filling out the Bicycle Friendly Community application in Appendix J to assess how we stand. IV. Establish Meeting Schedule: The members decided that monthly meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. It was also decided that an appropriate meeting length to be 90 minutes. The next meeting will be December 1, 2009. VIII. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Paul Bednar, Recording Secretary pprove : December 1, 9 Page 2 0 OF E4 c., f4n: — City of Elgin 2o Mayor °/e rEDtt*. Ed Schock Council Members Richard Dunne Robert Gilliam David Kaptain John Prigge John Steffen Michael Warren Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee AGENDA City Manager Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Sean R. Stegall 7:00 p.m. The Centre—West Conference Room 100 Symphony Way Elgin, IL 60120 I. Call to Order II. Approval of 11-3-09 Meeting Minutes III. Citizen's Forum (items not on the agenda) IV. Bike Friendly Community Application V. Analysis of Bikeway Master Plan off-street paths VI. Safe Routes to School Update VII. Bike to Work Week VIII. HB 43 Status IX. Miscellaneous a. 2010 Meeting schedule; 1/5; 2/2; 3/2; 4/6; 5/4; 6/1; 7/6; 8/3; 9/7; 10/5; 11/2; 12/7 b. Funds for Bike Repair Training Program X. Adjournment r 150 Dexter Court • Elgin, IL 60120-5555 • Phone 847-931-6100• Fax 847-931-5610•TDD 847-931-5616 www.cityofelgin.org ‘' - City of Elgin •'. pa Mayor 4niicti,' Ed Schock Council Members Richard Dunne Robert Gilliam David Kaptain John Prigge John Steffen Bicycle& Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Michael Warren December 1, 2009 7:00 p.m. City Manager Sean R.Stegall The Centre—West Conference Room Present: Torn Armstrong, Steve Wasilowski, Chris Manheim, Miguel Martinez, Clee McCraken,Jerry Turnquist, Karen Erickson Staff: Paul Bednar, Park Development Coordinator, Ron Rudd, Engineer, Absent Staff Denise Momodu, Planner, Sgt. Torn Linder, Police Department I. Call to Order: Paul Bednar called the initial meeting of the committee to order at 7:01 p.m. II. Approval of 11.3.09 Meeting minutes: Motion by Mannheim, second by Armstrong to approve the minutes as presented. No discussion. Approved unanimously III. Citizen's Forum: Mr. Tom Unser, a resident that lives near McLean and Big Timber attended the meeting to support the committee efforts. He had a request to address a section of sidewalk that is missing on the west side of McLean,just north of Big Timber. He asked the committee to look into getting it completed and suggested that the three businesses where the walk is missing be the ones to pay for the improvement: IV. Bike Friendly Community Application: Armstrong explained that there is a new application that is fairly lengthy and requires staff input. He noted how helpful completing this application will be for the Committee to learn just where they stand. Initial thought is that Elgin might be on the fringe of qualifying at a Bronze level Armstrong and Mannheim will meet with various staff members in the near future to fill out the application and bring it back to the next Committee meeting. V. Safe Routes to School Update: Bednar referred members to a funding chart that he distributed. The chart shows the breakdown of the grant money. He explained that the City was a partner with U-46 and that the school district will be responsible for the education aspects and organizing the walking school bus model. The City will be responsible for some of the physical improvements, such as marking crosswalks and setting up the speed feedback devices. IDOT still has to notify the City of the actual funding amount, which may be reduced from the award. Erickson asked if the private schools are part of this program. She also wondered if spending money on the speed feedback devices was worth it. Bednar will check with staff. Rudd noted that some SAFE programs have included the repair of walkways along the routes to schools. This aspect does not appear to be part of this grant. Bednar will verify that to be the case and will also get a copy of the application to share with the Committee. VI. Bike to Work Week: Although no organizational meeting has occurred yet, there should be talks starting in January. Erickson volunteered to help plan events. McCraken also volunteered to Page 1 help, especially in recruiting students to bike to school, maybe as a separate week in April or May. Armstong suggested the website of League of American Bicyclists to see event suggestions. VII. HB 43 Status: Bednar summarized a memo from Linder that said the Elgin Police dept doesn't feel this law is necessary. All members wondered if they police had all the background information and thought that we need to gather more info to present to the dept and the Council. All members think that this law, as well as a local adoption of such a law would be helpful and send a clear message that we are doing all we can to help keep pedestrians safe. Turnquist held up a document that identifies many dangers to pedestrians,with crosswalks being mentioned as a dangerous place for pedestrians. Erickson urged the committee to continue to support this measure. Wasilowski will do additional research of the law and other towns/groups that are in support of it VIII. Miscellaneous: Bednar asked for a volunteer to be the representative of this Committee at the next meeting of the Sustainable Master Plan.Transportation and Mobility working group, 12.8.09. McCraken will attend. Bednar reported that he received a memo from a representative of the Edgewater neighborhood asking that the Bikeway Master Plan and Map be posted on the City website(it already is), and in a follow up phone conversation the rep stated the HOA desire to not allow any bike route links thru their development. Members discussed the issue and it was noted that all streets in this development are private and therefore any such routing would require the HOA approval. It was also noted how logical a link from College Green Drive at Randall Road, thru the Edgewater streets would be in order to access the branch library on Bowes and other paths to the west. Bednar reported that the City Council will consider hiring the CNU as a consultant to prepare a "Context Sensitive Design"manual for Elgin. The focus will be on identifying disconnects in the street system,both for the established areas and new development. Some committee members noted that there are already a number of groups (sustainable committee and consultant and now the Bike and Ped Committee) already looking at similar issues and now the City is considering hiring another consultant to do so. Bednar noted that this project is very similar to one of the committees stated goals, that being to adopt a"Complete Streets" approach, although it would be helpful if this new project also addressed providing connections/identifying gaps of not only streets, but walks and bike paths. The committee asked Bednar to pass along these concerns. Bike Planning workshops are coming up in January and February in nearby towns. It would be beneficial for the members to attend. The members will determine which one(s) to attend by next meeting. They are free to attend. Bednar reported that two CMAQ grants have been approved by IDOT recently, one for an on street and one for an off street system. Phase I engineering can now begin. Bednar said that the consultant has agreed to include this committee in the planning process. The routes will be described in detail later in the minutes. The consultant also said that another recent application for a path from the Big Timber Metra station to the new Sherman Hospital was denied. CMAQ will not be taking any new applications in 2010. Bednar said that by the next meeting he will have some information from the Planning Department regarding the requirement of bike racks for retail, office and some residential developments. Rudd had sent out sample ordinances of towns that do require bike racks Bednar reported that the parks staff is putting together a program for bike repair training at the ERC. The intent is to fix donated bikes with volunteers that have been trained in bike repair by a professional. Page 2 ellak IX. Analysis of Bikeway Master Plan off-street paths: The committee reviewed the 10 aerial photos provided. The first three looked at the sidewalk system on Summit Street, east of Liberty. Gaps were identified east of Shady Oaks. Bednar noted that engineers from Hoffman Estates met with him to discuss how they could provide a walk or maybe a bike path along the north side of Golf(Summit) from Rohrrsen Road, west to the Elgin line. They will try to get as much of this as possible. Aerial #4 shows the route of a proposed on street route on Congdon, from Blackhawk, west across Dundee and ultimately to Douglas Ave, where bike lanes are expected to run south to Kimball. This is one of the two approved grant projects Aerial 5 and 6 show two gaps in an off street path system along Shoe Factory Road in Hoffman Estates. Bednar said that HE plans to fill in one gap near Beverly Road in the next couple of years. The other gap is on the Cook Co FPD land. Tim Schneider, Cook Co Board representative for this area told Bednar that he will work on getting this section paved. Once these two gaps are completed, there will be a continuous bike route, much of it off-street, running from the Fox River Bike Trail to Busse Woods in Elk Grove, according to Bednar. Aerial #7 shows the lack of sidewalks along Willard Ave and Laurel Street near Ellis School. Aerial #8 shows a potential greenbelt on the SE part of town. A multi-purpose trail could be a part of this greenbelt and ultimately connect the Fox River Trail to the Bluff Spring Fen and north to Villa Avenue. Aerial # 9 and 11 show the proposed route of the other approved CMAQ grant project. This will provide an off-street path connecting Grolich Park, under Rte 20,to the west side of the river in Elgin Shores FPD,west to Rte 31, crossing into the old EMIHC property, then tying into a new bike path in the Sports Complex, where it continues west to McLean, crosses at Spartan Drive, follows the road to Randall to the traffic signal. X. More Miscellaneous Wasilowski suggested we also look at Dundee Avenue sidewalks as a priority. He said that one of the main objectives of this committee is to implement the bike path plan He wants to make sure that we connect the nodes identified in the plan as well as a few others that need to be added. This committee should go beyond the recreation of cycling, and look at it as a mode of transportation, he said. Tumquist asked that we make sure we address making connections in the new west section of town. Rudd and Armstrong talked about using some streets for bike transportation that might parallel arterial streets, instead of trying to ride on the busy streets. After some discussion, the committee asked that a map be prepared by staff that shows the current inventory of bike paths, lanes and walks.Armstrong said that he would work with staff to do so. McCraken reported that he would like to organize a bike club at the high school,but U-46 will not allow it as a school sponsored club because of liability. XI. 2010 Meeting Schedule: the first Tuesday of each month in 2010 was listed as a meeting date. XII. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 8:40 made by Mannheim, seconded by Turnquist. Approved unanimously Respectfully submitte , Paul Bednar, Recording Secretary Approved: January 5, 2010 Page 3