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Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
November 1, 2016
6:00 p.m.
West Conference Room, The Centre
Present: Tom Armstrong, Michele Campbell, Wayne Heinmiller, Chris Manheim, Parker
Thompson, Jerry Turnquist
Staff: Ron Rudd (Engineering), Dave Zierk (Police)
Absent: Dave Waden (Planning/Parks & Recreation)
Call to Order: Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes: Heinmiller made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 4, 2016
meeting. Turnquist seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Bikeway Projects:
• South Street Extension: The South Street Extension project will be completed ahead of schedule.
A ribbon cutting is scheduled for Saturday, October 29th.
• Chicago Street: Engineering drawings have been submitted to IDOT for review and approval.
• Bikeway Route 1: Working to complete final payout.
• Bikeway Route 4: Rudd reported that IDOT is considering a plan to reconstruct the State Street
(IL Route 31) bridge over U.S. Route 20. The project would include a wide shared path on one
side of the new bridge. Staff will be meeting with IDOT to discuss if this might allow planning
and design work for Route 4 to proceed.
The Parks and Recreation Board and consultants working on the design of the Sports Complex
expansion are incorporating routing of the bikeway into design concepts for the project.
2016 Activities/Projects:
• The September 29th ‘Ride Down South’ ride was a great success. Over 100 cyclists participated in
the ride and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new street and bicycle
MEETING MINUTES
accommodations.
• The committee continued discussion of how to encourage residents and businesses to shovel
sidewalks during the winter months. The committee will continue to research policies and
practices in other communities, and public relations efforts by advocacy groups supporting
walkability.
2017 Initiatives:
• Complete Streets Policy: The committee reviewed a draft Complete Streets policy. Armstrong
recommended that the policy be shared with the Sustainability Commission and the Planning
and Zoning Commission to build support. The policy can then be presented to the City Council.
The draft policy is consistent with goals and objectives found in the Comprehensive Plan, the
Bikeway Master Plan, and the Sustainability Action Plan.
• Downtown Bike Racks: The City obtained a CMAQ grant to purchase and install 80-90 bike racks
in the downtown area. The installation of bike racks is one of the best ways to encourage cyclists
to stop and support local economies. Accordingly, this is an important economic development
initiative for downtown Elgin. The committee will coordinate outreach efforts with the
Downtown Neighborhood Association. The City Council must authorize the 20% match. A
Committee of the Whole memorandum needs to be drafted to bring this up for consideration.
Staff has recommended that this be done early next year following budget approval.
• Organized Rides: One of the recommendations from the League of American Bicyclists was that
BPAC offer more organized rides during the calendar year. The committee will finalize a list of
organized rides for 2017.
• Elgin Bike Map: The committee agreed to pursue creating and publishing a bike map to assist
cyclists in getting about town. The committee will schedule a work session meeting to focus on
this project.
• Bicycle Friendly Community Application (BFC): The committee agreed that if it can accomplish
some of the above listed initiatives that it should reapply for BFC recognition during the second
review cycle in 2017. The committee will schedule a work session meeting to focus on this
project.
Other Business:
• The committee discussed ways to attract new members to fill vacant or expired slots on the
committee.
Next Meeting: The next regular meeting of the BPAC is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6th at 6:00
p.m.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6:43 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Armstrong, Secretary
Approved: