Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

City of College Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting Thursday, October 19, 2023 7:00 PM Virtual Meeting Draft Minutes Members Present Absent 1. Mark Shroder—Chair X 2. Donald Hays—Co-Chair X X 3. Parisi Fida X 4. Jeff Lemieux (Zoom) X 5. Dan Behrend X 6. Meaghan Hart X 7. Josue Lemus X 8. Kyla Erman X 9. Samuel Slowinski (Zoom) X Also Present City Staff: Erik Valentine, Staff Liaison; Steven Halpern, City Engineer 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. In-Person Attendees: Erik Valentine, Mark Shroder, Parisi Fida, Dan Behrend, Meaghan Hart, and Donald Hays. Virtual Attendees: Samuel Slowinski, and Jeff Leieux 2. Approval of Agenda Donald Hays moved to approve August and September agenda’s; Meaghan Hart seconded. Motion passed 7-0-0. Donald Hays moved to approve the October agenda with amendments made by Meaghan Hart and Parisi Fida regarding the Purple Line Trail and the 20-degree crossing on University Blvd.; Meaghan Hart seconded. Motion passed 7-0-0 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes from August and September Minutes have not been approved- no motion to approve. 1 4. Discussion with Steve Halpern a. Proposal provided by Councilmember Stuart Adams i. Councilmember Adams submitted a request to discuss driving going the wrong way on Rhode Island Ave., a one-way street that has a “Do Not Enter” sign 1. Suggestion was made to add a median or some type of blocker sign in the middle of the road. ii. Fordham Road needs stop signs b. Trolley Trail safety through Calvert Hills and Old Town i. Meaghan Hart spoke on the issues that cyclists have with pedestrians-pedestrians are unaware that cyclist are able to travel in both directions. ii. Jeff Lemieux asked if there is a timeline for the protected bicycle lanes, or any measures to protect cyclists. Steve Halpern explained it is in the works, flex post and floating bus stops are being added but no confirmation on any other measures. Jeff Lemieux moved to support the proposal presented by Councilmember Adams to be presented to Council; seconded by Meaghan Hart. Motion passed 7-0-0 5. Update on Data Sources-Dan Behrend and Erik Valentine Crash data is public- updated daily on the County’s web page. Only keeps 6-year logs-Open Data Maryland. Dan Behrend will send around the data source map. Meaghan Hart will share this information with the University. Also, explained Regents Dr. is one of the most traveled by pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The University is having conversions on methods to fix the issues and the data will help with getting the City’s recommendations. 2  Problems areas are Regents Dr., Knox Rd., and Rhode Island Ave. (Hollywood Shopping Area) Mark Shroder suggest bicycle lane improvement. Steven Halpern explains that once Purple Line construction project is completed the City will resume looking into bicycle lanes and making sure there is space for cyclists, vehicles that would need to pull over for emergency issues. Donald Hays had concerns regarding placing 1 or 2 stop signs in areas highly trafficked. Jeff Lemieux suggests maybe a traffic circle instead of stop signs or stop lights. Mark Shroder suggests each committee member look at a cluster on the map and provide suggestions to Erik Valentine and Steve Halpern by the next meeting. Jeff Lemieux- Hollywood and Rhode Island Ave. Donald Hays-Edgewood and Rhode Island Mark Shroder- Muskogee Other committee members will email their clusters. 6. Discussion on Campus Village Redevelopment Improvements Campus Village will be redeveloping soon, no plans have been submitted. They do need to submit plans for bicycles and pedestrians. The committee wants to get suggestions on paper, so that when plans come through BPAC can submit requests in a timely fashion. Concerns about “bikeability” and “walkability” from Lakeland to Purple Line and Campus Village. Panit Branch Trail is not functional for pedestrians or cyclist currently, sidewalk would need to be widened. 7. New Business/General Discussion/Future Agenda Topic A. Purple Line Trail and the 20-degree crossing on University Blvd. 3  Meaghan Hart discussed bicycle/pedestrian path that ends on Route 1 that should be extended to the Purple Line Station. The neighborhood isn’t bad to travel on, however, if a path is being created it should be extended to the metro line. There is a 20-degree crossing on university Blvd. that is unsafe for cyclists; bike lanes should cross at 90-degree angles ideally but no less than 60-degree angle. University of Maryland has reached out to the department of transportation with no progress. Purple Line construction has explained that the construction plans were final. Dan Behrend spoke with Eric Olsen regarding the issues with the 20-degree angle. Mark Shroder advised Dan Behrend to have Eric Olsen direct the transit department to have a meeting with BPAC. Erik Valetine suggested that a letter be written to City Council to submit to the Purple Line transit department. B. City Bike Ways Plan-Steve Halpern explained his work on Maryland Bike Ways Plan-Sharrows installation, in 2016 plan to put a bike lane on Edgewood Rd. that never continued. Sharrows are only good for directional paths for cyclists but in situations where vehicles from taking the right of way from cyclists more substantial structural changes are needed. Steve Halpern explains that sharrows are mainly used so drivers will know cyclists are on the road also, concerns regarding safety continues to be addressed. Future Agenda:  Discussion intersection/cluster suggestions for improvement  Campus Drive Redevelopment  Dan will write a letter for approval at next meeting  Identify gaps in Purple Line 8. Adjourn Donald Hays made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Dan Berhend seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:43 PM Next meeting is November 16, 2023 Respectfully submitted, Elyse Daniels, Administrative Specialist 4