Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Thursday, March 21, 2024 7:00 pm Hybrid Meeting Held at College Park City Hall and Via Teleconferencing through Zoom Committee Members: In- Absent Zoom Person Mark Shroder, Chair X Dan Behrend X Kyla Erman X Parisi Fida X Meaghan Hart X Donald Hays X Jeff Lemieux X Edward Joseph Ridge X Samuel Slowinski X Joseph Tannir X Also attending: Erik Valentine, Staff Liaison, in person; Steve Halpern, City Engineer via Zoom; Huy Nguyen, David Song, and Brendan Wray, members of the public via Zoom 1. Call to Order Mr. Shroder called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm. Mr. Shroder proposed expanding the March 21, 2024 meeting agenda item number six and called for a voice vote of Aye or Nay. All responded Aye in favor of expanding meeting agenda item six. The Ayes have it. 2. Approval of Agenda The agenda was approved by consensus. No motion was called. 3. Approval of Minutes from February 15, 2024 Meeting A motion was made by Mr. Tannir to approve the February 15, 2024 minutes and seconded by Mr. Lemieux. The motion carried 7-0-0. 4. Traffic Calming Measures Along 7200 Block of Rhode Island Avenue Discussion – Steve Halpern, City Engineer March 7, 2023: Request received to produce a plan to address the traffic problem of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrian conflict along the 7200 Block of Rhode Island Avenue. At issue were speeding, reckless driving, lack of sidewalks, and insufficient bike trails. The objective of such a plan 1  was to discourage wrong way driving and allow cyclists to ride bikes the wrong way to reduce conflicts among cars, pedestrians, and cyclists. Data showed more than four hundred vehicles traveled the route each day with two hundred speeding cars. Forty-eight vehicles in forty-eight hours traveled the wrong way. September 5, 2023: Public hearing was held in which the Mayor of College Park and the City Council referred the matter to BPAC and the City Engineer. October 2023: Report to the City Council included guidance on how to guide cyclists on wrong way biking while discouraging motorists from driving the wrong way with narrower streets. The report to the Council showed how contraflow lanes (one way for cars, both ways for cyclists with a set aside lane for bikes to go the opposite way of cars) would work along the route. Mr. Halpern provided the specifics to BPAC that providing a travel lane, an island, and a five foot bike lane east of the island with a sign saying, “Enter to the Right” so as not to conflict with existing signage, would help to ameliorate the current traffic problem. At Harvard Road, there is not enough width so an eleven-foot lane and a low profile island with a “Do Not Enter Except for Bicycles” sign could be constructed, similar to the formation at Hopkins Avenue at Knox Road. Unless there is an objection, Mr. Shroder will attend the next Public Hearing on April 9th at 7:30 p.m. and represent BPAC’s support of this plan. If asked at the hearing why the bikes cannot stick to the bike path, the BPAC position is because of pedestrian congestion on the Trolley Trail. This plan encourages the faster bikes and mopeds to use the street and avoid pedestrian conflict which is a step toward a more complete street. Mr. Behrend made a motion to support the plan, seconded by Mr. Ridge. The motion carried 7-0-0. 5. Discussion of Demonstration Projects for SS4A Grant Application – Rakhmel Rafi, Grants Coordinator & Jacob Vassalotti, GIS Technician (Pending) 6. Discussion on North-South Connectivity and Congestion Relief – Mark Shroder The major congestion is North-South, not East-West. The North-South barrier is the Beltway on the north and Route 193 to the south, the Trolley Trail goes under the Beltway and is not maintained well for pedestrians. The pedestrian sidewalk on the west side comes to a sudden end after the Beltway which is dangerous for pedestrians. The western side of the trail 2  picks up inside of Sunnyside Park and ends abruptly at the driveway to the Agricultural Library. To the west of Route 1 is the Beltway obstacle. If the Trail could continue to the Ikea development, it would serve people who work and want to shop at Ikea, work at the other businesses up there, and the people who live in the Camden Park Apartments. Students at the University would have an alternate route if they could walk or bike under the Beltway on the Trolley Trail via the Paint Brach Trail. It would also serve employees of the BARC if they could allow their property to have a connection to the Camden Park development. Right now, there is no connection between the BARC and Camden development. To the west there is only one way across Route193 for College Park Woods residents. There is a need for an alternative way to cross Route 193 to get to campus. A cheap way to fix that is to find a safe way to cross Metzerott Road. There is a safety plan in development, based on actual accidents, and a data collection method to identify near misses coming in April. The PALS project seems promising involving a GIS specialist and professor. Path improvements to the bridge into Paint Branch Park is a possible way to avoid connecting into Route 1. The City and the University of Maryland are working on a formalized trail that is in the funding phase. In Lakeland, the intersection on Berwyn House Road is coming. Lakeland needs accessibility to Paint Branch Elementary, the Community Center, Mom’s, and the Hollywood Shopping Center without having to drive. Veo ride maps show Trolley Trail and Route 1 are equally utilized. Traffic goes through Paint Branch Trail into Crystal Springs used by students and Greek life. Veo pays the city in a revenue sharing agreement with two other cities. Part of the money pays for the Ride Report data. Right now, Veo has exclusive rights in College Park, but other companies will be allowed to operate within the city. BPAC wants an Annual Plan developed by Mr. Valentine to be given to the city to have as a reference in planning, which will also be helpful in making known to developers what the needs are of College Park bikers and pedestrians in the next four years. This Annual Safety Action Plan provided by Mr. Valentine will include North-South and East-West Connectivity data and the Safety Action Plan. Mr. Valentine can have the draft of the plan in the summer, most likely in June. Mr. Hays made the motion to request this Annual Safety Plan from Mr. Valentine, seconded by Mr. Ridge. The motion carried 7-0-0. 7. Bike to Work Day Logistics – Erik Valentine, Donald Hays Flyers advertising the May 17, 2024 commuter event, held from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m., will be distributed to the public. The City will provide a link to sign up and offer free tee shirts at the event. Bikes, scooters, and 3  pedestrians are welcome, but no cars are allowed. Mr. Valentine would like to have a BPAC table and is working on a BPAC sticker that can be handed out to the public. The plan is to have a big map at the BPAC table and give people highlighters, pins, or sticky notes to identify areas of safety concerns and to encourage the public to trace their individual commutes. The results can be included in the data collection for the SS4A grant and the Annual Safety Plan that is in development. There can also be an online survey option for the public to suggest improvements to safety. Mr. Shroder and Mr. Hays volunteered to man the BPAC table with Mr. Valentine. 8. New Business/General Discussion/Future Agenda Topic Mr. Shroder welcomed any comments or questions for general discussion from the public, but no comments were forthcoming. A new business item was the suggestion to put a water bottle filling station and a dog water fountain into the Plan. 9. Adjourn – next meeting is April 18, 2024 A motion was made by Mr. Lemieux to adjourn seconded by Mr. Ridge. All in favor. The motion carried 7-0-0. Mr. Shroder called the meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ms. Georgene Osborne, Contract Secretary 4