Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) Thursday, April 18, 2024 7:00 P.M. Meeting Held 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 Joseph Tannir X Also attending: Erik Valentine, Staff Liaison; Rakhmel Rafi, Grants Coordinator; Jacob Vassalotti, GIS Technician; Eric Hanss, Project Consultant; Brendan Wray, Soumya Dey, Adam Hare, Brian J. Roan, members of the community 1. Call to Order Mr. Shroder called the meeting to order at 7:04 pm 2. Approval of Agenda A motion was made by Mr. Hays to approve the agenda and seconded by Mr. Ridge. All in favor, none opposed. The motion carried 7-0-0. 3. Approval of Minutes from March 21, 2024 A motion was made by Mr. Ridge to approve the minutes with amendment to correct the spelling of the name of Committee Member Hays and seconded by Mr. Hays. All in favor, none opposed. The motion carried 7-0-0. 4. Discussion of Demonstration Projects for SS4A Grant Application – Rakhmel Rafi, Grants Coordinator; Jacob Vassalotti, GIS Technician; Eric Hanss, Project Consultant The strategic planning grant offers funding for planning activities followed by implementation funding which must address specific safety concerns. The strategy is to meet community needs with the delivery of a Vision Zero Program. The purpose of a demonstration project is to inform an Action Plan as it is being developed, allowing space for updated information. The types of activities to be implemented in19 locations include the following categories: 1. Speed Reduction: employs horizontal lines on the road to serve as visual cues that sensitize drivers to travel speeds. These road markings converge into a curve to slow down traffic and encourage more yielding to stop signs. 2. Roundabouts: slow down cars and improve traffic flow. Improves environmental impact and provides designated sidewalks for pedestrians for shorter crossing distances. Temporary roundabouts are being tested. 3. Lane Narrowing and Wider turns – increase cyclist and pedestrian safety according to a Johns Hopkins report that showed that when lanes are narrowed in 30-35 mph areas and turns are widened, the space for bicycles improves and allows for safer crossings for pedestrians. 4. Daylighting Method – removes obstacles to allow drivers and pedestrians to see each other from further distances. West Knox Road at mid road is an example of an area that reduced blind spots. 5. Wrong Way Prevention: uses “Street Closed” signage to force merging traffic onto larger roadways from the best vantage points for seeing intersections and eliminating two-way lanes, creating new areas for bike lanes and parking spaces. 6. Refuge Islands: promote pedestrian safety at intersections in busy roadways such as Edgewood Road between Route 1 and Hollywood. Discussion Include signs for cyclist safety that say “Beware of Cyclists” as well as mini- traffic circles and flex posts to get cars to comply with cyclist safety.  Anticipate community concerns that mini-roundabouts, flex posts, and bus stops on Rhode Island Avenue may impede exiting out of neighborhoods if these changes are put in place. Advocate the use of temporary roundabouts to be tried at problem spots as an experiment, focusing on areas south of the Beltway. A design process will be undertaken prior to placing these temporary measures in the community. The grant will fund and require evaluation of these temporary measures. Demonstration projects are pilot projects. If they do not work, they can be tweaked. This application allows for testing. Measuring changes in crash data is an aspect of evaluation and will help advocates of College Park to work more effectively when they know where the changes are working. There is overlap between the demonstration projects and the items being proposed in Bicycle and Pedestrian Annual Plan. Include signage on all the mini demonstration projects that say that this is a demonstration project and to call a number for public comment. If the response is not significantly negative, then this might be a good indicator that the public may be receptive to the proposed changes. Include a QR code to access a survey for those who do not want to call and an email for those who prefer to write in their responses. By the end of the month, the grant writing team requests a letter of support from BPAC to include in the grant application. A motion was made by Mr. Ridge to authorize Mr. Shroder to sign the letter of support on behalf of the committee reflecting the consensus of committee comments received, seconded by Mr. Hays. All in favor, none opposed. The motion carried 7-0-0. 5. Discussion of creating a bike parking guide for College Park – Dan Behrend The recurring issue is that bike improvement plans do not include sufficient bike parking in terms of enough spaces and proper equipment. Bike improvement plans necessitate the involvement of developers who determine the amount and type of bicycle parking. Developers may select bike racks with aesthetically pleasing rocks surrounding them that are not safe for cyclists. Racks with hidden bolts under the frame may wear out with use or be kicked over if improperly installed. U-Racks are the easiest to install. The plan for bike parking at Ledo’s Pizza, for example, was to create twenty-five spaces but only four were made available. Other counties provide bike guides that have been useful to developers. Montgomery County and D.C. have diagrams that show what is and is not acceptable for bicycle rack  parking in meeting county codes. These guides also sketch out where bike parking should be located. If BPAC develops a bike parking guide for College Park, the city could realistically enforce the guidelines. With every development, the City arranges Conditions of Support for the development of an area. A bicycle parking standards book can be incorporated into the Conditions of Support. This has worked for micromobility parking such that developers have complied with the guidelines. 6. New Business/General Discussion/Future Agenda Topic – A BPAC Annual Plan that will be presented to the City is necessary to have a sense of moving forward. A six-part plan should include Status and Challenges of Connectivity; Potential Connectivity Improvements to investigate in the current year; Connectivity Improvements endorsed as the opportunity arises for money and political support; Safety Status and Challenges for Pedestrians and Cyclists in College Park including recent actions; Potential Safety Improvements to be investigated during the current year; and Safety Improvements to be performed as soon as the opportunity arises. Additional components might include proactively identifying systemic fixes to city policy, procedure, and laws. For example, nothing in the city parking code allows parking officers to cite cars for parking in bike lanes on Knox Road. Another potential component may be to encourage the public to cycle and walk more or use the resources being made available through the improvements. Mr. Valentine will draft an outline of a BPAC Annual Plan for the next meeting so that the committee may amend, vote, and move forward with the Annual Plan. Data collection improvement measures to identify safety issues, track trail usage, and justify more infrastructure around bicycle and pedestrian safety will be finished soon, as the University of Maryland graduate students are completing their projects. In addition, the City can put additional data collection mechanisms, such as traffic counters, where BPAC suggests. From the public’s perspective, they see Vision Zero development, safety reports, solicitation of feedback for areas of improvement and recommendations, and a process for community engagement. The Committee will find a balance between actively encouraging public comment on the plans for increasing cyclist and pedestrian safety and not wasting time and money not acting quickly enough on the proposed improvements to public safety. BPAC is the relevant public chosen by the City Council, but including community engagement by integrating different feedback mechanisms for data collection will be an important component as well. Bike to Work Day is a pivotal point for community engagement and the City can get the word out through their communications team. Advertise the opportunity to give feedback and get comments heard. Public involvement can be done without wasting time and money. Without public feedback, it is limiting. Research old plans to build a sense of what is possible to accomplish. Use constructive feedback to form recommendations. Address potential pushback according to the Safe Streets Policy. Take the BPAC Annual Plan in June or July and say this is what we want to investigate. If the City Council does not want something done or investigated, that should be made known as well. Mr. Valentine will have a BPAC Annual Plan outline for the committee at the next meeting. Mr. Vassalotti announced updates from the Engineering division about the Rhode Island Avenue Bike Lanes Project. A survey was sent out and one hundred and sixty-eight responses were collected. The results will be presented to the City Council as a discussion item during the first Council meeting in May. Fifty-three percent of respondents agreed that there was a reduction in speeding. Seventy-two percent of respondents agreed that illegal left turns decreased. Sixty percent of respondents agreed that safety has improved. The average speed decreased one to three miles per hour northbound and one to two miles per hour in southbound lanes. The Berwyn Civic Association will vote on one to three street design concepts that are being proposed. On Tuesday there were consent items that showed the highest pedestrian injury crash areas that included Edmonston Road and Knox Road. The City is working with UMD students to come up with fixes and have some studies underway this summer. Consider reaching out to the City’s Communication Team to spread the news about the improvements. Let people know great facts. The College Park Mayor and members of City Council should see these statistics. There was agreement in every category that roads were safer as reported by a very diverse group of users using the roadway and giving feedback.  Survey Question 6: Fifty-three percent of respondents indicated Strongly Agree or Agree that there has been a reduction in speeding and aggressive driving. Survey Question 7: Seventy-two percent of respondents indicated Strongly Agree or Agree that there has been a reduction in drivers illegally using bike lanes to pass left turning and stopped traffic. Survey Question 8: Fifty-two percent of respondents indicated they have not had any issues with turning or navigating intersections as a result of the project. Survey Question 10: Sixty percent of drivers feel the project has improved the safety of the roadway. Survey Question 12: Eighty percent of bicyclists feel that the project has improved the safety of the roadway. Survey Question 14: Eighty-four percent of bus riders feel that the project has improved the safety of the roadway and bus stops. Survey Question 17: Fifty-eight percent of pedestrians feel that the project has improved the safety of the roadway and crosswalks. 7. Adjourn – next meeting is May 16, 2024 A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Meaghan Hart and seconded by Mr. Hays. All in favor, none opposed. The motion carried 7-0-0. Meeting adjourned by Mr. Shroder at 8:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ms. Georgene Osborne, Contract Secretary