Environmental Sustainability Council

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL (ESC) Joint Meeting with Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation (CACT) Thursday, February 18, 2021, Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams, 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. APPROVED MINUTES 1. Attendees: ESC Members: Andy Young (Chair), Mike Trauberman, Jon Ward, Andy Sakallaris, Sarah Bayldon, Jennifer Tabola, Stacey Evers, Andy Crawford, Joseph Schiarizzi Student Reps: Charlie Adams; Max Caboti-Jones, Meike van der Steen, Maia Vollen City Staff: Kate Walker (ESC Staff Liaison). Public: Amy Crompton (Habitat Restoration Task Group); Katie Teague , Paul Hoffman, Sandra Tarpinian, Annie Moore, Melissa Teates 2. City Council Members: Debbie Hiscott and David Snyder 3. CACT Members: Dave Gustafson (Chair), Douglas Devereaux, Shaun Dakin, William Ackerman, Andrea Caumont, Andrew Olesen, Jason Garman, Athur Agin This meeting was held via electronic communications using ‘Microsoft Teams.’ This meeting was held pursuant to and in compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Section 2.2- 3708.2 and state and local legislation adopted to allow for continued government operation during the COVID-19 declared emergency. ESC, CACT and City Council members and public guests discussed the following three (3) Agenda Item issues:  Cycling in the City of Falls Church  Cycling Public Safety Issues  LED Streetlight Conversion Kerri Oddenino of the City Staff Planning Department gave a presentation on cycling within the City of Falls Church. Kerri discussed the city Master Bike Plan adopted in 2015. This plan developed a citywide bike facilities plan to connect commercial neighborhoods, transit facilities, and bike routes. Kerri was also asked about ridership data, and additional funding for Phase II bike share and future site locations. The city will continue to collect data on ridership numbers, locations, especially for new sites including future multi-use developments. The presentation is available on line at https://www.fallschurchva.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/1063. Capt. Steve Rau of the Falls Church Police Department led a discussion with participants regarding the safety of cycling within the city. He led a discussion on current crash data within the city, (11 reportable Car /bike accidents within the past 5 years) and the current VA Bicycle Safety Act now being discussed in the VA legislature. He stated that obeying all Virginia state safety laws is paramount to safety. A safe distance of at least 3 feet shall be maintained between passing cars and cyclists. An extensive discussion was held on safety issues associated specific intersections within the city and specifically where city streets intersect with the W&OD trail, school zones. A 1 question was asked about lowering the speed limits to 15 mph on some streets within the city limits. Councilmember Snyder noted that this has been discussed in Council in the past and council will surely look again at the authority, process and implementation of lowering the speed limits in certain areas of the City. Councilmember Hiscott discussed community support for this type of program and implementation possibly through a pilot program. Councilmember Snyder spoke about his role as Council Liaison to the CACT and expressed his continuing interest in biking and biking safety and is looking forward to additional recommendations from the CACT and ESC. He also reiterated his interest climate change and the electric vehicle program. Zak Bradley of the Department of Public Works updated a previous discussion on the upgrading to LED streetlight replacements. Dominion is continuing to replace the lights as each older light fails at their expense. If the city requests a light replacement before a failure it becomes a city expense. The city is preparing a pilot program of 30 to 50 lights soon in a section of the city and will be seeking public comments on unintended negative consequences as a result of the pilot. Park lights are being replaced at 3000 kelvins unless requested at 4000 kelvins by police authorities. Kate Walker pointed out that the new LED lighting will reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions and result in an overall cost savings to the city as a return in investment. The ESC portion of the meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm. Next Meeting: Thursday March 18, 2021 Joint Environmental Sustainability Council (ESC) with the Energy Transition Subcommittee (ETS) 2