Complete Streets & Bikeway Committee

COMPLETE STREETS COMMITTEE CITY OF MIDDLETOWN March 11, 2019 Meeting Minutes In attendance: Howard Reid, Beth Emery, Cat Young, Laura Baum, Tom Quirk, Ron Krom, Debbie Stanley, Lisa Liesener Guests: Mark DeVoe, City Planner Review of minutes of February 2019 meeting: accepted Plan of Conservation and Development (PoCD): 3/11/19 – Our new City Planner, Mark DeVoe, attended the meeting to brief the committee on current Planning Department initiatives, including revision of the POCD. CME has been contracted to develop a survey and reach out to sub committees. An environmental planner has been hired for the wetlands conservation. Mark is rewriting the regulations and sees multiple areas where the Complete Streets plan will be mentioned. Applying parts of the CS plan is easy to some sections of town (Main St.) but other areas (Washington St.) would require a change in code to force change. Mark recommended CS review West Hartford and New Haven Complete Streets plans for material that may be useful in the updated Middletown plan. Mark’s comments on specific sections: LU 1-2: This is happening on Main Street but would require a change in code in other areas of town such as Washington St.. Parking regulations can be rewritten to “make a way” from the street to businesses by pedestrians. LUI.1.5: This is illegal in CT and cannot happen. Mark will encourage low impact development. It was recommended that CS attend PoCD meetings to make sure the whole CS Plan gets into the PoCD. Old business: Bike/Walk to School: Bike to School Day is May 8, 2019 and Walk to School Day is Oct. 17, 2019. 3/11/19 – Draft flyers are being reviewed and routes are being planned. CS to meet with the Wellness Committee about details and funds for printed flyers and sticker costs. 2/11/19 - Howard, Laura, and Lisa had a good kickoff meeting with Mark Langton and Mary Emerling. Plan is to largely replicate bus drop off used last year and extend it to a second day in October. Also plan to encourage school-specific initiatives, and Laura and Lisa will work to do so through MPS’s Wellness Committee. Transportation Alternatives: 2/11/19 - John and Beth reviewed with the Committee an RFP issued by the River COG for new projects under the federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program, which provides 80% funding for bike/ped and other projects over $500,000. Possible projects identified were the design of the connection between the Newfield Corridor Trail and downtown, extension of the Long Lane Trail, design of the western extension of the Westlake Trail to Meriden, and extension of sidewalks and bike lanes along Saybrook Rd. Priority projects for 2019: 2/11/19 The annual meeting with the Public Works Department was reviewed, noting that the Director of Planning Joe Samolis also attended. Overall there will be consideration of a number of the Committee’s priorities. Additionally we were informed at the meeting about several other plans with Complete Streets impact. These include the possibility of bike lanes north on Middle Street, the design of a small portion of the Newfield Corridor Trail from Mile Lane to the Lawrence School, and the improvement of several crosswalks in the Wesleyan area. In discussion it was recommended that the list of current year priorities be supplemented with a running list of other projects of interest over multiple years, and Howard will do that. Newfield Corridor Trail: 3/11/19 – Cardinal Engineering has been dropped as the designer. The City will work on planning a connection between the trail and downtown. Complete Streets website: 2/11/19 Beth reported that City is open to adding what we would like to see on the website and asked that CS Committee members continue to make suggestions about content. A shared Google doc has been established for comments. Sustainable CT: 3/11/19 – Cat noted that 5 points can be gained by training municipal staff on bike & pedestrian travel planning; CS to look out for events that might offer such training. Laura to notify the wellness health supervisor of a free 1 day course offered by Bike-Walk CT on 4/6 teaching bike education curriculum.. 2/11/19 Howard reported that we need a new CS representative to this team, and Cat Young volunteered. Community Calendar: No upcoming events Woodbury Circle/Summerhill Apts: 2/11/19 - State Sen. Matt Lesser recently raised the issue of pedestrian access for tenants of these large apartment complexes to Saybrook Rd. and the commercial and medical sites there. Pedestrian improvements there could also potentially connect the apartments to Middlesex Community College. The Committee agreed to put this need on its list of ongoing possible projects on interest. River COG Bike/Ped Plan: 2/11/19 - Beth reported that the River COG is going to complete a bike/ped plan in the coming year and this is an important opportunity for Middletown to have input. Beth will be our liaison to that effort. New business CS to ask public works what the current percentage of road bond funding used on pedestrian and bike funding is and discuss establishing a percentage goal in future years. CS discussed with Mark Devoe having someone from Public Works or Planning attend Complete Streets meetings quarterly. It was recommended by Paddy McKenna that CS members attend the Woodrow Wilson New Construction Committee Meeting; CS to discuss with Paddy further details about the level of involvement and the best meeting(s) to attend. Prepared by Tom Quirk Next meeting scheduled for April 8, 2019.