Complete Streets & Bikeway Committee

City of Middletown Complete Streets Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, December 12, 2022, 7 PM Location: WebEx Attendees: Beth Emery, Laura Baum, John Hall, Lisa Liesener, Chris Holden, Gary Middleton, Ayhan Assadorian, Zoemma Warshafsky 1. Current/ongoing projects: ● Air Line Trail – Farmington Canal Trail (ALT-FCT) Connector Study Update ○ Farmington Canal Trail update: Cleared to use the city’s bond commission grant to provide the match for the federal grant through DOT. The final letter has been sent to RiverCOG. They can start looking for a consultant. ○ John Hall encouraged people to send comments on the Meriden study in the next couple of weeks. https://thejonahcenter.org/meriden-trail-study-completed-please-comment/#more -4830 ● Micro-transit (bikes/scooters) ○ Holden said he’ll try to have an update for the committee next month. ● Bike Friendly Middletown application ○ No updates. Cat Young would like to return to this when she has more time but if anyone is interested in taking it over, she’s happy to have them do so. ● Washington & DeKoven Dr intersection ○ The city is meeting with DOT this month and they should know more soon about Route 9 plans, which affect this intersection. ● Washington & Rte 3/Vine intersection work ○ There was a question about whether we are expecting crosswalks on all four sides of the intersection. ● Complete Streets Leadership Academies ○ The first full cohort meeting was in December. Baum and city staff attended. ○ The award gives the city the opportunity to spend $10,000-$15,000 for a quick-build demonstration project. ● Committee membership ○ Chris and Gary will try to move nominations forward. 2. Reports from other pertinent regular meetings/events: ● Middletown Public Schools Health and Wellness Committee ○ No updates ● ECOIN ○ Discussion of Saybrook Road project. The city is still working on access agreements, going door-to-door. ○ Main Street Extension. Baum mentioned safety issue with the pedestrian crossing outside Carmela’s. Road is so wide that when a driver stops for a pedestrian to cross 1  it easy for other drivers to pass them on the right (maybe thinking they’re turning left) and run the risk of hitting the pedestrian. ○ John Hall asked about how the sidewalks are chosen that undergo repairs as part of the sidewalk improvement program in the city. Chris Holden said it’s related to areas that have multiple incidents/accidents/complaints/etc. ■ John Hall said that the CS committee has an interest in which streets are getting road bond attention (possible CS improvements) and is the pavement assessment review connected at all with the CS master plan? If the street is a priority route on the CS plan, could that be included in the ranking or prioritization for which roads will be dealt with in a road bond? And would be good if CS committee had some opportunity to weigh in on where the sidewalks funds will be spent. ● Sustainable Middletown ○ The city is pursuing recertification next August. ● Sustainable CT ○ No updates ● MxChamber Environment and Infrastructure meeting ○ Chris Holden said there were not any pertinent updates related to complete streets but that the swing bridge construction project is kicking off down in East Haddam. 3. New Business: ● Draft schedule of meetings for 2023. No objections to the proposed dates. ● Guest Ayhan Assadourian talked about his interest in the committee and his perspective as a youth in Middletown. He is particularly concerned about Main Street Extension, High Street at Washington St in terms of safety. He’s interested in the idea of a bicycle night with education and fun around bicycles. Chris Holden talked about Kids Health and Safety Day as another opportunity, since they also do bike safety. ● Tunnel under Route 3 ○ Gary Middleton discussed the tunnel under Route 3 and how it is an important access point between the North End and Vets Park / Washington Ave. More lighting is needed for the area and maybe also call boxes. Notes: - Next meeting: Monday, January 9, 2023, 7 pm (WebEx) - Next quarterly Public Works/Planning deps. Meeting: Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 10am (Zoom) 2