Complete Streets & Bikeway Committee

City of Middletown Complete Streets Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, May 8, 2023, 7 PM Location: WebEx Attendees: Laura Baum, Howard Weissberg, Tom Quirk, John Hall, Ayhan Assadourian, Lisa Liesener, Zoemma Warshafsky 1. Current/ongoing projects: ● Air Line Trail – Farmington Canal Trail (ALT-FCT) Connector Study Update ○ VHB has been selected as the consultant. Scope looks at gaps in trail to see how best to address. Length of study is less than 1 year but contract approval will take some time. They are still awaiting a letter from DOT. Talking to Matt Lesser about getting that going. ● Saybrook Road (East Main to Tryon) ○ Project being split into 2 phases. Water main replacement part will go first and start as phase 1. ○ Enlisting some additional enforcement and outreach to try and finalize with remaining residents. Water folks are trying to schedule their work before the end of the year; this part is not hindered by right of way restrictions. ● Saybrook Road (Randolph to Aircraft) ○ Rework of concrete sections headed toward P&W is in planning. Hope to be paving that section in a year or two. ● Micro-Transit and Micro-mobility (bikes/scooters) ○ We haven’t seen any bikes or scooters on the road this spring. Wondering if the company has pulled out or if there is some kind of delay. ● Bike Friendly Middletown application ○ No updates ● Washington & DeKoven Dr intersection ○ Howard working with DOT for the latest plan for Route 9. ● Washington & Rte 3/Vine intersection work ○ No updates ● Complete Streets Leadership Academies ○ No updates ● Events ○ Bike Night ■ Ayhan sent an email to the city (office of the mayor) but got no response. John recommended talking to the risk manager in the legal department and the Police department (traffic division). Tentative date is September 9th. Wants to shut down a section of Main St. (Washington to Court) and have vendor tents on the side with street open to biking. Times are TBD. ○ Earth Day Bike Ride ■ There weren’t any attendees aside from John and Laura so they didn’t do the ride. 1  ○ Complete Streets board ■ Tom Quirk is in possession of the board. Needs updates on 2 of the 3 sections; photos of completed projects and updated map of planned trails, sidewalks, etc. Photos of completed projects to be sent to Tom Quirk for updates. 2. Reports from other pertinent regular meetings/events: ● ECOIN ○ No updates ● Sustainable Middletown / CT ○ No updates 3. New Business: ● Complete Streets Master Plan Map (link) ○ Map has been updated to include a proposed trail along Route 9 and the Newfield Corridor Trail. Also added are recommended bike routes on Forest Street and Middlefield Street. ○ The group reviewed the updated map and discussed priority bike routes ○ There was a comment that perhaps the waterways are a bit too bright and could be toned down on future versions of the map ● Community Connectivity Grant application ○ Howard discussed interest in applying for a Community Connectivity Grant to improve sidewalk ramp accessibility in the area bordered by High, Church, Broad, and Washington (?). It would include a ramp inventory and would not address the sidewalks/ramps on the west side of High Street adjacent to the Wesleyan University campus. Those areas are also in need of upgrade but are a larger-scale project that is not a good fit for this particular grant. ○ Application is due in mid-June ● Other new business ○ The city has ordered some speed education yard signs ○ The city is getting some driver feedback speed display signs from RiverCOG. They go in the ground and are semi-portable. Notes: - Next meeting: Monday, June 12, 2023, 7 PM (WebEx) - Next quarterly Public Works/Planning depts. Meeting: TBD 2