Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Advisory Group

MAYOR TRUSTEES George D. Alpogianis John C. Jekot Joe LoVerde ACTING Danette O’Donovan Matyas VILLAGE MANAGER Denise M. McCreery Hadley Skeffington-Vos Craig Niedermaier Dean Strzelecki VILLAGE CLERK Marlene J. Victorine MINUTES BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN ADVISORY GROUP Remote Participation June 23, 2021 – 11:00 a.m. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Advisory Group meeting was held remotely on Wednesday, June 23, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 11:03 a.m. by Chairman Niedermaier. Members Present: Staff Present: Chairman Craig Niedermaier Nathan Bruemmer, Staff Liaison Peggy Reins Tom Powers, Village Engineer Stephen Sanders Katie Schneider, Community Engagement Coordinator Ticia Doughty-Ashcroft Andrew Vitale, GIS Coordinator Kathy Thake, Assistant to the Village Manager Nick Zakula, Police Bureau Chief Tim O’Brien, Civil Engineer II Also Present Tim Gustafson, Epstein Call to Order Approval of Minutes Group Member Reins, seconded by Group Member Sanders, to approve the minutes of the May 26, 2021, meeting; on voice vote all concurred. New Business I. Announcement – Bike and Walk Event August 5 at Notre Dame College Prep Police Bureau Chief Nick Zakula announced that the Walk and Roll Niles event will be taking place on August 5 at Notre Dame High School. The idea came about because many communities have canceled National Night Out due to the pandemic, so the Police Department though they could have an event promoting bike and pedestrian safety. They’re planning to have bike shops set up shop, bicycling activities for children, giveaways and prizes with grant opportunities from Walmart and Costco, and a food truck on scene to attract more residents. As it’s a bike and walk event, there will be a short ride around the neighborhood and pedestrians will be able to walk around the School’s track. This will be the first year for the event, but there’s a hope it will 1000 Civic Center Drive Niles, IL 60714 Phone (847) 588-8000 Fax (847) 588-8051 WWW.VNILES.COM  become a yearly event the Village can build on. Group Member Doughty-Ashcroft volunteered to reach out to a nearby hospital to organize helmet fittings at the event. Trustee Niedermaier suggested doing a custom helmet arts and craft event. After discussion about more potential activities, Group Member Reins reminded the committee that the emphasis should stay on Bike and Pedestrian Safety. II. Discussion – Potential Bike Infrastructure Impact State Legislation HB270 Village Engineer Tom Powers explained the HB270 bill that was passed and its impact on funding projects in the Village. It used to be that if IDOT was working on an improvement in town and there weren’t bike and pedestrian facilities, they would offer municipalities a chance to build them, but would require the municipality to pay 20% of the cost. This resulted in a lot of communities passing on bike/ped infrastructure because they couldn’t afford the improvements. With the new bill, IDOT will solely fund those types of infrastructure (with some exceptions, such as repaving). Powers recommends that the Committee should look at IDOT’s 5 year plan for Niles, and see what bike/ped infrastructure we would want to ask for in those corridors. The two IDOT projects in the 5 year plan are Harlem from Oakton to Dempster, and Lehigh from Touhy to Oakton. The entire limits of Oakton Street was also in the 5 year plan at one point, as well as Waukegan from Touhy to Oakton, but both have been taken out. There was discussion among the Committee about the possibilities for improvements on Lehigh Ave and Harlem Ave. Powers also provided an update on the plans for the Cleveland and Waukegan and Cleveland and Caldwell intersection plans. Engineering has received comments from IDOT on the concepts, and Powers presented them for feedback from the Committee. For Cleveland and Waukegan, IDOT has said left turns may need to be restricted off of Waukegan, and presented two other concepts with a 15’ and 18’ median. Committee members had concerns about any plans widening the road. Discussion about the benefits and shortcomings of each option ensued. Consultant Tim Gustafson said he would share some ideas with Tom Powers about potential tweaks to the design. Group Member Doughty-Ashcroft asked about the timeline for the Committee making a decision about the intersection. Powers said waiting another month to evaluate the options would be worthwhile. III.Epstein Plan Update Tim Gustafson, consultant with Epstein, gave a quick update on the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. The Village Board approved the contract at their June meeting. Gustafson asked if he could get started on getting contact information from various stakeholders – outreach would begin sometime after Labor Day. He also discussed the Walk and Roll event as an opportunity for informal engagement, or for a Committee-member-led pop- up event. The name for the updated Bike and Pedestrian Plan was also discussed. Group Member Reins asked Gustafson whether the Walk and Roll event should be staffed by committee-members or by Epstein. Gustafson thought a pop-up staffed by committee- members would be preferable as the Plan will just be in its earliest stages. The intent would be to let the community know the Plan is beginning. Other Discussion There was continued discussion about the design options at the Cleveland and Caldwell intersection. Tom Powers said he would provide Committee feedback to designer. Comments from the Public None. Next Meeting July 28, 2021 at 11:00 AM. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Group Member Doughty-Ashcroft, seconded by Group Member Reins; all concurred and the meeting adjourned at 12:25 PM. Nathan Bruemmer Staff Liaison