Bicycle Task Force

APPROVED MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE BICYCLE TASK FORCE Northbrook Village Hall – Terrace Conference Room December 4, 2013 Members Present: Frank Bleeker, Angus Duthie, Chris Henning, Mardi Scott and Tom Tebbe Members Absent: Matt Cassidy, George Garner Jr., Jim O’Connell and Dan Pepoon Staff Present: Jim Baxa, Mike Metrick and Jennifer Rooks-Lopez Staff Absent: None Others Present: None Call Meeting to Order. Chairman Henning called the meeting to order in the Development and Planning Conference Room of the Village Hall at 7:06 p.m. Public Comments – Hear from Audience. There were no audience members present. Review September 11, 2013 Minutes. It was moved and seconded that the September 11, 2013 minutes be approved. The motion was approved. Prospective Trail along Chicago River. Go Green Northbrook’s representative Doug Gerleman was unable to attend the meeting; this topic was postpone until the January 4th Bicycle Task Force meeting. Frank Bleeker, shared some information heard from a attending a Go Green Northbrook meeting on how the prospective trail system is supported by the Techny Mission (Property owners) and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) who has jurisdictional authority along the water course. Cook County Forest Preserve District (CCFPD) – Mater Plan. The Task Force discussed mapping and access difficulties at some locations along the Des Plains River Trail and inquired the potential to work with the CCFPD to have better signage installed for users to identify trailhead locations. The primary example discussed was the trailhead entrance off of Sanders Road at Timberlane Drive which has no signage and the trail is heavily overgrown making it difficult to see from the roadway. The Task Member inquired if the Village could contact the CCFPD and inquire on the potential of donating signage to better identify access. The other trailhead location recognized was the trailhead for the Portwine Trail on Forest View Road. Staff will inquire on this type of request to the Director of Public Works. North Suburban Bike Sharing Program. Chairman Henning share information on how the program is being operating and in Chicago and other larger markets s across the United States with success. The intent of the program is to rent/share the bicycle for ½ hours trip or pay additional fees for usage for an entire day. In order for the program to be successful in the suburbs like Northbrook, the program would need to have buy-in from several neighboring communities (preferably adjoining) to daisy chain the destinations for use and kiosks for returning the bicycles. To be successful Northbrook would need to partner with a neighboring  December 4, 2013 BTF Meeting Minutes - APPROVED community such as Glenview, Deerfield, Highland Park & Wheeling. The program is operated in suburban Oak Park and being introduced in Evanston, the Task Force will monitor the success of the program in these two suburban communities to see if a program would be functional in the Village. North Suburban Active Transportation Group (NSATG). Chairman Henning and Northbrook Staff member Jim Baxa attended a local bicycle advocacy committee formed by the Active Transportation Alliance (ATA). Chairman Henning shared the basis of the group is to collaborate with representatives from nearby communities. One topic discussed among the Active Transportation Group (NSATG) and the Bicycle Task Force the procedure to follow for filing a police report in the event of emergency; while the NSATG stated they had difficulties establishing a set procedure, Northbrook Police liaison Mike Metrick stated the ideal procedure to assist with filing a police report in the event of an accident is by calling 911 and having good documentation of the incident which can be documented with pictures taken with a camera or a smartphone. Updating the Bicycle Map. The Bicycle Task Force (BTF) discussed the updating of both the hardcopy of the map for distribution and the on-line bike map with a more interactive map. The examples given to the BTF to review was the Village of Glenview, City of Madison and City of San Diego. It was unanimously decided to pursue improvement for a updated interactive bicycle map available on the BTF’s webpage and a similar representation for distribution at Public Building and local events such as Earth Day. Review Bike Task Force Work Plan. After a review of the Core Work Program, the Committee provided additional items to be added to the list as well as updates to existing items. Adjourn: On motion made and seconded, the meeting of the BTF was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Minutes Submitted by Jim Baxa. Page 2 of 2 P:\MINUTES - DRAFT\2013\BTF\12-4-13 BTF APPROVED Minutes.docx