Bike/Walk Commission

SPECIAL MEETING – BIKE/WALK COMMISSION AGENDA JULY 14, 2025, 6:00 PM BY ZOOM VIRTUAL MEETING To allow public access, anyone may access a meeting by telephone and/or Zoom, or a recording in the City of Norwalk YouTube channel. Specific instructions and links can be found at norwalkct.gov/meetings. Members of the public may call in to participate. Callers will not be able to see the meeting participants. All participants will be muted upon entering the meeting. To speak, dial *9 on the phone and you will be called on by the host of the meeting during the public comment section. All speakers must state their name and address. Comments must be on a topic on the agenda, and are limited to three minutes. Anyone disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting, including by using threatening, hateful, or sexually-explicit language, will be removed. Please find the information using the link above. Members of the public who wish to provide "live comments" may also use the Zoom meeting platform. All participants will be muted upon entering the meeting. To speak, click the “raise your hand indicator” and you will be called by the host of the meeting during the public comment section. All speakers must state their name and address. Comments must be on a topic on the agenda, and are limited to three minutes. Anyone disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting, including by using threatening, hateful, or sexually-explicit language, will be removed. Please find the information using the link above. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment are encouraged to submit those via email in advance of the meeting. For these comments to be included into the record, they must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. Please email Greg Pacelli at gpacelli@norwalkct.gov with the subject line “Public Comment” to provide written public comment prior to the meeting. I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IV. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Regular Meeting: June 2, 2025 Meeting V. OLD BUSINESS A. Bike Valet Events - Recap (5 Minutes) - Pride in the Park Saturday, June 14th - SoNo Market Saturday, June 28th B. Bike Repair Clinic (5 Minutes) - Becca / Interested Volunteer to Attend Page 1 of 9 VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Route 7/15 Project (10 Minutes) - Community Event Recap & Next Steps - Submit Feedback by July 9th B. Wall Street Coordinator Improvement Project (10 Minutes) - Safe Pedestrian Access around Construction Site C. Dialogue with the Ordinance Committee and TMP (10 Minutes) - To clarify our responsibilities under the ordinance D. Upcoming Events in July (15 Minutes) - Filling in the Blanks Saturday, July 12th - SoNo Market Saturday, July 27th - Norwalk Night Out Thursday, July 31st VII. DISCUSSION A. Marketing Materials for Print (10 Minutes) - Updated safety handouts/materials VIII. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 9  CITY OF NORWALK BIKE/WALK COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING JUNE 2, 2025 ATTENDANCE: Emily Burnaman, Chair; Nicholas Pappas; Manny Salgado; Christine Bisceglie; Tanner Thompson OTHERS: Greg Pacelli, Transportation Planner, TMP Jaleah Green, Norwalk Health Department; Jalin Sead, Common Council Member To allow public access, anyone may access a meeting by telephone, Zoom, and/or the City of Norwalk YouTube channel. Specific instructions and links can be found at http://www.norwalkct.org/meetings. I. CALL TO ORDER Ms. Burnaman called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. II. ROLL CALL Ms. Burnaman called the roll, and all those listed in the attendance were present. III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Mr. Sead said that a Walk-and-Talk event will be held on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM. It will start at the Library on Belden Avenue and walk to City Hall. The attendees are invited to stay for the Common Council meeting that evening. Mr. Sead said that on June 24, 2025, at 6:00 PM, a Scoot the Block event for walkers, bicyclists, and scooters will begin at Dairy King and proceed to City Hall. Mr. Sead thanked the commission for allowing him to speak. He would like to help further the commission’s mission to encourage people to walk and bike around Norwalk and to make it safer. Ms. Kate Havoc said she is from Darien. Over the past year, she has had a student at Oxridge Elementary School. She has also been engaging in pedestrian infrastructure improvements with our local municipality. Unfortunately, we have encountered several roadblocks, so she looks 1 Page 3 of 9  forward to collaborating with the commission and learning from its successes and challenges. She said she is wondering how to work together to make this more robust effort, not just for Norwalk or Darien, but for the whole area. Mr. Paul Fox expressed a concern about cycling safety on Wilson Avenue. In March, he was cycling on Wilson Avenue and was hit by a truck, and in April, someone else was hit and seriously injured. Wilson Avenue currently has sharrows and is the only bicycle route to South Norwalk. He is concerned with the truck traffic and the limited bicycle space, and he asked if the city could do anything to improve that situation. Mr. Pacelli suggested he submit a customer service request so there is a record. TMP is currently looking at that intersection and has received funding for a roundabout at the base of the South Norwalk Elementary School. Ms. Bisceglie said the UCONN crash statistics are a great resource and are updated regularly. Mr. Huzzar Shan said he has lived in Norwalk for three years and recently attended some of his commission events. He would like to volunteer at some of the events. IV. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF MAY 5, 2025 ** MR. THOMPSON MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED. ** MS. BISCEGLIE SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Ms. Stoll requested that the meeting minutes be emailed to her in the future. V. OLD BUSINESS A. UPDATES ON PREVIOUS ACTION ITEMS - Bike To Work Week Recap Ms. Stoll provided an overview of Bike to Work week and said they had tabled outside of the South Norwalk Railroad Station from 7:00 AM to 9:00 A.M. on Friday, May 16th, which was National Bike to Work Day, and were able to get two local partnerships. They provided baked goods from Memo’s Colombian Café and Black by Demand specialty coffee. If people biked to work or it was locked at the South Norwalk Railroad Station, they were issued a flyer for a free coffee to be used anytime during the month of May. She said CT Rides joined them, and it was a successful event. - Rowayton Memorial Day Parade Recap Mr. Salgado provided an overview of the Rowayton Memorial Day parade. He said it was an excellent opportunity to promote the commission and to let the Rowayton community 2 Page 4 of 9  know the commission is here to support them, and it was a great event overall. He also suggested that the commission attend the Norwalk Memorial Day parade in the future. Mr. Salgado and Ms. Burnaman thanked Mr. Travers, who provided the bike Norwalk flags. Mr. Pacelli said on behalf of TMP, he thanked those who had attended and participated in that parade, and they felt it was an excellent opportunity to reach the Rowayton neighborhood to make them aware of what the commission does and hopes that will filter into other communities as well. Ms. Havoc said she would like to partner with the commission on this next year. - Quarterly Meeting with TMP Highlights Ms. Stoll provided an overview of their quarterly meeting with TMP. She said that Mr. Travers had provided them with an update on the many projects that TMP is currently working on, including the revitalization of Wall Street, the improvements to Hospital Hill, the sidewalks around SONO School, West Rocks Road, and Soundview Avenue, and the upgrades to Haviland Deck and Washington Street. She said they had asked what the commission could do to support TMP, and the commission would like to continue advocating for them, as the workload far exceeds the staff. Ms. Burnaman said she would work with Mr. Pacelli to schedule next quarter’s meeting and that if any of the commissioners are interested in attending that meeting, they should let her know. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. KIDS BIKE SWAP Ms. Stoll said that Ms. Niedielski-Eichner had contacted her and said her daughter was about to outgrow her bike. She suggested organizing a kids’ bike swap and would be happy to pitch in. Ms. Stoll suggested holding it during the Open Streets event, as it has a high attendance of kids. Ms. Burnaman suggested including the police department, as they may have bikes that have been abandoned or lost and may have a supply available. Ms. Bisceglie said she loves the idea, but suggested the bikes are in good working order. Ms. Stoll said she agrees, and if this moves forward, she will contact other municipalities that have held bike swaps to see how they handled the quality control. Ms. Bisceglie suggested working with local bike shops as well. B. BIKE RODEO EVENT Mr. Salgado said he would like to continue the partnership with Filling in the Blanks and has been tabling at their events once a month. He asked about the possibility of utilizing the 3 Page 5 of 9 educational resources to do bike education. Ms. Stoll said it may also be an opportunity to do the bike swap/giveaway or repair. Ms. Bisceglie said she would happily volunteer and suggested partnering with Nuvance Health. Ms. Burnaman suggested that this be discussed further with the educational subcommittee. C. BIKE REPAIR POP-UP CLINIC Ms. Burnaman said she received a message from Tracey Walker at CT State, Norwalk, asking if the commission could hold a bike repair clinic over the summer and asked if anyone on the commission is interested in getting involved with the clinic, reaching out to local bike shops, or finding volunteers. Ms. Bisceglie said that REI would also give the class for a fee. D. UPCOMING EVENTS IN JUNE - Filling in the Blanks- Saturday, June 7th Ms. Burnaman said that the date on the agenda for filling in the Blanks is incorrect; it will be held on June 14, 2025. To Ms. Bisceglie’s point, the commission will also cross- promote those events through social channels. - Pride in the Park-Saturday, June 14th Ms. Burnaman said the Pride in the Park event will be held on June 14, 2025. Ms. Stoll said they are interested in having the bike valet at the event, but she is just trying to get confirmation so we can start recruiting valets. Ms. Stoll, Mr. Salgado, and Ms. Bisceglie said that they would volunteer at the bike valet. Mr. Thompson said that he is not available to attend but that Christiana Randle is available. Ms. Bisceglie said that Mr. Pappas has a slide deck for the bike valet and requested that he share that with Ms. Stoll. - SONO Market- Saturday, June 28th Ms. Burnaman said the SONO Market Saturday event, which will be held at 50 Washington Street, still solicits vendors. The first event will happen on Saturday, June 28, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. She has connected with the Business and Tourism department about doing a valet service for these events to encourage people to walk and bike to them. She asked anyone on the commission who would like to volunteer to run the valet service to contact her. Ms. Bisceglie said they should wear the Bike Norwalk shirts for visibility when volunteering for the commission. 4 Page 6 of 9  VII. DISCUSSION A. REVIEW OF 2012 BIKE/PED MASTER PLAN Mr. Thompson said that the city ordinance states the commission shall update and promote the Bicycle Master Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan, which the commission has not done much with since he has been on the commission. He wants to reach an acceptable stopping point before his term ends this month. He said he had presented a comprehensive review of these plans, and our most formal version is the joint Bicycle-Pedestrian Master Plan from 2012. He explained the plan and said there are 16 corridors with recommendations from FHI Studios. He said the first goal with this comprehensive review was to get an idea of how much of the Tier I recommendations have been implemented since this plan was adopted, which has been entered into a spreadsheet that he presented. He said we are approximately 50% across each category. Although much progress has been made, there are still things to do. He explained some recommendations that he thinks the commission should make. He recognized TMP's work over the last couple of years on the pedestrian infrastructure side, starting with the sidewalk audit, and strongly encouraged the commission to work towards a bicycle master plan as a top priority and the pedestrian master plan as a second priority. Mr. Pacelli clarified that neighborhood connectors have included bike lanes, so he wouldn’t say they don’t prioritize dedicated bike facilities. Even if the design guide puts it at a more moderate level, it doesn’t mean they don’t consider incorporating them on neighborhood connector roadways. Ms. Burnaman suggested discussing this at the next meeting with TMP staff to give their team time to gather thoughts, suggestions, and steps forward. She said Mr. Thompson had dedicated time and work to these improvements and suggested sending and writing notes he would like to share with the TMP team. Ms. Stoll said that since his term will be up before the next meeting, she would send them to her and share them. ** MR. THOMPSON MOVED THAT THE ORDINANCE GOVERNING THIS COMMISSION SHOULD BE REVISITED IN A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE COMMISSION AND THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND POTENTIALLY TMP SO THAT THE RELATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THOSE PARTIES CAN BE MADE CLEARER IN THE ORDINANCE. ** MS. STOLL SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. B. BUDGET REVIEW & APPROVALS Ms. Burnaman said this is the last month the commission can fulfill the budget, and some items are left on the spending plan, and reminded the commission that the items need to be ordered and 5 Page 7 of 9 delivered by the end of June. The commission discussed the status of the remaining budget items to be ordered. C. ABANDONED BIKES LOCKED UP AT SONO TRAIN STATION Ms. Stoll said that as part of Bike to Work Week, we went to deliver Black by Demand coffee vouchers to every bike that was locked at the SONO station that day and interacted with a cyclist who said not to put the vouchers on those bikes as they have been there for years. She suggested submitting a click-and-request to report an abandoned bike at the SONO Stations and then contacting Metro-North. Mr. Pacelli said that the Parking Authority has installed two hoop-style bike racks on the New York-bound side of the dedicated back bike parking area on the first floor at the SONO station. D. COMMISSIONER RESIGNATIONS & BIKE/WALK SOCIAL GATHERING - Potential Dates: June 25th, 26th, or27th 6-8PM Ms. Burnaman said she is hoping to plan a social gathering of Bike/Walk Commissioners and dedicated volunteers, the TMP team, on June 25th, 26th, or 27th between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and she is hoping to get past, present, and future commissioners together for a social outing. - Outreach to Residents Interested in Joining the Bike/Walk Commission Ms. Burnaman said that Ms. Bisceglie and Mr. Thompson will be resigning from the commission, thanked them for their time, effort, and support, and hopes they continue to stay involved. Ms. Bisceglie thanked Mr. Thompson for stepping up as chair and said she was honored to serve on the commission. Mr. Thompson thanked Ms. Bisceglie for her commitment over the years and the rest of the commissioners and said that he thinks the commission has made much progress over the last five years. VIII. ADJOURNMENT ** MS. STOLL MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MS. BISCEGLIE SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Dilene Byrd 6 Page 8 of 9 7 Page 9 of 9