Bike/Walk Commission

CITY OF NORWALK BIKE/WALK COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING JULY 13, 2026 ATTENDANCE: Emily Burnaman, Chair; Nicholas Pappas; Elizabeth Sile, Rebecca Stoll; Manual Salgado OTHERS: Greg Pacelli, Transportation Planner; Jahliah Green, Norwalk Health Department; Siobhan Ollivierre, Girl Trek; Anna Stern, Watch for Me CT 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 6:05 PM. II. ROLL CALL Ms. Burnaman called the roll, and all those listed in the attendance were present. III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Cat Rosenfield-Anderson Ms. Rosenfield Anderson said that she lives in the TOD zone in East Norwalk and is experiencing serious problems with parking mitigations and that it is a car-dependent neighborhood but has a population that would require people not to have cars. Matt SilBer Mr. SilBer said he is with the Sustainable Streets Advocacy Group and that they will hold a general body meeting on July 21st. He invited the Bike/Walk Commission commissioners to attend to discuss progress and feedback they have been receiving from residents. The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM at Greer’s Southern Table. James Dignoti Mr. Dignoti introduced himself and said he will be appointed to this commission at the next city council meeting. IV. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES 1 A. Regular Meeting: June 1, 2026 ** MS. STOLL MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS SUBMITTED. ** MR. SALGADO SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. V. OLD BUSINESS A. 2026 Event Dates: • Girl Trek Walk & Panel Recap Ms. Ollivierre provided a recap of the Girl Trek Walk event. She thanked the commission for their partnership and for helping to make this walk a reality. • Norwalk Pride in the Park Recap Ms. Burnaman said that the bike valet service was offered again at the event and thanked the commissioners and volunteers who attended. There was a total of eight bikes and one scooter that used the valet service. • City Girls Who Walk Stamford ‘Visiting Norwalk” Recap Ms. Burnaman said the founder of City Girls Who Walk Stamford has recently moved to Norwalk and is looking to host more of these walks there. B. Planning for additional 2026 bike valet events and under-represented communities outreach. • SoNo Arts Festival (August 1–2, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM) • Norwalk Night Out (Tuesday, August 11, 2026) • Oyster Fest (Sept 11-13, 2026) • NICE Festival (Saturday, October 3, 2026, 12 pm - 8 pm) The commission discussed the planning for the 2026 community outreach events. C. Education & Safety Initiatives • Updates from the Educational Sub Committee Mr. Salgado provided updates from the educational sub-committee and said that at the last meeting, they discussed the walk, bike, and roll small events for the week of October 19th to October 23rd and, on May 8th, a potential open streets event. • eBike Education Materials 2  Ms. Burnaman reintroduced the conversation about moving forward with graphics for the e-bike materials. Ms. Siles said she would review anything that is created and design if needed. • Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day (Wednesday, October 7, 2026) Ms. Burnaman noted that she will be working with the educational subcommittee, the Health Department, and Norwalk Public Schools on the event. • Young Adults Safe Cycling Course (Fall 2026) Ms. Burnaman noted that she hopes to work with CT State Norwalk to host a seminar this fall and invited the commissioners to help plan/participate in the course. D. Communications & Outreach • Monthly Email Newsletter Ms. Burnaman noted that the newsletter has been sent and that feedback on improvements has been received. • Website Update (norwalkbike.org) Ms. Burnaman said they will work to post valuable information on the website. • Upcoming Social Media Posts (English & Spanish) The commission discussed upcoming social media posts. E. Commission Award to Honor Individual in the Community Ms. Burnaman presented the completed award proposal and outline. The commission discussed a name for the award and nominations for the first recipient. Ms. Burnaman nominated Mr. Travers and Ms. Stoll nominated Mr. Thompson. It was decided to discuss the award recipients at the next meeting, and Ms. Stoll will draft a public nominations form. ** MS. STOLL MOVED TO APPROVE THE AWARD AS THE NORWALKIE AWARD. ** MR. PAPPAS SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED WITH FOUR (4) IN FAVOR AND ONE (1) ABSTENTION- MS. SILE. VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Norwalk Citywide Wayfinding Program-Stakeholder Meeting • On-street bicycle routes and key crossings. 3  • Priority pedestrian corridors and destinations. • Multi-use trails and greenways such as the NRVT/Harbor Loop and related access points. Ms. Burnaman said there will be a stakeholder meeting held, and she will be presenting. B. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in Norwalk (5 Minutes) • Hosted by Watch for Me CT the event is held every November, and so far in Hartford, New Haven, and New Britain. • Seeking Venue Options Indoors for 100+ People (November 2026) Ms. Stern provided an overview of the event and said that the third Sunday in November is the World Day of Reembrace for traffic victims, and that they would like this year’s event to be hosted in Norwalk. C. Norwalk-Darien Community Bike Ride (Maritime Aquarium, Friday, July 31 at 10:30 AM) (5 Minutes) • Kathryn Haavik with ride on Safely RSVP https://www.rideonsafely.com/community- ride Ms. Burnaman provided an overview of the event and said that Ms. Haavik is looking for feedback from the commission on ways to support the ride. • Darien Board of Selectmen has launched a Sidewalk Advisory Committee (September 2026) Ms. Burnaman said she is looking forward to seeing the development of the Sidewalk Advisory Committee. • Meeting of Fairfield County Greenway (Norwalk, Darien, Stamford, Greenwich) Ms. Burnaman said the commission has worked with the Fairfield County Greenway in the past, pursuing grants to improve connectivity between the towns. VII. DISCUSSION A. Proposed Budget for FY 26-27 Ms. Burnaman said she will begin the budget for the new fiscal year and asked the commission for volunteers to manage it. Ms. Stoll offered to help with the budget. B. Bike lane maintenance, operations, and user feedback (Fox Run Road, Ponus Ave. Van Buren Ave., NRVT 4  • Review resident correspondence from William Bardos regarding bike lane obstructions, trash bin placement, & enforcement Ms. Burnaman provided an overview of the feedback received and referred to the Click & Request app. • Review resident request from Melissa Calderon for more investment in walkable and bike-friendly infrastructure around Van Buren Ave. Mr. Pacelli provided an overview of the conceptual design of the Route 1 corridor study, which will improve the existing roadway. • Current TMP/DPW practices for bike lane maintenance, enforcement, and monitoring with upcoming project updates and communication (including Click & Request and field observations). Ms. Burnaman provided an overview of the feedback received and referred to the Click & Request app. VIII. STAFF UPDATES A. Transportation, Health, Complete Streets, and Other Project Updates Mr. Pacelli provided an update on the construction projects. Ms. Green provided an update on the Health Department, stating that the walks continue each Monday in July. IX. COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS A. Commissioner Roundtable Ms. Stoll provided updates for East Norwalk, including a new walking group and closures at the East Norwalk Railroad Station. She has contacted the Transit District to see if they would be interested in offering increased service. She shared the weekly email from the Walkbridge Team. X. ADJOURNMENT ** MS. STOLL MOVED TO ADJOURN. ** MR. PAPPAS SECONDED THE MOTION. ** THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. The meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM. Respectfully submitted, Dilene Byrd 5