Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes Salem Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee Wednesday, April 3, 2024 | 6:30 p.m. City Hall Annex 1st Floor Meeting Room & Via Remote Participation Members Present: John Wathne (Chair), Walter Morrell, Connor Ryan, Annie Wolf, Paul Carson, Josh Nagle, Emmylou Manwill Members Absent: Matt Caruso, Charlie Heaps, Colleen Downey, Cat Seiferth Also Present: Tom Devine, Senior Planner Call Meeting to Order Wathne calls the meeting to order. Public Comment Wathne opens public comment and there is none. Introduction of New Member New Member Emmylou Manwill is present and members introduce themselves to each other. Bike Parking Ordinance Devine states that Seiferth asked when the document will become public. He says that any document before a public board becomes a public document that anyone can request. If the Bike Committee develops a draft ordinance, that would be publicly posted when it is submitted for consideration to City Council. Seiferth also mentioned the MassDOT Shared Streets & Spaces grant program as a potential source of funds to help with developing the ordinance. The group chooses to table this item to the next meeting. Bike Parking at Stores Devine mailed the letter encouraging stores to add bike parking. He targeted the commercial areas of Highland Ave. including Market Basket, Home Depot, and everything in between. Wathne suggests targeting Vinnin Square next. Bike Share Ridership Data for March 1 Document referenced: Salem Bluebikes Data through 3/31/2024, slide deck. Devine reports typically low ridership for this time of year with a year-over-year increase. The group discusses Salem’s low average distance per ride compared to other municipalities. Nagle presents data he prepared showing ridership by routes between stations using Looker Studio. The committee expresses appreciation for Nagle preparing this visualization. North Street Document referenced: North Street Data, 9/18/2023, by Traffic & Parking Department Devine reports that he attended a meeting with the Mayor, Councilor Meg Stott, and Transportation Director Dave Kucharsky about next steps for North Street. There will be an informal meeting with the neighbor who recently sent correspondence about the project and the City hopes to have a representative from the Bike Committee and Traffic & Parking Commission there. There may also be a public survey issued, but it will need to be crafted in a way that avoids it being dominated by either supporters or opponents of the project. This will lead into the long-planned joint public meeting with the Bike Committee and Traffic & Parking Commission. Devine presents preliminary data that Councilor Stott had shared previously with the public. The data includes car speed and volume, crashes, parking utilization, and bike ridership. Conflict of Interest of Training Devine reiterates the City’s policy to require board and commission members to use a salem.com email address for all city business. The required conflict of interest training can only be accessed through the salem.com email. Committee Vacancies Devine reports that this item is now out of date since there are no longer any vacancies on the Committee. Meeting Minutes There are no draft minutes to review. Adjourn Wolf motions, Nagle seconds, and all vote in favor to adjourn at 7:24pm. 2  *** Approved by the Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee on 9/4/2024. 3