Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes Salem Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee Wednesday, May 1, 2024 | 6:30 p.m. City Hall Annex 1st Floor Meeting Room & Via Remote Participation Members Present: John Wathne (Chair), Colleen Downie, Walter Morrell, Matt Caruso, Emmylou Manwill, Paul Carson, Cat Seiferth, Josh Nagle Members Absent: Charlie Heaps, Connor Ryan, Annie Wolf 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. Bike Parking Ordinance Devine notes that Wolf, who is leading this effort, is not present. The group tables the matter to the next meeting. Bike Parking at Stores Devine reports that he initially sent the Committee’s letter encouraging stores to add bike racks to Highland Ave. businesses and then more recently sent the letter to stores on the Salem side of Vinnin Square. Caruso asks how many were mailed and Devine responds that it was about a dozen for each area. Wathne says he has a contact at the Vinnin Square Staples location and will follow up. North Street Wathne says he attended a meeting on North Street with staff, the City’s consultant, a City Councilor, and residents. He heard from the residents that they like the idea of the bike facilities and understand it is not the permanent condition, since someday there will be physical separation between the bikes and cars. Residents believe the current condition makes it hard to back out of their driveways. Wathne wonders if there could be a temporary project to demonstrate what the final product will be. Devine recaps that the Committee received specific complaints about North Street that resulted in the Mayor meeting with staff and the Ward Councilor. The City intends to have a joint public meeting in the future for the Bike Committee and Traffic & Parking 1 Commission to present data and hear from the public. But in the meantime there was a more immediate need to meet with the residents who expressed concern about the project. That is the meeting the Wathne attended. The long-term goal is for reconstruction of the corridor with physically separate bike lanes. There is not funding or design for this yet. Caruso asks if there is anything in the city like what the goal is for North Street. Devine says the closest example is Bridge Street by the Community Life Center. Nagle asks what really changes with the physical separation. Wathne says you can gain 3 feet because you don’t need the same buffer with physical curb separation. Manwill states that she read a comment online about it taking too long to get out of a car. Downie asks how much travel lane was lost. Devine thinks the travel lanes are 11 feet now and this wasn’t a reduction. The change was going from parking on both sides to parking on one side. Devine states that Wathne’s pilot idea is not very different than the way the City is building one block of the Washington Steet vision. Seiferth is also planning to send a letter to the Mayor about her experience being run over by a truck at the North Street overpass. She knows of two others in her immediate circle that this happened to. This location is widely recognized as a dangerous place on North Street. A plan should be created to upgrade the bike lanes there and improve traffic. The letter will praise the North Street project but note the deficiency where the project ends at the bridge and highlight the way drivers are favored over bikes and pedestrians. Manwill asks if we have crash data bikes. Devine says the data is tracked anytime there is a response by emergency services. Manwill states that getting the data released is important before any design of further North Street improvements commences. Wathne would like to see crashes mapped. He also suggests routing bike paths through the land around the overpass. Devine states that the meeting with the neighborhood resulted in the suggestion for educational materials for how to safely navigate whether driving, biking, or walking. The Transportation Department is looking at developing a flyer and this is an opportunity for the Bike Committee to contribute. Seiferth and Wathne discuss their views of what proportion of residents drive, walk, and bike. Manwill says adding bike infrastructure makes everyone feel safer. Manwill notes that some nondrivers may not be heard partly because some are non-English speakers. Bike Share Ridership Data for March Document referenced: Salem Bluebikes Data through 4/30/2024, slide deck. 2 Devine presents April’s data. Ridership is increasing month over month but not year over year. Downie asks if there is any update on surrounding communities joining the system. Devine responds that someone in Marblehead is advocating to have a least one station added in Marblehead, even if it is seasonal. The Community Life Center was not used during the month and is planned to be relocated shortly. Devine shares data Nagle has been working with to show frequency of rides between each pair of stations for March and April. Nagle notes that riders seem to travel farthest from the Vinnin Square station all over the city and into other communities. Downie says that is great data for other communities. The most popular route is between the Mill St. staion at the bike path to Salem State at the bike path. Devine reports that the Bluebikes station at Palmer and Congress Streets was relocated nearby for construction and is now being returned. He adds that there is still a plan to relocate the Community Life Center station to the corner of Bridge and Flint Street where it will be more visible. Staff Update Devine states that the city installed about 35 new public bike racks. About half are the hoop racks on parking meters in the downtown. The rest are standalone racks on Bridge Street Neck and North Street. Seiferth says she heard from two customers who say their bikes have been removed and impounded. She wonders what the rules are for use of the racks. Devine will inquire with the police. Seiferth says one customer had his mountain bike cut off a rack at Salem Common. No members of the committee were able to attend the most recent gathering of the North Shore Bicycling Collaborative. Devine will keep the Bike Committee informed of future events. The group discusses which members are interested in joining the Safe Streets for All Task Force. The group decides that it should be Seiferth. The group also wishes for Nagle and Manwill to be backups. Devine announces that the Committee would be welcome to table again at the Living Green Expo at Old Town Hall and Derby Square on Saturday, May 11. No members are available for this event. Devine says there will be other opportunities to table, such as at the Farmers Market. Downie promotes the bike bus. They are looking for more adults to ride with the children. Commission Member Emails Devine states that there is no update at this time. 3 Meeting Minutes There are no draft minutes to review. Adjourn Nagle motions, Manwill seconds, and all vote in favor to adjourn at 7:30pm. *** Approved by the Bicycling at Shared Path Advisory Group on 11/6/2024. 4