Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Municipal Service Center City of Santa Rosa South 69 Stony Circle Conference Room 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes - Final Thursday, January 18, 2024 4:00 PM 4:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Badenfort called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present 8 - Chair Kim Badenfort, Vice Chair Elizabeth Ridlington, Board Member Sarah Hart, Board Member Doug McKenzie, Board Member Dylan Prindle, Board Member Tanya Narath, Board Member Paul Schwarz, and Board Member Emily Warne 2. STATEMENTS OF ABSTENTION BY BOARD MEMBERS None. 3. COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS BY BOARD MEMBERS Board Member Warne abstained from approval of the minutes due to her absence from the November meeting. Board Members asked for clarification regarding abstention. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 4.1 November 16, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes. A motion was made by Board Member Schwarz, seconded by Board Member Narath, approved as submitted. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7 - Chair Badenfort, Vice Chair Ridlington, Board Member Hart, Board Member McKenzie, Board Member Prindle, Board Member Narath and Board Member Schwarz Abstain: 1 - Board Member Warne 5. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA MATTERS Janet Barocco spoke in favor of building an at-grade rail crossing on Jennings Avenue as a vital east/west route for bicylists and pedestrians. City of Santa Rosa Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Regular Meeting Minutes - Final January 18, 2024 Board Johanna James spoke in favor of building an at-grade rail crossing on Jennings Avenue and requested the Board urge the Council to take action to move the project forward. Steve Birdlebaugh showed examples of three types of grade crossings, spoke in favor of building an at-grade crossing at Jennings Avenue and encouraged the Board to educate the Council about the project and to support the project. Alexa Forrester spoke in support of building an at-grade crossing at Jennings Avenue as a safe network link and encouraged support from the Board. Late Correspondence 6. REPORT ITEMS 6.1 REPORT - Transportation Development Act (TDA) Article III Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/2025 BACKGROUND: Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board to provide programming direction for TDA Article III funds. RECOMMENDATION: The Board may, by motion, recommend which project to allocate approximately $227,341 of FY 2024/2025 TDA Article III funds to. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chris Guenther of Bikeable Santa Rosa spoke in support of starting projects sooner and is concerned about the timing of the implementation. He stated the City needs to increase the general fund and allocate for bicycle and pedestrian projects on an annual basis to get them started rather than waiting for additional funding. Emily Shartin of Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition spoke in support of budget allocation for bicycle and pedestrian projects and supported prioritizing the Dutton Avenue project. Alexa Forrester agreed with the previous comments and had questions about funding if a project isn't built within the stated time frame. She also inquired about how to get all the projects done and how success is measured for each project. Janet Barocco asked for clarification on the scope of the Dutton Avenue project and any plans from Guerneville Road to College City of Santa Rosa Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Regular Meeting Minutes - Final January 18, 2024 Board Avenue. An amended motion was made by Board Member McKenzie, seconded by Board Member Schwarz, to recommend allocation of $200,000 of FY 2024/2025 TDA Article III funds to the North Dutton Avenue project and to allocate the remainder of the FY 2024/2025 TDA Article III funds to the top priority Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons (RRFB's). The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 8 - Chair Badenfort, Vice Chair Ridlington, Board Member Hart, Board Member McKenzie, Board Member Prindle, Board Member Narath, Board Member Schwarz and Board Member Warne 6.2 REPORT - Vision Zero Implementation Plan Annual Update BACKGROUND: Staff will provide an update on implementation of Santa Rosa’s Vision Zero Implementation Plan for the Sonoma County Vision Zero Action. RECOMMENDATION: No action is required. Board may provide input on implementation of the Vision Zero Implementation Plan. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chris Guenther stated that more staff resources are needed to do the job more quickly. He spoke in favor of the table and metrics to illustrate next steps, how much work has been done and needs to be done. Steve Birdlebaugh stated the at-grade crossing at Jennings Avenue is a good example to get bicyclists and pedestrians off of Guerneville Road and a step in the right direction. Alexa Forrester expressed concern about the College Avenue crossing and prefers something more substantial to protect pedestrians. She also gave information about a training program for bus drivers in Brazil she thought might be helpful for CityBus training. This item was received and filed. 6.3 REPORT - Countywide Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (CBPAC) Citizen Appointment BACKGROUND: Assigning a citizen representative to the CBPAC. RECOMMENDATION: The Board shall, by motion, assign a citizen City of Santa Rosa Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Regular Meeting Minutes - Final January 18, 2024 Board representative to the CBPAC. PUBLIC COMMENTS Emily Shartin stated that no one from the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is on the CBPAC. A motion was made by Chair Badenfort, seconded by Board Member Schwarz, to nominate Board Member McKenzie as the citizen representative to the CBPAC, with the possibility of having a back up representative or rotating assignment to be discussed in the future. The motion carried unanimously. 7. CHAIR/BOARD MEMBERS' ANNOUNCEMENTS None. 8. STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS - Staff reports $200,000 has been received from MTC for the procurement of approximately 1,400 bollards. - Word from Caltrans that there is strong possibility of a protected cycle track on the Hearn Avenue overcrossing, and it will link to the multi-use path. Caltrans will start removing vegetation soon. - A pilot project will move forward on Steele Lane in front of Steele Lane Elementary School that will close a lane for over two months. Staff has consent from the Fire Department, City Council, and the school principal. The pilot project is tentatively scheduled to start in mid-March and end in late May. - An email update about the street story reporting tool was sent to the Board. - Traffic Engineering staff are not part of the Jennings Avenue at-grade crossing discussions, which continue between the City Manager's Office and SMART. Any questions may be directed to Assistant City Manager, Jason Nutt. Board Members and the public are encouraged to submit comments to the City Council and to SMART. 9. ADJOURNMENT OF REGULAR MEETING Chair Badenfort adjourned the meeting at 6:10 p.m. City of Santa Rosa Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Regular Meeting Minutes - Final January 18, 2024 Board Approved on: February 15, 2024 /s/ A. Scheblik, Recording Secretary