Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting March 27, 2019 Summerville Town Hall, Training Room 9:00 a.m. Attendees: Members: Rick Reiff, Tara Bailey, Phyllis Thornwaite, Kelley Johnson, Sarah Bares, John Mott Absent: John Pardee Visitors: Bonnie Miley, Town of Summerville Call to Order: Rick Reiff, acting Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. I. Public Comment John Mott handed out a pamphlet outlining South Carolina Bicycle Laws, which was created by the Dept of Public Safety, safestreetssavelives.org, bikelaw.com and Palmetto Cycling Coalition. Bonnie Miley spoke of the upcoming Comprehensive Plan workshops and interviews. 3 members of the committee are to be part of the interview process- John Pardee, Kelley and Rick. Sarah spoke of the need for us to have our priorities put forward in an organized manner for this planning process. The committee spoke of the need to present our crosswalk priorities, and connectivity. II. Acceptance of Minutes: Minutes from the January 2019 meeting were approved. III. Old Business: 1. The committee discussed the role and purpose of the BPAC and whether or not we should consider meeting monthly as opposed to bi-monthly. It was agreed that we need to continue our pro-active role of advising and recommending improvements and additions to the town infrastructure to better serve pedestrians and cyclists. Rick noted that we need to make sure we have our proposals put forward in time for budget decisions to be made and for the long-range planning process. Sarah noted that we should be collaborating with DREAM and town businesses in general as we have many of the same goals. John Mott made a motion to amend our meeting schedule to monthly meetings. Kelley Johnson seconded the motion The motion passed 4-2. The committee also discussed the need to schedule various “special” meetings or workshops throughout the year, as it relates to the town planning calendar. The committee agreed to schedule future special meetings as well as monthly meetings. If there are no agenda items or no quorum for these additional meetings, then they would be taken off the calendar. Bonnie agreed to write up the amendment to the BPAC ordinance.  Sarah put forward a motion to have our first special meeting in June, with the purpose to update our sidewalk and crosswalk priority list. The motion was seconded by Tara and passed. 2. Discussion of major upcoming projects A short discussion on the BGM extension was initiated by John Mott. It was agreed by the majority of the committee that the project is moving forward, albeit with some major disruptions to the SMB trail, and that we can continue to encourage the town to expedite the project as much as possible. 3. A short discussion on Trail Connections; John Mott discussed the need for connectivity from the Oakbrook YMCA to Dorchester Road, in that we need it to help mitigate the disruption to the path network that will be caused by the closure of part of SMBT during BGMPP3 construction. It was agreed that this is a priority and has been planned for many years. 4. Discussion regarding the sidewalk and crosswalk connections that need to be improved on the west side of the US 17A & W. 3rd N. Street intersection. It was agreed that we will add this to our project list. IV. New Business: 1. Action Item: Rick put forward a motion for the following meetings to be scheduled. It was seconded by Sarah and agreed by all. Wednesday, 4/17 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, 5/15 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, 6/5 9:00 a.m. V. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 AM Respectfully submitted by Kelley Johnson