Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting

APPROVED September 20, 2016 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) Meeting Minutes Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2016 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: City Council Chambers, City of Urbana, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL Members Present: Annie Adams, Kara Dudek, Cynthia Hoyle, Audrey Ishii, Susan Jones, Jeff Marino, Craig Shonkwiler and Lily Wilcock Staff Present: Kevin Garcia and Jacob McCoy Members Absent: None Others Present: None 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Cynthia Hoyle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken. It was noted that a quorum of members was present. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Susan Jones moved to approve the amended agenda for the July 19, 2016 meeting. Lily Wilcock seconded the motion. The motion was approved. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING a. June 21, 2016 Meeting Minutes Craig Shonkwiler moved to approve the meeting minutes as amended. Jeff Marino seconded the motion. The motion was approved. b. July 19, 2016 Meeting Minutes Cynthia Hoyle identified changes to the July 19, 2016 minutes and provided the recording secretary with a copy of changes. Susan Jones moved to approve the meeting minutes as amended. Lily Wilcock seconded the motion. The motion was approved. Page | 1  APPROVED September 20, 2016 4. PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 6. NEW BUSINESS a) Bradley Avenue Bike Lanes Craig Shonkwiler stated that during the October 2015 meeting, the Commission talked about the addition of buffered bike lanes on Bradley Avenue. The design of the buffered bike lanes would have an eleven foot vehicle lane, a five foot buffer and a four foot bicycle lane with a two foot gutter pan as discussed in that meeting. Since that time, there had been a redesign of the plan, and instead of an eleven foot vehicle lane, a ten foot vehicle lane was used to match the lanes to the east as one approached Lincoln Avenue and to the west into the City of Champaign. A speed study was done on Bradley Avenue, to gather pre-bike lane installation speeds. The study showed very high vehicle speeds on the section of road on Bradley Avenue coming from Champaign where traffic opened up to a 20 foot wide vehicle lane. Craig Shonkwiler noted that because of the current layout there had been a number of side swipe accidents as cars passed on the right side. He stated that the new design should help to reduce these types of accidents. He stated that studies had shown when a road narrows; there should also be a corresponding decrease in speed of about one to two mph. In this instance, he would expect more of a decrease as a result of the new design due to the fact that the lanes would narrow by half from a twenty-foot vehicle lane to a ten-foot vehicle lane. The speed study performed in April 2016 recorded vehicle speeds at 40 mph for 85% of the vehicles that travelled eastbound on Bradley Avenue and a maximum speed of 65 mph clocked at the same location. The study also found that 92% of the vehicles exceeded the statutory speed limit of 30 mph. Data gathered for the westbound lanes showed that of 85% of the vehicles travelled at 41 mph with a maximum speed of 62 mph. Craig Shonkwiler explained that the numbers gathered would commonly be used by traffic engineers to show the typical free flow speed limit of 85% of population to adjust or set speed limits. He advised that the speed data gathered for this project was not done to adjust the speed limit and the speed limit would be kept at the indicated 30 mph speed. Mr. Shonkwiler showed the Commission a map with the 2016 proposed bike lanes overlaying the bicycle route recommended in the 2008 Bicycle Master Plan.. He also noted that signage would be installed along east Bradley Avenue and Coler Avenue with this project to connect to the existing bicycle lane system at Fairview Avenue via displayed bike route signs. The other goal would be to connect to the Goodwin Avenue multi-use path with this project. Page | 2  APPROVED September 20, 2016 In the design of the plan, Craig Shonkwiler observed the flow of traffic on the streets by driving them himself. He recounted that the Mt. Olive Baptist Church (in Champaign) during their Sunday worship services had a packed parking lot with parked cars overflowing into the streets. After, he spoke with church leaders he found out that they did not have plans to expand their parking lot. He was told that the Church also had held Wednesday night services with one or two additional services during the month with the same parking situation. Therefore, Craig Shonkwiler asked for the Commissions’ thoughts about a shared park and bike lane as depicted in the presentation to accommodate the needed street parking by the church and the bike lanes for the bicyclist. He explained that the engineers felt the design they came up with would be ideal at this time, but they would monitor the street through time. If there was a demand in the next five to eight years, they would have option to move to a dedicated bike lane system. As a follow up, Craig Shonkwiler met with the pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church and also reached out to their deacon board to be good neighbors and talk to them about the City’s plans. He noted that the church property fell within the City of Champaign’s jurisdiction, but the plan would have an effect on them as well. He also reached out to the City of Champaign staff and, along with Urbana Public Works and the Urbana Planning staff, to get their input. The City of Champaign stated they had no concerns with the design. He confirmed that City of Urbana would provide parking on the Champaign side due to the way the jurisdictional area was laid out because half the road was in Urbana and half was in Champaign in that area. WEST TO EAST (Eastbound Lanes of Bradley Avenue) Craig Shonkwiler walked the Commission through the PowerPoint presentation of the Bradley Avenue bicycle lane design from west to east in the eastbound lanes of Bradley Avenue. He showed the location of the western city limit near Carver Drive. He moved on to explain that the design would go all the way to Lincoln Avenue on the east and showed Goodwin Avenue in the middle. Craig Shonkwiler presented the map of the bike lane plan and showed where the bike route and traffic lane markings would be located in the eastbound lanes. He stated that arrows would be placed on the road to mark the transition from two lanes to one lane of traffic, which would also be where the bike lane would begin. He pointed to how the transition would go across Romine Street and noted that there had been a few accidents at the intersection of Romine Street and Bradley Avenue. He added that the transition design at that intersection would allow for the bus to stop, which was located at the southeast corner of the intersection, and allow other traffic to be directed to the inside lane making it safer. As Craig Shonkwiler continued along the map to the east of Romine Avenue, he showed where existing striping on the pavement was located and then pointed out the proposed white overlay which would be the transition bike lane extending over Mathews Avenue. Further along the design, at the southwest and southeast corners of Mathews Avenue, he showed a blocked off area called the sight triangle of a corner, where there would be no parking because bicyclists would not be able to see vehicles exiting Mathews Avenue. As he passed the blocked off area, he noted where the Mt. Olive Baptist Church was located. He Page | 3  APPROVED September 20, 2016 also showed where the east/west demarcation line separating Champaign to the west and Urbana to the east was situated on Bradley Avenue. As a side note, Craig Shonkwiler stated that last year the portion of Bradley Avenue at this location on the Urbana side was patched by the City, costing about half a million dollars ($500,000). He stated as part of the City’s internal policy, prior to striping bike lanes, the City ensured that the roads were also maintained to make certain the success of the bicycle system. He also explained that at that time, Champaign did not have the funding to patch their section of the road. Craig Shonkwiler also identified the location of the future home of Leek & Sons Funeral Home across from Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He noted the entrance location and showed where the proposed transition would start for shared bicycle and parking lanes. As he moved along the map again, he showed the transition past the funeral home to a dedicated bike lane and the blocked out sight triangle at the corner of Goodwin Avenue. He depicted how a bicyclist and vehicle would share the road. Cynthia Hoyle then asked whether or not sight triangle setbacks would be used in the driveway. Craig Shonkwiler clarified that sight triangles were not applied to driveway entrances, because an ordinance restricted parking within five feet on either side of a driveway. Craig Shonkwiler continued with the map presentation and showed that as the bicyclist moved past Goodwin Avenue to the east, the buffered bike lanes were designed. He explained that there would be a ten foot vehicle lane, a six foot buffer lane, a four foot bike lane and then a two foot gutter. He added that the two foot gutter lane technically made the bike lane a six foot lane and went on further to add that the six foot buffer lane counted towards the width of the bike lane. Cynthia Hoyle asked also if bike lanes could start on the west side of Goodwin Avenue, then break between the striping at the intersection to be picked back up on the east side of the street. Lily Wilcock asked if they considered a sharrows marking in the marked off area. Craig Shonkwiler stated he didn’t recommend sharrows markings because of the confusion it would cause to the bicyclist. Jeff Marino asked if the City looked into a design of a10 foot driving lane, a two foot bike lane and one parking lane to alleviate confusion of the shared lanes. Craig Shonkwiler replied that placing a bike lane next to a parking lane was always a controversial topic. Mr. Shonkwiler added that the engineers did think of this idea, but decided the current design was the cleanest and simplest transition. Craig Shonkwiler added that they also proposed green backed lanes rather than plain white to make the transition more visible to the bicyclist and drivers. The cost associated with the green backed lanes would be a little more, but proposed this design at this location to see its effectiveness. He added that like the striping, the color would need to be maintained through time. He also identified that the MCORE project would have these same kinds of treatment. Craig Shonkwiler reminded the Commission of the higher vehicle speeds at this location and how the pavement treatment would add safety. Page | 4  APPROVED September 20, 2016 The presentation of the design was continued by Craig Shonkwiler as he moved toward Lincoln Avenue to the east. He suggested an additional transition piece that they would like to implement based on the traffic pattern that was gathered. The proposed design would go from a bike lane to a sharrows, so that the bicyclists weren’t in conflict with vehicular traffic backed up at the signals. It would also announce to the driver that there was something different as they approached, not just that the bike lane would end. Craig Shonkwiler also mentioned that normally paint on concrete would last from about three to six months to a year before fading occurred. This project would use a modified urethane paint that would not need maintenance for two to three years. They would also consider an inlay for a more permanent marking. Annie Adams asked about the addition of pedestrian markings at the four-way intersection at Lincoln Avenue and Bradley Avenue. Craig Shonkwiler responded that this would be beyond the scope of this project at this moment. However, the City had looked at the crossings at One North and One South due to heavy pedestrian crossing. They had funds reserved for that issue. Jeff Marino asked about signage at the transitional stage from four lanes to two lane traffic. Craig Shonkwiler responded that they would add “Right Lane End” signs and “Traffic Merging” signs and bicycle signage for full lane usage well in advance of the transition. They would also add a longer taper transition threshold due to vehicles racing to the merge. He also stated that sign details still needed to be worked on. EAST TO WEST (WESTBOUND) Craig Shonkwiler moved through the map from Lincoln Avenue on the westbound lanes on Bradley Avenue heading east. There would be a left thru lane and right thru lane on westbound lanes of Lincoln Avenue and the vehicle lane would go from two lanes to one lane. He showed on the map that to the north at the intersection of Goodwin Avenue and Bradley Avenue, there was no actual road, but they would still treat this point as a road in case of future developments. Annie Adams asked why there was only one major crossing on Bradley Avenue (at Goodwin Avenue). Craig Shonkwiler explained that at this section the ramps were built for north/south movement and that the ramps at the west crossing did not go north to south. The ramps on the east side of this intersection allowed for movement north to south and led to the multi-use path on the south side of Goodwin Avenue. Moving to the west, Craig Shonkwiler showed the shared parking design through to the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. He also explained that at times, when exiting the driveway at the church, motorists had problems turning in and out of the church due to parked cars on the street. Craig Shonkwiler pointed out that the bike path would cover a longer distance as you travel westbound because there are no side streets to interrupt the flow of traffic until the transition into the four lanes into Champaign. Page | 5  APPROVED September 20, 2016 Craig Shonkwiler discussed the future plan of the project, which included further talks with the church, approval of the Traffic Commission, final quotes about the signage and the project completion by October 2016. He explained that they have the funding to get it done. Craig Shonkwiler asked for formal approval of the plan from the Commission. He abstained from voting. Susan Jones moved to approve the Bradley Avenue Bike Lane proposal. Lily Wilcock seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. b) MCORE Project Updated Craig Shonkwiler updated the Commission on the status of the MCORE project. The bid opening for the MCORE Project had been set for July 29, 2016. There were two projects up for bid, one in Champaign and one in Urbana. There were a total of two bids for the Urbana project and one bid for the Champaign project. Craig Shonkwiler explained that none of the bids were awarded because all had over bid. After the bid date, the agency members met to make minor changes to the project’s time schedule without changing the core of the project. He stated that the rebid would occur in November 2016. He explained that there were a lot of factors in July 2016 that impacted the bidding environment due to major projects that were already out to bid or potential bidders that had already secured their work for the season. Now, he explained, the project would look at a 2017-2018 construction season, which would extend the project to two full seasons rather than one and a half seasons. The consultant would be doing minor modifications of when certain items would need to be built. Cynthia Hoyle added that she spoke with Jane Sullivan at the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) who stated that the compressed time frame of the project drove the budget up for the bidders. She added that under the original bid, the bidders would have had to do the work in a short time frame, add more people and work overtime to complete the project. The reason the rebid would be in November 2016, not sooner, was based on the IDOT scheduling of bids, but Craig Shonkwiler assured the commission that there was no money lost. c) Proposed Pedestrian Plan Craig Shonkwiler stated that the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (RPC) received a Sidewalk Network Inventory Grant in 2015 and assessed and digitized the sidewalks in both Champaign and Urbana. Brad Bennett, along with Matthew Yoder of RPC, gave a presentation of the Sidewalk Network Inventory findings at a previous Commission meeting and mentioned that the findings might be implementing into a pedestrian master plan. During their capital improvement process, the City budgeted funds for the plan and Page | 6  APPROVED September 20, 2016 entered into an agreement with the RPC, as they did with the Master Bike Plan, to oversee the project. In addition, Craig Shonkwiler outlined the scope of the Pedestrian Master Plan. The Pedestrian Master Plan would define the steps needed to make the City of Urbana a more walkable, livable and healthy city. A walkable community would promote healthy living benefits, contribute to a cleaner environment and support positive forces through social cohesion in the City of Urbana. The plan would establish the policies, programs, and projects that would further enhance pedestrian safety, comfort and accessibility in all of Urbana’s neighborhoods. Craig Shonkwiler reminded the Commission that the actual process, other than getting a scope of work defined, had not yet begun. There would be a preplanning stage where the Commission would have Brad Bennett come in the fall to start the process. Further, Craig Shonkwiler outlined a timeline of events. He stated that a steering committee would be established. Then, a kickoff meeting for the committee would be organized. The committee would formalize the public engagement process, create a City-approved website and conduct data collection. They would report on the existing condition and report public input. They would further look at existing plans and policy reviews, do community meetings and walking preference surveys. The process would also include a draft of existing conditions report which would involve the steering committee. They would also develop a plan for the future with goals and objectives; and decide on capacity needs, desires and recommendations. Finally, they would develop pedestrian strategies, develop recommendations, hold public workshops, and then develop an implementation plan with the steering committee input. The steering committee would be made up of City staff, University representatives and other stake holders who have yet to be defined. They would then seek plan approval by the City Council and this Commission to get the plan adopted. Craig Shonkwiler estimated a total completion timeline of one to two years and stated that funding had already been secured. Cynthia Hoyle asked if scope had been finalized and would like to include an additional goal to have Urbana also designated as a walk friendly community by walkfriendly.org, an organization that certifies walkable communities. d) 2016 Bicycle Master Plan Updated Kevin Garcia updated the Commission by stating that City staff have continued working on edits to the Bicycle Master Plan. The next step in the plan would then be to meet with City Council member, Charlie Smyth, prior to the next steering committee meeting in next three to four few weeks. Then they plan to share the edits with the Commission at the October 2016 meeting. The overall goal would be to have the 2016 Bicycle Master Plan completed before the end of the year. Jeff Marino asked if both the Bicycle Master Plan and pedestrian plan would be adopted as an element to the Comprehensive Plan. Craig Shonkwiler said that at this point the Bicycle Master Plan would be adopted as an element to the Comprehensive Plan. e) U.S. 150/U.S. 45 (University Avenue) IDOT Safety Improvements Status Update Page | 7  APPROVED September 20, 2016 A year ago, a road safety audit was conducted, wherein a collection of people from different groups within Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Illinois State Police did a walk down the corridor of U.S. 150/ U.S. 45 (University Avenue) and found that a portion of University Avenue west of Vine Street/Cunningham Avenue and past Carle Hospital had concerns that needed to be addressed. Craig Shonkwiler read from an e-mail received from IDOT’s project engineer. The IDOT engineer stated that the design plans were in the early stages of Phase I, also known as the early preliminary studies phase. The project would move to Phase II or the actual plans and then onto Phase III or the construction stage at a later date. As of now, the project was in Phase I. At this point in the Phase, IDOT would be determining preliminary sidewalk layout and ROW needs (meaning they would need to buy some properties). They would then coordinate signal improvements and then look into the crosswalks near the Jimmy John’s at University Avenue and Broadway Avenue for needed improvement. Craig Shonkwiler stated they plan on finishing the initial study by the end of this year. IDOT would then proceed with Phase II, while wrapping up Phase I. As a side note, Craig Shonkwiler mentioned that this project had been part of the 2018 HSIP Highway Safety Improvement Project. In addition, he would anticipate several meetings with the City and stakeholders during the process. He also reiterated the importance of this project and the safety concerns at the signalized intersections near Carle due to a number of pedestrian accidents. They were also concerned about the crosswalk at Broadway Avenue and University Avenue for the same reason. Cynthia Hoyle encouraged that the Commission obtain public input sooner than later on this project. She felt that a discussion about slowing traffic on University Avenue and issues with speeding were missing from the study. Craig Shonkwiler said that he would relay the concerns to Bill Gray, who would then notify IDOT of the Commission’s request. Craig Shonkwiler did not believe there would be bike lanes on the street, but there was talk about wider multi-use sidewalks. 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS • August 20-21 – Kickapoo Fat Tire Festival • August 27 – C-U Across the Prairie Ride 7:00 a.m. • September 10 – Bike Rodeo Public Section Four Square Church parking lot • September 19 – Illinois Bike Summit • September 22 – Light the Night 4-7 p.m. • October 5 – Walk and Roll to School Day • October 12 – UIUC Bicycle Census • Craig Shonkwiler introduced Jake McCoy, Civil Engineer will be replacing Craig Shonkwiler as City Staff Representative within the year. • MTD constructing permanent bike skills stations at a newly purchased lot near their administration building. 8. FUTURE TOPICS Page | 8  APPROVED September 20, 2016 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. *** Respectfully submitted, Leslie Cross Recording Secretary Page | 9