Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) Meeting Minutes via Zoom Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: City Council Chambers, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Members Present: Bill Brown, Annie Adams, Kara Dudek, Cynthia Hoyle, Jeff Marino, Bruce Michelsen Sarthak Prasad, Nancy Westcott, John Zeman Late Arrival: Staff Present: John Zeman, Lorri Brooks Others Present: Members Absent: Audrey Ishii, Susan Jones 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Bill Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken. A quorum was present. Bruce Michelsen was introduced as the newest member to the commission. He provided a brief introduction of his past experience as a Chair of the Bike commission back in the 80’s and the progress they made during that time. 2. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA There were no additions to the agenda. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (NOVEMBER) Nancy Westcott moved to approve the December meeting minutes as amended. Cynthia Hoyle seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Marino -- Aye; Michelsen-- Aye; Prasad--Aye; Westcott -- Aye; Zeman -- Aye The motion carried. 4. PUBLIC INPUT Deborah Liu shared the disadvantages of being a pedestrian and walking and discussed the snow removal on public sidewalks. Debra was close to exceeding her time and requested more minutes. Motion to approve 2 additional minutes Jeff Marino moved to approve and Cynthia Hoyle seconded the motion. A role call was taken Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Marino -- Aye; Michelsen-- Aye; Prasad--Aye; Westcott -- Aye; Zeman -- Aye. Page 1 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. 2021 Annual Report Bill Brown has not finalized the report, he is compiling data from outside entities. It is tentatively scheduled to be finalized for the March or April meeting. b. Progress Report on Bike Plan Review Brianna Barr and Thomas Valencia prepared a presentation that highlighted completed projects and unmet goals. Completed goals included Bike Lanes and Routes and side/shared use paths on various streets throughout the City. Goals not met as of yet include bike lanes on Amber lane and the bike route on Fairlawn Dr. A safety analysis and areas of further research were included. Cynthia Hoyle discussed the Matrix and keeping it up to date annually and further discussed areas that have been completed. Some commission members brought up the current IDOT resurfacing project planned for East University Avenue from Maple to I74 and noted that there may be an opportunity to add bike lanes, although none were specified in the Bicycle Master Plan. c. Update on Transferring Bike Rack to USD#116 Urbana school district coordinated with Public Works and picked up 18 bike racks for use. 6. REPORTS OF CITY OFFICIALS AND STAFF AND REPORTS OF COMMITTEES John Zeman discussed opportunities for grants to help fund projects, such as RAISE and ITEC. As well as gaining support from various community stakeholders and agencies. A scoring system is being developed for plans such as the Pedestrian Master plan and the Sidewalk plans to identify priorities. Bill Brown followed up on the Washington St Bridge and adjacent sidewalks, John Zeman advised it is in the early stages of planning. Cynthia Hoyle discussed the opportunity for establishing emergency no parking snow routes as other cities such as Normal have in palce. Brianna Barr and Thomas Valencia will follow up with ordinances and more information. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Set Goals for 2023 John Zeman discussed BPAC Bylaws, reviewing master plans. Cynthia Hoyle recommended looking into snow removal ordinances. Bill Brown states that we need to review the Bicycle Master plan, securing upcoming grants, improving crash data quality and timeliness and more systematic way it's reported. Improving technology that helps with automated pedestrian crossings. Improve the business process/culture awareness to take into account pedestrian and bicycle interests such as sidewalks being closed when streets are closed. Cynthia Hoyle proposed we do an annual review of Pedestrian and Way finding plan. Engage with city staff, Bridget, for education outreach and communications with the public. Annually ask partner organizations if they want to present to BPAC with updates. Discussing efforts for continuing education for commissioners such as workshops. Annie Adams seconded the idea of a city communications plan and to address the BPAC missions and values. Kara suggested the BPAC have a better structure on how the goals are formed. By making them measurable BPAC will know when they are being accomplished. She volunteered to compile the ideas to organize the goals. Page 2 Annie Adams volunteered to setup an air table with a collaboration of ideas as the goal process progresses. Nany Westcott discussed the Equity projects and proposals and how they will align with future goals Motion to approve Kara Dudek to organize/compile structured goals Bruce Michelsen moved to approve. Susan Jones seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye. The motion was approved. b. Safe Streets and Roads for All grant Opportunity John Zeman summarized the details of the grant and its benefits for BPAC. Cynthia Hoyle discussed partnerships with outside organizations and entities for the application and possible assistance within the City to help complete the application. c. Walk N Roll to School Day- Thomas Valencia Thomas Valencia discussed the Walk n Roll to school day event and prepared a presentation. Parent surveys highlighted areas with visibility concerns, broken sidewalks, unsafe intersections such as Vine and Scovill. Next event is scheduled for May, volunteers are needed. BPAC Commissioners thanked the groups for their presentations. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS a. Sarthak Prasad would like to present walkability report in May, he is conducting a survey in March for University of IL students, faculty and staff and will present the data to BPAC in April. He is seeking any input for the Campus Landscape Master Plan. b. Campus Rec students have created informational bicycle videos with topics such as locking your bicycles and things to know when biking on campus. c. Cynthia Hoyle shared information on several upcoming Bike Rides: i. International Women's day on March 8th with a community bike ride scheduled for March 5th. ii. Mother’s day Bike Ride is scheduled May 8th. Look for more rides and events scheduled for May and looking for anyone that would be interested in sponsoring an event. iii. Bike to work day will be scheduled in the Fall 2022. iv. A Ride of Silence is scheduled 05/18th from 6-8pm. 9. FUTURE TOPICS a. The Walkability Audit report b. Snow emergency no parking routes c. Traffic calming on Washington St. and high accident areas d. Equity and Quality of Life Projects as the City releases more information e. High Accident areas; an evaluation to deter left turns at Vine and Walnut to be submitted to Traffic Commission. f. Update on findings for bus stops for visually impaired for April’s meeting g. 2023 goals Page 3  h. IL Bike summit will be in Champaign Urbana October 12th, presentation opportunities i. Networking with similar commissions in other Cities 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:42 *** Respectfully submitted, Lorri Brooks, Recording Secretary Page 4