Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Special Meeting

APPROVED January 16, 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) Meeting Minutes Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: Council Chambers, City of Urbana, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL Members Present: Bill Brown (Chair), Leonardo Covis, Kara Dudek, Audrey Ishii, Susan Jones, Jeff Marino, Craig Shonkwiler and Nancy Westcott Staff Present: Marcus Ricci Members Absent: Lily Wilcock Members Late Arrival: Annie Adams, Cynthia Hoyle Others Present: Evan Alvarez, Champaign Urbana Mass Transit District 1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Bill Brown called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Roll call was taken. It was noted that a quorum of members was present. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING The minutes from the August 18, 2017 meeting were presented for approval. Jeff Marino moved to approve the minutes; Susan Jones seconded the motion, and the motion was approved. 4. PUBLIC INPUT There was no public input. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Designated Bus Stops & Pedestrian Access – Evan Alvarez (CUMTD) Evan Alvarez, Planner with the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (CUMTD), discussed a project being done with Miracle Walk to improve pedestrian access in the community and specifically his interest in access to bus stops. He stated that CUMTD recently converted to designated stops. When the change was made to designated stops, CUMTD wanted to ensure that safety and accessibility were not compromised. Mr. Alvarez concluded by asking the Commission  APPROVED January 16, 2018 for suggestions on areas in the City that are especially vulnerable to any safety issues so that CUMTD could address them. Mr. Alvarez responded to Audrey Ishii’s question on whether other community groups had been involved in providing input. He stated that they had done public hearings and had taken public feedback into account. However, he stated that coming to the Commission was the first step in identifying additional issues. Craig Shonkwiler asked for some background on how a designated stop had been chosen. Mr. Alvarez responded that there were a number of criteria and could be found on the stop placement guideline available on CUMTD’s website. He added that distance was the largest factor in the designation. Mr. Alvarez stated that any bus stop by a park or school had not been changed, but would then reconsider distance or consolidation of another stop. The also wanted to maintain connectivity with the pedestrian street grid and ensure connection between buses. Leonard Covis questioned Mr. Alvarez on whether they had looked at sidewalk quality and availability. Mr. Alvarez stated that they had done that. He had prefaced his answer by stated that they done a stop activity study which was data of people getting off and on at various stops. As result of that study, they took into consideration whether or not an area had a fully developed sidewalk/network and less activity, then it was looked at in the process of determine a stop. Susan Jones commented on sidewalks near Parkland College, where snow was not cleared and access was a problem. Mr. Alvarez stated it would be noted. Bill Brown asked for examples of stops that had been changed due to accessibility issues. Mr. Alvarez noted that they pushed a message to drivers to note any stops that were used regularly. He also noted they had reduced the number of stops from approximately 2400 down to 1800. In response to Leonardo Covis’ reasoning for the change, Mr. Alvarez stated it was mainly due to schedule adherence and also affected fuel efficiency. There were no other questions. b. Main Street – Scottswood Drive to University Avenue Signage and Striping – Craig Shonkwiler Craig Shonkwiler updated the Commission on the improvements made on Main Street from Scottswood Drive to the Kickapoo Rail Trail (KRT). He noted that the area was under a connectivity study being done by the Champaign County Forest Preserve District, Urbana Park District and the City of Urbana in conjunction with the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC). The study was being done for a more long term connectivity issue from Weaver Park in the City to the KRT, as result of a gap between bicycle lanes on Main Street to the KRT. Craig Shonkwiler stated because of heightened activity on Main Street, the city developed a plan using an existing contract to complete striping from east of Scottswood Drive to US 150 (University Avenue) which is the current beginning of the KRT. He showed the location of where the current bicycle lanes end and where sharrows had been installed. Mr. Shonkwiler also indicated were signs would be installed to indicate to bicyclist that they may use those lanes. He added that using low cost striping added to the improvement of safety and connectivity. In addition, they would be better spacing existing bicycle signage in the area. Craig Shonkwiler commented that the signage and  APPROVED January 16, 2018 striping would now indicate to both bicyclist and motorist that bicyclist are afforded the right to full lane usage. Craig Shonkwiler pointed out the continental crosswalk added at the intersection of US 150 (University Avenue) and Main Street was done after meeting with representatives with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District and the Federal Highway Administration at a Designing for Bicyclist Safety class. He added that there was no receiving ramp on the west side of the road so the markings sweep the rider into the travel lane. He added that the markings do stop the motorist south of the path and not at the path entrance, allowing for bicyclists that are entering Main Street. He stated that the drawback with the design, was that it was more pro-bicycle and doesn’t address pedestrian connectivity since there are no sidewalks on Main Street. Craig Shonkwiler hoped that the signage would be installed within the next month and would be done by the City staff. He also added that there had been good feedback about the bicycle sharrows from the bicycle community. In response to Commission questions, Craig Shonkwiler confirmed that the posted speed was 35 mph and that the crosswalk was 10-foot wide. He also commented that there were no plans for connectivity to Beringer Commons at this time since the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) typically prefers wants all bicycle and pedestrian traffic to cross at signalized intersections. Jeff Marino asked about the inclusion of the bike sharrows on Main Street in the Urbana Bicycle Master Plan (UBMP). Craig Shonkwiler responded that this had not been included in the UBMP, but had been added as a study area. Cynthia Hoyle asked about the turning radius for right turning vehicles coming off of University Avenue to see if a painted bulb out could be added to the change radius resulting in the slow down of motorists. Craig Shonkwiler responded that IDOT would need to be consulted for any change in the radius at this location. Leonardo Covis asked if there were any plans for extra signage traveling west and turning left into Weaver Park. Craig Shonkwiler stated that no additional signage would be added. However, the city had added stop signs at Smith Road and Main Street and the proposed wayfinding system would should help direct bicyclist where to go. Craig Shonkwiler responded to the Commission regarding the speed limit reduction that at this point they could observe it, but if they were to do a study it might go up and he would like to keep it at 35 mph. c. Walk ‘n Roll to School Day – Cynthia Hoyle Cynthia Hoyle presented an update on the Walk ‘n Roll to School Day program. She stated that this program occurred the first week of October with all the Urbana Elementary Schools having participated. Mayor Marlin was in attendance along with members of the Urbana Police Department and Champaign-Urbana Safe Routes to School Project volunteers. Ms. Hoyle was expecting responses to classroom tallies and parent surveys. She added that there was nice coverage by UPTV and other news media. Ms. Hoyle added that there was no grant funding, so she was not sure of future events. However, the school district had picked up some of the funding issues to sustain the events. d. Market at the Square Bike Rodeo – Cynthia Hoyle  APPROVED January 16, 2018 Cynthia Hoyle presented on the Market at the Square Bike Rodeo updates. They had five kids participate and were able to sell helmets. The kids who participated were able to get more individualized training. They are reconsidering the location for the next event. e. Don Moyer Club Bike Ride on the Kickapoo Trail – Cynthia Hoyle Cynthia Hoyle presented on the Don Moyer Club Bike Ride on the Kickapoo Trail updates. Ms. Hoyle stated that she would like to be able to spread the word to bike riders and other groups who are not aware of the trail, specifically minority communities who are interested in doing more bicycle activities but may not have access to equipment and maintenance of that equipment. Annie Adams suggested holding a bike rodeo during an Urbana First Friday event. Ms. Hoyle also stated that volunteers were key to these events. 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS  October 27 – Comments regarding Goals and Objectives due to RPC  Urbana First Friday – Annie Adams announced offering for Urbana First Friday for a Bike Rodeo, Bike Fashion Show, etc. 8. FUTURE TOPICS  Lincoln Avenue Crossing Lighting - Craig Shonkwiler stated that a corridor study is being conducted by the city from Pennsylvania Avenue through Nevada Street. Traffic counts, speed data and an analysis of crash data has been performed. Analysis will also be performed each crosswalk to see what treatment would be recommended. Lighting levels will also be looked at. In 2006, a road diet had been put in reducing the lanes from 3 to 4. Concerns about the intersections at Lincoln and Ohio and Lincoln and Iowa have been noted. Results of the corridor study are expected over the winter period.  Signage at Green Street  Timing Signals in Downtown Urbana  National Vision Zero for Children Campaign  Volunteer Snow Removal Program  University Avenue update 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m. *** Respectfully submitted, Leslie Cross Recording Secretary