Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission

Minutes - Wheaton Bicycle Advisory Committee Subcommittee of the Environmental Improvement Commission May 17th, 2017 Roll Call​: ​Chairperson, Dan Dlhy, called the meeting to order at 7pm. In Attendance​:​ Michelle Dunlap, Therese Kushman, Dan Dlhy, Karen Saad, Bill Nieman, Rita Nathanson, Nancy Allured and Laurel Salvador. Approval of Minutes​: ​The minutes were amended. Dan moved to accept the minutes (with changes) and Therese approved and Nancy seconded. The minutes were approved as amended. Public Comment​: ​None Chair Report​: ​Dan discussed the recent posts to our social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter. Events posted to social media included the Bike / Walk to School event, the History Ride, our first Group Ride, the Bike Valet at the Taste of Wheaton, the Illinois Prairie Path Ride and our Bike Festival. Dan contacted Arin Thrower, Wheaton Public Information Officer, to discuss the possibility of our committee running & maintaining our own website. The city is open to us having our own domain name that points to our page on the city’s website but would like me to provide a report on why we are interested in having our own site. One reason we were interested in having our own site was because the Wheaton History Ride was difficult to find on the city website. Our committee supplied an annual report of the events and accomplishments to the Environmental Improvement Committee as they need to send that to the city. Nancy and Dan collaborated on a document that was submitted to the E.I.C. and included in their annual report. Discussed was the events such as Bike / Walk to School, Bike Valet, Bike Festival, Atten Park safety improvements performed by the Wheaton Park District after an accident involving Laurel, Michelle was instrumental in securing bike racks for the Central Park athletic complex and collaborating with the Warrenville & Winfield Bike Committees, the staff at Cantigny and the DuPage Forest Preserve on new trails from St. James farm to the main park at Cantigny. Dan discussed creating & placing flyers in local businesses to attract new members to the committee. Sidney Kenyon (​Senior Transportation Planner with DuPage County) reached out to Dan to discuss the implementation of the bike plan in the city of Wheaton and a meeting will be scheduled. Ongoing Business​: Bike/Walk/Bus-to-school: The approximate numbers for the spring 2017 Bike-to-School event are as follows: 1,294 participants, 622 bike riders with 10 schools participating. History Ride: We will cancel the ride if storms come through the area at the time of the ride. Michelle Dunlap and Rita Nathanson will meet on the west-entrance of the library as well as the Adams park fountain around 1:45pm either to greet riders or inform them that the ride has been cancelled due to weather. All riders must sign a waiver and will be turned into the city to be kept on file. Carrie Provost will print out the route maps for us as well. Please wear the lime green Bike Wheaton t-shirts to the ride. Bike Valet: The Taste of Wheaton and the bike valet is on Saturday June 3rd from 6am - 7pm. Michelle will print out and post the schedule on the Google drive. Dan Dlhy will gather all of the materials when the booth is closed down. Bike Festival: Will be held on Saturday August 12th between 10am-Noon in Memorial Park. We hope to encourage more adults to this year’s events. Vendors, bike shops, community groups related to biking are groups that we are hoping will set-up tables at the event. This year is the 200th anniversary of the invention of the bicycle and also soliciting unique and vintage bike groups to put on a show for the attendees. The Downtown Wheaton Association will be reaching out to the Wheelman to see if they will participate. We are also considering extending the length of the parade route by allowing participants to do a second lap. The Bike Rodeo is confirmed and will be run by the Wheaton Police Department. Encouraging participants to decorate their bicycles and prizes will be awarded. Working Bikes will be attending the event again this year to take donated bicycles. We are still looking to find a jeweler who specializes in jewelry with a “bicycle” theme. New Business​:​ None Other topics from Committee Members​: ​None Upcoming Committee Meetings​:​ Wednesday June 21st (public) and Wednesday July 19th (public) Adjournment​:​ The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm Respectfully Submitted​:​ Rita Nathanson