Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission

Wheaton Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission October 16, 2024 7pm Gammon Room, Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, IL In person and Virtual meeting I. Call to Order 7:00 pm Members present: Bill, Michelle, Lou, Bob, George, Connor, Mike, Laurel, Rita Members absent: Cate, Alyse Public Present: None II. Agenda Item Approval of September Minutes Motioned: Bill Seconded: Laurel Unanimously approved via voice vote. III. Public Comment - None IV. Agenda Item Chair Report- A. October City Council Meeting Laurel attended the meeting and reported that an agreement was passed to have Former City of Wheaton Police Chief William Murphy provide consulting services. He will be managing projects and completing tasks typically handled by the Assistant City Manager (this position has been vacant since July 2024). It is unclear if Mr. Murphy will serve as our liaison which was one of the responsibilities of the former Assistant City Manager. B. Safe Routes/Bike to School - No update C Grant Writing/Bike Plan Consultant Kyle Moss received a follow up question from the USDOT on 9/30/24 asking about a potential overlap issue with their funding and CMAP. Because our plan was not in coordination with CMAP, there is a potential our application will be denied. He sent a question to CMAP and USDOT to ask about the processes on this and get a better understanding on how all this works. His initial understanding is these projects need to flow through CMAP because they are the designated authority for this area on items like this. He hopes that someone from one of these organizations will get back to him soon. We did let Kyle know that John Duguay applied to CMAP earlier this year and Wheaton was not selected. D. IPP Welcome Signs Melisa Ribikawskis with DuPage County said the permitting process for the signs was completed, however that the City would be responsible for their installation. Sarang in Engineering reached out to the City sign department who said they hope to have the signs installed in the next 2-3 weeks following utility location. WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES October 16, 2024 V. Ongoing Business A. History Ride Recap We had a discussion on the pros and cons of using CSO’s with vehicles vs. police on bicycles for traffic control. Bob expressed that he thought having police on bikes would be his first choice, but if we get CSO’s in trucks again, we should ask them to cover every intersection with a stop sign or a traffic signal. Since the police force has not been able to help the last 2 years, we will most likely ask CSO’s for support first rather than the police for next year. Michelle sent our history ride photos to our City contact to use for the Virtual ride. B. Clear sidewalks/bus stops Proposal A suggestion was made to specify in the proposal that we are talking about PACE bus stops. Michelle motioned we approve the proposal with suggested edits to be presented at the November City Council meeting. Connor seconded. Unanimously approved via voice vote. C. WBPC tee shirts Rita said the cost will be between $23-29 each and asked that we email her with the model #, color and size. Rita said you can order a thicker T-shirt from Big Frog and she will report more about this at our November meeting. D. November City Council Meeting - Bill will attend and present the Clear Sidewalks/bus stops proposal.. VI. New Business A. Safe Travel for All Initiative -CMAP Regional Initiative Safety “hot spots” map Laurel volunteered to put in all the proposals that we have submitted on this website's map. Michelle recommended that we can individually put in dangerous intersections and crossings on the map as well. Laurel also reported that the bushes on the corner of Orchard Road and Butterfield Road need to be cut back so they do not obscure pedestrians who are crossing at this intersection. She will submit a service request to the City. B. The Traffic Calming Effect of Delineated Bicycle Lanes Bill suggested we could look at journals for science/engineering data on bike/pedestrian safety to report to the City Council and to use in future bike plan strategies/tactics. C. Former City of Wheaton Police Chief William Murphy providing consulting services Since Mr. Murphy will be managing projects and completing tasks typically handled by the Assistant City Manager, Lou will email Mike Dzugan to find out if he will be our liaison since his predecessor had this responsibility. D. DuPage County Trails Coordinator - Jon Loper (Sid Kenyon’s replacement) Michelle has been trying to connect with this new person to invite him to our November meeting. E. IPP meeting is Nov. 3rd at the Lubko Center for anyone who can attend. F. Order Bike Lights for Giveaways As discussed at last months meeting, Bob will order the budgeted # of bike lights (up to $350). 10/17/24 Email Update: Bob did order the lights and they should be delivered by the end of this month. G. Batavia Road Diet - Per Connor, this has not been done due to push back from IDOT. 10/17/24 Email Update: Connor double-checked on the Road Diet for Illinois Route 31 in Batavia, and it appears that plans are underway to begin the Illinois Route 31/Batavia Avenue Road Diet Project as early as Monday, September 30. Here's a link to the website in case you want to take a look: Road Diet for Illinois Route 31 | Batavia, IL - Official Website (bataviail.gov) 2 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES October 16, 2024 H. Bike Connections Bob brought up that Google and Apple already give bike connections on their maps, so we should be able to include them on our bike map as well. Michelle will update our Wheaton bike map with these connections that George researched earlier this year. I. Oct. 19, 2024 Fall Foliage ride is our last group ride for 2024. Next Meeting: November 20, 2024 X. Adjournment - 8:05 pm Approved 3