City Council Planning Sessions

MEMORANDUM TO: Record FROM: Susan Bishel, Public Relations Coordinator SUBJECT: March 26, 2018 City Council Planning Session Minutes DATE: March 28, 2018 CC: Mayor and City Council, City Manager, City Clerk, Department Heads The Planning Session took place in the Council Chambers, Wheaton City Hall, 303 W. Wesley St., Wheaton, Illinois. Those attending the Planning Session included: Councilman Barbier, Mayor Gresk, Councilman Prendiville, Councilman Rutledge, Councilman Scalzo and Councilman Suess. Councilwoman Fitch was absent. Also in attendance were City Manager Dzugan, Assistant City Manager Duguay, Director of Engineering Redman, Director of Planning & Economic Development Kozik and Public Information Officer Thrower. The session began at 7:00 p.m. and concluded at 7:41 p.m. The following items were discussed: I. Call to Order The Wheaton City Council Planning Session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Gresk. II. Public Comment Paula Barrington, Executive Director of the Downtown Wheaton Association shared comments on the bike path alternative the City will be considering as part of the Downtown Streetscape Plan. She expressed support for adding directional signs that would help bring bicyclists into the downtown and direct people from the downtown to the Illinois Prairie Path. She also expressed support for features in the proposed plan to encourage biking, such as a bike repair station in the park planned for Liberty Drive. She expressed concerns with changes that would take away parking, trees or other amenities. III. Approval of February 26, 2018 Planning Session Minutes The Council approved the February 26, 2018 Planning Session Minutes. IV. Downtown Streetscape Plan – Bike Path Alternative Assistant City Manager Duguay stated the purpose of the Primera and Design Workshop review of the Downtown Streetscape Plan involved an analysis to ensure bike movement is adequately addressed by the plan. This included an evaluation of the streetscape and bike facilities and potential tradeoffs if bike facilities were to be added. If the Council would like further review and analysis, developing three bike plan alternatives up to schematic design is an option. Rob Deming and Chad Dillavou of Primera Engineering and Sara Egan of Design Workshop were present to review the plans. Ms. Egan reviewed the Wheaton Bicycle Plan and its recommendations. She stated Design Workshop worked to supplement the Wheaton Bicycle Plan by connecting to recommended shared roads and extending shared roadways. The key points from the Wheaton Bicycle Plan were that the Prairie Path is an economic generator, enhancing bicycle access brings more people downtown, and the City should explore how to connect the Prairie Path more seamlessly with the downtown. Ms. Egan reviewed some of the recommendations, including sharrows (shared roadways for cars and bicyclists with pavement markings to designate them as sharrows), bicycle parking within 50 feet of every business, and signage along the Prairie Path indicating destinations. Ms. Egan reviewed the community feedback on priorities for the downtown plan, and the majority of the responses did not prioritize dedicated bicycle facilities in the core of the downtown. She reviewed the space requirements needed for dedicated bike lanes, which typically are 6-7 feet in width, and some of the existing challenges for creating dedicated bike lanes in the downtown, including angled parking, turn lanes, transit and limited right-of-way. In response to a Council question, Ms. Egan stated you can’t place a bike lane inside angled parking because cars backing out of spaces would be a safety hazard for bicyclists, and there are space challenges to accommodate a bike lane on the outside of angled parking with curb stops. Ms. Egan showed several examples of what space would be needed to implement bike lanes in several locations, and the sample areas showed a significant loss in the number of parking spaces. Due to the geometrics, safety and required tradeoffs in streetscape program and design, Design Workshop and Primera Engineering do not recommend providing dedicated bicycle facilities in the core of downtown. In response to a Council question about whether a bike lane could be added on Cross Street to connect people with the library and Adams Park, Ms. Egan stated there are many curb cuts and other conditions whereby they would not recommend a bike facility on the west side of the street. On the east side, they would need to eliminate the amenity zone containing trees, benches, bike racks and trash cans to provide even a one-way bicycle lane. It was not recommended. 3/26/18 Planning Session 2 Ms. Egan answered a Council question about whether the City could add parking by making some of the one-way streets a single lane of traffic. She said in a busy area like a downtown, a second lane is needed for delivery trucks and the backups that occur as people enter/leave parking spaces. Ms. Egan confirmed a Council comment that the goal of the Downtown Plan is to maintain the current level of parking, and a parking study done as part of the plan concluded that there is adequate parking available. In response to a Council question about whether the City could add signs from the Illinois Prairie Path directing people to individual businesses, Ms. Egan stated it could be done, or the City could use kiosks at the gathering spaces it is adding such as the proposed park north of Liberty Street. Some Council comments centered around helping to get families to Memorial Park. The majority of the Council expressed the opinion that because of the negative effect and tradeoffs such as a loss of parking, driving lanes and other amenities, the City should not pursue a plan to add dedicated bike lanes. One Council suggestion was to look at the current rules for bicyclists in the downtown and see if there’s anything the City can do to make them friendlier to biking. Director of Planning & Economic Development Kozik stated while bike riding is prohibited on downtown sidewalks, there are no restrictions on the street other than rules of the road for motorists. V. City Council/Staff Comments Mayor Gresk stated he and Councilman Prendiville accepted the DuPage Senior Citizens Council’s invitation to participate in Meals on Wheels, and he thanked the volunteers in this program who help seniors in our area by delivering hot meals. VII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m. 3/26/18 Planning Session 3