Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, April 21, 2014 5:30 – 7:30 P.M. 777 E. Waterman, Building 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Conference Room Agenda Item Time Description 1. 5:30 pm Call to Order Jack Brown, Chairperson 2. 5:31 pm Approve Previous Meeting Notes Jack Brown, Chairperson 3. 5:33 pm Overview of Proposed WAMPO TIP and Bikeway Prioritization Process Scott Wadle, Planning Department 4. 5:40pm Bikeway Prioritization Identification Exercise Scott Wadle, Planning Department 5. 6:20 pm WAMPO TIP Discussion Scott Wadle, Planning Department 6. 6:50 pm Closing Thoughts Jack Brown, Chairperson 7. 7:00 pm Public Comments Jack Brown, Chairperson Notice – City Council Members may attend this meeting. Wichita Priority Bikeways Update Process – 2014 Recommended Action It is recommended that the Wichita Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board approve the proposed public consultation process to identify the next series of priority bikeways for design and construction by the City of Wichita. Background On January 9, 2009, the Wichita City Council adopted the Wichita Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan (PROS Plan) as an amendment to the Wichita-Sedgwick County Comprehensive Plan. The PROS Plan includes a listing of the top priority pathways for the City (Attachment A). On July 18, 2011, the Wichita Board of Park Commissioners voted to endorse an updated priority pathways listing (Attachment B). On February 5, 2013, the Wichita City Council indorsed the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan (Bicycle Plan). The Bicycle Plan is a guide for future actions by the City to make bicycling easier, safer, and more convenient. Included within the plan is a listing of the Top 10 Recommended Priority On-Street and Side Path Bicycle Facilities and the Top Priority Off-Street (Shared Use Path) Bicycle Facility (Attachment C). Since the endorsement of the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan, the City of Wichita has utilized the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) years 2013 and 2015 Bicycle Enhancement line item of $500,000 every other year to secure additional non-City funding to design and construct bicycle facilities. As a result, all or a portion of the recommended bikeways for nine of the Top 10 Recommended Priority On-Street and Side Path Bicycle Facilities, and one mile of the Top Priority Off-Street (Shared Use Path) Bicycle Facility have funding for design and construction. Analysis The City of Wichita CIP and the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WAMPO) Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) are both long-term capital investment planning documents. They provide the majority of funding for the design and construction of bicycle facilities in Wichita. The City CIP plans for capital investments out 10-years and the WAMPO TIP has a planning horizon of four years. Having a list of priority bicycle facility projects helps the City of Wichita to plan for their design and construction in the CIP. It also helps the City to prepare applications to WAMPO (and other organizations). Having a list of additional priority bikeways in addition to, or as a replacement, for the bikeways identified in the Bicycle Master Plan could help the City to plan for future bikeway investments and funding applications. The Wichita Bicycle Master Plan recommends that the Park Department be the lead City department to implement the shared-use paths recommended in the plan. City guidance for priority shared-use paths is provided by three different documents: the Bicycle Plan, PROS Plan, and the Park Board endorsed an updated priority pathways listing. All three documents currently recommend different paths as the top priority for the City to develop. Hosting another prioritization process could provide an opportunity to update and coordinate the lists. It is proposed that the City utilize a public engagement process similar to the open house format used to collect feedback on the priority bicycle facilities for the Bicycle Plan and add an additional online survey. Below is a listing of the proposed steps for the process. 1. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board identifies approximately 12 – 15 potential priority on-street and sidepath bikeways. The board may also choose to recommend potential priority shared-use path facilities for consideration by the Park Board. 2. The Park Board identifies potential priority shared-use pathways. 3. Announcements about the upcoming open house event and the launch of the online voting survey are made at the Bike Month kick-off event. 4. The City hosts a public open house event for people to provide input about the priority bicycle facilities and to learn about the accomplishments implementing the Bicycle Plan in 2013. 5. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board uses the public input collected to develop and endorse a list of priority on-street and side path facilities. The list is fiscally constrained based on estimates for available funding. The board may also choose to recommend potential the priority shared-use path(s). 6. The Park Board uses the public input (and Bike Ped Board input if applicable) to develop and endorse a list of priority shared-use path facilities. The list is fiscally constrained based on estimates for available funding. Attachment A Attachment B Priority Pathways Listing Approved by the Wichita Park Board July 18, 2011 1. Delano neighborhood pathway north of Douglas 2. K-96 to Harry 3. Arkansas to Haysville – from Watson to Haysville along the river corridor 4. South Central neighborhood – East river bank to Herman Hill Park 5. Redbud A continue existing trial to K-96 6. Redbud B K-96 to county line 7. Connect west trail to Prairie Sunset Trail through Goddard Attachment C Wichita Bicycle Master Plan Recommended Priority Bicycle Facilities