Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, August 10, 2015 5:30 – 7:30 P.M. 777 E. Waterman, Building 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Conference Room Wichita, Kansas 67202 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. 5:35 pm Public Comments 4. 5:45 pm Review– Proposed Wichita Bike Paths Maintenance Program Alan King, Public Works and Utilities Director 5. 6:05 pm Discuss – Advisory Boards and Compliance Jennifer Magana, City Attorney and Director of Law 6. 6:25 pm Endorse – Bicycle Master Plan Update Scott Wadle, Senior Planner 7. 6:45 pm Discuss – Business Recognition Update Amy Delamaide, Board Member 8. 6:55 pm Elect – 2015/2016 Board Officers Jack Brown, Chairperson 9. 7:15 pm Board Member Project Reports Jack Brown, Chairperson 10. 7:20 pm Announcements Jack Brown, Chairperson 11. 7:30 pm Closing Thoughts Jack Brown, Chairperson Notice – City Council Members may attend this meeting. Packet Page #1  Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, July 13, 2015 5:30 – 7 p.m. 777 E. Waterman, Building 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Conference Room Meeting Notes Members Present: Melany Barnes ,Jack Brown , Jane Byrnes, Barry Carroll, James Crowder, Amy Delamaide, Jerry Jones, Tom Lasater, George Theoharis Members Absent: Maxine Bostic & Tyler Stutzman City Staff: Scott Wadle, MAPD, Mark Manning, Budget Officer, Steve Spade, Wichita Transit Director Guests: None Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, called the meeting to order and welcomed City staff. 2. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: Tom Lasater moved [Amy Delamaide] to approve the June 8, 2015 meeting notes. Motion carried 9-0. 3. Public Comments: There were no comments. 4. Review of the Proposed Wichita Budget & CIP Update: Mark Manning, Budget Officer, thanked the board for inviting him to make a presentation. Mr. Manning reported that the City Manager will propose $150,000 to be allocated for bike path infrastructure maintenance. In addition, a 2015-2024 Capital Improvement Program is being developed. The proposed CIP includes $500,000 every other year for bike enhancements. Mr. Manning reported that there will be a public hearing on the proposed budget on August 4, 2015. The City Council will approve the final budget on August 11, 2015. Following a brief question and answer session, the board thanked Mr. Manning for his informative presentation. 5. Discussion of the Transit and Potential Sales Tax: Steve Spade, Wichita Transit Director, reported that the City’s Transit service has a $2M ‘hole’ that somehow needs to be ‘filled.’ Mr. Spade stated that the Transit Authority has spent all of its reserves. According to Mr. Spade, there has been an exhaustive study on the core functions of the Transit system. A ‘heat map’ has been developed that shows what routes are being used [and not used] and this data will be used as a guide for future decisions. In summary, Mr. Spade stated that the City Council will have to make a decision on how to adequately fund the Transit system in the immediate future. According to Mr. Spade, a 1/10 of one percent sales tax, if enacted, could fund the Transit Authority. At the end of his presentation, the board thanked Mr. Spade for his informative presentation. 6. Approval of the WBPAB Budget Recommendation Letter: At the last regularly scheduled meeting, the board directed the Board Chairperson to draft a letter to the City Council. This letter was to request that the Council increase funding in the Operating Budget for bike/ped projects. This proposed letter would be similar to previous letter sent to the Council regarding an increase in the CIP Budget. After considerable discussion on the timing and merit of the proposed letter, it was the consensus of the board to ‘table’ this item. 1 Packet Page #2 7. Proposed Business Recognitions: Amy Delamaide reported that she would like to ‘nominate’ the following businesses, based up criteria found the Master Bicycle Plan, for recognition: 1) Mathematics; 2) Warren Optometry; 3) Fork & Fennel; and 4) Reverie Roasters. The board was appreciative of Amy’s efforts to recognize bike friendly businesses. It was suggested that local bike shops should be recognized first then the suggested businesses later. Jerry Jones and Barry Carroll agreed to compile a listing of all bicycle shops within the City. Board members volunteered to take photographs of the bike shops during August and forward them to Amy. Amy agreed to develop certificates of appreciation for the businesses and bike shops. The business owners will be invited to future board meetings and presented with their certificates. Board members thanked Amy for her ongoing efforts to recognize bike friendly businesses. 8. Discussion of Bicycle Master Plan Update. Scott Wadle introduced the item by indicating that the Board had chosen at the June meeting to think about the future priorities and to discuss future priorities as a group during the July meeting. Board members indicated a preference for staff to provide a recommendation for changes to the listing of priority projects. Jerry Jones moved [Amy Delamaide] to ask staff to compile and list of changes to the listing of priority projects in the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan for review during the August 2015 meeting. Motion carried 9-0. 9. Discussion of the New Bikeways Outreach: Scott Wadle described an online video that shows the results of buffered bike lanes being installed in Louisville, Kentucky. In an effort to be proactive, Scott reported that the City is going to publicize the projected 1 st & 2nd bikeway projects to the general public. A Frequently Asked Question [FAQ] document is being prepared and will be linked on the City’s website. Scott suggested that the board members be prepared to respond to questions and inquiries about the upcoming bike lane projects. The Mayor will hold a news conference in advance of construction. The board acknowledged that there have been a lot of bike/ped projects completed in the last two years 10. Board Members Project Reports  Redbud Trail –Phase I (Bostic): Construction should be completed in August.  Redbud Trail – Phase II (Bostic): Construction should be completed in August.  Delano/River Vista Apartments (Barnes): There will now be a 10-foot multiuse path! Groundbreaking will start in early August 2015!  Douglas Design District (Amy): The City has received HSIP funds for the improvement of the Douglas and Hydraulic intersection!  First & Second Bikeways: (Carroll): Construction will start in August!  Sycamore (Brown): Construction occurred in July; sharrows were painted on the bikeway.  Market & Topeka Bikeways (Carroll): Bids were opened on July 17th.  Armour Bikeway [Crowder]: Some work has been completed on arterial street crossings; remainder of project will be bid in July.  Woodchuck: Plans to open bids in August.  Chisholm Creek Park Multiuse Path: Construction will occur later this summer.  East Kellogg Expansion Project: Tom Lasater will track this project.  WAMPO/TAC Meeting: Jack Brown routinely attends this meeting. 11. Announcements:  Adopt-A-Trail: Tom Lasater suggested that citizens should be encouraged to ‘adopt’ segments of multiuse paths across the city.  Board Vacancy-District 5: Scott Wadle reported that there is a vacancy to be filled.  Ritchie Developers & the Redbud Trail: Jerry Jones reported that a recent business publication, that listed $800K homes, touted the advantages of living 2 Packet Page #3  close to the Redbud Trail! It appears that the trail is now viewed as a positive [no longer a negative]! 12. Closing Thoughts:  Volunteers Need for a City Safety Video: Scott reported that City staff will be filming cyclists using our bike lanes. Barry, Amy and George volunteered.  Walktober: Jane Byrnes reported that the theme for this year’s event is: ‘Walk with Me! Board members were asked to help promote Walktober. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday, August 10, 2015. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:33 pm. Barry Carroll, WBPAB Secretary 3 Packet Page #4  Wichita Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board August 10, 2015 TO: Wichita Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Members FROM: Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department SUBJECT: Updates to the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan 2015 ____________________________________________________________________________________ Recommendation: It is recommended that the Wichita Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board (Board) recommend that the City Council endorse the following updates to the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan (Bike Plan). 1. make the Redbud Path from the K-96 Path to 159th Street the Top Priority Off-Street (Shared Use Path) Bicycle Facility, replacing the Redbud Path segment from Oliver to K-96; 2. remove the Redbud Path from Woodlawn to K-96 from the Priority Bicycle Network; and 3. add the Redbud Path from K-96 to 159th Street to the Priority Bicycle Network. Background: On February 2013, the Wichita City Council endorsed the Bike Plan as a guide for how the City can help make getting around the City on a bicycle easier, safer, and more convenient. The Bike Plan contains multiple elements, including recommendations for priority bicycle facilities and cost estimates. On April 21, 2014 the Board received a staff presentation on a proposed process to update the top priority bicycle facilities identified in the Bike Plan. Staff recommended that the Board consider an update to the Bike Plan since many of the top priority on- and off-street bicycle facilities recommended in the Plan would be constructed in 2014. The Board members conducted an exercise to identify candidate bicycle facilities for citizens to vote on during the upcoming open house event. On May 27, 2014, the City of Wichita held a Bike Plan open house event, with an opportunity to vote for future on- and off-street priority bicycle facility projects. Through 2014, the City of Wichita solicited and received bids for multiple on-street bicycle facility projects. The received bids were consistently over the Engineer’s estimate for the projects and no contracts were awarded. Due to the projects not being constructed, City staff and the Board decided not to go forward with the process to update the bicycle facilities priorities in the Bicycle Plan. On March 24, 2015, the Wichita City Council received a workshop briefing on the Proposed 2015-2024 Capital Improvement Program (Proposed CIP). During the briefing, a member of the City Council requested that the Wichita Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board (Board): 1. review the Proposed CIP; and 2. review the top priority bicycle facilities recommended in the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan (Bike Plan). The Council Member suggested that the priorities review should take into account the Wichita and surrounding communities’ bicycle improvements that have occurred and/or are underway since the Bike Plan was endorsed in 2013. Packet Page #5  Page 2 On May 11, 2015 during a discussion of the recommendation letter for the proposed Wichita 2015- 2024 CIP, at least one member of the Board indicated a desire to update the listing of the top priority on- and off-street bicycle facilities contained in the Bike Plan. On May 19, 2015, the City Council approved the revised budgets and amending resolution to authorize an additional $500,000 of GO at-large bonds to construct the bicycle facilities deferred in 2014 due to a lack of funding. It is anticipated that the following bicycle facilities will be constructed by the end of 2015.  Redbud Path – I-135 to Oliver  1st and 2nd Street Bike Lanes – Seneca to I-135  Market and Topeka Bike Lanes – 21st St. to Kellogg  Armour Bikeway – K-96 Path to Gypsum Creek Path  Sycamore Shared Lane Markings – Douglas to Orient and Glen  Woodchuck Bikeway – Sedgwick County Park to University  WSU to I-135 (Phase I) – Central Ave. to I-135 Path On July 13, 2015, the Board discussed the need for updates to the Bike Plan and recommended that staff present recommended updates to the Board at their August meeting. Analysis: In order to help ensure that the Bike Plan reflects the needs of Wichita residents and stakeholders, it is recommended that the Bike Plan be updated on a regular basis. Typically plans are updated every five years, ideally every three. The Bike Plan Strategy 28 recommends that minor updates be made to the Bike Plan every year and major updates every four years. Since the City Council endorsement of the Bicycle Plan, there have been changes to both the City of Wichita and the regional bicycle networks - including but not limited to:  authorization of funding and/or the construction of the Wichita bikeways listed above in 2015;  construction of the Andover Redbud Trail- approximately 2.5 miles east of the existing Wichita K-96 Path;  inclusion of the Redbud path from K-96 to 159th Street in the draft WAMPO MOVE 2040 plan (this is the only Wichita shared-use path recommended for WAMPO funding through 2040). In addition to the changes to the bicycle networks, the public input collected at the May 27, 2014 Open House event showed that the highest priority path segment was the Redbud Path from K-96 to 159th Street. Financial Considerations: No funding is attached to the Bike Plan, and endorsement of the updates by the City Council does not commit any future funding. The Bike Plan is a guide for bicycle related infrastructure, polices, and programs. Any funding to implement the Bike Plan will need to be initiated through a separate process. The Bike Plan Appendix C contains planning level construction costs estimates for the different types of bicycle facility improvements. The cost estimates were used to calculate the planning level cost estimates to construct the 10-Year Priority Bicycle Network. The Steering Committee that guided the creation of the Bike Plan recommended that the City limit the size and the scope of the Priority Bicycle Network to roughly align with the forecasted funding available to implement the Bike Plan infrastructure improvements, estimated to be approximately $12.5 million. Planning staff have created the following estimated construction costs for the two segments of the Redbud Path, using the planning level cost estimates from the Bike Plan. This costs includes 0.5 crossing signals per 2 miles of path.  Redbud Path - Woodlawn to K-96 (3.5 miles) = $1,932,000  Redbud Path – K-96 to 159th Street (2.5 miles) = $1,380,000 Legal Considerations: Any updates to the Bike Plan will need to be reviewed and approved as to form by the Law Department. Packet Page #6  Page 3 Attachments: None Packet Page #7