Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, October 10, 2016 5:30 – 7 p.m. 777 E. Waterman, Building 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Conference Room Meeting Notes Members Present: Melany Barnes, Maxine Bostic, Jack Brown, Barry Carroll, James Crowder, Russell Fox, Tyler Stutzman, Wendy Tan, George Theoharis Members Absent: Jerry Jones, Tom Lasater City Staff: Robert Layton, City Manager, Scott Wadle, MAPD, Brian Coon & Paul Gunzleman, Public Works Guests: Lonny Wright, Alan Kailer, John Moore, Becky Tuttle, Eric Mead, Chris Green Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, welcomed City staff and guests. 2. Public Comments: John Moore encouraged the City of Wichita to support the building of bike paths and lanes. Mr. Moore noted that these amenities attract young professionals and economic development to our community. The board thanked Mr. Moore for this comments. 3. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: The board approved, by consensus, the September 12, 2016 meeting notes. 4. Business Bicycle Recognition: This item was tabled until the November meeting 5. Recognition of Wayfinding Steering Committee: Board Member Tyler Stutzman recognized the members of the steering committee with a ‘certificate of appreciation’ [Eric Mead, Chris Green & Becky Tuttle]. Ms. Tuttle noted that some future bike lane/bike path signs will also have information on how to locate healthy foods and Federally Qualified Health Centers. Becky noted that Wichita will be the first in the nation to have signs with health care facility designations! The board gave a hearty round of applause to the steering committee members for their good work. 6. Hyatt Hotel Sale Funds: Robert Layton, City Manager, was invited to provide information about the proposed process to utilize $20M from the sale of the City owned Hyatt and whether funds can be used for bicycle, pedestrian and/or maintenance projects. The Manager reported that approximately $10M will be used to: 1) repair residential streets; and 2) fund transit-related projects. According to the Manager, the current transit system is not sustainable and needs innovative approaches to ‘right size’ their operations. In addition, the Manager suggested that each of the six voting districts may allocate $1M each. In closing, the plans suggested by the Manager must be reviewed and approved by the Mayor and City Council. 7. Bike Path & Railbanked Corridors Utilities Easements: Robert Layton, City Manager, as the request of the board, provided information on a recent Redbud utility easement granted to Westar Energy. The board suggested that when 1  future easements are granted to a utility contractor, that a portion of the funds be used for construction and/or maintenance of bike facilities. The Manager thanked the board for bringing this matter to his attention. The Manager suggested that a ‘review process’ for future easements along bike facilities needs to be developed. In closing, the Manager expressed his appreciation to the board for its rational and systemic recommendations provided to the City Council. The board thanked the Manager for his presentations and issued an ‘open invitation’ to future board members. 8. Arkansas River Path to Haysville [Former Railroad Corridor Encroachments]: Brian Coon, Traffic Engineer, presented information about encroachments into a City owned corridor near Broadway Avenue and 47th Street. Mr. Coon showed slides of the area in question and responded to questions. According to Mr. Coon, the County wants to put such parcels of land on the tax rolls whenever the public property is in private use for a taxable purpose. Mr. Coon indicated that the City has a number of options in these situations, including but not limited to the following:  The abutting property owner can request that the City vacate the property, or the City could initiate the vacation.  The City can issue a Use of Street Permit to provide the property owner the ability to utilize the former rail corridor. The permit requires that the applicant pays the taxes and sets a time limit on the use of the property.  The City can issue a letter indicating that the private property owner needs to move their stuff off of the City property. Mr. Coon indicated that the City has issued a letter notifying the abutting property owner that the encroachment into the former rail corridor is illegal. The City is waiting for a response from the property owner. The board requested that if there are parcels that actually encroach on a bike facility that City staff bring the matter before the board. Mr. Coon agreed to bring such issues to the WBPAB in the future. In closing. Mr. Coon thanked the board for their input and suggestions and indicated that reports of encroachments can be submitted to traffic@wichita.gov. The board, in turn, thanked Mr. Coon for his informative presentation. 9. Arkansas Bike Path Closure for the River Vista Project: Paul Gunzleman, Assistant City Engineer, provided information about the closing and provided three possible detour plans for consideration. After reviewing the proposed options, there was a consensus by the board to select the option that had the least amount of conflicts with cars – the option traveling north on the west side of the Ark River path to north of Maple Street, then back south up the ramp to Maple, then east to the Water Walk, then down the ramp to the east Ark River Path, then north to the 1st Street bridge, using the ramp from the north. . Mr. Gunzleman stated that he had scheduled a meeting with the developers in an effort to get a better timeline on how long the path would need to be closed. Mr. Gunzelman indicated that the City will sign and mark the detour route. The board thanked Mr. Gunzleman for his efforts on behalf of people bicycling and walking. 10 Proposed Bike Facilities Tour for the Board: The board suggested that a tour of bike facilities needs to take place in the fall and spring. By consensus, it was 2  agreed to tour the west side in the fall and the Market & Topeka bike lanes in the spring 2017. Scott Wadle will survey the board in an effort to schedule and date and time. The ride will commence from the Exploration Place. The board thanked Scott Wadle for organizing the tour. 11. Annual Board Retreat: The board agreed to hold a retreat on the regular meeting time on December 12th. Scott Wadle will secure a meeting location and inform the board. 12. Board Member Project Reports:  Barry Carroll reported that City continues with its ‘Street Safety Education Initiative.’ The City Council received a KDOT grant for $40,000 in order to implement the proposed bike/ped education campaign. In addition, staff will present a bike/ped educational module to the WPD in 2017.  Paul Gunzleman provided a written update on the various bike/ped projects for review; he will add additional projects as needed.  Jack Brown entreated board members to track and report on projects assigned to them. 13. Announcements:  Barry Carroll noted that the WAMPO Policy Committee will make its final recommendations on Transportation Improvement Projects [TIP] in October. WAMPO staff will be invited to a future board meeting to report on the various projects and timelines for construction. 14. Closing Thoughts: Due to time constraints, there were no comments. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday, November 14, 2016. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 pm. Respectfully submitted,  Barry Carroll WBPAB Secretary 3