Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, February 13, 2017 5:30 – 7 p.m. 777 E. Waterman, Building 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Conference Room Meeting Notes Members Present: Maxine Bostic, Jack Brown, James Crowder, Russell Fox, Jerry Jones, Tom Lasater, Tyler Stutzman, George Theoharis, Christopher Parisho Members Absent: Barry Carroll, Wendy Tan City Staff: Scott Wadle, Paul Gunzelman, Mark Manning Guests: Lonny Wright, Matt Freud, Sharon Hewitt Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, welcomed City staff and guest, introduced Christopher Parisho, the new BPAB member from District 4, and called the meeting to order at 5:34pm 2. Public Comments: There were no comments from the public 3. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: The board approved, by consensus, the January 9, 2017 meeting notes 4. Bikeways Funding and Construction Update: Paul Gunzelman first reviewed multiple sidewalk construction projects, including: E. Harry St. and Todd St., west to Greenwich; Rock Rd. from Douglas Ave. to Towne East Drive; East Mt. Vernon St. west of Oliver St.; Bluff St. alongside Griffith Elementary School; and S. Hydraulic Ave. and MacArthur Rd. to Emery Park. He then presented information on current bikeways projects, using the previous approved $1.6M in funding: 1) for the Redbud Path, a consultant has been hired to study possible designs along the K-96 Path eastward to 159th St.; 2) similar studies are underway regarding Hoover Path from 21st St. to 29th St., the key question there being where the appropriate crossing of Zoo Blvd. would best be placed. Tyler Stutzman commented that a separate project to study where cyclists are currently crossing anyway (near the railroad tracks? at the Zoo entrance?) might be helpful. Gunzelman then expanded on several other projects under consideration, including: possible design work in the Delano area regarding the angled parking there, in connection with its linkage to the Prairie Sunset trail; restriping the couplet bike lane along 17th St. from Hillside St. to Oliver Ave.; considering the streetlight and bike lane possibilities along McLean, with the possibility of a hawk light at 9th St.; and studying connections throughout the I- 235/Kellogg Ave. interchange area, with reference to the planned expansion of West St. to five lanes and the possibility of bridge or tunnel access to McCormick St. 5. East Kellogg Designs: Paul Gunzelman took the place of Mike Armor, who was unable to attend; the discussion included information about the planned construction of a multi-use bike path on the west side of Greenwich, ultimately extending all the way from Kellogg north to the K-96 path, and about the planned closing of E. 127th St. and thus other possible connection routes in the area of the I- 1  35, K-96, and Kellogg Ave. interchanges 6. Wichita Capital Improvement Program and Budget Processes: Mark Manning outlined the basic procedures involved in budgeting for capital improvement projects, and his desire for some formal input from the BPAB in terms of a list of priorities; in discussing the amount of money available for CIPs, and contrasting the situation there with the General Operating Budget for the city, Manning emphasized that his office aimed to have such a CIP list ready by July 7. Bicycle Prioritization Tool Results: Scott Wadle reviewed for the BPAB the methodology behind the prioritization tool which combined a large variety of data points into order to provide the board with some rough comparison points across the wide range of possible bikeway projects that could be pursued. In discussion of the data collection and the prioritization results, Wadle and others commented on how some refining of the results may be necessary to compensate for various concerns not well reflected in the data (for example, the fact that bikeways proposed for less developed areas will inevitably have lower overall scores). Tyler Stutzman suggested that the job variable, which measured the “average number of jobs with .25 miles, per mile, of the proposed bikeway, was too small a range to fairly assess the way in which a bikeway might be used for job commuting purposes, but Wadle expressed concern about the overall accuracy of the measurements, and thus the need to be conservative in the calculation of the variables. 8. Board Priority Bicycle Improvements Recommendations for the CIP: Having reviewed the methodology, which gave composite scores for 27 proposed bikeway projects, the question was then asked: should the board rank all of the proposals for CIP purposes? Maxine Bostic strongly urged that the number of proposals to be prioritized by the Board be limited to no more than 12, and other members agreed. Voting then proceeded on the ten top proposals, with the following results: Votes Bikeway 9 votes Redbud 7 votes Delano Path 7 votes Prairie Sunset Trail 5 votes WSU Connections 5 votes Hoover Bikeway 5 votes Woodchuck to Buffalo Park and Air Capital Memoria Park 2 votes Arkansas to Haysville Bikeway 1 vote 31st Street Bike Lanes 1 vote K-96 Connection – along Greenwich and Central Ave. There was some discussion about whether the letter from the BPAB ought to focus only on those seven proposed projects which received the largest amount of support, but ultimately it was decided that every project which received any votes ought to be included in the prioritization recommendation. George Theoharis suggested that a portion of the Mt. Vernon project be extended through the South Central district, allowing for a more comprehensive set of recommendations. Tyler Stutzman suggested that the recommendation letter make reference to how certain long-term projects have grown in importance, in the view of the BPAB, and Jack Brown agreed that, upon draft the recommendation letter, it would include this 2  information and be circulated for Board approval. In addition, the BPAB agreed that the letter to continue with their support for multi-model accommodation and enhanced maintenance projects. Maxine Bostic moved [Russell Fox] to recommend approval of the CIP prioritized projects. Motion carried 9-0. It was also suggested that, in terms of new and pressing projects, repairs are needed to the bikeways along the Arkansas River near Sims Golf Course, and along Maple St. across from Fairhaven Rd. 9. Board Priority Pedestrian Improvement Recommendations for the CIP: Due to the late hour, this discussion was expedited, with the Board approving (by consensus) the same set of pedestrian prioritizations which had been urged for CIP consideration in the past. 10. Wichita Bicycle Master Plan Updates: The primary alteration to the Master Plan which was discussed was a request by KDOT to show a bike path through the I- 235/Kellogg interchange south of Kellogg, making use of the old railroad bridge which had been preserved for eventual incorporation into the Prairie Sunset trail. This received strong support from the BPAB, but Matt Freund, from Prairie Travelers, reminded the Board of a past commitment to support the building of (or at least the study of) an additional north-south pedestrian and bicycle path from the Prairie Sunset trail, as extended through the interchange, either under or over Kellogg to connect the trail with the access road just south of Towne West Mall. After some disputation over what had previously been agreed to, it was decided that the Master Plan should be amended to show black dots covering the north- south path immediately east of the I-235/Kellogg interchange, indicating an area which warrants further study for possible new construction. **** moved, and *** seconded, and it was unanimously approved for the WBPAB to recommend that the City Council endorse the following updates to the Wichita Bicycle Master Plan. 1. Make the following segments of the Redbud Path the Top Priority Off-Street (Shared Use Path) Bicycle Facilities  Redbud Path – Woodlawn Avenue to Rock Road  Redbud Path - K-96 Path to 159th Street 2. Remove the Redbud Path from Rock Road to the K-96 Path from the Priority Bicycle Network. 3. Add the Redbud Path from the K-96 Path to 159th Street to the Priority Bicycle Network. 4. Add the following bikeway to the Wichita Bicycle Network maps contained within the Bike Plan.  Prairie Sunset Trail from Hoover to South Bebe Street/West Irving Street and to West Street – utilizing the former railroad bridge (former RR bridge) and through the Kellogg (US-54) and I-235 Interchange. 2. Remove the Further Study Needed box located at the I-235 and Kellogg interchange. 11. Wichita People First Neighborhoods Project: Scott Wadle introduced the proposal to create a new subcommittee to review applications for the First Neighborhood 3  program, and requested members of the BPAB volunteer; Maxine Bostic, Christopher Parisho, and Jack Brown all did so. 12. Closing Thoughts: Bypassing additional announcements due to the late hour, Jack Brown, adjourned the meetings at 8:15pm. 4