Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, May 14, 2018 5:30 – 7 p.m. 777 E. Waterman, Bldg. 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Wichita, KS 67202 Meeting Notes Members Present: Elizabeth Ablah, Jack Brown, Jane Byrnes, Barry Carroll, Russell Fox, Christopher Parisho, Marcia Schroeder, Tyler Stutzman & George Theoharis Members Absent: Maxine Bostic, Tom Lasater City Staff: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, Paul Gunzelman, Assistant City Engineer Guests: Alan Kailer, Clayton Pearson, Johnathan Parisho, J.B. Crowley Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, welcomed guests and called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: By consensus, the board approved the April 9, 2018 meeting notes. 3. Public Comments: J.B. Crowley, 1254 S. Green, stated that he would like to see the reflective material, that is added to street lane paint, applied in a more efficient manner. Mr. Crowley alleged that contractors simply ‘throw the reflective matter’ on the freshly painted street lane markings rather than properly mixing it into the paint. He reported that, as a result, it is difficult to see the paint that separates bike lanes, especially on First & Second Streets. Paul Gunzelman, Assistant City Engineer, agreed to follow up with Mr. Crowley. The board thanked Mr. Crowley for his comments. 4. Bikeway Design & Construction Updates: Paul Gunzelman, Assistant City Engineer, provided updates on the following projects: 1) Delano Pathway – the first phase will link the trail to McLean and proceed westward to the west side of South Seneca; construction likely commence in 2019; 2) West Side Bikeways – an engineering contractor will develop a design in 2020 that would link to the bikeway to the Prairie Sunset Trail; 3) Low Water Bridge in Hidden Lakes – the bridge has structural issues and is privately owned; opening this area would not significantly improve existing bike infrastructure; Paul was going to check with storm water staff who made original evaluation and give us an update 4) Douglas & Hydraulic Intersection – the intersection did not include bike turning lanes as initially designed; sharrow markings may be added in an effort to improve accessibility; 5) Redbud Path – design work continues for expansion of the path eastward from K-96 to 159th Street; 6) Douglas Street – Alan Kailer suggested that the current parking configuration along the south side of Douglas is dangerous both to motorists and cyclists; Alan 1  suggested that the addition of bike lanes would be helpful. 7) Park Place Demonstration Project – this project will add a ‘round about’ and street markings; the purpose of the project is ‘traffic calming’; the duration of the project will be for 120-days; 8) 9th Street Sidepath Project – Jack Brown indicated that the plans initially called for the project to proceed from the Canal Route to Hillside that would link up with the Redbud Path; Paul Gunzelman stated that he would research the project and report back at a future meeting. The board thanked Paul for his informative reports. 5. Development of General Operation Budget Recommendations for 2019: The chair and Scott Wadle gave an overview of past general operating budget recommendations. There have been past successes with budget enhancements and continuation for off-street pathway maintenance in the amount of $150,000. Scott also mentioned that although some of the board’s recommendations were not budgeted with city funds, there has been some success in partially funding some of the board’s recommendations by various private organizations. For developing the 2019 budget recommendations, Scott led the board through a prioritization voting exercise of potential cycling and pedestrian-related programs. Scott will tally the votes so that the board can submit recommendations to the City Council in June. 6. Health ICT Projects: Scott Wadle provided an update on several Health ICT funded projects; senior walking routes and neighborhood circulation. Scott has for volunteers for a crosswalk policy subcommittee. Jack Brown and Jane Byrnes volunteered for the crosswalk policy subcommittee. Scott indicated that the consultant firm working with the Senior Walking Routes would be available for a teleconference to solicit ideas from the board. Input will be solicited on the methodology they were using to identify two areas in Wichita that would be good locations to develop a Senior Walking Program. After a presentation by the consultants and discussion by the board, it was determined that the consulting firm would add additional data on the location of senior living facilities to better identify potential senor walking areas. The consultants will provide this additional information at the next board meeting. The board also participated in prioritizing factors that will be used in developing bicycle and pedestrian circulation plans. 7. Crashes Involving People Walking and Bicycling: The Chair led a discussion regarding crashes involving people walking and bicycling. Reference was made to past board member comments on this issue. There was a letter from Bike Walk Wichita requesting some type of review process of pedestrian and bicycle crashes be established by the city. Comments from the public, Clayton Pearson, included the Phoenix, Arizona public crash data information that is available online and from Alan Kailer in support. During the discussion several possibilities were mentioned: create a crash subcommittee, request police department (WPD) to provide routine presentations to the board on crashes they have investigated, that staff look at best practices in other cities regarding crash review processes and an update of crash data previously compiled by board member Elizabeth Ablah. At the conclusion of 2  the discussion, it was determined that the board would need to incrementally develop a crash review process starting with the identification of a police department contact working through the City Manager’s Office. In conclusion, there was consensus that three actions be taken to start the process of the board’s involvement in crash reviews: 1. The chair would contact the City Manager to identify a police department contact on dealing with bicycle and pedestrian crashes; 2. Scott would search for best practices nationally using funding he has available through a current Health ICT grant; and 3. Board member Elizabeth Ablah would work with Scott to update crash data from WPD. 8. Wichita Bicycle Friendly Community Certificate: The Chair suggested that the League of American Bicyclist] LAB] Bronze Award be given to the City Council at the June 5th Council meeting. The Chair also indicated that he hoped as many board members as possible attend that meeting. The chair will contact staff in the City Council’s office to determine how best to proceed. 9. WBPAB Bylaws Updates: Scott informed the board that the re-written bylaws had only recently been provided to the Law Department; Scott has not received any response in regard to their status. George Theoharis brought up the topic of motorized vehicles using pathways in the city where they are prohibited. George thought the Law Department would get back with the board to update us on that issue. The chair stated that he would contact the Law Department to determine if they can attend a future meeting and update the board on any information they have on motorized vehicles using bike and pedestrian pathways. 10. Board Member Project Reports: Chair reviewed the history and process regarding project tracking and provided the board with new project tracking spreadsheets and assignments. Board member Tyler Stutzman reported on Prairie Sunset Expansion Project. 11. Announcements:  Project Wichita: Board member Jane Byrnes mentioned Project Wichita and hoped board members would be interested in the project. Chair offered to send out Project Wichita information to all board members.  Redbud Trail in Butler County: Barry Carroll reported that crushed limestone was laid on the trail that extends four miles eastward from Andover to East Kellogg. 12. Closing Thoughts: There were no comments. Due no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8 pm. The next meeting of the board will be held on Monday, June 11th, 2018 @5:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Barry Carroll, WBPAB Secretary 3