Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, August 12, 2019 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. 777 E. Waterman, Bldg. 200 Wichita Transit Van Maintenance Facility Wichita, KS 67202 Meeting Notes Members present: Elizabeth Ablah, Jack Brown, Maxine Bostic, Jane Byrnes, Barry Carroll, Russell Fox, Tom Lasater, Marcia Schroeder, Christopher Parisho, Tyler Stutzman & George Theoharis Members Absent: City Staff: Gary Janzen, City Engineer, Paul Gunzelman, Assistant City Engineer, Scott Knebel, Planning Manager, Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst Guests: Dave & Sharon Hewitt, Bob Parnscott, Clayton Pearson, Nathaniel Richardson, Casey Boothinghouse, Rick Sroufe, Donna Carrell, Alan Kailer Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, welcomed board members, City staff, guests and called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: The June 10 and July 8, 2019 meeting notes were approved. 3. Public Comments:  Sharon Hewitt: Sharon announced the ‘Wheels to Reels’ event to be held at the WAVE music venue on Saturday, August 25th; there will be movie ‘shorts’ pertaining to bicycling; this is a fund raiser for Bike Walk Wichita, Inc.  Clayton Pearson: Clayton stated that the online app ‘Access Wichita’ does not have a category for ‘buckling pavement;’ Clayton will explore getting this category added. 4. Delano Stadium Bicycle & Pedestrian Access: Paul Gunzelman, Assistant City Engineer, provided information about access for people walking and cycling to the stadium. Paul showed some artist’s renderings of the stadium. According to Paul, there is a contest for designing a bike rack for the stadium. Paul noted that the pedestrian bridge is on hold for now. There were concerns about bicycle parking and security. Members of the Board suggested that a bike valet be incorporated inside the stadium with security present. In addition, it was suggested that perhaps scooters could be integrated with bicycle parking as well. Paul noted that the proposed Delano multiuse path could be constructed in 2021. Following a brief question and answer session, the board thanked Paul for his informative presentation. 5. Wichita Projects to KDOT: Gary Janzen, City Engineer, reported that KDOT representatives have been conducting listening sessions across the state. According to Gary, KDOT will hold a meeting at WSU’s Metroplex facility on Tuesday, August 27th from 9 am to noon. The first hour will be dedicated to biking and walking issues. If a person wants to address the KDOT staff, they will need to RSVP on a computer link. KDOT is undertaking a 40-year long range plan with input from citizens. Once input is received, it is possible that a new KDOT 1  Transportation Bill may be introduced to the Kansas Legislature. The board thanked Gary. 6. Wichita Street Tree Planting and Priorities: Scott Knebel, Planning Manager, shared information related to street tree plantings and landscaping by the City of Wichita. Scott reported that according to a recent article, approximately 5,000 trees die each year. Due to budget constraints, only 1,500 trees are planted. According to Scott, the Forestry Division within the Park Department is responsible for the maintenance and removal of dead trees. Scott showed a PowerPoint presentation that outlined the City’s Landscape Ordinance and other information regarding tree and landscaping in the downtown area and neighborhoods. Scott agreed to provide a copy of the PowerPoint presentation to the board. It was suggested that the board invite staff from the City’s Forestry Division to a future meeting for the purpose of learning more about street trees in Wichita. The board thanked Scott for his informative presentation. 7. Wichita Scooter Pilot Program Update: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, reported that Zagster has up to 500 scooters in use; VeoRide will be another vendor with up to 300 scooters; Scott will have a statistical report for the September meeting. According to Scott, it is unclear on how scooters might impact the existing transit system. It was noted that there will be no scooters permitted in the Open Streets area [from Delano along Douglas to College Hill]. ‘Geofencing’ is an online computer application that can determine where scooters can operate, according to Scott. 8. Project Updates: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, provided board members with a written report entitled ‘Parking and Multi-Modal Report’ for the board’s review. Listed below is a summary of the various projects: Project Website: Staff is working on developing on a website for the all of the various multi-modal projects involving the Transit Department. The website would include the following projects: The following is a summary of a written report developed by staff:  Neighborhood Bicycling & Walking Route Plans: A plan has been drafted for review;  Bicycle Counting Project: The counters will be installed by City crews;  Crash Review Best Practices: Staff will meet with the Law Department to obtain information for the board about review of bike/ped crash data;  People First Neighborhoods – 1600 N Park Place: A report has been drafted;  Bicycle Wayfinding Improvements: The project is on ‘hold’ for now;  Senior Walking Routes: A report has been drafted;  Pedestrian Wayfinding Improvements: A report has been drafted;  Broadway Safety Corridor Projects: Bike lanes may be removed from the project;  Douglas Improvements: Plan are moving forward. Alan Kailer inquired about the ‘crash data’ being secured from the Police Department. Elizabeth Ablah reported that a graduate student is developing a database over a 10-year horizon. Elizabeth reported that each crash will have ‘variables’ associated with it [time of day, weather, speed, etc.]. 9. Project Designs & Construction: Listed below is a status report on the following projects.  Hoover Road Multi-use Pathway: Right-of-way acquisition continues for the pathway. A traffic signal will be installed at Zoo Blvd. and Hoover Road; the signal will aid crossing from the Sedgwick County Park to the Hoover Road Multi-Use Pathway;  Chisholm Trail/Delano Paths: Consultants are working on a design from the Ark River westward to South Seneca; the board will consider the consultants’ design at a future meeting;  Douglas Avenue – Washington to Grove: A more ‘holistic’ approach is being considered for this project. There has been discussion by city staff and the community for a more 2  bike/ped friendly design along Douglas. Planning is being done to obtain more public input into the design development process;  Downtown Signals Upgrade Project: This is a multi-year project that will upgrade 100 signals. City staff continues to work through funding on the KDOT fiber optic project which will support the pedestrian crosswalk push buttons. Once the fiber optics are funded staff will proceed with developing a bid package for installation of the signals. The CIP includes $500k per year with an estimated total cost of $4 million to complete the project in the Central Business District, completion will take some time given these cost estimates;  Redbud Multi-Use Pathway: K-96 Eastward to 159th: Right of way acquisition continues and construction will be delayed until early 2020;  Waco / Douglas to Central: Plans and funding are in hand and ready to bid. Some utility relocation needed; the project will convert four lanes to two lanes, construction should start late summer/early fall 2020;  17th Street-Canal Route to Broadway: The project will utilize on-street bike lanes; construction to begin in 2020;  West Street: A 10’ path on the west side of West Street between Irving and Kellogg is to be constructed. This will provide the proposed Prairie Sunset Trail a means of safely crossing West St by utilizing the new signal at Kellogg that has been improved to include a bike/ped crossing on the south leg of the intersection. Right-of-way acquisition and utility work should be completed by the end of July or early August. Construction should start by late fall or early winter. The bridge crossing, I-235 & the Big Ditch is still unknown; and  Lee Carmichael, Public Works, updated the project tracking spread sheet; projects were ‘assigned’ to various board members; members will routinely contact the City staff assigned to the projects and provide brief updates to the board. 9. Announcements: Upcoming event, Open Streets September 22, 2019 10. Closing Thoughts:  Jane Byrnes read from a prepared statement; it is her intention to ask KDOT staff to construct sidewalk with public funds; according to Jane, sidewalks are very important to students, senior citizens and the public-at-large.  George Theoharis thanked the members from the scooter community for their advocacy. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm. The next meeting of the board will be held on September 9th, 2019 @5:30 pm. Respectfully submitted. 😊 Barry Carroll, Board Secretary 3