Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, September 9, 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 [via phone], 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, Gary Faris, City Arborist, Park Department, Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst Guests: Dave & Sharon Hewitt, Bob Parnacott, Clayton Pearson, Casey Boothinghouse, Ellen Riordan, Gerald Bailey, Keren Thomas, Vincent Hancock, Dion Leffler 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 August 12, 2019 meeting notes were approved. 3. Public Comments: • Bob Parnacott: Bob reported that due to the razing of the former Meade’s Corner Building, both sidewalks on Douglas have been closed. Bob would like to have at least one sidewalk available to the general public. • Gerald Bailey: Gerald reported that he lives in the McLean Manor located at the intersection of 9th & McLean. Gerald reported that this is a very dangerous intersection and that he accidently hit a city bus with his vehicle while attempting to turn north. Gerald would like for the city to construct some kind of cross walk so that folks who live in McLean Manor could safety cross McLean in order to access the east multiuse trail. • Clayton Pearson: Clayton showed a two-mile circle from the Dunbar Theater and suggested that the theater could become a transportation [biking, walking, transit] hub in this proposed ‘opportunity zone.’ • Ellen Riordah: Reported that motorists routinely speed and drive in the bike lane before making the turn at 13th & Topeka. Gary Janzen, City Engineer, agreed to follow up with Ms. Riordah. 4. Sidewalks: Gary Janzen, City Engineer, provided information about the City’s process for installing sidewalks, maintaining sidewalks, and priorities for new sidewalks in 2019 and 2020. Gary reported that the city has 2,680 miles of sidewalks! Sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owners per city ordinances and state statutes. City inspectors may condemn sidewalks that are deemed dangerous to the general public. According to Gary, the City is earmarking approximately $450K for additional sidewalk construction and repair. Following Gary’s presentation, there was a question and answer session. Elizabeth 1  Ablah asked if a ‘complete streets’ policy could be implemented for new developments? Gary suggested that Wes Galyon, Wichita Area Builders’ Association [WABA] would be a good contact for this kind of question. Kim Neufeld explained that some cities have implemented a ‘point of sale’ policy where buyers/developers pay a fee for additional sidewalks and other amenities. Tyler Stutzman reported that an inordinate number of sidewalks had been condemned in the Fox Ridge development. Gary Janzen agreed to make an observation of the area. Following discussion, the board thanked Gary for his informative presentation. 5. Wichita Bicycle & Pedestrian Capital Improvement Program Projects: Due to time constraints, this item was deferred until the October 2019 meeting. 6. Wichita Street Tree Planting and Priorities: Gary Faris, City Arborist, Park Department, shared information about the process of planting, maintaining and replacing street trees. Gary made the following comments: a) he is responsible for 143 parks, golf courses and trees in the ROW for over 5K street miles; b) currently there are 35 staff working on tree issues; c) there is a back log of trees needing attention; d) trees that pose an immediate danger to the public get immediate attention; e) the best planting season is between December & April; and e) approximately 14K to 18K trees are planted each year! Elizabeth Ablah asked if there was a public/private partnership engaged in tree planting? Gary reported that the Park Foundation had previously been engaged in such an initiative. It was suggested that the board could make recommendations to the city on where trees might best be planted. Consequently, this item will be on future agendas. Board members will look at areas that could possibly benefit from tree plantings during their fall and spring biking/walking tours. The board thanked Gary for his informative presentation. 7. Wichita Scooter Pilot Program Update: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, reported that Zagster has up to 200 scooters in use; VeoRide is another vendor with up to 200 scooters in use; Scott reported that the highest number of rides has been 1,300 per day; currently the average is approximately 1,000 rides per day! According to Scott, the vendors will provide statistical reports on the 15th of each month. 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. The board received a summary of scooter-related comments received via a city website. The comments were overwhelmingly negative. Chris Parisho suggested that some motorists believe that they ‘own the streets’ but are now are being asked to share the road with cyclists and scooters. Jane Byrnes stated that scooters can have the effect of slowing down vehicles and thereby making the streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Russell Fox asked about the board’s role regarding scooters? Scott stated that the board had an important role to play and that recommendations may be forwarded to city staff and/or City Council as indicated. 8. Better Block Douglas Avenue: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, shared information about a possible Better Block installation on Douglas Avenue. According to Scott, funding has been secured from the Kansas Health and Wichita Community Foundations. The installation could be up to six blocks long, Scott noted. Engineering staff will be consulted, along with public input, on the best and safest way to complete the installation. The installation could be in late 2019 or 2020, according to Scott. 9. Project Updates: Scott Wadle, Senior Management Analyst, reviewed the following initiatives: • Neighborhood Bicycling & Walking Route Plans: A plan has been drafted for review; • Bicycle Counting Project: The counters will be installed by City crews; 2  • 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; • 9th & McLean Crossing Design Cost Estimates: Scott has received two concept bids from Toole Design and Alta consultants. This will be discussed at a future meeting; • Law Department-Big Ditch: No report at this time; and • Bike Share: The highest number of riders took place in July! 10. WBPAB Bicycle Tour: After a brief discussion, Scott will forward a Doodle Poll to board members in an effort to find the preferred date/time. The tour may start at 12:30 pm and end around 2:30 pm, in an effort to accommodate board members’ schedules. 11. Board Member Projects Reports: 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 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 may begin in late 2019; the trail will consist of 9 feet of concrete & 5 feet of crushed limestone; • 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 2019/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 2019. Construction should start by late fall or early winter. The bridge crossing, I-235 & the Big Ditch is still unknown; and • Sidewalk - 29th & Webb: A local cyclist crashed at this location; city staff have made the necessary repairs. 12. Announcements: There were no announcements. 3  13. Closing Thoughts: • Jane Byrnes reported that volunteers will paint crosswalks at Caldwell Elementary School There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm. The next meeting of the board will be held on October 14th, 2019 @5:30 pm. Respectfully submitted. 😊😊 Barry Carroll, Board Secretary 4