Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, March 9, 2020 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, Jane Byrnes, Barry Carroll, Russell Fox, Christopher Parisho, Marcia Schroeder, Tyler Stutzman & George Theoharis Members Absent: Maxine Bostic City Staff: Scott Wadle, Transportation Department, Lee Carmichael, Public Works &Utilities Guests: Clayton Pearson, Alan Kailer, Rick Stroufe, Donna Carrell, Nathaniel Richardson, Kelly Wenz, Matt Stiles, Sarah Gooding, Casey Boultinghouse, 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 February 10, 2020 meeting notes were approved. 3. Public Comments: • Alan Kailer, Board President of Bike Walk Wichita, Inc., [BWW] reported that he had recently met with the Director of WAMPO. During the meeting, Alan provided a letter to the Director that summarized BWW’s position on bikeability, walkability, and consecutiveness within the City and County’s infrastructure. Alan then provided the letter for review by the board. The board thanked Alan for his comments. 4. Downtown Streets Conceptual Plan: Scott Wadle, Transportation Department, provided a presentation on the status of the Downtown Streets Conceptual Plan process and open house planned for March 24th. Scott noted that this would serve as a briefing before the public meetings on Tuesday, March 24th. According to Scott, the City is taking a more holistic approach to the downtown area. The boundaries for this study will be the river to the west, Murdoch to the North, Washington to the east and Kellogg to the south. There will be two sessions on March 24th [11:30 am & 5:30 pm]. The board and members of the public were encouraged to attend. 5. WAMPO Future of Transportation Focus Group: Matt Stiles & Sarah Gooding, WSU Public Policy & Management Center, facilitated a discussion for the board and audience regarding the future of transportation in the Wichita region, for the next 20 years, on behalf of the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. For approximately, 20 minutes, the board and members of the public provided responses to questions posed by the WSU staff members. In addition, Matt implored those in attendance to complete the WAMPO survey. In closing, Matt thanked everyone for their participation. The input will be forwarded to WAMPO staff for consideration. 1  6. CIP Recommendations – City of Wichita 2021-2030: There was an opportunity for the board to review crash data and to consider a recommendation for the proposed City of Wichita’s Capital Improvement Plan. The board thanked Elizabeth Ablah for compiling the crash data. For approximately 30 minutes, the board reviewed the various projects, with input from Lee Carmichael, Public Works and Utilities, and prioritized projects for the CIP for 2021-2030. The board made a decision to recommend that a separate line item for ‘Safe Routes to Schools’ be added to the CIP. Jack Brown, Chairperson, will draft a letter to reflect the input and forward to the board for review and comment before submitting to the City Council. Jack noted that the City Council will likely adopt the CIP in August 2020. In closing, Jack thanked Lee, Scott, the board and members of the public for their informative comments and input. 7. Staff Project Updates: Due to time constraints, there were no updates. 8. Board Member Project Reports: • Redbud Path from K-96 Path to 159th: Work is underway. • 17th Street from Broadway to I-135: Work has commenced. • Waco from Douglas to Central: Work is continuing • Tree Planting: Forestry staff have been planting trees along the Linwood Path 9. Board Comments & Closing Thoughts: • Board Retreat: Jack Brown reiterated that a special call board retreat is needed; the retreat would be held in addition to our regularly scheduled meeting. A date, time and location has yet been determined. • Spring Walking/Biking Tour: A date, time and location will need to be determined. • Strong Town Book: A discussion was recently facilitated by Russell Fox at Friends Univ. • Street Fight Book: Bike Walk Wichita’s book club will read and discuss this book. • ‘Walk Kansas’: This initiative has begun and will last for eight weeks. • ‘Walking Wednesdays’: Bike Walk Wichita will host walks at various locations. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8 pm. The next meeting of the board will be held on April 13, 2020 @5:30 pm. Respectfully submitted. 😊😊 Barry Carroll, Board Secretary 1