Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board

Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board Monday, November 9, 2020 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Online Meeting Meeting Notes Members present: Elizabeth Ablah, John Baker, Maxine Bostic, Jack Brown, Jane Byrnes, Barry Carroll, Erik Maybee, Marcia Schroeder, Tyler Stutzman & George Theoharis Members Absent: Russell Fox City Staff: Michael Tann, Wichita Transportation Department, Gary Janzen, Public Works Engineering, Zachary Kramka, City Manager’s Office, Lee Carmichael, Public Works, Guests: Clayton Pearson, Alan Kailer, Rick Sroufe, Robert Parnacott, Leanne Beat [Transit Advisory Board], John Moore, Jason Havely & Ronn Houtz Item Description 1. Call to Order: Jack Brown, Chairperson, welcomed board members, City staff, guests and called the virtual meeting to order at 5:30 pm. 2. Approve Previous Meeting Notes: Approval of the October 12th, 2020 meeting was deferred until the next meeting. Jane Byrnes will forward text to the Secretary to be inserted in the October 2020 notes. 3. Public Comments: • Bob Parnacott inquired on the following: a) status of the 2020 bike/ped count; b) status of the Chisholm Trail planning process; and c) status of the potential ‘Inattentive Driver’ legislation. 4. Current Project Updates & 2021 Capital Improvement Plan [CIP]: Gary Janzen, Public Works Engineering, reviewed approximately 20 projects on the Project Tracking List compiled by Lee Carmichael, Public Works staff member. Each project was reviewed and questions were addressed as needed. Funding will be secured for connecting the Chisholm Path in Delano to the Prairie Sunset Trail. The work will be completed in multiple phases; there are ongoing discussions with KDOT and the Corps of Engineers on the best configuration for the trail; Gary has been in conversation with the Prairie Travelers about the bridge over the ‘Big Ditch’ as well. Gary Janzen reported that consultants and staff will study McLean from 13th to Central and look for applications that could possibly reduce speeding. A traffic signal at 9th & McLean is not warranted at this time; there may be other areas perhaps at 10th Street that might be appropriate for a crosswalk. Gary will keep the board apprised of future plans for this section of McLean. In addition, a list of 2021 CIP projects were reviewed. Gary noted that due to the pandemic and budget cutbacks, many of the projects have been deferred or moved later in the 10-year funding cycle. Once the pandemic is over and the economy recovers, Gary suggested that some of 1  the deferred projects could be moved to an earlier timeline. There was considerable discussion regarding the proposed CIP projects among board and members of the public. Following the presentation, Jane Byrnes commended the City Council for funding these various projects that help make Wichita more ‘bikeable and walkable.’ 2021 City of Wichita Legislative Agenda: It was suggested that any future legislative agenda should be very focused with no more that 4-5 items. Scott Wadle, Planning Department, lead a discussion on ranking possible agenda items as proposed by the board. Each board member was limited to five votes on the agenda items. After considerable discussion, the board arrived and the following: o Support the Prairie Sunset Trail through the Kellogg and I-235 inter- change: 15 votes o Redbud Trail connection to Prairie Spirit Trail near Iola and bridge connection at Kellogg US 54: 12 votes o Expanding the Prairie Sunset Trail westward and beyond Cheney: 8 votes o Support pending legislation to reduce distracted driving: 8 votes o Support legislation that helps clarify the legal ability to operate motorized vehicles on off-street pathways and on-street bikeways – specifying the limitations: 4 votes o KDOT and KDHE working together to collect thorough safety statistics – traffic with public health: 2 votes o Support legislation that improves consistency between state law and city ordinances regarding the use of electric assist and motorized bicycles on off-street pathways and on-street bikeways: 1 vote o State of Kansas utilize NACTO guidance: 1 vote The board chairperson will draft a letter and forward the board’s recommendations to the City Council. 5. Staff Reports: Mike Tann, Transportation Department, reported on the following: • Transit Multi Modal Manager: The City’s HR Department screened six applications and advanced four candidates. HR will establish an interview committee; Scott Wadle will serve on the committee. It was suggested that two or three members of board serve on the committee as well. The board president will forward board member’s names to Mike for inclusion on the committee. • Bike Share ICT: Tandem Mobility has been chosen by the City Council for the bike share vendor. A subcommittee that had been formed earlier will be reconstituted. Russell Fox and Maxine Bostic had previously served on this committee. The board president will ascertain if they want to continue to serve. The board chairperson will, in turn, notify LaToya Parker, Administrative Assistant. • QLine: Mike reported that he had been contacted by the Shamrock Bar business owner about establishing a route that would come by his establishment. According to Mike, it costs approximately $1M to operate the Qline. Mike is developing a business coalition that has a goal of raising $200,00 to help defray the cost of operating the Qline. The Qline will offer free rides to all patrons. 1  6. Old Business: • Election of Officers: In order to be compliance with the revised City ordinance pertaining to term limits of advisory board officers, the board needed to elect officers. After a brief discussion, Maxine Bostic moved [Elizabeth Ablah] to approve this slate of officers [Barry Carroll, President, Elizabeth Ablah, Vice President, and, Jack Brown, Secretary]. Motion carried 10-0. 7. New Business: • Proposed ‘Safety Committee’ Discussion: Elizabeth Ablah stated that she would like to add this discussion to the next meeting agenda. According to Elizabeth, she envisions forming a coalition made up of representatives from the WPD, Public Works, Planning Department and others who could review crash data and make recommendations on potential interventions to improve safety of cyclists and pedestrians. The board thanked Elizabeth for her vision. 8. Board Member Project Reports: • Projects were covered by the City Engineer under previously discussed Item 4 by the city engineer. 9. Board Comments: • There were no comments. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8 pm. The next virtual meeting of the board will be held on January 11th, 2020 @5:30 pm. Respectfully submitted. 😊😊 Barry Carroll, Board Secretary 1