Zionsville Pathways Committee Meeting

Pathways Committee Meeting Minutes May 13, 2013 6:30 p.m. Attendees: Tim Casady Paul Watson Richard Stroup Bill Spitz Lance Lantz Absent: Bernie, Evan, Tom, Matt, Phil, Chad Rail Trail Laurel to Main Street Connection Lance presented to the Committee a PowerPoint presentation of the proposed Rail Trail to Main Street “connector” route. The route will be one-way east from Laurel and east on Hawthorne to Main Street. Going west, the route is one-way from Pine/Main along Pine and then veering left and SW on Laurel to the Rail Trail. One-way routing is mostly driving by the one-way streets already in place for motorists between 1st and Main. Placement of proposed “sharrows” and terminus signage was proposed and approved. For street signage, committee members expressed a preference for the signage with the town “branding” rather than generic. The group thanked Paul Watson for his initial drafts and routing ideas, and thanked Lance, for his overlaying detail and a final design to the project. The group unanimously approved the project and supported its presentation to the Safety Committee of the Town Council. Given the lack of quorum at the meeting, Tim and Lance will ensure absent Pathways members have a chance to review and comment before the project is scheduled with the Safety Committee. But there was a feeling to try to get this relatively inexpensive high-priority project completed in 2013. Bicycle Friendly Community Bill reported that the League of American Bicyclists recently communicated that the Town was not being awarded a Bicycle Friendly Community designation for this cycle of applications. They stated they would provide in July detailed feedback on our application. Bill and the group agreed to continue to push bicycle friendly priorities identified during the application process: good planning, bike routes and maps, education, Complete Streets, and promotion. Tim reported on Westfield’s new bike route map and recent conversations with the Chamber which has not received requested funding from the Council for its proposed map which would have included one bike route (the “7 Mile” Route from Elm Street Green). There was some sense to request that the Park’s Department fund and design a simpler map than envisioned by the Chamber after creation of additional routes to the current 7 mile unmarked route. Pedestrian Friendly Community Program Bill reported about the program administered by the University of North Carolina for communities to apply for and be designated as “pedestrian friendly”. The program is similar to the LAB’s Bicycle Friendly Community program, and there is some overlap in what Bill believed were important criteria for success, e.g., Complete Streets. The group agreed with Paul that the criteria and process would be very useful to ensure that our Committee consider pedestrians as well as cyclists in our planning process. The next viable registration cycle application would be due in November or December. Given the feedback we expect to receive from LAB this summer, and the need to find a committee member to spearhead this and coordinate with Bill (on a presumed 2nd application for BFC status), the group agreed to table this for the next meeting. Bike Month: May Tim went over the list of events for May (Bike-to-School which was complete), Bike-to-Work Day (May 17), Cruiser Fun Ride (May 18), and Bike-to-Market Day (May 25) and encouraged committee members to participate. Bill volunteered to help with the “Pathways” table at the Farmers’ Market from 8-11 am on May 25. Tim will solicit other members to come and help give away prizes to participants. Other Projects: For purposes of 2014 Street Department budgeting, Lance asked the committee to consider discussing and prioritizing between the two important pathways projects planned for Turkey Foot Road and Bloor Road. Next Meetings The next meeting will be one month away: June 10 at 6 pm (note the group’s desire to go back to 6 pm meetings). For the remainder, we will meet every other month: August 12, October 14, and December 9. Next meeting will be Monday, June 10 at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Center Room.