City of Lawrence

Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee

August 16, 2011 Minutes

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Chris Burger, Jay Bialek, Lisa Hallberg, Tom Jerome,  Rhonda Houser

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Gary Calton, Gerard Arantowicz, Chad Foster, Neil Taylor

STAFF PRESENT:

Todd Girdler, Jessica Mortinger

PUBLIC PRESENT:

Dickie Heckler

 

1.   Call Meeting to Order and Assurance of Quorum.

The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. A quorum was present. Mr. Jerome asked to move the 2011 Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Program discussion to the top of the agenda. The members unanimously agreed.

 

2.   Approval of the June 21, 2011 Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes from the June 21st meeting was moved by Mr. Burger seconded by Mrs. Hallberg and passed unanimously.

 

  1. Discussion Item: 2012 Bicycle and Pedestrian Counting Program

Ms. Mortinger shared the planned schedule for the 2011 MPO count of bicyclists and pedestrians in the Lawrence Area. This will be the third annual for Lawrence and first for Eudora.  The MPO organized counts are scheduled for September 10th and 14th. Ms. Mortinger passed out a volunteer solicitation flyer and asked the BAC for help in counting and soliciting for volunteers to help count. The location changes for the events were discussed and will be based on the availability of volunteers. If enough volunteers sign up, the intention is to have some volunteers conduct pedestrian and bicyclist surveys at a few locations. Volunteers can sign up online at: http://www.lawrenceks.org/pds/mpo/volunteer.

 

  1. Difficult Intersections Identified

Ms. Mortinger updated the BAC with the existing actions by public works in response to the meeting with the subcommittee. The west 2nd and McDonald location was ridden by Mr. Burger, he reported that the camera is still not picking up the cyclist and that the travel time, for east/west movements through the light are still rushed and would be too short for the average bicyclist. Ms. Mortinger asked Mr. Burger to email her his comments so she could forward them to public works staff, he agreed. The Constant Park location has no short term solution and more long term solutions are being investigated. The 11th Street access to the Burroughs Creek Path was decided to remain as is, because the proposed solutions do not improve the safety of the access to the path. The 23rd Street and Massachusetts location is being investigated by Public works. Mrs. Hallberg asked to add 21st and Iowa to the list and for the other intersections and routes expanded. The members agreed to make this a work task in October , following the Bicycle and Pedestrian counts.

 

  1. Discussion/Action Item: BAC Logo: Mrs. Hallberg presented the revised logo designs. The BAC members indicated their preferences and also discussed the possibility of starting over since the logo had gotten away from the sharrow emblem. Mrs. Houser indicated a more gender neutral logo would be appropriate. Mrs. Hallberg agreed to continue working on the logo design.

 

  1. Discussion Item: T-2030 Chapter 8 - Bicycle System Plan Review: Ms. Mortinger had previously asked the BAC members to submit their comments. The BAC set a September 29th deadline for member comments. A motion was made to create a BAC T-2030 Chapter 8 – Subcommittee. The motion was made by Mr. Burger, seconded by Mrs. Hallberg and passed unanimously. Members agreed this group would meet following the submittal of comments and prior to the October BAC meeting.

 

  1. Discussion Item: Bike Month Survey Results: The present members agreed comments collected and previously distributed will be discussed further at a future meeting.

 

  1. Other Business

Ms. Mortinger asked the BAC members to reconsider the meeting time to accommodate members who were having difficulty attending due to work scheduling. The present members agreed to have MPO staff send out a list and solicit for available times to reconsider meeting times. Ms Mortinger also shared with the BAC the Beginners Ride being started by Cycle Works and the Lawrence Bicycle Club.

 

  1. Public Comments

There were no public comments.

 

  1. Adjournment of Meeting

The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 PM.