pl_bac_minutes_011116.doc

City of Lawrence

Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee

January 11, 2016 Minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT:	Lisa Hallberg, Erin Paden, Jim MacMurray, Justin Eddings, Dan Ashley, David Hamby, Rod Hernandez
MEMBERS ABSENT:	Bill Anderson, Jacki Becker
STAFF PRESENT:	Stephen Mason, Jessica Mortinger, Ashley Myers, David Cronin, Nick Voss, Steven Lashley (partial attendance)
PUBLIC PRESENT:	John Thornburg, Charlie Bryan, Marilyn Hull

1. Call Meeting to Order and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 5:01 p.m. A quorum was present and introductions were made.

2. Action Item: Approval of the December 14th Minutes

A motion to approve the December minutes was made by David Hamby seconded by Jim MacMurray and passed unanimously (7-0).

3. Action Item: Appoint 2015 Chair and Vice Chair

Jim MacMurray motioned to reappoint Lisa Hallberg as chair and Bill Anderson as vice chair for 2016; the motion was seconded by with David Hamby and passed unanimously (7-0).

4. Action/Discussion Item: 2016 Street Maintenance program (attached)

Steven Lashley from Lawrence Public Works presented the City’s 2016 Street Maintenance program. This year’s program is just over $3 million. Questions were raised about plans for sidewalks, sharrows, bike route signs, intersections, and ramps. Recommendations were formed (listed in the table below).

Ms. Hallberg motioned to make the following recommendations based on the Countywide Bikeway Plan.

Street	From/To	Improvement Type	Bikeway Plan	Recommendation
Iowa St (extends to blocks on either side of Iowa St)	South of W. 23^rd to slightly south of W. 29^th Ter	KLINK – Mill and Overlay	Planned Shared Use Path	Install sharrows
11^th St	Massachusetts St to Connecticut St	Mill, Overlay, Curb	Planned Bike Lane	Install sharrow marking and sign as bike route
New Hampshire St	6^th St to 11^th St	Mill, Overlay	Existing Bike Route/Planned Bike Lane	Install sharrow markings

Street	From/To	Improvement Type	Bikeway Plan	Recommendation
Michigan St	6^th St to 7^th St	Mill, Overlay, Curb	Planned Bike Route	Install sharrows and sign as bike route
7^th street	Michigan st to Arkansas st	Mill, Overlay	Planned Bike Route	Install sharrows and sign as bike route
Lawrence Ave	W 15^th St to Harvard Rd	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows
Harvard Rd	Wellington Rd to Centennial Dr	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows
Wellington Rd	Westdale Rd to W. 9^th St	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route/Planned Bike Route	Install sharrows and install bike route signs on planned bike route
Steven Dr	Lawrence Ave to Wellington Dr	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows
W. 9^th St	Lawrence Ave to Highland Dr	Microsurfacing & Patching	Planned Bike Route/Bike Lane	Install bike route signs and sharrows
Yale Rd	Crestline Dr to slightly past Centennial Dr	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows
Schwarz Rd	W. 9^th St to W. 6^th St	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows
Rockledge Rd	Yale Rd to W. 9^th St	Microsurfacing & Patching	Planned Bike Route	Install bike route signs and sharrows
Crescent Rd	Naismith Dr to Engel Rd	Microsurfacing & Patching	Existing Bike Route	Install sharrows

The motion was seconded by with Erin Paden and passed unanimously (7-0).

5. Action/Discussion Item: 2016 Annual Work Plan (attached)

Jessica Mortinger presented the draft 2016 annual work plan for BAC consideration to approve or edit. Ron Hernandez said he didn’t see the Earth day activities in the list. Ms. Mortinger said that is included in the “plan for bike month” work. Lisa Hallberg said there was a missing sentence in March. David Hamby suggested adding “bicyclist may use full lane” signs to the discussion in March. Justin Eddings asked to move the meeting in Eudora to June. The committee agreed it would be a cooler time of summer to do it. Mr. Hamby asked if the work plan goes to the City Commission. Ms. Mortinger said it had not in the past by it could be written into a City Managers memo and shared with the City Commission.

Mr. Hamby motioned to accept the work plan with the corrections and share the work plan in a City Managers memo with the City Commission. The motion was seconded by with Ms. Hallberg and passed unanimously (7-0).

6. Discussion/Action Item: Future Advisory Committee Structure- Pedestrian/ Bicycle Issues Taskforce Recommendations

Marilyn Hull, the Taskforce Chair, discussed the draft recommendations for a bicycle & pedestrian advisory structure. She knows there were concerns at the last BAC meeting when the draft recommendations were presented. She said nothing is finalized; there is still time for changes. Also the taskforce is only trying to make it easier for people to walk, bike, or wheel in the community.

She said the taskforce is looking at all sorts of concerns and is going to make many recommendations including trying to get the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians included way earlier in the transportation planning process, which would increase citizen influence overall. They are also trying to achieve a dedicated funding for standalone bicycle/pedestrian projects to be constructed regardless of road projects.

Discussion ensued about the idea of consolidating the BAC and the Traffic Safety Commission (TSC) and how the rest of the county would be represented. Lisa Hallberg said if the recommendation goes through to consolidate the BAC and the TSC, it feels as if the BAC is getting gutted. However, it seems like it would be a real opportunity to get things done with money – make decisions and be more effective.

Jim MacMurray said yes it will be more effective for the City, but there will be zero influence on the County once the new board is formed solely as a City board. Ms. Hallberg agreed, but admitted that the County only recently started participating in the BAC. The county involvement in the BAC/bicycle issues must continue.

Justin Eddings said he understands if Lawrence wants to make the process more streamlined and concise, but he isn’t sure what the exact desire of the City is in regards to the taskforce or bicycle/pedestrian issues. He needs to know what they are trying to do.

Ms. Hull said that the taskforce was established by the City Commission to make the transportation process more effective not necessarily streamlined. The new commission would have more authority and make decisions. It is currently undetermined how the County would be involved in the decision making.

Mr. Eddings said smaller communities in the county learn from Lawrence. This newly created commission will focus solely on Lawrence, leaving out the smaller communities. But if we were to create a second countywide BAC that includes pedestrians, it is now duplicative of the newly created Lawrence focused one. Perhaps we could add pedestrians to the BAC and make it more effective with buy in from the City Commissioners.

Dan Ashley asked why the taskforce was created. Why not have the BAC look at these issues? Jessica Mortinger said pedestrian advocates, the desire for dedicated funding, and sidewalk maintenance necessitated the creation of the taskforce. Ms. Hull said it is a temporary group created by the City Commission to present the recommendations and then it will disband.

Erin Paden said the pedestrian coalition wanted a voice similar to the BAC. She is currently representing the BAC on the taskforce. She has some concerns, but it depends on how the new commission actually forms – won’t know until it is done. But she thinks it is time to try something new.

Ron Hernandez said the title of the new commission – Transportation Commission – caught him off guard. What about bikes? A stronger committee sounds good, but shouldn’t the county and bikes and pedestrians be included in the title? Ms. Paden suggested that a long name showing all types of modes would make a difference. People forget what transportation actually means, not only cars. Ms. Hull agreed; the commission needs to have a holistic view of the transportation system including all modes.

Ms. Mortinger said this topic was discussed at the January MPO Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC). As the MPO is countywide, the county must be engaged in the planning process. MPO staff will have to fill the gap. Perhaps the BAC could become an official advisory committee to the MPO. Workload would have to be balanced, as it isn’t known who will be staffing the newly created commission and possible disagreements will need to be solved.

Ms. Paden said a new MPO BAC might work to fill the void of the smaller communities and the County. The Traffic Safety Commission is Lawrence focused.

Ms. Hallberg asked what was the Traffic Safety Commission’s response to the idea? Charlie Bryan said they liked the idea and saw it as a way to broaden the conversation. It is important the new committee have the right people on it to help develop and frame it. This is why David Hamby would be prefect because he has experience on both the TSC and the BAC. He also mentioned that the Health Department has funding that can be used to train the new commission.

Ms. Hull concluded by thanking the BAC for their input and concerns. The taskforce will continue refining the recommendations, based on input, before the draft report is posted online for public comments on January 25. A public meeting will be held at the February 3^rd City Commission Meeting at 5:45 (6 East 6^th St, City Hall).

7. Other Business/Updates

There were none.

8. Public Comments

There were none.

9. Adjournment of Meeting and Announcement of Next Meeting

The meeting adjourned at 6:15 PM. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for February 8, 2015 at 5:00 pm.