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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRTBC MINUTES Oct 11, 2016 approvedMINUTES APPROVED MPO REGIONAL TRAILS AND BICYCLING COMMITTEE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2016 NORTH RIDGE PAVILION, CORALVILLE MEMBERS PRESENT: Becky Soglin (for Janelle Rettig), Sherri Proud, Terry Dahms, Anne Duggan, Michelle Ribble, Dotti Maher (for Wally Heitman) MEMBERS ABSENT: Wally Heitman, Michelle Ribble, Brian Loring, Juli Seydell Johson, Shelly Simpson OTHERS PRESENT: Brock Grenis, Troy Carter, Larry Fitzpatrick STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Walz, Emily Bothell, Darian Nagle-Gamm 1. CALL TO ORDER; RECOGNIZE ALTERNATES; CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES Walz called the meeting to order at 1:00 PM. Proud made a motion to approve the May 10, 2016 minutes with one change; Soglin seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. 2. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None 3. UPDATE ON THE MPO LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN: a) DISCUSS RESULTS OF THE YOUTH TRANSPORTATION SURVEY Walz summarized the MPO’s first-ever Youth Transportation survey, which received over 1,700 responses from elementary, junior high, and high school students. She noted that while it was not a random survey, and thus not statistically significant, some findings should prompt additional attention and study—those were noted in the attached memo. She mentioned that the reach of the elementary school study was limited—mostly those schools in a more suburban context. Proud noted that a study for the Out-of-School Time Initiative of the United Way had similar findings regarding the difficulty children have in accessing after school activities. She recommended that the MPO Youth Survey results be shared with the United Way. There was general interest for a follow-up study to reach more elementary schools. Carter stated that he has an ongoing relationship with half of ICCSD elementary schools to teach bicycle skills through the PE programs. He recommended contact with PE teachers and school nurses for future surveys. There was general discussion regarding other educational and encouragement opportunities, including Coralville’s sign campaign. b) REVIEW BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN CHAPTER OF THE LONG-RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN Nagle-Gamm described the new approach that the MPO was taking with the Future Forward 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan and the information that would be covered in the plan. She reminded RTBC members that one of the central purposes of the plan is to identify and prioritize those transportation projects for which communities will seek Federal Funding and the goals that strategies that MPO entities will adopt to ensure a transportation network that meets the needs of all users. She reviewed an initial draft of the Bicycle and Pedestrian chapter, noting that the new emphasis of the FHWA was to make the plan more data driven and easier for the public to access and understand. For this reason, chapters will be short and much information will be communicated through info-graphics. Another goal of the plan reformat is to emphasize strategies as well as how to measure progress over time. Nagle-Gamm referred the Choice section of the plan—a two page element that describes one of the nine principles that should guide transportation planning for the MPO. (The Choice section speaks directly to bicycle and pedestrian planning.) Each of these principles will be addressed by a series of strategies and performance measures. She noted how difficult it is to find good data to measure progress and that this is something staff is researching as this will allow the MPO to measure how successful these projects are in achieving its goals over tim e. Soglin asked about using term “choice” whether there might be a better term as for many users a mode of transportation may be their only option and not a choice. Grenis asked whether there would be a performance measure for recreational riding vs. commuting. Nagle-Gamm said there is not good data for that, however the MPO does use its own annual trail counts to get some measure of how trail sections are being used over time. 4. DISCUSSION OF SCORING CRITERIA FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BLOCK GRANT AND TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES PROGRAM FUNDS ALLOCATED BY MPOJC Nagle-Gamm explained the changing names (and acronyms) for the federal road and alternative transportation funding coordinated by the MPO. The Surface Transportation Program (STP), funds for which have traditionally gone to road projects, is now called the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program. The Transportation Alternative Program (TAP), which has traditionally provided funds for trail and trail-related projects, is now called the STBG Set-Aside. MPOJC does not anticipate decreases in funding for trail projects under the new funding system. She described the two sets of scoring criteria that the MPO uses: one for choosing which projects to put in the long-range plan (any project that will get federal funding needs to be in the plan); and, the second which chooses which projects will receive funding and how much. Projects that are scored to be included in the plan are often only at the conceptual stage—they have not been designed or fleshed out in detail. Projects being scored for actual funding are designed and many details are clearly presented. So it makes sense to have two separate scoring systems. However, the Policy Board would like the two scoring systems to align more closely, taking into account those “guiding principles” that were used to screen projects for the long-range plan, such as system preservation, ADA non-compliance, and congestion reduction. The direction from the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Board are to use the long-range plan scoring criteria as the basis for the scoring criteria for funding projects. Carter asked for clarification as to whether this would mean trail projects would be scored against road projects. Nagle-Gamm answered that, while both types of projects would be scored using the LRTP principles, they would NOT be scored against each other. Ribble indicated that she would be in favor of using the LRTP scoring criteria as a basis for the funding criteria and indicated preference for including a criterion that gives points for an increasing amounts of matching funds. 5. UPDATES ON LOCAL TRAIL/BIKE/PEDESTRAIN PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES FROM MPO ENTITIES Duggan announced that there would be a morning event to unveil Iowa City’s new bicycle parklet on Friday, October 14. The parklet is being installed on Dubuque Street just east of the Washington Street intersection. Duggan also spoke briefly about the Bike!Bike! 2016 event she recently attended in Detroit. She was able to participate in number of fun community rides, including an Open Streets event that attracts thousands of riders. Ribble announced that the University would be adding new bike fix-it stations and new locations in addition to covered parking near the UI hospital. Proud spoke about the planning taking place for the extension of the Clear Creek Trail. There is interest in finding a way to keep the future trail section open during the construction of the new I80|380 interchange but there are safety considerations. Dahms noted how the MPO surveys had shown how comfortable people are riding on wide sidewalks and therefore he believes communities need to ensure a network of these facilities. Soglin said that the County would be applying for Bicycle Friendly Business status. Walz said that the RFP had closed for the new Bike Share and that the University and Iowa City would be working together to identify top firms and interview them soon. She also mentioned that Iowa City had completed its interviews of firms for its bicycle master plan and that the planning process should provide examples and other MPO communities can benefit from. 6. OTHER None ADJOURNMENT Soglin moved for adjournment. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:10 PM.