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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRTBC January 2019MINUTES APPROVED MPO REGIONAL TRAILS AND BICYCLING COMMITTEE TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1:00 PM NORTH RIDGE PAVILION, 2250 HOLIDAY RD CORALVILLE MEMBERS PRESENT: Becky Soglin (Johnson County), Sherri Proud (Coralville), Jay Geisen (University of Iowa), Louise From (University Heights) OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Freidhof (Johnson County), Mark Wyatt (Iowa Bicycle Coalition) STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Walz, Emily Bothell, Frank Waisath 1. CALL TO ORDER; RECOGNIZE ALTERNATES; CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES Walz called the meeting to order at 1:00 P.M. There was one alternate; Jay Geisen served as an alternate for Michelle Ribble (University of Iowa). Minutes from previous meeting unable to be approved as quorum was not met. Minutes will be considered at a subsequent meeting. 2. Public Discussion Soglin suggested that any and all signage/references to “bike friendly” zones be changed to “bicycle friendly” zones to provide standardization and clarity. This to align with standards enumerated by League of American Bicyclists. 3. Review progress on goals included in the 2009 Metro Bike Plan Walz noted that in the previous Metro Area Bicycle Plan it was noted that other than in Iowa City, opportunities for on-street facilities are limited on most streets due to the lack of adequate pavement width. More dedicated bike lanes will be introduced in Iowa City as well as along Melrose Ave. in University Heights. As most roads in Coralville and North Liberty lack the minimum pavement width to provide dedicated bicycle lanes, the plan will likely consider “sharrows”. While sharrows have fallen out of favor with many bicyclists, these markings still provide important signage for bicyclists. Johnson County is making progress in improving on- street facilities with paved shoulders and striped shoulders on new road projects. Pertaining to enforcement, the Iowa City Police Department is interested in revisiting past efforts to encourage bicyclists to use lights at night with free or low-cost bike lights. If other metro communities are interested, this could be a useful metro-wide campaign and the MPO could assist with identifying funding sources. Proud asked about the types of lights that might be used. Walz indicated she had done some preliminary research and there are a wide range of types and prices, including rechargeable lights. Friedhof asked about electric assist bicycles out on some of the single-track trails. He asked about enforcement of these bicycles in other areas as well. Walz said Iowa City’s future bike share is likely to include electric assist bicycles and so will be updating its code. Wyatt stated that 750 watts is the cut-off for most regulations. He indicated that ICORR would have some guidance to offer. Further exploration of the classification of e-bikes will need to be pursued to ensure safe implementation into existing bike infrastructure. These bikes will be oriented around soft- and hard-trail infrastructure. Walz informed the group that area communities have applied for certified ”Bicycle Friendly” status. A long-term goal of the 2009 bicycle plan was to be designated as platinum communities. Iowa City is currently working towards a gold status. The most pertinent component of this effort is increasing ridership, minimizing barriers to riding, and improving riding safety. Emphasis should be put on increasing ridership and safety opposed to simply fulfilling requirements, and different area communities have different infrastructural opportunity to achieve this status. Wyatt suggested that it is important to measure the effectiveness of programming in order to determine what is working. Soglin and Friedhof asked about providing updates for new opportunities/facilities that have been identified or improved. Bothell and Walz responded that written updates can include current municipal projects, improvements to bike infrastructure since 2009, and goals/methods to further bicycle infrastructure. Updates pertaining to connectivity and engineering projects are significant enough to include in written updates. Walz spoke about on-line mapping and route-planning resources – specifically Google Maps. This technology provides users with much more information and clarity than an independently developed tool would be able to, given local resources and time constraints. Discussion ensued over the facets of updating Google Maps, with Waisath explaining some issues he has encountered surrounding delays of updating from direct inputs/amendments. Proud inquired about “Share the Road” public service announcements. Walz brought attention to the “Bike Shorts” videos currently available on the Iowa City website. These are 60 second educational videos meant for bicyclists and motorists. One details safety basics such as safe passing and road sharing. Other MPO entities could share the online videos . This is an area where communities could share and build off each other’s efforts. Wyatt asked about including advisory bike lanes in lieu of sharrows. Walz suggested that these will be considered at the public workshops. An advisory climbing lane was recently installed on Myrtle Ave. Myrtle-Greenwood will become a bike boulevard once the pedestrian refuge is finished in accordance with the resurfacing plans. Advisory bike lanes have been primarily used on rural and low-volume roadways, and care will need to be taken to explore how they would work in our urban context. 4. Discuss Update to the 2009 Metro Bike Plan a. Review preliminary results of the online bicycle surveys Bothell indicated that the youth Ssurvey solicited feedback from North Central Junior High, Northwest Junior High, and Clear Creek Amana High School, receiving 435 total student responses. The Metro Bike Survey received 469 responses. Bothell said 179 responses of those responses came from residents of Iowa City who also frequent destinations within Iowa City. For some results the input of these individuals was set aside to focus on the perceptions or opinions of those who live in and/or bicycle to destinations in Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights, or Tiffin. Bothell shared results from the youth bicycle survey. Of the 435 respondents, 93% know how to ride a bike, and of those who don’t, 10% would be interested in learning at school. While 90% of respondents own a bike, 75% never or almost never ride their bikes to school. Connectivity, weather, extracurricular activities may all be impediments to students riding to school. Students overwhelmingly preferred riding on sidewalks and trails as opposed to streets. As for bicycle safety, 60% of students know how to use hand signals. As for opportunities for programming, of those students who do not own a bike, 26 students expressed interest in a bike-earning program and 12 responded negatively. Bothell shared results from the general bike survey. Most respondents were from Iowa City and frequented locations within Iowa City. A majority of respondents were between 35 and 54 years of age and primarily rode bicycles for recreation. In looking at respondents who live or have a regular destination in one of the four metro communities, the primary use of bicycles was for recreation and social opportunities. Bothell suggested an emphasis on connecting trails for recreation. Respondents are primarily interested in group- and neighborhood-based rides and short educational videos. Proud stated that they have hosted some classes that were not well attended. She doesn’t want to offer a class just to check a box to get bike friendly status but is looking for classes that serve needs or interests. Neighborhood based rides and family-based rides have been more popular that destination based rides for her recreation department. Bothell reminded the group that the survey was not a random sample and thus the information is more of an impression of the metro than statistically significant results. Additionally, survey respondents did not respond to every question prompted, leading to different response rates from residents. Results will be further explored for future discussion and for use in the Metro Bicycle Plan. b. Review of current policies within communities: i. Bicycle parking requirements for multi-family and commercial uses Walz explained that most multi-family and commercial bike parking is provided by the private sector at little cost to taxpayers. The areas of focus are on installing bike parking in an effective and useable manner, following inspection guidelines to maximize efficiency of long-term and short-term parking measures. Differentiation between short- and long-term parking will be better enumerated, particularly in residential areas. The APBP guidelines, which are included in the packet, should be useful to guide any policy changes communities would make. Soglin indicated that the county staff is proposing some changes to the county’s parking requirements and the guidelines they provide. i. Bicycle ordinances in MPO communities Walz explained that her goal with this report was to point out some areas where there are inconsistencies between communities or where there was anything unusual that the communities might want to reconsider. She said that Iowa City was starting its bike share program soon and that the fleet would likely include e-bikes. She notedly that she has noticed e-bikes already have a presence on the trails and on the streets. Iowa City and other metro communities may need to adjust their definitions of bicycles accordingly. Adjustments to code can be based on Iowa code regarding e-bikes. Soglin suggested using volunteers to engage pedestrians and educate bicyclists utilizing bike sharing services as to how to properly use bicycles (e.g. not using sidewalks downtown). Walz explained that in Coralville and North Liberty, the ordinance states that bicyclists are not allowed to ride within roadways if an adjacent off-street pathway is provided. All MPO communities, except for University Heights, allow bicyclists to ride two abreast. From asked about MPO assistance for University Heights to explore wide sidewalks and other off-street facilities. University Heights currently has a police committee exploring the issue, however the proliferation of small, personal, motorized vehicles is impeding current exploration. ii. Review of bicycle routes, roadway widths, and connectivity Waisath brought up roadway widths and opportunities for on-street facilities. Roadways must be at least 30 feet wide and have less than 4 lanes to be considered for providing additional on-street facilities. Gaps are present in North Liberty and Coralville, and locations were identified in accordance with trail infrastructure to provide more services to area bikers. One opportunity is Camp Cardinal Rd, which was indicated as an area of interest in survey results. This would provide additional connectivity to the Clear Creek Trail. 5. Other Business Soglin asked about the definition of the MPO boundary. Bothell indicated definition is based on the census and growth boundaries. The MPO has a shape file that she could provide the county. Geisen shared updates on University Bike Plan. This included exploring transportation corridors from immediate residential areas to the main campus area. Specific streets of interest are Clinton and Madison, and the possible two-way conversion of Market and Jefferson. Increasing facilities as portions of campus are redeveloped or renovated. Geisen asked about the progress on the bike share program. Walz discussed promotion efforts for bike workshops to increase community attendance. She encouraged communities to share announcement on social media and to post posters in community locations. The MPO would provide posters on the buses and would send posters to communities via email. 6. Adjournment As quorum was not met, no motion was made to adjourn.