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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-03-09 CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 9, 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER The Cycling Advisory Committee met on his date commencing at 4:00 p.m. Present: Messrs B. Forwell (Vice-Chair), Councillor J. Gazzola, M. Arges, S. Burek, D. Class, D. Hilker, B. Laube, N. Mehés and T. Müller. Staff: Messrs. R. Schirm (Committee Administrator), P. Wetherup and Ms. K. Reinert (Recorder) Regrets: Mr. Mr. T. Kenyon (Chair) and Ms. P. Ji-Taylor APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. That the minutes of the February 9, 2010 meeting be approved. Motioned by Mr. Nicola Mehés Seconded by Mr. Duncan Class Business Arising from Minutes Council Meeting – February 22, 2010 Mr. Tim Kenyon (Chair) made a very effective presentation regarding the H.S.T. and the impact on the bicycle P.S.T. incentive to Council. The presentation was well received by the Mayor and Council and some committee members were in attendance as well. Mr. Kenyon used this opportunity to outline the context of the C.A.C. committee and what some of the plans are for the committee. Sign Pilot Project Committee members were asked to consider the most direct, comfortable and safe route to take while travelling the Victoria Park to Fairview Park mall route and bring this information to the March meeting for discussion. Mr. Dennis Hilker brought a map to illustrate his thoughts on the main route for consideration and the committee concurred. The route begins on the Iron Horse Trail at Victoria Park continuing east to Ottawa Street, proceeding to Nyberg, Sydney, Delta Streets, past Rockway Gardens to Dixon, Eckert, Connaught to St. Aloysius School and finally to Kingsway Drive. Plan A: Route noted above if walkway can be accommodated. Plan B: Route noted above until Connaught Street, proceed to Fifth and Greenfield Avenues to Kingsway Drive. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 2 Sign Pilot Project – cont’d. Mr. Ron Schirm noted the following issues for consideration: i) Nyberg Street – one way street but could do counter-flow lanes beside waterway. ii) Ottawa Street – how to crossover or align because trail ends at creek? This is a regional road and may require involvement with regional counterparts. Consideration for a pedestrian refuge island or align by having cyclists travel Borden Avenue which would divert traffic earlier and signage would be enough because it is a quiet road iii) Eckert Street – transition from Eckert to emergency exit iv) Sidewalk to trail connectivity v) Walkway from Connaught Street Cedarwoods Crescent is not 3 m wide. A question of ownership needs to be resolved as well. vi) Bike lanes are required on Eckert Street where it is wide enough for four lanes under the expressway. ACTION: Mr. Ron Schirm to verify if the walkway is City or school property and the possibility of expanding the walkway to three meters. ACTION: Mr. Ron Schirm to report to committee on the six issues for consideration above and to check if paint markings, similar to circles used on the Iron Horse Trail, could be used on Eckert Street . Recommendation: That committee members go to Eckert and Dixon Streets and bring th their ideas to the April 13 meeting. COMMUTER CHALLENGE 2. Mr. Ron Schirm discussed with staff in the Mayor’s office on potential involvement of Council in the tri-modal event. Initial feedback from the Mayor’s office was that it is an excellent concept; however, the event would need to be presented in such a way as to ensure that no participants are seen in a negative light. ACTION: Mr. Ron Schirm to put a proposal together considering a few options for Council’s involvement to be presented at the April Meeting. Mr. Schirm is to contact the Mayor’s Office further to determine if there are Council Members interested in participating and to what extent. CAN BIKE 2010 3. Mr. Ron Schirm informed the committee that he attended a meeting a couple of weeks ago to review the Can Bike program that was implemented last year. In the first year, the program generated a great deal of interest but lacked actual participants and only one Can Bike course was run in 2009. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 3 CAN BIKE 2010 3. – cont’d. Mr. Schirm, will be offering two half-hour, lunch hour programs in the downtown to encourage confidence in cycling and to spark interest in Can Bike. The City of Waterloo and downtown Galt are planning to offer a similar program as well. The programs will be scheduled leading up to the Commuter Challenge to generate momentum for the Challenge. It was requested that the committee assist in “getting the word out.” The Committee agreed that this type of programming is essential because the number one reason people don’t cycle more is because they don’t feel safe. Mr. Schirm will forward information to the committee when he receives it. TRAIL WORK FOR 2010 4. Mr. Peter Wetherup distributed copies of the Community Services, Design and Development Project Plan and mentioned that approximately $500,000 has been approved for 2010. The Community Trail Master Plan terms of reference will be circulated in April 2010 with the Master Plan being created throughout 2010 and 2011. Both Mr. Schirm and Mr. Wetherup are on the Steering Committee for this project. Discussion took place on projects such as Doon South Trails, Old Carriage Drive Trail Rehab, Tilt Bush Trail and the trail and bridge crossing over Strasburg Creek in the Huron natural area. One of the goals within the Trails Master Plan is to accommodate issues with the Cycling Master Plan. Mr. Wetherup stated that the Walter Bean Trail construction for 2010 will feature a large project crossing the Doon golf course lands and includes a bridge over the Grand River. The bridge will be closed over the winter due to environmental issues. Mr. B. Forwell questioned whether the crossing at the top of the golf course could include an asphalt surface since this area is shared with golf carts. ACTION: Mr. P. Wetherup to investigate if the golf course could include an asphalt surface for shared trail with the golf carts. Mr. S. Burek questioned whether the long-term plan is to connect all sections of the Walter Bean Trail. Mr. Wetherup responded that it is the intent to connect the entire Walter Bean Trial but it is contingent upon cooperation with private property owners. City of Kitchener does not have continuous land ownership along the banks of the Grand River. When questioned on what has been decided for the Walter Bean signage, Mr. Wetherup commented that the field naturalists want only trail heads signed and that the intermediate signage has not been decided on but the Master Plan will probably address this. He went on to say that the province is going in the direction of downloadable information and directions, way finding, that can be downloaded onto MP3 players and IPods. It is felt that this type of technology would encourage the younger, more tech savvy people to use these types of facilities. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 4 CYCLING MASTER PLAN UPDATE 5. Mr. R. Schirm indicated that the draft interim report has been forwarded to steering committee members. The Master Plan will identify most facility types in use in North America today as options. Also, recommended facility types will be linked to the road classification. The specific recommendation will likely be that local roadways and minor collectors do not require dedicated on road cycling space, major collectors will include bike lanes and that arterial roadways should consider segregated cycling facilities, such as cycle tracks, first and bike lanes as a second option. A number of routes that would be candidates for bicycle boulevard treatments are also identified. The fourth steering committee meeting is scheduled for March th 10 and a first draft of the network will be presented and forwarded to this committee thereafter. C.O.M.P.A.S.S. 6. th Mr. Arges and Mr. Class attended the C.O.M.P.A.S.S. meeting on March 6. Café discussions on one of the bulleted topics from the Environics survey entitled “Who you are Kitchener” were held at each table. The moderator will take the points and suggestions from these discussions to Council for the next four-year plan. Also included with the results of the discussions will be the results from the survey that is located on the City of Kitchener website. Mr. Schirm will forward the link to the related website to Committee members. The traffic calming survey was discussed and it was suggested that the Cycling Advisory Committee be informed of the annual traffic calming projects. Recommendation: That Transportation Planning staff make a presentation to the Committee at the start of the New Year outlining upcoming traffic calming projects for the year. Motion by: Mr. Mike Arges Seconded by: Mr. Duncan Class There is an Environmental Assessment process for traffic calming that is followed and the requirement is to consider four options and systematically evaluated with the most effective option presented to the public. ADJOURNMENT 7. On motion of Mr. Dennis Hilker and seconded by Mr. Nicola Mehés, the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. Ronald Schirm Committee Administrator