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Home My WebLink About2010-11-09 CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER The Cycling Advisory Committee met on his date commencing at 4:10 p.m. Present: Messrs: B. Forwell (Chair), M. Arges, D. Class, D. Hilker, N. Mehés, and Councillor J. Gazzola Staff: Messrs. R. Schirm (Committee Administrator), P. Wetherup and Ms. K. Reinert (Recorder) Regrets: Messrs. T. Kenyon, Messrs. S. Burek, B. Laube, T. Müller and Ms. P. Ji-Taylor DEFERRED TO PRESENT TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN 1. Mr. Don Drackley, IBI Group, and Mr. John McBride, Transportation Planning, requested to attend each of the advisory committee meetings to present the draft Transportation Master Plan (T.M.P.) and to receive input from the various advisory committees. It was noted that the IBI Group was also the consultant on the Cycling Master Plan. This is the first T.M.P. for the City of Kitchener and will take into consideration all the changes such as rapid transit, intensification, T.D.M., pedestrian enhancements, The C.M.P. and associated cycling facilities, to list a few, and all opinions are welcome. It is a custom made, multi-modal plan encompassing roads, trails, vehicle, cycling, walking. The Cycling Master Plan will be included within the T.M.P. The City of Waterloo has recently completed their Transportation Master Plan. The T.M.P. for a local municipality must take into account the goals that the Regional T.M.P. encompasses, but has a focus that is oriented for the particular city. The T.M.P. does not address specific issues on but rather, it will address issues on local roadways and recommend policies that deal with the type of problem presented. The City of Kitchener T.M.P. is looking at the big picture for the entire city and how it relates with the 20 year plan and, long term, with the official plan. The plan needs to be acceptable to the community, be visionary and address problems as seen, also change travel behaviour and conditions. After the presentation was made, the question; ”What kind of transportation is the City of Kitchener facing today?” was posed to the group. Responses were as follows: - deteriorating slowly - traffic jams more often - Weber Street busier than ever - More options getting from point A to B - Co-relation of number of people living and working in the city - Growth of traffic on the rural roads very noticeable - Core of City traffic can be hit and miss - Emergency Response time has increased significantly - Time of day can be the issue; arterials can be quite quiet depending on time of day - GTA has peaking but not the case here, but as the city grows it will get here. - Change work schedule – dealt with in the TDM plan CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 2 TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN 1. – cont’d Mr. D. Drackley commented on how the level of service is ranked for traffic operation; it ranges from A (nirvana) to F (gridlock). In the past the threshold for increasing capacity was D. A service level of D is no longer practicable for municipalities or the communities themselves prompting a shift in transportation priorities and getting people to think about other modes of travel such as cycling,. Mr. Drackley asked the Committee to review the T.M.P. to see if there is anything in the document to be reconsidered. He went on to say that in order to get people out cycling, cycling facilities need to be comfortable, feel safe and be convenient. Mr. Arges mentioned that roundabouts are not cycling friendly and that the average cyclist wants nothing to do with them; additional locations that are not cycling friendly were discussed as well. Mr. N. Mehes felt the biggest issue is barriers with some cycling facilities and/or new construction because the trail seems to end at these locations. The issue of speed was discussed and avid cyclists did not feel speed was an issue but for the inexperienced cyclist or for families and less experienced individuals rate of speed makes them feel much less comfortable and is a deterrent to cycling. Mr. Drackley thanked the Committee for their input and opportunity to bring out new ideas early in the process and further communication will be directed through Mr. R. Schirm. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OCTOBER 12, 2010-11-26 2. That the minutes of the October 12, 2010 meeting be approved. Motioned by Mr. D. Class Seconded by Mr. M. Arges CYCLING AND THE WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE SERVICE 3. Mr. R. Schirm indicated that he received an email from Sgt. Scott Diefenbaker, from the Waterloo Regional Police Services, and followed up with a conversation with him regarding communication with the Cycling Advisory Committee. There is no strategy in place to deal with cycling matters and they are willing to work with this committee; Colleen Cooper has had similar dialog with Police. Sgt. Frank Heinrich is to be the main point of contact for the Committee with WRPS at this time. He is more than willing to come to the committee for issues as they arise. Suggestion to meet with Police annually or semi-annually was a good idea and the C.A.C. will need to set this up and decide on the strategy for the meetings. ACTION: Mr. Ron. Schirm to forward the contact information regarding bicycle helmets at the Safety Village to Messrs. D. Class and B. Forwell. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 3 COMMUNITY TRAILS MASTER PLAN 4. Mr. Peter Wetherup informed the committee that there were approximately thirty people, including Mr. B. Forwell from the C.A.C., who attended the stakeholders meeting, held in early November. The attendees were divided into three groups and spent 20 minutes looking at map connectivity, signage and policies. Thereafter, each group brought back three top concerns for discussion. Next steps will be preparation of the draft report by the consultant, presentation to the stakeholders probably in January, followed by a presentation to the Cycling Advisory Committee. CYCLING MASTER PLAN REPORT CARD 5. Mr. M. Arges has changed the format of the report card to four pages and changed the Advocacy section. It was noted that there is a possibility that the Advocacy portion may be difficult to measure. ACTION: Mr. M. Arges to email the report card to C.A.C. members for their input. Discussion took place regarding the $200,000 budget for 2011 and where this money should be applied. Mr. R. Schirm informed the Committee that Council will deliberate and approve the 2011 budget in February/March and the elected Council representative will bring back confirmation of the budget figure at that time. Mr. Schirm will bring back recommendations for 2011 when budget has been approved. Consideration of the 2012 budget will be made after Mr. S. Allen and Mr. G. McTaggart’s presentation scheduled for March as this will provide insight for the committee’s direction. 2011 – 2012 COMMITTEE SELECTION PROTOCOL 6. The 2009 – 10 CAC will dissolve on November 30, 2010. Membership of the upcoming term will be reviewed over the next couple of weeks and Linda Korabo will inform all applicants who have been th approved by December 7. Most of the current members reapplied; two incumbents had scheduling difficulties and did not reapply. January 11, 2011 will be the official start date for the new committee; end date will be November 30, 2012. Mr. R. Schirm, on behalf of the City, thanked everyone on this first, inaugural term and commended everyone for their time and dedication to this committee and stated that they should be proud of the accomplishments. ACTION: Mr. B. Forwell would like to have a list of three or four of the accomplishments. Councillor J. Gazzola thanked Mr. R. Schirm for everything he has done and to the members as well noting that they are a group of hard working volunteers. Mr. B. Forwell congratulated Councillor Gazzola on his re-election and thanked him for his participation in the Great Race and being an excellent Council representative for this committee. Thank you’s were also relayed to City of Kitchener staff, Ms. Kathleen Reinert for minute taking, Mrs. Joanne Kuwabara for the ‘behind the scene’ posting of minutes on the website and agendas, and Mr. Peter Wetherup for his participation and commitment to the Cycling Advisory Committee. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 9, 2010 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 4 UPDATE ON RIVER ROAD BRIDGE ENHANCEMENT 7. A four inch wide piece of channel is recommended to assist cyclists in negotiating this bridge. Mr. R. Schirm met with operations staff and the condition of a few railing posts came into question. Engineering staff feel that the recommended channel can be installed and will review installation with Mr. Schirm over the winter. ADJOURNMENT 8. That the meeting be adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Mehés Motioned by: Mr. N. Seconded by: Committee Members Mr. B. Forwell stated that it was a pleasure to be on the Cycling Advisory Committee and that he enjoyed being vice-chair; likewise, he relayed the same sentiment on behalf of Mr. T. Kenyon as chair of the C.A.C. Ronald Schirm Committee Administrator