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Home My WebLink About2011-10-11 CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES October 11, 2011 CITY OF KITCHENER The Cycling Advisory Committee met on this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. Present: Messrs. M. Arges, D. Class, B. Forwell (Vice-Chair), S. Burek, B. Laube, P. Dedes, D. Hilker, Ms. J. Tomero, Councillor Y. Fernandes and Ms. M. Sehl (4:30 p.m.) Staff: Messrs. R. Schirm (Committee Administrator), T. O’Brien, M. Parris Regrets: Messrs., N. Mehés 1. That the minutes of the September 13, 2011 meeting be approved. Motioned by: Mr. D. Hilker Seconded by: Ms. Y. Fernandes IRON HORSE TRAIL CROSSING TREATMENT AT RAILWAY CROSSING 2. Mr. M. Parris made a presentation of the draft design for the railway crossing of the Iron Horse Trail at Victoria Park. Many of the suggestions made by the Committee at the previous meeting were incorporated into the design. The question of providing a centre line through the realigned trail portion was raised. Mr. Parris indicated he would investigate this further. The question of installing yield signs on the gates to further warn cyclists was raised. ACTION: Mr. R. Schirm indicated he could provide parks staff with yield signs to install . The question of lighting was raised. Mr. Parris stated that lighting is not part of this project; however, conduit installation could be done as part of the work. Everyone agreed that dealing with the lighting issue is very important in regards to safety. ACTION: Mr. T. O’Brien and Mr. M. Parris will investigate the standards and report back to the Committee in terms of lighting proposals for this location . Mr. D. Class asked can the trail be open during construction. Mr. Parris stated it is too early in the process to determine staging and if, when, and for how long the trail would be closed. Mr. Schirm indicated that in this area there are no easy detours for the trail and maintaining some sort of access would be very important. Mr. Class further asked about detour signs: How far in advance of construction would they be installed and what potential detour would be used. Mr. Parris will report back to the Committee on this. The Committee will have an opportunity to review and comment on the final design when it is available. It is hoped that construction would commence in April 2012. TRAIL ISSUES 3. Mr. M. Arges made a power point presentation showing several wash outs on trails, trail sections with grade associated issues and areas where the trail quality has deteriorated. He showed several sections of trail that he and Mr. D. Class felt should be paved. Mr. Arges further reported that it is his understanding that the City of Cambridge paves sloped sections of trails. Mr. R. Schirm stated that the MUPMP does include paving type 1 transportation trails, which by and large represent the core cycling network from the 2010 CMP. Mr. Schirm further stated that many trails represent different priorities for different people. Many times for example, the paving of a trail through a wood lot would not be desirable for many users as they would want to keep it as natural and integrated with the surroundings as possible. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 11, 2011 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 2 TRAIL ISSUES – CONT’D 3. Mr. T. O’Brien stated that there are challenges with developing paved trails. Aside from the higher cost and higher replacement cost, the Grand River Conservation Authority does not recommend paved trails within the flood plain and would be resistant in issuing permits for the installation of paved trails within the flood plain. Councillor Fernandes said that, for example, the Mill Park Trail would not be paved due to the nature of the trail and it’s meandering through the Grand River flood plain. The question of trail crossings and the installation of curb cuts was raised by several committee members. Mr. Schirm stated that there is a capital budget for the installation of drop curbs for trails crossings. ACTION: Mr. R. Schirm will locate that budget item and report back to the Committee on it. Mr. O’Brien stated that trail maintenance issues should be reported through Mr. Schirm to him. He appreciates that Committee members are willing to identify and pass on these issues. Mr. Arges stated that in the meantime committee members should photograph trail issues while using the trails to report back to Mr. O’Brien. KITCHENER CYCLING QUESTIONNAIRE 4. . Mr. M. Arges and Mr. D. Class made a presentation, complete with a draft questionnaire, intended for members of Council. The Committee in general felt it was a good idea to gauge Council’s feelings towards cycling as well as Councillors own experience with cycling. However the question was raised as to the purpose of the questionnaire. Is it intended for marketing purposes or genuinely to collect data. Ms. M. Sehl indicated that she felt that many of the questions were leading. Mr. R. Schirm stated that the Committee needs to ask itself “what do we want to know” through this exercise. Further, is the Committee prepared for the potential negative answers. Councillor Y. Fernandes said that she was in favour of presenting a questionnaire to her colleagues in Council. It was agreed that Mr. Class and Mr. Arges would continue to head this project. The next step is that members of the Committee will send them their ideas with Messrs. Arges and Class compiling them for the November meeting. ACTION: Committee members to send their ideas to Messrs. Arges and Class who will compile them for the November meeting. ELECTION OF THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE 5. . As Mr. T. Kenyon has resigned from the Committee due to conflicts with his work schedule, the Committee needs to elect another Chair. Motion to nominate Ms. Mary Sehl as Chair of the Committee was made by Mr. S. Burek, seconded by Mr. D. Class. Ms. M. Sehl accepted the nomination. Motion to nominate Mr. Duncan Class as Chair of the Committee was made by Councillor Fernandes, seconded by Mr. M. Arges. Mr. D. Class accepted the nomination. Mr. B Forwell conducted the election, thereby not being eligible to vote. At a vote of five (5) to three (3) in favour, Ms. M. Sehl was elected Chair. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 11, 2011 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 3 CMP REPORT CARD 6. This issue was deferred to a future meeting due to time considerations. OTHER BUSINESS 7. Mr. R. Schirm brought forward an invitation from City of Waterloo staff to attend a signage workshop. The intent is to work on a pilot project with the cities of Waterloo and Cambridge as well as regional staff in developing a route through the Region. The meeting is to be held on October 18, 2011 at the Waterloo Recreation Centre on Father David Bauer Drive. Councillor Y. Fernandes and Mr. D. Class indicated that they would attend. ADJOURNMENT 8. On motion of Mr. P. Dedes and seconded by Mr. M. Arges, that the meeting be adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Ronald Schirm Committee Administrator