Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutKCTAC Minutes 2017-05-09 KITCHENER CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES th May 9, 2017 - 1 - CITY OF KITCHENER Kitchener Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee met on this date commencing at 4:10 p.m. Present: Councillor Y. Fernandes, Ms. L. Paprocki, Ms. P. Rodriguez, Messrs. E. Bliefert, M Drasdo, D. Hoshowsky, B. Jenner, R. Mazumder, and T. Mollison. Staff: Mr. J. Barton, Associate Landscape Architect Mr. D. Pimentel, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager Ms. M. Salvucci, Active Transportation Student Delegates: Ms. H. Wahib, Senior Transportation Engineer, City of Kitchener 1. KRUG STREET P.I.C.  Mr. D. Pimentel spoke to the public information centre (P.I.C.) for Krug Street which th will take place on May 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium in the Subscriber’s Lounge. 2. IRONHORSE TRAIL AND FURTURE TRANSIT HUB EA  Ms. H. Wahib spoke to the environmental assessment (E.A.) for the Ironhorse Trail and future transit hub. The alternatives being discussed were presented, Ms. H. Wahib mentioned that there will be an opportunity for public consultation in June. o Mr. D. Pimentel will send the details of the public consultation to the committee.  Discussion ensued over the alternatives presented for the trail. Comments were made on a variety of trail components: concerns over the slope/grade of sections of the path; interest in the path going through the parks; the potential to use sharrows along certain parts of the path; and concerns over the use of private property. Overall, options 2 and 3 were preferred.  Discussion was put on hold and will resume at the next committee meeting in June.  Mr. D. Pimentel or Ms. H. Wahib will send PDF copies of the maps to the committee members. 3. ONTARIO BIKE SUMMIT BRIEFING  Mr. E. Bliefert spoke on seminars and comments made at the Ontario Bike Summit. Particular interest was shown towards education of the new one-metre passing law and a seminar on “Spotting the Quick Wins” which provided techniques to supporting a bike culture within the City.  Mr. D. Pimentel commented that next year invitations to the event would be open to KCTAC again and attendees from the committee will be randomly drawn.  Mr. E. Bliefert noted that the Minister of Tourism has funding for climate change cycling projects that can be applied for.  Discussion ensued over the implementation of the new one-metre passing law. Mr. T. Mollison questioned whether the police can be asked to enforce the one-metre passing law. Councillor Y. Fernandes responded that the Committee can ask but a motion cannot be passed and that talking to the police can be used more as an KITCHENER CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES th May 9, 2017 - 2 - CITY OF KITCHENER information sharing session with mention of what policing programs are being used in regards to cycling in Ottawa. 4. BIKEFEST UPDATE  Mr. D. Pimentel spoke on the events and activities going on at Bikefest and asked what KCTAC’s role would be with the event. Mr. D. Pimentel commented that KCTAC was already included on the “passport” component of the event.  Ms. L. Paprocki suggested having “moment with an expert” sessions to give information such as “the best way to get from here to here” and provide an opportunity for individuals to ask KCTAC members about their cycling preferences and knowledge.  Councillor Y. Fernandes suggested hosting short info sessions.  Councillor Y. Fernandes spoke on the Environmental Committee and Urban Forestry Department’s role in Bikefest as they will have a booth with a rain barrel raffle and will be using it as an opportunity to discuss available grants.  Ms. L. Paprocki suggested looking for activities for young children and families. o Mr. T. Mollison suggested balloon animals. o Ms. L. Paprocki offered to look into yoga for kids.  Ms. P. Rodriguez suggested that KCTAC should have a bike at the tent and show how to use the bike parking around the City. Ms. P. Rodriguez offered to host the bike lock and bike parking demonstration.  Councillor Y. Fernandes suggested that a doodle poll be created to ensure that the KCTAC tent has volunteer coverage throughout the day.  Mr. D. Pimentel commented that BikeKitchener and KCTAC can both cover GRT demo-bike-rack.  Mr. D. Pimentel suggested that maps should be printed and brought to the event. o Mr. T. Mollison suggested having an interactive map (dotmocracy) which can be facilitated through the provision of stickers to allow individuals to label areas of opportunity and constraint on the map. Councillor Y. Fernandes and Mr. D. Pimentel suggested that sticky notes can also be used to allow people to leave more detailed comments.  Mr. E. Bliefert suggested that a comment sheet would be beneficial.  Mr. M. Drasdo offered to be at the tent for the duration of Bikefest.  Mr. R. Mazumder inquired about the potential to make a video with peoples’ comments. Mr. D. Pimentel commented that making a video may be too complicated for this Bikefest. Mr. D. Pimentel offered to look into the requirements for making a video.  Mr. T. Mollison suggested putting the event on the City of Kitchener’s event page.  Mr. D. Hoshowsky inquired about if there were any media, press release or newspaper opportunities that were discussed. Mr. D. Pimentel responded that Rogers will be doing ads over their radio channels.  Mr. M. Drasdo noted that there will be one smaller meeting before Bikefest. 5. SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS  Mr. M. Drasdo opened the floor to discussion on committees KITCHENER CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES th May 9, 2017 - 3 - CITY OF KITCHENER  Mr. B. Jenner proposed a subcommittee on bike parking, especially in commercial and other underserved areas and how to how to incentivize businesses to install bike parking. Mr. D. Hoshowsky commented that there is difficulty getting senior management of commercial properties to understand the importance of having bike parking. In response, Mr. M. Drasdo suggested maybe sending out a letter on behalf of the committee as it may have more influence than just a single individual.  Mr. T. Mollison proposed a subcommittee with a focus on road paint as there were concerns over the consistency of painted road lines.  Ms. L. Paprocki proposed a subcommittee on bicycle safety. Mr. M. Drasdo suggested possibly inviting a police officer to a meeting for a discussion on the role of police in encouraging bicycle safety. Ms. L. Paprocki agreed that the subcommittee can develop questions to ask the police. Mr. E. Bliefert suggested looking into having a spot in the newspaper to post cycling initiatives such as bike safety. Mr. B. Jenner additionally proposed looking into maybe bus advertisements.  Mr. B. Jenner proposed a subcommittee on the councillor bike ride. Councillor Y. Fernandes commented that the councillors require two to three months’ notice for events so the bike ride would have to take place in September. Councillor Y. Fernandes noted that the bike ride should have at least five councillors attending. o Mr. M. Drasdo inquired whether accessibility had been considered as not all councillors are comfortable on two wheels. Mr. T. Mollison questioned whether BikeKitchener could get tricycles or recumbent bikes. o Councillor Y. Fernandes will find availability of the councillors and determine date. Date suggestions include, but are not limited to, September 19th, 20th, or 21st. o Mr. M. Drasdo commented the committee can discuss the route and details later. o Mr. T. Mollison question who the invitation for the event was open to. Councillor Y. Fernandes clarified that KCTAC, the councillors, and the media will be the only ones invited. There are liability concerns with opening up the event to the public.  Mr. E. Bliefert proposed a subcommittee on improving connectivity and wayfinding. Mr. D. Hoshowsky agreed to also join this sub-committee.  Mr. E. Bliefert suggested that sub-committee chairs should create a short description of the goals and objectives of their committee. 6. HURON NATURAL AREA TRAIL PROJECTS  Mr. J. Barton spoke on updates to the Huron Natural Area Trails Project. The City of Kitchener received a Canada 150 grant that is designated for improvements to the trails and overall improvements to HNA . The Trails Project aims to improve connections and become part of the active transportation network. Mr. J. Barton spoke on the importance of the project to ecological integrity as it would prevent “spider trails” and would accommodate for community growth. The spider trails will be infilled with vegetation to prevent the use of off-path trails. Additionally, erosion will be addressed with backfilling from cut material (from trail creation) and layers of log jam; the intent is to re-naturalize the areas. There is also the potential for wayfinding signs at each junction in the path network. KITCHENER CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES th May 9, 2017 - 4 - CITY OF KITCHENER 7. NEW BUSINESS th  Councillor Y. Fernandes spoke on Kitchener in Bloom which is an event on June 25 at 10:00am at Stanley Park. The event is a cycling day where yards and properties are nominated for aesthetics and are awarded through recognition.  Mr. R. Mazumber attended a site visit at Spurline and Union in regards to the the improvement of the Spurline Trail crossing. There will be a public consultation th session on May 18 from 5:30-8:00pm or online on EngageWaterloo for those who cannot attend in-person.  Mr. M. Drasdo mentioned a Tri-TAG open house at the Berlin Bicycle Café on th Thursday, May 11 from 7:00p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Thomas/ Roger are from the Easy Riders Cycle Club which is a 55+ cycling committee and they will have a representative attend KCTAC meetings each session. 8. ADJOURNMENT On motion, this meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.