HomeMy WebLinkAboutKCTAC Minutes - 2018-06-12 CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Cycling Advisory Committee met on this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. Present: Councillor Y. Fernandes, Ms. M. Oveido, Ms. L. Paprocki, Messrs. D. Brotherston, E. Bliefert M. Drasdo, D. Hoshowsky, B. Jenner, J. Williams. Staff: Mr. D. Pimentel, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager Mr. D. Kropf, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager Mr. J. Barton, Associate Landscape Architect Mr. B. Cronkite, Interim Manager, Transportation Planning 1. NEW STAFFING INTRODUCTIONS Mr. D. Kropf was introduced as the new Active Transportation Planning Project Manager with the City of Kitchener. Mr. D. Kropf provided some background into his experience, including identifying his education and passion around community development and engagement with residents. Mr. D. Kropf first started with the city in the Neighbourhood Development Office and was part of the successful “Love My Hood” strategy. Mr. D. Kropf identified his strengths in community engagement and overall passion of cycling, which he would like to utilize to build on the momentum of cycling and overall active transportation within Kitchener. Mr. D. Kropf indicated that he is open to answering any questions committee members may have and offered to chat with members anytime. Committee members than introduced themselves to Mr. D. Kropf including identifying which neighbourhood they were from and why they loved it. 2. ONTARIO BIKE SUMMIT Ms. M. Oveido spoke about her recent attendance at the Ontario Bike Summit, including a presentation highlighting her discussion points.  Attended a session on Cycling and Equity - e great example is what the City of Hamilton is doing around their “Everyone Rides” initiative with their Social Bicycle bikesharing service  Attended a session on “The Power of the Pop-Up”, which ties into Mr. R. Mazumder’s presentation a few month back on Calgary and Edmonton’s pilot protected pop up bike lanes.  Ms. M. Oveido identified two case studies and provided a brief description on each. The case studies were form cities that were mid-size and auto dominated and measures for pop-ups were low cost, temporary to start and soe ended with permanent infrastructure:  Maiken, Georgia - 8km network, installed in 4 days, inexpensive material was used allowing for a minimal budget, it was left up for 2 weeks and resulted in half of the network becoming permanent. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER  Winnipeg, Manitoba - pilot pop-up began in June 2017 and included a one day pop-up in three locations; resulted in 2 locations currently being constructed for permanent protected bike lanes. o City staff partnered with Urban Systems to develop a plan; started off big but was scaled back to what was feasible o Used low cost material (orange plastic bollards) resulting in only spending a few hundred dollars and local bike shops allowed people to try new bikes in the pop-up bike lanes o Locations that were chosen already had some type of existing cycling infrastructure (i.e. sharrows, bike lanes) and allowed them to show what separation would look like along those sections; pop- up bike lanes were also done mid-day to minimize the impact of traffic during peak times o Partnered with Police and asked them to bike in the lane o Small scale, with small budget but a big impact to the community Ms. Y. Fernandes asked where the majority of attendees came from? Ms. M. Oveido indicated mostly southern Ontario, some from other Provinces and a lot of city planners. Ms. Y. Fernandes asked if the Winnipeg case study was staff or committee members. Ms. M. Oveido said that they didn’t speak to citizen lead groups but retained Urban Systems for facilitate the project; this was the first time Winnipeg had done something like this Ms. M. Oveido also indicated that additional funding was not mentioned but attitudes did change after the pup-up pilot was completed. Facilities included bollards and parking protected bike lanes. 3. BIKEFEST WRAPUP Mr. D. Pimentel provided an overview of how bikefest went. He indicated that it did not feel as busy as in previous years and most of the vendors felt the same way. Additionally, vendor participation was not as high as it had been in previous years. Committee members then provided their input. Ms. Y. Fernandes:  We should require a minimum of 25 vendors in order to fill the space; allow it to feel busier and the space is more animated.  Decorate your bike was a big hit and once people understood how ot use the photo booth, they worked nicely together CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER  Vendor participation was not strong and some consideration needs to be given as to how to attract more vendors  Time change was suggested (12-3) allows for the after church group tpo attend  Need to partner with local bike shops and/or local cycling clubs/groups to help with the event  Potentially partner with the Boathouse to have the event near Victoria Park o Mr. D. Brotherston indicated that crowd control could be an obstacle if at a restaurant  Every KCATC member needs to be involved with the event Mr. D. Hoshowsky:  Consider another day of the week - maybe Saturday would be a better draw o Mr. B. Jenner indicated that “Food not Bombs” is held on Saturdays at City Hall and that the two events would overlap eachother  Suggested that perhaps the hot weather and lack of shade on King St and on the square could have played a factor Mr. E. Bleifert:  KCTAC booth needed to be bigger; perhaps have two tents next year  People who visited the booth didn’t understand what they were doing there and didn’t want to wait to engage with committee members  Perhaps consider a different location for committee booth next year Mr. M. Drasdo:  Consider having a smaller space/footprint, so it feels busier  A lot of effort to throw a party but didn’t send out any invitations; didn’t see or include anything in the events section of the Record or any other media outlets  Advertising for the event should take place months ahead of actual event  Add some signage promoting event along Iron Horse Trail and other places where people are travelling Mr. D. Brotherston:  Advertising could be improved to attract more people  Iron Horse Trail closure could have had an impact on how people got there  Consider flyers for next year  Rather than food trucks consider partnering with downtown restaurants to promote their facilities CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER 4. IRON HORSE TRAIL AND HURON NATURAL AREA UPDATE Mr. J. Barton provided an update to Huron Natural Area  Canada 150 grant and the project is complete and open  Official grand opening this weekend (Saturday June 16, 2018 from 1:00- 2:30) and is tied into a pollinator event  There will be a tour of the trail at the event  Trail now connects to Strasburg Rd as well Mr. J. Barton provided an update to the Iron Horse Trail  Central section is under construction  Glasgow to Victoria should be completed by end of July  Section 2 (Victoria to Queen) should be completed by September/October Mr. B. Jenner asked if it is meant to be open on weekends. Mr. J. Barton said it is not intended to be open on weekends Mr. E. Bleifert asked if there is an opportunity to do this work in an off peak season. Mr. J. Barton indicated that coordinating sub trades to complete the work is a scheduling issue in order to get quality work completed. Unfortunately ideal construction season is the same time as peak riding season Mr. D. Hoshowsky asked what was done in Huron Natural Area. Mr. J. Barton said that an informal trails through woods and spider trails existed prior to. Spider trails through wetlands have been removed and a formalized trail, along with a boardwalk have been constructed as well as tying into Strasburg Road. Mr. D. Brotherston asked when the south section of the Iron Horse Trail is being completed as well as any plans for the north piece going into Waterloo. Mr. J. Barton suggested late summer/early fall for the south section with 2019 outlined for the north piece. 5. PEDESTRIAN AND CYCOLING MASTER PLAN UPDATE Mr. D. Pimentel explained what the purpose of the master plan is and what the timelines are for the project. Ms. Y. Fernandes noted that staff should have a clear understanding of who their audience is and notify residents in the area of where they see that change taking place or proposing to be taking place. Consideration to doing a workshop on that street if identified for cycling improvements. How do we let residents know when work is happening on their street. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Mr. B. Cronkite outlined that a communications plan would outline appropriate engagement and would include a circulation list of residents once a roadway has been identified. Staff could send letters out residents on those streets to inform them of an upcoming meeting and ask for comments. The communication plan for this project would be much more robust and more focused with layers and tiers of communications. Mr. E. Bliefert asked if anything is being done to connect with adjacent cities to make the connections as they are all roughly at the same point in terms of their cycling plans. Mr. B. Cronkite said that all local partners will be on a steering committee to align visions and communications and break down the borders and barriers that are not visible to the public. Mr. E. Bliefert asked with the change in Ion and GRT service, how does this plan line up with the new mass transit services. Mr. B. Cronkite said that GRT’s new strategic plan undertaking will be provided to the consultant and used to identify how to connect the missing dots. Mr. D. Brotherston asked about scope; does it talk about critieria, enhancement budget etc Mr. B. Cronkite noted that not everything has been flushed out to this point but what staff want is to have a prioritized system that identifys types of networks (i.e. separated in the core) and provide details on costs associated with building and maintaining those networks. Design elements would include improvements around crossings and infrastructure but a lot of it will still be relied upon from OTM Book 18. Mr. D. Kropf provided an overview of “Workshop on Wheels……and Feet” which is the first part of community engagement around the updated master plan.  Budget impacts will need a broad community engagement to gain the support from the public and council  Builds the momentum to have the plan supported and move forward to curb some of the resistance  Consultant to take on some engagement from September to May - purposely selecting winter to address winter issues  Utilize the weather to accommodate rides and get it done before election  July/August/September for rides and walks  Pre-determined routes, with stops along the way - short leisurely ride CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER  Doesn’t have to be huge numbers - in order to have a great conversation, too many people may convolute the conversations Mr. D. Kropf then asked committee members to answer some questions to help staff prepare for the workshops. 1) Goals why would I want to attend? Ms. M. Oveido - to learn about recent bike lane or trail that have been installed undiscovered areas Mr. D. Hoshowsky - have some other things to attract them - bike rodeo, free bike tune ups - find other ways to target the people you want there - tie it into something that is already happening Mr. J. Williams - meet your neighbour aspect of it as well Mr. D. Brotherston - don’t over complicate it, people like to ride recreationally - look at Janes walk/ride for ideas or model after; conversation while you are riding, rather than saving it to the end - Janes ride can be a little slow and lose people who were taking part Mr. E. Bliefert - get councilors involved - its there ward and they could take the lead  Mr. B. Cronkite indicated council can attend any ride outside of their ward, election campaigning issue to have them within their own ward - councilors can still have an experience outside their own ward Ms. Y. Fernades - value to having a school route as part of that engagement; shows kids a safe way to get to school - Sheppard School (King Edward) - maybe a pop-up bike lane 2) Target Audience Mr. D. Kropf indicated some members of the public that staff will be reaching out to and ask for additional groups. List includes:  Neighbourhood associations  cycling clubs  seniors groups (MACS)  youth (KYAC)  working centre (population they serve that relies on biking as a form of transportation)  bike shops can help advertise  advertising at schools  a-frame on trails to advertise CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES June 12, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER  co-op housing  church groups 3) Community co-host Mr. D. Kropf indicated that each workshop will facilitated by staff and one community member to guide people through the event and route. Committee members than provide inpout on what some potential topics of discussion could be:  getting to school safely  Major bus stop and informing people about the bus and bike rack - integration with transit  Signage - big maps seems too confusing, smaller maps would be better to focus on that specific ward during the workshop  Direct people who are walking to destinations within ward - highlight key points in community - include questionnaire why do they, why would they, how often - collect information from those people to see how they feel - any ties to specific wards from survey results  Why people cycle - tie it with why don’t they cycle - compare the barriers people may have  Personal conversation with people - in this area where do you go, how could you get there by bike, what would it take for you to get there by bike  Tap into some of our larger office spaces - WSIB, Sunlife, Manulife - were they able to bike to work, what would it take for them to actually bike to work - tap into larger corporations - including City of Kitchener staff and facilities  Ask people who are leading the ride to bring their stuff (i.e. paniers) so they can see what the options are for biking  Give away stuff to try an entice people to take part Mr. B. Cronkite suggested that it would be great to see one committee member there at each ride  Mr. E. Bliefert volunteered to host a ride in his ward Mr. D. Kropf also asked if any committee members would be interested in developing a route, to please contact him. Routes and dates have not yet been determined but will be shared with the committee once identified. Meeting Adjourned at 5:59 pm.