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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKCTAC Minutes - 2017-01-09 CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES January 9, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Cycling Advisory Committee met on this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. Present: Councillor Y. Fernandes, Ms. L. Paprocki, Ms. P. Rodgriguez, Messrs. E. Bliefert, D. Brotherston, M. Drasdo, D. Hoshowsky, B. Jenner, J. Williams, T. Mollison. Staff: Mr. D. Pimentel, Active Transportation Project Manager Mr. J. Barton, Multi-Use Pathways and Trails Project Manager Mr. B. Cronkite, Interim Manager, Transportation Planning Mr. J. Readman, Interim Executive Director, Infrastructure Services Mr. G. Hermanson, Active Transportation Student 1. CLIMATE ACTION WATERLOO REGION PRESENTATION Ms. K. Daley Plan Manager of Climate Action Waterloo Region gave a presentation on the region’s climate action plan. Ms. P. Rodriguez asked about difference between 1990 levels and 2010 levels of greenhouse gas emissions Ms. K. Daley responded Waterloo Region does not have specific data from 1990. The best data available is from 2010, and the 1990 and 2010 levels are similar province wide. Mr. D. Brotherson asked if 80% reduction was per capita or absolute reduction. Ms. K. Daley responded that it’s an absolute reduction. Mr. T. Mollison asked if the expectation of the path between 2017 and 2050 is a straight path or if there are bench marks and intermediary steps in reaching the goal. Ms. K. Daley responded that changes need to be made early and over time. Climate Action Waterloo Region will likely have subplans. Mr. D. Hoshowsky asked how you measure greenhouse gas emission numbers for private transportation. Ms. K. Daley responded that they collect data from inside the region, and that they are focused on changes that can be made within the region. There are many workers and consultants who are engaged on getting the best data. Mr. B. Jenner asked if the Climate Action Waterloo Region plan covers the whole region or just the cities. Ms. K. Daley responded that the townships were represented through regional council. Mr. B. Jenner asked if agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are a significant portion of the plan. Ms. K. Daley responded that agriculture has worst available data, as it’s only measure is methane emissions from livestock. Climate Action Waterloo Region focuses on emissions from transportation, workplaces and homes. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES January 9, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Mr. B. Jenner asked if the distribution chart in the presentation was reflective of Waterloo Region’s emissions. Ms. K. Daley confirmed it was reflective of Waterloo Region. Councillor Y. Fernandes asked given the mandate of the Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee, what kind of actions can Climate Action Waterloo Region see the committee pushing to offset the transportation footprint. Ms. K. Daley responded that there is room to collaborate. Climate Action Waterloo Region is looking for support and comments when they go to council and for feedback from the committee on actions that needed to be taken.. Councillor Y. Fernandes said including greenhouse gas reduction efforts as a selling point could help maintain and build community support important for bike infrastructure. Mr. M. Drasdo asked if Climate Action Waterloo Region’s mandate is to gather information for the region or to take action. Ms. K. Daley responded that the formal mandate is to build and support the implementation of a climate action plan. It lists individual items identified through the process that Climate Action Waterloo Region works towards. Climate Action Waterloo Region also identifies new opportunities to move into the action stage. With support from management Climate Action Waterloo Region has started the process to new reductions and goals. Mr. M. Drasdo asked if reporting will occur on what has gone wrong. Ms. K. Daley responded that identified actions and their statuses are available and that they are contained in progress reports. 2. VANIER DRIVE RECONSTRUCTION Mr. D. Pimentel informed the committee of the upcoming Vanier Dr. reconstruction in 2019. He stated that there will likely be a public meeting on the construction in February. He discussed the 3 components of the reconstruction, sidewalks, traffic calming and bicycle lanes. Mr. D. Brotherston asked if the bike lanes could be painted to the trail past Shelly drive. Mr. B. Cronkite responded that it is easily doable to facilitate a connection. Mr. T. Mollison asked if the new bike lanes were protected. Mr. D. Pimentel confirmed that they will not be. Mr. D. Hoshowsky asked if the bike lanes will connect to the hydro corridor. He expressed that he is frustrated with piecemealing of bike infrastructure. Mr. D. Pimentel responded that he understands his frustrations. He explained the bike lanes are being put on the road through a road widening. As the section farther down is too narrow for bike lanes, the city does not have the ability to paint bike lanes there. Mr. D. Brotherston asked if parking is planned on Vanier after the reconstruction and if parking is currently is on both sides. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES January 9, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER D. Pimentel confirmed that parking will be on one side after the reconstruction, and is currently on both sides. Mr. D. Brotherston asked for traffic volumes. Mr. D. Pimentel was unsure and did not want to give an inaccurate number. Mr. T. Mollison asked about the possibility of implementing parking protected or other forms of protected bike lanes. Mr. D. Pimentel said this was not feasible due to driveway accesses on the road and that the city would investigate the possibility of protection. Mr. T. Mollison said he does not feel comfortable on a road with unprotected bike lanes. Mr. B. Jenner asked if hydro polls are being replaced along the reconstructed route. Mr. D. Pimentel responded that hydro polls are a concern along the route. Mr. M. Drasdo asked if bike lane considerations can be put into a policy on all roads. Mr. B. Cronkite responded that reconstructions are currently compared to the cycling master plan, and that if a project is listed on the cycling master plan it will be investigated. Mr. J. Readman said that on low volume residential roads shared space is fine; implementing infrastructure on every road would be costly. Easyriders cycling group rep said their interest is in trails and connections to trails. Mr. J. Barton agreed that lack of connectivity in the trails is a problem, and that permanent solutions are needed even when timelines are not agreeable to everyone. Mr. J. Readman said that combining the trails and cycling master plan will help build better connectivity and will identify a core network that is safe and protected. 3. CROSS ADVISORY COMMITTEE CONVERSATION Mr. D. Pimentel explained the idea of a cross advisory committee bringing together regional and other municipal stakeholders. He asked if the group would like to explore this further. The committee unanimously agreed. 4. ONTARIO MUNICIPAL COMMUTER CYCLING PROGRAM Mr. D. Pimentel explained the steps that the City of Kitchener took to receive funding from the program. He also listed the projects the city identified for 2018. Mr. T. Mollison asked if the city will have access to an engagement tool. Mr. D. Pimentel confirmed they will. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES January 9, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER Mr. D. Brotherston asked if regional OMCC funding was going towards the iron horse trail Mr. B. Cronkite explained that the region has a plan for the iron horse trail, but it is unclear if the trail can be funded with OMCC funding. Mr. M. Drasdo asked if the original cycling funding was still being spent. Mr. B. Cronkite confirmed that it was, and that the OMCC funding was going towards plans that did not have funding previously. Mr. E. Bliefert asked if the funding was going towards wayfinding signs. Mr. D. Pimentel confirmed that it was not. 5. KCTAC SCOPE Mr. D. Pimentel asked if the committee would be interested in amending their terms of reference to broaden the scope and include active transportation. The committee agreed that including active transportation was of interest. It was noted that the terms of reference already include walking, cycling and multi-use trails. A name change for the committee was suggested, and city staff were to investigate if it would have any ramifications. 6. SUBCOMMITTEES Cycling safety committee discussed some ideas to raise awareness. Meeting ended at 5:57