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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKCTAC Minutes 2020-02-11 CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER February 11, 2020 The Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee met on Tuesday Feburary 11, 2020, at 4:00 pm. Present: D. Brotherston, M. Clark, V. Hand, T. Hannah, M. Rodrigues, E. Slofstra, G. Kirk, K. Wagler, Councillor S. Marsh, G. Piccini. Staff: D. Kropf, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager A. McCrimmon-Jones, Manager, Transportation Planning L. Christensen, Multi-Use Pathways & Trails Project Manager 1. New Year satisfaction survey D. Kropf shared results from a survey completed by committee members. Overall, committee members are mostly pleased with their volunteer experience and feel they are doing meaningful work. They would like to be presented projects sooner in the process so their feedback can make a tangible difference, and have a strong involvement in future implementation of the downtown grid and the Cycling and Trails Master Plan. Diversity of committee members was also a concern. 2. Name and mandate change of committee During January’s meeting the idea of a mandate change was introduced and the committee seemed open to the discussion. A. McCrimmon-Jones provided a handout featuring some mandates from Complete Streets committees in other cities. He clarified that a separate road safety committee was considered but staff felt like this committee has that interest and expertise so an expanded mandate would be more beneficial instead of creating an additional committee. Comments in support of a mandate change included:  Important to include motor vehicle safety as all forms of transportation need to function together on the same streets. Opportunity to align with city’s new Complete Streets guidelines.  Additional subcommittees could keep a strong focus on specific interests within the broader mandate.  A focus on multi-modal transportation is an identified strength of other cities’ terms of reference.  A new Terms of Reference could include regional representation.  Technical monitoring by staff is helpful but maybe personal monitoring could also be used to complement technical monitoring. This could help drive agenda items.  Important to identify the major city policies that the committee will be involved in.  Include explicit references to safety and climate change. Concerns related to a mandate change included:  Complete Streets is not a familiar term for the average person. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER February 11, 2020  Complete Streets doesn’t include trails so don’t want to lose that component.  Some committees have mixed representation in terms of being a transportation or recreation committee.  Don’t want to lose the focus on cycling and keep people with that interest involved. Removing cycling from the name may make it hard for people with that interest to find the committee. A. McCrimmon-Jones noted a mandate change will need council approval, which is currently scheduled for June but can be later if the committee wants time to discuss further. M. Clark moved a motion: “That the committee supports further exploration of an expanded mandate and requests that staff draft a new terms of reference for the committee to review.” Seconded by V. Hand. Passed unanimously. 3. Winter Bike Day D. Kropf reminded the committee that Winter Bike to Work Day is coming up. The committee reviewed the Winter Bike to Work Day leaderboard at winterbiketoworkday.org to see how Kitchener ranked among Canadian and international cities. Committee members agreed to pledge their commitment and spread the word about the leaderboard and the city event. 4. Future cycling and trails events At past meetings, the committee discussed the future of BikeFest and the possibility of replacing it with other types of events. D. Kropf noted that an official motion was not provided at that time but would be helpful to make a firm decision. E. Slofstra moved: “That the committee supports replacing BikeFest with a focus on several community-based events throughout the year.” Seconded by T. Hannah. Passed unanimously. CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER February 11, 2020 The committee broke into three groups to further brainstorm locations, target audiences, activities and partners for events in 2020, including:  Iron Horse Trail celebration to highlight all the investments made in the trail recently. It could target families and have activities for walking groups and cycling groups. Businesses along the trail could be strong partners in the event.  Belmont Village Bestival organizers are open to bike themed activities. Activities could include a bike corral area with e-bikes and cargo bikes for people to try out.  McLennan Park event to highlight upgrades to Laurentian Trail and separated bike lanes on Queen’s Blvd, with a bike ride targeting new cyclists, plus bike tune-ups and skills training. City staff will use the committee brainstorming to plan these events further. 5. Advisory committee chairs and vice chairs meeting M. Rodrigues explained Compass Kitchener is hosting a meeting for chairs and vice chairs and he welcomed a volunteer to join in the place of V. Hand who can’t attend. No volunteers were available from the committee. Meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm.