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HomeMy WebLinkAboutATTAC Minutes 2023-03-14 ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER March 14, 2023 The Active Transportation and Trails Advisory Committee met on Tuesday March 14, 2023, at 4 pm. Present: Matthew Bells, Emily Bennett, Jorg Broschek, Philip Charbonneau, Lynn Dramnitzki, Bart Forwell, Victoria Hand, Josh Orita, Greg Piccini, Craig Reynolds, Barry Tracey, Wanda West Regrets: Aislinn Clancy, Rida Rahman Staff: D. Kropf, Manager Active Transportation and Development I. Balaban, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager L. Christensen, Trails Project Manager B. Cronkite, Director Transportation Services F. Hosseini, Transportation Safety Project Manager Delegations: T. Strickland, M. Legault 1. Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature thereof No conflicts of interest declared. 2. Vision Zero Update F. Hosseini provided an update on the City’s progress in implementing its Vision Zero strategy. An update to City Council is scheduled for April 2023. The goal of the strategy is to eliminate traffic related deaths and serious injuries. In the short-term, the strategy aims to see a declining trend in deaths and injuries. There are five categories of actions: Evaluation, Engineering, Education, Engagement, Enforcement. Actions completed in 2022:  Evaluation o Annual Network Screening – a proactive approach that identifies high-risk locations and takes action to prevent collisions before they occur o Collision Investigation Program – identifies patterns and trends for safety improvements  Engineering o 15 high risk locations identified, and countermeasures being planned o 40 km/h residential neighbourhoods. 30 km/h zones have been converted and the remaining zone will be completed by the end of 2023 ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER March 14, 2023 o Pedestrian Crossover Review – to increase compliance at PXOs, going forward the city plans to always install flashing beacons or a raised crossing at future PXO locations (instead of PXO type-D, which have only signs and pavement markings). A scoring system is being used to prioritize new locations and in 2023 installations will include 3 locations on the Henry Sturm Trail o Accessibility Improvements Review – Created an Accessibility Improvement Handbook  Education o High Risk Driving Campaign – Launched to raise awareness among street users about the dangers of reckless driving behaviours. o Campaign in the summer will focus on active transportation. o School Children Educational Programs are being enhanced in cooperation with School Travel Planning.  Engagement o Vision Zero Dashboard – a public tool to track progress and provide collision statistics. The Vision Zero Webpage has also been updated with project progress.  Enforcement o STEPS Program – working with WRPS on targeted enforcement to focus on high-risk areas J. Broschek encouraged staff to think on broader safety approaches beyond the spot fixes so that kids can walk to school and to also reconsider no right turns on red. He noted the dashboard is already showing a downward trend but hopes that people won’t feel that means we can let up on efforts. B. Cronkite noted that City Council is very passionate about traffic safety and prioritized higher funding towards Vision Zero in the last budget. F. Hosseini noted the downward trend may be tied to changing travel patterns from COVID-19. M. Bells asked if the dashboard includes more open data for people to access, such as locations of collisions. F. Hosseini noted that staff are working at adding more information to the dashboard, but some information cannot be shared publicly. M. Bells suggested piloting around school zones that no traffic is allowed on streets directly adjacent to the school, so everyone is encouraged to walk closer to the school. B. Cronkite noted these are typically called “school streets” and are starting to get some traction in Ontario. 3. Cycling Route Equity Model - Presentation T. Strickland and M. Legault introduced a cycling route equity model they created for Kitchener. It was an action taken by volunteers as a response to the Transform WR Climate Action to develop active transportation programs that target equity-deserving communities. Equity was defined as income in the bottom 35%, with extra points assigned to “cycling deserts” with little or no cycling facilities for All Ages and Abilities (AAA). Points were also awarded for being close to points of interest likes schools, libraries, ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER March 14, 2023 grocery stores, community centres, etc. Areas that came out as having the highest points included Vanier/Fairway, Rosemount/Heritage Park, Bridgeport, Victoria/Westmount, and Midtown. J. Broschek asked if traffic calming on quieter streets might be a more cost-effective way to build out a network. T. Strickland noted that can work in strategic areas but some major roads cannot be avoided. 4. Active Transportation Report Introduction V. Hand shared a draft of some ideas to share in the Active Transportation Progress Report. Suggestions from the committee included:  Promoting, educating and creating awareness of active transportation  Provide a “hook” to capture attention and make it more memorable  Connecting and connectivity are very important areas of emphasis for this committee  Expand more on initiatives occurring in suburban neighbourhoods A draft will be circulated for further commenting and brought back to a future committee meeting. Comments will be due a week before the April meeting. 5. Micromobility Introduction and Update I. Balaban presented an update on plans to introduce a shared rental system for e-scooters and e-bikes. A legal agreement is currently being finalized with a preferred operator and the system is expected to launch in spring 2023. G. Piccini asked if there will be regular bikes as well. I. Balaban noted there will be e-scooters and e-bikes only. M. Bells asked about cargo bikes. I. Balaban responded they will not be included in the initial roll out, but may be added in a future phase. P. Charbonneau asked if Neuron is active in other Canadian cities. I. Balaban said they are in Calgary and Ottawa. C. Reynolds asked where the parking or charging stations will be. I. Balaban said parking is still being worked out, and the vehicles have removable batteries that are replaced without the vehicle being moved. V. Hand asked how to find vehicles. I. Balaban explained the app will show where they are and also where you are allowed to ride them and park them. 6. Subcommittee Workplans The Data Sharing subcommittee met and created a 6-step plan:  Contact list ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER March 14, 2023  Creating list of data that we want to collect  Logging data that exists  Reach out to non-municipal organizations to see what data they have  Assist other subcommittees if they have data needs  Work on identifying trends and share quarterly B. Tracey shared that the Trails Standards subcommittee met briefly, and noted that it’s hard to see progress due to snow but want to keep maintaining a list of missing trail curb cuts. L. Christensen noted that a number of curb cuts are going out for tender soon and those locations will be shared. An inspector is being hired to review the quality of trail surfaces too. The Complete Streets subcommittee met via email and shared plans for what they did last year. D. Kropf noted the list for 2025 would be provided soon. E. Bennett asked to join the Hiking Improvements subcommittee. V. Hand asked for a list of events coming up for the Events subcommittee to work on. 7. Ontario Bike Summit - Volunteer I. Balaban introduced the Ontario Bike Summit, being held in Hamilton on May 1-2. Staff asked for a volunteer to attend the summit. V. Hand volunteered. 8. Staff Updates L. Christensen noted that a section of the Walter Bean Trail will be closed near Otterbein for the year due to watermain construction being led by the Region of Waterloo. W. West asked if detours are provided for trail closures. Staff responded that the city has provided detours of other trail closures, however this trail segment is considered recreational, and as such a detour has not been posted. W. West noted that snow clearing on the trail along Sydney Street S has not been very strong. L. Christensen noted that it has been a challenge for the Operations staff, however we usually see improvements after the first winter as crews become more accustomed to maintaining the facility. Meeting adjourned at 6:12 pm.