Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-17 CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 17, 2009 CITY OF KITCHENER The Cycling Advisory Committee met this date commencing at 4:05 p.m. Present: J. Alexander, S. Anderson, S. Burek, D. Class, B. Forwell (Vice-Chair), D. Hilker, T. Kenyon (Chair), B. Laube, N. Mehés, T. Muller Staff: R. Schirm (Committee Administrator), K. Reinert (Recorder), P. Wetherup (Parks Planning) Regrets: Councillor J. Gazzola, P. Ji-Taylor Vice-Chair, B. Forwell, started the meeting on behalf of Chair, T. Kenyon who had been delayed. Mr. Forwell began the meeting by asking members if they had any conflicts with any items on the agenda and proceeded with the meeting, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES 1. That the minutes of the January 29, 2009 meeting be approved. Motioned by Mr. S. Burek Seconded by Mr. B. Laube The agenda and approved minutes will be posted on the website. Committee will also receive the agenda and minutes via email a week prior to next meeting date followed by hard copies at the meeting. REGION OF WATERLOO CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE 2. Mr. John Hill, TDM Planner with the Region, distributed copies of cycling maps at the beginning of the meeting. The Cycling Master Plan will be reviewed in 2010 and the top priority is to consult and co- ordinate more with cities on, not only regional roads but parallel routes on local roadways as well and to look at multi-modal use of corridors to include all different movements and to balance everyone’s needs. The Region would like to increase the cycling modal split from one percent to two percent and encourage usage by all demographic areas but to also ensure people feel and are safe. In 2009-2010 the committee is working on a new website with an interactive feature similar to the “Easy-Go” transit routing tool used on the GRT website. The Region is working with all municipalities on maps and their usability. The corridor design guidelines will facilitate development and transportation movement along with facility priority and type. A cycling map and trip map are also planned for 2009. If anyone wishes to contact John directly, his email address is john.hill@region.waterloo.on.ca The Cycling Master Plan will probably be done through a consultant and will look at the role of cycling both on the regional roads and trails and city roads and trails. Ron Schirm explained that the Region’s responsibility is regional roads and the City’s responsibility is city streets and CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 17, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 2 parkland including the trails. One of the roles of the Region Cycling Advisory Committee is building synergy with the region and other municipalities and the two levels of infrastructure. A goal of the RMOW Committee is to develop a cycling related website. In referencing the 2004 Master Plan, Mr. N Mehés noted that 37% of the on-road network had been completed and how does this cross-reference with the new plan? Mr. Hill explained that there are two sets of data -- what is planned and what is planned for cycling, and layered with what has been built to date, i.e. in 2000,16 km’s. were built. Mr. B. Forwell added that a list is presented to the engineers and they supply the TDM planner with their recommendations of what work should be done; they could recommend only one project that they feel is a priority which could take up a large part of the budget, i.e. the completion of the University Street cycling lanes was driven by the RMOW Cycling Advisory Committee. Mr. N. Mehés was concerned that this be kept up-to-date concerning facilities that have been completed. Mr. D. Hilker asked that this committee be kept up-to-date by the Regional Cycling Advisory Committee and Mr. B. Forwell will ensure this happens. Mr. J Hill indicated that Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge are all interested in working together and are connected in providing continuity in services Mr. D. Class suggested that a joint, introduction meeting be held between the municipalities and the region to get to know each other and exchange knowledge and ideas. Mr. B. Forwell will take this suggestion back to the RMOW Cycling Advisory Committee. CITY OF WATERLOO TRANSPORTATION & TRAILS COMMITTEE 3. Ms. Karen Anderson, Planner with the City of Waterloo, gave a brief overview about the City of Waterloo’s Transportation and Trails Committee. It began as a trails committee with the focus on “off road”, but this changed a year ago because they found that the “on road” component was missing and now it is connected through this committee. Ms. Anderson has been the staff liaison since 1998 and membership on the Committee has been very stable with some members having been on the committee for as long as 10 years. Ms Anderson will provide Ron Schirm with the website link where their agendas and minutes can be viewed. The committee meets the last Wednesday of the month and sometimes twice a month if there is a heavy workload. The Waterloo Transportation and Trails Committee has a strong role in problem solving and has been a real benefit to staff. The committee reports to council one a year. The City of Waterloo has a Transportation Master Plan Committee who review development plans and will bring information to the Transportation and Trails Committee The multi-use pathway policy originated with pedestrian and skilled cyclists in mind but without consideration for in-between, i.e. less skilled cyclists, youth and roller bladers. They are presently looking at greenways and there are plans to develop a new policy. Ms. Anderson will keep this committee up-to-date. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 17, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 3 Ms. Anderson was in agreement with the social “meet and greet” and will take this suggestion back to her committee. There are 150 kms of trails and bikeways in the City of Waterloo (120 of these are trails which include multi-use pathways). When questioned on whether projects are done in order of priority, Ms. Anderson indicated that there is a priority list and staff assesses the priorities with safety being the primary driver. Proximity to schools and school related use is also high on the list. Ms. Anderson will send a copy of the priority list to Chair, T. Kenyon. Capital budget is $200,000 per year for off-road work; on-road work is included the roads capital budget. Staff reviews the priority list and the long-range plan and forward these to the Transportation and Trails Committee for input on prioritization. Unfortunately, much of the trails budget is spent on repair and maintenance as opposed to new installations and the committee wants this addressed in the Transportation Master Plan. The cost is based on a range of estimates and is site specific and Ms. Anderson will email this range to Vice-Chair, B. Forwell. Caroline Street was addressed as being a highly used bike lane but the layout is an issue. However, the City of Waterloo is waiting to find out whether Rapid Transit will include Caroline Street before any decisions will be made on re-orienting the bike lane. When asked how different priorities get sorted out, Ms. Anderson commented that they look at multi-use pathways as a replacement for sidewalk on one side of the road in addition to bike lanes being done together to eliminate duplication. Upon closing, Ms. Anderson gave one piece of advice, keep list of accomplishments. The City of Waterloo’s website is www.city.waterloo.on.ca and Ms. Anderson’s email is k.anderson@city.waterloo.on.ca. Ron Schirm to forward email link to committee. Chairpersons Report 4. A. Chair, T. Kenyon attended the Kitchener Parks Master Plan meeting and noted that Mr. D. Class also attended the meeting. It was a very constructive one hour meeting that reflected on a wide variety of interests in parks and trails. Two things that stood out were the priority of trails for transportation and the priority of utility for the trails, i.e. volume, and the winter maintenance for commuting purposes to which he voiced his concerns. He found it was interesting what other groups are saying, i.e. walkers who want to keep the trails unpaved. Ron Schirm attended a subsequent meeting and he noted that a hierarchy for trails needs to be developed to address functionality, usage and maintenance and intended purpose. Peter Wetherup is the conduit to this study and he stated that the timeline is aggressive. th The next meeting is March 24 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., followed by one on Saturday at the Peter to confirm the dates and times Lions Arena from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – . B. Poster Cafe Information session. Please bring forward concerns and suggestions in whatever can be done to make all cities bike friendly and healthier places. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 17, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 4 C. Report in issue of Bicycle Magazine. Chair, T. Kenyon has a copy of an interesting report on successful cycling in the U.S. and Holland for anyone who is interested. Ron Schirm noted that he has seen this article and will forward the URL to the committee. Chair, T. Kenyon thanked the committee for their confidence in making him chair and that he values everyone to say what they wish to say at the meetings. BIKEWAY STUDY UPDATE 5. Ron Schirm received good news from the MTO that the grant request was approved but not as much as anticipated, only $22,000 of the $45,000 requested. This is not official at this time but the MTO is preparing the press release and, as soon as it comes out, a RFP will be sent out for a consultant. Ron called a number of consultants to see if the study is doable under $70,000 (we already have $67,000 committed) and the answer is yes. Discussion took place on whether the LEAF program could be utilized to obtain additional funds, although it is unlikely, Ron Schirm will check into this and report back to committee. The study will integrate continuity with the Region of Waterloo’s Cycling Master Plan, i.e. help to find solution to collector and local roadways; what and where the facilities are located; grid/routing and website. The study is not intended for specific solutions, rather to provide priorities and establish a budget with time-lines. A working group will be set up to include Parks Planning, Engineering, consultant and possibly someone from this committee. This project will likely begin in March and last one year. A decision will need to be made on what this committee’s role will be. MEETING SCHEDULE 6. Ron Schirm distributed copies of the proposed meeting schedule to reflect the change to the second Tuesday of the month. The Conestoga Room is available except for one meeting which will be held in the Schmalz Room. Motion that the new meeting schedule be approved. Moved by Chair, T. Kenyon Seconded by Mr. N. Mehés 7. WORK PLAN Ron Schirm commented that members probably have some thoughts in mind for the work plan and that the committee needs to start to list concrete ideas and how to make them happen. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 17, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 5 Some ideas expressed were: separate transportation vs. recreation o integration / connectivity o core / sub issues o represent everyone o Identify gaps/weak links in network o See transportation corridor from Cambridge to Waterloo; south-end of Kitchener to east- o end of Kitchener Mr. D. Class questioned whether this item should be addressed during the formal two hour meeting or whether a separate meeting should be set up to review ideas. Discussion took place and consensus was for members to prioritize five ideas at home and bring them to the next meeting. The bulk of the next meeting will be dedicated to the work plan and was unanimously approved. Flip charts will be provided for the next meeting. 8. Other Business Mr. D. Class inquired about promoting via cycling pamphlets and on the website as special o events. Mr. B. Forwell commented that promotion pamphlets have been helpful and he is pro-education on use of the bike racks on buses as he took part in one of the demonstrations and has seen how this experience has been valuable as bike rack usage has increased. Education is very fluid and very challenging to place on the website. Considerable time could be spent on education and the accredited program Colleen Cooper spoke about at the last meeting is a start. Ron Schirm commented that he has been receiving emails on different issues from Mr. o Class that he is addressing and if anyone has specific questions, please forward them to Ron and he will get back to you. Mr. D. Class indicated that he has been looking beyond the City of Kitchener for research o and is amazed at the number of ideas he is obtaining from other major cities regarding their cycling master plan and this information can be useful in formulating ideas for the work plan. ADJOURNMENT On motion of Chair, T. Kenyon, the meeting adjourned at 5:48 p.m. Ronald Schirm Committee Administrator