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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-08 CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 CITY OF KITCHENER The Cycling Advisory Committee met this date commencing at 4:15 p.m. Present: Messrs. T. Kenyon (Chair), B. Forwell (Vice-Chair), and Councillor J. Gazzola Messrs. D. Hilker, D. Class, and B. Laube Staff: Messrs. R. Schirm (Committee Administrator), and Ms. K. Reinert (Recorder) Regrets: Messrs. J. Alexander, S. Burek, N. Mehés, T. Müller, P. Wetherup and Ms. P. Ji-Taylor APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. That the minutes of the June 9, 2009 meeting be approved. Motioned by Mr. Duncan Class Seconded by Mr. Bart Forwell Mr. Ron Schirm commented on the issue of diversity with regards to having a balanced membership on this committee and what the process would be to obtain another committee member; these items were discussed at a previous meeting. He has received clarification that a prospective member can be approached but will be required to complete an application and the preference would be not to advertise. Mr. Shirm noted that a lady who was present at the last meeting was interested in the position and a discussion took place. Recommendation: To add an additional person to replace the vacant position and to invite this person to apply. Motioned by: Mr. Dennis Hilker Seconded by: Mr. Duncan Class Mr. Schirm has also received notification from Mr John Alexander that he is no longer able to stand on this committee. REGION OF WATERLOO – ON-ROAD CYCLING FACILITY STANDARDS 2. Mr. John Hill provided information on the recent changes by the Region on the on-road cycling facility standards. Included is the section of RMOW Staff Report outlining all the E-09-063 , changes in cycling infrastructure standards as passed by Regional Municipality of Waterloo Council and as described by Mr. Hill. Cycling Program Installations a) Rural resurfacing projects: Construct all roads with 4.35 meter lane widths and stripe at 3.35 in lieu of the current standard 4.0 m (no bike lane) or 4.85 meter lane width (bike lane). The funding for the wider lane width of 4.35 is to come from the RR Reserve Fund which will free CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 8, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 2 REGION OF WATERLOO – ON-ROAD CYCLING FACILITY STANDARDS 2. Cycling Program Installations a) – cont’d up the existing cycling funding to be applied to urban projects. The funding from the RR Reserve Fund is justified because of the reduction in maintenance costs and future capital costs. Transportation Planning is considering a core network in the rural areas at which time staff may reconsider the lane widths and funding source for this class of facility. b) Rural village projects: Construct a "wider shared lane" of 4.0 m striped at 3.35m in the village urban areas in lieu of 3.35 to 4.85m lanes. This has the benefit of reduced vehicle speeds, wider boulevards and sidewalks, landscaping opportunities, providing a more pedestrian-friendly environment, etc. This would not apply to the villages with the need for "buggy lanes" where we should stay with the wider "buggy/cycling" lane. The funding for the wider lane width of 4.0m is to come from the RR Reserve Fund which will free up the existing cycling funding to be applied to urban projects. c) Urban reconstruction/resurfacing projects: As per the Cycling Master Plan, all urban Regional roads are identified under one of the following categories: 1. Core roads with separate on-road dedicated cycling lanes (core on-road routes); 2. Roads with a need for on-road cycling space (long-term on-road routes), and 3. Roads with no need for on-road cycling space. The preference for construction of the “on-road” cycling space for these categories is as follows: Category 1: Construct separate cycling lane width of 1.0m to 1.5m. It should be noted that the recommended standard width of an off-road facility is still being reviewed. Funding for the cycling lanes on a category 1 road is to come from the current annual Cycling Reserve Fund contribution of approximately $600K and limited Development Charge Reserve funds. Category 2: Consider constructing “wider shared lanes” next to the curb at an approximate width of 4.0m striped at 3.35m for the utilitarian cyclist. This is recommended because of reduced speeds, wider boulevards and sidewalks, etc. and also because the “utilitarian cyclist” will stay on the road even if “off-road” facilities exist. This is consistent with a number of recent projects that the Region has completed or approved (Weber Street, River Road, Queen Street). There may be some cases where the local municipality may ask for a wider cycling lane. If so, funding contributions may be required from the local municipality. For category 2 roads, the preference is to also consider “off-road” facilities for the recreational cyclists on key roads in addition to the “wider shared lanes”. It should be noted, the recommended standard for an off-road facility is still being reviewed. Funding for the 4.0 m lanes on a category 2 road would come from the RR Reserve Fund. The funding for construction of “off-road” facilities would come from the current annual Cycling Reserve Fund contribution of approximately $600K and limited Development Charge Reserve funds. Category 3: Construct no cycling space and keep the curb lanes narrow at an approximate 3.35m width. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 8, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 3 REGION OF WATERLOO – ON-ROAD CYCLING FACILITY STANDARDS 2. Cycling Program Installations d) Urban new roads and road widenings: Do the same for these projects as noted above under 4.2c (urban reconstruction/resurfacing projects), however the funding for all on-road and off- road facilities would come from the DC and RCL Reserve Funds. e) Infilling cycling locations where a road project is not programmed in the Transportation Capital Program: In these situations, these projects should not be considered until additional specific funding is available for cycling facilities or until we have caught up with the projects noted under item 4.2c above. Emphasis should be on completing the core network with consideration of advancing core infill projects The committee discussed several issues surrounding the changes approved by Regional Council. The highest level of concern was the safety issues created by installing facilities that are substandard by national and international standards. Committee members were also disappointed that the local municipalities were not consulted nor had the opportunity to comment prior to this change. Mr Hill Informed the Committee that an opportunity to comment on cycling infrastructure should present itself as the RMOW works through the process of updating its Corridor Design Guidelines. Mr. John Gazzola recommended that when this opportunity arises the Committee makes its comments through City Council to RMOW Council. Recommendation: Mr. Ron Schirm to draft a letter on behalf of the Committee indicating that the committee is disappointed that they were not given the opportunity to comment on previously approved changes in July and would like the opportunity to comment on Corridor Design Guidelines as it affects cyclists and cycling infrastructure. The draft response will be circulated via email for the committee to review and when finalized, the letter will be forwarded to the Region. Motioned by: Mr. Dennis Hilker Seconded by: Mr. Bart Forwell TRAIL REPORTS 3. Mr. Peter Wetherup was unable to attend this meeting and has requested that this item be deferred to the next meeting as he would like to report back to this committee. Mr. Ron Schirm apologized to Mr. Duncan Class for having the reports on his desk too long but assured him and the committee that the reports have been received and reviewed by Mr. Wetherup and the Operations staff. Mr. Class noted that he wants the committee to see the problems and solutions to improve the trails. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 8, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 4 TRAIL REPORTS – CONT’D 3. Mr. Duncan Class also brought a package of ideas for events and promotions to circulate to the committee for discussion. It was decided that, although this was important and useful information, due to numerous cycling-related issues and to ensure the most efficient use of committee time, Ron will PDF the package and send via email to the committee to allow ample time for review and discussion at a future meeting. The Cycling Master Plan is the best vehicle to bring the ideas forward and the committee will be discussing in context within the plan. Mr. Class commented that there were two articles from the Region that he would like to address; 1) Where Can I Walk Today? and, 2) Pedestrian Charter. He questioned whether there were articles such as these for cycling and Mr. John Hill indicated that there were not. Mr. Class suggested that this committee might want to pursue this. Mr. Tim Kenyon thanked Mr. Class and Mr. Schirm for their efforts on this item. CYCLING MASTER PLAN 4. IBI Group was selected as the consultant. Ms. Norma Moores will be the Project Manager. Ms. Moores has a great deal of experience, having worked on similar documents throughout North America. She has a great deal of knowledge of our area and was the Project Manager for the 1998 Bikeways Study. Ms. Moores will be making a presentation to the Committee at an upcoming meeting. Messrs. Tim Kenyon, Bart Forwell and Ron Schirm are representatives on this project. Neither Mr. Kenyon or Mr. Forwell have been involved in a selection process such as this and Mr. Kenyon found the process to be very interesting and was impressed with how much convergence was being done. Mr. Forwell commented that while it was a difficult decision between the two final consultants, innovation and public involvement was the crucial factor in making the final decision. An initial Cycling Master Plan Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for September 15, 2009. The document to be complete late March or early April, and the final report to be presented to Council May 2010. ONTARIO BIKE SUMMIT – SEPTEMBER 21 TO 22, 2009 5. The cost for the bike summit is $300 and the Region is paying their staff to attend. Neither the Cycling Advisory Committee nor any other city Citizens advisory committees have a conference/training budget rendering it impossible to pay for members to attend. To at least partially address the issue, Mr. Ron Schirm emailed Eleanor McMahon to request a discount but he has not received a response back. Mr. Schirm will follow up. Mr. Bart Forwell has signed up as a delegate and will report back to this committee CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 8, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 5 IMPACT OF HARMONIZED SALES TAX ON BICYLCE SALES AND BIKEWAY FUNDING 6. Mr. Ron Schirm emailed information previously regarding the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia removing the PST and creating an harmonized value-added tax which will affect everyone. Presently, there is a PST exemption on bicycles costing less than $1,000 but the harmonized tax will replace this exemption and discussion ensued around what could be done to voice concerns. Recommendation: Mr. Tim Kenyon to draft a brief letter to list concerns and request exemption from the harmonized sales tax. Motioned By: Mr. Dennis Hilker Seconded By: Mr. Brian Laube Mr. John Gazzola left the meeting at 5:27 p.m. BICYCLE FACILITIES IN HOLLAND 7. Mr. Bart Forwell and his family went on vacation to Holland this past summer and Mr. Forwell put together a presentation to share with the committee on the exceptional bicycle facilities he encountered during the trip. Of particular note are the variety, scope and magnitude of cycling facilities in Holland. Mr. Forwell showed pictures of downtown Hordwijk and commented on significant points of interest such as: the cycling lanes themselves are in red and are at different levels; hash marks are used to separate traffic; the downtown core discourages car travel by utilizing bollards that can only be moved up and down by cards, i.e. for deliveries; shark’s teeth give direction for right-of-way; dual purpose roundabouts are utilized by inner circle for cycling and scooters and upper, outer circle for vehicles; park benches and refuse containers are located in the cycling round-about. Signage for cycling are red on white, vehicle are blue on white. The national trail system in Holland has marked sign posts that glow in the dark. The sign posts include a diagram of the immediate area blown up, and the nearest town and distance; the local trail signs are taller and narrower. Mr. Forwell suggested that this would be an idea to incorporate here. Ms. K. Reinert left the meeting at 6:00 p.m. A lengthy discussion ensued exploring all the possibilities. Mr. Forwell made the same presentation to RMOW Engineering staff and they were very receptive. Mr. Schirm stated that it would be very beneficial for Mr. Forwell to make his presentation to engineering/planning staff. Mr. Forwell agreed and volunteered to make this presentation if scheduling permits. CYCLING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 8, 2009 - - CITY OF KITCHENER 6 8ADJOURNMENT . On motion of Mr. Bart Forwell, seconded by Mr.Dennis Hilker, the meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Ronald Schirm Committee Administrator