HomeMy WebLinkAboutKCTAC Minutes 2020-08-11
CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CITY OF KITCHENER
August 11, 2020
The Cycling and Trails Advisory Committee met on Tuesday August 11, 2020, at 4 pm.
Present: D. Brotherston, M. Clark, V. Hand, E. Hannah, M. Rodrigues, Councillor S.
Marsh, G. Piccini, G. Kirk.
Staff: D. Kropf, Active Transportation Planning Project Manager
L. Christensen, Multi-Use Pathways & Trails Project Manager
B. Cronkite, Director, Transportation Services
N. Lobley, Director, Parks & Cemeteries
F. Hosseini, Transportation Planning Project Manager
A. McCrimmon-Jones, Manager, Transportation Planning
1. Online meeting protocols
Due to COVID-19, this and future meetings are being held electronically. M. Rodrigues
introduced how online meetings will function.
2. General updates
D. Kropf, L. Christensen and F. Hosseini outlined several initiatives since the committee
met in March.
Activation of Streets staff report was approved, with 13.5 km of new active
transportation infrastructure in response to COVID-19, plus expanded patio
space and food trucks allowed in residential neighbourhoods. In that report:
Slow Streets (quiet streets closed to through traffic) installed on 9 streets
Krug Street bike lanes will be installed this week
Franklin Street bike lanes will be installed in coming weeks
Stirling Avenue bike lanes will be installed in coming weeks
Delta Street approved to become a permanent trail in 2021 following
reconstruction. Temporary closure in 2020 now in effect.
Patios on Gaukel Street, Ontario Street, King Street and Belmont Avenue
are now open.
Tenders are now out for new trails on Wilson Avenue and in Budd Park,
for construction in the fall.
Secure bike parking is now open at Duke & Ontario and Kitchener Market
parking garages.
Region of Waterloo project called Rapid Reallocation of Road Space for Active
Transportation to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic saw 30 km of temporary bike
lanes, including Frederick Street and Westmount Avenue in Kitchener.
Committee members are encouraged to ride them and complete the survey at
https://www.engagewr.ca/rapid-reallocation-road-space-covid19
CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CITY OF KITCHENER
August 11, 2020
The city’s separated bike lane pilot on Queen’s Boulevard and Belmont Avenue
is fully installed, with fresh paint added in the past couple weeks. This will be
discussed further in a future agenda. Initial bike ridership counts show a 65%
increase in ridership on Belmont Avenue and an 85% increase on Queen’s
Boulevard.
The Cycling and Trails Master Plan and Downtown Cycling Grid will be discussed
at a future meeting.
A Micromobility Feasibility Report was presented to regional council,
recommending a carefully managed “lock-to/hybrid” system with designated hubs
and flexible service area. The 2019 pilot project with Drop Bike was not renewed
due to COVID-19. The region and cities will seek new proposals for bikeshare
providers in 2021.
The Ministry of Transportation announced a 5-year e-scooter pilot. The region
and municipalities are working together to pilot e-scooters in 2022-2023.
In February 2020, Transport Canada announced that it would be downloading
responsibility for defining e-bikes to the provinces & territories. Consultation
opportunities for this definition will be on-going.
3. Winter sidewalk maintenance
The city has conducted several years of investigation into improving sidewalk snow
clearing. N. Lobley and F. Hosseini provided a presentation summarizing work to date:
All pilot work has been completed, though staff were delayed reporting back to
council due to COVID-19.
The winter was relatively mild.
The status quo program is that city clears some sidewalks (city-owned property,
back-lotted roads, and downtown). All other sidewalks maintained by property
owners by bylaw.
Several pilots and program initiatives were conducted in 2019-2020:
Bylaw review
Contractor-led snow event service after significant snowfall
City-led full service
Identification of priority routes with high pedestrian traffic
Proactive bylaw enforcement
Assisted services partnership with The Working Centre, assisting property
owners in clearing their sidewalks
Shared snow blower grant program
Sidewalk snow clearing matching application (ceased this program due to
significant risks and issues)
Statistically valid survey
The staff recommendation going to the committee meeting on August 31 and to
city council on September 14 is to make permanent and expand the Assisted
CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CITY OF KITCHENER
August 11, 2020
Services program and make permanent proactive bylaw enforcement, with four
officers to enforce high priority areas of walking zones, such as around transit,
schools and seniors’ homes.
D. Brotherston asked if people shared their self-reported mode share, what
method was used for determining actual conditions of sidewalks, what coverage
there was for bylaw officers and commented that the existing bylaw is not very
strong and that city-led full service increased passability more significantly than
any other pilot.
N. Lobley responded that the statistically valid survey asked if people were
frequent or regular users of sidewalks, and the vast majority of
respondents identified as regular users of sidewalks. City inspectors
monitored the sidewalk conditions according to good, fair, and poor. Bylaw
inspectors covered the whole city, 7 days a week, but with a focus on
priority areas. Survey results showed that residents were not willing to pay
for the city-led full service, though a majority of respondents who lived
within the full-service pilot were willing to pay for it.
Councillor Marsh commented that we can do better in ensuring people clear their
sidewalks between snowfalls. Significant discussion occurred on the bylaw
regarding bare pavement because of concerns for overusing salt. Very hard to
distinguish between “passable” sidewalks, compared to “bare pavement.”
A. McCrimmon-Jones asked if analysis was conducted on first-time offenders
who received a bylaw warning?
N. Lobley responded that a single notice was found to be very effective at
encouraging good behavior for the year. F. Hosseini commented that less
than 1% of residents who received notices were in violation of the bylaw at
future inspections.
M. Rodrigues asked if the recommendation could include a focus on walkable
corridors (transit stations) and provided encouragement to see this program
evolve as winters change due to climate change.
N. Lobley commented that bylaw enforcement has already been focused
where sidewalk use is heaviest. Staff conducted a significant
environmental review of all pilots.The city-led full service would see a 4%
increase in CO for city’s footprint, but that may come with a long-term
decrease with mode shift from vehicles. Regarding salt, impossible to
know existing salt usage, but it would be a significant increase to the city
while reducing in the community. Hard to know the balance of it.
T. Hannah joined the meeting at 4:50 pm.
4. Committee name and mandate
D. Kropf informed the committee that due to cancelled meetings, the committee will not
be able to change their terms of reference before the recruitment period for the next
term begins. The committee discussed ways to try to improve the timing and recruitment
CYCLING AND TRAILS ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
CITY OF KITCHENER
August 11, 2020
but ultimately decided to delay making formal changes to the committee’s terms of
reference until the new term begins in 2021.
D. Kropf summarized potential changes to the terms of reference:
Rephrase purpose to emphasize safety, accessibility, comfort and convenience
of streets and trails for all users, with an emphasis on protecting vulnerable users
(pedestrians and cyclists)
Under Responsibilities:
o Put a stronger emphasis on pedestrian safety and experience (along with
cycling) and how active transportation contributes to a well balanced
transportation mix
o Include the review of policies and strategies related to broader
transportation initiatives (e.g. Complete Streets, Vision Zero, climate
action, etc.)
o Add a new point about engaging the community in promoting a positive
culture of active transportation and recreation, through public
consultations, social media campaigns, events, etc.
o Add new point regarding encouraging recreational walking and cycling for
healthy living, community building and vibrant neighbourhood life
M. Rodrigues commented that the changes are reflective of past conversations. G.
Piccini commented that new members are likely to welcome these changes.
5. Remembering Walter
M. Rodrigues reminded the committee of a previous discussion on ways to honour
deceased committee member Walter Waganka. The committee agreed to encourage its
members to give a donation to Cycling into the Future:
http://www.cyclingintothefuture.com/donate.
Meeting adjourned at 5:55 pm.