HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPAC-2006-03-09Minutes
Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Council (BPAC) Meeting
March 9, 2006, Thursday, 7pm
2"d Conference room, City Hall
PLEASE NOTE: From now on, BPAC will meet in 2F Conference Room, City Hall
Present: Kent Johnson (Chair), David Kay, Dave Nutter, Carla Shafer, Tim Logue, Jan
Zeserson, Dwight Mengel, Ron Chapman
Guest: Sue Powell
Absent: Ken Mudge, Dave McElrath, Jennifer Dotson, Michelle Berry
Minutes of February meeting approved.
Agenda approved.
Hilton sidewalk update -- David Kay:
The original plan approved by the City called for a 6' sidewalk width in front of the
hotel's main entrance, and it's only 4'8 ". Ciminelli apparently rejected the City's ideas
for rectifying the situation. David Kay, now BPAC liaison to the Planning Board, will
follow up.
Discussion: We discussed suggesting, in response to Ciminelli's statement rejecting the
City's ideas, that a different bike rack be installed in a different location
Another idea was raised, that instead of retrofitting this particular problem, might the
City consider having Ciminelli pay to rectify another troublesome sidewalk problem in
the City which does not require retrofitting? We are concerned that not getting the Hilton
sidewalk problems addressed makes the rules for developers meaningless.
Question: Given that the construction did not comply with the approved plan, if/when
someone falls on this sidewalk, who is liable? NYSDOT or Ciminelli or the City, or all
of the above?
PAC update — Michelle Berry: postponed.
Green /Seneca "bike lane" update — Tim Logue: postponed.
Tim will get in touch with Lou Ferrone, regional DOT official.
Crosswalk improvements — Tim Logue:
It was decided that crosswalks in most urgent need of pedestrian crossing signs are:
Rte 89 & Cass Park — replacement
Lincoln & Lake
Cayuga & Cascadilla, directed towards the bell
Elm St., towards ACS
Clinton St. at Corn & Plain, one on western crosswalk, one on eastern crosswalk.
Corn St. & Buffalo
State & Mitchell
Mitchell & College
Aurora St — almost anywhere, maybe Farm
Other crosswalk concerns:
1. Crossing Rte. 13 at Day St. and Third St.:
Medium -term approach is to add pedestrian count -down times, add high visibility
crosswalks, and relocate pedestrian crossing push buttons.
Short -term: There was consensus to recommend that City take a shorter -term
approach of striping and signing to prohibit vehicles from entering the right shoulder of
Rte. 13 to turn onto Third St. Urban Renewal Agency may help fund improvements.
Long -term approach under consideration is to rebuild that section of highway as an
urban street, with center median, etc.
2. A suggestion to stripe crosswalks surrounding the Commons. Raised crosswalks,
another alternative, cost approximately $75,000 per intersection. Zebra striping is a more
cost - effective alternative.
Thurston Ave. bridge crosswalk/cycling concerns — Sue Powell, guest:
The design for this major renovation project includes granite curbs on the crosswalks, and
the concern is that these will pose danger to bicyclists. The 1 -1/2 -inch high granite curbs
themselves are not the problem; it is the proposed angle of the crosswalks which makes
curbing them potentially dangerous to bicyclists, and also the adjacent, more flexible
asphalt that settles with wear. Sue has already brought this problem to the attention of
designers and engineers, but thinks it's important that others, especially BPAC, register
the same concerns with those in charge. Construction will start this month. Register any
concerns about this design with Tim, who will synthesize comments and communicate
them to the project's decision - makers (Sam Juriga, Catherine Wolfe), with whom he is in
regular contact. Thurston Ave. bridge renovation is a City project. BPAC will follow up
on this at next meeting.
Points / suggestions raised in discussion:
-- Eliminate granite edging altogether, but this may not eliminate the problem, since there
will be concrete movement along seams of the crosswalk in any case.
- -Use asphalt throughout, with painted crosswalks.
- -A signal system which uses "All pedestrians GO" phasing is preferable.
Federal funding — Tim Logue:
Ithaca - Tompkins Transportation Council (Fernando deAragon) and Tim are forming a
study group to research multi -modal funding opportunities, especially the federal
Transportation Enhancement funds. Application deadlines are fast approaching. Anyone
interested, contact Tim or Fernando. The new acronym for the formerly ISTEA grants is
SAFETEA -LU.
Black Diamond Trail — Jan Zeserson:
2
A group of Trail enthusiasts began forming in early February by word of mouth. A
subgroup has been in discussion with Sue Poelvoorde (Parks), municipal leaders, county
and state legislators, and former trail coalitions (esp. the Tompkins County Greenway
Coalition who prepared an Action Plan in July 1995). They're developing strategies to
push the project forward. Join the effort by contacting Jan at jzl7(kcornell.edu.
Car - sharing — Tim Logue:
A formal steering committee is forming. Contact Tim to get into that loop.
BPAC blog /wiki sites — Carla Shafer:
Carla encouraged us to try using the blog in order to get a feel for content possibilities.
Members cited some technical problems, e.g., City IT committee won't allow Firefox to
be loaded onto City computers. Carla is willing to talk any of us through technical
problems upon request. The hope is that using these BPAC blog /wiki sites will make
BPAC more visible to the larger community. Instructions for accessing are appended to
February BPAC minutes, which are posted on the City's website. If you've forgotten
your username and password, contact Carla.
ADA crosswalk requirements — Dave Nutter:
Black plastic knobs used by the NYSDOT to meet the ADA requirement for knobs on
sidewalks at West End crosswalks shredded within months of installation. How does the
City plan to deal with this problem?
Sidewalk shoveling:
The telephone number for citizens to report un- shoveled sidewalks has not been
publicized.
Short -term: TCAT will post this number on the inside of busses. Carla will create an 11"
x 17" poster, which Tim's office will reproduce. Carla and Dwight will discuss
feasibility of creating a webpage publicizing the contact number, which can be linked to
TCAT website.
Long -term: Forward this publicity / education problem to Michelle Berry's student
research group.
Communication with Planning Board: Planning Board meets at end of the month, and
we meet in second week of the month, which presents a challenge to timely
communication on urgent issues. David Kay asked us to think about how to deal with
this.
Cornell University's Ad hoc Committee on Sustainable Transportation / BPAC
collaboration — Ken Mudge & Ken Johnson: postponed.
Course work that may involve BPAC — Kent Johnson: postponed.
Visions / goals for BPAC: postponed.
Meeting adjourned at 9:15.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jan Zeserson