HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BPAC-2006-06-14*DRAFT* Minutes
Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Council (BPAC) Meeting
June 14, 2006, Wednesday, 7pm, 2nd Conference Room, City Hall
Present: Kent Johnson (Chair), Dave Nutter, David Kay, Tim Logue, Jennifer Dotson,
Nicole Tedesco, Dave McElrath, Jan Zeserson
Absent: Ken Mudge, Michelle Berry, Carla Shafer, Dwight Mengel, Ron Chapman
Minutes of May meeting approved.
Agenda expanded to include Hilton sidewalk issue; and Rte 13 pedestrian crossings.
Member Reports / Ongoing Business
• Hilton sidewalk issue:
Dave McElrath reported that DAC (Disabilities Advisory Council) has raised the
question of whether the current sidewalk situation at the Hilton entrance and Starbucks
corner meets egress standards.
Tim sent a sketch of suggested sidewalk solution to the permit division of DOT.
Tim will also address the bike rack design and placement with Ciminelli representatives
(developers).
Tim reported that Ithaca resident Joe Wetmore has also been in conversation with
Ciminelli about the situation.
• Cliff Street:
Dave Nutter had a productive conversation with Rick Ferrell about basic plans, including
sidewalk, cutting back the cliff, pedestrian access during the project, and striping the
northbound lane a bit wider to help accommodate slowly climbing bikes being passed by
motor vehicles. There is no projected date for starting this project, given personnel and
funding issues. Nutter will follow up regularly with Ferrell, every three months, and
keep us informed on timeline and final plans.
• West Clinton St. and Rte. 13 crosswalk:
In recent weeks there have been two dangerous incidents at this intersection involving
near - misses between a car and pedestrian.
1. William Maxwell reported the following in an email to Kent earlier this month: I was
the first car turning left from West Clinton onto Meadow and surprised myself and a
pedestrian who had the walk signal for crossing Meadow. The turn is more than a
left turn and goes uphill -- I was concerned about getting into the left lane and then
crossing over to the right lane to get into Wegmans -- I nearly hit a pedestrian who
luckily jumped out of my way -- I was really shaken up as was the guy who was
crossing. I went back and observed the situation -- it is a very dangerous to allow
pedestrians to cross when traffic is making that acute left turn.
2. Dave Nutter reported a similar incident. While walking east on the south crosswalk of
the intersection, and having waited for the walk signal, he and his son were nearly run
down by a fast SUV turning left from Clinton to South Meadow Street, and barely
avoided severe injury or death by grabbing his son and jumping back.
We discussed possible solutions (including an all- vehicle stop / all pedestrian walk signal
phase) and decided the most feasible is to allow pedestrians to cross a few seconds in
advance of giving a green light to vehicles. Tim will model this solution and run it by
DOT. The suggestion is that the walk signal to cross Meadow not be during the phase in
which Clinton Street traffic turns left onto Meadow, which is the location and phase that
the two incidents occurred to BPAC members. Instead the Meadow Street walk signal
should be during the earlier phase when Fulton Street traffic in the left lane can go to
Clinton Street or (much less commonly) turn left to go north. During this phase, if a
pedestrian has requested a walk signal, the right two lanes of Fulton Street would get a
red light. There is typically a lull in the southbound Fulton -to- Meadow traffic during this
phase. This phase would have to be extended somewhat when there is a walk signal in
order to allow pedestrians adequate crossing time.
This solution would prevent the need to stop all traffic in order to improve
pedestrian safety, and it would also negate the several factors which lead to the left -
turning Clinton -to- Meadow vehicles not seeing legally crossing pedestrians in the south
crosswalk: The Fulton -to- Clinton traffic has such a short time that it usually is still in the
intersection when the Clinton traffic starts, both blocking the view of the south crosswalk
and leading to impatience, while the angle at which Clinton Street traffic waits directs
drivers' view away from pedestrians.
• Rte 13 pedestrian crossings at Dey St. and Third St.:
For both crossings, Tim will submit plans (already prepared) for TEP Transportation
Enhancement Grant, which requires 20% local funds to match 80% federal. Tim will
explore possibility of that federal housing grant funds (Community Development Block
Grant [CDBG]) may qualify as "local funds."
We looked over the plans, brainstormed regarding signal phasing, width of crosswalk,
and at which point the crossing can connect to the proposed Waterfront Trail.
It was agreed that the current plan is a short-term solution to a long -term goal of turning
Rte 13 into a much more friendly urban street with center meridian, but that will not be
considered until the time that the roadway needs major repair.
• Floral Avenue:
Maria Coles has made this one of her priorities. Tim and David Kay reported that
Jonathan Panzer needs a design for a grant application which is due in a few weeks. It can
be tweaked later after Tim's office analyzes signalization, etc.
The first consideration is pedestrian safety; the second is vehicle congestion; a third is
ACS path connection. All streets involved are City roadways, so State approval is not
required. Discussion led to two possible, good solutions:
2
1. An all -way stop with red flashing light.
2. Signage and paint which are standard for an all -way stop, and far less expensive to
install and use than a red flashing light.
Tim will sketch plans for Panzer and Coles.
[New Business
• Kathryn A. Wolf contacted Kent about two matters: 1) How the City of Ithaca
should be shown on the newly drafted Tompkins County Bike Suitability Map;
and 2) For the purposes of t -GEIS, what BPAC thinks the priority projects are
related to bicycling in the City, and any other related input regarding
sustainable transportation.
1. Bike Suitability Map for the City of Ithaca:
a. We need to start with the question: Who is the audience? Who will use this map?
For example, who is the target audience for the newly drafted county map?
b. Ratings are complicated. For example, whether a route is good or not depends
also simply on the mood and goal of a biker on any given day. As a case in
point, Rte. 89 is labeled an "excellent" route on the county map. Based on what
criteria? Some bikers would consider it rather dangerous due to heavy truck
traffic, especially on weekdays, but more attractive on Sundays, etc.
c. Dave Nutter referred to a bicycling map included in the successful 1994 Federal
Transportation Enhancement (ISTEA) grant for the Ithaca Bike Plan, none of
which has been implemented. The map was to have been a single sheet for public
distribution depicting the entire City of Ithaca and showing coded along each
street such factors as usable lane width, traffic speed, traffic volume, gradient,
traffic lights and stop signs. Since that time, the GIS information on file in City
Hall, and the use of a web site would allow much easier production and updating,
and with the internet the information could now be viewed or printed by members
of the public seeking a map to carry or to plan a particular trip according to
personal preferences of directness, room, and right -of -way, steepness, traffic
volume, and traffic speed. This map would allow for a wide variety of
preferences serving all destinations. It would eliminate the frequent frustration
riders have with official maps, made by non - bicycle- users, whose single
recommendations do not fit actual bike users' variable preferences for riding
conditions and do not serve their numerous destinations.
d. What maps exist already for the City of Ithaca? We should start there, search the
web, ask local biking groups, etc., including informal maps, comments.
e. Tim reported that the City will have an intern to work on the City portion.
2. Our recommendations for t -GEIS / priority projects for bicycling in the City center on
encouraging people to bicycle to Cornell:
a. University Avenue is key and should be made bike - friendly.
b. Create a bike lane on State Street.
c. Improve the intersection at Stewart Ave. and Campus Rd.
d. Construct a bike lift on one route to Cornell campus (University Ave.? Buffalo
St. ?)
• The Current Events page on our wiki site
Kent has created The Current Events page on our BPAC wiki site, which lists past,
present and future topics that still require further attention. He plans to include a contact
person for each topic. This is a work in progress. We'll amend/ update it at each
meeting.
Cliff St. resurfacing /reconstruction project (contact Dave Nutter)
Obstacles with bike improvements on state roads (i.e. Green /Seneca Streets)
Other Bike Plan issues such as bike parking guidelines
Hilton sidewalk (contact David Kay)
PAC safety campaign (and status of PAC report in general - present in June ?)
Black Diamond Trail (contact Jan Zeserson)
Cayuga Waterfront Trail (phase II)
Blog/Wiki (meeting summaries for blog ?)
Thurston Ave. bridge project
West End pedestrian crossing concerns (Fulton /Meadow /Clinton and other areas along
RT. 13)
Crosswalk signage (contact Tim Logue)
Crosswalk striping
Signs on buses (contact Carla Shafer)
Cornell University's Ad hoc Committee on Sustainable Transportation
Ithaca Car Share
Aurora St. bridge project
Bikes Belong (and other) grant opportunities
IPD collaboration
Shared lane pavement markings study (contact Kent Johnson - ken johnson2003 'at'
yahoo. coin)
Bike suitability map (contact Kent Johnson - ken johnson2003 'at' yahoo. com)
• Review of Planning Board Agenda:
Tim brought Planning Board agenda for our review, and he will continue to bring these
agendas to every meeting so that we can decide which projects need BPAC involvement.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jan