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10/15/2018 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of the October 15, 2018 Meeting Present from the Bicycle Advisory Committee were David Brooks, David Parrott, Joshua Poppel, Nathan Anderson, Zachary Anderson and Todd Hadden. Absent from the Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting were Elicia Cardenas and Josalyn Bates, Nathan Anderson, Omar Poole and Zachary Anderson. Also present were Stephanie Toombs, Becka Roolf, Dave Iltis, Justin McAllister and another student from the University of Utah, and Taylor Anderson. The meeting, held at the Transportation Division Office, 349 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, Utah, was called to order at 5:10 p.m. by David Parrott. Welcome and Introduction of Members and Guests — David welcomed everyone and everyone introduced themselves. Public Comment -Two students at the University, Justin McAllister and a colleague, indicated that they would like to see the routes to the University campus improved, especially Foothill and Mario Capecchi Drives. Both students described these roads as like being "incredibly dangerous walls" to people bicycling, and asked for the City's help in asking UDOT to make changes. Becka Roolf encouraged them to look at the bikeways map and talk to other bicyclists to determine best routes using parking lots / sidewalks; she also indicated that SLC is working with UDOT on some improved intersection designs, and encouraged them to leave contact info to be notified when there is a public outreach aspect to that project. Todd Hadden suggested riding through the VA. However, this is out-of-direction travel for some destinations on campus. Joshua Poppel invited to Bike Utah's Salt Lake Action Group (SLAG) which meets third Thursday nights, as a possible place to find others with similar concerns. Dave Iltis said there are several bike-related topics on the City Council agenda for the coming Tuesday night, including a hearing for the streets bond, discussion of the complete streets ordinance, a new noxious weed ordinance, and CIP funding decisions. The noxious weed ordinance has been improved so that puncturevine (goatheads) receive special consideration similar to poison ivy. Dave also said that the inland port is moving forward, making it important to keep an eye on bike routes on 50o S, 2200 W, I- 8o frontage road. New interchanges and diverging diamonds threaten to destroy the marina bike route. University of Utah campus repaving is finished; better than it was but could have been even better. In some places the inner lane is wider than the outer lane, so there is less space for bicycling. He encouraged bicyclists to make their voices heard to UDOT or the University of Utah. Approval of Minutes from September 17, 2018 meeting- Nathan Anderson moved, Joshua Poppel seconded. There was no discussion. Passed unanimously. Announcements &Connections - Todd Hadden invited committee members to attend the UDOT conference, Nov. 6-8 at the Mountain America Expo in Sandy. There are several bicycle-related presentations, and the schedule is online. It's free to attend the breakout sessions. State Street- Life on State Update-Julianne Sabula from SLC Transportation Division gave a presentation on the Life on State Implementation Plan,which seeks to implement the Life on State Vision Plan from State St. to 330o South. The project is a collaboration with UDOT, UTA, South Salt Lake, and SLC's RDA. The Life on State draft report focuses on the land use and urban design; a transportation group was spun off to work on the street itself due to the many competing interests for space on the state-owned corridor. The emphasis is to prioritize the pedestrian in the corridor design, including bulbouts to shorten crossing distances, wider sidewalks, new crossings and possible pedestrian scale lighting. Two catalytic projects were identified (600 -goo S and 2100 S to S-Line corridor), and are in the process of a preliminary engineering design. Initial discussions indicated that UDOT was not interested in eliminating travel lanes,but that might be revisited partly as a result of the new electric scooters. While the speed limit will stay the same (3o mph) the design speed will be reduced to 25 mph. Final decisions still have not been made. A preliminary design is currently being reviewed internally by the partners and should be available soon for public input. As part of this work, a new pedestrian crossing has been approved between 600-700 South, connecting the State Room and the Bayou. Peak pedestrian time on State Street is around io pm on Friday nights; very different than peak motor vehicle time - rush hours on weekdays. A second crossing is being considered between 700-80o South. Dave Iltis asked why the design does not prioritize bikes as well as pedestrians; Julianne replied that it is primarily due to space and the need to make tradeoffs. Main Street and 200 East will be looked at for better bicycling corridors, including possible changes to the Main St. signals. Dave also asked when there will be an additional opportunity for public comment. Julianne said the website is still open for public comment; the design and cost estimates being developed will be available for additional input but the format is still to be determined. Todd Hadden asked about the need for a midblock crossing between 40o and 500 South, since both adjacent buildings have their entrances midblock. Julianne said SLC could request to look at this. David Brooks asked how his company which is located along State Street could get involved. Julianne said businesses have been giving significant input, and invited David to connect further after the meeting. Election of a new Vice-Chair- Becka reviewed the process and qualifications of the vice chair, and held the nominations round. The following nominations were received. • David Brooks nominated Joshua Poppel, and spoke to Joshua's involvement in the community and activism. • Joshua Poppel nominated himself and indicated that he's realized he has time, expertise and interest in this role. • Todd Hadden nominated David Brooks and spoke to his role in the community. • Zach Anderson nominated Todd Hadden and spoke to his past involvement in this role. • Nathan Anderson nominated Zach Anderson as someone who would well represent the biking community of Salt Lake. • David Parrott nominated David Brooks and reiterated David's community connections, interest in transit, and involvement with Open Streets. Energetic on the committee, solid vice chair. Based on the nominations received and the arguments presented, Julianne proposed Joshua Poppel. Each of the committee members consented, including Joshua. Result: Joshua Poppel will be the vice chair until this term expires in January 2020. Committee membership recruitment -The Mayor's Office does have some applications (around 7-9) currently on file. So far there is no news on additional committee appointments. Committee members are encouraged to continue to recruit anyone who is a particularly good fit with the committee. Following up on a question from last meeting, Becka clarified with the City Attorney's Office that City staff cannot serve on city committees (regardless of job relevance) but County or other municipal employees can. i7oo South — 30o West to State St. -This project was put on the agenda at the request of the committee, following up on Taylor Anderson's comments at the prior meeting. Taylor indicated that this project, which proposes to remove a travel lane on 1700 S and add on-street parking, is on the City Council's agenda for this Tuesday night, and he asked for the committee's support to the Council. The project was initiated by businesses in the area who are interested in having on-street parking. After some discussion of how the Bicycle Advisory Committee could support the project, Joshua Poppel moved to resubmit the Bicycle Advisory Committee's CIP support letter from last spring to the City Council, in time for their consideration the next day. The letter supports several bicycle-related projects including this one. Todd Hadden seconded. The motion was unanimously approved. David will submit the letter to the Council's email address Tuesday morning. Complete Streets Ordinance Update- Discussion - Becka gave a brief history of the Complete Streets ordinance and the current initiative to update the ordinance. The committee gave input through a Plus / Delta exercise on what aspects of the ordinance are working well (plus), and what aspects could be strengthened (delta). Becka compiled the committee's input as notes on the whiteboard: Positive/Working Well • Dramatic improvement in the past io years in bicycle facilities citywide • Ridership is up • Streets like North Temple transformation (2010-2012) represent the "gold standard" of a street that works well for everyone --transit, bike lanes, wide sidewalk for peds and bikes. It is a complete transformation from the former UDOT roadway. • Several streets on west side all have had great improvement: North Temple, goo West, Redwood Road. • Vast majority of resurfacing projects have resulted in bike lanes or improved bicycle facilities. • Also mentioned were off-street trails such as Parley's Trail (overpass at railyard/ freeway) Opportunities for Improvement • Provide better connectivity as part of projects: o crossings and side streets. o longer segments / corridors (but don't stop taking advantage of opportunities) o incorporate more overpasses / underpasses of major barrier roads (mention of several east bench roads in particular: Foothill, Sunnyside) • Eliminate loopholes o Discussion of 2100 South-- not sure what didn't work there o 700 South/ 100 South did not receive bike lanes as part of slurry seals • Typologies / Streetscapes need to include more thoughtful concepts with regard to vegetation: o Sometimes blocks sight distances for peds /bikes o Maintenance of vegetation blocks facilities themselves (trucks parked in bike lane or on path); design places for maintenance vehicles to access that are not directly on/in the facility. o Staff addition: Shade is a plus. Fruit/large seed drop can also represent a challenge (sycamores /buckeyes / acorns / etc.). • Expand the ordinance from new construction/ reconstruction to include surface treatments and repaving. • Include public representation on Complete Streets Committee: at least one person for each of bike, ped, transit • Incorporate new/ evolving transportation modes: o Scooters o Electrification of bikes and scooters • Design facilities for all ages and abilities: o ages 8-80, or 4-104! o Discussion of 4-year-old bicycling with a parent • Speed limits should be integral to a Complete Streets approach. Brief Updates — Becka let the committee know that Alexis Verson, who had staffed the committee at the prior meeting, is no longer with the Transportation Division, having taken a position in Park City. Additional updates were postponed due to meeting time running short. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 pm. Approved by Committee on 1.1-19-18.