2/13/2023 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY
BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Minutes of the February 13, 2023 Meeting
BAC Member Present for this meeting were Greta Sommerfeld, Matthew Morriss, and
Sarah Johnson.
BAC Members Electronically Present for this meeting were Ashley Lodmell, Ben
Trueman, Laura Lewis, Martin Cuma, and Raymond Reynolds.
BAC Members Absent for this meeting were Joshua Poppel, Max McLeod, Pat Casey,
and Rachel Manko.
Also present were Mitch Hansen and Jon Larsen.
Also present electronically were Hugh Van Wagenen, Dave Iltis, John Close,Amy Lyons,
and Julianne Sabula.
The meeting was held both electronically via WebEx and in person and was called to
order at 5:07 p.m.by Martin Cuma. Martin welcomed everyone.
Public Comment— Dave Iltis said the Mandatory Side Path Bill essentially failed in
Committee which is a good thing at Capitol Hill. He said BAC has an agenda item for
the mission statement today and as he has said before, the current mission statement,
which was written in the late go's is fantastic. He would encourage them to keep it and
post it on their website. It mysteriously disappeared from the Committee website a few
years ago, it really belongs there, is a fantastically written mission statement, and he's
puzzled why the Committee keeps bringing this up when they know it covers all the
bases and is still very progressive. Dave said SLC has moved forward on becoming a
Vision Zero city which is probably one of the biggest changes that's been made to the
SLC bicycle and pedestrian outlook. Maybe the biggest change ever in terms of where
this positions the city and as a committee. It is important for the committee to know
that pretty much every single decision SLC makes needs to be through the lens of Vision
Zero. If the City is doing something that is not putting the safety of pedestrians and
bicycles before every other vehicle or user of the road, then they're doing something
wrong. This trumps everything so he would encourage the committee to go to the Vision
Zero website and read some of the principles, and as they make recommendations in the
future,looking at everything from applications to code changes, to transportation, the
Transportation Master Plan coming up, and everything, that this be done with the lens
of Vision Zero. If it doesn't meet Vision Zero, then the committee needs to come out
against it. Hugh introduced himself and said he wanted to remind folks that the WFRC
Regional Transportation Plan is open for public comment through February 26th. This
plan includes everything they are looking at regarding all modes of roadway, transit, and
bicycle projects across the region. Additionally, the legislative session is ongoing and
many members of the committee have probably heard of the Utah Trail Network
Proposal that's been in the Governor's budget. It's being pushed through and he shared
a link to a support letter that's been making the rounds and getting shared with the
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legislature. It gives people the ability to look at the proposal and sign on if they support
that budget proposal. Martin asked if Hugh would like everyone to sign the letter and
Hugh said they can sign individually or someone can sign on and represent the BAC if
they would like. He's not there asking for signatures,just making sure they are aware.
Martin said they will try to discuss that in their meeting and vote on whether they would
like to write a committee letter.
Approval of Minutes
Motion: Greta Sommerfeld moved to approve the minutes of the December 19, 2022
meeting. Matthew Morriss seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: Greta Sommerfeld moved to approve the minutes of the January 9, 2023 joint
TAB/BAC meeting. Matthew Morriss seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
Committee Announcements &Updates — Matthew said he recently traveled to
San Francisco and Portland and noticed that on pedestrian and bike crossings, the
pedestrian signal changed before the light changed. He thought biking around Salt Lake
City, especially on the 9-line, the now extended 9-line, and 300 West, that kind of
function at pedestrian and bike crossings could be really helpful and it's a change he'd
like to see. Jon said SLC has started doing that at intersections and while he'd like to do
the entire city at once, they must go intersection by intersection but there are more than
io now. This type of timing is at i000 North 1200 West, 1700 South 3Oo East, and 210O
South goo East. Those locations were particularly chosen for reasons like a combination
of high impact and ease of implementation and SLC is planning to do this at other
intersections as well.
Snow Removal in Bike Lanes
SLC Streets Division
Mitch shared a map of the Streets Division Bike Lane Snow Removal Program area as
well as what priority rating each street has and what those mean. If there is a heavy
snow storm, the Streets Division focuses on priority one streets which are arterial roads,
emergency routes and main routes. They try to do the bike lanes as much as they can
along with those streets,but are mainly focused on keeping traffic flowing through the
city. He showed a map of all the bike lanes within the city and explained the different
types of bike lanes. There are also several different types of equipment used to clear the
bike lanes and one of their considerations for bike lane snow removal is the protection
of the crew as they are exposed to the elements, traffic, and unsheltered people. The
snow removal hours for bike lanes are from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., although it's not
uncommon for the crew to get called in earlier. Bike lane snow removal requires more
specialized equipment, more manpower, and there is a potential for biohazard cleanup
from homeless encampments.Also, kiln dried salt is used on bike lanes which is much
more expensive than roadway salt. Martin asked if this same equipment is used for
sidewalk cleanup and Mitch said most of the sidewalk work is done manually with snow
blowers and shovels. Martin asked about the bike path on 3O0 West and was told that
while it hasn't been turned over to Streets yet, it is wide enough that they should be able
to easily plow it with a truck rather than small equipment if they choose to do so. Dave
Iltis asked about plowing the new floating bus islands on 200 South which have a bike
lane on the side of them and so far they have not been plowed even up to io days after
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storms. Jon said he believes it is still considered an active construction zone and hasn't
been turned over to Streets yet. Matthew asked about the Jordan River Trail and Mitch
said that's a trail the Parks Department maintains. The designation of a bike route
determines whether it is maintained by Streets or Parks. Mitch showed a map of
different sections and segments of sidewalks that the city is responsible for, a lot of
which are overpasses. There are 4 full time employees and 2 seasonal employees taking
care of all of these and it takes them quite a bit of time. The plow operators also tend to
cover the sidewalks and bike lanes as they plow and it sometimes takes days to get
through everything. The bike lanes can take a backseat depending on the strength of the
storm and the width of the street,but they are a priority and the City wants to keep
cyclists out of the lane of traffic. The Streets Division has also been helping Waste and
Recycling get through their routes this year,which is something they haven't really done
in the past, and while it is impacting their resources, it's worth it for the safety of the
truck drivers. Sarah asked if there are plans to expand the team that does snow removal
on bike lanes and sidewalks. Mitch said as the bike lanes increase, they will have to
increase their team and equipment. Ben asked if there was a process after a storm for
the city to have snow cleared. Mitch said they kind of rely on people to report the lanes
that aren't cleared, their goal is to have it done in 36 hours but they can always be
reached at 8oi-535-2345 if there are areas that need attention. Martin showed an
example of how a typical bike lane looks after a snowstorm and said he feels like the city
needs to do a better job and is proposing that they try to figure out how to clean up the
bike lanes within 24 hours after a storm is over or if there is a way to plow to the curb.
Martin asked if Mitch had any thoughts on what can be improved to clear up the bike
lanes after storms. Mitch agreed with the fact that the bike lane in the picture is
unusable and explained that the plow drivers can't get closer to the vehicles because
they can hit a car or cause damage by the snow that comes off the plow blade so they try
to stay 2-3 feet away from vehicles. Sarah said in Minneapolis they declare snow
emergencies and sometimes you can't park on the even side because a plow has to come
through and wondered if SLC has considered implementing this. Mitch said they have
tried that in the past but it didn't work because there was no way to enforce it and
people parked where they wanted. Martin said there needs to be a City Council/Mayor
decision to get the cars off the streets so plow drivers can do their jobs. To a certain
extent, the city administration needs to understand that the inconvenience of car owners
parking on the street comes at the cost of safety of bicyclists that cannot use the
facilities. He said they need to keep this on their radar and hopefully get feedback from
administration on what can be done. Julianne said she's working on an update to the
Transportation Master Plan including policy recommendations on things like this so
having suggestions about the outcomes the Committee is looking for will be helpful as
they go through that process. Martin said they need to keep looking at policy changes to
allow them to be able to plow the bike lanes. Mitch said if they could enforce the one
side street parking during storms, it's a win for everyone.
Joint TAB/BAC Letter of Support for Transportation CIP Applications
Bicycle Advisory Committee Members
Martin asked the Committee if they had any additional feedback before they approved
this letter and sent it to the City Council and Mayor. He explained why he added a
paragraph specific to supporting funding for Complete Streets.
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Motion: Martin Cuma moved to approve the draft joint TAB/BAC letter of support for
the Transportation CIP applications. Greta Sommerfeld seconded the motion. The
motion passed unanimously.
BAC Mission Statement
Bicycle Advisory Committee Members
Martin said he has mixed feelings about adding this information to the webpage because
the webpage says what the mission statement is saying,just in different words. On the
other hand, it does read a little more concisely. There was some discussion about
whether they would replace the existing language or add this to it and how it would be
incorporated on the existing page. Dave said the mission and vision statement were
adopted years ago and whether they are on the website, they are still the current
operating mission and vision statement.
Motion: Martin Cuma moved to add the mission and vision statement to the BAC
website. Greta Sommerfeld seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Constituent Transportation Related CIP Projects Review
Bicycle Advisory Committee Members
The Transportation Advisory Board wrote a letter in support of constituent submitted,
transportation related, CIP projects which address safety,vulnerable users, high rate of
traffic violence, and Vision Zero.
Motion: Martin Cuma moved to write a letter in support of transportation related
constituent CIP projects similar to the letter written by TAB. Matthew Morriss
seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Vice-Chair Election
Bicycle Advisory Committee Members
Due to low member attendance, the Vice-Chair election was postponed until the March
meeting to give absent members an opportunity to be nominated for this position.
Sarah had a question about having Ginger Cannon as a visitor to BAC for an update on
active transportation plans at the U of U. Martin said he'd be happy to reach out to her.
Matthew said there was a fun Mayor's Bike to Work day which was a great opportunity
to meet other people from the cycling community. He said the SLC is going to start
doing them more often so members should keep their eyes open for another.
Motion: Martin Cuma motioned to adjourn the meeting; Sarah Johnson seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:17 P.M.
Meeting Chat
from Hugh Van Wagenen-WFRC to everyone: 5:o8 PM
Regional Transportation Plan Public Comment: https://wfrc.org/vision-plans/regional-
transportation-plan/publiccomment/
from Hugh Van Wagenen-WFRC to everyone: 5:o8 PM
Utah Trail Network Support Letter: https://unifiedplan.org/utah-trail-network/
from John Close to everyone: 5:17 PM
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John Close, Transportation Advisory Board,just sitting in for a bit.
from Ben Trueman to everyone: 5:23 PM
Where do the new off-street bike lanes factor into the ranking? (goo S and 300 W)
from Martin Cuma to everyone: 5:32 PM
https://photos.app.goo.gl/humEpjaWJD slxP7
from Martin Cuma to everyone: 5:33 PM
https:I 1photos.app.goo.glIfnysexJmF7j iUovg6
from Ben Trueman to everyone: 5:33 PM
That's a common sight on goo W as well, Martin.
from Ben Trueman to everyone: 5:38 PM
Call to report snow in bike lanes: (8oi) 535-2345
from Sabula, Julianne to everyone: 5:38 PM
In the update to the Transportation Master Plan,we will work as a City to develop a
policy so the City is consistent in its goals for safety, equity, and sustainability. It may be
worthwhile for the BAC to give thought to how we balance each of these.
from Sabula, Julianne to everyone: 5:47 PM
You can each learn more, participate in the TMP process, and spread the word in your
network by visiting the website. https://www.slc.gov/transportation/plans-
studies/tmp/
from Hugh Van Wagenen-WFRC to everyone: 6:03 PM
Thanks for letting me listen in tonight. Keep up the good work!
from Sabula, Julianne to everyone: 6:18 PM
Thank you all for volunteering your time and expertise.
Approved by the Bicycle Advisory Committee 03-20-23.
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