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7/17/2023 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of the July 17, 2023 Meeting BAC Members Present for this meeting were Alla Chernenko and Greta Sommerfeld. BAC Members Electronically Present for this meeting were Ashley Lodmell, Ben Trueman, Laura Lewis, Martin Cuma, Matthew Morriss, Max McLeod, Pat Casey, Rachel Manko, and Sarah Johnson. BAC Members Absent for this meeting were Joshua Poppel and Raymond Reynolds. Also present was Becka Roolf and Julianne Sabula. Also present electronically were Stacey Luna, Troy Saltiel, Jon Larsen, Hugh Van Wagenen, Steve Wooldridge, Will Becker, Ellen Reddick, and Jim Espeland. The meeting was held both electronically via WebEx and in person and was called to order at 5:03 p.m. by Martin Cuma. Martin welcomed everyone and the members introduced themselves. Approval of Minutes Motion: Martin Cuma moved to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2023 meeting. Patrick Casey seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Motion: Martin Cuma moved to approve the minutes of the June 12, 2023 joint TAB/BAC meeting. Patrick Casey seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Public Comment—There was no public comment. Committee Announcements &Updates — Greta asked if there are guidelines or best practices that the committee could put in place because it seemed like at 300 West 70o East, the planners came to them with an idea already in mind and there weren't any options for feedback. She is wondering how they can get more involved in the front end of the process to just document what BAC would recommend in terms of bike lanes. She doesn't know if that's possible or how they can get involved sooner in the process,but it felt like there were a few projects that they were being told what was happening vs wanting their input. Martin said there have been discussions about this in the past suggesting BAC add feedback and one of the suggestions was that we do those bike tours. In May they toured an existing project but, in the future, they would like to do tours for projects that are in the pipeline and give feedback that way. They would like feedback that was not just from the Committee, but also from the public so Transportation is more inline with what the public and the Committee wants. Martin said Transportation is going to share with them today projects that are in the pipeline, and they just need to tell the Transportation Division what their priorities are. He said Page 1 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes there were even disagreements within BAC on the 70o East treatments and they might not come to a consensus as a group. Sara said it's not a matter of them coming to a consensus, it's a matter of being far enough in advance that their input is being put into consideration in projects. Martin said another problem that can be worked on is that they don't know the details of the projects ahead of time so maybe they can ask Jon to come to them in the early stages like they did on 2100 South. Jon said generally with BAC there's a little more opportunity to dive into some projects. With TAB, the projects move so fast and there are so many, they would almost have to hire someone part time to do thorough reviews of all the projects if that was the role of the committee vs this is what we've been talking about and would love to see what you think. He asked BAC to discuss some policies or principal designs they would like to see and then those can be taken to the staff as they do specific projects. He said BAC spending more of their time reviewing the project list they've been working on which are projects in the pipeline,will give them earlier feedback. A lot of times, decisions are made based on what budget is available and if they're one year out, that's a lot different than a project that's five years out in terms of what influence BAC can have on that project. Jon said they would like to discuss principles that BAC would like to see on projects that are 5 years out. Becka thought perhaps it would make sense for the Committee to have some discussion about that as well as philosophy and policy. She said they are currently incubating a little bit of a shifted direction for TAB and BAC which is kind of included in that proposal. Ben said since 70o East shared use path is through UDOT not SLC DOT, he's curious how they get involved in that earlier. Jon said that's a bit more challenging, by the time SLC saw it, the concept was done. They are working on the design details with UDOT and if BAC wants to get involved, he suggested reaching out to the project team individually. Ben asked if they have open meetings about these projects and if that's something they could get warned about earlier. Jon said you can usually just reach out by calling or e- mailing the project team directly and they're usually willing to have conversations. Will Becker is a contact from SLC Transportation,but UDOT does have an engagement team. Pat said that in terms of the processes of these projects, a lot of times I feel like we are late to the game. He asked if there is a part of the timeline and approving these projects from UDOT that they need to have approval from them as a committee. He wanted to know if UDOT coming to show them the project is part of them checking a box and at what point in the process is that consistent or does it just depend on the project. On 2100 South, he feels like it was brought up to them, it was crunch time, and they needed to get it done and approved but nothing really changed after the meeting. It seemed like they were just fulfilling a qualification but didn't really take their advice to heart and didn't implement changed to reflect what the conversation was. He doesn't know where they fall in the timeline of projects. Martin said they are an advisory committee, they are not imperative and, they offer advice which the agencies coming to them can take or not. It doesn't mean they don't take their opinions into consideration,but they have many other constraints, so BAC is not going to get everything they ask for. Jon said this is why he would recommend moving away from taking specific projects to the Committee and instead focusing on higher level policy and prioritizing projects. Instead of focusing on specific designs, he'd like to focus on keeping the online dashboard up to date and remind BAC so they can reach out to the project team directly which would give them more time to focus on the citywide policy issues and project priority. Becka said one thing that can help with giving feedback on projects,what really provides clarity to someone looking for feedback is having the committee take the time to make a motion,vote on it, and weigh in in writing. When someone comes to a committee and hears the mixed input, it's harder to know how to formally incorporate that. She thinks Page 2 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes there's a couple things BAC could do. One is generally an interest in moving more toward policy and standards which would help to not see a project that they feel like has gone steering down the wrong path. The end is that if there is a project that comes to the Committee, if they take the time and really say this is what we provide as input, take a vote, and put it in writing, that's something concrete. Martin agreed and said if anyone felt strongly about something,bring it up and they can vote on it. Neighborhood Byways Will Becker, SLC Transportation Will gave a presentation on Neighborhood Byways and said they create a pleasant and convenient route for people using active modes of transportation by encouraging safe travel speed, discouraging cut-through vehicle traffic, providing safe crossings of busy streets, and connecting people to destinations. He discussed additional details including how they are chosen,what type of improvements are often made, and he showed a map of the neighborhood byways that were adopted in the Pedestrian/Bicycle Master Plan which is the list they are working off now. Martin said that information clarified his thoughts about byways. Alla said the criteria for neighborhood byways all makes sense; however, she can't help but notice that some city neighborhoods just don't have nice,beautiful streets. She knows Will mentioned that some of the guidelines might be flexible but asked what the strategy is for neighborhoods that aren't necessarily already conducive to a lovely byway and how much are they willing to retrofit existing stuff to equalize the distribution of these amenities throughout the city. Will said they're kind of working in a piece meal fashion right now, some of that is through constituent CIP requests and often a budget is allocated. Transportation does an existing conditions analysis and talks with the residents to get a good sense of what's happening. They try to work within the resources they have and look at what's going to have the biggest impact for that project based on the analysis and public feedback. Becka said the Neighborhood Byways are generally recommended to neighborhoods that have little streets which could be connected and packaged into a corridor but in places where there aren't those streets, like downtown or industrial areas of the city, instead the Ped/Bike Master Plan recommends doing separated or buffered bike lanes. Alla said she's mostly thinking about the westside, she lives in Ballpark area where there are several streets that she feels have potential. Becka said originally the Ped/Bike Master Plan goal was to have things like that every 2-3 blocks but that kind of spacing is a little more challenging for some of the western sections. Originally West Temple was recommended but it turns out there is a little too much traffic, so they are going to have to put more thought into that one and there are multiple other byways in the plans for the west side. Becka said if BAC feels like there are things missing from that map,let her know, the map can be updated. Martin said there was a comment from Troy along the same lines and they discussed the area Troy mentioned. Will said there are certain parts of the city and certain parts of certain streets that are different, especially as you get closer to downtown, that aren't conducive to neighborhood byways but that doesn't mean they aren't identified for improvements. Sometimes there isn't connectivity from one Neighborhood Byway to another because of existing street conditions. Martin said they want to keep this on the radar and remind the city to keep prioritizing these things. Sara said the road on Boo East is so rough, she uses goo East even though there is no bike lane. Will said that is an issue sometimes and they are looking at making improvements to make it safer for walking and biking. There will be some byway projects on Boo East and Sara said the bad section is goo South to 1300 South on Boo East. Becka noticed this herself and will talk to Engineering to see if pavement upgrades Page 3 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes can be made to time up with their neighborhood byway improvements. She said they made a list of abysmal roads, cultivated that list, and turned it into an operation opportunity, she thanked Sara for mentioning that. Will said folks in Transportation do their best to try to take advantage of resurfacing projects, they will try to find funding to take advantage of that opportunity for changes. Jon said in a year or two there may be another opportunity for another bond, and it might be more local street focused which would be a big opportunity. Matthew asked about the Boo West byway and is curious why it stops at goo South, that seemed like an arbitrary cutoff. Will said he would have to look at that, he's not sure why the Ped/Bike Master Plan has it ending there. Matt asked if in the city's mind, are the byways more a neighborhood transit connecting neighborhoods rather than across town transit. Will said to some degree yes, but it really depends on the street and the neighborhood. Ben asked about the long-term cost of reconfiguring streets and Becka said every road is different and they haven't had byways for a life cycle of a road to determine this yet. Project Nominations for Utah Transportation Investment Fund and Transit Transportation Investment Fund Becka Roolf, SLC Transportation Becka said TIF and TTIF are state funds. The state has a certain pot of funding that is used and generally programed about 5 years out before a project happens. This is the pot of funds that is used primarily for making improvements to highways and freeways like widening them or traffic signal timing and upgrades. Several years ago, there was direction from the legislature to support active transportation as well as transit. There is now a new funding pot that is transit focused and they also made eligible active transportation projects that are adjacent to the state highway network. Municipalities have an opportunity to nominate TIF projects to receive up to 6o% funding for those projects paid for by the state. The TTIF projects can also include bicycling and walking improvements if they are oriented towards making better connections for people walking and biking to transit, this was recently changed to a 70% match. Within the past year, SLC received $15 million towards multiple active transportation projects. Since there is a 40% match, SLC staggered those projects. Becka went through some of the projects funded with this. It's now that time of year to nominate projects and through that process, they will probably nominate more projects than will really have a chance at getting funded, but they will only nominate projects that they really want to do. SLC Transportation has 5 projects that they will be re-nominating as well as a deep list of other projects. She would like feedback from the group on projects they really like or if there were ones that the group would rather not see on the list, she would really like the community radar on their project lists. Becka went over that list and will send it out after the meeting for members to review more closely. Jon said sometimes they can match state and federal funding together for projects, so they don't have to come up with city funds. Becka said they probably aren't going to nominate all the projects she's shown them. The governor also had an initiative to connect ioo miles of trails so there is another $45 million a year for ATIF, the Active Transportation Investment Fund. Jon said this is a big deal, they are opening their highway construction fund for transit, walking, and biking. Transportation is doing their part to give them good projects and he would love help whittling their current list down. Becka said right now the state is taking applications for this funding through August 31st. Transportation is trying to get their list down to the best 10-15 projects and if the Committee has any input on projects and could get that back to her next week, that would be good and then she'll work on the applications. The decisions won't be made until next spring so it might be next July Page 4 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes before any funding is received if a project is chosen and then it would likely be 2025 construction. Martin said this is what they talked about at the beginning of the meeting, it's where they can influence what's going to get constructed. He asked everyone to look at the spreadsheet and send their feedback. Jon said feedback from the group on types of projects is also helpful. Martin said he thinks the goo South underpass is the highest priority for him. He said it wouldn't hurt to get in touch with their legislator and let them know members appreciate them allocating this money to this. Motion: Martin Cuma motioned to adjourn the meeting; Pat Casey seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:29 P.M. Meeting Chat 17:18:33 Troy Saltiel https://udotinput.utah.gov/7ooeastimproved#o 17:23:32 Patrick Casey Appreciate that for sure - thanks! https://www.slc.gov/transportation/neighborhood- 17:33:50 Martin Cuma b a s 17:37:21 Laura Lewis What is the general length of a byway? boo E north of goo S is a bit confusing - it's considered a byway on some documents but not others. It feels disjointed, with door-tight bike lanes near 400 S but sharrows elsewhere. Would the byways team be receptive of a CIP to calm that 400 S area, from the Central City Community Council? North/south bike routes are lacking 17:38:36 Troy Saltiel in this area. I was just noticing that pavement on Boo E last 17:46:28 Roolf, Becka time I was over there. Thank you for the reminder. Boo E (again north of goo S) has some uncontrolled intersections that are scary to cross by bike, visibility and speeds of cross traffic 17:48:01 Troy Saltiel make it difficult to judge if it's safe to cross https://maps.slcgov.com/mws/pavementcondition. 17:48:32 Martin Cuma htm You can also report Street Curb conditions on the menued potholes or street conditions on the Wooldridge, SLC Mobile App. Those citizen reports get directed 17:49:53 Steve to the correct department. https:llv,,rww.slc.gov/mystreet/2023/03/29/ 17:50:23 Becker, William surface-treatments/ Page 5 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes Wooldridge, 17:5O:44 Steve "the" SLC Mobile App. https:llv,,Tww.slc.gov/mystreet/2023/03/29/ 17:51:04 Becker, William reconstructions/ Similar to Laura Lewis' question. We tried to 17:53:45 Roolf, Becka put together as long of a run as we could! Thanks, eveyone. https://www.slc.gov/ 18:01:44 Becker, William transportation/neighborhood-hyways/ I Matthew 8:27:08 morriss he/him Yes E-W connectivity! Sarah Johnson 18:27:5O D5 I end that, Matthew! Matthew 18:28:06 morriss he/him just wave a magic wand and wish the long trains away 18:28:36 Roolf, Becka Some of the long trains are going away! There's a rail project that will resolve some of the 18:28:54 Roolf, Becka trains crossing goo West/ l000 West. Matthew 18:29:24 morriss he/him Also an update on major train crossings Matthew https://www.sltrih.com/news/2O23/O7105/ 18:29:25 morriss he/him time-is-coming-when-slc-commuters/ Approved by the Bicycle Advisory Committee og-18-23. Page 6 of 6 BAC 07-17-2023 Minutes