Chambana Sun

City of Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee met December 19.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

1. Call To Order, Roll Call, And Declaration Of Quorum

Bill Brown called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call was taken. It was noted that a quorum of members was present.

2. Approval Of Agenda

The agenda was presented for approval. Cynthia Hoyle moved to approve; Jeff Marino seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

3. Approval Of Mintues From Previous Meeting

The minutes from the October 10, 2017 special meeting were presented for approval. Audrey Ishii moved to approve the minutes; Susan Jones seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

4. Public Input

There was no public input.

5. Unfinished Business

There was no unfinished business.

6. New Business

a. Dockless Bike Sharing – Kevin Garcia

Kevin Garcia presented on the idea of dockless bike sharing for the City and the benefits versus a docked system. He gave some background on the history of the system, which started in Amsterdam and was now in a fourth generation model. Currently, cities such as Seattle, Washington D.C. and South Bend have implemented the dockless bicycle system. Mr. Garcia stated that cities that are using the docked system with companies such as Velo and Divvy have had success, however some drawbacks include expensive docking systems, demand must be predicted, there must be a heavy public dollar commitment, there can be equity issues and the startup would be expensive. Mr. Garcia discussed the 4th Generation Bike Sharing called the dockless bicycle system, which had been presented to the City, City of Champaign and the University of Illinois. He stated that the system includes smart technology located on a bicycle which would include a locking mechanism, GPS unit and solar panel for charging electrical components on the bicycle. The benefits they have found would be that the bicycle could be parked anywhere, no public money would be needed, there would be a potential for equity and a smart phone may or may not be needed for use. However, some potential concerns would be bicycles being parked in unwanted locations and whether they would need to use a regulated system. He explained that cities that are already using the system such as Seattle, Washington D.C. and South Bend had implemented a regulatory approach and had only positive reviews from those cities.

Kevin Garcia asked for input from the Commission on whether they felt the system should take the regulatory approach or not. The Commission discussed the amount of local staff that would be present, how redistribution of bicycles would be handled and how many operators would be considered. The Commission discussed the possibility of having an evaluation of the system in 6 months or 1 year to be added to the requirements. The Commission discussed issues regarding oversaturation and lack of bicycle parking.

Cynthia Hoyle suggested providing a report to the Commission regarding bicycle share in this country and other countries. She stated that the abandoned bicycles could result from companies going bankrupt. She added that the current models being shown may not be sustainable. She believes that bonding would be important to provide the financial backing in the long run, rather than the funding that would be provided for the start. She added that maintenance should be required by the operators. Also regarding parking, Ms. Hoyle stated that it would need to be addressed because the bicycles are not locked up. She suggested painting rectangular areas designated to park the bicycles. Another suggestion by Ms. Hoyle would be adding incentives to address the rebalancing of bicycles.

Lily Wilcock stated that bike shelters have been implemented and may help in the bike sharing. She suggested not comparing the City to cities such as Amsterdam or Washington, D.C. that have larger populations, and give Urbana a different look. She stated that Ben Leroy with the City of Champaign studied the Lime Bike system in South Bend as a comparison to the UIUC campus. She also added that we look for alternative funding and include an education plan during implementation.

b. Vision Zero Network Overview – Audrey Ishii

Audrey Ishii gave an overview on the Vision Zero Network which she noted had been discussed in the past and incorporated in the Urbana Bicycle Master Plan. She added that they hope to incorporate same into the Urbana Pedestrian Master Plan. Ms. Ishii stated that the Vision Zero Network started in Sweden as part the safe systems design in Europe since 1994. She explained that it was a different approach to traffic fatalities and serious injuries. She gave the example of the airlines operating under the model for a long time, yet not has been adapted by the car industry. Ms. Ishii posed the question to the Commission on whether the City needs Vision Zero. In support, she provided traffic deaths data in Urbana from 2013. She pointed out that there have been 16 traffic deaths of which eight were pedestrians and one was a cyclist showing an average of 2.3 deaths/per an increase of 155%.

Audrey Ishii stated that Vision Zero had been endorsed by or compatible with the following initiatives which she provided a website which described each partnership: (http://pedbikeinfo.org/topics/visionzero.cfm:)

• Toward Zero Deaths – FHWA and AASHTO

• Road to Zero – NSC and USDOT

• Safe System Approach

• Safe Routes to School

• Walk Friendly Communities

• Urbana Bike Master Plan

Audrey Ishii stated that Chicago became the first city to adopt Vision Zero in 2012, followed by other cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, DC, Boston and others. Ms. Ishii stated that adoption by cities appears more achievable at the local level. Ms. Ishii believed the Vision Zero would be a benefit by supporting relaxed travel by visitors by slowing down traffic speed through the City.

Audrey Ishii stated that the requirements for becoming a Vision Zero community would include having the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries, the Mayor has to publicly and officially commit, a strategy and time frame would be in place (including being multi-modal) and key city departments are engaged.

Further discussion by the Commission suggested looking at the speed limits at the various accident locations. Ms. Ishii added that the traffic data came from the Champaign County Regional Plan Commission studies from 2013 about would be due an update soon. She also added that looking at the data, it did not include any vehicle speed information.

Charlie Smyth stated that he met with Sanford Hess to update the live data portal and that he was looking at the information to get speed information. Ms. Ishii added that her concern stems from the current design of University Avenue and the opportunity to have the speed limit reduced and the consideration for future development.

Bill Brown summarized going forward with Vision Zero that the Commission was still speaking with IDOT about the design on University Avenue, however they are far along in the process. He stated with the Pedestrian Plan that the Commission coordinate with other plans and city organizations to have a Vision Zero policy. The Commission asked whether the Urbana Pedestrian Plan and University Master Plan could be sent to IDOT for consideration. Craig Shonkwiler stated that IDOT already has the Urbana Bicycle Master Plan and they can request that they look at Urbana Pedestrian Plan.

c. Pedestrian/Bicycle Signage on Northeast Corner of University Avenue and Goodwin Avenue – Craig Shonkwiler

Craig Shonkwiler presented an update on the pedestrian and bicycle signage on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Goodwin Avenue during the Urbana Traffic Commission meeting. The issue in question had to deal with the entrance to a business at Durst Cycle located on Goodwin Avenue. He explained that a bicyclist riding on the sidewalk collided with the glass door entrance to the business when it was being opened and shattered the door. He pointed out that there was an 8 ft. bike route on the west side of Goodwin Avenue. The incident then was brought to the Urbana Traffic Commission who handle regulatory traffic signs and provide advisement on non-regulatory which may be implemented by the Public Works. The Commission recommended creating a dismount zone marking that would be placed on the sidewalk at both ends of the business entrance. This would be a non-regulatory implementation. The Commission also will install additional bike route signage.

Bill Brown asked about a curb cut 100 feet north of Clark Street. He asked if anything could be done at this location to encourage traffic to get off and onto the road at that location. Craig Shonkwiler stated that the City has requested bicycle detection at this location and they could then cross over to multi-use lanes.

d. Bicycle Riding on Central Business District Sidewalks – Craig Shonkwiler

Craig Shonkwiler stated that a business owner approached a city alderman about their concerns of bicycle riding on the sidewalks in the downtown area. It was determined by City staff that there was an ordinance in place regarding signs to walk bike or a fine will be given. Craig Shonkwiler that the city has no resources to do a count at that location. The Commission discussed installing dismount zones/signs, enforcement issues and mobility issues. They asked that a standard design be implemented and the topic be added to the wayfinding plan.

e. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission 2017 Annual Report

The Commission discussed creating a draft 2017 Annual Report and getting on the agenda at City Council early in the year.

f. 2018 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission Meeting Dates

Cynthia Hoyle moved to approve the meeting dates as amended; Lily Wilcock seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.

7. Announcements

• Benefits of Commuting by Bike Handout – outlining household usage, savings and a pollution-free mode of transport.

• MCORE – nearing winter shutdown

8. Future Topics

• MCORE Infrastructure (Public Education)

• Imbibe Urbana Update Summer Street Closures and Programming

• Urbana Pedestrian Master Plan

• KRT and Weaver Park Connectivity Study

• Urbana Wayfinding Plan

• Census Statistics

9. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:09 p.m.

https://www.urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/December%202017%20BPAC%20Regular%20Meeting%20Minutes%20-%20Approved.pdf