City of Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission met October 16

By Corazon L. Gonzales

Dec 30, 2018

City of Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission met October 16.

Here is the minutes as provided by the commission:

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. A quorum of members was present.

2. Approval of Agenda

Susan Jones moved to approve the agenda.

Craig Shonkwiler seconded the motion.

The agenda was approved.

3. Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting

The minutes from the September 18, 2018 meeting were presented. Ms. Hoyle asked for the following changes to the September minutes:

Page 2, paragraph 2—Change “She stated that the questions were not really within this body’s scope of action.” to “She stated that the questions did not fit into the agenda items.”

Page 2, paragraph 2—Change “She asked when the final sweeping would occur on City streets since she had observed substantial piles of the composite remaining on the road.” to “She asked when the final sweeping would occur on City streets since she had observed substantial piles of the composite remaining on streets like California.”

Page 4, paragraph 3—Change “Ms. Hoyle said that in another state where she worked, riding off a sidewalk was included as a category.” to “Ms. Hoyle said that in another state where she worked, law enforcement was looking at including a cyclist riding off a sidewalk into the crosswalk as a cause of a crash.”

Page 4, paragraph 3—Change “She said that if a certain action needed to be included, the State should be notified of that category.” to “She said that if a certain action needed to be included, the State should be notified of that.”

Page 5, paragraph 2—Change “Ms. Hoyle discussed her concern about a roundabout not being installed at Florida Avenue and Philo Road. She assumed that if the roundabout had been installed fewer pedestrian crashes would have occurred.” to “Ms. Hoyle discussed her concern about a roundabout not being installed Florida Avenue and Philo Road based on it being a location with a significant number of pedestrians crashes. She said that if the roundabout had been installed it was likely that fewer pedestrian crashes would have occurred.”

Page 5, paragraph 2—Change “She questioned if there were intersections within downtown Urbana where No Turn on Red restrictions should be reviewed. She asked how to find commute rates on the CCRPC website.” to “She questioned if there were intersections within downtown Urbana where No Turn on Red restrictions could be reviewed.”

Page 5, paragraph 8—Change “Ms. Hoyle said that bicyclists and pedestrian did not cause any vehicle damage.” to “Ms. Hoyle said that bicyclists and pedestrians did not cause any fatalities or serious injury crashes as compared to vehicles.”

Page 5, paragraph 12—Change “Ms. Hoyle said that her research found that the more people bicycling actually reduced the number of crashes. She then explained that those numbers were for one city during a cycling campaign.” to “Ms. Hoyle said that her research found that as more people bicycled it actually reduces the number of crashes. She said that the data she was recalling was from Portland.”

Page 7, 7. Announcements, second bullet—Change “As part of the database, people would be able to input crash data.” to “As part of the database, people will be able to input crash data, bicycle infrastructure, etc.”

Ms. Hoyle said that the changes were minor and did not need to be reviewed.

Susan Jones moved to approve the minutes as amended.

Leonardo Covis seconded the motion.

The Commission approved the minutes from the September meeting.

4. Public Input

It was announced that Morgan White, Associate Director at Facilities and Services at the University of Illinois, would be serving on BPAC as the proxy for Lily Wilcock as the University of Illinois representative since Ms. Wilcock had accepted a position as a City Planner for the City of Urbana. Ms. White said she would serve until a replacement was found for Ms. Wilcock.

Jessie Thomas, a student at the University of Illinois, discussed a concern about the gravel placed on Poplar Street last year outside his front door. He said that he contacted the Public Works Department and was assured that the gravel would eventually pack down into the street and the residual material would be swept up. He noted that following his initial annoyance, the gravel did pack down into the street and the residual material was swept off the street. He said that the street looked very good. He asked that Public Works encourage their crews to sweep the streets as soon as possible since the gravel tended to go to the edge of the roadway where many bicyclists travelled.

Bill Brown stated that one of the street sweepers had been broken so there was a delay in removing the remaining rock.

Ms. Hoyle said that Mr. Thomas should contact the Public Works Department to let them know about areas where excessive gravel was on the roadway.

Chair Brown said that the streets did look nice.

Craig Shonkwiler said that he was glad that the material on the street worked. He appreciated Mr. Thomas’s positive feedback.

Chair Brown relayed public input that was provided during the City of Urbana’s Committee of the Whole regarding the bike share program. He said that those providing input were concerned about the bicycles from the bike share program left where they should not be. He stated that Central Avenue and Anderson Street were two locations specifically noted where bicycles had been left. He said that the bikes could be parked anywhere a vehicle can park and that some were confused about where they could be parked. He added that Kevin Garcia was working on a Frequently Asked Questions list.

Ms. Hoyle stated that the bicycles could not park in front of a bus stop.

Annie Adams said that cars could not park in front of a bus stop.

Mr. Garcia said that he had prepared a Frequently Asked Questions list for the website that would explain how to handle concerns about bicycle parking.

Chair Brown asked if Mr. Garcia if the VeoRide, the bike share company, could display the instructions for parking the bikes on the basket of the bicycle.

Ms. Adams said that most bicycles in bike share programs she had seen had graphic instructions to show proper use of the bicycles.

5. Unfinished Business

a. Selected Crash Intersection Locations (SCIL) Report Follow-up

Mr. Shonkwiler discussed an e-mail from Harshala Sardar of Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) with responses to questions asked at the September BPAC meeting. He reviewed the responses and asked that the information be included with the minutes.

Ms. Hoyle noted that over a five-year period, there were 43 instances where motorists were driving straight ahead when involved in crashes with bicyclists or pedestrians. She asked if the bicyclists or pedestrians were rear-ended.

Mr. Brown said that it was difficult to tell the actions of the bicyclists or pedestrians since this part of the report provided the motorists’ prior actions.

Mr. Shonkwiler noted that this report format would no longer be used by CCRPC since they would be providing a regional safety report in the future. He said that the type of information in the new format would be more comprehensive, separate urban and rural information, provide information about selected corridors and treatments.

Chair Brown said that the 6.7% commuter rate from the American Community Survey (ACS) only counts those who commuted within two weeks at the time they responded to the survey. He said data was averaged over the year from all of the survey respondents.

Ms. Adams said that the commuter rate did not include those under 15 years of age and over 60 years of age since that group did not commute to work.

The responses were forwarded to the BPAC members and will be added to the minutes of this meeting.

6. New Business

a. Transportation Semantics – Kevin Garcia

This item was postponed until the November meeting.

b. Pedestrian Crossings in Downtown Urbana – Annie Adams

Ms. Adams observed that the most heavily used intersection in downtown Urbana was the intersection of Race Street and Main Street. She noted that when she crossed Main Street, she would use the mid-block crossing in front of Crane Alley (115 West Main Street) because she felt it was faster to cross at that location. Her main concern about the intersections in downtown Urbana was that pedestrians had to use beg buttons to cross the street. (Ms. Adams defined beg buttons as the pedestrian push buttons that pedestrians push to obtain a WALK signal for crossing the street.) She mentioned that beg buttons were also found at the intersection of Green Street and Lincoln Avenue. She felt the use of beg buttons was unfair to pedestrians since motorists and bicyclists were able to travel when the traffic signal turned green, but pedestrians had to wait until the WALK signal was visible. She noted that the City of Chicago pulled the push button technology from the intersections in their downtown area; she felt that the City of Urbana should also. She felt it was not fair to ask pedestrians to wait for 40 seconds before being able to cross the street. She pointed out that frequently pedestrians disobeyed the DON’T WALK sign because there were no vehicles crossing the intersection. She asked why pedestrians had to push a button to cross the street. She explained that pedestrians felt unwelcomed. She said that the buttons prioritized vehicles and seemed hostile to pedestrians. She recommended that the number of signals should be reduced since motorists did not pay attention to the signals. Also, she asked that the pedestrian crossings adopt the pedestrian scramble to encourage pedestrians to diagonally cross the street and avoid the two-stage crossing. She stated that the addition of a traffic circle would increase the perception of risk so motorists would slow down. (Ms. Adams showed a mock-up of a safety improvement suggestions for Washington at Cottage Grove with pedestrian bump-outs, crosswalks a “mini” traffic circle and on Cottage Grove: bike lanes, yellow paint down the middle of the street and a chicane/median in the middle of the street) She suggested that decreasing signal cycles would prioritize multimodal traffic. She recommended creating a "Green Wave” with traffic signal cycles and other road improvements, which would reduce traffic speeds for all road users to 15 MPH. She conceded that motorists might still speed to advance to the next signal, but she felt that the timing would not provide an incentive for speeding.

Nancy Westcott clarified that Ms. Adams was only referring to the section of downtown Urbana on Main Street between Broadway Avenue and Race Street. Ms. Westcott felt that the current signalization of the University Avenue and Vine Street and Main Street and Vine Street was critical to safety for pedestrians as they crossed those intersections. She said that she liked the signals on Main Street with the pedestrian push buttons on Main Street and Broadway Avenue and Main Street and Race Street. She expressed concern about the intersection of Cedar Street and Main Street, near Strawberry Fields, as a dangerous intersection for pedestrian crossings. She suggested considering a four-way stop at the intersection.

Ms. Hoyle would like to provide pedestrian priority during off-peak times. She added that pedestrians were ignoring the signals because there were no vehicles present. She said that it was entirely plausible to convert the signals to provide pedestrian priority during off-peak times, but the signals should remain as they were during peak periods. She felt the signals were necessary. Ms. Hoyle stated that the “No Turn on Red” restrictions formerly installed in downtown Urbana should be reviewed. She stated that there were visibility issues but that with the slow speed of vehicles in the area it might not be a problem.

Chair Brown stated there was a restriction in place on one leg at Race Street and Main Street. He said that the push button was good because it provided extra time for pedestrians to cross. He added that the intersection and signals were recently improved. He asked if there were criteria for the installation of a pedestrian scramble.

Mr. Shonkwiler said that the City of Urbana installed a pedestrian scramble at one intersection, Goodwin Avenue and Green Street, with the second highest number of pedestrians crossing in the urbanized area. (He said that the intersection of Green Street and Wright Street was the highest.) He explained that the consistent pedestrian demand was a threshold that warranted the installation of the pedestrian scramble.

Chair Brown asked if there were adaptable signals that could adjust to traffic.

Mr. Shonkwiler stated that the technology existed, but the costs were prohibitive. He pointed out that there were different timing plans that could be implemented. He mentioned that the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) had installed an adaptive signal on Neil Street, south of Windsor Road. He explained that the timing of the signals was a complicated balance. He said that when the bicycle lanes were added in downtown Urbana as part of a road diet, vehicle traffic was consolidated from two vehicle lanes in one direction to one vehicle lane so moving the same amount of traffic created timing issues. He stated that it was important to avoid traffic backups that would block the crosswalk on Main Street between Race Street and Broadway Avenue. He mentioned that the queuing would have created a serious safety issue for those using the crosswalk. He stipulated that the signals were warranted and that a four-way stop was not safe for those intersections. He explained that with the volume of traffic, motorists might become aggressive and run the stop signs.

Chair Brown said that he had witnessed aggressive behavior by motorists at the four-way stop located at Washington Street and Vine Street.

Ms. White asked if the WALK light could turn on with the green light during non-peak times.

Mr. Shonkwiler said that the intent of the push button was not to create a hostile environment. He noted that 95% of the users were operating vehicles. He explained that if the priority was shifted to the pedestrians, there would be backups of queuing vehicles creating a dangerous situation. As he mentioned before, two lanes for vehicular traffic were removed to add bicycle lanes, which reduced the number of lanes that could be used by vehicles. He stated that with limited staff, the study of the intersections was not a priority, but he would see if there were options that could be used during off-peak times at those intersections.

Kara Dudek mentioned that the City’s goal, as with many park district projects she’s a part of, is to provide safe, cost effective and easily maintained infrastructure. She added sometimes a new idea seems creative and viable, but the design is actually not practical, is hard to maintain or makes the environment less safe

c. Streets Closings for Pedestrian Events – Annie Adams

Ms. Adams discussed her experience growing up in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She explained how she and her 8 brothers and sisters, walked and biked to school, work and play—by themselves, starting in kindergarten. They lived 1 mile from most activities and were not afraid of vehicular violence. She mentioned how the community grew once development occurred in the downtown area of Waukesha resulting in the population growing from around 40,000 to 70,000. As part of the development, she told of the changes made to the downtown infrastructure (addition of bump-outs and the narrowing of traffic lanes so cars could only go forward and bike would have to follow behind them). She discussed the development of a weekly event held almost every Friday evening in the downtown area where streets were closed and artisans provided entertainment. Since people are attracted to people, her partner and she co-created an organization called "Imbibe Urbana” and started a destination activity called "Urbana First Fridays.” As part of the event, she said that requested the closure of Main Street between Broadway Avenue and Race Street. Ms. Adams stated that because of this event, people bought homes in Urbana. She added that the City of Urbana was not welcoming to the event and that it requires a lot of work from volunteers so that was why she was no longer doing it. She said that other continued with the event, but they encountered the same problems as she did. She mentioned other destination activities (Illinois Marathon—Urbana-Champaign, IL, Mardi Gras—New Orleans, LA, Bike the Drive—Chicago, IL). She expressed concern about the traffic plan for the Labor Day parade held in Urbana on September 3, 2018. She explained that she was so concerned about the street not being completely closed for the parade that she went home, put on a safety vest, returned to Washington Street, and stepped into the street to stop traffic. She continued until Public Works indicated that she did not need to stand in the street to stop traffic. She explained that she was frustrated that the City did not close the entire street. She then discussed plans for the next year where a bike parade could occur from 8 a.m.to 10 a.m. on the day of the Labor Day parade and the street could be closed from 8 a.m. until the Labor Day parade concluded. She suggested possible sponsors for the event. She expressed her disappointment that City of Urbana public workers told her the city could not afford to shut down the Labor Day parade route and it would cause people driving cars to become angry and drive violently. Ms. Adams then discussed a program that the State of North Carolina had that provided a non27 competitive 100-mile challenge. She explained that the website allowed people to log the distances they walked or biked. She said it was a good site that probably followed along a suggestion previously mentioned by Cynthia Hoyle. She also said that there were sponsors who help with the program. She then explained a program where people painted chairs and left them on the sidewalk. She said that if mothers and children used the chairs, other would begin using the space.

Ms. Jones said that the Illinois Marathon and Unofficial were the two destination events in the area. She said the City could be better than that.

Ms. White asked Ms. Adams to clarify that the National Father’s Day Bike Ride shown in her presentation was not held in Urbana.

Ms. Adams clarified that the photos in the slide were from an event she co-created in Chicago working with the City of Chicago, the local aldermen, Go Edgewater and various sponsors called National Bike Parade Day. The event also included historical walks, donated apples, coffee, prizes and other treats, a bike rodeo and live music.

Ms. White asked what event was happening in Urbana before the Labor Day parade that created a situation for the street to be closed.

Ms. Adams said that people were queuing up to watch the parade and sitting on the edge of the street while cars were driving by. She stated that the picture of bicyclists shown in her presentation was an example of what she was proposing with activities such as open streets, bicycling, walking, rolling, having barbeques, playing music on front porches—a community event.

Ms. White asked if the City did not have the resources to close the street how the parade was able to occur.

Ms. Adams described the process for closing the street temporarily while the parade passed by and opening the street once the parade had passed. She added that she thought the street could be closed at 8:00 a.m. to have an event and then the parade.

Ms. White explained that it was important to have a uniform method for closing street and if a bystander stood in front of cars, the drivers might be upset.

Chair Brown thought it would be a good idea to have an event prior to the Labor Day parade.

Ms. Hoyle explained that the first few years of the Illinois Marathon were difficult because motorists were not aware of the street closings. She said that law enforcement had to use at the intersections for traffic control, but she said that there was some return on the City’s investment with the economic boost brought to the community.

Ms. Adams said that one business said that they made over $5,000 on the First Friday.

Ms. Jones said that now most people know what routes would be closed during the Illinois Marathon.

Mr. Marino discussed the possibility of the Champaign Urbana Public Health District having grants or sponsors to help with the costs.

Mr. Brown suggested contacting the bike share company since they might want to promote their business.

Mr. Shonkwiler asked if Ms. Adams had contact the Public Works Director or the Mayor to voice her concern.

Ms. Adams stated that she had not.

Mr. Shonkwiler suggested that she talk to them and perhaps they would be able to identify costs to closing City streets. He said that planning an event requires a great deal of planning.

Chair Brown said that the Illinois Marathon did reimburse the City for some of its costs.

d. Results of Speed Reduction on Lincoln Avenue between Pennsylvania Avenue and Nevada

Avenue – Craig Shonkwiler

Mr. Shonkwiler discussed actions taken along the Lincoln Avenue corridor between Pennsylvania Avenue and Nevada Avenue over the past two years. He said that City staff noticed additional crashes were occurring when looking at crash information, some of which involved severe or fatal injuries. He said that the corridor had a high number of pedestrians crossing on a regular basis. In October 2016, he assigned a speed study for that location. After analyzing the study, Mr. Shonkwiler recommended to the Urbana Traffic Commission the following action:

Long-term

o Installation of curb bump-outs at selected intersections to decrease the crossing times for pedestrians.

Short-term

o Installation of flashing advanced pedestrian crossing warning signs.

o Reduction of the speed limit on Lincoln Avenue from Pennsylvania Avenue to Nevada Avenue from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour

He explained that the long-term action would require the pursuit of transportation grants, but the short-term actions were approved by the Urbana Traffic Commission. He further explained that following City Council’s approval of the reduced speed limit, speed limit signage was installed in August. He added that another speed study was conducted in September 2018 to determine the influence the reduced speed limit had on traffic speeds. He added that there were two 25-miles-per hour speed limit signs installed on each side of the corridor.

Ms. Adams said that she attended many of the meetings held to discuss the reduction of the speed limit and was shocked by the number of people opposed to the lower of the speed limit.

Mr. Shonkwiler shared the results of the two studies.

Oct-16 Posted Speed Limit 30 miles per hour

50% 85% MAX % Exceeding 10 mph Pace ADT

Southbound 24.3 29.3 46.2 11.2 21-31 8852

Northbound 29.1 32.9 47 41.1 24-34 8791

Sep-18 Posted Speed Limit 25 miles per hour

Southbound 23.2 28.4 52.5 41.2 19-29 8556

Northbound 28 32.4 45.7 84.9 24-34 8705

Difference -1.1 -0.9 6.3 30 -2-(-2) -296

-0.5 -0.5 -1.3 43.8 0-0 -86

Ms. White asked if the conditions for both studies were comparable.

Mr. Shonkwiler indicated that both studies were completed at approximately the same time of year and on the same day of the week. He stated that usually the maximum speed dropped when the speed limit was reduced. He said that he would expect a reduction of three to five miles per hour in a situation similar to this, but the maximum speed had not dropped following the reduction of the speed limit.

Ms. Hoyle suggested assigning law enforcement to the area, especially at the crosswalks, for periodic enforcement.

Mr. Shonkwiler said that he would the information to the Urbana Traffic Commission to request Strategic Traffic Enforcement Program or speed feedback trailer be assigned to the area. He noted that currently the trailer was on Mumford Drive to remind motorists of the posted speed limit. He continued by saying that many times motorists may not notice signs since there were various distractions along the roadway vying for their attention. He said that the speed feedback signs were helpful reminders. He felt it was important to make motorists aware of the reduction.

Chair Brown commented that the speeds for northbound traffic were faster. He asked if there was thought about reducing the speed limit on Lincoln Avenue to the south of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Mr. Shonkwiler said that he had heard mention that there might be a speed reduction on Lincoln Avenue near the Veterinary Medicine Building. He explained the University of Illinois had jurisdiction over Lincoln Avenue south of Florida Avenue.

Ms. White asked if the City considered installing Reduced Speed Ahead signage.

Mr. Shonkwiler stated the signage was typically installed when the reduction in speed was at least ten or more miles per hour. He noted the speed reduction was only five miles per hour.

Ms. White asked if BPAC could make a request for traffic enforcement.

Mr. Shonkwiler stated the Traffic Commission made those recommendations.

Mr. Marino asked what the lane width of the Lincoln Avenue was.

Ms. Hoyle stated that the lane was 11 feet across. She added that the Mass Transit District requested the 11-foot width so busses could safely pass each other in a congested area of the community.

Mr. Shonkwiler reviewed plans for the improvement of the corridor that he had presented to BPAC earlier in the year. He noted there were plans to apply for funds from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to install bump-outs that would provide constrict points and slow traffic. He explained that because the State had difficulty in the past with agencies receiving funds and not closing their projects in a timely manner, the State now required studies and environmental clearance be completed before considering grant applications. He said the change created a situation where funding of projects had to be rearranged so if the project was approved, the City would need to provide funding within a short time period. He commented that it would impact the ability to do projects. Mr. Shonkwiler said that another solution that would improve awareness of different transportation modes on Lincoln Avenue was the installation of flashing pedestrian crossing warning signs. He confirmed that the signs had been purchased and when received, would be installed at each end of the corridor. He said that pedestrian counts would be taken to determine the peak hours for pedestrians crossing so the lights could be adjusted to flash during those times. He informed the Commission of the need to address the intersection of Race Street and Florida Avenue to make safety improvements.

Mr. Covis asked if pedestrians would have to use a push button to activate the lights.

Mr. Shonkwiler said that because the advanced pedestrian crossing warning lights would cover an area with four pedestrian crossings, the lights would flash continuously during the peak hours. He said that push buttons for pedestrian crossings would be added at intersections once bump-outs were installed.

Chair Brown asked if the proposed striping for bicycles on Iowa Street would be included in the project.

Mr. Shonkwiler stated signage was modified at Iowa Street to include some pedestrian and bike warning signs since Iowa Street was a bike route.

Ms. Jones stated that signage alone would not change behavior. She said there had to be conditions and perception of risk to create change. She asked if an illusion of a bump-out could be done.

Mr. Shonkwiler said a project was underway at the northwest corner of Mathews Avenue and Nevada Street where a bump-out was striped on the street and signs were moved out to the end of the bump-out. He said the City worked with the University of Illinois when the U of I was doing sidewalk improvements near the African American Cultural Center. He said that a physical bump-out was added to the northeast corner. He explained that the northwest corner would be a pilot to see how well the painted bump-out worked to increase driver awareness.

Ms. Jones moved to forward the results of the speed reduction study to the Traffic Commission to find ways to slow traffic on Lincoln Avenue between Pennsylvania Avenue and Nevada Street.

Mr. Marino seconded the motion.

Mr. Shonkwiler abstained.

The motion was approved.

7. Announcements

 Cynthia Hoyle shared that the dockless bike share program was withdrawn from several large cities such as Washington, D.C. because of the popularity of electric scooters and e-bikes.

 Kevin Garcia said the bikes from the dockless bike share company in Urbana had been frequently used.

 Morgan White reported that there had been 45, 000 dockless bike rentals on campus; typically 8 rides per bike per day, and the number of different users at just under 8,000.

 Morgan White informed the Commission of the Campus Sustainability Celebration would be held on October 25, 2018 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Illini Union, Room 314.

8. Future Topics

a. Transportation Semantics – Kevin Garcia (November)

b. Statistics about Dockless Bike Share Usage – Kevin Garcia (November)

c. Expansion of Sidewalk Snow Removal area in Downtown Urbana

d. Requirements for the Installation of Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities when Subdivisions are Proposed

e. Vision Zero – Audrey Ishii (November)

f. Bicycle Wayfinding Plan – Regional Plan Commission

g. Pedestrian Master Plan – Regional Plan Commission

h. Equity and Education – Audrey Ishii

i. Bike Parking – Annie Adams

9. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.