City of Urbana Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory met March 16

By Philip Gonzales

Jun 2, 2021

City of Urbana Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory met March 16.

Here is the minutes provided by the commission:

1. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND DECLARATION OF QUORUM Bill Brown called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. Roll call was taken. A quorum was present. *Chair Bill Brown was physically present at the meeting location, 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801.

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

An update to “Slow Streets” was added to the agenda under unfinished business item number 2. Susan Jones moved to approve the agenda as amended.

Kara Dudek seconded the motion.

Roll was taken on the motion to approve the agenda with the omission the annual report draft segment. The motion was approved.

Annie Adams joined the meeting after the role was taken.

Brown-Aye Beranek-Aye Dudek-Aye Hoyle-Aye Jones-Aye Ishii-Aye

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING

A grammatical error was noted and requested to be changed in the first sentence under Bike Month/ Bike to School Day.

Susan Jones moved to approve the minutes as amended.

Audrey Ishii seconded the motion.

Roll was taken on the motion to approve the minutes from the January 28, 2021 meeting. The motion was approved.

Brown-Aye Adams-Aye Beranek-Aye Dudek-Aye Hoyle-Aye Jones-Aye Ishii-Aye

4. PUBLIC INPUT

None

5. NEW BUSINESS

a. Speed Limit Changes

Bill Brown shared with the commission a presentation on what methods are often used to change speed limits in a specific area. Urbana City Code refers to two different schedules for streets where limits are raised and lowered.

Information on methods of setting speed limits was provided by the National Highway Safety Administration. The following four approaches were shared: engineering approach, expert system approach, optimization, and the safe system approach.

Commission Member commented, “The main issue with the system that we use for city speed limits is using the 85th 5 percentile speed. This is because the speed at which people go is based on the design speed of the roadway. Some of the roads were designed with a very high design speed, like Windsor road for example. So, if you post a lower speed limit sign, the chances of people actually lowering their speed are very unlikely”

Nancy Westcott joined the meeting.

Discussion followed.

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a. Vision Zero Update

Cynthia Hoyle shared a slideshow that presented the next steps for the Vision Zero effort. Also included in the presentation were current statistics of individuals who are most at risk of being struck by a vehicle in the roadway.

The strategies shared for moving forward with Vision Zero included the following: building and sustaining leadership, collaboration, collecting data, prioritizing equity and community engagement, managing speed to safe levels, and setting a timeline to achieve zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Hoyle shared a list of essential members that would be encouraged to join the Vision Zero steering committee and included the following: Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, City of Urbana, public health, MTD, Urbana School District, and University of Illinois representatives.

The proposed action plan schedule was included in the presentation and shared a general timeline of when the Vision Zero taskforce anticipated moving through each phase of this action plan. This timeline started in April 2021 with forming the task force through the anticipated action plan council approval in May 2022.

Audrey Ishii shared additional slides for the presentation that covered the communication goal and campaign for educating the community on what the Vision Zero effort is and why it is needed. This included a press kit which is planned to be rolled out in conjunction with a Mayoral proclamation event and Vision Zero task force announcement

Discussion followed.

b. Slow Streets Update

Annie Adams shared that the survey that has been released to the community through various channels has received very positive feedback thus far.

Suggestions were made for additional platforms, such as Next door and neighborhood association social media groups, where the slow street survey information could be shared.

Annie Adams shared a photo of how Downtown Champaign is utilizing segments of roadway for outdoor dining. Discussion Followed.

Adams shared a photo of Fish Alley in Urbana and expressed interest in making this a shared space for outdoor dining. Discussion Followed.

7. ANNOUNCEMENTS

a. Bike to School day on MAY 5TH

b. The Bicycling 123 class will be offered on May 8th

c. Mother’s Day bike ride scheduled for May 9th

d. Ride of Silence scheduled for May 19th

e. Southern Route bike ride scheduled for May 22nd

8. FUTURE TOPICS

a. Bicycle Friendly Community Report Card

b. Slow Street Survey Results

c. Orchard Downs Traffic Garden