City of Urbana Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission met Dec. 21.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
Members Present: Bill Brown (Chair), Annie Adams, Shannon Beranek, Kara Dudek, Cynthia Hoyle, Audrey Ishii, Susan Jones, Jeff Marino, Nancy Westcott
Late Arrival: None
Staff Present: Katherine ‘Kat’ Trotter, John Zeman, Lorri Brooks
Others Present: Jenna Quintana, Mariah Webb, Ruchira Rao, Sara Pearson, Sarah Chahine
Members Absent: Sarthak Prasad
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 was present.
2. ADDITIONS TO AGENDA
There were no additions to the agenda.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING (NOVEMBER)
Audrey Ishii recommended a change to page 2, line 36 to reflect that the Urbana School District could use all of the bicycle racks except for five. Susan Jones moved to approve the October meeting minutes as amended.
Jeff Marino seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken.
Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion carried.
4. PUBLIC INPUT
There was no public input.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill Brown stated that some items were discussed at previous BPAC meetings, but the Commission did not consider the items as motions. He wanted to bring those items up for discussion and possible approval to officially show in the annual report that the items were or were not supported by BPAC.
a. Increase Support Staff for BPAC
Cynthia Hoyle said that by ordinance a staff member from Public Works Department was already a voting member of BPAC, but said that support staff had been provided by the Community Development Department. She said that other City commissions had dedicated staff support.
Shannon Beranek said that during previous discussions it was emphasized that there would not be any additional staff support provided for the commission nor were there available funds for staffing increases.
Cynthia Hoyle moved to request an increase in staff support for BPAC to support BPAC’s work to create a safe bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, which was important for a healthy, vibrant, and equitable community.
Susan Jones seconded the motion.
Jeff Marino wanted to clarify that this motion would go to City Council and be incorporated into their City Council goals.
Bill Brown said that the motion was a recommendation to the City Council and would not automatically become a City Council goal. He added that the City Council would have to approve it and budget for it. Shannon Beranek said there were several vacancies within the City and not sufficient funds for additional staff members for commission assignments. She noted that current staff members were trying to fill in where possible. She explained that adding more money to the budget would not allow more time for staff to complete additional tasks. Cynthia Hoyle stated that it was not BPAC’s job to determine how to carry out BPAC recommendations—that was the job of the City Council. She said that BPAC’s goal was to make the recommendations they thought were necessary to indicate what BPAC needed.
Audrey Ishii said it was important to have the recommendation on record every year if necessary. She mentioned that there have been staff members from the Planning Division who have assisted with BPAC in the past, but felt that leadership had removed the help as the commission had become relatively activist.
A roll call vote was taken.
Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- No; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion carried.
b. Prioritize Multi-Jurisdictional Projects for ITEP Applications
Discussion followed. It was mentioned that ITEP grants were awarded to areas with underserved populations. The Commissioners recommended that staff be more strategic when preparing these applications.
Shannon Beranek mentioned that the funding and availability of personnel to prepare the applications determine when the applications can be prepared and where the location of the project would be.
Cynthia Hoyle stated that the two interns could review funding sources for recommended improvements suggested in the Bicycle Master Plan and Pedestrian Master Plan.
BPAC members removed this as a recommendation to Council.
c. Increase Annual Budget for Sidewalk and Path Maintenance
Cynthia Hoyle moved to increase the annual budget for sidewalk and path maintenance from $120,000 to $250,000 and to establish an improvement plan based on sidewalk conditions and gaps with more public input included in the decision making process. She stated that the $250,000 would be 50% of the amount identified in the Capital Improvement Plan as necessary for a sustainable sidewalk maintenance plan.
Shannon Beranek said that annual costs had been identified in the sidewalk inventory recently prepared by the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission and would soon be identified by the Equity and Quality of Life Project. She mentioned that funds were included in the Capital Improvement Plan to implement the plan. Shannon cautioned about a plan that was based upon public input. She said that where to make improvements should be based upon need and not upon the most vocal group requesting improvements since underserved areas may not have representation. Cynthia Hoyle revised her motion to increase the annual budget for sidewalk and path maintenance from $120,000 to $250,000 and to establish an improvement plan based on sidewalk conditions and gaps. Susan Jones seconded the motion.
A roll vote was taken.
8 Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion carried.
d. Evaluate Crosswalk at Washington Street and Race Street and Consider Painted-Out Triangular Crosswalk
Bill Brown moved to request that Traffic Commission evaluate the crosswalk visibility at the corner of Washington Street and Race Street based upon the presentation given at the September 21, 2021 BPAC meeting. Susan Jones seconded the motion.
Annie Adams suggested a mural be painted at the intersection.
Shannon Beranek said that engineering staff had already reviewed the intersection and found current configuration complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other standards the City was required to use.
Jeff Marino said that it was still important to have BPAC’s vote on record to support Bill Brown’s recommendation.
Shannon Beranek stated that a letter had been sent to Bill Brown that outlined why his recommendation were not approved.
Bill Brown said that he would share the letter with the Commission when he received it.
A roll call vote was taken.
Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Abstained; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion was approved.
e. 2021 Annual Report
Bill Brown said that there was nothing to discuss about the 2021 Annual Report at this time.
6. REPORTS OF CITY OFFICIALS AND STAFF AND REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
Shannon Beranek shared with the Commissioners that John Zeman, Urbana City Engineer, would be representing the City on BPAC.
Cynthia Hoyle said that a Vision Zero flyer was prepared to push out the program to the public.
(https://peopleforsafestreets.weebly.com/) She said that the Snow Angels program had purchased snow shovels, hats, and gloves for anyone who wanted to volunteer to help remove snow from sidewalks this winter. She said that information about the program could be found at: http://www.cu‐srtsproject.com/snow‐removal.html.
Bill Brown questioned the re-installation of rumble strips on Windsor Road as part of the upcoming City project on the road. He felt that the rumble strips were inconvenient when making left turns on Windsor Road. He mentioned that Public Works had additional roadwork planned for the upcoming year.
Cynthia Hoyle noted that the problems with rumble strips interfering with changing lanes can be addressed by removing the strips at appropriate distances from intersections to allow the lane change before the lane change before the turn.
Shannon Beranek further discussed the roadwork mentioned by Bill Brown. She stated that the consultants working on those projects (Windsor Road, Colorado Avenue, Anderson Street and Philo Road) had received copies of the Urbana Bicycle Master Plan and the Urbana Pedestrian Master Plan with guidance to incorporate aspects of those plans into the designs for the improvements on those roadways.
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. 2022 Meeting Calendar
Audrey Ishii moved to approve the 2022 Meeting Calendar. Susan Jones seconded the motion.
A roll call vote was taken.
Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion was approved.
b. Improving Bus Stops Near Bike Lanes—Cynthia Hoyle
Cynthia Hoyle reviewed the operation of bus stops near bike lanes on Green Street with Nancy Westcott. They made the following recommendations: (1) There was a lack of contrast between the pavement where the bike lanes were and the sidewalks on the University of Illinois part of the MCORE project; add green paint to the bike path next to the Illini Union and the Transit Plaza bus stops and add a white line to the bike path next to the Transit Plaza bus stop on the east side.. (2) There were no truncated domes on the south side of the bus stop near the Illini Union; add truncated domes to the bus stop on Green Street in front of the Illini Union on the south side. (3) The audio sounds for the signals were different for different traffic signals—the lack of a consistent sound made it difficult to discern what the signal was indicating; standardize audio announcement at the signalized intersections for both cities, the University of Illinois, and IDOT signalized locations. And (4) A webpage should be created with information for those with impairments that include information for both cities, University of Illinois, and Mass Transit District.
Nancy Westcott said there was no assistance found on the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District’s website for persons with visual impairments. She expressed concern that the busses did not announce their locations when they approached the bus stops. She said it would be helpful to have the phone number for Urbana Public Works on the signal so they could be notified when the audible signals were not working.
Cynthia Hoyle recommended presenting these concerns to the Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study (CUUATS) group on behalf of BPAC.
Susan Jones moved to ask Cynthia Hoyle and Nancy Westcott present these concerns to CUUATS on behalf of BPAC. Jeff Marino seconded the motion.
A roll call vote was taken.
Brown -- Aye; Adams -- Aye; Beranek -- Aye; Dudek – Aye; Hoyle -- Aye; Ishii – Aye; Jones – Aye; Marino – Aye; Westcott -- Aye.
The motion was approved.
c. Bicycle Traffic Garden Proposal—UI Community Health Students
Two student groups from the University of Illinois Community Health program presented ideas for bicycle traffic garden projects. One group presented ideas for Meadowbrook Park; the other group presented ideas for King Park. Both presentations discussed proposals for the installation of areas where bicycle safety could be practiced primarily for students between kindergarten and grade 12.
BPAC Commissioners thanked the groups for their presentations.
d. Bicycle Parking—Katherine Trotter
Kat Trotter presented a memo to the BPAC Commission in response to questions about bicycle parking requirements for businesses and apartment complexes.
Jeff Marino asked when the current language was adopted.
Kat Trotter stated that the current language was adopted prior to 2016. Jeff Marino suggested that any changes to the bicycle parking language should go to BPAC before going to the Plan Commission. He asked if the City should have the right to demand maintenance of bicycle parking facilities that did not meet the current standards.
Kat Trotter agreed that BPAC should be involved with any future changes made in bicycle parking requirements under the Zoning Ordinance.
Cynthia Hoyle asked if this topic could be discussed at a future meeting.
The Recording Secretary reminded the Commission that the bylaws stated the meeting was not to go beyond 9:00 p.m. or two-hours and that the time was 9:04 p.m.
8. ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were no announcements.
9. FUTURE TOPICS
Bicycle Parking in Urbana.
10. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:04 p.m.
http://urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/December%2021%202021%20BPAC%20Regular%20Meeting%20Minutes%20-%20Approved.pdf
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