Burlington Walk-Bike Council

AGENDA - Burlington Walk / Bike Council May 4, 2022, Wednesday 6:00 – 7:00 pm MEETING OPTIONS: 1. In-person - DPW conference room at 645 Pine Street, Burlington 2. Virtually - using Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88225473951?pwd=YzFFQ1Q3Y3J4bzcwR2VNYWRFWnhtUT09 Passcode: 091788 (See other remote access options below) AGENDA: 1. Introductions, Announcements, Updates and Public Comments (10 min) 2. 2017 Walk Bike Plan - Status Report (45 min) Last month the interns working on the 5-Year Status Report for Burlington’s Plan BTV Walk Bike presented a quick overview of their findings. Since then, with input from BWBC members they have delved deeper and will present a more detailed picture of what has been accomplished. We will also delve into the gaps in the metrics needed to evaluate progress. 3. Thank you to Nicole Losch (5 min) Nicole, senior planner at the Department of Public Works will be moving to another position in city government after 16 years of working to make Burlington a more bike/walk-friendly place. Please join us after the meeting at 7:00 PM for some refreshments, celebrate Nicole’s accomplishments, and visit together in-person. Previous Meeting – At the meeting on April 6 a brief overview of the draft status report for Walk Bike Plan was presented and the consultant for the Queen City Park Road/Austin Drive Bike and Pedestrian Scoping Study presented their alternatives and obtained feedback. . Next Month: BWBC Meets Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00 pm The BWBC is an all-volunteer advisory council to the City of Burlington. We work closely with and advise the Department of Public Works and the Department of Parks, Recreation, & Waterfront on infrastructure improvements and policy changes for walking and bicycling. The council also leads advocacy efforts and organizes events and activities that promote and celebrate walking and biking in Burlington and beyond. See www.burlingtonwalkbike.org (under construction) and BWBC Minutes and Agendas . BWBC Community Liaisons Erik Brown Brotz*, Ward 5, erik@burlingtontelecom.net, Chair Greg Hostetler, Ward 2 Faith Ingulsrud*, Ward 6 Peter Keating, Ward 6 Justine Sears, Ward 3 Karen Sentoff, Ward 4 Jason Stuffle*, Ward 1 Kerry Swift, Ward 4 Allegra Williams, Ward 3 * = BWBC Coordinating Committee Remote access options for non-ZOOM participation: Phone one-tap : US: +13017158592,,88225473951#,,,,,,0#,,091788# or 13126266799,,88225473951#,,,,,,0#,,091788#. Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 Webinar ID: 882 2547 3951 Passcode: 091788. International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdoOfuotqF  Burlington Walk Bike Council (BWBC) May 4, 2022 Mee ng Notes The Monthly Meeting took place 6:00- 7:00 pm via Zoom and at DPW Office. In-Person Attendees: Erik Brotz (Chair and Ward 5), Jason Stuffle (Ward 1), Faith Ingulsrud (Ward 6), Victoria Peguri and Jack Evans (UVM interns), Karen Sentoff (Ward 4), Jonathan Weber (Local Motion), and Nicole Losch (DPW). Online Attendees: Serrill Flash, Greg Hostetler (Ward 2), Elizabeth Ross (DPW), Ali Hamedani, Jason Segelman, perhaps others (our apologies for not capturing everyone’s names) 1. Introductions, Announcements and Public Comments Erik Brotz opened the meeting noting this was the first time in over 2 years that a majority of participants were meeting in-person. Peter Keating passed along the meeting date of the final Advisory Committee meeting for the Queen City Park Road/Austin Drive Bicycle and Pedestrian Connections Scoping Study: Thursday May 12 at 7PM. Nicole was asked about the poor quality of the markings being painted on streets the past week. Paint isn’t sticking, and they don’t appear to be sweeping before applying the paint. Nicole said that painting is occurring earlier than prior years and the cooler temperatures may prevent the paint from drying properly. There is on contractor doing all the painting and she will check in with them. 2. 2017 Walk Bike Plan - Status Report Victoria and Jack, UVM interns working for BWBC and Local Motion respectively, presented their findings on the progress made to date on the 2017 Plan BTV Walk Bike, focussing on the status of the engineering recommendations. Since providing an overview of the draft report at the April meeting, the interns and the Coordinating Committee have examined the data in more detail and refined the analysis and findings. A copy of the presentation and maps can be found here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/bwbc. Participants broader comments included: ● Appreciation for the analysis ● Recognition of all that has been accomplished in the past five years ● Further progress on protected lanes on North Ave was tabled but there has been significant turnover in the population and it’s time to initiate action again. ● A PlanBTV New North End study is in the works ● Can the temporary bike lane on Battery St. be made permanent even after Greenway is completed?  RESPONSE: Battery Street scoping study is due to begin in July. A permanent lane would involve permanent removal of parking - that will be a challenge, although the temporary lanes have shown those businesses that onstreet parking isn’t essential. On New Sidewalks: ● There are long stretches of sidewalks needed in the New North End and short stretches needed in dangerous locations elsewhere such as Archibald St., Kilburne and Park Place. ● We shouldn’t focus on adding sidewalks to neighborhoods with low traffic and density On Metrics: ● Progress towards the goal of 500 new bike parking spots is hard to measure - we need to undertake a city-wide inventory ● Quantity of bike parking doesn’t recognize the need for quality - especially recognizing bike parking that can accommodate cargo bikes, trailers and e-bikes. ● We can mark the high-capacity bike parking station metric as complete as UVM has installed one ● We need a requirement for when high volume bike parking ● On Safety statistics there is discrepancy between the crash data from the city police department and the state. This needs to be investigated to understand why there are fewer crashes indicated by the city. ● On Mode Share national data only provides data on commuters and that is not sufficient. ○ CCRPC and and the Transportation Research Center are working on a new method for counting bicycle trips ○ Only other data source is CATMA’s annual survey of commuters at UVM, Med Center and Champlain College - again, only commuters ○ State tax on Vehicle Miles Traveled - if it is implemented could help with mode share data ○ Apps like STRAVA tracks users and can help show changes over time ○ E-bikeshare use can be used with a heat map presentation showing usage numbers - this will signal the corridors that are most in use by bikes ○ Collect data on sound/noise to determine traffic volumes - e.g. South Winooski lane reduction resulted in reduced noise. ● How to evaluate and demonstrate safety improvements from traffic calming? Need to have good data collection for specific projects, like Colchester Ave. Next Steps: ● Communicate general findings and determine what we are going to do about gaps ● Present Status Report to Public Works Commission and City Council ● Discuss how we want to direct resources going forward - priorities based on short-comings 3. Thank you to Nicole Participants thanked Nicole for her 16 years of service to improve walking and biking in Burlington. Nicole is taking another position within city government as Director of Grants. Erik thanked participants and ended the meeting at 7:05, after which in-person participants enjoyed an informal reception with Nicole. PlanBTV Walk/Bike 5-Year Progress Report Update Outline Our comprehensive action plan to improve safety and access to walkable and bikeable areas is laid out in the Plan BTV Walk Bike Plan. The plan has over 137 potential projects to be achieved over a fifteen-year period. These projects have many focuses, including intersections, bike lanes, crosswalks, pedestrian improvements, traffic calming, and shared use paths. 2021 marks five years since this plan was set into place in 2017, and this report is highlighting the progress made since initiation. Progress is observed through maps, graphs, and notes, identifying areas where goals have been met within the timeframe, and where there have been some delays. With this report, we hope to celebrate positive change and the goals we have achieved, while also highlighting geographic areas of deficient improvement. Moving forward, we hope to use this report as a baseline to influence further improvement, ensuring that Burlington can grow into a city where walking and biking is not only accessible, but is enjoyable for everyone. 2 Notable Takeaways Though completion is slow, most projects are in planning or in progress “Low-Hanging Fruit” projects? Distinct lack of protected bike lanes Otherwise many miles of improved bike lanes and increased connectivity Notable lack of progress on bike parking 3 Engineering Metrics Engineering Metrics 1. Engineer and design city streets to self-enforce appropriate target speeds - All crashes resulting in serious injury reduced by 50% by 2021 & 100% by 2026 2. Improve safety at all 20 priority intersections - Improve 20 priority intersections by 2026 at a rate of 2 per year 3. Provide a connected network of sidewalks and safe intersections - Implement 3.4 new miles of sidewalk, 500ft crosswalk frequency, and 20.5% modal increase in walking by 2021 & 22% by 2026 5 Engineering Metrics 2 4. Create a dense, interconnected network of sidewalks and safe intersections - 9% modal increase in biking by 2021 and 12% by 2026, 28 miles of new bikeways, 65% of all bikeway miles are low-stress by 2026 5. Leverage walk/bike projects to add green infrastructure to Burlington’s streets - Reduce runoff by 80% 6. Improve and expand bicycle parking citywide - Install 100 bike parking spots per year, a reduction in bike theft by 50% by 2026, install a high-capacity station by 2019 (all in public ROW) 6 Engineering Metrics 3 7. Implement a robust bicycle sharing system - Study & implement a bike share program by 2021, achieve a spacing of stations no more than 1,000ft 8. Create more walk priority spaces - Create a placemaking program by 2018, measure economic benefits of walkability projects, support investments in alleyway utilization by businesses 7 Top 20 Priority Intersections - Partial completion pertains to goals outlined in initial plan not fully met - Several have minimal changes - Unclear whether installed changes have been effective - Only inactive project is the Shelburne Rd and Home Ave intersection 9 Priority Intersections ● “Complete” improvements at only 5 intersections ○ 10 was the city’s goal by 2021 ○ Lots of interim improvements along Winooski ● Interim safety improvements at 9 / 15 incomplete intersections ● No improvements studied or installed at Shelburne Road Progress & on Intersections maps Home Avenue. 10 Bike Lanes 11 Goal: 46 projects in 5 years Complete: 43.5% Ongoing: 19.6% Dormant/Inactive: 37.0% Total completion: 34.8% No abandoned projects 4 future projects already completed 12  “ 17.2 miles* of new bike lanes Out of 28 mile goal *Includes 8.6 miles of sharrows ”13  “ 8.5 miles (25%*) of all current bikeways are low stress *Goal of 65% by 2026 ”14 57.61 mile total in upgraded bike lanes - Most of the mileage from shared use paths comes from recreational areas, such as by the waterfront and around the Ethan Allen Homestead - Most shared use path mileage is not illuminated or fully maintained year-round - 17.2 miles of new bike pathways 15 16 Bicycle Parking Spots In the Public ROW No Data/500 * including a high capacity station GreenRide Bike Share ● “Widespread” implementation not achieved according to plan metrics “spacing of stations no more than 1,000ft within service area” ● Central city implementation is effective Progress maps on Intersections 18 Pedestrian Projects  “ New Sidewalk Construction By 2026 0.06/3.4 Miles * However, about 3-4 miles per year have been reconstructed - especially in high-impact neighborhoods ” 20 Overall Walk/Bike Improvements Goal: 111 projects in 5 years Complete: 41.4% Ongoing: 27.0% Dormant/Inactive: 31.5% 9 future projects already completed 22 Project Completion ● Improvements focused on major arterials ● Major lack of improvements in NNE & Hill Section ● Some gaps in ONE & South End ● Improved connectivity 23 Project Completion ● Improvements focused on Downtown core, South End, and along arterials ● Gap in project implementation in ○ ONE ○ far South End ○ along North Ave 24 Acknowledgements & Notes ● Bike Lane Mileage, Network Maps, Sidewalk, Bike Parking data directly from DPW & planBTV ● Other data compiled by BWBC with clarification from DPW ● Multiple shortcomings of metrics ○ Many “metrics” are success outcomes rather than progress benchmarks (Stormwater, mode change, crashes) ○ Some are unable to be measured in the short term (mode change, crashes) ○ Some are arbitrary or ineffectively vague (Bikeshare distancing, support investments) 25 Recommendations? Questions?