Burlington Walk-Bike Council

AGENDA - Burlington Walk / Bike Council June 1, 2022, Wednesday 6:00 – 7:00 pm VIRTUAL MEETING OPTION ONLY: 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. Next Steps for the 2017 Walk Bike Plan Status Report (20 min) At the last two meetings we discussed the 5-Year Status Report looking at where we are at with implementing the engineering recommendations of Burlington’s Plan BTV Walk Bike. At this meeting, we’ll articulate the key take-aways and discuss proposed next steps including recommendations to the Public Works Commission. Other next steps might also include publicity and activities for highlighting Burlington’s walk-bike achievements. 3. Status of Non-Infrastructure Recommendations (10 min) Plan BTV Walk Bike includes a series of policy, education, and public engagement recommendations that were not evaluated in the just completed 5-Year Status Report. (See Chapter 4, Page 154 in the plan.) After a quick overview of the non-infrastructure recommendations, we’ll seek volunteers to help prepare a simple status report and to propose next steps for discussion at the meeting in July. 4. Planning a Fall “Car-Free Burlington” Event with College Students (10 min) Past interns in the Sustainable Transportation Vermont (STVT) program at UVM are eager to work with BWBC on organizing and presenting an event that encourages UVM (and maybe Champlain College) students to avoid bringing a car to college while presenting the walk, bike and transit options available in Burlington. We’ll briefly brainstorm ideas and recruit volunteers to help launch an event for new and returning students this fall. 5. Updating How BWBC Works (10 min) BWBC was reorganized 3 years ago to bring more diverse voices that represent the whole city into the effort to improve walking and biking. Discuss the pro’s and con’s of the liaison approach and begin the conversation about tweaking the BWBC structure to make most effective use of volunteer time and energy while welcoming new perspectives. Previous Meeting – At the meeting on May 4 the status report for Walk Bike Plan was presented and discussed. Nicole Losch’s contributions to Burlington’s Walk Bike improvements were celebrated. Next Month: BWBC Meets Wednesday, July 6, 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) June 1, 2022 Meeting Notes The Monthly Meeting took place 6:00- 7:00 pm via Zoom only. Attendees: Attendees: Erik Brotz (chair), Jason Stuffle (Ward 1), Jonathan Weber (Local Motion), Serrill Flash (East Ave), Peter Keating (Ward 6), Faith Ingulsrud (Ward 6), Jon Copans (Old Spokes Home), Hannah Hartman (UVM), Jay Catalano. 1. Introductions, Announcements and Public Comments Eric Brotz opened the meeting and invited comments. ● Serrill asked for an update from DPW on sharrows. No DPW rep was available to provide a response. ● Erik said that he had submitted a SeeClickFix for the sharrows on N. Winooski Ave to be painted in the center of the lane instead of the side as previously and was told that the sharrows would not be repainted because of the pending reconfiguration. Erik noted that the reconfiguration is not until 2023 so it seems like they could be repainted this year. ● Erik also suggested that sharrows should be lower priority than other pavement paint projects. Serrill responded that they are useful for centering the person on a bike within a lane and drivers recognize that they must share the lane. ● Jason announced that the Mansfield Ave 10 foot wide sidepath construction has begun. ● Jason also invited everyone to pay attention to and use SeeClickFix to report crosswalks with missing paint or in need of double sided crosswalk signs on each side of the road. The city will fix upon request but aren’t proactively fixing the crosswalk signs. ● It was noted that University Place upgrades seem to be imminent as flagging and signs are up. 2. Next Steps for the 2017 Walk Bike Plan Status Report Erik gave an introduction to the report and summarized the key conclusions, including: ● That good progress was made in achieving the 5-year recommendations of the Walk Bike Plan but that work was mostly low hanging fruit ● The remaining work like protected bike lanes will be harder to achieve and the ones that have been implemented have not been maintained ● Connectivity of bike lanes in the center of Burlington have been the biggest improvement ● The new sidewalks recommended in the plan didn’t get built. ● The plan failed to identify sidewalk replacement as a priority but steady progress was made through the infrastructure bond. ● There is a lack of data that makes it difficult to quantify outcomes This stimulated the following comments: ● Jon Copans expressed concern that the Walk Bike plan does not focus on sidewalk maintenance. That was a key issue identified in the Equity Coalition’s ONE Mobility Audit a couple years ago. The issue should be highlighted if there is a future revision. ● Peter noted that it’s normal for long range plans to be updated every 5 years, so does the city have a plan to update the Walk Bike Plan? Others responded that there isn’t a plan to update that plan specifically but walk bike issues will be included as a part of an  upcoming update of the city’s transportation plan. That would basically merge the transportation plan with the walk bike plan. Jonathan noted that a VisionZero plan was funded for 2023. Erik asked participants what next steps need to be taken to communicate the conclusions of the Status Report. Does it make sense to present to DPW staff and the Public Works Commission and if so, what should be the primary messages? ● Prioritize connectivity/consistency of the bike network to get ridership up ● Safety should be a focus, especially given VisionZero funding ● Should we do a press release of findings to reach out to a broader audience? Maybe we can offer a draft press release as part of our outreach to DPW and PWC, and invite them to weigh in on the messaging. ● We should give DPW specific recommendations on work to focus on - like finishing the North Ave bike lanes. ● Also support traffic calming. Erik said he would request a place on the July Public Works Commission agenda. A copy of the latest version of the five year status report and maps can be found with the minutes here: https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/bwbc. 3. Status of Non-Infrastructure Recommendations Plan BTV Walk Bike includes a series of policy, education, and public engagement recommendations that were not evaluated in the just completed 5-Year Status Report. (See Chapter 4, Page 154 in the plan.) After a quick overview of the non-infrastructure recommendations, Erik asked if anyone was interested in helping to prepare a report on the status of those recommendations. After some discussion, it was decided that the status of those items should be discussed with the new DPW walk-bike staff once they are on board. 4. Planning a Fall “Car-Free Burlington” Event with College Students Erik explained that among the non-infrastructure recommendations are tasks for creating more events to support walking and biking. Faith said that some of the past Sustainable Transportation interns at UVM are interested in collaborating with BWBC and partners to launch an event this fall to promote car-free living in Burlington. Hanna Hartman, one of those students, shared some ideas for targeting the freshmen who are not allowed to bring a car to Burlington, to help them envision the remainder of their college experience in Burlington without a car. She believes she can engage sponsorships from local businesses and the event could be a venue for local walk, bike and sustainability organizations to participate. They are considering City Hall Park as a possible location and considering September 22, which is World Car-Free Day. Participants suggested the following: ● Consider hosting the event on or closer to campus to engage more students. Hanna noted that getting permission to use a campus green is more onerous than getting a city permit to use a public space. Also engaging the broader community is an important part of the concept. ● Involve GMT, CATMA, e-bike share and other organizations with a corresponding mission  ● Research whether other comparable sized cities have done a similar event ● Consider including concepts like parklets and “meet on the street” as part of the event ● Local Motion could offer ebike demos and other such activities ● Old Spokes Home could lead a ride from campus to the event site Faith invited input, ideas, and volunteers. Please contact her at faith@thirdculture.com. 5. Updating How BWBC Works Erik explained that the Coordinating Committee is reaching out to the liaisons for input on the structure of BWBC to determine whether the Ward-based liaison system is the best way to organize a volunteer organization like ours or if organizing around the passions and interests of people who want to get things done would be more effective. No one offered any response at this meeting but the discussion is on-going, and Erik invited input from everyone. Erik thanked participants and ended the meeting at 7:00. PlanBTV Walk/Bike 5-Year Engineering Progress Report Background ● Plan BTV Walk/Bike was adopted in 2017 as Burlington’s comprehensive plan for walking, biking, and active mobility ● The plan proposes 137 potential projects to be achieved over a 15-year period, and also recommends a subset of projects on a 5-year timeframe ● These projects include bikeway network development, pedestrian improvements such as new sidewalks and crosswalks, intersection safety upgrades, policy changes, and more 2 About this Report ● This report analyzes progress on key metrics in the Engineering section of PlanBTV Walk/Bike ● Data for this report was provided by the City of Burlington, the Burlington Walk/Bike Council, and Local Motion ● With this report, we hope to celebrate positive change and the goals we have achieved, while also highlighting where improvements have lagged 3  Key Takeaways ● Significant progress toward the 5-year plan goals, but about 30% of the projects have not been started ● Many projects have been only partially completed compared to their original description in the plan ● Many “low-hanging fruit” bikeway projects are complete (sharrows, painted bike lanes) but there has been little progress on low-stress infrastructure ● Lack of new sidewalk construction ● Lack of data to quantify progress toward key outcomes 4 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, 20.5% modal increase in walking by 2021 & 22% by 2026 *Metrics evaluated in this report are highlighted in green. 6 Engineering Metrics 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 in public ROW, achieve reduction in bike theft by 50% by 2026, install a high-capacity parking station by 2019 *Metrics evaluated in this report are highlighted in green. 7 Engineering Metrics 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 *Metrics evaluated in this report are highlighted in green. 8 Top 20 Priority Intersections Intersection Safety ● PlanBTV Walk/Bike identified 20 intersections which should receive priority for safety upgrades ● Of the 80 crashes that occurred at intersections in Burlington between 2011 and 2015, more than three quarters (61) of these happened at 17 of the 20 priority intersections. (From PlanBTV Walk/Bike) ● The remaining three intersections were identified based on community input 10 - 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 11 Priority Intersections ● Improvements complete at only 5 intersections ○ PlanBTV goal was 10 complete by 2021 ○ Lots of interim improvements along Winooski Ave., primarily due to lane reduction ● Interim safety improvements at 9/15 intersections ● No improvements studied or installed at Shelburne Road & Progress maps on Intersections Home Avenue. 12 Bikeways Goal: 46 projects in 5 years Complete: 43.5% Ongoing: 19.6% Inactive: 37.0% Total complete: 34.8% No abandoned projects Four projects completed were planned for after 5-year timeframe 14  “ 17.2 miles* of new bikeways Out of 28 mile goal *Includes 8.6 miles of sharrows ”15  “ 8.5 miles (25%*) of all current bikeways are low stress *Goal of 65% by 2026 ”16 - 57.61 miles total in upgraded bike lanes - Most of the shared-use path mileage 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 bikeways since 2017 17 18 Bicycle Parking Spots in the public ROW No Data/500 High-Capacity Bike Parking Station ● The goal to install one high-capacity bike parking station was satisfied when UVM constructed an enclosed bicycle shelter with space for 176 bikes ● The shelter is located near the Central Campus Residence Hall and is connected to the Howe Library Image: Duo Guard 20 GreenRide Bike Share ● “Widespread” implementation not achieved according to plan metrics “spacing of stations no more than 1,000ft within service area” ● Downtown hub spacing is closer to achieving metric Progress maps on Intersections 21 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 Overall Walk/Bike Improvements Goal: 111 projects in 5 years Complete: 41.4% Ongoing: 27.0% Inactive: 31.5% Nine projects completed were planned for after 5-year timeframe 24 Project Completion ● Improvements focused on major arterials ● Lack of improvements in New North End & Hill Section ● Some gaps in ONE & South End ● Improved connectivity 25 Project Completion ● Improvements focused on Downtown, South End, and along arterials ● Gaps in project implementation: ○ Far South End ○ Along North Ave ● Seemingly few projects planned in the ONE 26 Overall progress ● Almost half of the projects in the 5-year plan have been completed (21%) or partially completed (25%) ● About ¼ of the projects are in progress or still in planning ● About 30% of projects in the 5-year plan have not been started yet ● Several projects not originally in the 5-year plan have been completed ahead of schedule 27 Progress on Specific Goals ● Many “low-hanging fruit” bikeway projects are complete (sharrows, painted bike lanes) ● Little progress on the low-stress bike network ● Many projects have been only partially completed compared to original descriptions ● Almost none of the sidewalk additions have been implemented ● The bike share program needs more stations to achieve desired density 28 Outcomes ● Several “metrics” in the Engineering section are actually outcomes ○ Stormwater: “Reduce runoff by 80%” ■ Lacking data on this metric ○ Mode share: “9% modal increase in biking by 2021 and 12% by 2026” ■ Lacking data on this metric, ACS problematic due to Covid ○ Safety: All crashes resulting in serious injury reduced by 50% by 2021 & 100% by 2026 ■ We do have some data on this, but a deeper evaluation is needed. Crash data can be skewed over shorter time frames. 29 Other Comments & Observations ● PlanBTV Walk/Bike does not adequately address maintenance issues, which have emerged as a significant concern for both walking and biking facilities ● Concerns about on-street parking have limited or delayed many bikeway projects ● Many of the projects listed in the 5-year plan are intended to be expanded in the next 10 years, so a status of "complete" does not necessarily mean that we are done with the targeted location 30 Acknowledgements ● Bikeway mileage, network maps, sidewalk, bike parking data directly from DPW & planBTV ● Other data compiled by Local Motion & Burlington Walk/Bike Council with clarification from DPW 31 Recommendations? Questions?