Burlington Walk-Bike Council

AGENDA - Burlington Walk / Bike Council November 2, 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. DPW Updates (10 min) DPW staff members will provide a brief update on hiring for the open transportation planning positions, as well as key projects. 3. BWBC Workplan for 2023 (40 min) We’ll go over the Burlington Walk-Bike Council’s 2022 Workplan, including what did and did not get done, and then discuss our priorities for 2023. Previous Meeting – At the meeting on October 5 we discussed two letters drafted by Local Motion with the assistance of the BWBC coordinating committee - one supporting the installation of bike lanes on Plattsburg Ave. and the other providing comments on the proposed plans for the Railyard Enterprise Project. After some discussion and modifications to the REP letter, it was agreed with no dissenting votes that the BWBC would sign on to both letters. Next Month: BWBC Meets Wednesday, December 7, 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  BWBC Meeting Notes November 2, 2022 6-7pm The monthly meeting took place 6:00- 7:15 pm via Zoom and at DPW Office Agenda: 1. Introductions, Announcements, Updates and Public Comments (10 min) 2. DPW Updates (10 min) Department of Public Works staff members will provide a brief update on hiring for the open transportation planning positions, as well as key projects. 3. BWBC Workplan for 2023 (40 min) We’ll go over the Burlington Walk-Bike Council’s 2022 Workplan, including what did and did not get done, and then discuss our priorities for 2023. Attendees: In Person: Erik Brotz (chair), Ryan Thornton, Jak Tiano (Vermonters for People-Oriented Places), Daisy May (VPOP), Dan Castrigano (VPOP), Olivia Darisse (DPW), Julia Ursaki (DPW), Karen Sentoff (Ward 4 liaison) On-line: Grey Johnson, Michael Arnold (VPOP), Jonathan Weber (Local Motion), Jason Stuffle (Ward 1 liaison) Notes: Public Comment: Dec 8 at Old Spokes Home - Screening documentary called “Street Project.” Doors 7pm, Screening 7:30pm DPW updates: Olivia: Railyard Enterprise Project - City Council unanimously endorsed Alternative 1B as the preferred plan. Now drafting Environmental Assessment for Federal Highway Administration for approval. Expect to have updates in late winter and will be working on a preliminary design, including addressing comments submitted by BWBC and Local Motion. Julia: Plattsburg Ave bike lane - been talking with NNE city councilors, sent out public notice to neighbors, planning to recommend removal of parking to allow installation of bike lanes at Nov 16 Public Works Commission meeting. Two open Transportation Planner positions; have made offers to two candidates and hope to have more news in the next couple of weeks BWBC Workplan for 2023: BWBC’s 2022 Workplan - was originally drafted by BWBC Coordinating Committee (Erik, Jason, Faith, Jonathan) and discussed at Dec. 2021 meeting. Reviewed 2022 plan, with questions and discussion on what to do in 2023. Comments below are not necessarily in the order they occurred. 2023 Monitor and Engage - Queen City Park Road/Austin Drive Study completed so removed from 2023 plan; Battery Street Study should start soon (RFP issued, due Nov 16); Railyard Enterprise Project ongoing; Main Street Great Streets Project ongoing; Winooski Ave project now in implementation Question: is there a way to prioritize projects based on higher use? Julia: largely rely on walk-bike plan for priorities, and plan took into account usage. Erik: also priority is influenced by opportunity because of other things that are happening, like paving and other projects. NOTE: comment not explicitly made in meeting, but BWBC and public input can also influence priority. Question/comment: what about other projects - identifying smaller ones, not just the big ones. Want to identify projects that we can do in the short term not just the big ones. Where is that in the plan? Erik: this is part of what BWBC does but it is not explicitly called out in the existing plan other than the mention of prioritizing projects so that needs to be added in. Question: how do we get involved early enough in the process to have meaningful impact, not just minor changes around the edge? Erik: depends on the process. For some like Battrery St and Winooski Ave we have or had representation on the advisory committee. Others like Main St have been going on for a long time so at this point design is being refined so less opportunity Question: where is Winooski Bridge in the process and can we influence the plan? Julia: rough plan involves mixed use path on each side, but details of plan will not happen until in design. Got a grant to fund the project, but just at beginning and currently lots of paperwork before design process starts. Suggestion: have a future meeting learning about and discussing the logistics of getting a project going, how processes work, and at what stage we can have the most influence - scoping studies vs design stage Question: can BWBC suggest new projects, or is it limited to responding to projects DPW proposes. Erik: BWBC can propose and advocate for new projects, and has done so. Comment: need to do this more quickly, be brave; in Paris they are removing cars from the road; transportation is a leading sector contributing to climate change so we need to do more Comment: need to find ways to have more meaningful impact in short term, not just big long-term projects. Propose new projects, put together proposals, use quick-build, focus on connectivity of network Comment: include recommendations for action to achieve walk-bike goals in the annual report to City Council Erik: we did not monitor Commissions and Boards in 2022 - should we drop that part of the workplan? Karen says she looks at some of those agendas anyway so will flag relevant issues and suggests a brief time at each meeting where that report would be made. Erik: 2 years ago we switched from 1.5 hour meetings to 1 hour to get more people, but it’s less time to get things done. Straw poll: should we revert back to 1.5 hour meetings? 5 “yes”, 1 “yes if use the extra time as working time”, 2 “variable depending on topic” Comment: new BHS, CIty Place are big projects to follow/comment on Question: why has Union St. protected bike lane not been reinstalled? Julia: has been continuing issue with not enough capacity in Maintenance staff. Several positions open. Erik: has been an ongoing issue with both lack of prioritization by Maintenance division as well as lack of capacity as maintenance needs and difficulty of confined space with flex posts. DPW has been looking into options that are more sustainable, and long term plan is for something permanent not flexposts. Comment: Make protected lane next to sidewalk - move curb - that is the right answer but costs big money and resources! Comment/Suggestion: not clear what is role of BWBC; suggest providing an overview at future meeting or having a document that new members can review. Erik: Brief summary - BWBC is an advisory body to the city with no actual decision-making power. BWBC’s website, which had more background information on it, died about 18 months ago and we’ve had technical and labor-time difficulties getting a new one back on line. Will look into what we need to do to get that working again and/or at least an overview document. Suggestion: large part of workplan is internal/admin work; find way to work through admin tasks as we go so can focus on core work. Suggestion: look more into formalization during 2023 - what would it mean. Not to actually do in 2023 but for future. Burlington should have a commission that can actually make decisions about walk-bike issues. Jonathan - could begin with having appointed members as a way to formalize votes within the BWBC instead of just whoever shows up Erik: there is interest in identifying and prioritzing new projects, and a suggestion that we investigate formalization. Suggest working groups to work on specific topics like these - can discuss at December meeting and also start project identification process. Julia: need about 15 minutes at Dec meeting to discuss prioritization for potential planning grant applications to CCRPC. Question: are workplan and project list available for public? Jonathan - just made workplan public. Erik will also make project tracking spreadsheet publicly available.