Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Advisory Group

MAYOR TRUSTEES George D. Alpogianis John C. Jekot Joe LoVerde VILLAGE MANAGER Danette O’Donovan Matyas Joseph S. La Margo Denise M. McCreery Craig Niedermaier VILLAGE CLERK Dean Strzelecki Marlene J. Victorine MINUTES BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN ADVISORY GROUP Remote Participation October 26, 2021 – 3:00 p.m. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Advisory Group meeting was held remotely on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 3:01 p.m. by Chairman Craig Niedermaier. Members Present: Staff Present: Chairman Craig Niedermaier Nathan Bruemmer, Staff Liaison Peggy Reins Tom Powers, Village Engineer Stephen Sanders Nick Zakula, Police Ticia Doughty-Ashcroft Andrew Vitale, GIS Coordinator Brian Lee Also Present Cody McChane, Epstein Tim Gustafson, Epstein Call to Order Approval of Minutes Group Member Peggy Reins, seconded by Group Member Brian Lee, moved to approve the minutes of the September 22, 2021, meeting; on voice vote all concurred. New Business I. Bike Plan Update – Existing Conditions Tim Gustafson of Epstein shared a presentation summarizing the main points of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan Update’s Existing Conditions Report (ECR). The ECR gives context that will help make recommendations and legitimizes the things you want to put in the plan. Gustafson began by sharing the key findings of the ECR, which are as follows: 1. Many Niles roadways aren’t under Village control 2. Speeding is a major safety issue 3. IDOT roadways have high crash and fatality rates 1000 Civic Center Drive Niles, IL 60714 Phone (847) 588-8000 Fax (847) 588-8051 WWW.VNILES.COM  4. More high-quality bike routes are needed 5. Low-stress roadways aren’t well-connected 6. Network gaps limit pedestrian mobility 7. Most people choose to drive 8. Niles is committed to improvement Gustafson then shared the vision statement for the plan, centered on five goals, which are safety, connectivity, health, quality, and growth. These goals stem from previous conversations with the BPAG. Gustafson explained that throughout the ECR, Niles is compared to a handful of neighboring municipalities, as well as Cook County and Evanston. For example, Niles is on the higher end of the comparable municipalities for the percentage of the working population that drives to work (89.9%). Some reasons for this could be the high percentage of seniors in the Village and the lack of a Metra/CTA station. Next, Gustafson detailed recent progress that has been made in the Village with regard to bicycle and pedestrian programs and policies. The next slide was about existing infrastructure, of which the biggest takeaway is that nearly every major road in Niles is under state or county jurisdiction. Gustafson feels that getting bike facilities on an IDOT roadway will likely be a key recommendation of the Plan Update. Harlem and Caldwell are two possible candidates. There was discussion among the group about which IDOT roads would be a good fit for improvements. Gustafson said a strategy for success will be coordinating with neighboring communities on implementing improvements on shared corridors. There was further discussion on how a potential bicycle facility would physically fit on these streets and examples in other communities. Moving on, Gustafson presented on pedestrian infrastructure in the Village, gaps in the sidewalk network, noting that even a 6’ gap in the sidewalk can negatively affect those in a wheelchair or using a walker. The group reviewed a sidewalk inventory map and discussed why the gaps exist where they do, as well as a few anomalies in the data. The group also reviewed a map showing distance between signalized intersections in the Village. There are many stretches in the Village where there is more than a quarter mile between signalized crossings. Gustafson explained how if we applied a traffic level of service measure to our sidewalks, we would largely be failing across the board. This can lead to unsafe pedestrian behavior, as pedestrians would often not walk 10 minutes out of their way to cross where they’re supposed to. Gustafson moved on to discussing bicycle infrastructure in the Village, including existing bike routes and bicycle level of traffic stress on Niles roadways. The Village’s side streets are mainly low stress (level 2), but bikers will likely have to cross high stress roadways (levels 3 or 4) to get anywhere. Gustafson also presented a map showing corridors and intersections of concern, and bicycle, pedestrian and vehicular crash heat maps. Finally, Gustafson presented an engagement timeline for the Plan Update. The next steps are for the Group to review the ECR and provide feedback by Thursday, November 18th. The ECR will then go live on the Plan’s website. II. Review – Oakton/Caldwell Improvements Village Engineer Tom Powers shared engineering drawings for the Caldwell/Oakton improvements that were briefly touched on at the last meeting. This is part of the project that the Village has been working on with Morton Grove, the bulk of which is a trail connection on Oakton from Caldwell to Niles West. The project also includes a  small trail connection on Caldwell extending north from the LoVerde Center, traveling behind the Alyce Design property, and connecting to Oakton. Chairman Niedermaier asked about a connection to the Forest Preserve woods (north of the Natchez/Oakton intersection), which you can cut through to get to Downtown Morton Grove. Tom Powers said he would bring that up. Group Member Peggy Reins asked how that plan is treating access to Lehigh for people who want to get to the Metra Station from Oakton. Tom Powers said he doesn’t see any connection provided to the train station off of Lehigh. The genesis of the project was to help students get to Niles West. Group Member Brian Lee said that cutting through the woods puts you out right at the Morton Grove Metra Station. Chairman Niedermaier discussed how the Lehigh corridor needs to address pedestrians in a more significant way going forward. The Oakton trail continues to the I-94 bridge which is in IDOT’s multi-year plan, and Morton Grove has got IDOT to agree to bring the trail through the bridge when it’s replaced. However, for this phase of the project, 94 is basically where the trail ends. Powers returned to the Oakton/Caldwell intersection, and discussed a sidewalk connection to the houses in Niles that are west of the Morton Grove water plant. Morton Gove is agreeable to installing a sidewalk along that western side. A connecting sidewalk will be installed on the north side of Oakton, with a signalized crossing to get you south across Oakton, and then east across Caldwell (where there will be new sidewalks as well). The sidewalk along the water plant will be a Village project, with everything else being part of the greater grant-funded Morton Grove-led project. Group Member Brian Lee asked if there would be any connection to the North Branch Trail on the southwest corner of Oakton and Caldwell. Tom Powers said a potential solution would be to have a trail connection cut across the vacant Forest Preserve land west of the JohnsByrne building. Group Member Ticia Doughty- Ashcroft confirmed that the triangular pedestrian islands would be staying at the intersection, and voiced her concerns about safety at the crossing. Chairman Niedermaier said the Village should meet with representatives of the Forest Preserve to discuss various ideas for improvements that would involve them. Group Member Doughty-Ashcroft asked for updates regarding the planned improvements at Caldwell and Cleveland and Waukegan and Cleveland. Tom Powers said a traffic count was completed last week on Waukegan, and that the Village Board approved an additional scope of services to study a potential road diet on Waukegan. The traffic count was the first step in preparing a model to present to IDOT along with plans. Group Member Reins asked if there were any updates about Milwaukee crossings that were discussed last month. Tim Gustafson had presented some ideas to IDOT, and asked them if those ideas had enough merit to pursue further. IDOT plans to respond before our next meeting. III.Discussion – Safety at Howard St/North Branch Trail and Touhy/North Branch Trail Crossings Chairman Niedermaier brought up that he has received a few letters regarding concerns about safety at the North Branch Trail crossings at Touhy Ave and Howard St. He said that in Lincolnwood, one of their bike trails has beacons that automatically flash when a cyclist or pedestrian approaches. He acknowledged that most bikers going through the crossing at Howard St probably will not stop to press the crossing button if the street appears safe to cross anyways. He wondered if we could implement an automatic feature at the Howard St crossing. As for the Touhy  Ave crossing, Chairman Niedermaier said it is frustrating for all users of that intersection. Cyclists have to use a very narrow sidewalk to cross the bridge that seems like an accident waiting to happen. The Chairman wondered if there’s a more intelligent way to design the bridge crossing so that it’s safer, knowing that the bridge is slotted for an update fairly soon. Tom Powers shared drawings for the bridge replacement, noting that there will be a 15’ shared use path on the north side, and a 7’ sidewalk on the south side. As for the geometry of the crossing, not much will be changing. There was some discussion on cyclist and vehicular behavior at the crossing. Group Member Lee suggested sliding the signals and stop lines back so that trail users could cross the bridge diagonally. Chairman Niedermaier said it could be worth bringing up to IDOT. Other Discussion There was a brief discussion about dates for upcoming meetings. Comments from the Public None. Next Meeting November 23, 2021. Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Group Member Lee, seconded by Group Member Reins; all concurred and the meeting adjourned at 4:48 PM. Nathan Bruemmer Staff Liaison