Bicycle Task Force

APPROVED MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE BICYCLE TASK FORCE Northbrook Village Hall – Terrace Conference Room September 12, 2012 Members Present: Doug Gerleman, Angus Duthie, Jim O’Connell, George Garner Jr., and Chris Henning Members Absent: Bob Jaeger, Bob Israel, Mardi Scott, and Dan Pepoon Staff Present: Jim Baxa Staff Absent: Terry Ryan and Jennifer Rooks-Lopez Others Present: Northbrook Residents, Stan and Lucia Gill Call Meeting to Order. Chairman Gerleman called the meeting to order in the Terrace Conference Room of the Village Hall at 7:06 p.m. Review May 9, 2012, Minutes. It was moved and seconded that May 9, 2012, minutes be approved. The motion was approved. Public Comments – Hear from Audience. Stan and Lucia Gill introduced theirselves as new Northbrook residents and avid cyclists; Mr. Gill stated he works for Astellas Pharma, located in unincorporated Northbrook at Sanders and Willow Roads. The company is interested in supporting employees that use alternate means of transportation in their daily commute to the corporate campus. Mr. Gill has cycled from his home to the campus and has found it difficult to navigate certain roads due to high traffic volumes and roadway conditions. Mr. Gill mentioned that Astellas may also be interested in working with neighboring communities (Northbrook & Wheeling) to assist with cycling and pedestrian improvement projects. Staff will look into reaching out to Wheeling and Cook County Forest Preserve for the potential to collaborate on such improvements. Skokie Valley Trail Update – (ComEd & ITEP): Staff provided update on Project Status; Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) was planning was to announce in September the projects which were selected as a part of the Illinois transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP); announcements have been moved to October. Committee members inquired if the Village may have heard anything in discussed through the grapevine; staff has not. Staff has not moved forward with submitting a permit application to ComEd for lease of their right-of-way for the Skokie Valley Trail (SVT); staff was waiting to hear from ITDOT regarding announcement of the ITEP program to see if the Village would be receiving any type of cost re-imbursement for Phase I Engineering in association with the SVT project. Union Pacific Bridge at Shermer Road Staff provided a informational detail for the redesign of the Union Pacific Bridge that collapsed. The proposed designed included a ten foot multi-user path on the Westside of Shermer and also to provide a seven foot sidewalk on the east side. A committee member inquired if the  September 12, 2012 BTF Meeting Minutes – APPROVED proposed paths could be designed with a mirror image of what was proposed. Staff will inquire within Administrative Staff. Shared Lane Marking (Sharrows): Staff shared with the committee the Shared Lane Markings (Sharrows) that were purchased were currently being installed on Cherry Lane & Cedar Lane and the remaining Sharrows will be installed on Techny Road. Bike Rack/Parking Facilities in Northbrook: This discussion included targeting retail business or restaurants that would utilize bike racks if they were made available for purchase. The committee discussed different options to promote the program; some promotional ideas included a program for retailers/restaurants to purchase bike racks and have Public Works Department crews install them, or retailers/restaurants both purchase and install the bike racks and having a reimbursement program where a percentage of the cost is funded by the Village. The committee also asked approximately what are the costs involved for installation of a bike rack by Public Works; staff will provide update at the next meeting. Bicycle Safety Training at Northbrook School: Committee Member Henning provided an update on the Bicycle Safety Training event scheduled held at Greenbriar and Westmoor schools. Greenbriar School is interested in hosting the program again and due to popularity at Westmoor School there were two training sessions there will be the need for additional volunteers to assist with the event. To better promote the National Bike/Walk to School Day, committee members inquired if additional assistance from the Police Department could be provided to encourage more students to participate. Review Bike Task Force Work Plan: After a review of the Core Work Program, Committee inquired to research and potential updates from I.D.O.T. regarding any upcoming road construction projects. Old Business: Staff provided a follow up to the League of Illinois Bicyclists photo shoot for the Bike to Metra guide and thanked the volunteers who were able to participate in the event. Set Topics for Next Meeting: The Task Force did not identify any additional topics. Adjourn: On motion made and seconded, the meeting of the BTF was adjourned at 8:38 p.m. Minutes Submitted by Jim Baxa. Page 2 of 2 C:\Users\palmer\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\IPWX1SE3\9-12-12 BTF Approved Minutes.docx