Advisory Bike/Walk Taskforce

City of Norwalk Norwalk Bike/Walk Taskforce Meeting Minutes January 3, 2017, 6:00pm Health Department, 2nd Floor Library 137 East Avenue, Norwalk CT 06851 Attendees: Gunnar Waldman, Tim Callahan, Nancy Rosett, Kevin Kane, Jim Carter, Peter Libre, Jonathan McMenamin-Balano, Ian Ray, Jud Aley and Peter Franz 1. The December 5, 2016 meeting minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Informational items a. The Taskforce reviewed highlights from the December DPW/BWTF meeting minutes: i. Cross walks on the intersection of Haviland and Water Streets and Haviland and South Main Streets are under consideration. According to Paul Sotnik DPW Engineer, there are ADA requirements which may require moving the crosswalk from where it was located prior to the resurfacing of Water St. The crosswalk at Haviland and South Main Streets may become part of the hotel project scheduled for construction on South Main Street. ii. The CT Department of Transportation (CT DOT) approved the installation of sharrows on a section of route 136 as long as the City of Norwalk installs and maintains them and gets a permit from CT DOT. iii. The DPW capital budget request includes $75,000 per year for the next 3 fiscal years for bike infrastructure. iv. The bike trough next to the recently constructed stairs on MLK Drive is not functional. Possible solutions were discussed. v. The 2016 Strategic Plan – Nancy Rossett reviewed the plan and actions taken during the year. Considerable progress was made toward meeting the goals and objectives set in the 2016 plan. b. The 2017 Strategic Plan was presented and reviewed. The vision: Safely connecting People and the Mission: Create safe roads, sidewalks, and trails in Norwalk that make bicycling and walking desirable and easy while promoting healthy lifestyles are unchanged. The Goals for 2017 are 1. Get organized. 1.1 Gain recognition as an official advisory board to the Mayor.  2. Have all road work comply with the 2009 Complete Streets law. 2.1 Participate in the revision of the City of Norwalk Connecticut, Department of Public Works Roadway Standards 2.2 Work with Bike/Walk CT and/or other groups to sponsor a regional Complete Streets workshop 3. Promote biking In Norwalk 3.1 Provide signage and public communication the north/south and east/west bike routes. 3.2 Participate in the development of Norwalk’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) 3.3 Work with other City departments to promote a bike share program 4. Promote Walking in Norwalk 4.1 Translate 50% of walking maps into Spanish 4.2 Launch 3 neighborhood walking groups 5. Educate bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists in how to safely share the road 5.1 Work with City departments and private organizations to evaluate the feasibility of developing a children’s bicycle education center 5.2 Support the Norwalk Kiwanis Bike Rodeo 5.2 Add educational material to our web page Peter Libre recommended an additional item, researching and periodically reporting on the frequency and outcomes from pedestrian, bike, and vehicle collisions. Tim Callahan will contact Sargent Galino at the Norwalk Police Department to determine the availability of this information. Tim will also check to see if the Health Department has an intern available to take on this project. 3. Logo - Jonathan McMenamin-Balano presented the updated designs and the variety of ways to use the graphics. The Task Force voted to adopt the logo. On behalf of the Task Force Nancy Rosett ask Jon to extend our thanks to the staff at NCC. 4. Conn PIRG Petition against widening route 95 – Nancy Rosett attended a meeting with representatives from this group. They are seeking support for a petition opposing the widening of route 95. After a discussion the Task force concluded this matter is beyond the purview of this group. 5. Plan for East Avenue north of Westport Avenue - Peter Libre and Gunnar Waldman presented a plan to better utilize the street width, incorporate bike and pedestrian lanes and sharrows and improve parking. The task Force agreed with the plan. Gunnar and Peter will present a drawing in February. 6. East Ave at the East Norwalk Train Station – Peter Libre noted that there are very few parking spots at the East Norwalk train station, and suggested improving the existing sidewalk and installing bike lanes under the East Ave train overpass to encourage more commuters to ride their bike to the station. We will add this to the agenda for our next meeting with DPW. Adjourn at 7:50 PM