Advisory Bike/Walk Taskforce

City of Norwalk Norwalk Bike/Walk Taskforce Meeting Minutes March 6, 2017, 6:00pm Health Department, 2nd Floor Library 137 East Avenue, Norwalk CT 06851 Attendees: Tim Callahan, Jim Carter, Colin Grotheer, Kaitlin Latham, Mike Mushak, Nancy Rosett, Gunnar Waldman 1. The February 6, 2017 meeting minutes were approved unanimously. 2. The minutes from the February 17, 2017 meeting with DPW and BWTF were reviewed and approved. 3. DPW’s revisions to our suggested changes in the Roadway Standards guide were approved. 4. Tim and Nancy attended the February ordinance committee meeting to discuss our request to change the Bike/Walk Taskforce to a Bike/Walk Advisory Committee. Ordinance committee members requested information on the City’s liability and the expected staff responsibilities (including representatives from Health, Police, Recreation and Parks, etc.) if this ordinance were to pass. The next ordinance committee hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 21 from 7-9pm at City Hall (Rm. 231). 5. Due to several obstructions that will cost too much to remove, and new 4’ sidewalk standards, the sidewalk on Route 1 adjacent to St. Paul’s Church will not be created. 6. Tim and Nancy met with the Economic Development office to discuss bike shares in Norwalk. The ED office expressed interest in spearheading this project but is not able to do so at this time. Gunnar will contact e3think to discuss their plans for a bike share since we haven’t heard anything about their progress in the past several months. 7. The Norwalk Bike Rodeo is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 from 10am-2pm at the former Norwalk YMCA parking lot on West Avenue. The BWTF is co-sponsoring this event and will be in charge of the bike check and helmet fitting stations. Kaitlin will promote this event on social media once a flyer is distributed. 8. Michelle Maggio requested a bike safety class for children in the Marvin Beach neighborhood. Mike M. explained that we do not have a formal ‘class’ but can provide bike safety information to the children. He will share the Bike Rodeo information with  her and encourage Marvin Beach families to attend. 9. Community walking groups are spreading throughout the City. Silvermine and South Norwalk have monthly walks led by community leaders, and West Norwalk’s walks will be scheduled shortly. Below are details on the upcoming walks: a. Sunday, March 26: Meet at SoNo Baking Co. (101 Water St.) at 9:00am for a walk around the South Norwalk neighborhood and Oyster Shell Park. Link with details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1728925454064948/ b. Saturday, April 1: Meet at Silvermine School (157 Perry Ave.) at 8:00am for a walk around Silvermine. Link with details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1913367208899259/ 10. Health Department intern, Nikki Lewis, is working with the Police Department on pulling data from police reports on collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists. At the end of this project, we will have a database of collision information including location, time, cause of accident, who was involved and at fault, type of road (collector, arterial, etc.), type of transportation involved (motor vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, etc.) and more. 11. Jud is creating ‘business cards’ for BWTF members that include bicycle and pedestrian safety/laws on the back. 12. Jim Carter provided several updates on the NRVT: a. The Boy Scouts recently participated in a trail cleanup day, focusing their efforts on the NRVT. b. The NRVT received a $5,000 grant from Keep America Beautiful. c. NRVT signs are up on the stretch of trail from Crescent Street to Union Park. d. The portion of the trail through the cemetery is approved and will likely start construction in the spring. e. The portion of the trail through the 40 Cross Street property is expected to start construction in the summer. f. Due to budget cuts, grants promised to the NRVT may be awarded in a lesser amount or not awarded at all. More information to come as it becomes available. g. The NRVT is meeting with DEEP to discuss an expedited permit process for their new Missing Link plans. h. A clean-up of the Missing Link is scheduled for April 20. Details to follow. 13. Three options for continuing the NRVT at Calf Pasture/Shady Beach include: a. Crosswalk Option: Shortly after the entry gate, the trail would utilize the existing cross walk to enter the park grounds. A new 8’ bike-way would parallel the existing sidewalk (having taken an immediate right after entering grounds) and proceed to a trailhead at/near the central plaza (flagpole/offices/café). b. Sweep around the Parking Lot Option: At the entry, enter on sidewalk, continue parallel to road to Medal of Honor park on a trail outlined on millings. Then enter road and  proceed in a bike lane, next to curb with buffer lane “protecting” against head-in parking. Exit via parking lot exit with sharrows to bike lanes in main road. Trailhead would be at a designated location along route in park/on sidewalk. c. Shady Beach Option: Cross Beach Rd at Canfield Rd and enter Shady Beach immediately at corner (or at Canfield gate) and proceed to a trailhead at the beach on a constructed trail in park (or via sharrows in Shady Beach lot). The present Taskforce members agreed that a hybrid of options A and B would be ideal, but for now, option A would be the best choice. 14. Gunnar measured East Avenue (between Route 1 and Cannon Street) to determine a plan for this stretch of road. The State agreed to restripe this section as they failed to adhere to their own lane-width recommendations when they restriped the road in 2016. Gunnar presented his findings and suggestions, and will work on creating a sketch/plan to present at the next DPW meeting on March 17. The meeting adjourned at 7:32pm.