Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission

Wheaton Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission May 15, 2024 7pm Gammon Room, Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, IL In person and Virtual meeting I. Call to Order 7:00 pm Members present: George, Michelle, Lou, Bill, Rita, Connor, Cate, Laurel, Mike Members absent: Bob, Alyse, Dave Public Present: Josh Savidge Kelly Rapp II. Agenda Item Approval of April Minutes Motioned: Bill Seconded: Rita Unanimously approved via voice vote. III. Public Comment Josh Savidge - He said he is an avid cyclist and wanted to learn more about the bike commission. Kelly Rapp - She lives near West Ave. She is concerned that a crosswalk was removed at Warrenville Road and Park Ave. She has talked to Whittier School about this crossing and said the city removed it due to recent accidents in this area. She talked to someone (N. Pluckett) in the Wheaton Streets Dept. who suggested she use Roosevelt Road as an alternative crossing. She shared this document highlighting this issue along with some possible solutions: New Agenda Item- Kelly Rapp (Warrenville Rd. Crosswalks) (2).pdf - Google Drive Michelle said we can work on a proposal for a safe crossing and also shared this would be part of Safe Routes to School. Cate volunteered to work on this proposal and Bill will do more research for this also. IV. Agenda Item Chair Report- A. Updates on Requested Signs from City Welcome to Wheaton Signs on IPP- Signs are not out yet, but they are coming. B. May City Council Meeting - No one attended the May City Council meeting. C. Safe Routes- Met with Sonia Zala and John Duguay on 28-March to discuss the Pick-up and Drop-off Traffic Analysis summaries for four (4) schools, namely Edison, Franklin, and Monroe Middle Schools, and Emerson Elementary. Summaries contained existing conditions and observations as well as WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES May 15, 2024 traffic concerns expressed by respective administrators at each school. Currently the Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission Safe Routes to School Sub-team is reviewing the summaries, to ultimately determine if there are areas which the Commission can propose offering support on improvements to address concerns. D. Grant Writing- No update. E. Status of Consultant - John Duguay was recently "interviewed" by CMAP. Short discussion on where we are and what we need. He was told that they are looking to make a decision around the end of May, for who would be awarded the grant/assistance. F. Our webpage has been updated with the following: Group Rides & Walks 2024 Biking and Walking in Wheaton ● As the weather warms up, we encourage everyone to get out and go on your own walk to explore the Andy Warhol Fire Hydrants in Wheaton. ● If you encounter problems biking or walking in Wheaton due to potholes or damaged sidewalks, please reach out to the city with a Service Request. ● If you're 50 or older, check out the Pedal Pushers. Bike Ride Waiver Form Also our press releases were included in May newsletter: ● May bike month/biking to school-Connor & Cate ● Watch for pedestrians & bikers as the weather warms up-Alyse V. Agenda Item Ongoing Business A. Bike Valet June 1st 6-11am Bob has swag bags that we can hand out. Laurel suggested we make it a game for people to answer questions before giving out swag bags. Michelle suggested we hold off on doing the game for the National Night Out event. i. Press Release-Alyse - This press release is already done. ii. Shift Sign up sheet iii. May 25th @ French Market sign-up Cate made a motion that we get 50 double sided copies of the Group Rides printed to hand out at the French Market. Michelle seconded. Rita will check with AlphaGraphic tomorrow about doing this job. B. History Ride Topics Bill heard from Bob G. that he is interested in talking about the history of Wheaton Parks. George has already mapped out this ride, so this will be the topic for our HIstory Ride. Michelle motioned, Rita seconded. Laurel will talk to police about having support (2 officers on bikes) on the day of this ride. Michelle will reach out to a former Environmental commission person who may have some information on the history of Wheaton parks that we can share with Bob G. 2 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES May 15, 2024 C. National NIght out Table Laurel contacted Officer Crystal and asked for some parking lot space for us. Laurel wants to make it more interactive with games. Michelle has a link for some interactive activities for children. Bill suggested we do a survey asking parents how they feel about their children walking or biking to school and/or a poster listing the top 3 benefits of walking/biking to school. D. June Council meeting-Bill & Rita i. Present Bike rack proposal E. Slow Rides Laurel will check with the Police about including these rides with the neighborhood roll calls. Laurel will forward the Roll Call schedule. Bill suggested that the Police include a message about the benefits of biking to the Roll Call meeting announcements. F. Group Rides iv. May 25th- 2pm Blackwell v. June 19th- 10am Peck Homestead Glennette Tilley Turner will be at Memorial Park on 6/17/24 from 5:30-6:45 pm for a picnic (bring your own dinner) and this is open to the public. Bob G. will give a small talk about Juneteenth and some gospel singers will perform. We will announce our bike ride on June 19th. We’ll then walk to City Hall for the City Council meeting and Glennette will speak at the meeting. VI. New Business A. Positive Comment Michelle received a nice compliment from a friend about the positive things he has noticed that our commission has been doing to help with bicycle safety in Wheaton. B. Wiesbrook Road Michelle emailed John Duguay asking about the plans for a bike lane on Wiesbrook Road that was part of the 2011 Bike Plan. Here is John’s email response: I asked some people who were here and involved back in 2011 and they are pretty sure that the Bike Plan was approved by resolution back then. Just because the Council approves a plan, doesn't mean that they will allocate resources for everything that is recommended. That is done through the budget process. It is more of a guideline to be used by your commission. Next Meeting: June 19, 2024 X. Adjournment - 8:14 pm Approved 3