Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission

Wheaton Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission March 26, 2025 7pm Gammon Room, Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, IL In person and Virtual meeting I. Call to Order 7:00 pm Members present: Lou, Bob, Bill, George, Connor Members present via Zoom: Laurel, Michael Members absent: Michelle, Rita, Cate Public Present: None Public Present via Zoom: None II. Agenda Item Approval of February Minutes Motioned: Bill Seconded: George Unanimously approved via voice vote. III. Public Comment - None IV. Agenda Item Chair Report- A. March City Council Meetings Mike submitted the following notes from the meeting: No report from city manager No report from city attorney One Citizen to be heard: Citizen concerned about proposed sidewalk on Frazier Court. Proposal from the city wants to put a sidewalk on one side of the street (would only cover two houses per the citizen). Center of complaint concerns the city's Complete Streets Plan. In contrast to the plan's intent, the proposed sidewalk is not needed, will not go anywhere and will not be used (Complete Streets Plan says "need must justify cost"). 1703 N Stoddard Avenue annexed into Wheaton Council Comment - March is Women’s History Month. Annual art exhibit will be in Downtown Wheaton showcasing art by female artists. B. Virtual 2024 History Ride-Per Rich in Communications, their plan is to make it available in April in time for the Spring riding season. C. Grant Writing WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 26, 2025 On 3/6/25, Kyle Moss received an email from CMAP with the following update: They are going to have a technical document to satisfy the requirements of a Safety Action Plan by 6/5/2025, maybe sooner. They also heard that the SS4A Program Office is hoping to announce a NOFO for SS4A at the end of this month. D. Response from Mike Dzugan/Engineering regarding our concerns Mike Dzugan responded to Michelle’s email asking that the newly appointed traffic engineer attend our meeting. Mike answered that he felt it better that we wait until the new Assistant City Manager (who is to be hired in the next 90 days) occasionally attend our meetings. He did offer that Engineering could compile a quarterly activity report for us so we can stay up to date on their projects. Below is a summary of responses to our specific questions. Seminary Avenue Striping - The pavement markings on Seminary Avenue were installed last fall as part of the Road Program and remained throughout the winter. However, the markings were not placed according to the approved plans. As a result, the markings were recently removed and will be reinstalled by Public Works as their schedule allows this year. Blanchard Street Road Program & Bicycle Facilities - The 5-Year Road Program undergoes adjustments each year as we approach the design phase for individual projects. Blanchard Street is included in the 2025 Roadway Reconstruction & Resurfacing Program (RSW) and has been reviewed against both the Complete Streets Policy and the Bike Plan. There are two key sections of Blanchard under review: 1. Naperville Road to Hawkins Circle – This section is scheduled for a mill and overlay project. A multi-use side path is not included in the current scope or budget. Staff is evaluating the feasibility of adding sharrows to improve bicycle accommodations. 2. President Street to Darwin Lane – This section is also scheduled for a mill and overlay project, with the initial plan calling for bicycle lanes. However, the pavement width is insufficient to accommodate both bike lanes or sharrows and the necessary collector street lane widths and removing the existing parking—critical to the adjacent residential areas—would be required to install dedicated bicycle lanes. Carlton Avenue Right-of-Way & Signage - The Carlton Avenue right-of-way will transfer to the City after DuPage County completes the installation of the concrete multi-use path along the west side. Until this is finalized, it remains under County jurisdiction. Sign at Roosevelt & Carlton - This is classified as a traffic signal sign per the MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices). For compliance and effectiveness, it must be mounted directly on the traffic signal. Unfortunately, there is no available space to attach the sign to the existing traffic signal structure. Since this is a regulatory sign, it cannot be placed at an alternate location. 2 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 26, 2025 Traffic Safety & Enforcement – This is an individual roadway user ignoring traffic laws. This includes bicyclists who fail to stop at stop signs or follow crossing guard instructions. Improving compliance in these areas falls under public education efforts. Intersection Bump-Outs - The City evaluates potential bump-out locations in two ways: formal public complaints and annual Road Program review. There is no pre-established list of intersections for bump-out installations; each location is considered on a case-by-case basis. Additional bump-outs may be installed in the future, including one scheduled for Childs & Carlton as part of a DuPage County project this year. Bump-outs are evaluated based on multiple factors: ● Local roads typically do not require pedestrian bump-outs due to lower traffic volumes. ● Arterial and collector roads present challenges for bump-out construction due to large vehicle turning requirements and cost implications. The Engineering Department carefully assesses the feasibility of bump-outs within the annual construction queue while balancing all roadway user needs. Coordination with IDOT - IDOT is a higher regulatory authority that must approve many City projects, particularly those involving state or federal funding, state oversight, or projects affecting state-owned roads. While the City also reviews IDOT projects that impact Wheaton, most interactions involve obtaining IDOT approval for City-led infrastructure improvements. The City and IDOT work to ensure coordinated improvements, but approval timelines and regulatory requirements must always be considered. V. Ongoing Business A. Slow roll ride with WPD 2025 Survey The survey went live on 3/19/25 on the Wheaton Weekly email. Michelle had suggested, in a previous email, that we leave the survey open for a month's time. Bob recommended that we keep it open until the end of April and ask the City to include it again in the Wheaton Weekly email the week before it closes. Bill reported that he had seen on Facebook a woman from Riverside, IL who said she’s done several slow rides in their community. Bill will reach out to her to find out more about how they do their slow rides. Laurel suggested we can do a quick ABC safety check and talk about how to ride safely together at the slow ride. B. Press release for EBDRT Survey Bob will reach out to Ginger or Bob with EBDRT to see if they have a press release or any ready made prose we could use to encourage people to take the survey. It was discussed that we would send this press release to people who have done our group rides. C. 2025 Calendar of Events i. Group Rides The calendar of events was reviewed and amended with the following updates: 3 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES March 26, 2025 -George agreed to lead the May 4th and October 18th group rides. -George recommended that the October 18th group ride start from Seven Gables Park rather than the Community Center due to the shopping center congestion. ii. Recycling Extravaganza Apr 12 volunteers 1. 8am - 10am - Bill and Rita 2. 10am - noon - George and Lou iii. Bike & Roll to School May 7- Connor will do this Press Release iv. Paige Donahue Event. Aug 2nd @2pm Connor recommended we highlight on our calendar that we are not sponsoring the Paige Donahue Bench dedication on August 2nd, but we will add a comment that we encourage people to attend. v. History Ride-Bob G agreed to topics & dates? Bill reported that Bob is OK with this date, but that he has not confirmed a topic. Bill will follow up with Bob on a topic. VI. New Business None Next Meeting: April 16, 2025 X. Adjournment - 7:39 pm Approved 4