Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission

Wheaton Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission August 20, 2025 7pm Gamon Room, Wheaton City Hall, Wheaton, IL In person and Virtual meeting I. Call to Order 7:00 pm Members present: Michelle, Lou, George, Bob, Cate, Laurel Members present via Zoom: None Members absent: Bill, Rita, Connor, Mike Public Present: Will Kolschowsky, Wheaton Assistant City Manager Public Present via Zoom: None II. Agenda Item Approval of July Minutes Motioned: Laurel Seconded: Cate Unanimously approved via voice vote. III. Public Comment - Will Kolschowsky, Wheaton Assistant City Manager said he will be our WBPC City Liaison. Will said he started in the Assistant City Manager position in mid-June and that he and his family moved here from Urbana, IL. Will said that he oversees other city commissions, day to day projects, Engineering and Code enforcement. He said that the Engineering department is now fully staffed. IV. Agenda Item Chair Report- A. August City Council Meeting Mike submitted the following notes from the 8/4/25 meeting: ● no citizens to be heard ● Class M liquor license amended - now able to sell distilled spirits along with wine ● Historic Commission - reappointment confirmed ● Delete dormant liquor licenses (some have not been used in years due to narrow specification of license) ● 700-800 E Roosevelt restoration (south side of Roosevelt, east of Chase street) - contractor approved in case building owner does not proceed with restoration of land (city will place lien on property and recoup contract amount if needed) ● Janitorial Services contract approved ● Mayor Council Comment - National Night Out, 8/5/25 (5-8 pm) B. Grant Writing/Bike Plan Consultant - No updates WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES August 20, 2025 C Recruitment of Additional WBPC members Lou contacted Susan Bishel for guidance on how best to recruit additional members. Susan discussed with the Mayor and he would like to put out communication regarding all available positions for boards & commissions equally across the board. He understands our request and will review applications as they come in to help fulfill the needs of boards/commissions. Susan will be including a call for residents interested in participating to apply for open positions in the 7/31/25 Wheaton Weekly email newsletter, and will follow up with something in the monthly newsletter on 8/1/25 and on social media. D. Bike Station to be Installed at Wheaton Library Betsy Adamoski, Wheaton LIbrary Executive Director, reached out to Lou informing us that they will be doing a plaza renovation that will include a bike station. Betsy was asking for guidance on the bike station and sent a link of what they were looking at which was basically a bike pump with a pressure gauge. Lou responded and suggested she contact the City (Joe Tebrugge and Mike Dzugan) to find out where they purchased the bike station that was installed on the IPP ( southwest corner of Main street) since this bike station included some bike tools in addition to a bike pump. Betsy reported that they have seen a great increase in bike riders to the library and she thinks the bike area will be better for the bikers and the Plaza. V. Ongoing Business A. National Night out recap Laurel said we gave away all of our swag bags in about an hour and that it worked well to have attendees answer 2 answers correctly using the flashcards. Michelle and Laurel suggested that we have 100 swag bags and a tablecloth for next year’s event. B. Contributions for 2025 Annual Report i. 2026 Goals & Requests for 2025 Annual Report Michelle reviewed our 2026 goals and we discussed which goals to make a priority for 2026. Here are the 2 goals that were decided upon: ● Work on getting Bike Friendly City designation by 2027 ● Communicate problem intersections to the City Engineering department for possible traffic calming options Michelle brought up that Class 3 e-bikes are allowed on DuPage County trails (but not the Forest Preserves) and that they have an age restriction - riders must be 18 years of age or older. Michelle wants to add this age restriction reminder to our webpage. DuPage County Forest Preserve allows only Class 1 and 2 e-bikes. ii. 2026 Budget Michelle reviewed our 2026 budget. Since we recently purchased a large quantity of giveaways and will no longer be making print copies of maps, our total budget will be much less in 2026 - approximately $200. Michelle motioned to have Alphagraphics do another 50 (100 half sheets) of our History Ride flyers so we have enough to hand out at the Farmer’s Market and to distribute to area bike shops. Laurel seconded the motion. Unanimously approved via voice vote. Michelle motioned that we purchase a $60 DWA gift card for Bob Goldsborough, our History ride docent. Cate seconded the motion. Unanimously approved via voice vote. 2 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES August 20, 2025 C. History Ride i. Schedule Practice Ride - It was decided that Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2 pm will be our practice ride. Michelle will email Bob G. this date and see if he can come. Laurel will contact Community Service and request their support. George will write up the specific intersections where we’ll need support for Laurel to give to Community Service. ii. Advertising 1. Michelle will Email Susan Bishel to advertise flyer on all media 2. Michelle will ask Susan Bishel to add to city calendar 3. Email group riders and past history riders - Lou will send emails out on 9/6 4. Ride Illinois advertising update - Bob said they know about it. Bob will also send a link to Ralph at the Daily Herald. 5. French Market Sept 13 - Bob will ask French Market for a table and will send out a sign up list for volunteers. We’ll have giveaways and flashcards for this event too. iii. Giveaways- We discussed having at least 50 swag bags to distribute on the day of the History ride. D. Michelle will ask Susan Bishel to add the location of the Working Bikes drop off at the Wheaton Park District Community Center on Blanchard Street to our webpage. E. Walk/Roll to School Press release - Connor will do this press release and will email it to Susan Bishel. VI. New Business A. Warrenville Plan - DuPage County Active Transportation plan survey Michelle encouraged everyone to complete this survey: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ZhFuMzs7f/?mibextid=wwXIfr Laurel will write a press release for this (similar to the Warrenville press release) and send it to Susan Bishel. B. Report to DuPage County Forest Preserve Police (630-933-7240) When You See Motorized or Class 3 e-bikes on Forest Preserve Trails We will post this on our webpage. C. Former Nokia site in Naperville to become Data Center We received an email about a proposed data center coming to the former Nokia site in Naperville. The concern was expressed that this will have a negative impact on Herrick and Danada Forest preserves due to diesel fueled generators that make a lot of noise and that diesel fuel tanks will be buried in the ground. Here is the link if you want to protest this development (Reminder: You can only protest as a private citizen, not as a WBPC member): https://www.change.org/p/deny-the-proposed-data- centers?recruiter=1168014641&recruited_by_id=0b9a2990-39f7-11eb-81a4- e7baa487d202&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=take_ next_step&utm_medium=copylink&utm_content=cl_sharecopy_490693498_en-US%3A8 D. Gary UMC is Sponsoring Bike to Church this Sunday, 8/24/25 E. Invite Melisa Ribikawskis, DuPage County Senior Transportation Planner, to our October meeting - Michelle will email her this invite. Next Meeting: September 17, 2025 X. Adjournment - 8:30 pm 3 WHEATON BICYCLIST & PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES August 20, 2025 Approved 4