Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-07-19 BABAB MinutesBozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB) Meeting Notes for August 7, 2019 6-8 p.m. City Hall, Commission Room BABAB’s purpose is to recommend safe bicycle practices throughout Bozeman in regard to enhanced bicycle circulation and design, community-wide bicycle education and safety programs, and other matters relating to bicycling in the Bozeman area. Public in attendance: Marilee Brown with Board Members and Liaisons in Attendance: Danae Giannetti, Chrissy Pepino, James Lusby, Candace Mastel, Jason Delmue, Leila Fleishman, Jason Karp, Taylor Lonesdale, Tawnya Healy, Andrew Brechbuchler A. Meeting called to order at 6:04pm B. Previous Meeting Minutes Approved C. Introduction of Taylor Lonsdale, newly appointed City Transportation Engineer Board members and Marilee introduced themselves to Taylor D. Public Comment – No public comment E. GAP TOP Grant: Informational Item (Marilee Brown) GAP works with major paths in town, they are currently focused on the path from Bozeman to Belgrade, which has been a 30-year effort. Recent developments now make it very doable. (She distributed a map handed to all in attendance.) Map shows Frontage Road Pathway in various segments, using color to differentiate. Phase 1 will cost around $200,000 Phase 2 will be $200,000-$300,000 Dark blue sections of the map, not yet complete, still need funding. Some funding might be available, and Gap is applying for the funds. They will need letters of support from members of the community etc. The path could be completed within the next five years. She stated that you would be able to ride your bike to the airport. Yellow section of the map will also need more funding. They will be asking for money for this in the future, not now. Initially, they will need to raise 150,000 dollars. They are going to apply to Trails Open Space and Parks (TOPS) and will then pursue fundraising of $50,000. She mentioned the things that BABAB has done in the past to support this project and said they will again be asking for our support. F. City Transportation Update: Informational Item, Taylor Lonsdale Construction updates: • Cottonwood is being reconstructed, preparing for High School • Babcock to Durston is an arterial project • Durston and Ferguson getting a roundabout • Durston will be reconstructed just east of Fowler • Oak St. between Cottonwood and Ferguson being done, will open ASAP Question from Candace: the new striping on Durston, it is very narrow. Taylor said they are hoping to get that corrected. Question from Danae: at Folwer, will there be a signal after Durston is reconstructed? Taylor unsure, will look into it. Taylor spoke to public comment from a recent commission meeting in regard to local streets being narrow. It is something that is going to be looked at. Further discussion about streets that are dividing up our community. Does the TMP need to stop having certain street design implemented? Candace commented that she would like to meet with Taylor and Shawn Coates monthly and include a few BABAB members, not a quorum, to find out what is happening. Shawn said he was not sure it was appropriate. Taylor is looking for a way to make something work that makes us all more connected, cohesive. Taylor to BABAB: • Do what you can do to build consensus within folks from the neighborhoods. • Work to be representatives of a broader group. Jason Delmue expressed that he is glad that we have you (Taylor) on board with his new position. Question from Marliee: You mentioned that the CIP was 25,00 and increased to 50,000 thousand, has there been any comment about TA funding drying up? Answer from Taylor: MDT needed take a pause on TA funding. At the National level the Senate has brought back a transportation bill. It is a bipartisan bill. Comment from Marilee: PTS agreed to lobby nationally and statewide to request more state funding. Comment from Taylor: I am hopeful we will see TA a source again. No question it has been a good source, it has pluses and minuses. G. League of American Bicyclists “Overview of Best Practices for Bicycle and Pedestrian Committees”: Informational Item, Danae Giannetti Back in Spring, when I joined the board, Christy (fellow board member also new at the same meeting) and I were trying to figure out what is going on, wanted to get a pulse of where BABAB is going and what are we doing. She discovered the League of American Bicyclists document. The lengthy document left her with the following: How can we help transportation staff? Help staff prepare and answer questions A Work Plan could be a way to track progress and hand off to future board members. She would like to make an impact while she is on the board. Feels that there should be information available that is separate “from the person”. After a person leaves BABAB, how do we capture the historical part of their efforts on the board? Summary: What could a Work Plan look like from this committee? Andrew: Where can we house the information? Candace replied that we have a Google Drive account. Documents can be placed there to create a history of their work. Chrissy: she feels that institutional knowledge has been lost with certain board members moving on. Whatever the file, hopefully we have a place to retain information. Candace reiterated the importance of us communicating with City staff and a place to retain information. Candace: We as a board would like the opportunity to be more proactive but in order to do so we would like to be included in the conversation in the beginning. Not getting it after the fact. Danae: We must be complimentary to city staff. Lila: Thanked Danae for her efforts and mentioning, there are other advisory boards that have different processes, they all have a range of authority levels with the city but, for example, CAHAB has built-in feedback on upcoming projects. They have several differences but maybe we can expand our thinking of how we compliment the city's work. Perhaps there are ways we can use Danae's workplan suggestion to be more preemptive in the future to ensure we are meeting our goals of promoting bicycling best practices. Marilee pointed out that KHAB have paid people advising them. Lila: How do you leverage unpaid board members? Could the review by BABAB be added in as a step in the decision making process? Candace: We don’t have the power, Taylor is not forced to come to us to get project approval, I wonder if there is a way for us to do more through a Work Plan but not be quite what KHAB is. I think this is a great topic that we can continue with next month. Danae: I will bring a draft Work Plan next month, to create a working outline that we can all use. Candace: Taylor, would you be willing to show city staff what we are developing with Work Plan to get their input? Taylor: I will get BABAB calendar dates for items that we need input on, prior to the event, so we can prepare. Jason D talked about taking policy level information to commission, that is how I see this group working is taking policy information to staff. You have had your input in the criteria that is being evaluated. Begin thinking about what we want the bicycle network to look like in Bozeman and what policy do we need to be aware of to make it happen. You are the commission on all things bicycle. Jason D: We would like to advise them on all things biking, including how much money should City Commission be spending on particular projects. H. Letter to City Commission: Action Item - Danae Giannetti and Candace Mastel Danae and Candace wrote a letter to be presented to the City Commissioners. The objective of the letter is as follows: We wanted to start the conversation of what we do, what boards purpose is and what we intend to do. We would be specific about certain projects. Chrissy made a motion to approve based on slight modifications to the letter. Danae made a motion to table the letter topic until September Marliee: There is no need to micromanager the letter, don’t need 12 people to write a letter Danae seconded the motion made by Chrissy to accept the current letter with modifications to the City CIP and Priority Plow Routes sections. Upon modifications the letter will be sent without further modification. All approved, none opposed. I. Old Business 1. City Staff/BABAB Meetings (Candace Mastel) – covered previously in meeting 2. Jason D - what is the status of the maps? A. Andrew - to Taylor, please get the GIS Dept. to fast track this map 3. Jason D. – any update on Drivers Education? No update from Danae 4. Danae – has a contact for Hawk T.V. can we get an ad on there for a bicycle rep? 5. Andrew – has a Freshman starting this month, I can recruit my child, there might be other kids interested too I. New Business 1. West Babcock Walk Audit (Chrissy Pepino) Chrissy – Denny Hess has invited BABAB to do a walk on West Babcock, Aug. 13th 5:30 pm, meet on 6th and Babcock, to Identify opportunities for traffic calming measures and a two- way cycle track J. Adjourn 8:07 pm For more information, contact Taylor Lonsdale, City of Bozeman Transportation Engineer. This board generally meets the first Wednesday of the month from 6pm to 8pm. BABAB meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability that requires assistance, please contact our ADA Coordinator, Mike Gray, at 582-3232 (TDD 582-2301).