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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board and Pedestrian & Traffic Safety Committee Discussion.pdf Commission Memorandum REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission FROM: John Van Delinder, Street Superintendent and Aimee Kissel, Deputy City Clerk Debbie Arkell, Public Works SUBJECT: Discussion with the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB) and The Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee members MEETING DATE: April 18, 2011 AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Action RECOMMENDATION: Conduct discussion among the Commissioners and these boards. BACKGROUND: As volunteer boards who support the City, BABAB and the P&TSC would like to discuss how best to work with the City to implement bicycle and pedestrian networks as recommended in the Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan. BABAB drafted a position description for a bicycle/ pedestrian coordinator and distributed it to City and County staff in early 2010 to begin a dialogue. In February 2011, City staff attended BABAB’s monthly board meeting to discuss City and BABAB efforts to further our bicycling/ pedestrian networks. The April 18th meeting is a continuation of this dialogue regarding City, BABAB and the PT&S committee priorities and efforts to create a robust multi-modal transportation network to provide more transportation choices. The Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB) was created by the City Commission in September 1990 (Resolution No. 2817) with duties and responsibilities being later established with Ordinance 1594 in 2003. Its 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. In 2010, the City Commission passed Resolution No. 4246, authorizing the bike board to raise funds for the purpose of supporting activities for bike to work week and bicycle safety awareness and education. In 2010, the City Commission adopted Ordinance 1795 which added several positions to the board and added additional duties saying, ‘The board may organize, sponsor or participate in events with the aim to increase cycling participation, promote safety and educate the community. BABAB promotes opportunities for Bozeman to make bicycle commuting more safe and effective. We provide input into the documents that govern growth such as the Transportation Plan, Community Plan, and Growth Policy. We also try to stay abreast of individual construction projects (e.g., N. 7th, Rouse and Downtown) and ensure that input is received from a bicycle commuting standpoint. The same is true for periodic maintenance projects (e.g. Peach Street re-striping; S. 8th Ave. water main/paving). We also try to monitor new subdivision applications to ensure that the required on- and off-street bicycle facilities are provided and that they coordinate with the rest of the system that is in place (or intended to be installed with future development). Also, each May we organize and staff Bike to Work and School Week to encourage people to give bicycle commuting a try and to provide useful information about commuting. We also periodically update and print the local Bike Map, which shows the various bike lanes and trails (and gaps in the system) to help people choose a safe and effective commuting route. The BABAB board shall consist of up to eleven members who will serve two year staggered terms. One member shall be a student of Montana State University, one shall represent Gallatin County. Each member may be reappointed without any limitation on the number of reappointments. Members must be of legal age. In addition, one non-voting liaison shall be a student of Bozeman High School. A majority of the board shall be residents of the city. Non-resident members of the board shall have some interest in the city by virtue of working in the city, owning property in the city, or entering the city frequently for any lawful purpose. In addition, the members should be knowledgeable of bicycling and/or traffic safety in the Bozeman area. The Bozeman Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee was created circa 1970 by an interlocal agreement between the City of Bozeman, the County of Gallatin, and School District 7. Each of those three bodies appoints/elects two voting members and one non-voting member to the Committee. Although not required, the practice generally has been that the two voting members are private citizens while the non-voting member is an administrator. The current non- voting member from the City is John Van Delinder. Individuals who have served in that capacity previously have included James Goehrung, Chris Saunders, and George Tate (Police Chief). The six voting members (two each from the City, County, and School District) may elect zero, one, or two additional at-large voting members. On its own initiative, the committee has established two non-voting "liaison officer" positions, one for a member of the Bozeman Police Department and one for a member of the Sheriff's Office. Those two departments designate their respective representatives. This Committee promotes public safety, awareness, and education in order to reduce traffic deaths, injuries and property losses and to make recommendations to the governing bodies regarding pedestrian and traffic safety issues. The Committee (1) has provided language that TCC accepted for inclusion in the current transportation plan, (2) assisted the CTEP task force, (3) supported the work of the Safe Routes to School initiatives, (4) advised the City Commission on a number of issues including the intersection at Willson and College, the intersection of College and 11th, the North Rouse project, and the complete streets policy, (5) unsuccessfully lobbied the state legislature for permission to use red-light running cameras and for restrictions on the use of hand-held cell phones, (6) convinced MDT to alter operation of the downtown pedestrian signals, (7) met with senior City administrators to discuss topics of mutual interest, and (8) collaborated with the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board on issues of mutual concern. UNRESOLVED ISSUES: This agenda item is for discussion purposes and no specific action is required. ALTERNATIVES: This agenda item is for discussion purposes and no specific action is required. FISCAL EFFECTS: This agenda item is for discussion purposes and no specific action is required. No fiscal effects are expected from this item. Attachments: None Report compiled on: April 11, 2011