Roadways and Sidewalks Subcommittee Meeting
September 6, 2007

Members present: John Riddick, Trevor Harris, Rob Christensen, Jack Cowherd.

Members absent: Christi Hopper, Robert Johnson, Fred Schmidt, Kristina Kaylen, Mark Virkler.

Staff Attendance: Ted Curtis, Steve Saitta, Jill Stedem, Eric Mumford.

The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm.

Introductory comments: None.

Adjustments to agenda: None.

Approval of minutes: A motion was made by Trevor Harris to approve the minutes of the May 3 and July 12, 2007 meeting as presented, Rob Christensen seconded, motion carried.

Old Business: None.

New Business
Merging subcommittees: Jill Stedem introduced the idea of merging the Roadway and Sidewalk and Trails subcommittees together to combine the efforts of both groups into one infrastructure committee. The project working plan includes a network of nine systems (trails, bike lanes and sidewalks) as a package, so it is believed the subcommittees would be more beneficial to work as one group on the entire planned network of infrastructure. By combining these two subcommittees, there would be one group working on infrastructure and the other already existing subcommittee concentrating on programming.  Everyone agreed this would be a good approach and should be proposed to the Executive Committee for further consideration.  It was also suggested the two committees be given defined roles and/or tasks to make their time more productive on the committee. The Executive Committee will be meeting on September 19, 2007 to discuss this issue further.

Project Manager’s Report: Ted Curtis
There was a discussion on cycle tracks (European treatment: separated bike lanes alongside a road) vs the standard striped bike lanes as used in the US.  Several expressed the strong opinion that if there were some separation – raised lane or some visual barrier – they would be more likely to use bike lanes on busy streets.  Pylons were suggested but they have maintenance issues – damage by snow plows, etc.  In separate discussions there is the possibility of using rumble strips as a separator, especially for bike lanes on paved shoulders (i.e, Stadium, Providence south of Reactor Field).

Other Business:
Steve Saitta and Trevor Harris volunteered to work on a subcommittee with Corri on retrofitting bike racks to existing businesses as a cost share program.  

It was noted that First National has had an interest in the arts and might be asked to support a few art-type bike racks.   

The committee could help “open doors” for the staff to talk to businesses.  

Next Meeting: TBD

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:00.

September 6, 2007