Capital District Transportation Committee

Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force

Record of Meeting on June 9, 2009

Attendance: Jason Purvis (CDTC), Nelson Ronsvalle (Town of Halfmoon), Raj Malhotra (NYSDOT Region 1), Elaine Troy (NYSDOH), Don Odell (Albany Bicycling Coalition), , Ivan Vamos (NYBC), Jim Levy (WSA/Niskayuna Resident), Joshua Poppel (Alta Planning), Rob Leslie (Town of Bethlehem), Jeff Gritsavage (NYSDOT), Mike Lyons (Town of Colonie), Jennifer Clunie (NYBC), Katie Bronson (City of Albany), Mila Vega (CDTA)

1.0 New Business

1.1 Presentation--J. Gritsavage introduced the NYSDOT GreenLites program which can be considered equivalent to the LEEDS program for DOT projects. This program is not mandatory within DOT but highly encouraged. The Department is going through the first revisions of the program and is asking for comments on the evaluation criteria. The criteria can be found on the NYSDOT website front page (Click on GreenLites logo). Comments can be sent to Jeff at jgritsavage@dot.state.ny.us.

1.2 Bicycle Education--update – CDTC and the City of Albany Planning Staff are working to together to develop a strategy to distribute information on bicycle safety within the City. We are waiting to hear back from GTSC on partnership opportunities.

1.3 NYSMPO Conference-- J. Purvis provided an overview of the June 4-5 conference which included a presentation and walking tour highlighting the Albany Bike Plan.

1.4 UAlbany Survey-- Very limited information was provided on the status of the survey.

1.5 Bicycle Parking w/CDTA- CDTC and CDTA are working together to formulate a bicycle parking program that would help fund bike racks throughout the region. For municipal sponsors, the funding is expected to be at 100% and for private sponsors the funding will be 50/50. M. Vega is working on a scope of work for the project. Task Force members may be asked to review the requests.

1.6 Bikes Belong E-Grant-- E. Troy shared an announcement for a Bikes Belong Grant. More information can be found at www.bikesbelong.org/node/41 or by emailing Elizabeth@bikesbelong.org. The deadline for applications is August 24, 2009.

1.7 Bike Map Update--J. Purvis reported that the updated Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trial Map is making good progress. T. LaSalle continues to update the many GIS layers contained in the map.

1.8 Local Project Updates

1.8.1 Albany Bicycle Master Plan – The second public meeting was held on Thursday, June 18 at the Albany Public Library Main Branch on Washington Avenue. There was a “drop-in” session to collect information, fill out comment forms, etc. between 5:00 – 6:30 pm followed by a workshop and presentation at 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Comments may be emailed to: AlbanyBikePlan@cdtmpo.org.

1.8.2 Route 50--CDTC, NYSDOT Region 1 and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will undertake a Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Study of the Route 50 Corridor in Saratoga Springs from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center pedestrian bridge area to Congress Avenue/New Street, as well as the southern section of West Avenue and Congress Ave/New St around the Saratoga YMCA and the Railroad Run multi-use trail as part of the Unified Planning Work Program. In a general sense, the study will include that assessment of existing bicycle and pedestrian conditions, the development of preferred alternatives for safe bicycle and pedestrian crossing locations (prioritizing major recreational destination connections) and the development of preferred alternatives for traffic calming measures - while aiming to improve the pedestrian environment for CDTA transit customers, (including safe waiting areas and pedestrian access), and giving consideration to existing planning efforts and development. J. Purvis is working on a draft scope of work

1.9 They just don’t get it… - The Task Force discussed the current constraints to bicycling at the Maple Ave School in Saratoga. Articles from local papers were shared.

1.10 Complete Streets Legislation-- I. Vamos and J. Clunie reported that there is a Complete Streets bill in both the House and Senate. NYBC newsletters were distributed highlighting the bill. For more information visit www.nybc.net.

1.11 Scheduling of Meetings July-December 2009.--The following dates were selected for the remainder of 2009.

Tuesday July 21st @ 4:30pm

Tuesday August 11^th @ 4:30pm

Tuesday September 8^th @ 4:30pm

Tuesday October 20^th @ 4:30pm

Tuesday November 10^th @ 4:30pm

Tuesday December 8^th @ 4:30pm.

The next Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues Task Force Meeting is scheduled for July 21^st at 4:30pm