Capital
District Transportation Committee
Bicycle
and Pedestrian Task Force
Record of
Meeting on October 5, 2004
Attendance: Salim Adler (PTNY), Judy Breselor (Rensselaer County), Mark Cashman (MHCC/LAB), Lindsay Childs (Guilderland Pathways),
Andy Labruzzo (Albany County Planning), John Stangle (Village of Menands), Dom
DeCecco (retired), Don Odell (Retired), Elaine Troy (NYSDOH Healthy Heart), Deb
Spicer (NYSDOH), Jaime O’Neill (Saratoga County Planning), Ivan Vamos (NYBC), Shelley Lang (CDTC), Teresa La Salle (CDTC), Jason Purvis (CDTC)
1.0 AGENDA AND MEETING NOTES REVIEW
The September 2004 meeting minutes were approved.
2.0 PROJECTS/PROGRAMS AND OTHER UPDATES
2.1 Zim Smith Trail Update-
Jaime O’Neill-Saratoga County Planning: Jaime indicated that the trail extends
through 4 towns and 2 villages from Ballston Spa to Halfmoon. The trail was started in 1974 on top of the
sewer ROW. The new portions of the trail
will be stone-dust in the rural areas and paved in the urban/suburban
areas. The County is working on moving
an existing bridge from Saratoga to put over the Mourning
Kill to mitigate the modest bridge budget.
The County is still negotiating money and encroachment issues with the
neighboring land owners. When complete,
the trail will be approximately 9 miles and be for non-motorized traffic.
3.0 ONGOING
TASKS
3.1 Guilderland Pathways
Committee:
L. Childs reported that the Town has hired an engineer to prepare bid
specifications for sidewalks and also hired Wilbur Smith to review the Pathways
Masterplan.
3.2 Greenway Linkage-Rensselaer County: J. Purvis reported that the final public
meeting was held on September 30th in North Greenbush.
There was a very modest turn out for the meeting. J. Purvis passed around an article from the
Troy Record. The article pointed out
several of the barriers faced in the project but did not discuss the ways these
barriers were worked around throughout the project. The final report is expected soon.
3.3 Patroon Greenway Linkage: The SAC met and discussed the format of the public
meeting. The public meeting will be held
on October 20th at the Livingston Middle
School in Albany. Jason will
confirm the starting time with the group.
The final report is expected soon.
4.0 NEW BUSINESS
4.1
Increased
Meeting Participation: J. Purvis noted that he would send a letter
out this week to try and get increased attendance at the meetings. It was suggested that neighborhood
associations be invited along with other municipalities to inform us of their
needs/wants for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
4.2 Spot Improvement – Round 3: J. Purvis noted CDTC will hold an
informational meeting for recipients on October 12th at 10:00
a.m. DOT will discuss the administrative “burdens”
of receiving federal aid
4.3 Other New Business:
J.
Purvis reported that he attended Better Roads Workshops in both Malta and Clifton Park sponsored by the NYBC. These workshops were related to recent
fatalities in these communities.
On
October 9th from 10am-4pm there will be a memorial
ride for David Ryan. The ride will begin
at the GE Research Complex. The price is
$10. Please call 385-0343 for more
information.
There
was a concern from the group about the signage for appropriate sharing of the
MHBHT.
J.
Purvis noted that it will probably be another month before the Mohawk-Hudson
Bike-Hike Trail Map is delivered from the printer as there have been issues
with the files.
J. Purvis
reported that he will be participating in the trail planning of a NYS Thruway
Trail from Rotterdam to Montgomery County.
S.
Adler noted that a public meeting to discuss the connections between Manor Avenue and the Waterford Visitors’
Center will be held on September 30th in Cohoes. It was also noted that the Fulton Street bridge will be replacing the
sidewalks with 4 foot shoulders. Salim
will be presenting this project at the November Task Force meeting. Bob Speece and John DiMura will be asked to
attend.
J.
Stangle reported that the paving on Broadway should be completed shortly and
that Stewart’s will have a Grand Opening October 15 or 16.
Ivan
noted that Jesse Day gave a presentation on Pedestrian Safety to the Hudson
River Environment Society. A flyer was
left for a Dec. 6th meeting announcement in Kingston related to roadsalt.
L.
Childs asked if there were any standards for bicycle storage at public
places. If not, should we develop
them? A. Labruzzo noted that the County
has made recommendations but usually get ignored. There needs to be something in the local
codes--none exist in NY. It was
suggested that Lindsay look into Palo Alto, CA as a good example.
E. Troy reported that Walk Our Children to School Day is next Wednesday. Elaine mentioned a physical activity
challenge in Duanesburg in which mixed messages were sent because the streets
had to be blocked and the kids had to be escorted by the police and fire
departments.
J.
Purvis reported that it is expected that Rich Karis of the NYS Canal Corp. will
be doing a presentation at the December meeting.
5.0 UPCOMING EVENTS
-
The next
CDTC Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November
16th, 4:30
p.m. at the CDTC
Offices.