Capital District Transportation Committee

Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force

Record of Meeting on August 10, 2010

 

Attendance: Jason Purvis (CDTC), Carrie Ward (CDTA), Nelson Ronsvalle (Town of Halfmoon), Raj Malhotra (NSYDOT), Elaine Troy (NYSDOH Healthy Heart), Jim Levy (Wilbur Smith Associates), Omar J. Peters (CDTC), Jeff Gritsavage (NSYDOT), Gina Gillooley (NYSDOH Bureau of Injury Prevention), Mike Wyatt (NYSDOT), Ed Tremblay (City of Cohoes), Jennifer Hogan (GTSC)

 

 

1.0            New Business

1.1            Bike Rack Program Update

1.1.1       First Year of the program has been completed. 300+ bike racks were installed across the Capital District. CDTA has posted a map of all the bike rack locations at http://www.cdta.org/schedules_map_bike_rack.php

1.1.2       C. Ward added that the 2011 program will begin in January with a revised MOU and new applications will be solicited. The issue of providing better guidelines and restrictions on the placement of the racks away from walls and in permanent locations was raised.

 

1.2            NYSDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council

1.2.1       J. Purvis reported on the August 2nd meeting, the first in several years. The meeting mostly composed of updates from NYSDOT and discussion on rumble strips policy. 

1.2.2       E. Troy requested information on the meeting’s invite list and attendance.

 

1.3            Drivers on Cell Phone Survey

1.3.1       Distracted drivers could be one of the greatest dangers to the most vulnerable of road users – pedestrians and bicyclists.  Recent local and national surveys count that between 4 to 16 percent of drivers were on or using a cell phone violating state laws.  

1.3.2       In discussion on how to reduce use, J. Hogan mentioned a grant program that targets cell phone violation enforcement, and E. Troy mentioned Cellutions technology that blocks cell phone use in cars for teen drivers.

 

1.4            Capital Coexist

1.4.1       Outreach continues with recent tabling at Valley Cats game July 24th , 28th  and Aug 3rd.

1.4.2       Capital Coexist is on Twitter with weekly safety tips. www.twitter.com/capitalcoexist. Capital Coexist/CDTC is slowly entering social networking websites, and a discussion was held that similarly for other public agencies, issues often arise on how best to use networking sites.

1.4.3       Other future Capital Coexist outreach will include an ad spot in area movie theaters and, as J. Hogan recommended attending, traffic safety board meetings.

 

1.5            Cycling the Erie Canal Bike Tour

1.5.1       The 12th annual event by Parks and Trails NY was held in July with a turn out of about 500 riders. Pictures are available at http://www.ptny.org/canaltour/, as well as information about 2011’s bike tour.

 

1.6            Local Project Updates

1.6.1       Sand Lake Hamlets Study – the first public meeting was held in July during which the consultants recommended several bike/ped improvements to roadways and trails. Next steps include the Town Committee selecting preferred options and refining the concept plan.

1.7            “They just don’t get it…..”

1.7.1       One image of an incorrectly installed bike rack, and of an anti-share the road license plate were shown.

 

1.8            Other New Business

1.8.1       J. Levy spoke about the danger to bicyclists he observed when road pavement work is being done and a gap step is made in the pavement.

1.8.2       R. Malhotra announced that Safe Routes to School projects are going smoothly except in Colonie where an issue with right-of-way has arisen.  

1.8.3       M. Wyatt suggested the idea that a program to collect and distribute second-hand bicycles would be good for the region to increase biking and awareness.

1.8.4       E. Tremblay announced that the trails in Cohoes project is going to bid which will improve trail way connections. He also mentioned the Bike Barn which restores bikes in Cohoes.

1.8.5       N. Ronsvalle announced that construction on the Champlain trails has begun.

1.8.6       J. Purvis mentioned a recent Times Union article on Complete Streets (available here: http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11608613)  and another from Boston Globe where a resident is advocating against bicyclists (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/08/changing_lanes_not_so_fast/). Purvis has also announced that the Route 50 Southern Gateway Study draft document is completed and will be shared with the Task Force when finalized. He also mentioned CDTC’s efforts to make display of the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) more interactive on the web by using Google Maps and enabling public comment.

 

 

 

2.0            Upcoming Events

2.1            Meetings Open to the Public

2.1.1       Next Bike-Ped Meeting is scheduled for Sept. 14, 9AM (Note: the Task Force is meeting at a new time)