RECORD
OF MEETING
BICYCLE
AND PEDESTRIAN ISSUES TASK FORCE
DATE/TIME/PLACE:
Wednesday, December 28, 1994, 5:30 - 7:00 PM, Colonie Community Center
IN ATTENDANCE:
Brad Birge (CDRPC), Emily H. Goodman (citizen member), Don Odell (Albany
County Planning Department), Don Robertson (NYSDOT - Region 1), Ivan Vamos
(Hudson River Valley Greenway Communities Council), Steve Allocco (CDTC)
DISCUSSION SUMMARY
Note: Any handouts referenced in the summary are
attached for those who did not attend the meeting.
Vision Statement:
As noted in past meetings, a vision statement which describes the Year
2015 cycling/walking environment in a single sentence or two can provide
transportation decisionmakers with a reference point -- a direction in which to
go in the coming years. As it might be
applied in the CDTC process, the statement could be a "reality check"
for Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) candidate projects, by considering
the question of whether a given candidate would further or at least not
conflict with the vision statement.
The group reviewed a
list of six possible vision statements, eventually modifying one of them to
come up with the following:
"The Capital District will be a
place where people can choose to bicycle or walk with confidence, safety and
security, such that both modes will become integral parts of the transportation
system."
This statement implies a
need for several changes both in the region's mindset regarding cycling and
walking and in the transportation planning and investment processes. The Task Force's recommendation package
provides the tools for achieving these changes.
During work on the
vision statement, a question was raised as to whether USDOT's national goal of doubling
the percentage of all transportation trips made by bicycling and walking while
also reducing by 10 percent the number of injuries and fatalities to bicyclists
and pedestrians would in itself be a key part of a vision statement. While it was decided instead to go with the
statement presented above, there was support for the idea that the Task Force
endorse the national goal in its recommendations and present it as a goal for
the Capital District.
Priority Bicycle
Network: The +341 mile draft Priority Bicycle
Network, with modifications suggested at the November meeting, was
reviewed. The distribution of Network
mileage about the four counties correlates fairly well with the distribution of
total highway mileage;1 still, it was suggested that a few more miles
be designated for Schenectady County.
CDTC staff will review the network and identify a small number of
additional streets which will improve coverage in Schenectady and
Rotterdam. Beyond these desired
additions and the suggestion that the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail be added to
the map as a reference (and to clarify why the Priority Network is largely
blank in the Niskayuna/Colonie area), the group concurred with the general
coverage and logic of the Network.
The handout providing
information on the content and purpose of the Network is intended to answer
some of the basic questions which other Task Forces will likely raise regarding
the role of the Network as a planning guide.
Recommendations as to clarifications/wording changes are welcome. Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force members should
give some thought to the question raised on the second page of that handout -- what
is the Task Force recommending for action on the Priority Network -- to
ensure that the functions of the Network as previously discussed will give it
real "teeth" in the planning process.
Upcoming Staff Work:
At this point, the Task Force has generated all of the basic products
required of it for Phase Two of the New Visions effort. During January and February, CDTC staff will
work on compiling this material into a plan document, using the handout on
long-range plan contents developed to date as an outline. There will not be a January
meeting. CDTC will solicit input,
particularly from NYSDOT, on the viability of a lot of what the Task Force is
proposing, as much of it would fall on NYSDOT for implementation. The present aim is to send out (to Task Force
members and those other interested parties on the Task Force mailing list) a
draft plan for comment at about the time the group would have met in late
January.
During January and
February, CDTC staff will also work on the "number crunching" end of
the New Visions process, establishing plan costs and benefits and applying the
core and supplemental performance measures discussed at the March, May and June
meetings. The results of this work will
in large part be the sorts of quantitative analyses which the Task Force has
not gotten much into in the course of its work; still, the findings will be
provided to the Task Force for informational purposes.
Other Items:
1. Don Odell
reported that he received from NYSDOT Region 1 Design a reply to his October 21
letter on the Route 20 project in Guilderland; a copy of the reply is attached.
2. Ivan Vamos
reported that he received from NYSDOT Region 1 Director Dick Maitino a reply to
his October 20 letter on the proposed I-787 Riverfront Access bridge; a copy of
the reply will be sent out to Task Force members when available.
3. Emily Goodman
reported that the New York Bicycling Coalition (NYBC) has reorganized,
established a new board of directors and expects to resume shortly its efforts
at pushing for better cycling conditions.
ACTION ITEMS
* CDTC to:
* compile Task
Force Phase Two products into a plan document
* contact
NYSDOT and others as necessary to get early input on the viability of the Task
Force's proposals
* send draft
plan document out to Task Force mailing list for review and comment (see below),
probably around the end of January
* develop plan
cost and benefit figures, apply core and supplemental performance measures to
generate objective evaluations of the plan
* Task Force
members to:
* consider
question of whether functions of Priority Network as discussed to date are
sufficient (see Page 2 of handout entitled "The Priority Bicycle
Network" for some possible functions not discussed in past meetings); get
comments to CDTC
* review draft
plan when available; get comments in to CDTC prior to February 22 meeting using
"red pen approach" (mark up draft with any suggestions and send back)
suggested at December meeting
* Next Task
Force meeting: Wednesday, February 22,
1995, 5:30 - 7:30 PM, Colonie Community Center, 1653 Central Avenue (across from
Lake Electronics). Meeting to
concentrate on discussion of draft plan, with short report on quantitative
evaluations of plan.
TO: Members of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Issues
Task Force
Other
Interested Parties
FROM: Steve
Allocco
DATE:
January 4, 1995
RE: December 28 Meeting Summary; Details on Next
Meeting
Enclosed please find a summary of the December 28
meeting. For those of you who did not
attend, handouts from that meeting are also provided.
At this point, the Task Force has generated all of
the basic products required of it for Phase Two of the New Visions effort. During January and February, CDTC staff will
work on compiling these products into a plan document and on the necessary
number crunching -- cost and benefit calculation, as well as application of the
performance measures discussed at the March, May and June meetings. As it currently appears that the next New
Visions conference may not take place until after May, we will have some
time to take "second and third looks" at the plan to ensure that it
covers all the issues brought up since the start of this effort.
The next meeting of the Task Force will be held on Wednesday,
February 22, 1995, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Colonie Community Center,
1653 Central Avenue, Colonie (across from Lake Electronics). At this meeting, we will discuss the content
of the draft plan along with any early results of the quantitative
evaluations. In the meantime, please
feel free to call, fax or write if any questions or comments come up.
Enclosure(s, for 12/28 meeting non-attendees)
1For those who may be interested, several regression
analyses were run comparing land area, total roadway mileage, Regional Bicycle
Network mileage and Priority Network mileage.
The R2 (correlation coefficient) for
Priority Network mileage versus total roadway mileage is .70; by comparison,
the R2 for total Regional Network
mileage versus total roadway mileage is .62.
The strongest correlation was found between total Regional Network
mileage and land area, at .91; the coefficient for Priority Network mileage
versus land area was .43.