Attendance: Mark Cashman (MHCC/LAB), Dom DeCecco, Jennifer Krausnick (CEG), Richard Nussbalm, Don Odell (Albany County), Paul Russell (Town of Colonie), Deb Spicer (NYSDOH), Elaine Troy (NYSDOH), Ivan Vamos (NYBC), Katherine Forster (CDTC)

Regrets: Don Robertson, Bert Schou

There were no changes to the April Task Force meeting notes. The May agenda was revised prior to the meeting to include 5.3 Proposed/Planned Bike & Ped Projects Along the Hudson.

(September 14, 2000) The Task Force requested that another bicycle count be done now that Delaware Avenue was open to traffic. No action as of yet - this should be done Spring 2001.

(April 10, 2001) B. Schou will approach the police department with some suggestions for their Aggressive Driver's Campaign. No update at the May meeting.

3.1 Greenways Grant for Regional Bike Trail: The CDTC Planning Committee concurred in accepting the Greenways planning funding for a study of the Mohawk-Hudson Trail. CDTC and Albany County will meet soon to determine a draft action plan. In May the Task Force will be asked to provide input on this draft.

3.2 Schenectady Urban Bike Route Master Plan: At the April Steering Committee meeting, Edwards and Kelcey reviewed the public comments from the first public meeting held in March. There was a public consensus to build the riverfront trail in Schenectady. The one area where there was differing public opinion was the routing of the bike path through the City for a short-term solution. It was agreed that it should go through the Stockade but the choice of on-street routes varied. The second public meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, June 7, at 7:00 pm at the Community College. The members of the Task Force were asked to attend the meeting if they could to provide their input.

Jeff Olsen presented an outline of the Design Guidelines to the Steering Committee. One highlight was the newly approved MUTCD bike route signs that will help Schenectady identify a three-tiered system of local, regional and state routes. Another was the use of pavement signage with a directional arrow to show a shared lane. Signage for the Regional Bike Trail was discussed also.

4.1 Regional Bike/Hike Map: Staff had difficulty printing out the map for the meeting. This information will be input into the GIS system and when the new ECOS book is obtained Rensselaer County will be done.

4.2 CDTC's Bicycle Signage Guidelines: The CDTC Planning Committee has concurred that the guidelines should be distributed to all the municipalities and bicycle/trail/park organizations. This will be done later this month.

4.3 NYSDOH Initiatives: The NYSDOH Pedestrian Conference planning meetings continue to be held. The date for the conference is November 8-9 in Glens Falls at the Queensbury. At the next meeting on May 2, 2001 the committee will discuss topics and speakers. If you have any suggestions, please contact D. Spicer.

The June 13 Schenectady Pedestrian Road Show will be held at the YWCA. A direct mailing will be used to invite the downtown businesses, local officials and other interested parties. For more info contact Liza Miller at the YWCA at 374-3394.

5.1 Clean Communities/Tour de Sol: The Clean Cities program is a Federal program run by the Department of Energy. Any community can apply to be part of this program by initiating a coalition of organizations that support alternative fuel vehicles. Schenectady County was instrumental in creating and running the Capital District coalition for the past couple of years. Recently the coalition was looking for a more permanent location to house this program and CDTC was approached. With CDTC's efforts in TDM measures and promoting bicycle and pedestrian issues, it was felt that this program would be a good match with current CDTC staff efforts.

Each Clean City receives funding to host an Advance the Choice event (niche market to target fleets) annually. It also receives some funding for other promotions that the coalition wishes to do - for example a newsletter, meetings, etc.. The Capital District Clean Communities will be piggybacking their Advance the Choice event on to the May 23 Tour de Sol which will be held at the Empire State Plaza. There will be displays of recumbent and electric bicycles along with many alternatively powered vehicles that may be of interest to the Task Force.

5.2 Killed By Automobile Lecture: The Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club is hosting a public lecture/panel discussion on "Killed by Automobile" a provocative and unflinching report published by the New York City-based group, Right of Way. It will be held on Thursday, May 17, 7:00 pm at the television studios of Channel 16, Schenectady Public Access television. The lecture will be taped for later viewing on Channel 16.

5.3 Proposed/Planned Bike & Ped Projects along the Hudson: The Center for Economic Growth is working on a project that will present visually projects that are proposed along the Hudson River corridor. This video will help depict some of the future projects and what their visual impacts may be. This project is hoped to be used to further discussions among the municipalities and help with planning. J. Krausnick asked the Task Force to help her identify all the bicycle projects along the Hudson. The list that CDTC staff had faxed included:

• Bike/Pedestrian Bridge to Peebles Island (from Waterford)
• Cohoes Linkage project
• Hoosick St. Corridor Linkage Project
• Green Island Bridge Sidewalk
• South Troy Multi-Use Path
• Extending Riverfront Mohawk-Hudson Bike/Hike Trail in Watervliet
• Menands Bridge Access
• Schuyler Flatts (bike trail)
• North Greenbush Trail
• I-90 Exit 8 Extension (bike trail)
• Livingston Avenue Bridge Access
• Pedestrian Bridge over 787 (City of Albany)

The Task Force helped identify other proposed projects and links that are needed along the Hudson river.

• The next CDTC Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12, 2001 at the CDTC office, 5 Computer Dr. West, at 4:30 p.m.

• The annual Tour de Cure will be held on Sunday, June 3, 2001. All participants start at the Stillwater Central School. Start time depends on the length of ride you participate in. There is a 10, 25, 50 & 100 mile route. Call 1-800-868-7888 for more information.