Capital
District Transportation Committee
Bicycle
and Pedestrian Task Force
Record of
Meeting on October
26,
Attendance: Don Odell (Albany County
Dept. of Economic Development, Conservation and Planning), Don Robertson
(NYSDOT- Region 1), Paul Russell (Town of Colonie), Ivan Vamos,
(New York Bicycle Coalition), Monique Wahba (City of
Albany Planning Department), Paul Winkeller (New York
Bicycle Coalition), Katherine Forster (CDTC)
Regrets: Bert Schou
(CDTA)
1.0 AGENDA AND MEETING NOTES REVIEW
There
were no changes to the September Task Force meeting notes. Additions to the Agenda were added under New
Items and Other Updates.
2.0 UPDATE ON ACTION ITEMS
(September 16, 1999) Staff to continue discussions with the print shop regarding the reprint of the Mohawk Hudson Bike/Hike Map. (See Item 3.1)
(September 16, 1999) D. Robertson to invite someone from DOT who deals with signage issues
to the next Task Force meeting. D.
Robertson will try to invite someone to the November meeting.
(September 16, 1999) Staff to summarize the results of the trail maintenance survey for a
future meeting. (See Item 3.3)
3.0 ONGOING TASKS
- Consideration for mileage to be also shown in kilometers for tourists. This could be done on destination signs but may be confusing on mileage markers.
-
Landmarks and towns should be indicated on signs.
-
At entrances, there should be large destination signs.
-
Uniformity should be stressed for consistency of signs. Sign standards should be stated for size,
shape and colors of signs and letter fonts.
-
Promotional signs should be explored.
D.
Robertson will verify the correct wording for the On-Road Signage portion. The Task Force members would like to explore
different types of signs (sizes, colors, and different types of materials) at
the next meeting.
Aside: D. Robertson is meeting with Brian McMahon of Edwards and Kelcey to discuss signage for the Champlain Canal Trail Scenic Byway next week.
3.3
Bike Trail Maintenance
Survey: One
last survey is still outstanding. Staff
will pursue the completion of this survey.
The Bike Trail Maintenance map, created in-house, was circulated. An ownership map will be created next.
4.1 Spot Improvement Program: $300,000 will be made
available for the program, with a call for submissions in early 2000. This call for submission will be done in
conjunction with CDTC's Enhancement program, where $1
million is available to projects that did not make the State DOT's Enhancement
list. CDTC staff and DOT staff will sit
down soon to discuss procedures for the programs. The Task Force will be asked to approve these
procedures before they are submitted to the Transportation Committee.
4.2
NYBC's Governor's Traffic Safety Grant: P. Winkeller
discussed the 3-year grant that NYBC received to fund a Bicycle and Pedestrian
safety project. The first part of the
project is working with three different counties in New York State (and a borough
in New York City) to identify collision hot spots and their engineering
remedies. The second part of their
project is creating a Best Practices Guide with examples from around the state
to educate others. They will be looking
for a local working group from each selected county to help NYBC with the
identification of the "hot spots" and to formulate the education
program. Albany County is one of the
counties that is on the short list. For
more information on this project check their web page: www.nybc.net.
4.3 Bike Path from Schuyler Flats: P. Russell is interested in seeing a bike path built from Schuyler Flats to the Albany Rural Cemetery using the Albany County sewer line and other rights-of-way. The bike path would go through Menands and he asked the Task Force for suggestions on who should be involved and what should be his next step. D. Odell advised that the Sewer Department is a separate entity from Albany County. It was also suggested that he head up a meeting with all the stakeholders (including Albany County, Menands, CDTC, Town of Colonie, etc.) to discuss the possibilities for this proposed bike path. P. Russell will bring a map of the area to the next meeting.
5.0 OTHER UPDATES
-
The final public report on the Enhancement Plan for the Champlain Canal
Trail Scenic Byway will be held at Schuylerville School on November 16 at
7:00pm
-
The National Meeting for the National Youth Hostel Association will be
held in Albany from November 17-21, 1999.
Ivan Vamos has details.