Southeastern Pennsylvania Bicycle Issues Task Force July 19th, 2001 Minutes (Draft)
Location: PennDOT Engineering District 6-0, 7000 Geerdes Blvd., King of Prussia, Room 203B Attendees: Name Organization Phone Email Dave Bachman PennDOT (717) 783-8444 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Patti Marshall PennDOT (717) 705-1444 [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Burkhardt The RBA Group (717) 697-0100 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bill Ruhling URS Corp/ BCDV Mont Co Comm (215) 646-6727 [EMAIL PROTECTED] David Bennett DVBC (610) 626-1344 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Nicole Hostettler DVRPC (215) 592-1800 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Susan Simkus MCPC (610) 278-3554 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tim Brennan Gannett Fleming [EMAIL PROTECTED] Matt Bochanski PennDOT [EMAIL PROTECTED] Edwin M. Hein Jr. SCI [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Madera DVRPC (215) 592-1800 [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Boyle BCDV (215) 985-2839 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tom Shaffer DCPD (610) 891-4306 [EMAIL PROTECTED] The meeting was called to order shortly after 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 19th, 2001 by Dave Bachman. He introduced the new bike and pedestrian coordinator at PennDOT District 6, Matt Bochanski. Introductions were made around the table. The minutes from April 19th were approved, with some revisions. These changes involved the PennDOT changes. PennDOT officials announced the opening of Bicycle PA routes A, Y, and L at a press conference. Mr. Bachman added that the project signage for these routes, not the trails themselves, were funded by TEA-21 funds. Also, the new rumble strips that are being constructed were tested by officials at PennDOT (including Mr. Bachman), the state Pedalcycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PPAC), and students at Pennsylvania State University. 1. PennDOT updates - Dave Bachman Bicycle PA PennDOT will officially open all six present bike routes next week. These routes will be available for review on the PennDOT website. Future routes were discussed, including the near completion of Route E. Mr. Bachman stated that maps and cue sheets are in demand for these routes, and that PennDOT needs to accommodate this. Yield to Pedestrian channelizing devices Mr. Bachman stated that this project is in final review. PennDOT has contacted a number of municipalities, and has found crash accident sites. They have over 500 devices on order, and will probably need to purchase more. Bike Facilities Checklist Mr. Bachman announced that the bicycle facilities checklists received approval by PMC, which will encourage the process. Shoulder Paving Initiative Mr. Bachman stated that PennDOT will encourage MPOs and LDDs to become involved in the shoulder paving initiative along Bicycle PA routes. There are approximately 1,500 miles open in Pennsylvania, with a goal to pave 100 miles, year. PennDOT hopes to acquire lists from PennDOT districts of where deficiencies are located. This list would then be given to LDDs and MPOs for TIP development. Tom Shaffer asked if any tourist promotion for Bicycle PA routes would occur, as there were areas that have debris and clutter along the routes. Mr. Bachman said promotion of these routes was occurring, and if there are any areas that needed attention please notify him. New RFP PennDOT is focusing on completing uncompleted short-term and mid-term tasks of the 1996 bicycle master plan. There would be an 80/20 match, and $750,000 allotted to the project over 3 years. 2. PennDOT District 6 Report - Matt Bochanski Mr. Bochanski stated that he met with Greg Brown, as part of familiarizing himself with his new role at PennDOT. He stated that there has been an amendment to the TIP to allow $300,000 for a consultant to examine the state contracts for line striping, allowing space for bike lanes. This would be incorporating changes in the surface treatment program. Mr. Bochanski stated that the consultant selection process would start soon and will be ready in spring 2002. The program is considered to be a pilot program. Tom Shaffer asked if it would affect projects done in 2002. Mr. Bochanski said it would. Mr. Bochanski added that there is a new type of material used on some PennDOT roads that has been producing less stones and residue for bikers on the shoulders of the roads. This reformulated oil-and-chip concrete has been used in parts of Chester County. Mr. Bochanski reported that the county has not received any complaints in four years. 4. DVRPC Reports - John Madera A. PA Transportation Enhancements funds 2002 John explained the process of the upcoming third and final round under TEA-21 of the Transportation Enhancements application process. There is $8.3 million available in District 6, plus $2 million from SEPTA in transit enhancements. Applications will be available from the DVRPC website after August 6th. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the three workshops offered: August 22, 2001 King of Prussia 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Valley Forge Room Upper Merion Township Building 175 West Valley Forge Road (PA 23) King of Prussia, PA 19406 August 29, 2001 Media 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. Council Chambers Delaware County Government Center Building First Floor 2nd and Orange Streets Media, PA 19063 September 12, 2001 Philadelphia 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Conference Center Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission 8th Floor - The Bourse Building 111 South Independence Mall East Philadelphia, PA 19106 Applications are due at the close of business at the PennDOT Central Office in Harrisburg on October 26th. Dave Bachman asked if technical design will be considered. John Madera replied that most of the projects are not in the design stage yet. Bike Facilities on Existing Roads John Madera explained the current project of DVRPC to implement bike lanes on existing and future roads being built. 70 miles of suburban roads were examined. Three of the seven corridors were chosen to move into design stage. Seven firms responded to an RFP. John Madera selected four firms for invitations to offer proposals. In this year's project, staff will work closely with PennDOT and the counties as they develop the scopes of work for highway projects to be submitted for TIP inclusion, to determine appropriate project for the inclusion of bike lanes. The Clean Air Council will continue on as a subcontractor, making presentations before municipal officials on the value of bicycle and pedestrian accommodation. PennDOT originally prepared a slide show, DVRPC revised it, and the presentation has received positive results. In response to Mr. Bachman's question regarding how much the slideshow was revised, John Madera stated that there was considerable change to the script and input of the graphic design. Patti Marshall stated she'd like a copy of the revised slide show. Tom Shaffer stated that he'd like a schedule of when and where the slide show will be appearing. ACTION ITEM: John Madera should send Patti Marshall a copy of the slide show and send Tom Shaffer a schedule of the slide show presentation. C. Share the Road Campaign John Madera announced that Doylestown is ready to participate in the Share the Road campaign. There will be a number of kick-offs in September. D. Bikes on PATCO John Madera and a representative of the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley met with Tom Hickey, the Chief Executive Officer of PATCO. The meeting was initiated by DRPA. They wanted opinions of bike leaders in the region concerning PATCO's bike policies; specifically, dissolving the bike permit requirement, open trains to reverse peak travel of bikes, putting in bike lockers, etc. John Madera said he would keep everyone posted. Announcements Don Gephart, DCNR, could not attend today's meeting. Mr. Madera read announcements pertaining to DCNR activities, as follows, which were forwarded by Mr. Gephart prior to the meeting: Two DCNR Community Conservation Partnerships Grants Workshops will offered on September 5, 2001 9-noon and again from 1:30-4:30pm at Plymouth Township Community Center, Contact Pa. Recreation and Park Society for registration at 814-234-4272. Workshop is free, but registration is required. Community Conservation Partnerships Program Grant application manuals will be available in early August at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/grants or by calling DNCR in Harrisburg 717-783-4734 (applications are at the printers now, 7/8/01). Applicants should contact a DCNR Regional Advisor prior to obtaining an application. Regional Advisors in SE PA: Fran Rubert at 215-560-1183 for Chester and Montgomery Counties Don Gephart at 215-560-1182 for Philadelphia, Delaware and Bucks Counties New development in ATV trails with passage of new legislation. $1-1.5 million available for ATV/snowmobile trails, and will be part of Community Conservation Partnerships Grants Programs. Recreational Trails Program will have about $1 million available statewide under DCNR, and will be part of Community Conservation Partnerships Grants Programs. Land and Water Conservation Fund Program will be part of the C2P2 application process. Potential for up to $12 million could be available statewide. Available Keystone Grant Program Funding the past few years has been about $24 million statewide. DCNR Growing Greener Funding should be about $8 million state wide. PA DCNR Keystone $ + PA DCNR Growing Greener $ + Federal LWCF $ + Federal Recreational Trails $ = Community Conservation Partnerships Program $ (C2P2 last year was about $34 million statewide, If LWCF passes in Washington D.C. the number could boost up by another $8-12 million statewide). Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is conducting a "Southern Crossings Transportation Corridor Study." Public meetings and comments will be held soon regarding considerations for transportation systems in the areas of the bridges. Warwick Township (Bucks) is forming a new trails committee. Upper Makefield Twp. (Bucks) was recently funded for a municipal trail system plan. Pennridge Area (Bucks) recently completed an 8 municipality Greenway Plan (with trails). PA DCNR is cooperating with the PA Dept of Community and Economic Development in coordinating DCNR Grants (for open space, parks recreation and greenways) with DCED Land Use and Technical Assistance Program (LUPTAP) Grants for Comprehensive planning updates. End result is lower local share to complete plans. PA DCNR will be embarking on a "DCNR Stakeholder Driven Process" in March 2002. PA DCNR is embarking on a Metropolitan Partnerships Initiative. Demonstration areas targeted are Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Initiative is looking at strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for partnership, between DCNR (State Parks Bureau, Forestry Bureau, Topologic & Geologic Services Bureau, Recreation and Conservation Bureau), DCNR's Partners, and Urban Partners of the Commonwealth. Meetings are yet to be scheduled, and should occur over the next 18 months. 5. County/City Reports - Tom Shaffer & John Boyle Tom Shaffer stated that the Chester Creek Trail is close to entering the engineering stage. Friends of the Chester Count trail are completing their feasibility study. The trail is about 6 miles long. He also stated that the trail at 619 and Route 1, as part of the East Coast Greenway is making progress. The county hired consultants for the preliminary stages, and is hoping to complete this by the end of the year. He also stated that the Delaware County Bike to Work Day on June 8 was very successful. There were about 20-25 bicyclists in Media. The event marked Mike Farrell's last day at Delaware County. John Boyle of the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley reported on the success of bike racks on buses in the NJTransit South Jersey fleet. This was exemplified as the way SEPTA buses should be operating in regards to bicyclists. There are many complaints regarding drivers not accepting bikes on board, and inconsistent deployment of rack-equipped buses. However, with recent letters by Dennis Winters, the SEPTA Citizens Advisory Board, and other bike representatives, SEPTA may take the steps necessary to encourage bike rack usage on SEPTA buses. SEPTA needs 1,200 new bike racks at a cost of approximately $700,000. They will be applying for SEPTA TE 2002 funds. Ignorance and institutional resistance were cited as the main reasons for SEPTA's neglect of bicycle rack usage. Edwin M. Hein, Jr. of the Suburban Cyclists Unlimited asked Dave Bachman about the educational enhancements. Mr. Bachman stated that there was no meeting date as of yet. There would be in late August at the earliest. Next meeting date: Thursday, October 25th, 2001, at 8 a.m. A suggestion was made to hold the next meeting at SEPTA to engage them in the issues of bicycle accessibility. John Madera will look into that. The meeting place is yet to be determined. John Madera will do some informal polling through the email lists regarding future meeting venues. Meeting adjourned by Dave Bachman at approximately 5:40 p.m. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley list named "bike." To subscribe or unsubscribe, see <https://list.bcdv.org/>.
