HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-08-14 Bicycle & Pederstrian Advisory Meetintg Mnutes Town of Ocean City, Maryland
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
Meeting Minutes
OCEAN CITY BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE (OC BPAC)
Meeting Minutes
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 2019
TIME: 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM
LOCATION: City Hall, Executive Conference Room
301 Baltimore Avenue
Ocean City, MD 21842
RE: OC BPAC Meeting#13
ATTENDEES: See Sign-In Sheet for all attendees (only Members are shown below)
X Joe Marx(Business Owner) X Sgt.Allen Hawk(PD&Vice President)
Sandy Gillis(Resident/Business Owner) Bill Neville(Planning&Zoning)
X Mike Steinen (Resident) X Tony DeLuca (Council Liaison)
X Paul Mauser(Engineering& President) Glenn Irwin (OCDC)
X Hal Adkins(PW) X Jana Potvin (SHA Member)
X=In Attendance at Meeting
ACTION ITEMS:
#: Name: Action Item: Due By:
Complete League of American Bicyclists Public Survey Link and
1 All Members distribute as broadly as possible to residents and local area bicyclists. Sunday,
09.22
https://www.surveVmonkeV.com/r/app BFC FA19
2 Paul Mauser Complete Oceanside Bike Rack Design and provide to PW. Friday,
08.16
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
• OC BPAC provided a presentation to MBPAC(Maryland Bicycle&Pedestrian Advisory Committee)
on July 12th at the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce.
• OC BPAC and the CSIT (Complete Streets Implementation Team) provided an annual update to
Town Council on July 30th: http://oceancitVmd.igm2.com/Citizens/Detail Meeting.aspx?ID=5456
• Recent Press Releases:
o https://www.oceancitvtoday.com/news/committee-considers-test-bike-racks-in-
oc/article 81d49bc4-a97d-11e9-b89b-d315c562eOf2.html
o https://www.oceancitvtoday.com/news/bpac-meeting-presents-goals-and-tackles-
safetyconcerns/article 5478ae74-a97b-11e9-867a-d3e944217a80.html
o https://www.oceancitVtodaV.com/news/bpac-talks-bike-safety/article 45bb6040-a97e-
11e9-85d0-4f041b555627.htm I
o https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2019/08/01/beachfront-bike-racks-planned-in-resort/
o https://www.oceancitVtodaV.com/news/bike-racks-lights-and-cycle-
safety/article b549216a-b9fd-11e9-b24b-13edb7edb2ed.html
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Town of Ocean City, Maryland
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
Meeting Minutes
o https://www.wmdt.com/2019/08/shared-bike-lanes-widening-sidewalks-pieces-of-
ocea n-cites-plans-to-i m prove-safety/
• Updated Member List and Bylaws provided to all BPAC Members (updates included addition of 1
member of Town Planning and Zoning Department, Bill Neville).
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
13.1. Review&Approve 2019.07.10 Meeting Minutes and Action Items:
a. Paul reviewed the Meeting Minutes and Action Items with the Committee.
b. Joe motioned to approve, Mike seconded, none opposed.
13.2. Lights on Bikes Program—status update (Allen Hawk,Tony DeLuca):
a. Allen reported results of Bicycle Light Distribution and Bicycle Collisions in Town as noted
on the chart below. The OCPD has installed nearly all lights from their inventory and is in
need of more. Jana stated that SHA has approximately 20 lights immediately available.
Allen is planning to reach out to MDHSO (Scott Keller) to see if more lights are available.
Tony is going to contact the Chamber of Commerce for more lights.
b. On August 12th and 13th, a group headed by Tony DeLuca, Mark Paddack, and OCPD staff
setup on St. Louis Avenue and installed 55 lights and 40 lights, respectively, on the bikes
of individuals riding along the public right-of-way. The group is planning to setup again
on Robin Drive and Coastal Highway soon. Tony added that Matt James is planning to
team up with the Fire Department one evening as well for a similar bike light installation.
Bicycle Light Distribution
2018 N/A N/A N/A 1 2 1 33 1 3 1 17 1 88 1 5 30 1 4 1 d 1 208
2019 0 4 7 1 10 1 34 1 123* 1 142 1 - I - 320
894 Distributed at J-1 Events
Bicycle Collisions
January February March April May June July August September October November December Total
2019 0 0 0 1 1 4 6 - - - - - 12
2018 0 0 a 1 3 4 9 5 3 1 0 0 26
2017 0 0 1 0 2 8 9 9 1 0 0 0 30
2016 0 0 2 0 1 2 12 7 3 0 1 0 28
2015 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 12 1 0 1 0 23
Avg. 0 O 4.6 0.25 1.5 3.75 9.5 8.25 2 0.25 0.5 O 26.75
2019
Bicycle at Failt—10(3 Transposed fDr Medical Treatment)
Driver at =acL—1I
Pedestrian at Fault-1(1 Personal Injury)
13.3. J-1 Student Education—status update (Mike Steinen):
a. Mike is continuing efforts to educate J-1 students about the importance of obeying traffic
laws and utilizing bike lights. Mike has personally installed 49 lights this year.
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Town of Ocean City, Maryland
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
Meeting Minutes
13.4. Bike Route project updates:
a. West OC Hiker/Biker Trail project update (Jana Potvin):
i. As a follow-up to the July 101h BPAC Meeting,SHA is analyzing the crosswalks and
any visibility concerns.
ii. The project is on schedule to be completed by December 31St, 2019.
iii. Upon project completion, cyclists should dismount from their bikes and walk
along the south side of the bridge to connect to the existing ramp down to
Caroline Street which connects to the bike route on St. Louis Avenue.
iv. Tony discussed that the parking on the north side of Route 50 (in the shoulder
area directly adjacent to Hooper's Crab House) is becoming a dangerous situation
and requested SHA to consider prohibiting parking in that area. Hal informed that
this was considered years ago and there was significant opposition from the
fishing community. Jana discussed that in accordance with Maryland
Transportation Code (§ 21-1003 and § 21-1004), motorists are allowed to park
their vehicles along a state roadway. MDOT SHA has the authority to restrict
parking when it endangers those using the highway or interferes unduly with the
free movement of traffic on the highway. Any regulatory change requires
approval of MDOT SHA personnel outside of the District office, so the decision to
restrict parking must be data driven and should be supported by the local
jurisdiction.
b. 146th Street DE Connection (Paul Mauser): Design to be completed.
c. Montego Bay (Paul Mauler): Grant Application completed for$60,000. MDOT Bikeways
will announce awards around the end of September. Tony requested Paul to contact the
Montego Bay President to discuss community concerns and input of developing a bike
route.
13.5. BFC Application—status update (Paul Mauser):
a. Application completed and submitted on August 7th!
b. Awards will be announced in November.
c. The League of American Bicyclists provided a public survey link and advised the Town to
"distribute this link as broadly as possible to residents and local area bicyclists". Ocean
City Today and The Dispatch were present at the meeting and will include the link in Press
Releases. Paul will contact Jessica Waters to provide the link on the Town's Facebook
website. The link is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/app BFC FA19
(see Action Item#1).
13.6. Shared Use Path—Philadelphia Avenue (west sidewalk) N Division Street to S 1St Street
(Jana Potvin & Hal Adkins).
a. Jana discussed this with SHA's project manager (HB) for this project and in order to
accommodate a Shared Use Path, modifications will be required at all intersections.
b. Hal added that the Town is planning to remove the planter boxes along this sidewalk area
this fall due to the vegetation not growing well.
c. The Shared Use Path would need to be clearly signed to extend onto Caroline Street or
Somerset Street and direct cyclists away from one of the busiest intersections in Town—
N Division Street and Philadelphia Avenue.
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Town of Ocean City, Maryland
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)
Meeting Minutes
13.7. Bike Racks at Street Ends for Individuals Biking to the Beach (Paul Mauser):
a. Paul provided a conceptual design to Town Council on July 30tH
b. Paul has met with PW staff to discuss construction of the bike racks and field locations.
c. Paul will provide a final design to PW by the end of the week (see Action Item#2).
13.8. OC BPAC FY2020 Annual Calendar (Paul Mauser):
a. Paul discussed the proposed calendar with the group.
b. Tony commented to add in the date of the proposed trial "Bikes on the Beach" event
when the date is known.
13.9. Update on Impediments (Hal Adkins & Paul Mauser):
a 72nd/73 d Street Town Alley—Paul to complete site visit.
13.10. Alley Lighting Program (Glenn Irwin):
a. Glenn had prior commitments to OCDC meetings and was unable to attend this meeting.
Agenda Item will be moved to the next BPAC Meeting.
13.11. Open Session:
a. Rick Wawrzeniak has been working on a STRAVA social media profile for the Town bike
routes and is requested to provide an update at the next BPAC meeting.
b. Paul is to contact Tres regarding the status of the proposed trial event of "Bikes on the
Beach"this fall.
c. Paul discussed that at the MBPAC Meeting on July 12th,there were questions if Worcester
County had similar biking efforts as Ocean City. Ocean City was encouraged to develop
synergy of efforts with the county if possible.
d. Paul discussed that at the MBPAC Meeting on July 12th, the OC BPAC was advised to
consider advertising monthly meetings on the Town's Facebook page.
If there are any corrections to the Meeting Minutes, please notify the author within seven (7) calendar
days. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 11tH
Best Regards,
Paul B. Mauser, P.E.
Engineering Manager
Town of Ocean City
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