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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 Page 1 of 4 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. Page 2 of 4 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. Page 3 of 4 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 Page 4 of 4