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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-05 - BPAC Minutes MEETING MINUTES DESCHUTES COUNTY BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, April 5, 2018 - Noon to 1:30 pm West County/Sisters Agency Cord. Summit/ Location: Sisters City Hall 520 E. Cascades Ave. Audio recording of this meeting is archived for review and/or transcription. The purpose of this document is to outline topics of discussion and actions by the Committee. Members Present: Cheryl Howard, Mark Smith, Dave Thomson, Katie Hammer, Katrina Lagenderfer, Wendy Holzman, Ann Marland, Rick Root, Christopher Cassard. Agency/Organization: Zechariah Heck (Deschutes County – CDD), Matt Kittelson (Kittelson & Associates), Gary Guttormsen (Sisters Trail Alliance), Chris Cheng (ODOT – Transportation Safety), David Amiton (ODOT), Paul Bertagna (City of Sisters). Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. Introductions Attendees of the meeting introduced themselves and, if applicable, identified the organization they represent. Approval of Prior Minutes The March 1, 2018, were approved unanimously with the following updates: o Jeff Monson’s name misspelled. o Friendly Driver program misspelled. Paul Bertagna, Sisters Public Works Paul presented an overview of Sisters TSP-refinement project, which includes multi-use paths and pedestrian infills. They are highlighted below.  Sisters is updating the Transportation System Plan (TSP), the objectives are: o Better circulation on the east side of town, including Highways 20 and 126. o Near and long-term improvements to US20/Locust Street. o Realignment of Barclay Drive Corridor. o Revisions to bicycle and pedestrian system plans. Page 2  Roundabout on Highway 20 and Barclay Avenue – the roundabout has been operational since May 2017. The city has solicited for an art project to be located in the middle of the roundabout.  Multi-use path adjacent to North Locust Street – the path will be along Main Ave. and extend toward The Lodge (assisted living facility).  Grand Peaks – a new 38-lot subdivision in Sisters. They will be continuing the multi-use path to the northern city limits. Ideally, this path will connect with Camp Polk someday.  Proposed roundabout at US 20 and OR 126 – the timeframe is the next 3 to 5 years. The intersection will be located further to the east and will provide increased safety benefits, including bike and ped facilities. The roundabout is estimated to be very expensive and split between the city and ODOT.  US 20 and Locust Street: Mini-roundabout – the project will happen in the near-term. The roundabout can be built within the existing right-of-way. The center will be slightly raised to allow larger traffic to drive over. Surveys have shown that people avoid this intersection because of challengers merging onto US 20. Forecasting could be thrown off because of this situation. o A long-term fix involves right-of-way impacts to neighboring parcels, the proposed roundabout would necessitate more space because it is a larger roundabout. o The third option, another long-term project, is a “peanut” design. This design has less impacts to neighboring properties.  Dave T. commented the longer a roundabout is, the more time a bicyclist is in the same lane as motor vehicles.  Multi-use path between South Pine Street and Barclay – the path will follow north along Pine Street. The construction will begin within the next six months. o Gary with STA asked if a multi-use path will be extended further along Highway 20. Bertagna mentioned that there are discussions to extend, but nothing planned at this point in time. o Dave Thomson asked if there has been any feedback regarding bike-ped experiences along the roundabout. Bertagna stated the response has generally been positive.  Barclay Drive and Locust Street – construction update that will add capacity and increase flow of traffic.  Barclay Corridor Realignment – proposed to include a three lane expansion and multi- use paths along the right-of-way. Gary Guttormsen, Sisters Trails Alliance (STA) STA was originally part of the Sisters Park and Recreation District. Since 2011, STA has composed a trail master plan. A pathed multi-use path has been a high priority in Sisters. Past projects have been appealed and have not come to fruition. A path from Sisters to Black Butte Ranch is a high-priority. Chris Cassard asked where the support of the path could come from. Gary mentioned the City might be interested in supporting the path, but will likely first need to see support across the community. Surveys have been conducted that indicate support for the project. There is talk about connecting to Camp Sherman if the path to Black Butte is created. Page 3 STA is also involved in the State Scenic Bikeway project. There is a kiosk in town that promotes bikeways within a 50 mile radius. They hope to encourage economic development within the area through the kiosk. The Mili Fire had a real impact on the trails in the area. STA is working with the US Forest Service to install a future kiosk in the burned area to educate the public on the fire. Access roads through the burned area are anticipated to open over the next two years because significant reconstruction is needed. The STA is partnering with the US Forest Service to highlight the Metolius River and the Whychus Creek. Two other partnership projects of STA are a trail accessing Sisters High School and another accessing the Whychus Creek trail network. A new bridge is proposed in the Indian Creek campground, which may be constructed by the fall. A new STA map is being published, but one currently available digitally on the STA website. The organization has a website where maps can be downloaded (sisterstrails.org). STA has purchased four trail counters to better understand the amount of people utilizing the trail systems within the Sisters area. BPAC Business Tri-County Summit Planning  Dave updated the group on the event planning efforts for the summit. Oregon BPAC will not hold a joint meeting this year. There are approximately five speaker commitments at this point. The summit date is May 23rd and will be hosted in Prineville. Committee Updates  Vision Zero Subcommittee – o Dave provided an update on the process the Vision Zero subcommittee. The group has created a document they want to send to the County Commissioners. o Zechariah asked the group if there is an interest in presenting the letter to the commissioners during a work session rather than simply sending the letter to them. o There was support for the work session proposal. Chris Cassard motioned to accept the document and direct staff to schedule a work session with the c ommissioners; all committee members were in favor. General Updates  Cheryl stated there will be three open positions on the committee that will need to be filled. A media release will go out as soon as possible. Zechariah, Chris and Dave will coordinate interview schedules. New members need to be recommended at the June meeting. Wendy Holzman mentioned she is willing to be on the interview committee.  Cheryl clarified the Bend City Council and La Pine City Council will need to supp ort the nominated candidate(s) for new members representing those areas. Page 4  ODOT o The department is in the early stages of planning for a Highway 97 safe transportation corridor, which will include bike and ped elements. o There are safety improvements proposed on state facilities between Bend and Redmond; they may include bike and ped elements. o Federal Land Access Program (FLAP) applications will go out soon. Local projects involve repaving of McKenzie Highway to Dee Wright Observatory. The other projects involve construction on facilities from Bend to Lava Butte, and an extension of a multi-use path to La Pine.  Redmond o The Quiet Street Program will kick off later this month. Redmond is also kicking off their TSP project. Vision Zero is a policy that will be discussed.  Bend o The city is in process of updating their TSP, as well as the Bend Municipal Planning Organization (MPO). Rick Root will keep BPAC informed on the process.  La Pine o The city and partners held a kick off meeting for the University of Oregon’s Sustainably City Year Program, which has selected the La Pine for the 2018-2019 school year. Open Floor No items were brought up from the general public. Meeting Adjourned at 1:35 pm Next Meeting: Thursday, May 3, 2018 12:00 to 1:30 pm ODOT, 63055 N Hwy 97, Building M, Diamond and Crater Lake Conference Rooms, Bend