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03/27/2012 Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Regular Meeting Adopted 04/24/2012 City of Gilroy Preliminary Minutes of the Regular Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Meeting 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, 2012 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Scott Francks at 6:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Scott Francks (Vice-Chair), Libby Lai, Conrad Lather, Tony Marandos, ALSO PRESENT Don Dey, City Transportation Engineer Theresa Hernandez, Recording Secretary, Recreation Department ABSENT Thomas Muniz COMMISSION SECRETARY’S REPORT ON POSTING THE AGENDA The agenda for the Tuesday, March 27, 2012, regular meeting was posted on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 11:20 a.m., in the window of the foyer by the Council Chambers in City Hall. PRESENTATIONS TO COMMISSION A. PUBLIC COMMENT BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA, BUT WITHIN THE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OF THE BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN COMMISSION Please limit your comments to 3 minutes (This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the commission on matters not on the agenda. The law does not permit Commission action or extended discussion of any item not on the agenda except under special circumstances. If Commission action is requested, the Commission may place the matter on a future agenda.) PUBLIC PRESENT Rebecca Scheel, Parks and Recreation Commissioner APPROVAL OF MINUTES Two corrections were made to the February 28, 2012 minutes: • Page 5 – should read ACTC and not ATCT. • Page 6 at the bottom, Under “Commissioner’s Announcements” for Libby- the web site title should read everybodywalk.org not everybodywalks.com With these two corrections, Libby moved and Tony seconded the approval of the minutes for February 28, 2012, as written, hearing no objection it was so ordered. BPC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2012 Page 2 OLD BUSINESS A. Introduction to Safe Cycling 101 Class/Recreation Department - Update Scott No Public present. Scott rode the class route about two weeks ago with the instructor, Tom Cassera. The class route has now been finalized. Scott asked about non-residents attending the class. Don stated that he would check with Recreation to see if non-residents are able to attend. Staff explained that most Recreation classes have a $5.00 non-resident fee attached to the Recreation classes. Libby identified that the location of the class has been changed to the TEEC Building at Christmas Hill Park. Libby asked if there would be refreshments provided for people attending the class? The Recreation Department does not provide any kind of refreshments or snacks for classes. Libby asked about the lighting out at the TEEC at night. Don will check with Monica in Recreation about the lighting out at the TEEC. Libby is also concerned about the cost of the class. The Commission would like to know the dates for registration. Don will find out the dates for registration and get back to the Commissioners. B. Complete Intersections – Update of SR 152 Investigation by VTA – Thomas/Don This Item is postponed until next meeting since Thomas is absent. C. Share the Road Signs Based on LAB Next Steps – Tony No Public Comment. Tony reported that the official request for the donation of signs to the Almaden Bicycle Touring Club went out last week and a copy of the request is attached to the minutes. Don did see an email saying that the donation should arrive shortly. BPC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2012 Page 3 C. Share the Road Signs Based on LAB Next Steps – Tony cont’d Tony reported that there have been several suggestions for the location of the signs. Don stated that he does not anticipate any problems with the proposed sign location sites under City of Gilroy jurisdiction; however, it may be more difficult to install signs on Caltrans (State) roadways. Some of the suggested locations for the signs are as follows: • Eastbound - Sixth St./Dowdy • Eastbound - Sixth St./Alexander west of the intersection • Westbound - Sixth St./Rogers Lane • Westbound - Sixth St./Eigleberry • Santa Teresa Blvd./Sunrise • Whiskey Hill (this is County area) • Santa Teresa Blvd./Eagle Ridge (anything south of First St. is also in the County) Tony would also like to see a sign or two on Monterey Rd. in the downtown. Conrad asked why so many signs were proposed for Sixth St. Scott stated that Sixth Street is primarily a narrow street in this section with existing bike lanes. Tony stated that he has received 3 bids for the signs and the bids have been forward to Don for his review. D. Bike Month Update – May 2012 – Don Don reported that the proclamation will be made by the Mayor at the April 23rd Council Meeting to prepare for May being Bike Month. E. Bike Month Banners – Tony Nothing new to report. Tony stated that there is not enough time to get the banners this year; however he plans on continuing this work for next year. NEW BUSINESS A. Bike to Work Day Energizer Station – Conrad Conrad stated that he has been in contact with Jen Rishing, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. Jen sent Conrad a worksheet to help him organize and plan an energizer station. Conrad reported that he is not sure if the date for Bike to Work Day is May 10th or May 18th. Conrad stated that the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition coordinates the county wide Bike to Work Day and this year they have it scheduled for Thursday, May 10th. Conrad will find out what the exact date and report back to the Commission next month. Conrad told the Commission that the energizer station will be located at the train station starting at about 5:30 a.m. and ending at 7:30 a.m. Conrad will coordinate this with the arrival of commuters in and out of the transit center at Seventh and Monterey. BPC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2012 Page 4 Tony volunteered to help Conrad with the energizer station. Scott suggested that Conrad ask the Coalition items to give away to Bike to Work Day participants. Rebecca Scheel suggested that the BPC contact the City of Gilroy’s Youth Commission to be involved with the energizer station. She also suggested that the BPC contact Susan Voss the volunteer coordinator from the Recreation Department for additional help. Don told the Commissioners that he will need to discuss the donation letter with the City Manager before it can be sent out. Don asked Conrad to find out from his contact at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, how other agencies are able to get “give away items”. Conrad will report back to the Commission on the energizer station at the April Meeting. B. Bike Month Press Release – Libby Libby spoke with Susan Valenta from the Chamber of Commerce. Susan told Libby that she has already put May 18th as the date for the Bike to Work Day into the Focus magazine. Libby has not spoken with the Dispatch regarding the Bike to Work Day because she is not sure of the correct date. Libby also spoke with Police Chief Turner concerning safe routes around the City. Chief Turner told Libby that the police do have safe routes for bicyclists around the City of Gilroy. Libby would like to invite the Police Bicyclists to attend the Safe Cycling Class. Libby also stated that she would like to invite Kurt Ashley to come and speak to the Commission regarding the safe routes. Libby reported to the Commission that she will be preparing Bike Month information for the Out N About magazine. Staff suggested that Libby talk with Monica in Recreation about getting the Safe Cycling 101 class on the Recreation Facebook page. Tony suggested that Libby also talk to the Patch to announce the Safe Cycling 101 class. Scott will get the date for Bike to Work Day confirmed and he will provide that information to Libby and to the Commission. C. HST Station Visioning Project Update (attachment) – Don Don shared a summary of the report that was presented to the City Council on the High Speed Train Station Visioning Project. The City’s consultant, DC&E, were hired to provide community outreach for the HST Station Vision project and provide a report that allowed the City Council to make an informed decision on a preferred location for the HST station in Gilroy. Don made it clear that the City Council does not make the final decision for the HST station location; the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) makes the final decision. The City Council can make recommendations to the State agency. BPC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2012 Page 5 The Consultant held 4 Community Workshops, both in Spanish and in English to allow all members of the community to be aware of this project and to give them an opportunity to voice their preferences and opinions. There were also two workshops held with the City Council. At these workshops there were two potentials sites for the train stations presented to the council and to the public. One HST site is in the Downtown on the east side of the Caltrain station and the other HST site is an area just east of the Gilroy Outlets. At the workshops both sites were presented along with plans for developing the areas around the station, land use issues, along with advantages and disadvantages for each proposed site. Don explained that the visions presented at the workshop are only guidelines for possible future build out and development of the City. Included at the workshops were discussions about Community Values, Preservation of Agricultural Land, Preservation of Downtown Businesses, Cost Efficiency, Transit/Rail Interconnectivity, and providing Adequate Emergency Services. The City Council recommended the Downtown HST Station location. The current schedule and timing for this project is as follows: • CHSRA San Jose to Merced EIR/EIS due to be released January/February 2013 • 30% design plans for CHSRA preferred alternative completed 6/9 months later (August- November 2013) • Gilroy design agreement with CHSRA approval (December 2013) Don also informed the Commission that more information on the project is available on the project website www.gilroyhighspeedtrain.org Scott thanked Don for his report. CORRESPONDENCE A. Staff invited the Commission to the Volunteer Recognition Reception to be held on Thursday, April 19, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Senior Center. Staff asked the Commission to RSVP to Susan Voss at 846-0418 no later than Monday, April 9, 2012. The Commissioners can also contact Susan via email at susan.voss@ci.gilroy.ca.us COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS A. VTA-BPAC – Thomas Muniz Don told the Commission that it is time to vote to appoint a new representative to the VTA/BPAC. BPC Meeting Minutes March 27, 2012 Page 6 COMMISSIONER ANOUNCEMENTS Conrad – Thanked Tony for volunteering to help with the energizer station STAFF COMMENTS Don asked staff to make some changes to the planning calendar for the bike to work day and the 5K October fundraiser. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Rebecca Scheel-Parks and Recreation Commission Rebecca informed the Commission of the Great Garlic 5K Fundraiser on Saturday, October 27, 2012. Rebecca told the Commission that this is a fundraiser and all profits go to the Youth Scholarship Fund. Rebecca would like to encourage the BPC to participate or volunteer to help out at the event. The Parks and Recreation Commission have put together a letter that will be sent out to the community asking for donations from the Community and she shared a copy of the letter with the BPC. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING – April 24, 2012 Old Business: Items A thru E New Business: Items A thru B Invite Kurt Ashley to the April Meeting Appoint new representative to VTA/BPAC Update on Bike Map - Don Update on attendance/registration for the Bicycle Training 101 Class Banners Adjournment to the regular meeting of April 24, 2012 at 7:47 p.m. Adjournment: 7:47 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Theresa Hernandez Recording Secretary