Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee

Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes from June 3, 2015

Attending: K. Sturgeon, B. Byrne, J. Herbert, I. Scharine, M. Kaller, AJ Martine, D. Ward, A. Searle, B. Wheeler, R. Topham Absent: J. Staley, M. Gregory, P. Mair (all excused), S. Malone, Bud T., T. Jackson, K. Jones

5:30- Meeting Begins: Introductions Kevin Dwyer introduced himself as a member of the Salt Lake Trails Society and Bike Collective. His trails organization is a 501c3 applicant and strives to establish high quality natural trail resources for bicyclists in SL County. Their latest project is assisting with the development of the Draper Bike Park which is slated to open on July 3rd. Dwyer discussed high quality road trails as well, using the Bonneville Shoreline Trail as the primary example of a well-established and maintained bicycle trail system. Dwyer's organization works with volunteers groups, primarily the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), to establish and maintain natural trails. He stressed the need for cyclists to establish a significant notice in the Master Trails Plan for the county and for increased intercommunication between groups such as his and SLCBAC. The SL Trails Society holds open meetings as Este Pizza in Sugarhouse on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6pm. J. Herbert suggested to Dwyer that his group also connect with the County’s Dimple Dell Park Advisory Board as there is a wide network of natural surface trails there.

5:45- County updates: M. Hillyard discussed May's Bike Month activities and the good attendance at many of the events. She also mentioned the initiative placed before Kearns and Draper cities to establish a linked bike path in the near future. Development initiatives like this are likely to be the focus of the County's national application for a Tiger Grant in 2016.

5:50- Rob Greener from the Tour de Utah introduced himself and discussed the Tour's growth over the past year. They are steadily rising in international cycling race category and experience increased attendance and participation each year. They would be interested in teaming with SLCBAC in the future with sponsorship and media promotion where the committee would be eligible for a non-profit rate in advertisement.

5:56- Public Comment: The Millcreek area sponsors a 'Bike Night Out' family-oriented gathering along with a bike themed event later in the summer. M. Kaller reported Midvale's efforts to establish a street bike network system beginning with the installation of bike lanes on 6400 south. AJ reported that the city of Holladay is also planning on installing more bicycle lanes and connecting routes. J. Herbert reported that the Emigration Canyon Firehouse Day was a success and he experienced a majority of positive feedback. K. Sturgeon reported that Murray is in the process of installing striped lanes to designate sharing with bicycles along 6400 S. from 1300 W. to State Street, 5900 S. from State Street to 900 E, and Vine Street, from the Trax Station at 5300 S to Highland Drive to initiate their bicycle transportation network.

6:03- BAP Report: D. Jones announced that ambassador volunteers have clocked more than 50 volunteer hours in activities and training since the beginning of the year. They are also receiving more correspondence from the community as a result. Events participated in include: the Bike Bonanza, Mayor's Bike to Work Day, the Ride of Silence, Open Streets Celebration. They have future events at Hogle Zoo and with IFC and the WFRC scheduled as there is s great demand for "lunch and learn" courses offered by the Bicycle Ambassadors. The SLCPD was finally contacted and they may still be interested in training from BAP, however since the matching funding set aside has expired, BAP would have to re-apply for it in the event that training does take place. The Murray PD has also expressed interest in participating in training.

6:12- Active Transportation/Engineering Report: G. Deneris asked for members of the committee to volunteer for the CATNIP criteria project as advisors; J. Herbert, K. Sturgeon and B. Byrne joined the group (AJ Martine volunteered in May). Despite decreased funding for projects in 2015, it was reported that the bicycle lane/road project mileage numbers were approaching the 500 mile mark throughout the County. J. Herbert asked if the bicycle racks that SLCBAC purchased had all been mounted in locations around the county and George reported that there were still several that were available. Of those remaining, several are planned for certain cities but have yet to be approved for location. D. Iltis initiated a conversation concerning the proper method and regulations for installing bicycle racks and the committee agreed that it was important to see to it that racks were placed as to not go against regulations and also maximize their usability and access. Guidelines for bicycle rack placement should be included in the Best Practices document and regulation of installation will be added to future proposals that address the establishment of Active Transportation facilities.

6:25- Bike Utah funding requests: P. Sarnoff presented a brief power point that outlined the endorsement of a Study of Economic, Environmental and Health Benefits of Active Transportation. 12 other states have conducted similar surveys with Wisconsin's being the most notable because of the inclusion of a health benefits estimate. When funded, Utah's study would include this aspect as well. Expected immediate benefits of this study include an annual estimation of the revenue income from bicycle tourism, increased revenue through passing of H.B. 362 (gas tax), a better Bike Friendly State ranking, and establishment of a chapter of the American League of Cyclists in Utah. The study will cost approximately $212K and take up to 8 months to complete. The committee agreed that this was an important study to fund and discussed how SLCo might be asked to provide a more significant percentage of the cost. SLCBAC has been asked to fund $10K of the cost, which it does not have in its remaining budget amount. Members of the committee proposed that a letter to Mayor McAdams be written endorsing support for the study and requesting a significant contribution from the county. D. Iltis reiterated hope for his 10,000 Wheels proposal to be included in the County Master Plan with the support of the committee and AT planners. P. Sarnoff withdrew his second funding request that asked SLCBAC to fund 25 local businesses to join the Bike Benefits program.

Business Meeting 6:45- AJ Martine proposed a motion that the committee write a letter to the Mayor's office requesting a contribution of up to $25,000 to fund the survey, SLCBAC would include $2500 of its own funding from its own budget. J. Herbert seconded the motion. Discussion of a previous agreement from Carleton Christensen to fund $10,000 moved AJ to modify his proposal: If the Mayor accepts this proposal he would lead efforts to involve as many townships and cities in supporting the survey as he can persuade to participate. The committee approved the motion to generate this request unanimously.

7:01- K. Sturgeon discussed the issues with chip sealing that had been brought to the May Ex. Comm. Presently the future of Emigration Canyon is the focus of concern, and the establishment of a subcommittee to monitor developments makes sense. AJ Martine, B. Byrne, D. Ward and J. Herbert agreed to serve on this group and report to the rest of the committee. G. Deneris noted that the County did not use any guidelines concerning they type of chip seal used on roads and that it could be included in the Master Plan as a safety initiative for AT.

7:07- Meeting Minutes approval for May: AJ wanted to clarify the Ex. Comm minutes that were too broad in stating that all the canyons in SLCo were of concern in chip seal quality and application. He requested that the focus stress the future of E.C. more specifically. I. Scharine agreed to edit the minutes to reflect this. J. Herbert and A. Searle moved to approve the minutes and the committee approved of them unanimously. Website update: I. Scharine announced that the changes to Board listing and other links have been carried out by the County IS staff.

7:12- Active Transportation program funding: The committee engaged in discussion that examined the possibility of hiring a full time position in AT to guide the Bicycle Ambassadors program. SLCBAC asked the Mayor's office to consider this last year and it was narrowly defeated. AJ discussed his hope that this would be re-proposed by the committee again this year. D. Jones discussed his responsibilities as the Ambassador coordinator and the committee analyzed what how a formal proposal to request a full time position should be made. The majority of the committee agreed that more analysis and study should be invested before fielding an official request to fund this position again. AJ Martine made a provisional motion to draft a future letter to Mayor McAdams requesting the County to create a full time position to support Active Transportation and the Bicycle Ambassadors program. D. Jones agreed to do more research into what a full time position would require and what the responsibilities would be specifically.

7:35- Meeting adjourns.