Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee s1

Salt Lake County Bicycle Advisory Committee Minutes from the February 5, 2014 meeting

Attending: AJ Martine, S. Malone, L. Melini, P. Mair, J. Herbert, M. Hillyard, H. Martak, G. Deneris, D. Ward, W. Becker, N. Evans, J. Keele, I. Scharine, A. Searle (new member), D. Iltis Absent: T. Jackson Note: prior to the meeting Tyler Redeisel stepped down from the committee.

5:30- AJ opened the meeting with salutory comments, followed by introductions of attendees.

5:35- P. Sarnoff introduced himself and briefly described his role with Bike Utah, he also offered help to any of the organizations in the room with writing grants if needed. He then distributed a flyer for the Utah Bike Summit on April 25, 2014. Bike Utah sponsors this event and is seeking additional sponnsorship from SLCBAC and other municipalities from Salt Lake County. IHe also added that if SLCBAC wanted to sponsor a table at the event they would get a ‘friendly’ rate for their collaboration with Bike Utah.

5:40- Public Comments: W. Becker announced that the Mountain Accord Group is seeking representatives from the mountain biking community to contribute to their overall master plan and serve on their board. Will also announced that he will be steppping down form his position in the county to assume the position that Phil Sarnoff vacated at Green Bike, effective by mid- February. L. Melini gave an update on the Salt Lake City Bicycle Advisory Committee, which is still in the stages of organizing their board and vetting members

5:46- G. Deneris gave the BTIP/Active Transportation report: the GIS county map project is still in process with planc for its chief coordinator to make a presentation to SLCBAC during the March meeting. Road projects are set to proceed as soon as the weather provides adequate conditions with bicycle lanes and the 3900 south detection system set to go. BAP report: J. Lasley will be presenting his 2014 budget to the county which includes requesting his position be funded as a full-time one. Pending the outcome, this will necessitate the re- formation and appointment of a BAP subcommittee to be addressed during the Executive Committee meeting and at the next board meeting.

5:58- AJ introduced the committee’s involvement with a bill in the 2014 legislation, following the February board meeting, the county had requested that SLCBAC send three representatives to a stakeholder meeting with some of the bill’s sponsors. The bill in question is state road codification which seeks to determine the conduct of mopeds and bicycles in canyons when they are approached by automobiles. SLCBAC sent J. Herbert, D. Ward and T. Jackson. M. Hillyard picked up the discussion and outlined the proposed changes to the bill, particularly section 3c which specifies bicycle/moped conduct while being passed or overtaken by an automobile in canyons (defiles). The bill’s sponsor is Ibson, and both Hillyard and J. Keele feels as if this bill will be approved one way or another in order to accomplish something in the eyes of concerned citizens (Emigration Canyon residents).

6:10- AJ and J. Herbert then took the floor to discuss the stakeholder meeting from their perspectives and SLCBAC’s potential influence/impact on the outcome of the bill. Since the committee does not agree with the proposed modifications to road laws in either proposed alternatives, a letter of recommendation addressed to the county Mayor (McAdams) was drafted. The letter was circulated throughout the committee but had not been approved to send to the Mayor at the time of the meeting.

6:21- Public Comment: D. Iltis pointed out several grievances he had with the bill’s address of how bicycles are required to behave in the presence of automobiles. Most notably the bill favors the passage of vehicles as opposed to the rights of cyclist’s even when an earlier section of the law provides bicycles with the right-of-way. The bill also does not mention the lowering of speed limits in canyons to increase safety. L. Melini expressed concern over SLCBAC’s support of the proposed modifications of the bill and the perception that the sponsors have approval of the committee. (The committee does not agree with either proposed drafts of section 3c.) He also brought up the fact that an agreement was made with the county several years ago to conduct a traffic and use survey in Emigration Canyon in order to determine points of vehicle/bicycle conflict and recommend options. This survey was not ever conducted to his knowledge. C. Mullin (Bike Utah) pointed out that the modifications to section 3c are in direct contradiction to laws which give right-of-way to bicycles in section 1 of the code. He also noted that there are no provisions for signage or speed control in the canyon that would adhere to motor vehicles.

Business Meeting 6:40- L. Melini reiterated his desire for the county to conduct a survey of the traffic in Emigration Canyon and asked the committee to look into the possibility of doing so in the near future. The letter to Mayor McAdams was discussed and it was agreed that it had to be expanded to specify proposed language to grant fairer use for bicycles and bring attention to the contradictions of sections 1 and 3. Additionally, it would recommend the Emigration Canyon study and clearly express SLCBAC’s disapproval of the bill as it currently is proposed. With these caveats taken into considration, P. Mair motioned to ratify the letter, N. Evans seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously (with added language to be discussed later). J. Herbert questioned that if the bill was passed as currently constructed, if it would set a legal precedent that would be difficult to amend or modify in the future. This was determined to not be the case. Lou and Megan agreed to follow up with the county and inquire about if the study was ever conducted.

7:00- D. Ward motioned to support proposed legislation given that draft B of the code concerning bicycles/mopeds include the following added specifics: ● Downhill traffic (bicycles gain significant speed). ● The defenition of “two abreast riding”. ● The significance of the presence of a center turn lane. ● Posted signage (or lack thereof). ● Definition of what constitutes “being overtaken”. L. Melini seconded the motion and it was passed in a 6-3 vote with one abstention. 7:08- Design/Branding committee proposal: AJ outlined the need to accelerate the decidsion making process to generate branding and image. His goal is to occupy less energy from the committee on subcommittees such as this and involve more public input and volunteerism. Some of these groups will be formed in the future as need be, but the present proposition is to change the administrative structure of decisions made by the subcommittees. D. Ward motioned to assign soecific decisions to subcommittees and allow them to provide narrowed options to the entire SLCBAC board for final approval. P. Mair seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

7:13- S. Malone introduced the Strava website/resource and described how he thought it could be a tool to help promote SLCBAC and bring more exposure. He also discussed the sample cycling jerseys he acquired from Blackbottom which he found to be sized too small for his expectations. The alternative is to contact DNA Cycling (both are local companies) and get some samples from them to compare. N. Evans has connections at DNA and offered to assist.

7:18- January minutes: S. Malone moves to approve the minutes, J. Herbert seconds, approved unanimously. Map Project discussion: P. Mair volunteered to chair a Map subcommittee when the county GIS project is finished and development can move forward. G. Deneris added that he believes generation of paper maps would be a useful resource for cyclists and good exposure/branding for SLCBAC. D. Iltis and A. Searle agreed to join the subcommittee.

7:25- J. Herbert motioned to adjourn the meeting, I. Scharine seconded; approved unanimously and the meeting was adjourned.