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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Citizens Bicycle Advisory Committee - Meeting Date: 6/7/2010 CITY OF GLENDALE CITIZEN BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Monday,June 7,2010 Transportation Planning Conference Room Bank of America Building,Suite 315 5800 West Glenn Drive,Glendale,Arizona 6:30 PM MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Brad Meek,Chairman,called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Also in attendance: Fred Coury,Betsy Turner,Mike Wood, and City Transportation staff—Steve Hancock Members absent:Norman Crowell,John Horvath,and Bill Wilkinson Guests: Roger Boyer and Mike Gregory II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of the minutes of the May 1,2010 meeting was not possible due to lack of a quorum. III. CALL TO THE PUBLIC There were no members of the public in attendance. IV. INTRODUCTIONS Members and guests introduced themselves. V. CONTINUANCE OR WITHDRAWAL OF AGENDA ITEMS No agenda items required continuance or withdrawal. VI. REPORTS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND ORGANIZATIONS Betsy Turner said that she was not at the June 3`d meeting of the Citizen Transportation Oversight Commission (CTOC). Steve Hancock said that Brent Ackzen would be a new CBAC member representing CTOC since Betsy's CTOC member term had expired. VII. PARKS AND RECREATION MASTER PLAN UPDATE Roger Boyer and Mike Gregory from the Glendale Parks and Recreation Department(P&R)presented information on the P&R Master Plan Update now in progress. Roger handed out a"Focus Group"questionnaire with 10 questions seeking citizen input on P&R performance and administration. He said the original Master Plan had been approved in 2002 but need to be updated to address future P&R programs and facilities. He said the updating of the plan would be a 10-month process. The first Focus Group question was about general perceptions of P&R operations. Mike Wood said that he really liked the dog parks and often used the one at 63`d Avenue and Northern Avenue. He said they were great for people with small backyards or apartments where there was no room for dogs to exercise. Roger said the city now had three dog parks with the addition of one at Foothills Park. Steve Hancock said he often uses and appreciates the Thunderbird Paseo and Skunk Creek pathways and Thunderbird Park for hiking on weekends. The second question asked what we valued most about services offered by P&R. Steve Hancock reiterated his appreciation for places to bike and hike. Roger said that usage of pathways and trails was way up. Fred Citizen Bicycle Advisory Committee Minutes June 7,2010 Page 2— Coury said he also hikes at Thunderbird Park and uses the Foothills Recreation&Aquatics Center. Betsy Turner said that she values having restrooms and water fountains at P&R facilities. Roger said that they were probably going to remove some water fountains because of concerns of the city Utilities Department on standing water in little used fountains that could be contaminated. The third question asked what facilities are currently used. Thunderbird Park, linear pathways and Sahauro Park were again cited as being used often. Fred Coury also said he often attends events at Murphy Park. Question four asked if there were any services or facilities/parks not currently available that should be offered. Brad Meek said that the Thunderbird Paseo path occasionally forks with no clear indication which path is the main trail and which is an access to a nearby arterial street. He said people sometimes become confused and take the wrong path. Brad also said there were places on the Paseo where the pathway made steep descents into drainages that could be jarring for faster cyclists. Roger said that he thought the drainages Brad was referring to were in the County's Flood Control District's jurisdiction so P&R could not rectify the problem. Question five asked what P& R could do to improve revenue generation or reduce costs. Betsy Turner said that better marketing may be needed and gave the example of the utility bill newsletter that touted events and park facilities but was probably not widely read by most residents. Fred Coury said that he thought P&R had already done a lot of cost cutting and there wasn't much left to cut. Steve Hancock suggested some type of donation box like those at museums that asked for help in maintaining the facility for public use. He thought well placed, secure slotted boxes at park trail heads might generate donations from regular users. Brad Meek wondered if vendors at parks could be charged fees for setting up at park facilities. Question six asked how existing facilities and services are meeting the community's park and recreation needs and for suggestions on how to meet these needs better. Steve Hancock asked if neighborhood parks were well used since he rarely saw people in the parks on week days. Roger said that they were well used on weekends and in the evenings, Roger cited the need for"air parks"where people could fly electric powered model airplanes— something that Glendale does not currently have—as an example of an unfulfilled need. Number seven asked what financial resources are most appropriate for funding P&R services and facilities. Steve Hancock suggested that federal grants were probably a good source of revenues,referring to the Michelle Obama led initiative to reduce childhood obesity. He thought physical activities at parks and fitness centers would be something federal money might cover. Mike Gregory said some things were being pursued through IGA's with Glendale schools. Question eight asked why some residents or visitors may not use P&R facilities and programs more often. Fred Coury thought most people simply have no interest in the activities available and prefer to stay at home. Mike Gregory said that there were many places like Westgate competing for peoples' free time. Question nine asked how you find out about the services offered by the P&R and what suggestions you have to better inform people about P&R services and facilities. Brad Meek said that he often learned about facilities and programs by word of mouth. Steve Hancock suggested exploring the purchase of advertising on Google where you pay based on the number of hits you get when someone,for example,does a search for hiking trails in Arizona. He thought the sidebar ads on search results are relatively cheap. Roger complimented Mike Gregory on the excellent job he's done making the P&R website user friendly and interactive. Question ten asked what the primary focus of P&R operations should be in the next 5— 10 years. Roger said that security was big concern citing the number of"rogue"soccer games occurring at parks with no permits or reservations. He then concluded his presentation by thanking the Committee for their input. VIII. BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PROJECT UPDATE Steve Hancock opened a PowerPoint presentation on the active bicycle and pedestrian projects funded by the Glendale Onboard Program(GO). Steve first focused on the Loop 101 bicycle and pedestrian bridge. He displayed a slide with renderings of what the bridge would look like when completed. He said construction would start this month(June 2010)and was expected to be completed by Spring of 2011. Betsy Turner said there should be some kind of grand c:\documents and settings\blimbach\desktop\minutes\2010\061 Om,doc 04/29/11 Citizen Bicycle Advisory Committee Minutes June 7,2010 —Page 3— opening event. Steve concurred. Steve noted the construction cost of$2,500,000 was to be paid in Federal stimulus funds(American Recovery and reinvestment Act of 2009—ARRA). Steve then gave information on the New River Multi-use Pathway project. He said the path was in the 60%design phase with an expected 2013 start date for construction. He gave the estimated cost of construction as$3,686,411 for the 2.2 mile pathway with two underpasses at Glendale Ave. and Northern Ave. Steve displayed a map show the location of the pathway on New River and how it connected to Peoria's New River pathway system. The next project Steve talked about was the Grand Canal Multi- use Pathway. The displayed a map that showed the location of the pathway and how it would connect to the New River path at Bethany Home Road. Steve said the path would begin construction in 2012 and had an estimated construction cost of$2,440,574. Steve next focused on two projects on the existing Skunk Creek Pathway,one at Bell Rd. and one at Union Hills Dr. He said the Bell Rd.project would add pathway ramps on the south side of the Bell Rd. Bridge that would connect Bell Rd. sidewalks to the existing Skunk Creek pathway that goes below the bridge. Steve said the project's construction cost is estimated at$348,120 and should start construction in July 2010. The second project at Union Hills Dr. is to ramp the existing pathway below the Union Hills Dr. Bridge so users will not have to cross the arterial street at-grade. He said the estimated cost is$421,817 and the project is also slated to start construction in July 2010. Steve then displayed information on the Maryland Ave. Spot Improvements project that will remove restrictions on the Maryland Ave.bike route. He said it is a three part project that involves widening a section of roadway, installing off-street connections through a park,and constructing a pathway segment so pedestrians and cyclists can access 75th Ave.near the Russian Cemetery. Steve said the overall cost will be$963,404 and should be completed by December 2011. The last project Steve reviewed was the Downtown Alley Improvement project between 57th Ave. and 57th Dr. Steve said this is a project that will start design in August or September,2010. It will remedy some flooding issues at the north end near Glenn Dr.,replace the deteriorated asphalt paving with brick pavers,and install amenities like decorative fencing and benches. Steve thought the project would cost near$800,000 for design and construction. He said it was too soon to estimate a completion date. VII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS No agenda items were suggested. VIII. OTHER BUSINESS Steve Hancock noted that the Monday, July 5th is a holiday. He suggested that—as in past years—there be no July meeting. All members of the Committee present agreed to not have a July meeting. IX. NEXT MEETING Brad meek said the next regular meeting of the Glendale Citizen Bicycle Advisory Committee would be held on Monday, August 2, 2010, 6:30 p.m., Transportation Planning Conference Room, Bank of America Building, 5800 W. Glenn Dr., Suite 315. XII. ADJOURNMENT Brad Meek adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. c:\documents and settings\blimbach\desktop\minutes\2010\O610m.doc 04/29/11