Frank,
The authoritative guidelines I have, as disclosed in early correspondences, are directly from the AASHTO and MUTCD and are attached to this message.
The Bicycle Parking Committee's plan should be ready for the November 5th TC meeting. There is a slight possibility we may have it out earlier, but it appears that everyone on our committee is substantially busy this month. We will certainly attempt to get it out earlier if possible, and then seek approval from the BB by email. After this email conversation with Don it has become clear to me what the nature of that plan should be, it certainly won't be the product(s) itself, that was something that wasn't clear to us, but rather it will be a description of the objectives we want implemented in the City, the methodology in which we hope to see those objectives realized and the desired outcome. (Light bulb thought: Franks October 5, 2006 Bike Board Plan handout.) Ironically, without realizing it I answered my own question, in that initial email I sent out, about how we can "explore the applicability of WVU's planning process" to this plan. To be honest, we really didn't have a clear picture about how the two parts of the action item #38 fit together until this ensuing conversation. Now we are on the right direction in the construction of a plan that will be acted on properly by the City!
Don, other than January, are there other City budget planning periods in which we could introduce a budget item?
-Jonathan "Just another trained monkey."
Frank Gmeindl wrote:
Jonathan,
My original request was for authoritative guidelines for trail striping. You had got pretty close to finding such. What's the best you have?
As you well recognize, any leeway we give non-cyclists to decide how to control cyclists, the more chance there is for error. Ideally, we would give the TC and BOPARC exact specifications (length, width, spacing, color, location, material) tomorrow night and cite a national authoritative source. If we can't do that, what we give them should at least be from a national authoritative source and not compromise bicyclist safety on the trail.
What will you bring?
If I were to discuss parking in the Bicycle Board Report portion of the TC agenda, I would only say that we are working on a plan. Can you give me a date for when that plan will be ready to deliver to the TC?
Frank
Don Spencer wrote:
Jonathan – I disagree with the idea of going to Tom Arnold without our doing our homework fist. We cannot dump the problem on him and expect a positive response.
Remember the old outhouse saying? “No job is ever finished until the paperwork is done!”
I believe that we need to do our work as a Bicycle Board first. That’s what I understand that we are here for.
Perhaps we need to recruit more members for the Parking Committee to help on this.
Don
*From:* bikeboard-bounces@cheat.org [mailto:bikeboard-bounces@cheat.org] *On Behalf Of *Jonathan Rosenbaum *Sent:* Monday, September 08, 2008 1:58 PM *To:* 'Bicycle Board' *Subject:* Re: [Bikeboard] Parking Plan for City
Don, this is good to hear, and it makes valid sense that someone from the Parking Authority could be that person we are looking for. Someone who would not only address Bicycle Parking on City proprieties, but who would also address Bicycle Parking Facilities on all potential City properties.
At this point I am fed up with creating plans, it seems like it is the only thing I spend my time doing these days. Plans mean absolutely nothing if they aren't acted on. Two years ago, the Bicycle Board presented a comprehensive plan to the TC, how much mileage have we gotten out of that?
The Bicycle Parking Committee has amassed a huge amount of information on Bicycle Parking Standards and we would be happy to present that again to the BB as we have done in the past. This is the same information that was presented to WVU including some information which overlaps what we presented to the High Schools. We have already spent substantial amount time collecting and becoming experts in this area, including follow-up meetings to solidify this knowledge. Now time is running low, if you want to see a budget item by this January, we need to act now, we can't just endlessly (and mindlessly) keep running this by the BB at meetings. What is our vision for Bicycle Parking in Morgantown? It's the same vision that is the founding statement of the Bike Board.
So let's get into contact with the Parking Authority now (today or tomorrow) and find out what their commitment level would be. If they aren't interested let's find out who else the City could offer via the TC or City Council. Otherwise, this is just going to drag on and on and nothing will ever be accomplished. What do people on the Bicycle Board think about going this route?
-Jonathan
Don Spencer wrote:
Jonathan - I believe that we already have someone that we can work with and that is Tom Arnold from the Parking Authority. Nearly two years ago he expressed a willingness to work with us in generating parking centers in the Parking Garage, but we were not able to follow-up on his willingness at that time.
I believe that the first cut on all parking planning needs to be the Parking Authority. Once we have something that is acceptable, then we can go to the Traffic Commission and ask for their support in presenting whatever we need to communicate or request to the City Manager and the City Council.
Before we go to Tom again, however, we need to have a draft comprehensive parking vision and plan that the Bicycle Board has reviewed. Hopefully Hugh Kierig will be able to dialog with us in putting a preliminary plan together.
Don
-----Original Message----- From: bikeboard-bounces@cheat.org mailto:bikeboard-bounces@cheat.org [mailto:bikeboard-bounces@cheat.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Rosenbaum Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 1:43 AM To: Bicycle Board Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] Trail stripe
I plan to be there, thanks on this Frank. Mark must be a telephone person because he never responded to an email I sent him last month. In relation to that, I have another item I'd like to bring up to the TC, and I would hope this is a fairly obvious one to the BB, and that I have your (BB) support. There will be a lengthy explanation (because I enjoy wasting lots of time saying the obvious), but please read it all if you can.
When developing a strategy to get the City/County to act, "communication with collaboration" is the most important ingredient to reach a successful outcome. In some areas I've been working on that strategy has been well demonstrated. With the Campus Connector project of the WVU Committee from the very beginning many key players have been involved which include the Assistant City Manager (paid employee) and several City Council people. Even more importantly, Jim Hunt (paid Director of Sunnyside Up) has been actively involved in the funding aspects and fully supports the connector because Sunnyside Up will be a beneficiary. Meanwhile, WVU Facilities & Services has the WVU property side covered and have done their own independent studies. The only real obstacle to the success of the CC are some unresolved property issues on the City side of the connector. However, there has been no lack of communication or collaboration in this pursuit, nor will the connector be built in a haphazard way because there are too many eyes watching the process. Significantly, there are paid people involved, so there is a high degree of accountability involved in doing it right and actually getting it done.
At a prior BB meeting, it was asked how can the City copy what WVU did with Bicycle Parking? In the case of the WVU Committee's work with WVU this April/May, a paid employee, the Campus Planner, listened to our recommendations which included APBP standards developed from countless hours of research that establish proper rack standards, proper sizing, spacing and placement specifications, other recommendations included examples from other Cities and Campuses, recommendations about different types of parking and applications in relation to long and short term parking, security/sheltered parking, planning for future expansion of parking, and the list goes on. He listened to us and determined what could be accomplished in the first phase given the present budget. Then he went out and did a study of all locations that met the specifications we presented to him in relation to the budget, and then he brought back that study for our input. That same process was repeated over again a second time so that we could provide secondary feedback for a finalized study. This study was then presented to the campus facilities and grounds budget committee for approval. Again, there was no lack of communication or collaboration in this process.
On the other hand, with the Bicycle Parking Committee of the BB, which has a great group of volunteers, the one important thing that has been lacking is a close relationship between our committee and a dedicated employee from within the City similar to the Campus Planner from WVU. One who could listen to our recommendations and work closely with us from the ground floor up to put together a comprehensive budget item for the City this January (discussed during the August BB meeting). The advantages of such a relationship are obvious, first of all this employee will become intimately knowledgeable about what recommendations the Bicycle Board wants implemented, second of all, this employee will be accountable to the City to get it right through a process of communication and feedback with the BB. Asking volunteers to put together a budget item without having a City employee working with them who is an expert on City property and budget details is not a productive process and will greatly limit our success. I would really hate to see the City get bicycle parking wrong because it would be an incredible waste of time, the facilities wouldn't be used, and it would send a terrible message to citizens. If anything - given the City's commitment to reducing traffic congestion - if the City really wants to send a powerful, positive message out to the citizens of Morgantown, they will authorize existing employees to spend part of their paid hours working closely with committees like the BB to provide compelling alternatives to the common way most people travel in this town. In the case of bicycle parking, if you do get it right, it sends out a message to citizens that the City fully supports and encourages people to commute by bicycle. The better those bicycle parking facilities are, the stronger the message sent out. Proper bicycle parking facilities provide an impressive kind of PR and will get many people out on their bicycles. Ofcourse, painting stripes incorrectly on the rail-trail, including in a multi-million area whose charm is linked heavily to the rail-trail is the worst kind of PR imaginable. I would hope the City has learned their lesson from this and will now work much closer with us.
In review, I want to ask the TC to request that the City authorize a City employee who is knowledgeable in City property and budget details to work closely with the Bicycle Board's Parking Committee to realize a Bicycle Parking budget item for this January 2009's City Budget that would include facilities on City properties including the City's parking garages. The expectations and reasoning for such a collaborative employee are discussed above.
Versione completata.
-Jonathan
Frank Gmeindl wrote:
Bicycle Board Members,
At yesterday's Bicycle Board meeting, I took an action item to call Mark Wise, BOPARC Director, to find out why the trail striping committee that he told us at our July meeting he would form hasn't met yet. I called Mark today to tell him that I was aware that the committee has yet to organize and meet. I also asked him for a timeline or at least a target date for doing something with the current rail trail stripe situation so that I could inform the Traffic Commission at next Wednesday's meeting. He said that he will attend the meeting and ask for a member of the Traffic Commission to join the committee that he said he's going to form.
Since Don Spencer and Jonathan Rosenbaum volunteered at our July meeting to join Mark's committee, I would like to encourage them to attend next Wednesday's Traffic Commission meeting. It begins at 6:30 pm and is in Council Chambers.
When we originally recommended the stripe and the Keep Right signs to the Traffic Commission, they spent a lot of time developing specifications for where the stripe would be applied as well as the stripe's size, shape and color. Unfortunately, none of that was captured in the minutes and we all know what we got.
If all the right people are at the Traffic Commission meeting next Wednesday, it is possible that the corrective action can be decided right then and there instead of dragging out through numerous meetings. It would probably also be tremendously helpful if someone came with some authoritative guidelines for trail striping.
Frank
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