Bicycle Board Members,
Yesterday, I had a very positive meeting with Jeff Mikorski, Assistant City Manager about bike parking and shared lane markings after which we met with Jeff Harpold, WVDOH Transportation Ehancement Coordinator on the Effective Cycling Education Program grant.
*Bike Parking*
* The City considered bike parking on the High Street Streetscape but didn't develop any plans because they didn't have sufficient budget. * I reviewed with Mikorski the Streetscape map that we marked up showing recommended locations for 30 bike racks. It made sense to him. His specific comments:
1. Design: City had considered post-and-loop. I described Chip's recommended flair rack. Jeff's OK with it. 2. Location: Concern for bicycle orientation (i.e. parallel or perpendicular to walkway) to minimize interference with pedestrians and parking motor vehicles. 3. The curbs around the trees were recently installed to keep water from flooding the tree boxes. City doesn't consider them a tripping hazard. 4. Watch out for vaults under the rack locations because you can't drill down there. Jeff favored putting racks between tree and curb. (I indicated maintenance risk.) 5. The prevailing color for streetscape hardware is black. 6. Maintenance: If private property owners agree to have the City put bike racks on their property, maintenance responsibility will have to be defined. 7. Abandoned bikes: policy? Who gets rid of abandoned bikes and how.
*Shared Lane Markings*
* We reviewed Derek's maps and I asked Jeff if the City would pay for future printing. He said that the City has a new part-time engineer, Damian, who's GIS-savvy and using ESRI software. Jeff will check with Terry Hough to see if Damian can work with Derek to get future maps printed at City hall. * The City is building a geo database and having GPS points for things like SLMs, BMUFL signs and bike racks is the way they want to go.
*Effective Cycling Education Program*
Harpold came up to Morgantown to meet with Mikorski, me and Nick Hein to review our application. Nick didn't show. Highlights:
1. We have 2 years from authorization to proceed to complete the work. 2. Authorization may not come for 4-6 months. 3. We will produce monthly deliverables (for example, number of course deliveries, PSAs produced, ads run, effectiveness data collected) that show that we're accomplishing what we proposed and that will justify reimbursing our expenses. 4. The contract between the City and Positive Spin must have a not-to-exceed limit. 5. Harpold and Mikorski need to resolve whether we'll have to go out for bids for work to be done. 6. There are probably state and federal regulations that determine the allowable salary ranges that we will need to learn before we can pay people. 7. Harpold will make an agreement between the City and the State that specifies scope, funding, deliverables and schedule. 8. The agreement must be reviewed by WVDOH legal, historic preservation, Greater Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization (the MPO can kill the project), Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan. 9. The total grant is $54,417 state + $13,605 City = $68,022.
*Action Items *
1. Bicycle Board reorganize the Education Committee. 2. Education Committee develop a project plan. 3. Positive Spin and the City make a contract.
Frank