Greetings Bike Boarders:
Nice to see your progress on many fronts.
We need to contact the WVU SGA about a representative to the Pedestrian Safety Board. Can any one help?
Bill
WV Walks - 30 minutes or more daily Feel the power of half an hour!
Bill Reger-Nash, Ed.D Professor of Community Medicine West Virginia University School of Medicine Morgantown WV 26506-9190 Phone: 304/293-0763 Fax: 304/293-6685
Dept. web page: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed BRN's web page: http://www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/wreger/
Frank Gmeindl fgmeindl@verizon.net 9/9/2008 5:20 PM >>>
Jonathan,
I added Figure 9C-2 in the attached. Figure 9B-2 doesn't really add much value.
I will send the attached to the TC secretary to distribute to the TC tomorrow.
Frank
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [Bikeboard] Parking Plan for City Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:56:04 -0400 From: Frank Gmeindl fgmeindl@verizon.net To: Jonathan Rosenbaum freesource@cheat.org CC: 'Bicycle Board' bikeboard@cheat.org, Don Spencer dlspencer@adelphia.net References: 48C1E787.50606@verizon.net 48C4BB7E.1030403@cheat.org405CF8ED69D94E30AA44E847D761E462@donhome
48C567A1.8000009@cheat.org E2107661272E4E51BE59130117FA53B4@donhome
48C686A0.5030906@verizon.net 48C6D66B.3090106@cheat.org
Jonathan,
Thank you! That is perfect. Can you include Figures 9C-2 and 9B-2?
Frank
Jonathan Rosenbaum wrote:
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 whe
n 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
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*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@che at.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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