Meeting Announcement: Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Time: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Place: Sonoma County Transit 355 West Robles Avenue Santa Rosa, California Staff: Steven Schmitz Phone: (707) 585-7516 e-Mail: steven@sctransit.com http://www.sctransit.com/bikes

 

 

Agenda:

 

I. Introductions & Public Comments (5 Minutes)

 

II. Approval of Agenda & Minutes (5 Minutes)

 

III. Staff Reports (10 Minutes)

 

- Western Avenue Class II Bicycle Lane Project.

- Santa Rosa Creek Trail Class I Multi-Use Pathway Project.

- Requested Conditions for Proposed New Sutter Medical Center Project.

 

IV. General Meeting:

 

 

V. Other Business & Announcements (5 Minutes)

 

VI. Next Meeting & Adjournment (5 Minutes)

 

Next meeting of the Sonoma County BPAC is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

 

May 27, 2009 Minutes                                                                  

 

Members in Attendance:                                    

                                                                                                                                                

Sherry Adams - 1^st District                              

Mary Clemens - 1^st District (Alt.)                        

Bernie Album - 2^nd District                                 

Joe Morgan - 2^nd District (Alt.)                           

Vin Hoagland - 3^rd District                                  

Richard Burg - 4^th District (Vice-Chair)          

Tim Gonzalez - 5^th District (Chair)                     

Nancy Rappolt - 5^th District (Alt.)

                                

Other Participants:

 

Janice Eunice - 1^st District Resident

Mike Eunice - 1^st District Resident

Gary Helfrich - PRMD - Planning                

Ken Tam - Regional Parks

Steven Schmitz - SCBPAC Staff

                                                                       

Meeting Summary

 

I. Introductions and Public Comments

 

Self-introductions were made.  There were no public comments. 

 

II. Approval of Agenda and Minutes 

 

The agenda for the May 27, 2009 meeting was approved as presented.  The minutes from the March 18, 2009 meeting were approved as presented.

 

III. Staff Reports

 

Staff reported that funding for the Western Avenue Class II bicycle lane project has now been fully secured and construction is scheduled for next summer.   Ken Tam reported that a public hearing before the Regional Parks Commission was conducted on Monday, May 18.  Approximately half of the public at the meeting spoke in favor of the project and half spoke in opposition to the project.  While no formal action was taken during the meeting, the commission unofficially expressed their support of the project and gave staff direction to move forward.  Ken said that the next step would be to post a notice regarding the Negative Declaration for the project. Then, the project would be bid with construction anticipated to begin in September or October.   

 

Staff said that a letter to the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) was submitted on behalf of the committee requesting more flexibility in trail setback requirements proposed in the NCRA’s Draft Rail with Trail Guidelines.  A letter of support on behalf of the committee was also provided to Regional Parks for their proposed Safe Routes to Schools grant for a portion of the Central Sonoma Valley Trail project.  Ken Tam also mentioned that a Bikes Belong grant request to construct a short pedestrian pathway between the Colgan Creek Trail and an adjacent elementary school was unsuccessful.

IV. General Meeting      

 

A. Draft Sonoma County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan - Overview of Process, Feedback on Proposed Design and Selection Policies, and Introduction of Programs.

 

Gary Helfrich distributed copies of the Sonoma County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Administrative Draft, including a proposed Table of Contents, and a proposed Goal, Objectives and Policies covering Administration, Bikeway Selection, Design and Maintenance, Integration with Transit, and Pedestrian Facilities.  These were provided first because they are considered to be the heart of the plan.  Gary said that proposed policies covering Funding, Safe Routes to Schools, and Safety, Public Health and Outreach would be provided for review prior to the committee’s next meeting in June.  Next month, Gary said that he would also be providing a side-by-side comparison of the current draft policies and his proposed revised set of policies.    

 

Regarding the proposed Goal, Bernie Album suggested and the committee agreed that the words “bicycle and pedestrian network” should be added to the language.  And regarding Objective # 6, the committee agreed that the language should be changed to from “50% by the year 2020” to “2% per year based on the number of trips.”  Sherry Adams questioned whether the proposed objectives adequately address the connection between land-use and transportation.  Staff pointed out that policy 4.08 under Pedestrian Facilities encourages compact, high density pedestrian-oriented development in Pedestrian Districts. Otherwise, Gary responded that is not sufficient developable land remaining in the unincorporated areas to permit large amounts of high density development.  Such opportunities are much more widely available within most of the incorporated cities in Sonoma County.  High-density land-use objectives are, therefore, more appropriate in the city’s respective plans.              

Vin Hoagland said that he could not find a policy regarding the education of bicyclists and motorists about the importance of obeying all traffic laws and sharing the road.  Gary responded that such a policy was included under the Safety, Public Health and Outreach section, which has not been provided to the committee for review yet.  Tim Gonzalez asked where data collection would be discussed in the plan.  Gary said that it would be covered under the Existing Conditions and Future Needs section of the plan and would also be included as a new program.  Tim also asked if the committee would have the opportunity to review the final maps for the plan.  Staff said that Chris Barney of the Sonoma County Transportation Authority has prepared the maps for the plan and would be asked to provide copies to the committee for review during the next meeting.

 

Regarding the proposed Bikeway Selection, Design and Maintenance policies, staff requested that the word “and” be deleted from the first sentence of Policy 2.01.  Bernie Album said that criteria # 4 under Policy 2.01 regarding pavement surface quality should address the negative impacts to bicyclists of certain chip seal overlays.  Sherry Adams said that this issue would be more appropriate to address under Policies 2.08 and 2.09, which   prescribe the minimum standards for Class II and III bicycle facilities.  Bernie agreed and added that the accumulation of debris on bridges should also be addressed as a maintenance issue under Policies 2.08 and 2.09.  Ken Tam expressed some concerns regarding Policy 2.07, which proposes a 10-foot minimum pathway width for Class I facilities.  This would not be achievable as a Class I standard in many areas, given right-of-way constraints.  Gary responded that while a 10-foot width is recommended, an 8-foot minimum width would still be acceptable per Caltrans standards.  Staff added that this should be the policy for a two-way multi-use pathway.  The committee may also want to consider including minimum standards for a one-way pathway.

 

Sherry Adams encouraged staff and the committee to consider devising a policy that prescribes standards for a “three-lane multi-use pathway” that could be provided at narrow areas of Class I facilities.  Such a three-lane pathway, which has been designed on such pathways as the American River Trail, would separate pedestrians from bicyclists at narrow bridges.  Gary and Ken said that they would research such a design standards and return to the committee with their recommendations.  Sherry said that, on a similar note, a policy should be considered that would require that detours on Class I facilities must be similar to detours for motor vehicles on roadways.  In other words, completely closing off a Class I trail during the day should not be acceptable, unless convenient detours are also offered.

Sherry also asked whether it would be appropriate to devise a policy that would permit flexibility in zoning for land-use adjacent to Class I pathways to allow for some types of retail development that would provide services to trail users.  Gary responded that he would research this suggestion and develop a policy, if feasible.                

 

With no further comments regarding Bikeway Selection, Design and Maintenance policies, Gary said that he’d like to outline the overall plan adoption process and to the committee.  After the committee has completed their review of the remainder of the policies, the plan will be packaged together with the list of projects and maps, as well as the other programs and background information which have been outlined in the proposed Table of Contents and appendices.  An environmental document called a “Negative Declaration” would then be prepared and presented to the Sonoma County Environmental Review Committee (ERC), a process that is anticipated to take approximately 6 months.  After approval by the ERC, the plan would be presented to the Sonoma County Planning Commission for additional feedback.  The Planning Commission would then recommend the plan to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to consider it for adoption.  Assuming no ongoing delay in funding for the environmental document, the plan could go before the Board of Supervisors for their consideration as early as February 2010        

 

V. Other Business & Announcements

 

Vin Hoagland mentioned that it appeared that construction on Sonoma Mountain Road is nearing completion and that it would probably be open again within the next month or so.

 

VI. Next Meeting & Adjournment

 

Staff said that because feedback was only received from the committee on the Bikeway Selection, Design and Maintenance policies, the committee should review and be prepared to provide their feedback on the Administration, Integration with Transit, and Pedestrian Facilities policies during the June meeting.  Gary said that he was in the process of finalizing the draft policies regarding Funding, Safe Routes to Schools, and Safety, Public Health and Outreach.  These additional policies would be provided to the committee either prior to the next meeting or during the next meeting.  The goal is to have all policies reviewed and approved by the committee during the July meeting. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m.