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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/19/1996 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, AUGUST 19,1996 The City of Springfield Council met in Work Session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, August 19, 1996, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Bicycle Committee members present were Joe Downing, Chair, Rex Redmon, vice-chair, Teri Jo Garitz, Mike Higgins, James Bolivar, Rich Farrell and James Ullmann. Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Julie Wilson, Traffic Technician Dean Bishop, Transportation Manager Gary McKenney and members of the staff. I. Springfield Bicycle Committee Joint Meeting. Traffic Engineer Gary McKenney presented the staff report on this issue. This joint meeting is to provide an opportunity for the City Council to meet with the Springfield Bicycle Committee and discuss activities, goals and accomplishments. . Mr. McKenney reported that the Council last met with the Bicycle Committee in June 1994. Since then, the Bicycle Committee has had several membership changes, accomplished considerable work, and is involved in several current and future projects. Items discussed included planning activities (Master Bicycle Plan Update and Metro Transportation Plan Update), events support (Filbert Festival, Business Bicycle Challenge) and special bike projects (Main Street and Pioneer Parkway). Transportation Manager Gary McKenney discussed efforts made to get accurate bicycle count data for several planning activities. He eXplained that spending money on monitoring bicycle trail activity, for one week, would not be an efficient or accurate method to gather data. He explained that during the school year the schools have been visited and parked bicycles have been counted. This has assisted to provide a better number of bicycle riders. He explained a good analogy would be sidewalk use and stated that sidewalks are provided as a service to pedestrians, not because of the need people have for them. He said bicycle paths could be considered in much the same way. Councilor Burge felt this issue of determining accurate counts of bicycle riders was difficult and necessary. He was not opposed to bicycle paths projects, although, did not understand how the need was calculated and determined accurately. Mr. Downing discussed the benefits of bicycling versus use of a vehicle for transportation. He explained bike paths were widely used and referenced the Springfield Bike Plan. . A Bicycle Committee member commented on the benefits of connecting various bicycle paths and the fact that this would result in higher bicycle ridership. . '. City of Springfield Work Session Meeting Page 2 . Mayor Morrisette discussed the Bicycle Challenge event. He stated this was another opportunity to obtain a good bicycle count data and commented that many city and county employees used bicycles as a mode of transportation during this event. After discussion, Mr. Downing indicated the Bicycle Committee would get definite information about bicycle use and survey information from schools and businesses. Mr. Downing then discussed the Main Street striping project. He stated that later this year when the Oregon Department of Transportation restripes Main Street, they will also stripe a bicycle path lane on Main Street. Also discussed was the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (Trans Plan). Mr. McKenney stated the Bicycle Plan would also be a component of the Trans Plan. Mr. Downing stated the Bicycle Committee would be involved with the Filbert Festival in conjunction with the Big Brother/Big Sister group. They would be volunteering to assist with the bicycle valet parking project during the festival. Fencing and bike racks would be available for riders to lock their bikes while attending the festivaL Chief DeForrest explained the City of Eugene is currently working on efforts regarding bicycle security. Once the report is available he would forward it to the Bicycle Committee. . Mr. Downing explained the annual Bicycle Challenge was a success. Over 1,600 participants were involved in the challenge. Mr. Downing explained that the Pioneer Parkway bike path project was moving forward. Mr. McKenney explained the contract was scheduled for award at the end of 1996 or early 1997. Mr. Downing stated that Lane Transit District was also supporting bicycle riding by having bicycle racks in front of buses. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson fd;& m~ , Bill Morrisette Mayor . A4: - Eil~~ City Recorder