Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee Meeting October 23, 2008

The next meeting of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee will be Thursday, 23 October 2008, at 5:30pm in room 4017 of City Hall. The most important item is the review and approval of the draft RFP for a new Bicycle Master Plan. The other items are in a rough priority order. This evening I will make no effort to conclude the meeting by 7:00pm; rather, please be prepared to go to 7:30pm. Even then, we may not complete the final items on the agenda.
1. Approval of the minutes of the 25 September 2008 meeting.
2. Review and approval of the final draft Request for Proposals for the new Bicycle Master Plan. Request that the staff explain the next steps for selecting a consultant and the timing of those steps.
3. Selection of a project for a BTA grant application.
Caltrans has released a call for projects for the fiscal year 09/10 Bicycle Transportation Account (BTA) grants. The applications are due to the local Caltrans district office by 1 December 2008. At the Bike Work Group meeting on 13 October possible projects were discussed. However, the only advocates present were Phil Decker and myself. Fortunately no decisions were made because more citizens should have input into this discussion. Thus we should discuss possible projects and make a recommendation to the city staff.
4. Creating a BPAC page on the city's website.
5. Diagonal parking in downtown Fresno.
This item first appeared on the August agenda and has been deferred. In the meantime diagonal parking has been installed on P Street between Ventura Avenue and Fresno Street. Several cyclists are highly displeased with diagonal parking, considering it unsafe for bicyclists. Request that the staff brief the BPAC on the rationale for diagonal parking and any plans for more diagonal parking in the central business district.
6. Report on Fresno COG's bikeways and trails meeting.
On Thursday morning 23 October at 10:00am the Fresno Council of Governments (COG) will host a bikeways and trails meeting. The county, the incorporated cities within the county, the adjacent counties, and bicycle and trails advocates have been invited. The intent is to discuss bikeways and trails issues affecting all parties and to insure connectivity of bikeways and trails. Phil Decker and myself plan to attend. We can report on what transpired at the meeting.
7. Bicycle Counts.
Frequently we (the bicycle advocates and the staff) say how nice it would be if we had good data on bicycle usage within the city. This would include the total numbers of bicyclists and the numbers of
bicyclists on particular roads. This information would help us to prioritize projects in the same manner that vehicular counts are used to select road projects. Alta Planning and Design has developed a methodology for collecting such counts. This methodology is being used in the National Bicycle & Pedestrian Documentation Project. Is there any chance or opportunity of using this methodology in Fresno to acquire bicycle count data?
I hope to see many people on 23 October for a productive meeting as we strive to make Fresno a more bicycle friendly community.