City of Lawrence
Lawrence – Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee
May 18, 2015 Minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT:
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Lisa Hallberg, Erin Paden, Bill Anderson, Jim MacMurray, Justin Eddings, Jacki Becker, David Hamby, Dan Ashley |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Rod Hernandez |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Stephen Mason, Jessica Mortinger, Carol Fittell, Seokwon Kim |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Dee Boeck |
2. Action Item: Approval of the April 20th Minutes
3. Discussion/Action Item: Bob Billings Safety Group Report
Jessica Mortinger suggested the BAC return correspondence to the Bob Billings Parkway Safety Group for their work on advocating for bicycle and pedestrian improvements. Bill Anderson asked for clarification on the important information gained section of the report covering the pedestrian-bicyclist task force. Jessica Mortinger noted that the report was commenting that the developing task force would be consistent with the Complete Streets policy adopted by the City in 2012. BAC members made comments about the difficult terrain around the shared use path detour around K-10. Lisa Hallberg agreed a letter thanking the Bob Billings Safety Group for their work was appropriate. A motion for the BAC to draft a letter to the Bob Billings Safety Group was moved by Lisa Hallberg, seconded by Bill Anderson and passed unanimously.
4. Discussion/Action Item: Bicycle Safety
Jessica Mortinger informed the Committee that the Bike Safety Perception study conducted by Carlos Patino was almost complete. Carlos will return in July to present his findings to the BAC. Ms. Mortinger asked the BAC members to review the report that was provided to them. Bill Anderson asked who the presenters were for the event at the Burge Union. Jessica Mortinger noted that a separate unrelated presentation was given by KU Urban Planning students for the Safe Routes to School planning process. Their final report can be shared with the BAC when it is received. Jessica Mortinger indicated the draft FHWA safety audit assessment for the corridor from 19th St. & Iowa St. to Barker Ave. is under final review by staff and will be provided to the BAC once the final document is complete.
Since the last meeting, David Hamby requested that the motor vehicle accident report for the fatality incident involving Cal Melick be reviewed by the BAC. Jessica Mortinger made an open records request to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office for the accident report. Dan Ashley, a committee member and Lawrence Police Officer with experience in fatality crash reviews went over each page of the accident report to clarify any sections BAC members had questions about. Bill Anderson asked why some sections of the report indicated the investigation was ongoing when he thought the Douglas County District Attorney had issued a statement that no charges were pending. Dan Ashley noted that since this incident involved a fatality, the open record that they were reviewing would be different than an official copy used in an investigative report. This copy would contain a standard, 2 paragraph accident narrative and would not be released to the public until the investigation was closed. Bill Anderson asked if Dan Ashley thought the open record would indicate that the investigation was closed. Dan Ashley noted he was not familiar with the procedure of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. David Hamby notified the committee of a letter made to the editor on the Lawrence Journal World website that contained information about the crash. David Hamby requested a letter be written to the Douglas County District Attorney asking for clarification on whether the investigation for this incident was completed. A motion for the BAC to draft a letter to the Douglas County District Attorney was moved by Bill Anderson, seconded by David Hamby and passed unanimously. Lisa Hallberg and Bill Anderson thanked Dan Ashley for going over the accident report in detail.
5. Other Business/ Updates
· Bike Month Proclamations / Lawrence City Commission Ride – Follow-up - Lisa Hallberg noted that 30 people showed up to take part in the Lawrence City Commission Ride from City Hall to Lawrence Memorial Hospital and back. Lisa thanked everyone who attended and also noted that the Bike Month proclamation was well received. Justin Eddings informed the committee that the Bike Month proclamation was well received by the City of Eudora.
· Lawrence Helmet Fair– Lisa Hallberg noted that Rod Hernandez attend the event was at the event and it was successful.
· League Certified Instructors Training - Stephen Mason informed the group that all sixteen slots for the League of American Bicyclists Safe Cycling Course are filled now. He also told the group that he has completed the course and is now a League Certified Cycling Instructor. Stephen expected LCI approved instructors would be in Lawrence by June and hoped safe cycling courses would be available throughout the year. Jessica Mortinger explained that the League of American Bicyclists has a list of recommendations for cities to become more bicycle friendly and that the League Certified Instructor training was recommended for Lawrence.
· Lawrence Police participation in the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) - Dan Ashley informed the group that two Lawrence police officers went to Colorado for instructor training by the IPMBA. The two officers would train around 8-10 officers from Lawrence Police. Dan noted the department owns almost 40 bikes and is close to having 30 officers who patrol on bikes.
6. Public Comments
Lisa Hallberg noted Lawrence Unchained has an agreement with the City of Eudora for a bike coop work space and that the name of the organization would be changed to Unchained.
David Hamby informed the group of the National Bike Challenge that keeps track of miles and days ridden and shared that participating in the challenge does encourage more biking. Jessica Mortinger noted that she would ask local bike organizations/clubs to see if anyone was interested in coordinating a Lawrence Challenge for 2016.
Dee Boeck indicated that she attended the meeting because she was a friend of Cal Melick and saw that his accident report was going to be reviewed.
7. Adjournment of Meeting and Announcement of Next Meeting
The meeting ended at 6:10 PM. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for June 15th, 2015 at 5PM.