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Home My WebLink About7/1/2013 - Bicycle Master Plan Oversight Committee (2)CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Bicycle Master Plan Oversight Committee Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: July 1, 2013 Time: 5:00 p.m. Location: Community Room, 100 Civic Center Drive 1. CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm. 2. ROLL CALL Committee Members Present – Councilman/Chair Tony Petros, Michael Alti, Lou Cohen, John Heffernan, Robert Kahn, Greg Kline, Frank Peters Committee Members Absent – Sean Matsler City Staff –Lt. Jeff Lu, Sr. Civil Engineer Brad Sommers, Assistant City Attorney Michael Torres Consultant Staff – Alta Planning and Design - Paul Martin, Jessie Holzer, Brett Hondrop; RBF Consulting - Susan Harden, Michelle Lieberman; Stantec- Rock Miller 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Committee Member Bob Kahn led the Pledge of Allegiance 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mark Goodley made the following comments: o Requested Review of the Coast Hwy. and Bayside intersection. Jim Mosher made the following comments: o Commented the meeting started before the posted meeting time. o Requested presentation materials be posted before meeting. Requested the City record the meetings and link it with the PowerPoint presentation. Glen Felstrom made the following comments: o Suggested painting a bicycle marking in crosswalk plus other signage if intended to be used by bicycles. Chair Petros requested Staff Sommers look into recording the meetings. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES ACTION: Motion by Committee Member Peters to approve the minutes. Seconded by Committee Member Lou Cohen. Motion passed. Jim Mosher commented that the minutes identify any Committee Member with a dissenting vote on any motions. 6. CURRENT BUSINESS A. Clarification of City Communication Policy – Michael Torres, Assistant City Attorney, discussed Committee Member communication and blogging/Facebook. He noted: o It is not the City’s intent to hinder blogging, Facebook or any other expression by Committee Members. o Activities may violate the Brown Act if a quorum of members of the Committee respond to one another’s blog or online comments regarding Committee business. o Committee topics should be discussed in a public and noticed meeting. o Committee Members may speak to the Public or Press regarding personal opinions, but should specify they are speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the Committee. o An official Committee response should be developed by the Committee within a public and noticed meeting. o Creation of official City policy is the responsibility of the City Council. o Communications to the Consultant should go through Staff Sommers as the Project Manager. There should be no direct contact between the Committee and the Consultant regarding Committee business or the Bicycle Master Plan project outside of the Committee meetings. Jim Mosher commented that the handbook provided on the website was not reviewed or endorsed by the City Council and communication requirements were not in the Consultant agreement. Chair Petros clarified that the Consultant agreement does state that Staff Sommers is the point of contact. ACTION: None B. Alta Planning and Design- Introduction of Alta Planning and Design and Discussion of Bicycle Master Plan Paul Martin from Alta Planning + Design provided a presentation on the project team, background, scope and timeline. Committee Member Peters asked if “equity” would be added to the plan as one of the E’s. Mr. Martin responded that equity could be imbedded throughout the plan. Chair Petros requested that the Consultant review the Task Force Annual Reports in addition to the City’s existing policies. Committee Member Peters asked if the Bicycle Friendly Community application would be completed as part of the scope. Mr. Martin responded yes. Committee Member Kahn asked if collision data from the Police Department would be used. Mr. Martin responded yes. Committee Member Peters commented that the youth lifeguard program might be a good venue for outreach to youth. Committee Member Heffernan asked if the scope is to change design guidelines/safety standards or are they already in place. Staff Sommers clarified the difference between general standards and specific intersection standards. Mr. Martin commented that there may be recommendations to change items in the General Plan Circulation Element. Committee Member Peters asked if there were ways to better coordinate with planning in Huntington Beach and with OCTA. Mr. Martin commented that the Public Agency Stakeholder Meeting would be one way to communicate with other agencies. Staff Sommers clarified that the OCTA Districts 1 and 2 Bikeways planning process will be in parallel to the Newport Beach Bicycle Master Plan process and the planning process does not preclude other projects from moving forward. Committee Member Peters asked for clarification on the jurisdiction of Coast Hwy. between Caltrans and OCTA. Staff Sommers noted the City has jurisdiction over the segment between Jamboree Rd. and Newport Coast Dr. While Caltrans has jurisdiction over the other segments. OCTA is involved in many regional planning and funding activities within Orange County. Committee Member Kahn recommended that a Caltrans representative be invited to the Committee meetings. Mike Roeske commented that cyclists in local clubs could identify standard routes and test potential routes. Mike Roeske He asked for clarification on the purpose of the Bicycle Master Plan. Mr. Martin read the objective defined in the City’s Request for Proposals. Mr. Roeske also commented that a standards page or section would be good to include. Jim Mosher commented that Brett Hondorp is identified in the scope as the Consultant’s project manager. Mr. Martin responded that Mr. Hondorp is identified as the Principal-in-Charge and Mr. Martin is identified as the Project Manager. Mr. Mosher asked how a team of volunteers would be conducting bicycle counts. Mr. Martin said the process for bicycle counts has not been determined yet and the Consultant is working with Staff. Laura Curran recommended that the Consultant be “bold” in analysis and recommendations. She identified San Miguel, MacArthur and Jamboree as major roadways to analyze. Committee Member Peters asked if the NACTO guide is growing in stature. Mr. Martin commented that many of the innovative features in the NACTO guide are implemented through demonstration projects. Rock Miller commented that there is movement at the federal level to incorporate items from the NACTO guide into the MUTCD. Mr. Martin asked the Committee and public to identify the biggest challenges to bicycling in Newport Beach, the greatest opportunities to improve bicycling, and potential hot spots for the team to look at. The following are comments made by the Committee and public (verbatim): Biggest Challenges o Vehicle speeds o Coast Hwy. o Dominant focus on vehicle through-put (speeds, signals, etc.) o Constrained roads o Safe routes to the beach (e.g. from Newport Harbor High School; from Newport Heights to beach) o Distractions – inside (e.g. texting) and outside (e.g. beach views) o Multi-functional aspect of streets (parking, walking, shops, etc.) o Negligent and uninformed cyclists (give others bad name) o Visitors don’t know rules. How to educate prior to arrival? Or upon arrival?  Note: In survey of rental companies by previous committee, almost all willing to provide brochures, etc. to visitors o No unanimity on importance of cycling in Newport Beach; how to get buy-in from non- cyclists o Cyclists not following rules o Arrogance on the part of drivers and cyclists o Poorly designed bike lanes (too narrow) Greatest Opportunities o Back Bay Loop o Wayfinding signs to beach o Message – environment o Asset in NB – four cycle shops that have more than half dozen riding groups and teams o Connections to other destinations (HB, Irvine, LB, etc.) o Moms & kids on bikes Hot Spots/Locations o Bayside and Coast Hwy. o Coast Hwy. and Newport Blvd. (Arches Interchange) o Riverside Ave. and Coast Hwy. o Newport Heights to the beach o All high speed arterials (Jamboree, etc.) o 32nd St. on Peninsula (crossing issues) o Bayside Dr.– sharrow test area o Marguerite Ave. – Fifth Ave to beach (opportunity for sharrows) o The Peninsula (entire length) Committee Member Heffernan commented that there is a predominant number of people interested in cycling on the Committee. How will the perspective of non-cyclists be represented. Mr. Martin responded that that the Consultant will work with Staff to develop recommendations from a balanced perspective. Committee Member Peters asked that the Consultant give adequate consideration to innovative ideas. Chair Petros commented the next Committee meeting will be in September. ACTION: None C. Policy Department Update - Lt. Lu reviewed recent bicycle-involved incidents within the City, noting 9 incidents in June 2013 as compared with 17 incidents in June 2012. ACTION: None 7. Committee Announcements or Matters for a Future Agenda (Non-Discussion Items) None. 8. DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING – TBD 9. ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM. Minutes Approved: ____________________________________________ ___ Chairman / Tony Petros Date