LEE COUNTY BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES May 16, 2012 MEMBERS PRESENT Diana Durante, At Large Keith Kibbey, At Large, Chairman Joe Beck, At Large, Vice-Chair Steve Rodgers, District 2 Damon Shelor, District 5 Ileana Sisson, District 1, Secretary Don Mayne, District 4 MEMBER ABSENT Peter Ahlgren, At Large STAFF Mike Tisch, LCDOT Denise Bayliss, LCDOT Andy Getch, LCDOT Steve Jansen, LCDOT OTHERS PRESENT Brian Bigelow, Lee County Commissioner, District 2 Wayne Gaither, Lee Tran Ron Gogoi, Lee MPO Agenda Item #1, Call to Order/Introductions/Review of Agenda & Motion to Approve Agenda: Chairman Keith Kibbey called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m., and asked for introductions around the room. Joe Beck moved to approve the agenda as written; Steve Rodgers seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Agenda Item #2, Approval of April 18, 2012 Minutes: Steve Rodgers asked for a correction on page 3, paragraph 1, Item #6.b of the minutes: he rode a carbon fiber, not plastic, bicycle. Joe Beck moved to approve the April 18, 2012 minutes as amended; Don Mayne seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Agenda Item #3, Public Comment: none Agenda Item #4, Chairman s Report: Keith Kibbey said his meeting with the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau (VCB) has been rescheduled to May 30 th at 2 p.m. to discuss the marketing of cycling in Lee County. He distributed a copy of the current nationwide map for the Adventure Cycling Route Network. Adventure Cycling maps out long-distance cycling routes and utilizes roads in Lee County from Fort Myers Beach in their east coast route from Florida to Maine. Keith will inform the VCB about Adventure Cycling and ask about advertising Lee County in the Adventure Cycling Magazine. Keith reminded everyone that May is Bike Month, this week is bike to work week, and Friday, May 18, 2012 is bike to work day. The annual Ride of Silence is tonight at 7 p.m. starting from Centennial Park. Agenda Item #5, New Business: Agenda Item 5.a, Report on Fiddlesticks Blvd. and Palomino Lane Bike/Ped Facilities: Commissioner Bigelow said the residents of Fiddlesticks are asking that Fiddlesticks Blvd. be upgraded to a complete street. Fiddlesticks Blvd. is a straight road that cars speed along to get to Daniels Pkwy. The Fiddlesticks residents want bicycle/pedestrian facilities and street lighting for safety at night. The commissioner had suggested the residents set up an MSTBU to fund the improvements; however, the residents do not want to take on the expense. They would like the funding allocated to construct bikeway/pedestrian way multiuse facilities on the south side of Daniels Parkway (which already has some facilities on the north side) be used to improve other streets like Fiddlesticks Blvd., that don t have any facilities. Joe Beck informed Commissioner Bigelow that at the April 18, 2012 BPAC meeting, the committee members voted to BPAC Meeting Minutes 5-16-2012 Page 1
remove the Daniels Parkway project (to put a multiuse path on the south side) from the BPAC five-year CIP priorities list. Commissioner Bigelow said Palomino Lane is a big problem that has to be solved, too. There was a discussion about the need to retrofit what we have, and look at alternative methods of transportation, such as rail, in order to prevent urban sprawl. Commissioner Bigelow was interested in hearing the follow-up report on the South Road realignment project, so it was agreed to move up Agenda Item 6.c. Agenda Item #6, Old Business Agenda Item 6.c Follow-Up to South Road Realignment: Mike Tisch said staff met with the Port Authority engineers for the South Road realignment to ask that they put in sidewalks on both sides of South Road, and they agreed. They are reconfiguring the South Road alignment and it is going to have sidewalks on both sides of the new road realignment, up to Center Road, where there will be a crosswalk. The Port Authority doesn t own all the right-of-way on the north side of South Road between Center Road and First St. There is a remnant parcel that can t be developed. There is room enough in there for the road, but not room enough to put sidewalks on both sides. So, the sidewalk will continue on the south side and connect to First Street. The Airport Authority is trying to acquire the remnant piece of property. The County will ask the Port Authority to extend the sidewalk as development occurs in the future. Keith expressed concern about pedestrians and cyclists being able to use South Road to get from Page Park to US 41 and back. Will cyclists and pedestrians have to share the sidewalks, or will there be paved shoulders for the cylists? Mike Tisch and Steve Jansen stated that South Road will have five-foot wide sidewalks and five-foot wide paved shoulders on both sides of the road. Commissioner Bigelow was concerned about the connection from South Road to Danley Drive. There will be a transition just north of that intersection where people will have to make a turn in order to get onto South Road. The connection should be made straighter. Mike explained that there are several Ficus trees (Cuban laurel) in that area. One tree is outside of the right-of-way and another is partially within the right-of-way and partially on the property owner s land. We are trying to set the sidewalk back at the right-of-way line. Port Authority staff is talking with the property owner about removal of the obstructing trees. If we can take the trees out, the Port Authority is willing to put in some other native trees. The conversations are ongoing. If we are not able to do that, we will still get the sidewalk in by going around the tree; but, it will be a continuing maintenance issue. Damon Shelor asked if the Port Authority has agreed to join the rest of the county in adopting Complete Streets concepts for their upcoming project to build a road from JetBlue Park over towards the new business park on the north side of the old terminal. Joe Beck noted that, at a prior meeting, the BPAC moved to request that the Port Authority adopt complete streets. Keith Kibbey explained that he will write a letter to ask the Board of County Commissioners to converse with the Port Authority Board and request them to adopt and embrace the complete streets process. Agenda Item #5, New Business: Agenda Item 5.b, Choose BPAC Letterhead Stationery: Copies were distributed of the old letterhead design and Joe Beck s new letterhead design. Keith asked for comments and recommendations. BPAC Meeting Minutes 5-16-2012 Page 2
Comments on the old design: Keith did not like the old clip art design because it shows casual bicyclists and a serious pedestrian (runner). Ileana suggested putting helmets on the cyclists. Joe Beck moved to approve the new BPAC logo he submitted. Damon Shelor seconded for discussion. Comments on Joe Beck s design: Suggestions were made to change Joe s design a little: pull down the top part of the letter a, change the squiggly lines to solid colors, shorten the tail on the letter p in BPAC so it does not split the words beneath it, the design is hard to recognize. There was discussion about looking at other designs. Joe Beck said he could come back with more designs and asked that this item be tabled until the next BPAC meeting. Don Mayne said he would submit a design, too. Keith requested that anyone who would like to submit a design to please email them to Denise (dbayliss@leegov.com) so they can be included in the agenda package. Agenda Item #6, Old Business Agenda Item 6.a, Report on Alternative User Workshop: Joe Beck said he presented the public workshop idea to the CSAC (Community Sustainability Advisory Committee) and received some great suggestions. He emailed the County Attorney s Office and they said they would meet with him at their office to talk about the issues (allowing golf carts on bike paths, sidewalks, roadways), but they are not ready to talk at a public workshop. Joe talked with the Sheriff who said he already has a guy on board, just tell us when and where and we ll be there. He talked with Dan Moser who suggested having the public workshop on the same Wednesday as the regular BPAC meeting but hold it from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which would allow people who attend the CSAC meeting at 6 p.m. to also attend the workshop. Joe asked the committee members if they would be able to attend the workshop on Wednesday, July 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. Diana Durante said she could not attend in July. Everybody else said they could attend; however, some felt that July may be too soon to hold a public workshop. Many of the county staff take vacation while the BOCC is on hiatus in July. Also, a workshop in July would exclude the winter residents from participating. After more discussion, Joe Beck said he would continue the dialogue with the County Attorney s Office and CSAC and come back to the next BPAC meeting with more information. He moved to table this issue until next time. Agenda Item 6.b, Donald Road Sight Distance Issue: Mike Tisch recalled that several residents from Yacht Club Colony, off of Donald Road in North Fort Myers, attended the January 18, 2012 BPAC meeting to discuss problems with the roadway. One problem was the obstructed view around the curve on Donald Road. Mike talked with the manager from Conservation 20/20, Lynda Riley, and she agreed to have the Brazilian pepper and other exotic vegetation cleared from the side of the road to help improve the sight distance around that curve. Mike drove on Donald Road about a month after the exotics were sprayed. The Brazilian pepper had died off, but that did not improve the sight distance because the thick native vegetation is still obscuring the view. The land on either side of the road is Conservation 20/20 land and is part of a natural wetlands system that drains underneath Bayshore Road all the way down to the Caloosahatchee. The mangroves growing there are federally protected and Conservation 20/20 will not touch them. Agenda Item 6.d, FHP Crash Report: Mike Tisch presented the FHP crash report from the accident in Collier County involving a woman cyclist and a truck pulling a trailer. The names of the people involved were redacted because state law prohibits county staff from giving out that information. The crash BPAC Meeting Minutes 5-16-2012 Page 3
occurred February 29, 2012, and the FHP report is dated April 14, 2012. Steve Rodgers noted that this is a revised, updated form compared to when Ileana was doing her investigation. The FHP report included a diagram of the crash and an eye-witness narrative. This information helped to explain how the accident happened and why the cyclist was cited for an improper change of lane or course. Agenda Item 7, Public Comments: Ron Gogoi said the Lee MPO is currently negotiating with David Plummer & Associates for a rail feasibility study. The study will look at freight rail and passenger rail (commuter, light, and long distance) transportation. The focus of this study will be only from the railhead in Collier County to the Charlotte County line. The rail line goes all the way through DeSoto County. There may be another study funded in the near future that will look into the rest of the line through Charlotte and DeSoto Counties. Agenda Item 8, Member Comments: Diana Durante asked about the work being done near John Yarborough Linear Park. Mike Tisch and Steve Jansen explained that the Lee County Division of Natural Resources is clearing out and widening the filter marsh (Ten Mile Canal Filter Marsh). They are using the railroad right-of-way to get access to the area they are clearing. Steve Rodgers said he noticed that Plantation Road is being repaved (from Daniels Parkway to Idlewild St.) He asked about the roundabout planned for the Plantation Road/Crystal Drive intersection. Staff said the roundabout still has to be designed; right-of-way acquisition will start in the next fiscal year and construction will start the year after that. There was discussion about the design of roundabouts and how to safely use them. Keith asked staff to report on the status of the Plantation/Crystal roundabout at the next meeting. Steve Rodgers said he tested bicycle detection at a few more signalized intersections. At the intersection of Daniels Parkway and Treeline Avenue, the traffic signal did not allow enough time for Steve to ride completely through the intersection. He notified Awaldo Gonzalez and the signal timing was adjusted to give more time to clear the intersection. Steve rode through that intersection this morning and it works pretty good. Steve told a funny story about a cyclist trying to trigger the signal at the intersection of Estero Pkwy and Three Oaks Pkwy. The cyclist was riding on Estero Parkway and wanted to make a left turn onto Three Oaks Parkway. There are two left turn lanes. There were no cars around to trigger the green arrow, so the cyclist tried positioning his bicycle in several different spots trying to get the directional camera to detect the bicycle, without success. A Sheriff s Deputy finally drove up to the cyclist and told him he could run the light. Steve notified Awaldo about that intersection. Mike commented that the camera at that intersection in not one of the newer Aldis cameras. Mike also said a work order has been issued to have the paved shoulders on Estero Pkwy marked as bike lanes. Steve Rodgers asked about getting an east-west connection north of Colonial at Treeline, and over to Buckingham Road and SR 82; is it on a plan? Staff explained that there has been some talk about an eastwest connection, but a lot of that land is Conservation 20/20 land (wetlands) and is within the City of Fort Myers. Don Mayne asked about the group photograph taken at the May 1, 2012 BOCC meeting for the Bike Month presentation. Ileana Sisson said it is posted on the Lee County website (www.lee-county.com). Ileana Sisson asked about the status of Burnt Store Road. Andy Getch said the City of Cape Coral wants Burnt Store Road four-laned as soon as possible. An application has been submitted for State matching loan monies. It s a hurricane evacuation route and it s in our Capital Improvement Program. Sections of BPAC Meeting Minutes 5-16-2012 Page 4
Burnt Store Road are either in design or construction phase in the draft five-year CIP. The plan is to widen Burnt Store Road to four lanes and add bicycle and pedestrian facilities as part of that widening project. Damon asked about the project to put paved shoulders on Homestead Road, Lehigh. It looks like much of that work is done, and asked when the project would be completed. Ron Gogoi said that information is on the status report for Lee County and FDOT projects. Mike Tisch said he would email that information to Damon. Damon announced that he was recently appointed as a voting member of the Sustainability Committee (CSAC). Agenda Item 9, Adjourn: Joe Beck moved to adjourn the meeting; Don Mayne and Diana Durante seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 4:45 p.m. BPAC Chairman Date BPAC Secretary or Vice-Chair Date BPAC Meeting Minutes 5-16-2012 Page 5