HomeMy WebLinkAboutBBACMinutes_2016_09_15Bicycle Advisory Committee
September 15, 2016 Minutes
A meeting of the Bicycle Advisory Committee was held on Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 5:00 pm at
Brookings City & County Government Center with the following members present: Vice-Chair Joanie
Holm (by phone), Chair-Mike Lockrem, Steve Paula, Jennifer McLaughlin, Caleb Evenson, Emily Braun,
and Brittany Kleinsasser (by phone). Absent: Ben Vukovich and Steve Paula. Guests included Greta
Alquist & Shaun Lopez Murphy from Toole Design Group, Lawrence Novotny, City Clerk Shari Thornes,
Parks & Recreation Director Dan Brettschneider, City Engineer Jackie Lanning and Communications
Specialist Laurie Carruthers.
Vice-Chair Holm called the meeting to order at 5:11 p.m.
Lockrem arrived at 5:12 pm.
A motion was made by Lockrem, seconded by Braun to approve the agenda. All present voted yes;
motion carried.
PLAN OVERVIEW AND SCHEDULE
Shaun Lopez-Murphy from Toole Design Group (TDG) provided the plan overview and schedule. The
Bicycle Master Plan began on July 1, 2016 and will end on March 31, 2017. On October 14, TDG will
provide a 6th Street recommendation from the current findings. In January, there will be another
Community Workshop and Stakeholder Meeting. In March, the City Council will review and adopt the
final Bicycle Master Plan.
There are several different committees working on master plans with different timelines. The 6th Street
Ad Hoc Committee is waiting on feedback specific to 6th Street and is on hold on their decision until
community engagement and online survey feedback is gathered. TDG will provide a preliminary
recommendation of this section, but it is difficult to provide a definitive analysis with a fast track on one
specific site. The tight timeline is because the SDDOT has begun the design plans and needs to survey
before the weather turns. The plan is to build in 2019.
REFLECTING ON SEPTEMBER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
TDG was impressed with energy of Brookings and surprised by the participation rates. Knowledge is key
for rule of the roads and the more verbal input you receive, the more opportunity to give ideas and
provide feedback. The survey and map will be open online until September 30. Everyone was delighted
with numbers and surprised by how many people bike every day. The visuals and interactive posters
were key to the engagement. The only group that seemed to be lacking was parents and children and
questioned how to engage this demographic.
Much of the initial feedback focused on education for motorists and bicyclists and how they can work
together. A recommendation for the next workshop would be to have two welcome stations for the
initial flood of participants.
FOCUS AREAS FOR BROOKINGS BICYCLE MASTER PLAN
Education is major focus on policy and program recommendations. A strong data analysis from what
was found: where should people ride their bikes, connectivity to all major destinations, better trails,
wayfinding, increasing biking and young bikers, and designated barrier bike lanes with connectivity.
Educational solutions are a lower cost and easily attainable. Infrastructure solutions are more expensive
and complex.
Next steps will be to develop the community engagement report. In November the BBAC will meet with
TDG and review the observations. November 3 is tentatively the day for the meeting.
Thornes advised that there is a vacancy on the Committee with Kathryn Larson resigning. There will be
no meeting in October. The Community Workshop will be on January 25 or 26 and possibly at the
Brookings Activity Center.
Meeting adjourned at 5:03 pm.
Submitted by Laurie Carruthers