CYCLING
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
ATTENDANCE
Committee:
Marcia Guthenberg
Arup Mukherjee
Winston Stewart
Agency Members:
Lindsay Rosien,
Regrets:
Carole Robertson, Accessibility Representative
Christopher Sauer, MEAC Representative
Gerald Corbett
Andrew Tronchin
Councillor Erin Shapero
Councillor Logan Kanapathi
Wincy Tsang, Smart Commute 404-7
Ruby Gill,
Staff:
Brian Lee,
Manager of Development
Lorenzo Mele, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator
Judy Kee, Committee Clerk
The Cycling and
Pedestrian Advisory Committee convened at the hour of
1. ROUNDTABLE INTRODUCTIONS
Mr.
2. MINUTES
OF THE CYCLING
COMMITTEE
MEETING HELD ON
Moved by Marcia Guthenberg
Seconded by
That the minutes of
the Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting held on
CARRIED
3 NETWORK
IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE
Master
Plans – Mr.
Lorenzo Mele, TDM Coordinator, gave a brief update on the status of the Cycling
Master Plan and the Pathways and Trails Master Plan. He noted that both have been finalized and
endorsed in principle by Council in April of 2008. Detailed studies and designs are to be
undertaken, and it is expected that Council will formally approve the Plans in
the New Year.
Milne
Pathway Project – Mr.
Mele provided some background on the status of the Project and advised that the
Town has scheduled a Public Information Session for Thursday, February 19th,
which will be an opportunity for all members of the public to provide comments. Committee discussed the details of the proposed
route of the Pathway, including the environmentally sensitive areas, and was advised
that additional engineering and environmental studies will be required before
finalization.
Some concern was expressed regarding the
objections raised by residents adjacent to
It was suggested that it would be beneficial
to have representatives of CPAC and also the
4. TRANSPORTATION PLANS
Metrolinx
– The Big Move – Mr. Mele advised that Metrolinx, which is the
public authority that manages transportation planning within the Greater
Toronto Area and Hamilton (GTHA), recently launched its draft regional
transportation plan for transit services over the next 25 years. The plan has been called “The Big Move”, and
describes a variety of measures that Metrolinx will recommend for funding to
improve transportation and the better moving of people and goods. The Plan describes 15 Strategic Directions; 8
Big Moves; and 15 Priority Projects.
Mr. Mele distributed material regarding Big Move
#4 which pertains to a plan to implement complete, integrated walking and
cycling networks for the GTHA, including
Members discussed the following related
matters:
·
Region is planning on-road cycling facilities when widening roads to
6-lanes
·
area between Sciberras Road and Montgomery Court; Markham has concerns
regarding cycling facilities on arterial roads; further discussion with Region
is planned on more appropriate locations; sidewalks are being installed, so
Markham may have to look into multi-use pathways
·
better separation between traffic and bicycles; treatment options
include: guideways, barriers, curbs, or lane painting; many factors to consider
·
some concern regarding bike lane over
·
snow plowing would be impacted with such installation
·
reference made to cycling lanes in
·
some concern expressed regarding the continued intensification of Highway
7
·
increased population growth and traffic requires space to move; proposed road
widenings are for car pooling and reserved bus transit lanes; “planned
congestion” is a viable alternative; municipalities cannot afford to build
subways
·
the importance of building the right amount of infrastructure and
investing in the right technology
·
pricing is coming; “contango” – the cost of storing oil
5. 2009 BUSINESS
Mr. Mele advised that in 2008 a Business Plan
was prepared but was not officially presented to Council in its entirety. This year, staff are requesting that Members
of Committee develop a Business Plan, which would include goals and objectives
relating to programs and events for 2009, and once finalized, the Plan would be
forwarded to Council for approval.
Members were advised that the 2009 Budget
contains (soft cost) funding in the amount of $25,000 for education, outreach
and promotion, and the larger projects, relating to the installation of bike
lanes, pathways and trails, are currently funded through the Town’s Capital
Budget and Provincial grants.
There was considerable discussion regarding priorities
and programs to be incorporated into the Business Plan for 2009, and the
following matters were raised:
CAN-
·
include an educational program with the assistance of Nancy Letman of
·
potential involvement of “Cycle with Michael” – Michael Trigiani to
assist with instructors’ training; a pilot project to go into high schools
·
Town would pay instructors to teach; one day program in the past
·
only one school was involved last year; could this be increased to two?;
·
feasibility of mentorship program for Grades 5-8? Program is more
effective with this age group; suggest mentoring students this year and expand
program next year
·
a lead or senior instructor would be required; high school students would
assist
·
or perhaps only one grade (i.e. Grade 4) be involved in more areas of the
Town to have more exposure to the Program, similar to Town’s swim program; or,
focus on one group and hold the event on different days
·
availability of grants for this to be explored by Arup Mukherjee and
·
is scheduled this year for Saturday, May 30th at the
·
kids were charged $10.00 last year, which provided them with water
bottles, t-shirts and a quick bike tune-up
·
advertising and promotion should be increased this year to encourage more
participants;
·
CPAC should consider using free advertising available on
·
in the past, information has been placed on the Town’s website and
electronic bulletin boards at the Civic Centre and community centres
Giro de Markham:
·
approximate cost in 2008 was $6-8,000
·
it was successful; more discussion at next meeting
Education and Outreach:
·
Cycling and Pathways Trail Map has been produced in-house; sponsorship
may be possible to mitigate some of the cost if new good quality colour map is
to be printed
·
purpose of the map is for “way-finding” around
·
staff will contact the City of
·
suggestion that it may be too early to produce an updated map; possibly
partner with other Town departments
·
current map is 2004; staff to discuss map production further
Bikefest:
·
the 2008 Bikefest was successful; both a 5K and a 20K route; held on
Sunday, June 8th in conjunction with the Unionville Festival
·
promotion is important; schools, libraries, bike stores, like Running
Free and Sport Check, etc. should be given flyers and posters; information
could be included in newsletters that go out to the schools;
·
consideration should be given to utilizing the new
·
a sub-committee was struck for this event last year and recommendations
have been put forward for enhancement
Bicycle Racks:
·
not included in $25,000 Budget; part of Capital
It
was agreed that promotion of the cycling events is very important, and
Committee queried the feasibility of having a dedicated Corporate
Communications person to work with Members of CPAC and staff to support and
promote the cycling events. Mr. Mele will
contact Corporate Communications to ask if a representative could attend
Committee’s next meeting to discuss this proposal.
6. DATE OF
It was agreed that the next meeting should be
within the next month, and it was agreed that the next meeting be scheduled
for:
It was noted that there also be a March
meeting and the date of Thursday, March 5th was suggested. This would be discussed further at the
February 12th meeting.
Mr. Mele suggested that discussion continue
regarding the Business Plan in February, and then the final draft of the
Cycling, Pathways and Trails master plan will be presented to Committee in
March.
ADJOURNMENT
The
Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee meeting
adjourned at