by Tommy Eden Minutes for Bicycle-Pedestrian Subcommittee of Urban Transportation Commission Thu., May 29, 2003, at 6:30 p.m. One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Rd. 8th Floor Conference Room UTC members present: Tommy Eden, chair Mike Dahmus Others present: Stuart Werbner Donna Tiemann Harold Daniel 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m. 2. PROPOSAL FOR SHARROWS ON GUADALUPE AND LAVACA STREETS DOWNTOWN It was suggested that the City of San Francisco and the Florida Dept. of Transportation may have standards for using sharrows on roadways. Stuart Werbner had spoken with Linda DuPriest, who had said that sharrows were not in the MUTCD. Mike Dahmus suggested that the City of Austin could still implement sharrows as a pilot project. Tommy Eden agreed to ask Linda DuPriest whether she could agree to a pilot project if someone outside the City of Austin, such as graduate students at the University of Texas, agreed to conduct the required studies. 6. DISCUSSION ABOUT SETTING PRIORITIES FOR NEW BICYCLE LANES Mike Dahmus reported that the proposed criteria for bicycle lane priorities are on his website, but that there were no weights for each of the criteria. Tommy Eden pointed out that the threat to CAMPO's policy which sets aside 15 percent of Metropolitan Mobility funds could have a major impact on the selection of projects, based upon their impact on improving air quality. Mike Dahmus said he would experiment with the weights of the criteria to see if he could make the ones with the greatest impact on air quality get the highest scores. 7. PROPOSAL FOR BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS ON US HIGHWAY 290 WEST Donna Tiemann and Harold Daniel, representing the Barton View Neighborhood Association, were interested in getting sidewalks along the the US 290 frontage roads west of the interchange with Lamar Blvd. and Loop 360. They were asking that this sidewalk proposal be placed in a queue of sidewalk construction proposals. There was a concern that funding from the City of Austin for sidewalk projects could run out, and that bond-funded projects could be delayed. Mike Dahmus agreed to ask Linda DuPriest about this proposal. Tommy Eden agreed to keep the neighborhood association informed as further information becomes available. 3. PROPOSED POLICY TO REQUIRE THAT CROSSWALKS BE REPAINTED WHENEVER LANE STRIPES ARE REPAINTED Tommy Eden had contacted Yvonne ------ to request information about the status of crosswalks to be painted. She had reported that the thermoplastic machine had broken down and had only been fixed during the previous week. Tommy Eden said he would be keeping an eye on the situation, but that it should be under control. Mike Dahmus suggested the idea of an "adopt a street" informal program in which individuals would be responsible for specific streets which they use regularly. Participants would report problems such as potholes, debris, and crosswalk striping needs as they occur. Mike Dahmus agreed to post this idea on the austin-bikes newsgroup. 4. PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE PEDESTRIAN PLAN WITH REGARD TO PEDESTRIAN RIGHT OF WAY AND SIDEWALK EASEMENTS This issue was not discussed. 5. REQUEST TO REMOVE SIGNS WHICH PROHIBIT PEDESTRIANS FROM CROSSING TXDOT HIGHWAYS Stuart Werbner reported that the "No pedestrians" signs were still posted. Tommy Eden agreed to ask Richard Kroger about the status of the signs on Loop 360. 8. DISCUSSION ABOUT PROPOSED BICYCLE LANES ON E. 51ST STREET Because 51st St. does not have much congestion, this street would probably score low in terms of congestion reduction. It was suggested that the street was probably not a priority 1 bikeway, although nobody had that Austin Bicycle Plan available at the meeting. Mike Dahmus agreed to ask Linda DuPriest about the feasibility of bicycle lanes on E. 51st St. 9. DISCUSSION ABOUT PROPOSED BICYCLE FACILITIES FOR THE INTERCHANGE OF MOPAC AND US 183 This issue did not appear to be making progress. Stuart Werbner said he wanted to research what improvements could be made for bicycle traffic on Mopac at US 183. He agreed to ask Linda DuPriest about past efforts at such improvements. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.