Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee
Summary of the Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Regular Meeting
Tucson, AZ
Committee members, staff and members of the public introduced themselves. Donna Aversa, the new (almost) representative for Oro Valley, was introduced.
A motion to approve the minutes of the December meeting was made by Steve Bresler, seconded by Roy Schoonover and passed unanimously.
Chairman Morales said he had checked on the issue of when a quorum is present, and what number of members a quorum is based on. He said that he has been lead to understand that only the seven City of Tucson Members, and the ten Pima County members count as the basis for a quorum, and he will act on that basis until instructed differently.
Tucson Police Lieutenant Mike Pryor, who replaced Lieutenant
Stella Bay, was introduced.
Tucson Police Sergeant Tim Beam reported that the numbers of
bicycle-motor vehicle crashes are for last year ended up one less than 2004,
but fatals were two more than 2004. There were 23 crashes in December (lower
than Dec 2004). He explained that the crash at Mountain Ave and Grant Rd
involving the red light running minivan could have been much worse, but the
cyclist, who reportedly had his head down pushing hard, hit the side of the
minivan as it ran through t he red light, and as a result, suffered less injury
than might have been the case otherwise.
A question was asked of Sgt Beam as to how the right hook
education of officers was coming along. Sgt Beam answered that first, he was
out of Share the Road Guides, and needs more. Secondly, a steady course of
‘six-minute trainings (verbal statements/lectures) on right hook crashes had
been given. It was then asked of Sgt Beam, is it possible to track these types
of citations? He responded that it is cumbersome to do so, and requires getting
information on individual cases from City Courts.
Pima County
Sheriff’s Sergeant Karl Woolridge reported that there were only two
bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in December – one where the cyclist was riding at
night with no lights, and the other was an eight year-old girl who lost control
and hit a car backing out of a driveway. He mentioned that the driver in the
fatal crash last fall is out on bond, awaiting trial on 2nd degree
murder charges.
Matt Zoll
said he was going to have to leave early, and indicated that the Adult Ped-Bike
Safety Program will roll out a series of safety ads in March that may help with
these crashes. He also indicated that
the Coalition of Phoenix Bicyclists is working on strengthening the 3-foot
passing law (ARS 28-735), and an effort to establish a diversion program for
bicycle offenders is advancing.
Retired
Tucson Police Lieutenant Roger Carrillo, who is now an Aide to Councilmember
Nina Trasoff, said she is fully in support of establishing such a diversion
program, and also that they are looking for a Ward VI appointee to the BAC.
Bill Katzel announced a Platinum Committee meeting on January 19th and suggested that even if the region gets Gold instead of Platinum, it will still be possible to file an enhanced application in the 2nd 2006 submittal window, to try again.
Jim Jordan handed out copies of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Arivaca newspaper, and was unfavorable to cyclists. He asked for help developing a solid response.
Eric Post asked about: 1) the bike lanes on Craycroft south of the Tanque Verde bridge, where there is a drop off from the new pavement, and especially where there is about a six-inch drop near a drain inlet, that has been there since shortly after the road was reconstructed by Pima County a number of years ago; 2) traffic barriers and signs that stick out into bike lanes, especially along Oracle Road; and 3) glass left after auto crashes that is swept into the shoulder/bike lane.
Eric Gonnason stated he was recovered from his crash injuries, and had ridden in Washington State and was SO very impressed with the way drivers there treated him and other cyclists.
State Bicycle-Pedestrian Program Manager Mike Sanders said that the decision had been made to place the State Safe Routes to School Coordinator in the Bicycle-Pedestrian Program Office. There will be approx $2 to 3 Million a year for this State Program.
5.
Grant/Kolb/Tanque Verde Intersection Study
The Director
of Tucson Department of Transportation Jim Glock presented the good news that
TDOT has completed their study of this intersection, and that it can be
re-striped to include a four-foot bike lane on the east approach to the
intersection, that will be to the left of the two right turn only lanes, and to
the right of the through lanes. He said that it will require resurfacing to
accomplish the re-striping, and that the TDOT budget does not have the money in
this current budget year, so it may have to wait until after July 1st. He emphasized that both right turn lanes
will be right turn only (not one as a combination lane as it is now-), and that
the approach from the bridge will be striped with dashed lines to give cyclists
the right of way over traffic merging into the right turn lanes. The Committee
vigorously applauded this news and TDOT’s positive efforts.
6.
Letter to ADOT – Ref Mr. Dan Williams
Roy
Schoonover went over the letter he had developed to ADOT Director Victor Mendez
complimenting local Tucson District Maintenance Engineer Dan Williams on the
many things he has done for bicycling in our region. Roy was out of town last month, due to his 60th Anniversary,
but explained the reasons the letter is important. A Motion was made by Roy Schoonover, seconded by David
Bachman-Williams and passed
unanimously to support and authorize the Chair to send this letter.
7. Bike Lanes – Irvington Rd West of Houghton
Roy
Schoonover related recent discussions about how to get the last 1/3 of a mile
paved with shoulder bike lanes. He said that if the BAC supported this,
Councilmember Shirley Scott would probably be able to support the cost out of
her Ward’s back-to-basics fund.
A question
was asked – why not do Houghton too? It
was explained that small chunks are easier to get than bigger ones. A motion
was made by Roy Schoonover, seconded by Bill Adamson and passed unanimously to
authorize the Chair to send a letter expressing support for the use of these
funds for the bike lanes.
There was
then discussion as to whether Ward II might have funds available for the
Grant/Kolb/Tanque Verde Intersection repaving that is needed in order to
re-stripe. The Ward II member will find out if funds might be available and
report back next month.
8.
BAC Reports/Announcements
Roy Schoonover reported that the RTA plan for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, (which was presented last month by Rich Corbett & Tom Fisher) when coupled with the Regional Transportation Plan’s list of projects, gives the community the opportunity to add hundreds of miles of bike lanes, sidewalks, and shared-use paths in coming years. He stressed his belief that the projects need to be prioritized, and reported that this process had already started.
Several suggestions were offered as to how to accomplish prioritization: Jonathon Mabry suggested everyone bring their preferred project to the next meeting; PAG Staff member Richard Corbett said he could E-mail the Excel project list out to the members if that would help; Wayne Cullop said he wants to see specific criteria, not just ‘I like this road because I ride it’; Rosemary Carmody suggested that Wayne could develop criteria, then E-mail to the Committee members.
Steve Cohen reported he was involved with raising money to support the RTA Plan, and asked any members who had contact ideas for the fundraising to contact him.
Bill Adamson said that Mission Road’s bad condition
came up recently, and that his Green Valley Bicycle Committee supports doing
something to improve it.
PAG
Staff member Richard Corbett announced that Roy Schoonover, who has served four
consecutive years on first the RTP Task Force, then more recently on the RTA
Citizen Advisory Committee, has been given special recognition by PAG and the
RTA. Corbett presented Roy with a Plaque, and several other personalized items,
all in gratitude for Roy’s exemplary service.
9. Potential Items for Next Agenda
·
Campbell
/River connection problem.
·
Timeliness
of Minutes distribution
·
Call to the
Public – how to handle better
·
Needed
improvements to: Kolb Rd, Sahuarita Rd, Mission Rod, & Julian Wash
10.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm
Bill Adamson, Pima County
G.J. Anderson, Pima County
Donna Aversa, Oro Valley
David Bachman-Williams, Pima County Brian Beck, City Ward 2
Steve Bresler, City Ward 1
Rosemary Carmody, Pima County
Steve Cohen, Pima County
P. Wayne Cullop, City Ward 4
Jonathon Hoffman, City Ward 3
Jonathon Mabry, Pima County
Jess Morales, City Ward 5
Dick Schaffer, Pima County
Roy Schoonover, Pima County
Diana Tolton, Pima County
Roger Carrillo, Ward 6 Council Aide
Jim Glock, TDOT Director
Richard B. Nassi, TDOT
Melissa Antol, TDOT
Diahn Swartz, TDOT
Lt Mike Pryor, Tucson Police
Sgt. Tim Beam, Tucson Police
Matthew Zoll, Pima County
Sgt Karl Woolridge, Pima Sheriff's
Richard Corbett, PAG
Michael Sanders, ADOT Phnx
Leon Byerley, citizen
Eric Gonnason, citizen
Jim Jordan, Green Valley citizen
Bill Katzel, citizen
Eric Post, citizen
Gerald Weintraub, citizen