Morgantown Municipal Bike Board

Morgantown Municipal Bike Board

Regular Meeting

Public Safety Building

January 4, 2007

New Action Items:

Due date	Responsibility	Action Item
02/01/07	Gmeindl	1. Finalize vision statement
02/01/07	Rosenbaum	3. Implement an email list for the easy communication between Bike Board members
02/01/07	Gmeindl	4. report on the requirements necessary for additional members to the Bike Board.

Meeting Minutes:

The January monthly meeting of the Morgantown Municipal Bike Board was called to order at 6:35 p.m. at the Public Safety Building by chairman Frank Gmeindl with the following members attending:

Betsy Shogren, Nick Hein, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jim Rye, Don Dickerson, Chip Wamsley, Greg Good, Marilyn Newcomb, Greg Good , Jonathan Rosenbaum, Don Spencer, John Lozier, Sonitt Bhatt, Bruce Summers, and Frank Gmeindl. Absent members were Nancy LaRocque, Bill Reger-Nash, and Tyler Pearson.

à Agenda Item 2 (agenda):

-All members present agreed to follow the given agenda.

à Agenda Item 3 (Open Action Items):

Ø Closed Action Items:

o #2- Letters to the MPO sent out.

Ø Open Action Items:

o #1-Bike Board vision (Gmeindl)

o #3-Email List (Pearson, Rosenbaum, Gmeindl). Rosenbaum will set up a “mailman” account for the Bike Board.

o #4-New Members to Bike Board (Gmeindl). Frank will find out and report on the requirements necessary for additional members to the Bike Board.

à Agenda Item 4 (MPO Update):

The MPO Planning Committee has approved the Morgantown Metropolitan Statistical Area Transportation Plan,, and is now in the Implementation Phase. However, it is still imperative for the Bike Board to continue to give feedback on funding, design, and critical issues.

à Agenda Item 5 (Ripe Banana Issues):

John Lozier requested that the documents produced for the Bike Board (minutes, agenda, etc.) be publicized on a webpage in plain text format for easy viewing and downloading.
Safe Routes to Schools proposals are due 01/15/07. While the Bike Board will not be a part of the application this year, Nick Hein and Positive Spin will be submitting an application. As originally the Bike Board wanted to make a recommendation to the Traffic Commission for the current year and it is not going to happen, it will be top priority for next year.
Frank Gmeindl proposed that the Bike Board members take the “Road I” class from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). This two-day, 9-hour class combines classroom discussion with on-road activities to learn the principles of vehicular-style bicycling. Frank suggested that training Bike Board members with this class is a good start to accomplishing many of the Bike Board’s educational goals, and could lead to more opportunities for the education of Morgantown community members, MPO Board members, roadway designers, etc. Also, it may be a good idea to have a Bike Board member become a League Cycling instructor.

à Agenda Item 6 (Update Goals)

After taking a few minutes to review the goals created at the previous Bike Board meeting, there was an opportunity for members to suggest additional goals. These are listed below, and have been included on the Bike Board Goals document, as attached.

1) Commuting (NH)-secure bike parking at employers

2) Education (DD)-LAB program

3) Education (NH)-train a Morgantown resident to be a Road I instructor

4) Education (DS)-have an annual bike-oriented event (much like Arbor Day for the Tree Committee)

5) Education (NH)-have a document for incoming freshman at WVU describing the cycling situation (maps, trails, etc), in Morgantown

6) Law (DS)-revise the municipal code

7) PR (JL)-have a non-motorized parade as a prelude to existing parades

8) Commuting (NEH)-promotion of Bike toWork Day

9) Education (JR)-add “and other groups” to the goal involving interaction with scout troops

10) Commuting (JR)-add “Student Government Association” to the goal involving engagement of WVU administration

à Agenda Item 7 (Recommendations to the Traffic Commission):

Frank suggested that the Bike Board divide up into 3 sub-committees to tackle the top 3 objectives (infrastructure, education, and commuting). Four to eight members per committee is the optimal number.

Committees are (bold=point of contact):

1) Infrastructure-Greg Good, Bruce Summers, Betsy Shogren, Don Spencer, and Sonitt Bhatt (meet on 1/10/07, 6:30 pm, Public Safety Building)

2) Education-Frank Gmeindl, Marilyn Newcomb, Chip Wamsley, Don Dickerson, and Jim Rye (meet on 1/11/07, 6:30 pm, Wamsley Cycles)

3) Commuting-Nick Hein, Jim Rye, John Lozier, and Jonathon Rosenbaum (meet on 1/16/07, 12 noon, Positive Spin)

At the sub-committee meetings, members will attempt to create recommendations to the Traffic Commission that are specific, clear, and actionable.

à Agenda Item 8 (Roadway on University Woodlot):

Jonathan Rosenbaum suggested that the Bike Board should invite Keith Inskeep to give a short presentation to the Board concerning the possibility of a proposal that would plan for the running of a roadway through the University Woodlot, a major recreation area for Morgantown. Please see the attached document for Rosenbaum’s thorough argument for having Inskeep talk to the Bike Board.

As there were many opinions regarding this issue, each Board member gave their 2 cents in turn. Don Spencer stated that he thought the possibility of a roadway going through the Woodlot is extremely remote and at least 20 years away. Because the Board has many more pressing issues to discuss, but it would still be nice to listen to Inskeep’s opinions, it was suggested that Inskeep be invited to speak for ½ hour before we begin our next regularly scheduled meeting. After a unanimous vote, it was decided that this would be the plan, if he is available. The regular Bike Board meeting will commence at 6:30, as usual.

à Agenda Item 9 (New Action Items):

(see table at beginning of document)

Finalize Bike Board Vision (Frank)
Determine the identifying criteria for a new member to the bike board and email to group (Frank)
Settle the email list (Rosenbaum)

At the end of the meeting, Frank took a poll to see who would be interested in taking Road I from the LAB. All members present wanted to take the class, with most people being available both the weekend of 3/10 and 3/17. Frank will finalize the plan with the LAB.

à Agenda Item 10 (Meeting Evaluation):

-Positives comments regarding the conduction of this regular Bike Board meeting included the following:

Going around the room and getting everybody’s opinion on the Univ. Woodlot issue

-Suggestions for improvement included the following:

Use more flip chart paper
Consider using Robert’s Rules
Suggestion to have a <5 minute discussion to finalize the Bike Board Vision at the next meeting

The next regularly scheduled meeting is February 1, 2007 at 6:00 pm, at the Public Safety Building.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:27 pm.

Betsy Shogren

01/08/07

Jonathan Rosenbaum’s Woodlot Presentation:

Desired Outcome: Decision whether to put Keith Inskeep on the next agenda and if so, how much time to give him.

A quick Synopsis: The University Woodlot is a major recreation attractor for mountain bicycling, and the Bike Board should fully support any area in our region that concerns the facilitation of mountain bicycling.

Why should the Bike Board be interested in doing this?

1. The traffic commission states one of its goals shall be to improve the Quality of life by protecting and enhancing neighborhoods, reducing lost time and money due to congestion, increasing opportunities for protecting green space, and incorporating use of best practices in addressing transportation concerns. Furthermore, yet another goal is to improve the health of citizenry by supporting persons’ well-being, improving air quality, reducing stress, and improving pedestrian, cycling, and other transportation opportunities.

Both of these goals can clearly be applied to mountain bicycling, both in the goal to protect green spaces to improve the Quality of life, and in the goal to improve the health of citizenry by supporting persons' well-being and reducing stress.

2. The Bike Boards Procedural Guidelines states in Article I 1.2c that the purpose of the Bike Board shall be to make recommendations for improving signage, safety, capacity and facilities for bicycles on streets, trails or other land design or use which supports cycling.

In this purpose it is clearly established that the Bike Board shall recommend facilities for bicycles not only on streets, but also on trails or other land designs that supports cycling. This can easily be applied to mountain bicycling. If anyone feels that this purpose doesn't clearly reflect mountain bicycling, we always have the provision in Article VII 7.1 that states "Changes to these procedures may be recommended by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Bike Board membership and must be approved by the Traffic Commission."

3. Our meetings are open to the public. It is crucial that we establish good relationships with the community, this includes the vibrant mountain bicycling community and the University of which Keith Inskeep is a representative from the School of Agriculture. WV is known by many in the tourism industry as the Mountain Bicycling State, has played an important role in the history of mountain bicycling, and includes significant organizations like the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association who are dedicated to preserving mountain biking facilities. Many Morgantown citizens are members of this organization.

4. Local mountain bicycling areas like White Park and the Woodlot, also known as Bakers and West Run, are important reasons why many people choose to live in Morgantown. They are easily accessible without the need for a vehicle, unlike Coopers Rock, which people generally have to drive to. Both of these areas serve their respective local off-road populations well. That said, the woodlot offers much better continuous mountain bicycling than White Park, and for that reason is a choice location for serious off-roading. The new University High School will probably benefit from the woodlot, too, both by students and by various sport clubs.

5. Again I emphasize the healthy benefits that come from this sport. Another purpose of the Bike Board, Article I, 1.2f shall be to encourage use and enjoyment of bicycling and bicycle safety education.

One way to introduce people to the enjoyment of bicycling is via mountain bicycling. Many of us who have been both mountain bicyclists and road cyclists for a long time are keenly aware of how both sports compliment one another. Often individuals who start out as mountain bicyclists become road cyclists, and sometimes it works the other way around. Regardless, if we want more bicyclists using road/trail systems that encourage non-motorized transportation; we will do well to fully support all forms of cycling to make that a reality.

6. The League of American Bicyclists "Bicycle Friendly Communities Campaign" asks several questions directed to the sport of Mountain Biking in their application. If we want to provide them a holistic view on cycling in Morgantown, we certainly can't afford to avoid Mountain Bicycling, nor can we afford to avoid this sport in our goals.

Any questions or comments?

Poll. Please respond, 1) Do you want to hear Keith Inskeep speak about the importance of preserving the facilities at the woodlot, 2) and how much time do you want to give him to speak?