Minutes from the June 10^th 2004 West Windsor Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force Meeting

Meeting Attendees: Roger Alig, Peter Bilton, Ken Carlson, Meg Chico, Susan Conlon, Bruce Ellsworth, Dan Gerstenhaber, Arnold Kelly, Chris Marion, Alison Miller, Ken Naglak, Art Pope, Sandy Shapiro, Don Smart

Web site: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/bikeped/

GENERAL BUSINESS

· Chris Marion, West Windsor Business Administrator, was an invited guest in attendance at tonite’s meeting. Also in attendance, was Art Pope, a friend of Roger Alig’s.

· Ken C. has been invited to meet with the WW Environmental Commission after tonite’s Task Force meeting to educate the Commission on our plans for recreational trails.

· Volunteers are needed to staff a Bike/Ped Task Force information table at the Farmer’s Market Grand Opening on Saturday June 19^th (9AM to 1 PM). Susan, Ken N, and Alison expressed interest. Contact Ken Jacobs to borrow easels.

· An open house for a proposed Bus Rapid Transit system was held on Tuesday at the Municipal Center. Ken C, Meg, Susan, Alison, and Peter attended. Ken C. made a pitch at the Open House for the inclusion of bikelanes along the BRT route between Rt. 1 and the Northeast Corridor rail line. Susan also spoke to the consultants about BRT plans for the Dinky route and improvements to the bike and pedestrian network. The web site for the project is www.route1brt.com.

GRANTS

· State Aid to Counties and Municipalities Bikelanes Grant- Don reviewed the status of the Bikelanes grant. The grant application is due July 30^th. Don and Jim Parvesse met last week and they decided to limit the project to bikelanes on Southfield Rd and not Edinburg Road at this time. Bikelanes on Edinburg Road would require permission from the County which will be hard to obtain in time for the grant. Chris Marion said he would discuss with the County our interest for developing bikelanes on Edinburg Rd. Jim also suggests that the application should be for $200,000 as he anticipates costs will be higher than first thought. The application is largely prepared. Don needs to expand the scope section of the application and Jim needs to prepare a detailed map of the project. It was suggested that the map include the bikelanes on Norstrand Rd. Ken N. prepared a resolution in favor of the application and Chris Marion will get the resolution on the agenda at the first Business meeting in July. Meg Chicco obtained a letter in support of the application from the School Board.

· Safe Routes Grant- Susan and Meg talked briefly about their plans to write a Safe Routes to School grant application. After researching the requirements for the grant, they have learned that the application has to be for a direct route to school and can only be used for new sidewalk construction. The sidewalk grants are very competitive. They are considering several ideas, including a sidewalk on the east side of Clarksville Road from Rt 571 to North Mill Road, a sidewalk on the north side of Harris Rd, sidewalk on Penn Lyle, or this missing sidewalk link on Village Road at the intersection with Edinburg. The other idea thrown out by the group was sidewalks on Clarksville from Avalon Watch to N Post. The next steps are to meet with Jim Parvesse and discuss projects. A resolution for council will also be needed. This should be brought to Council by way of Chris Marion and the township.

SIDEWALKS

· Millstone Road Improvements- Bruce updated the group on the status of pedestrian improvements on Millstone Road. Bruce has spoken with both Millstone Rd resident Andy Pratt and Jim Parvesse and it seems that the residents and the township are in favor of constructing shoulders in both directions. Constructing sidewalks will impinge too much on the neighbors’ properties to be an acceptable solution. There may not enough room for 4 foot shoulders, so these may not be official bikelanes, but a resurfaced road with shoulders would be an improvement. The issue was raised that if the road is widened, cars will travel faster, so traffic calming may have to be considered (e.g., speed humps). Jim Parvesse is interested in applying for a Sate Aid to Counties and Municipalities Grant for Millstone Rd. improvements.

· Sidewalks at Acme- Susan attended a Planning Board meeting where improvements to the signage at Acme was discussed. Susan mentioned during public comments that there is a missing sidewalk link between the Acme entrance and the Gables as well as newspaper boxes blocking the sidewalk along Rt. 571. The planning board suggested that it would write to the shopping center property owner to request these improvements. (At tonite’s meeting, Chris Marion read a letter from the Mayor addressed to the owners of the property in which he asked that the sidewalk be constructed and the newspaper boxes moved from the sidewalk.)

· Rt. 571 improvements- Susan and Meg met with Shing, Jim Parvesse, and Chris Marion prior to the town-hall meeting with County Executive Brian Hughes and members of his staff to discuss possible improvements to Rt. 571 in the Junction. Mercer County officials are considering capitol improvements to Route 571 in Princeton Junction addressing road, crosswalk and sidewalk improvements and will be working with West Windsor on agreement of project design. [note- an article about this meeting appeared in the Packet- see link below].

· http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11934766&BRD=1091&PAG=461&dept_id=425695&rfi=6

BIKELANES

· West Windsor Bikefest- Dan updated the group on the success of the WW Bikefest. The ride was a tremendous success, with 268 registered riders. Dan thanked the 20 volunteers (a number of which serve on the Task Force), the mayor, the director of the Recreation Dept. Ken Jacobs, and the police and EMT. The ride generated revenue above costs- the surplus will be used to seed next year’s ride and could possibly be used towards minor bike/ped projects in town. The date for next year’s ride is already set- May 29^th.

COORDINATION WITH THE TOWNSHIP

· Throughout the meeting, Task Force members discussed with Chris Marion strategies for better coordination with the township. It was suggested that quarterly strategy meetings be held between Task Force members and township officials. This will be particularly important in October when Capital budget discussions will initiate. Chris stressed that it is important for the Task Force to prioritize projects since township resources are always limited and the staff does not have the time to pursue all projects.

· Meg brought up the concept of Heed the Speed Week, where township police strictly enforce speed limits throughout town for a week. This has been done in Haddonfield- Meg will find more info. Chris said he will look into this possibility. [Note- Meg has since informed me that she sent Chris a short note about the 25 MPH week.  He then sent it on to the Chief of Police].

Action Items:

· Staff Bike/Ped Task Force information table at June 19^th Farmer’s Market- Tentatively Susan, Ken N., and Alison

· Get Task Force banner, brochures, and posters to Susan- Ken C

· Finalize Southfield Rd Bikelanes Grant including final map of project from Jim- Don

· Finalize Safe Routes to School Grant application- Meg and Susan

· Meet with Jim Parvesse

· Draft resolution of support from town council and submit to Chris

· Discuss with County officials the possibility of constructing bikelanes on Edinburg- Chris

· Find out more about Heed the Speed Week- Meg

Upcoming Meetings/Events

• June 19^th- Official grand Opening of Farmer’s Market (9AM- 1 PM)

Next Bike/Ped Meeting

· July 8^th, 7:30 PM.

· Agenda items: Final Grant applications; Rt. 571 road improvements; bikelanes on Edinburg Road