Minutes from the June 2^nd, 2005 Mayor’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force Meeting

Meeting Attendees: Roger Alig, Ken Carlson, Meg Chicco, Susan Conlon, Arnold Kelly, Rob Kelly, Daryl MacMillan, Alison Miller, Art Pope, Chris Scherer

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

GENERAL BUSINESS

o We were joined tonight by Rob Kelly, a West Windsor resident since 1978 and graduate of WWP High School. Rob lives on Clarksville Road near Grover’s Mill Pond and found out about the Task Force after talking with Art.

o Bikefest Review- Daryl gave a brief review of the May 28^th Bikefest. The event was a great success, with over 400 registered riders, great weather, and no incidents. There was a lot of positive comments on the 10 mile historic ride (put together by Arnold) - people seemed to really enjoy this ride. There was interest from Task Force members for a copy of the historic site list. Meg, Ken C, Ken N, Roger, Art, Arnold, Daryl, and Susan were among the volunteers, including members of their families.

o Pedals for Progress Bike Drive Update- Susan gave an update on the plans for the bike drive. A press release has been sent to local papers and an article about the bike drive recently appeared in the Packet. Ken will contact the WW-P Today website about posting the press release. Susan is getting a banner from P4P to hang at the corner of Rt. 571 and Clarksville Road. Volunteers are welcome to help out on the day of the event, June 18 (9AM-noon at the Farmer’s Market). The Task Force will have an information table next to the P4P bike Drive area. It was suggested that we find out if funds generated from the Bikefest could be used to defray any shipping costs we may have to cover.

o Task Force Coverage of Various Township Boards- The Task Force is interested in keeping apprised of the agendas, actions, and decisions of the various township boards as they impact bicycle and pedestrian issues. Art Pope has volunteered to monitor the Planning Board for agenda items and decisions of interest to the group. Meg will keep tabs on the Zoning Board, and Susan will keep apprised of Town Council. We still need someone to monitor the Site Plan Review and Advisory Board.

o Recap of 5/26 Update Meeting with Mayor Hsueh and Pat Ward- Ken C updated the group on the main topics that Ken and Ken discussed with Mayor Hsueh and Pat Ward:

o Planning Board- Ken and Ken asked if the Task Force can get an advance copy of Urbitran Associates’ final recommendations to the Planning Board regarding the Orth-Rodgers bicycle and pedestrian plan. The Mayor affirmed that the Task Force will get an advance copy.

o Bike-Ped Expertise of Urbitran- Ken and Ken expressed their concern about the extent of the bicycle/pedestrian expertise of Urbitran Associates. The Mayor and Pat listened to our concerns and mentioned that the township intends to implement a policy of sending out requests for proposals for all future consultants.

o Preparation of Information Packet to Planning Board- Ken and Ken informed the Mayor that the Task Force is preparing an information packet for Planning Board members regarding bike mobility and safety issues.

o Budget for Task Force- Ken and Ken asked if the Task Force could have a small operating budget. The Mayor said that such budgets are not possible but that the Task Force should work with the township and let the township see what it could do to cover Task Force related expenses (e.g., Xerox costs).

PLANNING

o Upcoming Planning Board Meeting Urbitran Associates will be going up in front of the Planning Board sometime in June to give their final recommendations on the Orth-Rodgers Bike/Ped Plan. Art will find out the date for the meeting.

o Discussion of a potential 501(c)3- Chris Scherer spoke to the possibility of setting up a 501(c)3 (private non-profit organization) or leveraging an existing 501(c)3 that would focus on bike/ped projects and education in West Windsor. Having a 501(c)3 with a bike/ped focus would allow us to seek funding from granting organizations or corporations specifically for bike/ped education (e.g., helmet programs, creation of local bike maps), safety improvements (e.g., share the road signs), or local projects (sidewalks, bikelanes, trails, benches along existing trails). There was discussion that it might be complicated to use donated money for infrastructure changes such as the construction of sidewalks and bikelanes - this would need to be explored. Creating a new 501(c)3 would cost a few hundred dollars and would require considerable effort in terms of creating bylaws, identifying board members, filing requirements, etc.  An easier way is to leverage a local group, such as the Princeton (Corridor) Rotary, which can use its non-profit status to direct funds for a multitude of projects without all the hassle. Chris has done this with his father’s rotary club in Tucson and has even applied for grants where the money goes directly through Rotary to the recipient organization. Other possibilities include leveraging local existing 501(c)3 organizations like FOWWOS or the Mayor’s West Windsor Foundation. We would need to be able to target money specifically for bike/ped related projects. Ken will look into FOWWOS as a possibility, and Art volunteered to look into the charter of the West Windsor Foundation. We will need to continue this discussion at subsequent meetings.

o Bike/Ped Project Priorities- Ken C led a discussion on setting bike/ped priorities that will be used for the Township’s upcoming Capital Improvement Program process. One of the successes for the Task Force in 2005 was the inclusion in the Township’s 2005 Capital Budget of several bikelane projects that were set as last year’s bikelane priorities by the Task Force (i.e., Southfield Road, Lanywyn Boulevard, Rabbit Hill Road, South Mill Road, Edinburg Road). The township is beginning to prepare its 2006-2011 Capital Budget. Over the summer, the Task Force needs to set its project priorities for bikelane, sidewalk, recreational trails, cross-walk, and large-scale projects. Once we have set our project priorities, we will need to work with Pat Ward and Chris Marion to get these project priorities translated into Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Requests that will cover the six year budget timeframe. Ken and Susan reviewed the process that we went through last year to set sidewalk priorities, a process that included ranking sidewalk priorities based on the proximity to pedestrian generators (e.g., schools, shopping centers, train station) and whether there were existing sidewalks or no sidewalks on a particular route. It was recommended that we update the sidewalk priorities using this method and use this as our sidewalk project priority. The only fault of this method is that it does not take into account geographic balance for sidewalk projects - basically the areas with the highest level of pedestrian activity get priority for future sidewalks. It was suggested that it will be up to the Township to take factors such as geographic balance into consideration. Priorities will also need to be set for bikelane, recreational trails, and large scale projects as well. To spread out the workload, Task Force members volunteered to work on different project areas in groups. If you weren’t at the meeting, please feel free to join one of these groups and input into the process. These groups should work on these priorities before the next meeting and aim to present their initial priorities to the Task Force at the July 14^th meeting.

· Sidewalks- Susan, Meg, Ken C, and Alison

· Bikelanes- Chris, Rob, Arnold, Ken N

· Cross-walks- Alison and Meg

· Trails- Roger, Arnold

· Large-scale projects- Susan, Ken C, Ken N

Action Items:

o Send comments/input/advice on the Bikefest to Dan Gerstenhaber- All

o Provide Task Force members with the list of historic sites from the 10 mile Historic Bikefest ride- Arnold or Daryl

o Need a Task Force member to volunteer to cover the Site Plan Review and Advisory Board meetings- All

o Send P4P flyer electronically to Task Force members- Susan

o Find out if township intends to post minutes on the Township web site from meetings of township boards- Ken or Ken

o Find out dates for upcoming Planning Board meetings on Orth-Rodgers recommendations and Route 571 improvements- Art

o Explore the possibility of using FOWWOS or the West Windsor Foundation as a parent 501(c) organization for bike/ped education- Ken C (FOWWOS) and Art (WW Found.)

o Bike/Ped Project Priority Groups should meet in the next month and set initial project priorities before the next meeting- Alison, Susan, Meg, Rob, Arnold, Chris, Art, Roger, Ken C, Ken N

Upcoming Meetings/Events:

o June 18^th- Pedals for Progress Bike Donation, 9 AM-noon at the Community Farmer’s Market

o July 14^th - TASK FORCE MEETING, 7:30 PM. Bike/Ped Project Priorities for 2006 and beyond; Potential Projects for August TEA-21 funding