Mayor's Bicycle and Pedestrian Task Force

• Sidewalk Scoping- Task Force members turned in their township map sections with the sidewalk status of all roads in their respective map sections. Roger and Myra will now collate the information and pass the collated information to Jim Parvese. Jim will then enter this information into the township computer mapping system and a township sidewalk map will be generated. It was requested that this process be expedited as fast as possible in time for our May 20th meeting with the bike planner from Orth/Rogers (see below).
• Millstone Road Sidewalks- Bruce updated the group on the progress of Andy Pratt in getting neighborhood buy-in on the Millstone Road sidewalk project. Nearly al the neighbors on the east side of Millstone Road are in favor of sidewalks on their side of the road. One neighbor was not in favor, but is a renter. We will need to contact the owner of the rental property. Once we have the buy-in of all the neighbors, the next step is to communicate this to the mayor. The mayor can then make a recommendation to Council for appropriations for development of a sidewalk.
• Planning Assistance Grant- Ken C informed the task force that the first meeting with the bike/ped consultant from our DOT Planning Assistance Grant is scheduled for May 20th. Susan Blikstein, the Director of Planning from the Orth/Rogers Bike/Ped Consulting Firm, has been assigned by the DOT to West Windsor. The initial kick-off meeting will include Ms. Blikstein, William Riviere, the project manager from the DOT, the Mayor, Sam Surtees, Jim Parvese, Ken C, and Ken N. Ms. Blikstein will form a steering committee called the Technical Advisory Committee composed of various members of the bike/ped task force, township officials, and other interested parties. Ms. Blikstein will first determine the scope of work, followed by a period of data collection (including apparently riding around town by bike). Her firm will ultimately make recommendations to the town and will seek community involvement in the process. The Task Force will be very involved in helping to shape the Scope of Work, as well as providing key data such as the Sidewalk Inventory, proposed bikelane projects, outstanding grant applications, and accompanying Ms. Blikstein around town by bicycle. We need to communicate the key destination points that need improved bike/ped access (train station, schools, municipal center, parks including the D&R Canal, retail centers, churches/synagogues, employment centers, and connectivity to neighboring towns). It was stated that the township Circulation element is a good starting point, but that this document is nearly ten years old and needs to be updated.

• Don has not had a chance to start writing the DOT grant application
• Ken C informed Don that the date for this application may be later than early June (Ken C found after this meeting that the deadline is June 30th)
• Don plans to set up a meeting with Sam Surtees and Jim to scout out the project (bikelanes on the length of Southfield Road and Edinburg Road from Village Rd to Mercer Co. Park).

• Ken C updated the group on advocacy plans for the bike/pedestrian bridge over Rt. 1. The Draft EIS will be released in late May (which contains funding for a study investigating the need for such a bridge) followed by a Public Comment Period (Sue and Alison will alert us when the DEIS is released). During this period, we will need to line up as much support for the bike/ped bridge as possible. Ken had spoken to Noel McKay of the Stony Brook Watershed Assn about seeking support for the bridge from local organizations. She suggested that we write a "sign-on" letter, basically a letter to local organizations stating the need for the bridge with some details of the project with a sign-on sheet for local organizations to add their names in support. Ken and Ken will draft this letter and will circulate it first to Task Force members and then to local organizations. It was suggested that we stress the fitness and health aspect of such a connection to the D&R Canal.
• Sue and Bruce volunteered to try to find Princeton University support for the letter
• Roger volunteered to contact Sarnoff
• Peter will try to enlist the support of the GMTMA
• The Council passed a resolution in favor of supporting the DOT study for the bike/ped bridge. Our intention was for Council to pass a resolution in support of the bridge itself, not in support of the study which is already a part of the DEIS. We intend to go up in front of council again at the July 14th meeting with a resolution in favor of construction of the bridge.

• Contact owner of rental property on Millstone Road re sidewalk construction- Bruce
• Determine if funding for bikelanes is included in the township budget- Ken
• Draft a copy of Bike/Pedestrian Bridge Advocacy Sign-on Letter and circulate- Ken and Ken
• Alert the Task Force when the DEIS is released- Sue and Alison
• Invite Sue Blikstein, Director of the Orth/Rodgers Consulting Firm, to our 6/12 meeting-Ken C
• Set up meeting with Sam Surtees to scout Southfield Rd Bikelane Project and begin drafting DOT Local Aid Grant- Don

• June 12th, 7:30 PM
• Possible topics
• Bike/Ped Consulting Progress
• Pedestrian planning by the Berrien City Neighborhood Assn.