Minutes from the May 13^th 2004 West Windsor Bicycle/Pedestrian Task Force Meeting

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

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

Grants

· State Aid to Counties and Municipalities- Don updated the Task Force on the status of the preparation of the Southfield/Edinburg Road bikelane grant application. Don had sent out a copy of the application for everyone to review. Sue mentioned that we should check off as many applicable categories as possible on the front page of the application (e.g., road improvement, safety, etc.). No one appears to know the deadline for the grant application (State Aid and Safe Routes). The applications have not yet been sent out, and it seems likely the applications won’t be due in June as they have been in the past. The council resolution in favor of the grant application was discussed. It was suggested that schools, safety, and recreation be mentioned in the resolution. Ken N will write the resolution and run it by Alison and the Task Force for review. The timing of the council resolution was discussed as well. If the grant is not due in early June, it would be best if the grant was first reviewed by the township and that the Mayor puts this on the council agenda. The grant, if awarded, will entail that the township’s portion of the funding be included in the ’05 budget. Obtaining letters in support of the application was discussed. Peter volunteered to get a letter from Jack Molennar of Plainsboro, Meg volunteered to get a letter from the School Board, and Ken C will try to get a letter from the County.

· Safe Routes Grant- Susan and Meg talked briefly about their plans to write a Safe Routes to School grant application. They plan on using the Sidewalk prioritization that was conducted, focusing in on sidewalk projects within 1 mile of school generators.

Sidewalks

· May 13^th Meeting with officials concerning Princeton Junction pedestrian safety- Steve Cook from Peter Inverso’s office arranged a follow-up meeting to the Princeton Junction walk held on April 1^st with state and local officials. At this meeting were Susan, Meg, Sheree Davis of the Bicycle Division of the DOT, William Riviere of the DOT, Daniel Kueper from Orth-Rodgers, and Jim Parvesse from the township. Meg and Susan led this group on a reverse of the walk done on April 1^st. During this walk, Susan and Meg learned that NJDOT is committed to constructing continuous sidewalks in all directions from the new bridge on Alexander Road (east and west of the tracks) and North Post Road.

· Next Steps for key intersections in Princeton Junction- Since a design is now in hand for the Sherbrooke Road/Route 571 intersection from Orth-Rodgers, the Task Force should work with the township to determine the timing of getting this design to County officials for their consideration. The county is apparently waiting for design suggestions for the intersection of Wallace/Cranbury Road and Route 571. The Task Force should work with Chris Marion and Jim Parvesse to see if this can be made a priority.

Bikelanes

· West Windsor Bikefest- Dan updated the group on the progress of the Bikefest, which is just two weeks from Saturday. At the time of the writing of these minutes, there are over 160 participants. A number of sponsors have been lined up, as have been donations of food by local supermarkets. The critical need now is for volunteers. Volunteer duties include ride leaders, ride sweepers, people to staff the registration table, people to staff the rest stops and emergency table, and folks to help out with the 1 mile kids’ ride. Nine people have volunteered to date, but more are needed. We also need people to staff and prepare an information table for the Bike/Ped Task Force. Meg offered to have a banner made; Ken C will prepare brochures and will bring maps, sidewalk inventories, etc. We also need easels.

Action Items:

· Review Southfield-Edinburg Rd grant application and feedback to Don- Task Force members

· Finalize grant application- Don

· Get support letter for Bikelane grant from Jack Molennar- Peter Bilton

· Get support letter for Bikelane grant from School Board- Meg

· Get support letter for Bikelane grant from Mercer County Park- Ken C

· Draft resolution for Bikelane Grant- Ken N

· Invite Chris Marion to next Task Force meeting- Ken C

· Let Dan know if you can volunteer for the Bikefest- All

· Make Mayor’s Bike/Ped Task Force banner for Bikefest- Meg

· Prepare Bike/Ped Task Force brochures for Bikefest- Ken C

· Work with township on next steps for Sherbrooke Rd/Rt 571 and Wallace-Cranbury/Rt. 571 intersections- Susan, Meg, Ken C, and Ken N

· Prepare Safe Routes grant- Meg and Susan

Upcoming Meetings/Events

• May 18^th- Bikefest Planning Meeting
• May 21^st- National Bike to Work Day
• May 25^th- Bikefest Planning Meeting
• May 29^th- West Windsor Bike Fest
• May 30^th- Ribbon cutting ceremony for the first leg of the Lawrence-Hopewell trail

1:30 PM Gordon Ave in Lawrenceville- bring your bike or walking shoes

• June 8^th- BRT Open House Meeting- Municipal Center

Next Bike/Ped Meeting:

· June 10^th, 7:30 PM

· Agenda items: Visit by Chris Marion; Safe Routes grant, Southfield-Edinburg Rd. grants