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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-04-03Clarftwn If this information is required in an alternate format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131 Active Transportation and Safe Roads Advisory Committee Minutes Date: April 3, 2025 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Microsoft Teams Members Present: Jim Boate (joined at 7:36 p.m.), Bart Hawkins-Kreps, Ron Hooper, Connor Houston, Hawa Mire, Lori Moore, Richard Oldfield, Rick Stockman Staff Present: Rob Brezina, Josh Gibson, Catherine Verhoog Absent: Councillor Elhajjeh, Debbie Doiron, Brad Whittle 1. AGENDA 1.1 Additions to Agenda No additions. 1.2 Acceptance of Agenda Motion to accept the agenda. Moved to approve by Bart Hawkins-Kreps, seconded by Connor Houston. CARRIED 2. MINUTES OF DECEMBER 12, 2024 2.1 Corrections No corrections. 2.2 Approval of Minutes Motion to accept the minutes of December 12, 2024. Moved to approve by Ron Hooper, seconded by Bart Hawkins-Kreps. CARRIED Page 117 3. INTRODUCTION OF NEW STAFF LIAISON — JOSH GIBSON Rob introduced Josh, who is the Capital Works Coordinator for the Municipality, and is replacing Rob as the staff representative for the committee. Rick thanked Rob for all the excellent work he has done and for being a great leader for the Committee. 4.1 December 12t" Meeting Follow Up Items: 4.1.1 Bike Racks — Sports and Community Centres (Richard & Jim) Jim went around several of the municipal facilities, and they all had bike racks. The stands at the South Courtice Arena and the Rickard Recreation Complex are not placed near the entrances to the facilities though and he is not comfortable with their placement and safety/security of them. Rob provided the link to the Service Clarington and Jim will put in a request to have the racks moved closer to the entrances. 4.1.2 Bike Repair Station Signage — West Beach Road Conservation Area (Rick) Slav asked that the committee pass a direction within the minutes to request staff to move the sign. "The ATSRC Committee requests that staff investigate relocating the bike repair stand sign, or placing a new sign, along the Waterfront Trail where it is more visible to trail users." CARRIED 4.1.3 Safety Improvement Suggestions — West Beach Road (Bart) Bart presented a proposed plan that he drew up for addressing the safety concerns from the Waterfront Trail and the Bowmanville Valley Trail extension down to West Beach; the route is unsafe for travelling either by bicycle or walking. The proposal is for a paved multi -use path to be installed off the roadway on the west side of the road for the straightaway, then cross to the east side of the road across from the homes, then cross the road again once it reaches West Beach Parkette. Two beacon pedestrian crossings could be installed where the path moves from one side of the road to the other to enable safe crossing. Page 217 Rob brought up that there may be possible concerns with conservation property, environmental impact, the narrow roadway, existing drainage, attempting to level the land for the path etc. The price would be about $500 per metre for a multi -use path with no special requirements such as taking into consideration environmental impact, and the crossings are about $60,000 to $75,000 each. The path would not be an extension of the waterfront trail as it would be if it travelled to the east and over the bridge, so it may be a hard sell to Council due to the expense. There is a plan to develop the waterfront area in the future and active transportation will be taken into consideration at that time. Lori expressed her concerns that the bollards that were put in place by Public Works last year were dangerous as they meant that traffic had to squeeze past cyclists and pedestrians. The section where they were located to the east of the trail ending across the bridge is an actual portion of the Waterfront Trail and there is no pathway and no shoulder to travel on, and she would like it looked at first, or at least in conjunction with, this section down to the West Beach. Bart indicated that he agreed with Lori's comments. Rick will contact Slav to set up a discussion and possibly a field meeting about improvements from the end of the trail to the east along West Beach Road towards and across the bridge. Rick, Bart, Connor and Lori will participate in the meeting with Slay. Connor provided the information that Strava shows approximately 2,600 trips along this stretch of the Waterfront Trail in 2024 and indicated that generally the data is only representative of about 30% of the actual traffic/trips. They will discuss the bollards with Slav and see if speed bumps or humps could be installed, or something else put in place to make this area safer for cyclists and pedestrians. 4.1.4 Bill 212 Bike Lanes — Committee's Motion for Council — Letter to Province (Rick) The resolution that the Committee passed requesting a letter be sent by Council to the Province was not brought forward at the Council meeting as it was not pulled by a Councillor and presented at the meeting. Rob explained that the Municipality has few areas where this restriction would apply, and any bicycle lanes in the future would be built off -road and within the boulevard so they wouldn't be impacted. The section of King Street east of Liberty was already approved prior to the province implementing this so it will continue and should be completed this year. The committee discussed whether to proceed with the letter and the majority agreed to let it go. Page 317 4.2 Durham Region Active Transportation Update (Connor) The Region is still waiting for an update on their Bike Friendly status application. The Ontario Bike Summit is in Windsor from May 27 to 30 and the Region is sending one staff member and a volunteer. A promotional campaign bringing attention to the one metre distance between vehicles and bicyclists is being put together by the Region for this year and is set to be brought before regional council for approval. The Bike for Health event for Lakeridge Health has been renamed Ride for the Ridge and will be held on Sunday May 251" The Region is looking into developing guidelines for bicycle parking across the Region and are currently looking to hire a consultant to assist with this. They are also putting out a new interactive trails map which is currently in the development stage, to help promote a one -stop shop for all regional cycling information. A motion was brought forward at the last meeting regarding motor vehicle window tinting and licence plate visibility. This is a safety issue with cyclists having difficulty recording licence plates for any incidents that occur. This motion is being brought to Regional Council and Connor will keep the committee updated on the progress. June - Bike Month — Durham is doing much the same as they have done in the past and the committee and municipality can piggyback on their promotions. Bike to Work Day is June 4 and an event will be held at the Regional headquarters that day which will include several demonstrations as well as a planned bike ride. Connor asked the regional presenter to reach out to Clarington to connect for promotion of the events. Rick will send a letter to the Mayor and Council for the proclamation of Bike Month in June, and all members are in favour. Rob provided Leanne Walker's contact information as she is part of the municipality's Communications Division and can assist with the promotion on social media etc. 4.3 Maplefest May 3 — Volunteers Needed (Lori) Lori has confirmed placement for the booth for Maplefest and has been given some swag from the Region for handing out. The booth will run from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with setup around 8:00 am. Lori, Rick and Jim all volunteered to help staff the booth for the day. Ron can help with the setup in the morning, and Richard will help at the end of the day and with the teardown. Connor will pop in if he is available. Lori will send out an email to organize the timing for everyone for the day. Page 417 Ride for the Ridge is May 25t"° and it leaves from Pingle's on Taunton Road in Clarington this year, but it is more of just a ride that people come in and want to get going, then they come back and eat and leave. The committee discussed the event and decided that too many members want to participate, and others won't be available, so a booth won't be set up as it would also just be "preaching to the converted". Ribfest is cancelled this year. Applefest is October 181". Hike Bike for Hospice is on September 21 st Jim was contacted by the Rotary Club and asked if the committee could put a ride together for them due to the Ribfest being cancelled. He said that the committee would, but he has not heard back from them in quite some time now. Lori asked Connor if he will find out when the Region might have their interactive online map available so that it can be presented at the booth. Jim mentioned that there is a link on Clarington's website for all the trails within Clarington. Connor will reach out to Leanne Walker and Allison Talsma in the municipality's Communications and GIS Divisions to see what printed materials and QR codes might be available for the committee to present at their booth. Rob will follow up with staff to make sure that all maps are accurate and up to date that are published on Clarington's website. 4.4 Safety Improvements to West Beach Road (Bart) — SEE ABOVE 4.5 Active Transportation Master Plan Update (ATMP) (Rob) The Plan is in its final stages of the internal staff review and will hopefully be presented to Council in the Q2 (second quarter) of 2025. 4.6 Great Lakes Waterfront Trail 30t" Anniversary (Jim) The big ride for the 30t" anniversary starts at Lake Erie, comes to Lake Ontario, and then goes up to Georgian Bay. 4.7 Access to Waterfront Trail from Baseline Road (Lori and Rick) Lori would like to see the Municipality install safe access to the Waterfront Trail from Baseline Road to the south as Bowmanville Creek is often blocked. She would also like to see that stretch of the waterfront trail plowed from Baseline Road south. The section of trail north of Baseline Road was often plowed, but she would like to see it plowed more regularly. Page 517 Jim explained the history of the original request to Council for plowing of the trail and the response from the Municipality and that at that time, in 2021, the committee was happy to get the trail north of Baseline approved for winter maintenance as other locations were determined as not being safe to be plowed and carried significant liability. Rob explained that access to the Waterfront Trail has always been a significant issue which is why the municipality spent so much money putting the Bowmanville Creek extension down to the Waterfront Trail to at least give residents an initial artery. The trail at the creek overpass is designed to flood and there is no way around it so at times there will be restricted access. As part of the ATMP (Active Transportation Master Plan), all major accesses across Highway 401 such as Bowmanville Avenue, Liberty Street, Holt Road etc., will be part of a future study to determine how alternative solutions for providing access to the Waterfront Trail can be achieved. The federal government will be releasing the planning stream for their Active Transportation grant funding in 2025, and our intent is to submit grant funding applications to undertake these studies. Hopefully the municipality will be successful in receiving some grant funding, but the challenge is the existing infrastructure just does not permit this access geometrically or spatially, so it's going to be a long-term project. Lori requested the following motion to plow the trail extension until there is an infrastructure change: "The Committee would like to request that commencing the winter of 2025/2026, that Council reconsider the decision to not provide winter maintenance and clearing of snow from the section of the Bowmanville Valley Trail from Baseline Road south to the Waterfront Trail, and have it maintained during the winter." Moved to approve by Lori Moore, seconded by Bart Hawkins-Kreps. CARRIED 4.8 Project Update (Rob) The Municipality recently submitted applications in February to the federal government for Active Transportation funding for a variety of projects to a total of around $900,000. Any funds received will help offset costs and allow for more to be done sooner. The South Bowmanville Recreation Center expansion is underway this year. Josh is involved in designing the Baseline Road MUP (multi -use path) extension from Bowmanville Avenue (Regional Road 57) to Green Road and the path will service that location and he will be able to provide updates as available. Page 617 The Region is just about to go out to tender with their Bowmanville Avenue (Regional Road 57) improvement project from Baseline Road to the CP rail bridge, which includes our MUP and other pedestrian infrastructure, and work should begin this year. The Region is also getting ready to tender the Liberty Street North reconstruction project from Longworth Avenue to Concession Road 3, which includes an MUP and other sidewalk extensions under the Municipality's responsibility. The intersection will be built out as a roundabout and the work should begin in the third quarter of 2025. The road diet on King Street, east of Liberty Street, will continue again this year once our contractor is remobilized. The project involves strategic line painting and dedicated cycle lanes that will be utilizing that extra eastbound lane which didn't serve much of a purpose except for allowing people to pass aggressively. The detailed review that Rob provided at the last meeting kind of sums up everything and not much has changed from that timeline. 5. OTHER BUSINESS Lack of Sidewalks on Streets Leading to Nelson Street Parkette — Hawa expressed concern for the lack of consistent sidewalks along Albert Street from Liberty Street leading down to the Nelson Street Parkette. Rob indicated that the reconstruction of Albert Street and Durham Street are the next streets in the area scheduled to be improved, and the Municipality is currently in the process of awarding the design assignment for the project. The intent would be to increase pedestrian accessibility on Albert and Durham wherever spatially possible. There will be a Public Information Centre taking place later this year and members of the Committee are more than welcome to attend and provide their input. Josh will provide an update on the design of the reconstruction of Albert Street at the next meeting. Rob shared a link to the Bowmanville East Urban Secondary Plan with the Committee in the chat for their review and information. 6. NEXT MEETING Thursday June 19', 2025 7. ADJOURNMENT Motion that the meeting be adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Moved by Connor Houston, seconded by Ron Hooper. CARRIED Page 717