Pedestrian & Cyclist Advocacy Committee Minutes 2/22/19

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Meeting date: 
Friday, February 22, 2019

Pedestrian and Cyclist Advocacy Ad-hoc Committee
Meeting Minutes
Friday February 22, 2019
8:30am
Municipal Center
10 Bunker Hill Ave.
Stratham, NH

In Attendance: Bettina Kersten (Committee Member, Co-chair), Andy Gilman (Committee Member, Co-chair), Stephanie Bergeron (Committee Member, Secretary), Melissa Gahr (Committee Member, community), Seth Hickey (Parks & Rec)

Numbering below follows posted agenda.

Meeting called to order at 8:37am by Andy

1.      Approval of minutes from 01/25/19 meeting
         a.       Andy made motion, seconded by Bettina, minutes approved.
2.      Update on Safe Routes to School
          a.       Report on parent and resident input forum held 02/07/19
                     i.      Connection with the RobinWood Center – neighbors expressed concern at the public hearing of the planning board about trail connection from Apple Way/William Circle via Robinson property to CMS– can we connect this to Stratham Heights area with safe crosswalks, etc.; Melissa added Safe Route to School will address this issue in the Travel Plan. Highway Department has signage in last year budget to improve awareness for bicyclists on Stratham Heights, maybe additional crosswalks and side path are possible in future.  Will check status of road signage update with new town administrator, since no Highway Department chief is present.
3.      Update on Master Plan Steering Committee (Pamela H. not in attendance), MPSC webpage not updated
4.      Update on proposed PCAC budget requests –
          a.       Andy didn’t have the same dollar amounts for PCAC that was shown as listed at budget meeting - $24k was shown as being requested by PCAC, which came as a surprise and didn’t seem accurate; 2k getting moved back to Rec. Dept. for Nordic Walking; was suggested the signage that was proposed last year may be what the large dollar amount was for and then it is getting reassigned to Public Works; report shows PCAC budget from 2018 is 9k; this is inclusive of the signage, but what was spent in 2018 was 3k for signs; we will double check to see if it got worked into the Public Works budget; Andy said signs have been bought and we should view them; Bettina said accessing SRTS funds for items is not a clear or smooth process. We also don’t know how much is left in non-infrastructure grant money. Andy said anything involving roads goes through David Moore as the contact person; Bettina will ask David Moore, check with Karen first for an appointment. Andy says for 2019 we have a clear $500. Bettina will discuss with new Town Administrator, ask for more transparency in budget items that are being counted towards/under PCAC work.
          b.      Discuss PCAC volunteer attending Conservation Committee meetings, would be useful if we could rotate member attending Conservation Committee meetings to facilitate communication flow.
          c.       Bettina suggested reaching out to Selectmen/Planning Board to be part of upcoming road issue discussions. Since PCAC brings in a walker/bicyclist perspective and non-traditional approach to road design, it might be helpful to be included in the planning process of road design and crossings. It would be helpful if PCAC would get briefing on relevant projects instead of finding out information via minutes and agenda that are posted not much in advance. Andy made a motion to ask the Select Board to ask the Planning Board to apprise PCAC of relevant projects to our area of interest – Motion seconded by Seth and Stephanie.  Bettina will reach out to new town administrator.
          d.      Bettina gave update from planning board meeting on Lindt factory expansion. Traffic congestion is expected. Lindt will talk to DOT about traffic study and traffic light at the end of Marin Way. There was no discussion of offering public transportation, ride share programs or considering infrastructure improvements for bicyclist and walkers. Stephanie will find out about partnerships between private businesses and public transportation. Bettina will prepare letter to Lindt and Planning board raising concerns about commuter car and truck-focused planning approach.
5.      Update on landowner outreach efforts –
         a.       Seth reached out to SELT about any easement deeds they might have, he got deeds from around the state with crossing easements to use as guidelines – Seth will go to landowner and show the samples to illustrate request
6.      Update on master trail plan/prioritizing first trail project & discussion of logistics and funding
         a.       Update from Seth/Parks & Rec on non-invasive trail crossing pics & write-up of process description
7.      Future Stratham Magazine article
         a.       Melissa to write next article – about street signs, what do these signs mean, what does share the road actually mean – article should come after the signs; maybe an article about complete streets.  Reach out to realtor to ask them to see how trails affect real estate value.
8.      Public comment
9.      Other business
         a.       Melissa will talk to Public Works about plowing Stratham sidewalks coming from Exeter (Exeter sidewalks are cleared, walkers end up in the middle of the road if they need to continue walking to Stratham).
Conservation Commission Roadside cleanup day is May 18th, 10am – 2pm. PCAC will advertise and help.

Andy made a motion to end at 9:47am - seconded by all.