Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva Bike and Pedestrian Committee met Nov. 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee

1. Call to Order 

Chairman Schmitz called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

2. Roll Call 

The following BPAC members were present: Caleb Anderson, Greg Bobeczko, Alex Garbe, Sam Kraft, Max Schmitz, Carl Schoedel, Jennifer Siegele, and Mary Carol MacDonald. A quorum was present.

The following BPAC members were absent: Declan Cook, Carrie Homewood.

Others present included City of Geneva staff liaisons Matthew Buesing and Brian Davids, as well as Melanie Mannon of SPAC.

3. Amendments to the Agenda 

No amendments to the Agenda were proposed.

4. Approval of Minutes: September 27, 2023 

On a motion by Schmitz, second by Schoedel, the minutes were approved as presented. Motion passed unanimously.

5. Bike and Pedestrian Committee 

a. Metra Parking Deck

Brian Davids reported that the City built and owns the parking deck, but he believes there may be some restrictions on its use or the number of parking spaces required. He has not yet located any documentation of these requirements.

Brian also reported that a check of the Public Works storage yard revealed no surplus bike racks or bike infrastructure.

Jen Siegele showed the committee pictures of existing bike racks located within the covered parking deck. The location is in the northwest corner of the structure and is difficult to see from the drive aisles, and therefore is generally not well-utilized. The committee discussed improving lighting or signage to direct potential users to the location. The committee reviewed other potential areas of the parking deck where sheltered bike parking could be expanded.

Brian indicated that he plans to request at least one indoor bike rack and associated signage in the City’s infrastructure budget, to be submitted in December. He requested committee assistance in developing a budget figure.

b. GIS Maps

Brian reported that the GIS staff is already undertaking an update of the bike parking map; he will report on their progress at future meetings. Another good bike parking map is available on the Metra website under station information-parking lot maps.

Alex Garbe reported that the engineering plans for the ongoing UP-West Line third track expansion show 3 new bike racks on/near the south platform. Brian indicated that the City has agreed to accept ownership of the remaining surface lots post-construction, except for small unusable remnants.

c. Communications

Sam Kraft and Caleb Anderson reported on their efforts to begin crafting our first messages that will be sent to Matt Buesing to coordinate with City’s communications staff. The initial communications will introduce the new BPAC to the public, include information about the old plan, some of our own personal experiences, raise awareness in the community and perhaps a link to an interactive map. There will be need for different styles for the various platforms: newsletter, website, FaceBook, etc. Members discussed a BPAC Twitter account or identifying hashtag.

Caleb reported on an organization called “BicycleBenefits.org” which offers a 10% discount at select local merchants for members with a discount sticker. He observed this recently in Milwaukee.

Caleb has also been reaching out to bike/ped committees from adjacent communities and has already had good interaction with Steve Ericksen of the Batavia Bicycle Commission. St. Charles has been contacted, but we have not yet connected with them.

The Committee discussed the “Scavenger Hunt” idea, possibly expanding it to the Tri Cities area. Local merchants may be willing to donate prizes; bike shops and restaurants for example. Committee members agreed to start working on our aims and what we home to accomplish for discussion at our next meeting.

d. Budget

While no specific budget amount for BPAC has been included in this year’s City budget, the general consensus is that for smaller dollar amounts (less than $500 in aggregate) we would find a way to make it work.

e. Routes

Melanie Mannon discussed the “bike night” event held by SPAC last year. They were encouraged to welcome about 50 members of the public to the meeting. The event had several interactive stations, including a visual “Would you bike here?” quiz and a survey question about “Why I bike.” One of the work products was the “idea box” spreadsheet that lists every idea mentioned by the meeting participants.

Brian reported on the bike lane classification study that is included in the current annual budget. He will endeavor to advertise for that soon. This will recommend appropriate bike facility treatment(s) on various priority routes. In next year’s capital budget Brian intends to propose an increase in the pavement marking (striping) amount in anticipation of the study recommendations.

In preparation for the next meeting, the committee agreed to review the idea box looking for matches with the recommendations for priority routes identified by SPAC. (Page 29 of the SPAC PowerPoint presentation to City Council.)

6. Public Comment 

No public comment.

7. New Business 

None.

8. Adjournment 

Chairman Schmitz reminded the committee that the next meeting will be December 13, 2023 at 6 p.m. The committee reached consensus to adjourn at 7:25 p.m.

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11152023-2256