HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-04-2023 Pedestrian and Bicycle Meeting MinutesFairhope Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee Meeting Minutes
Date: 4/4/2023
Committee Member Attendees: Gary Gover; Rosalie Stromme; Bill Hall; Jack Graves; Mike
Walker; Morgan Russell; Chris Riley
Committee Member Absentees: Katie Bolton; Chris Knight
Guests in Attendance: Hunter Simmons; Chris Ambron; Bryan Flowers;
Heidi Heusell
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Meeting called to order at 4:01pm.
Motion carried to approve 3/7/2023 minutes.
Administrative Items:
On 4/3/2023, Bill Hall sent a request to City Councilman Martin to be this committee’s liaison
replacing City Councilman Jay Robinson. No response to this request as of the date of April
meeting.
Fels and Pier Congestion: Rosalie Stromme met with Richard Johnson and George Ladd (Asst
Director) on 3/24/2023 to discuss resolution to congestion associated with this section of
Fairhope on South Mobile Street. Thermoplastic appliques of “Share The Road” are more
durable than painting the roadway asphalt. Richard Johnson recommended putting 3 appliques
on the southbound lane of South Mobile Street and 3 appliques on the northbound lane of South
Mobile Street. Appliques must include the double chevron, bike symbol and the word “SHARE”.
Richard Johnson has a vendor that will supply these 6 appliques and cost is within Public Works
budget. Final approval for placement of these appliques must come from Mayor Sullivan;
Richard Johnson will request approval at his next opportunity. No other approvals are needed to
implement this sharrow improvement. Richard Johnson also indicated that one sign on the
southbound bike path and one sign on the northbound side of the street should be sufficient to
direct cyclists off of the sidewalk for these 4 blocks to alleviate bike versus pedestrian
confrontations. These signs only cost $30 each so the $60 expenditure is well within Public
Works department budget and are available from approved city vendors.
***Action Item: Rosalie Stromme will request a Traffic Study from the Chief of Police
regarding this Fels-to-Pier connection.
Sidewalk Inventory Mapping: Sidewalk inventory mapping is complete as of April 4, 2023.
Morgan Russell will correct on Field Mapping software one small sidewalk area that needs to be
leveled in the Central Business District. Chris Ambron will review final Field Mapping details
now that corrections have been uploaded by responsible committee members.
Bike Repair Station and Additional Bike Racks: Rosalie Stromme met with Richard Johnson on
3/24/2023 to discuss the status of the procurement and delivery dates of these items into City of
Fairhope warehouse in anticipation of installation in the near future.
a) Two Bike Repair Stations have already been ordered and receipt of both is anticipated
during Spring 2023; the first one will be installed within 2 weeks of receipt on the
Eastern Shore Trail near Pier Street. The second bike repair station is slated to be
installed near the Arts Alley project when it is completed in fall 2023.
b) Bike Racks: They had not been reordered as of 3/24/2023 but Richard Johnson directed
Clint in Public Works as of 3/24/2023 to order 6 more bike racks at approx. $265 each.
These racks will be the standard black bike racks without the Fairhope emblem and this
order will be placed with an already-approved vendor to the city. Once they arrive, this
committee will direct Public Works on appropriate placement to benefit the most number
of citizens. City of Fairhope has 34 suggested locations for proposed bike racks.
Rambo Sidewalk Striping: Rosalie Stromme met with Richard Johnson on 3/24/2023 to discuss
the possibility of painting sidewalk striping on this section of concrete adjoining Section Street.
Business Owner complained to the mayor that any sidewalk striping will negatively impact his
ability to park overflow cars during business hours because he or his customers could be fined
for parking illegally. Mayor supports this business owner’s concern therefore this subject is
hereby tabled with no further action by this committee.
Twin Beech & Summer Lakes intersection: Rosalie Stromme met with Richard Johnson on
3/24/2023 to determine if any traffic suggestions could alleviate the concerns regarding this
section of Twin Beech Street. Speed limit reduction is not considered viable because Twin Beech
is an east/west connector and has already recently been lowered from 45mph to 35mph. Mid-
block crossing had to happen because grant money had run out and current configuration was the
only way to complete safe crossing within the budget allotted. Traffic Safety Control Committee
and Public Works almost had a solution a few months ago but could not agree on which
brand/style/model of solar-powered flashing light/sign to purchase (approx. $2,500) so the idea
died in committee. Richard Johnson suggested that Pedestrian & Bicycle Committee write an
official memo to Traffic Safety Control Committee to approve the purchase a solar-powered
flashing light to alert drivers to this pedestrian crossing issue.
**Action Item: Bill Hall will write Pedestrian & Bicycle Committee memo to Traffic Safety
Control Committee requesting that a flashing sign be selected, purchased and installed for this
intersection.
Arts and Crafts Festival Bike Valet Volunteers: Feedback from 2023 volunteers include
suggestions such as: 1. Take photos of checked-in cyclists for posting on Social Media to get the
word out; 2. Consider implementing a cyclist survey at check-in for input including how they
knew about the Bike Valet in order to determine which marketing techniques work.
311 Efficacy: Rosalie Stromme met with Richard Johnson to discuss 311 statistics. Richard
Johnson stated that the 311 repair system is 100% effective when requests are within the city
limits of Fairhope. Public safety requests take top priority; other repair requests of less urgency
take approximately 2 weeks maximum to resolve.
New Business:
Earth Day Bike Valet Volunteers: Date is set for April 22nd and Trailblazers may request bike
valet volunteers. Chalk The Trail event runs from 1-4pm.
Next scheduled meeting: May 2, 2023 at 4pm in the Library’s Second Floor Boardroom.
Meeting adjourned at 5:03pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosalie Stromme, Secretary