Meeting of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 5:30 PM

I. Call to Order

II. Public Comment - 3 minutes per speaker, please

III. Approval of Minutes – February 8, 2017

IV. Action Items

A. Greenways and Trails Master Plan Amendment (Wade Reynolds, MPO staff)

V. Status Reports

A. Health in All Policies Update (Pedro Parra, Planning Commission)

B. Dale Mabry Pedestrian Crossing Study (Tindale Oliver Representative)

C. Sidewalk Inventory and Construction Costs Update (Wade Reynolds,

MPO staff)

VI. Old Business & New Business

VII. Adjournment

VIII. Addendum

A. MPO Committee Report

NEXT MEETING: April 12, 2017

The full agenda packet is available on the MPO’s website, www.planhillsborough.org, or by calling (813) 272-5940. The MPO does not discriminate in any of its programs or services. Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status. Learn more about our commitment to non-discrimination Persons needing interpreter services or accommodations for a disability in order to participate in this meeting, free of charge, are encouraged to contact Michele Ogilvie, 813-273-3774 x317 or ogilviem@plancom.org, three business days in advance of the meeting. Also, if you are only able to speak Spanish, please call the Spanish help line at (813) 273-3774, ext. 211. Si necesita servicios de traducción, el MPO ofrece por gratis. Para registrarse por estos servicios, por favor llame a Michele Ogilvie directamente al (813) 273-3774, ext. 317 con tres días antes, o ogilviem@plancom.org de cerro electronico. También, si sólo se puede hablar en español, por favor llame a la línea de ayuda en español al (813) 273-3774, ext. 211.

Commissioner Lesley “Les” Miller, Jr.

Hillsborough County MPO Chairman

Councilman Harry Cohen City of Tampa

MPO Vice Chairman

Paul Anderson Tampa Port Authority

Wallace Bowers HART

Trent Green Planning Commission

Commissioner Ken Hagan Hillsborough County

Commissioner Pat Kemp Hillsborough County

Mayor Kim Leinbach Temple Terrace

Joe Lopano Hillsborough County

Aviation Authority

Mayor Rick A Lott City of Plant City

Councilman Guido Maniscalco

City of Tampa

Commissioner Sandra Murman

Hillsborough County

Cindy Stuart Hillsborough County

School Board

Councilman Luis Viera City of Tampa

Joseph Waggoner Expressway Authority

Commissioner Stacy R. White

Hillsborough County

Beth Alden, AICP Executive Director

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, materials attached are for research and educational purposes, and are distributed without profit to MPO Board members, MPO staff, or related committees or subcommittees the MPO supports. The MPO has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of attached articles nor is the MPO endorsed or sponsored by the originator. Persons wishing to use copyrighted material for purposes of their own that go beyond ‘fair use’ must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

MEETING OF THE BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

COUNTY CENTER BUILDING

601 E. KENNEDY BLVD.

MEETING OF FEBRUARY 8, 2017

MINUTES

I. CALL TO ORDER

Chair Patrick Thorpe called the meeting to order at 5:32 PM and the meeting was held in the Plan Hillsborough Committee room of the County Center Building.

Members present: Jay Collins, Jonathon Forbes, Moises Hernandez, Mara Latorre, John Marsh, Tony Monk, Allison Nguyen, David Payor, Richard Sanders, Jim Shirk, Calvin Thornton, Kristy Udagawa, Alain Watson

Others present: Michele Ogilvie and Beth Alden – MPO staff, Chris Spees – FDOT, Becky Afonso – Florida Bicycle Association, Kristine Williams – CUTR, Michael Schwaid, Jeffrey Siewert

II. PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Michael Schwaid recounted a news story about cyclist Heather Campbell’s death that occurred on Bearss Avenue on February 4, 2017 and requested BPAC determine if other reports match what was written in the Tampa Bay Times news article. Vice Chair Tony Monk asked that the police report be assessed for more information when it becomes public record, and that a representative from the police department attend a future committee meeting to explain how these cases are processed.

Ms. Kristy Udagawa stated that the Traffic Homicide Investigation (THI) team is deployed in Hillsborough County whenever a fatal or potentially-fatal accident involving a pedestrian, bicyclist and/or vehicle occurs. The THI team investigates accidents when a trauma alert is called and all investigation occurs that day on scene, with one member of the team going to the scene and another going to the hospital. The team is responsible for reconstructing the traffic scene and is required to attend the scene when a trauma alert is sent.

Chair Thorpe called on Ms. Michele Ogilvie for a recommendation. Ms. Ogilvie stated that because of Mr. Schwaid’s conversation last month, Pinellas County’s BPAC coordinator called her and asked where the crash occurred, for purposes of tracking Mr. Schwaid’s crash that occurred last year in Pinellas County. Ms. Ogilvie stated that she would follow up with the coordinator.

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Jay Collins was present for January 2017’s meeting but was not noted as such.

Motion: Approval of January’s minutes as amended (Thornton-Marsh). The motion passed unanimously.

IV. ACTION ITEMS

A. George Road Health Impact Assessment (Allison Nguyen, Florida Department of Health)

Ms. Allison Nguyen of the Florida Department of Health presented on the status of the George Road Health Impact Assessment. At the time of presentation, the paper was in review with Ms. Beth Alden of the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). Ms. Nguyen stated that she has been successful in presenting the Report to multiple committees and increasing awareness of the health impacts of complete streets and road design. The project team is currently working on a five page, comprehensive checklist to screen whether projects in the Transportation Improvement Plan are appropriate for health assessment. The next steps involve reaching a point where Health Impact Assessment and Health In All Policies can be institutionalized within the MPO. She requested as an action item that the report be recommended to the MPO.

Vice Chair Monk asked for the highlights of the Report. Ms. Nguyen discussed the importance of focusing on active transportation and green space, and the impacts they could have on increasing physical activity, as well as the changes in indicators like crime and heat-related illness. Conclusions include making sure that shade is provided and that shade trees are appropriate for the area, as well as recommendations on how to change processes and policies. Final recommendations were based around utilizing health impacts in decision-making and changing policies so that health is considered more specifically.

Discussion ensued about whether the project will involve collecting follow-up data, how stress was monitored in the study, and other potential sources of data.

Motion: Recommend the report to the MPO Board (Watson-Shirk). The motion passed unanimously.

V. STATUS REPORTS

A. Florida Bicycle Association 2017 Update (Becky Afonso, Florida Bicycle Association)

Ms. Becky Afonso, Executive Director of the Florida Bicycle Association (FBA) presented on the function of the organization and their recent work to get the Move Over law extended to bicyclists and pedestrians. The FLBA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit advocacy organization that works with FDOT, the Office of Greenways and Trails and bicycle organizations throughout the state. Ms. Alfonso is senate-appointed to the Greenway and Trails Board.

Ms. Afonso’s communication with law enforcement suggests that the current 3-foot clearance law for bicyclists is difficult to enforce, as the distance is subjective and lawmakers do not want to add more laws when current ones are not being enforced. The FBA recommends that vulnerable road users be added into the Move Over law so that enforcement will be possible. She stated that the educational awareness campaign that is currently allocated funding from the statute is being used to make the case for shifting the focus of the law to people. She presented citation statistics from Lake Alfred, Florida, where in an 18-month period the number of citations for the Move Over law significantly exceeded the number of citations for the 3-foot clearance law. She also summarized current legislative bills regarding citations for drivers. Florida House of Representatives bill 69 and Senate bill 144 will make texting a primary offense for drivers under 18. House bill 47 will make texting a primary offense while driving in a school zone. Senate bill 408 is designed protect vulnerable road users.

Discussion ensued regarding texting and phone use among legislators, how to keep issues in front of lawmakers, and whether Hillsborough County has the ability to adopt some of these rules.

B. Social Justice in Transportation (Kristine Williams, CUTR)

Ms. Kristine Williams of the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) presented the results of CUTR’s research into communities of concern. The project began as a collaboration with Portland Metro and involved conceptualizing and operationalizing the metrics for addressing equity, with the project utilizing four dimensions: affordability, health/safety, accessibility, and distributional equity. The guiding principles for the project is that it is easily replicated, uses widely-available data, and is widely inclusive.

Ms. Williams stated that the project looked at what makes a community historically disadvantaged, and where in Hillsborough County are the communities that are more than one standard deviation from the norm on those metrics. The project focused on accessibility to jobs, transportation spending, age, poverty, presence of minority populations, Limited English Proficiency, and disability. The project further focused on communities in non-rural areas and prioritized those in need of good sidewalk-to-centerline ratios and bicycle facilities who had other concerns present as well. Within those communities, CUTR looked at areas with the highest number of pedestrian and

bike crashes per capita. Ms. Williams stated that the results of the study would be published online.

Discussion ensued about sharing the data and its use in prioritizing projects, CUTR’s population density cutoff, whether performance would be measured over time, the potential for tracking progress using satellite imagery, and determining if there is a shared definition of complete street between different agencies and projects.

C. SUN Trail/Gulf Coast Regional Trail Update (Michele Ogilvie, MPO Staff)

Ms. Michele Ogilvie of the MPO presented the results of the recent Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority summit and a recap of the SUN Trail and Gulf Coast Regional Trail projects that are currently in the works or have recently been completed. The Greenways and Trails Master Plan is completed, with focus placed on extending the upper Tampa Bay Trail and the Courtney Campbell Causeway trail, with options to cross Bayshore Road, the Interbay area, and Gandy Boulevard. Other options include extensions along the Maydell Bridge and along US-41 toward Manatee County.

The MPO is currently studying an option for an elevated pedestrian crossing on Dale Mabry Highway and will have the report completed in May or June of 2017. A portion of the Tampa Riverwalk is complete, and a crossing was funded for Maydell Drive. The MPO is currently working to support environmental justice and economic development in Palm River-Clair Mel to highlight their environmental assets. Redevelopment plans are underway in West Tampa along the west bank.

Manatee County has reached out to use SUN Trail funding to connect their trails with Hillsborough County. The MPO requests that BPAC help with advocacy. The Manatee County connector will go along with the South County trail system, as there are too many environmental and fiscal challenges involved with other connection alternatives.

Discussion commenced around existing trails in southern Hillsborough County, project approvals and funding for projects in Pinellas County, eligibility of the Manatee Connector for SUN Trail funding, and timetables for recommendations.

VI. OLD BUSINESS & NEW BUSINESS

A. 40th Street Discussion – Hillsborough to Fowler (Michele Ogilvie, MPO Staff)

In response to a discussion held in previous months at the BPAC meeting, Ms. Michele Ogilvie asked the committee whether there was anything missing from 40th Street that BPAC would want to advocate for. Committee members discussed the potential for bike lane buffers, vehicle lane reductions, and pavement treatments for the northern section of 40th Street. Mr. Calvin Thornton noted that getting a request in ahead of a project ensures the request is acknowledged when such a project occurs. Mr. Richard Sanders recommended making a motion to go back and add road striping and open the potential for buffering bike lanes. Ms. Ogilvie stated that next month an item to drive conversation

about advocating for complete streets will be presented. Vice Chair Monk requested that the item be a map that shows the types of improvements that are desirable.

Motion: Vice Chair Monk made a motion that for each project in the Transportation Improvement Plan, a note be made by the MPO about whether or not it includes complete streets policies. Discussion ensued about what this would entail, with Vice Chair Monk stating that it would be a simple yes-no list. The motion commenced (Monk-Shirk) and passed unanimously.

B. Gasparilla Bike Rodeo Recap

Member-at-Large Shirk noted the success of the Gasparilla Bike Rodeo. Ms. Ogilvie thanked Chair Thorpe, Vice Chair Monk and Member-at-Large Shirk for their contributions and Mr. Schwaid for taking photos. Ms. Ogilvie stated that the total count of attendees is still being tabulated, but she believes the number is over 300. Mr. Schwaid added that the Tampa Police did an incredible job.

C. Greenways and Trails Committee Update

Mr. Thornton noted that he sits on the Greenways and Trails Committee and that in the last two quarters they have been unable to reach a quorum. He encouraged anyone interested to attend the upcoming meeting, and will provide information about the meeting to Ms. Ogilvie.

VII. ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, Member-at-Large Shirk made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:23 PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Marsh and carried.

Board & Committee Agenda Item

Agenda Item

Greenways and Trails Master Plan Amendment

Presenter

Wade Reynolds, MPO staff

Summary

The Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Master Plan serves as the guiding document in identifying greenway and trail opportunities throughout the County.

Recent trail projects in the County and the City of Tampa include the Courtney Campbell Trail, Upper Tampa Bay Trail, and the Tampa Riverwalk. This popularity and interest is not limited to Hillsborough County; at the regional and state-level trail projects, like the Coast-to-Coast Trail, are being funded and there is an evolving understanding that a well-connected network of trails and facilities can provide both a quality of life and an economic boost to the community. As a result, there is increasing interest in further developing an integrated network of greenways, trails, and multi-use facilities throughout Hillsborough County and the Tampa Bay region.

The Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Plan Update has the objective is to

identify trail and facility connection opportunities to further improve the region and

state’s trail network.

The purpose of this amendment is to update the Greenways Master Plan to reflect

recent input from Manatee County’s recent pedestrian, bicycle, and multi-use trail

projects and planning efforts into the Plan.

Recommended Action

Recommend approval of the amendment to the Tampa-Hillsborough Greenways and Trails Plan Update Prepared By

Michele Ogilvie, MPO staff

Attachments

Map showing amendment update

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Existing Sidepath/Trail

Funded Sidepath/Trail

• Alternative connection through HWY 301 and Willow Road Corridor

• ELAPP land between Willow and 301

• Adjacent to Little Manatee River State Park

Board & Committee Agenda Item

Agenda Item

Health in All Policies Terrace Park/University Square Project

Presenter

Pedro Parra, Planning Commission Staff

Summary

The Planning Commission, MPO, and Florida Department of Health (FDOH) - Hillsborough County recently received a grant from the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to study access to food in the University area and Terrace Park/University Square.

The grant utilizes a “Health in All Polices” approach to review the currently adopted City of Tampa Comprehensive Plan with a specific focus on food access in a targeted area south of the University of South Florida. The University Area and Terrace Park/University Square study area has been documented by the Department of Health to have a number of unhealthy diet indicators.

The goal of the project is to engage the community on needed policy changes for the Comprehensive Plan to address suburban and urban scale healthy, affordable food access; to build community capacity for implementing those policies; and to discuss the need and location of a potential community garden site. The project specifically engages community members, community organizations, and decision makers within the study area.

Recommended Action

Review and comment as appropriate

Prepared By

Michele Ogilvie, MPO staff

Attachments

None

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Board & Committee Agenda Item

Agenda Item

Dale Mabry Pedestrian Crossing Study

Presenter

Tindale Oliver Representative

Summary

The purpose of this study is to develop and assess the feasibility of various alternatives that will connect the existing section of the I-275 trail which currently terminates at Church Street along the north side of I-275, across Dale Mabry Highway, to the MPO’s proposed Trail alignment along the south side of I-275 starting at Himes Avenue. The approximate study area for this component of the project will extend the entire I-275 ROW from Cypress Street to Himes Avenue.  The project also studies and identifies conceptual bicycle and pedestrian safety and mobility improvements at the intersection of Spruce Street and Dale Mabry Highway as well as Walk/Bike improvement concepts along Spruce Street from Dale Mabry Highway to Rome Avenue.   Recommended Action

Review and comment as appropriate

Prepared By

Michele Ogilvie, MPO staff

Attachments

None

Plan Hillsborough planhillsborough.org

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Board & Committee Agenda Item

Agenda Item

Sidewalk Inventory and Construction Costs Update

Presenter

Wade Reynolds, MPO staff

Summary

The Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board requested an update on sidewalk need and construction costs at their February 24, 2017 meeting. The thought behind their request is to gather information on the extent of local need and then strategize for funding approach. This agenda item provides the BPAC with the same information update.

Recommended Action

Review and comment as needed

Prepared By

Michele Ogilvie, MPO staff

Attachments

None

Plan Hillsborough planhillsborough.org

planner@plancom.org 813 - 272 - 5940

601 E Kennedy Blvd 18th floor

Tampa, FL, 33602

Committee Reports

Meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on February 15, 2017

The CAC nominated three individuals to fill at-large seats for representatives of neighborhoods, business and women, and two are on today’s consent agenda. The nominee for the third seat withdrew her application after the CAC met. The CAC also: Recommended the MPO approve the George Rd Health Impact Assessment Strongly recommended that FDOT take a leadership role in finding the

right transit technology for this region. This is on today’s agenda. They heard reports on: HART’s Flamingo regional transit fare collection system Tampa’s streetcar extension/modernization feasibility study The Expressway Authority’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Project and the Gandy

Blvd/ Selmon West Extension Project. Members wanted to be sure that the planned 2-lane elevated expressway will have enough capacity for the future.

Meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on February 20, 2017

The TAC:

Recommended the MPO approve the Data Business Plan for Mobility Data. Members suggested that, as the plan’s recommendations move forward, any follow-on agreements should be presented to governing boards prior to signing.

Discussed but did not act on the George Road Health Impact Assessment. There was a suggestion to separate the recommendations specific to George Road from the broader health policy recommendations. The HIA Report on today’s agenda has been revised to respond to the TAC’s concerns.

Was briefed on the Connected Vehicle Pilot Project, the Gandy Blvd/ Selmon West Extension Project, and the Tampa Streetcar study.

Policy Committee Meeting of February 28, 2017

The committee elected Councilman Cohen as Chair and Commissioner Kemp as Vice Chair for 2017, and:

Supported the CAC Motion Regarding Regional Transit, recommending the MPO Board document its support for this motion with a letter or resolution.

Recommended the MPO approve the Data Business Plan for Mobility Data. Members discussed the importance of building interagency trust incrementally;

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protecting confidential data; enabling crowd-source data collection methods; and the benefits of a robust data platform to support informed decision-making.

Recommended the MPO approve the Annual Evaluation of the Community Transportation Coordinator.

Was briefed on legislative developments at the state and national level. Meeting of the Livable Roadways Committee (LRC) on February 22, 2017

The LRC met potential new committee member alternate Trista Brody, who is to be confirmed today, and:

Approved the George Road Health Impact Assessment Heard presentations on How Speed Limits Happen, and THEA’s Connected

Vehicle Pilot Project and Gandy Blvd/ Selmon West Extension Project. Found out that FDOT followed up on their November comments about the

Kennedy Blvd Access Management Plan, by offering to partner with the MPO on a follow-up study of multimodal safety improvements on Kennedy

Reviewed and approved a letter about the Busch Blvd Corridor Study, addressing concerns LRC raised at a previous meeting.

Meeting of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee on February 8, 2017

The committee approved the George Road Health Impact Assessment, noting the need for follow-up data to monitor health improvements in the area.

The committee also heard from Ms. Becky Afonso, Executive Director of the Florida Bicycle Association, and their current work with the Florida Legislature to get the Move Over law extended to bicyclists and pedestrians.

The annual Gasparilla Bike Safety Rodeo, a collaboration between the BPAC, Tampa Police and BayCare, was a great success. Over 300 children participated, and members complimented the Tampa Police team for their incredible job.

Meeting of the Transportation Disadvantaged Coordinating Board on February 24

The committee approved the annual Community Transportation Coordinator Evaluation, noting the need to work further with the Commission for Transportation Disadvantaged to address trip-counting procedures.

The committee approved the George Road Health Impact Assessment, noting the importance of lighting and lower speed limits to the safe travel of pedestrians.

March 15, 2017 is the annual Transportation Disadvantaged Day in Tallahassee. The committee approved its 2017 legislative message thanking the Legislature for their support of over 700,000 trips coordinated trips in Hillsborough County annually, and noting the need to expand services 20% by 2025 to meet the needs of an aging population.

School Transportation Working Group meetings of January 25 & February 15

Crossing guard programs were the topic in January, when the group heard presentations and had an in-depth comparison of programs offered by the Hillsborough County Sheriff Department and the City of Largo. Follow-up topics will

cover Florida statutes, funding options, and how the guards are hired, assessed and placed. The group also spent time reviewing the Hazardous Walking status criteria, and preparing for the eight area School Transportation Resource Fairs (flyer in your packets) throughout March and April. February topics included: Getting-to-School Survey results Future leaders in Planning (FLiP) program A follow-up report on the Brandon Road Safety Audit field visit. A dynamic and effective Walk-to-school Wednesday program by the Palma Ceia

Sidewalk Stompers, presented by a parent and co-founder.

TBARTA MPO Directors Meeting of February 17, 2017

Setting performance targets as a region was the topic in February. The first federal deadline is to set regionwide targets for Transit Asset Maintenance, in coordination with the region’s transit providers. HART and PSTA planning directors participated in the meeting, and agreed to bring the need for regionwide targets to the TBARTA Transit Management Committee in April, to draft a recommendation for the MPO Chairs’ June meeting. After Transit Asset Maintenance, the next set of performance targets will be for Safety, due in February 2018. Next month’s meeting will be held at St Pete College Collaborative Labs, to coordinate logistics for the upcoming regional planning workshop.