TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kristoff Bauer, ICMA-CM, Deputy City Manager
FROM: Lee Jernigan, PE, City Traffic Engineer
Sheila Thomas-Ambat, PE, CCM, CFM, Director of Public Services
DATE: January 6, 2020
RE:
Title
Citywide Comprehensive Bicycle Plan Update
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal IV: Fayetteville will be a highly desirable place to live, work and recreate with thriving neighborhoods and a high quality of life for all residents.
Objective C: To improve mobility and connectivity by investing in traffic flow strategies, sidewalks, trails and bike lanes.
Executive Summary:
Stantec Consultants was selected to develop the Citywide Comprehensive Bicycle Plan, Bike Fayetteville. They will be reviewing recommendations from the final draft of the plan and responding to questions or comments from City Council. In accordance with the grant criteria, NCDOT is required to review and provide comments on the plan to the consultant prior to final approval by City Council. In order to accommodate this requirement, staff is requesting consensus of City Council to place the plan on their February 24, 2020 meeting for final approval. Staff will update Council should NCDOT provide significant comments on the plan prior to Council’s final approval, however, at the last steering committee meeting on December 18, 2019, NCDOT noted they did not foresee significant changes to the plan based on their initial review.
Background:
City Council’s adopted FY2017 Strategic Plan included a Target for Action to seek an alternative funding source for a bicycle master plan. To meet this direction, staff researched opportunities and learned that the NCDOT was accepting grant applications for pedestrian and bicycle planning studies. On October 24, 2016, Council approved Resolution 2016-067 authorizing an application for funding through the NCDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative. On March 1, 2017, staff received notification that the grant submission was not selected for funding.
Staff reapplied for funding following Council approval of Resolution 2017-067 at their October 23, 2017 regular meeting. On March 14, 2018, staff received notification that the grant submission had been selected for funding by the NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation. At Council’s regular meeting on May 14, 2018 Council adopted and appropriated 50% ($95,000) of the total $190,000 estimated funds for the plan. The remaining 50% of the estimated funds for the plan will be provided by NCDOT.
City staff worked with NCDOT to develop a scope for the project and once complete, NCDOT drafted all the necessary contract documentation to issue a Notice to Proceed to Stantec Consultants on November 8, 2018. Council was updated on the progress of the plan at their April 1, 2019 and their September 3, 2019 work sessions. Since that time, a final public outreach campaign was completed including a second public informational survey and three (3) public face to face meetings. Included in these meetings was attendance by the consultant at the International Folk Festival on September 28, 2019 to receive comments from event attendees. The last two meetings included one public meeting that was held at Cliffdale Recreation Center on October 8, 2019 and another that was held at Smith Recreation Center on October 15, 2019. Based on this public input, Stantec has completed final draft recommendations for the plan and presented them to the steering committee at their December 18, 2019 meeting. The final draft plan is attached to this item.
The Comprehensive Bicycle Plan will be an integral part of developing and executing a more complete bicycle transportation system and will guide local and state efforts to improve conditions for bicyclists and other users of our transportation network. The results will assist the City to develop construction project priorities, recommend positive changes to local policies and guidelines, develop awareness initiatives, and identify opportunities for the implementation of education, enforcement and safety programs. This plan will also complement the recently completed Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan to provide enhanced opportunities for both modes of transportation. Stantec Consultants also completed the Comprehensive Pedestrian Plan for the City in April 2018.
Issues/Analysis:
This is an informational item presented to City Council for their review and comment.
Budget Impact:
N/A
Options:
N/A
Recommended Action:
Staff is recommending consensus of Council to place the plan on the February 24, 2020 regular City Council meeting for approval.
Attachments:
Presentation, Draft Bicycle Plan