Meeting minutes were approved with one change--the addition of Ms. Leanne Redden to the attendance list.

Lessons and Ideas from the Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference

Mr. Sturges discussed the impressive work public health professionals are doing to promote walking and biking for transportation. He noted that that the scope of their concern and involvement is growing beyond trauma and safety (helmet use, safe riding skills, etc) to include the role transportation plays in health and community wellness. For example, the North Carolina Department of Public Health has gotten involved in community transportation planning through a project called Be Active North Carolina. Staff have been hired to facilitate bicycle steering committees. Through these, communities have assessed their biking and walking conditions, produced maps that show the need for infrastructure improvements and used these tools to push for the projects. This has resulted in the installation of some sidewalks in Asheville. The Center for Disease Control is also working with 12 states to address bicycle safety. Mr. Sturges also noted that the public health arena can provide a wealth of data. 163 funds are also available to states where the alcohol threshold for drivers is .08 or less.

Mr. Neufeld suggested a strong partnership between the public health and transportation areas and asked what we can do in this region to strengthen it. Incidence of obesity in our state grew by 60% last year, and has grown 90% in the last ten years. Much of that growth is related to sedentary lifestyles. He suggested someone from the public health sector be invited to participate in the task force.

Ms. Bolte mentioned the work Jeff Sunderlin (from the IL Dept. of Public Health) is doing in Palatine to help people substitute walking and biking trips for some of their car trips and the interest he has expressed in receiving some transportation funds, like CMAQ, for the project. Mr. Neufeld suggested that we should also be looking for ways to get public health funding for transportation. Mr. Sturges mentioned the interagency bikeways council which meets quarterly in Springfield and includes participation from public health officials. Mr. Neufeld recalled that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is developing recommendations on ways the public health and transportation sectors can partner. President Hamelberg added that when Barrington adopted its bicycle helmet ordinance it received commendations from the Cook County Department of Public Health.

Ms. Kilgore also shared her experiences from the Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference. She was particularly compelled by work being done in the areas of promotion, employer outreach and mapping. Many communities are developing public service announcements to promote cycling as a transportation option and demonstrate safe ways to share the road. This is one way to get positive images and information out to many people at once. The Washington, DC MPO has developed and distributes an employer/employee guide to help promote bicycle commuting. It offers commuting tips as well as advice and resource leads for employers who want to create a supportive bike-commuting environment. Maps can also help promote non-motorized travel, provide commuting tips, urge people to pick the mode most appropriate for each trip and encourage independence for young people.

CATS bike/ped web pages

Ms. Kilgore showed the pages she has been working on. They are not linked to the main CATS site, but can be accessed through this address: www.catsmpo.com/bikeped/index.htm

One of the pages describes the suburban bike rack program. Mr. Mikyska explained that IDOT is in the process of letting the contract. Municipalities should start thinking about how many and where they would like to install racks; order forms should be available before the end of the year. Mr. Hill suggested the site include maps to help people plan routes. CATS staff will explore this and also make sure information about where to get maps is posted. Ms. Metzger suggested a section that helps people make multi-modal travel decisions. Mr. Neufeld cautioned against duplicating work. For example, RTA does provide travel information; CATS should refer people to existing resources and focus on developing planning tools for communities.

Walkable Communities Grant Application

Ms. Bolte announced that the Policy Committee had supported the request to apply for the Walkable Communities grant. Six MPOs from around the country will be selected to receive training and host workshops in eight communities within their region on a cost-sharing basis with the US. DOT. The application is due 12/15/00. If selected, CATS will include the project in next year's UWP. We need to get letters of support from as many organizations and elected officials as possible.

Data Standards Working Group Update

Ms. Kilgore shared a memo summarizing key issues addressed by the September 13, 2000 meeting of the Data Standards Working Group. Progress has been made in updating the facilities map to include recently acquired information on existing and committed facilities for the RTP map. CATS has also been working with Mr. Barsotti, of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, to measure the bike friendliness of the region's road network. He explained that this information can serve as a planning tool, especially since most cycling takes place on roadways. It could help identify where improvements are needed, assist with the development of user maps, predict demand for facilities and implement bicycle planning goals (for example, it could be a factor in evaluating and prioritizing STP projects). There are different formulas that can be applied to basic roadway information (such as vehicle volume, number of lanes, and width of outside lane) to predict how friendly that configuration is for cyclists. The task force expressed interest in the continuation of this project.

Metra letter

Ms. Bolte noted that the letter had been sent out the previous week, and that CATS had not yet received a response. Mr. Hamelberg noted that Jeffery Ladd, Metra's representative on the Policy Committee, should have been cc'd.

Other business

Ms. Bolte noted that the Policy Committee had adopted the 2000 edition of the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan without changes. (Some organizations and agencies had submitted a request to the Policy Committee to include a map of the Illinois Prairie Trail Authority's network of planned and existing off-road facilities in the RTP.) She also urged people to think about what kinds of projects should be included in next year's UWP, especially in the wake of hearing about what other regions and communities are doing.

Ms. Ladner reported that the Pace's bikes on buses program is going well. Usage has been high and they are getting accurate counts. She distributed a survey riders can fill out about the program. Enough racks, 781, have been ordered to retrofit the entire fleet. If all goes well, the retrofit will be complete by the end of next year.

Mr. Neufeld shared a letter from IDOT which explains that all of the TEA-21 funds for the Illinois Transportation Enhancements Program (ITEP) will be allocated without soliciting another round during this funding cycle, even though another solicitation round had been expected. ITEP has been the major funding source for bike/ped projects in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), and he expressed concern that projects will not have another chance to compete until at least 2004, assuming the ITEP program continues. He wondered why ITEP is not an annual program like CMAQ and STP and suggested the task force invite someone from ITEP to attend the next task force meeting to give an update on the program and field questions about it.

Ms. Metzger noted that the public comment period revealed a vast amount of support for pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements. She suggested that sentiment guide the planning for the 2030 RTP.

The next meeting was scheduled for 10am January 17, 2001

Items distributed (by CATS staff, unless otherwise noted):

• Agenda
• August 16, 2000 meeting minutes
• Ideas from Pro Bike/Pro Walk Memo
• Planning Healthier Suburbs, Where Cars Sit Idle and People Get Moving, article from New York Times
• City of Brotherly Love Handles, article from Cooking Light magazine on Philadelphia Mayor John Street, who is trying to promote health and fitness as a lifestyle.
• Walkable Communities Grant Application
• Data Standards Working Group Update Memo
• Letter to Metra
• Pace Bikes on Buses Survey (Ms. Ladner, Pace)
• Letter from IDOT regarding the Transportation Enhancement Program (Mr. Neufeld, CBF)