City Council Reviews Bike, Pedestrian Master Plan
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
After discussion on the plan, the council agreed to vote on it at its Feb. 4 meeting after a resolution is drafted.
Warsaw Plan Commission during its Jan. 14 meeting made a favorable recommendation for the plan to city council.
The city had been working for the past eight months with project consultant RW Armstrong to develop the plan.
A Bicycle Advisory Committee, consisting of 17 members, worked on the draft, with input from the community during two meetings in July and October.
There were 184 people who completed surveys regarding bicycling and pedestrians, according to Jonathan Mooney, RW Armstrong urban design manager, who presented the plan during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club, Warsaw-Winona Lake Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Group and Kosciusko County Runners Association have been working on the plan.
Members of the groups attended Tuesday’s meeting to show support for the plan.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer thanked the KCV Cycling Club and the Bicycle Advisory Committee for their work on the master plan and he recognized the committee.
The committee includes Staci Young, chair; Brad Bishop, Bill Crane, Greg Demopoulos, Mark Dobson, Denny Duncan, Fred Helfrich, Robin Mitchell, Steve Riffe, Ron Robinson, Greg Schroeder, David Taylor and Troy Turley.
The plan includes specific areas where bike/pedestrian lanes are proposed to be added and which of those can most easily be achieved.
Warsaw and Winona Lake received a $50,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Health last year for the bike and pedestrian plan to be conducted.
Among those noted as the least challenging to achieve are side paths along the southeast side of Pike Lake, Pierceton Road to St. Andrews Road West, and Logan Street from Winona Avenue to Rozella Road.
Among the most challenging projects will be adding bike lanes from CR 350N to CR 200N; adding greenways along the Tippecanoe River, Deeds Creek and Eagle Creek; and adding side paths along Winona Avenue from Smith Street to Park Avenue, along Parker Street and Husky Trail to CR 200N, and along Buffalo Street, Ranch Road and County Farm Road.
The plan is for 87 miles of new bike and pedestrian facilties in Warsaw and Winona Lake.
Funding could come from transportation funds and local resources including the operating budget, tax revenue and voter approved bonds as well as public and private non-profit partnerships.
Greg Demopoulos, Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club vice president, and Fred Helfrich, KCV advocacy chair, commented on the need for bike and pedestrian trails.
Demopoulos said he moved to Winona Lake in 1977 and chose to live near the bike trails his family enjoys.
He said there is a great deal of community interest in bicycling locally and by those who visit the area.
He said the Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in Winona Lake brought in 1,600 participants in 2012 and 5,000 spectators. He also said people schedule their vacations to come to Kosciusko County to participate in bike events.
Helfrich said the KCV Club is working on a grant to put on bike safety programs and purchase bike safety equipment.
The group along with the Bicycle Advisory Committee is working to obtain Bicycle Friendly Status.
Staci Young, Winona Lake and Warsaw Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee director, said one of the biggest deficiencies according to the League of American Bicyclists was lack of infrastructure in obtaining bicycle friendly status.
Young said the bike and pedestrian plan will assist the city in obtaining bicycle friendly status.
“We have a stronger application this time and will keep applying until we get this designation,” Young said.
Council members commented on the plan.
Diane Quance, councilwoman, said one of the privileges of being a public servant is to be a part of something that can be a legacy like the bike and pedestrian plan.
“As a community educator I’m interested in keeping people in our community,” Quance said. She said she felt the plan would do just that.
“The more places we have for kids to get to schools, parks and facilities is one of the most important things we as public servants can do to leave a legacy.”
Mike Klondaris, councilman, said he supported the plan, but felt bicyclist and pedestrian safety should be at the top of priorities when implementing the master plan.
“As a biker I applaud your efforts and hope we can see this through,” Klondaris said.
Councilman Jerry Frush and Councilwoman Elaine Call were concerned that the community completed only 184 surveys that were offered online from May through July 2011.
“There are 18,000 people in Warsaw and Winona Lake. That’s only 1 percent saying they want this. That sounds low to me,” Frush said.
During the planning and development stages of the master plan, the public was asked to complete an online survey of 28 questions.
A dozen questions focused on walking, 12 on biking and the remaining four were basic questions. There were 184 responses received.
“I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s actually high,” Mooney said. “I’ve done a lot of planning projects and that really is still high.”
Councilwoman Elaine Call asked if there were other ways to survey people, such as doing a mailing.
“It didn’t seem to be a good response. With that said, I will say this is one of the best, most comprehensive master plans I have ever seen.”
She said she would like to see the bike and pedestrian plan for her grandkids and others.
Thallemer said education and safety is at the top of the list in implementing the plan.[[In-content Ad]]
After discussion on the plan, the council agreed to vote on it at its Feb. 4 meeting after a resolution is drafted.
Warsaw Plan Commission during its Jan. 14 meeting made a favorable recommendation for the plan to city council.
The city had been working for the past eight months with project consultant RW Armstrong to develop the plan.
A Bicycle Advisory Committee, consisting of 17 members, worked on the draft, with input from the community during two meetings in July and October.
There were 184 people who completed surveys regarding bicycling and pedestrians, according to Jonathan Mooney, RW Armstrong urban design manager, who presented the plan during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club, Warsaw-Winona Lake Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Group and Kosciusko County Runners Association have been working on the plan.
Members of the groups attended Tuesday’s meeting to show support for the plan.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer thanked the KCV Cycling Club and the Bicycle Advisory Committee for their work on the master plan and he recognized the committee.
The committee includes Staci Young, chair; Brad Bishop, Bill Crane, Greg Demopoulos, Mark Dobson, Denny Duncan, Fred Helfrich, Robin Mitchell, Steve Riffe, Ron Robinson, Greg Schroeder, David Taylor and Troy Turley.
The plan includes specific areas where bike/pedestrian lanes are proposed to be added and which of those can most easily be achieved.
Warsaw and Winona Lake received a $50,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Health last year for the bike and pedestrian plan to be conducted.
Among those noted as the least challenging to achieve are side paths along the southeast side of Pike Lake, Pierceton Road to St. Andrews Road West, and Logan Street from Winona Avenue to Rozella Road.
Among the most challenging projects will be adding bike lanes from CR 350N to CR 200N; adding greenways along the Tippecanoe River, Deeds Creek and Eagle Creek; and adding side paths along Winona Avenue from Smith Street to Park Avenue, along Parker Street and Husky Trail to CR 200N, and along Buffalo Street, Ranch Road and County Farm Road.
The plan is for 87 miles of new bike and pedestrian facilties in Warsaw and Winona Lake.
Funding could come from transportation funds and local resources including the operating budget, tax revenue and voter approved bonds as well as public and private non-profit partnerships.
Greg Demopoulos, Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club vice president, and Fred Helfrich, KCV advocacy chair, commented on the need for bike and pedestrian trails.
Demopoulos said he moved to Winona Lake in 1977 and chose to live near the bike trails his family enjoys.
He said there is a great deal of community interest in bicycling locally and by those who visit the area.
He said the Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in Winona Lake brought in 1,600 participants in 2012 and 5,000 spectators. He also said people schedule their vacations to come to Kosciusko County to participate in bike events.
Helfrich said the KCV Club is working on a grant to put on bike safety programs and purchase bike safety equipment.
The group along with the Bicycle Advisory Committee is working to obtain Bicycle Friendly Status.
Staci Young, Winona Lake and Warsaw Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee director, said one of the biggest deficiencies according to the League of American Bicyclists was lack of infrastructure in obtaining bicycle friendly status.
Young said the bike and pedestrian plan will assist the city in obtaining bicycle friendly status.
“We have a stronger application this time and will keep applying until we get this designation,” Young said.
Council members commented on the plan.
Diane Quance, councilwoman, said one of the privileges of being a public servant is to be a part of something that can be a legacy like the bike and pedestrian plan.
“As a community educator I’m interested in keeping people in our community,” Quance said. She said she felt the plan would do just that.
“The more places we have for kids to get to schools, parks and facilities is one of the most important things we as public servants can do to leave a legacy.”
Mike Klondaris, councilman, said he supported the plan, but felt bicyclist and pedestrian safety should be at the top of priorities when implementing the master plan.
“As a biker I applaud your efforts and hope we can see this through,” Klondaris said.
Councilman Jerry Frush and Councilwoman Elaine Call were concerned that the community completed only 184 surveys that were offered online from May through July 2011.
“There are 18,000 people in Warsaw and Winona Lake. That’s only 1 percent saying they want this. That sounds low to me,” Frush said.
During the planning and development stages of the master plan, the public was asked to complete an online survey of 28 questions.
A dozen questions focused on walking, 12 on biking and the remaining four were basic questions. There were 184 responses received.
“I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s actually high,” Mooney said. “I’ve done a lot of planning projects and that really is still high.”
Councilwoman Elaine Call asked if there were other ways to survey people, such as doing a mailing.
“It didn’t seem to be a good response. With that said, I will say this is one of the best, most comprehensive master plans I have ever seen.”
She said she would like to see the bike and pedestrian plan for her grandkids and others.
Thallemer said education and safety is at the top of the list in implementing the plan.[[In-content Ad]]
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