12-12-05 Parks, Recreation, Cultural Arts & Entertainment

Home Browse Search

The Parks, Recreation, Cultural Arts and Entertainment Committee (PARC) of the South Bend Common Council Minutes from Meeting of December 12, 2005 The December 12, 2005 meeting of the PARC Committee was called to order by its Chairperson, Derek Dieter at 5:06 p.m. in the Council Informal Meeting Room. Persons in attendance included Council Members Dieter, Pfeifer, Kelly, Puzzello, Varner, Kuspa, Rouse, Kirsits and White. Among those also present were Mayor Stephen Luecke, City Clerk John Voorde, City Attorney Charles Leone,City Engineer Carl Littrell, City Community and Economic Director Sharon Kendall,Public Works Director Gary Gilot,Controller Catherine Fanello, Jamie Loo (South Bend Tribune), and Aladean M. DeRose substituting for Kathleen Cekanski- Farrand, Council Attorney. A full quorum of the Committee existed with all member present,namely Council Members Kirsits and Puzzello. A. Paint the Town with Bike Lanes Ms. Judith Roberts of Riverside Drive, South Bend,made a power point presentation to the Committee advocating additional bike lanes throughout the City. She explained the difference between bike trails which are good,but located off the main roads, and bike lanes which are part of roadways. The bike lane of Twyckenham was a good beginning, but it needed a master plan and a public education program. Ms. Roberts showed a comparison of bike lanes in various cities throughout the United States. One medium size city,Portland, Oregon, has 150 miles of bike lanes. The benefit to cities are good health of citizens, reduced gas consumption and reduced pollution. Bike lanes also have a "calming effect" on traffic, lower stress for both vehicle and bicycle riders. Vehicles slow down speed and tend to stay in their own lanes. Ms. Roberts said that it was important for bike lanes to lead to actual destinations such as downtown South Bend,IUSB,Notre Dame,etc. She said bike riders will go out of their way to find a bike lane leading to a desired destination and assured the Council that people will use lanes if they exist. One of Ms. Roberts' power point exhibits showed a proposed grid for bike lanes including Twyckenham North and South, Colfax East and West. These street are wide enough to accommodate a standard four foot bike lane. She thanked City Engineer Carl Littrell for his helpfulness in configuring a grid. As for funding,Ms.Roberts proposes fund raising for the public education component(radio, billboards, law enforcement seminars), and an appeal to local business for "Adopt a Mile of Bike Lanes." She understands the cost to be about $1,000 per mile for striping costs.