Call to Order
Vice Chair Brodock called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm and announced that the meeting has been properly noticed in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act and that the meeting is being recorded and can be viewed on the Township website or on Channel 34.
Roll Call
Vice Chair Brodock, Councilor Schlager, Mr. Cook, Mr. Schwartz, Ms. Willis, Mr. Ianuale, Ms. Loughman, Mr. Barr and Mr. Gilmer were present. Chair Wynn and Mr. Rooney were excused. Board Attorney Arthur Neiss and Planning Director Janice Talley were also present.
Minutes
A motion to approve the minutes from the March 25, 2019 meeting was made by Ms. Loughman, seconded by Councilor Schlager and approved with Vice Chair Brodock, Ms. Willis and Mr. Barr abstaining.
Resolution Application 2611: Celine Choice – 5 Pierpont Drive. (Block 3904, Lot 76.02). Conditional use permit for accessory dwelling unit for parent.
A motion to approve the resolution as amended was made by Ms. Loughman, seconded by Councilor Schlager and approved unanimously with Vice Chair Brodock, Ms. Willis and Mr. Barr abstaining.
Report from Master Plan Subcommittee on Montclair SAFE Complete Streets Implementation Plan
The Master Plan Subcommittee reported to the Board their comments on the Montclair SAFE Complete Streets Implementation Plan. The Subcommittee had different opinions on the Plan, but agreed that the recommendations for pedestrian improvements and the use of “sharrows” on any street in the SAFE Complete Streets network is supported. Dedicated bicycle lanes that require a reduction in parking or require construction of new improvements are of concern and should require community outreach prior to design or construction of these improvements and funding by grants, not the municipal budget.
The Subcommittee recommended that the following corridors be prioritized for consideration:
- North Mountain Ave/South Mountain Ave./Upper Mountain Ave./Valley Way/Eagle Rock Way/Braemore Road.
- Park Street
- Bellevue Avenue
- Llewellyn Road
- Elm Street
- Willowdale Avenue
The Board stated that the Plan should specify the details of the community outreach process, since this is a critical component of the plan. There was debate among members about how much importance biking should have compared to pedestrian and vehicular use of the roads. Additional data and documentation on the numbers and details of biking in Montclair should be provided before any plan is advanced. Other Board members stressed that bikes share the road now and that the plan should ensure that our roads are safe for bikes. Another Board member stated that bike lanes may be appropriate on streets that are wide enough, such as Midland Avenue.
The public was invited to speak on the issue. Debra Kagan, president of Bike Walk Montclair stated that the plan is not prescriptive, but is flexible and can be used as a resource when making road improvements. She stated that the NJ Department of Transportation, which funded the report, expects that it will be adopted before providing funding for improvements. She pointed out that the Township has adopted a Complete Streets Policy and that the plan will take us closer towards implementation.
Ms. Kagan noted that there is a lot of data in New York City from their bike lane program, noting that bike lanes have reduced crashes by 50 percent. She stated that the Voorhees Center for Transportation Policy at Rutgers has prepared a case study on bike lanes in Passaic County, which indicated that if you build bike lanes, the number of bicyclists will increase. She cited a study that shows that a bike lane on Valley Road in Wayne Township reduced crashes by 50% between 2012 and 2019.
The Board requested Ms. Kagan to provide additional data about bike lanes and asked the Master Plan Subcommittee to review the additional information and language in the plan. The Plan should be revised to detail the community outreach process to be used and document more facts and figures about bike lane safety.
Resolution to retain Beattie Padovano
A motion to approve the resolution to retain Beattie Padovano as Board Attorney for 2019 per the revised proposal dated April 22, 2019 was made by Ms. Willis, seconded by Mr. Schwartz and approved unanimously.
Payment of Bills
A motion to pay bills was made by Vice Chair Brodock, seconded by Councilor Schlager and approved unanimously.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm.