People who called: Jim Fisher, Marla Major, Mollie Phemister

The Maine Department of Transportation and Bicycle Coalition of Maine are hosting a conference on Friday, August 15^th in Fairfield regarding how to make communities bicycle-friendly. Zack, Heather, and perhaps Mollie will be going. Heather and Zack have signed up for sessions dealing with "Where to Start", working with municipal officials, safe routes to schools, and bicycle parking. They will report to the committee at the next meeting.

Stephanie said that she received an e-mail forwarded from Sue Baez regarding a trail in Florida, the Pinellas Trail, that someone in from the greater MDI Tomorrow mailing list recommended that we study.

Doug suggested that we develop a matrix of organizations, committees, or groups that are working on bicycle and pedestrian projects. There might be opportunities to build upon these efforts, and the committee will be able to see what projects are not being addressed. The committee brainstormed organizations that should be listed in the matrix (see next page).

The committee brainstormed the steps that would have to be taken to implement each of the priority strategies. The committee recognized that other groups in the matrix may already be working on some of these steps; therefore, the committee could support their efforts rather than taking the project on themselves. The committee also recognized that Heather, Zack, and Molly may gain additional insights from the bike conference regarding steps that should be added to each of these lists.

1. Identify MDOT’s schedule for road improvements and the road projects that are currently in the six-year and two-year transportation plans.
2. Implement the MDI Bike Plan – get the bike plan’s priorities onto MDOT’s and the towns’ project lists.
3. Research statistics on bicycle accidents.
4. Complete the MDI Tomorrow survey to gauge general support for biking and walking.
5. Research where folks want to bicycle and walk.
6. Assess whether MDI is in fact a "bike-friendly" community. If not, what does it take?
7. Write grants and raise money.
8. Pick one or two pet projects for creating bike lanes or trails and get them on the ground.
9. Research traffic-calming devices.
10. Brainstorm off-road bicycling trail possibilities.
11. Get the bike shops involved once the season has slowed down.
12. Take as many steps as possible to slow traffic on the island and increase shoulder widths.

1. Inventory the signs that are out there.
2. Seek guidance from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and local bike shop owners regarding the best locations to place signs.
3. Research MDOT sign placement policies.
4. Research how to acquire bicycle signs (i.e., does MDOT give them out? Does BCM sell them at cost?)
5. Write grants for sign placement.
6. Highlight Highbrook Rd. as a way to get to the carriage roads.
7. Sign the sidewalk from COA to town as a location where bikes are allowed on the sidewalk.

1. Research what other communities are doing.
2. Research the present comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances on MDI to understand what they say regarding bicycles and pedestrians.
3. Talk to planners to understand what zoning and incentive tools they think would work in local communities (e.g., how do we make it a requirement that sidewalks be added to new developments or that bike parking be required in downtowns)
4. How do we get the MDI Bicycle Plan implemented?
5. Coordinate with the Community Design and Land Use group, especially their proposed roadshow.
6. Talk to town comprehensive planning committees – demonstrate that we are interested in making MDI a bike and pedestrian-friendly place and see where it fits in comp plans.
7. Talk to developers to see what are the most palatable biking and walking requirements that could be implemented (i.e., for new businesses, is it easier to put in showers or bike racks).

1. Speak with Jill Goldthwait regarding securing tax credits for bicycle commuters – how to do this.
2. Gather feedback from the largest employers and the Chamber regarding possible means of encouraging employees and customers to bike and/or walk (i.e., would people support parking credits for bike racks, paying employees to bike, etc.)
3. Work with one employer in town to be the model for biking and walking employees.
4. Stage events, such as "bike to work day" or "take back the roads day", occasionally in the summer.
5. Update the inventory of bicycle parking facilities that Jeff Miller did in his thesis.
6. Encourage satellite parking outside of town and bicycling in (e.g., encourage parking at the high school or Connors Emerson and bicycle into downtown)
7. Encourage people who come from long distances to leave a car at work, bike home, bike back to work the next day, then take their car home, etc.
8. Establish a "free ride home" policy for those who bike or walk, but need to get home quickly in case of emergency.

At the next meeting, the committee will develop a similar list of implementation steps for the strategy concerning assessing and improving sidewalks for accessibility and plowing/maintaining/sweeping/trimming bushes from the road shoulders and sidewalks. The group elected not to proceed with the safe bike routes brochure for MDI right now because the committee will be working on making more routes safe, so the brochure would be quickly outdated.

The next meeting will be a combined meeting with the MDI Bicycle Association (we think) on Monday, September 8^th at 6:00 P.M. at Geddys in Bar Harbor. There will be an informal report from those who attended the bicycle conference. The committee will also assign members to gather information from each of the organizations listed in the matrix. And, the committee will brainstorm steps to undertake the strategy regarding assessing and improving sidewalks.