OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission Meeting Summary - February 10, 2026

Boards and Commissions — Tuesday, February 10, 2026
BodyRochester, Minnesota
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateTuesday, February 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:27:45

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

Mike Schmidt, I am here.

0:10

Sarah Stevens.

0:13

Aaron Buckley.

0:16

Mike Zhu present.

0:18

Ethan Swanson.

0:20

Present.

0:21

Dave Pesh is in Arizona.

0:24

So he will not be here.

0:25

And Paula LaRochelle.

0:28

And Dave Olson.

0:30

Excellent.

0:32

All right.

0:33

Next on the agenda is our open comment period.

0:37

We have one person.

0:40

All right, Barry.

0:41

Welcome.

0:42

All right.

0:42

Thank you very much.

0:43

Thank you.

0:44

Well, nice seeing you all again.

0:46

Um I want to mention two things.

0:49

First, about snow and uh snow enforcement on this snow on the sidewalk.

0:57

I'm really concerned about the way the city's snow policy is being enforced.

1:02

Uh there's many, many streets where I walk by and people aren't shoveling the snow.

1:08

People are reluctant to so we have a call-in policy, which basically means unless you rat on your neighbor, they don't enforce it.

1:15

And so that's a big problem because a lot of people are afraid, I believe, of doing that.

1:20

So we we don't have as many call-ins as I would like.

1:24

Uh I'm concerned too, because uh the way the snow enforcement ordinance works, you're supposed to wait 24 hours.

1:32

Everybody knows that.

1:34

But with but what a lot of people don't know is that they don't enforce the uh the law at all.

1:40

If the next day you have an eighth of an inch, or just a minute of squibble, like a almost no snow at all, it postpones it another 24 hours and keeps doing that until they have a day that's completely without snow.

1:54

And say so you could go like we had a four-inch snow a couple of months ago.

1:58

They weren't enforcing it for about four or five days.

2:00

I I don't I don't like that.

2:02

I wish they would change that policy so that they would have snow enforcement.

2:08

Unless it was like two inches, I mean, I wouldn't keep postponing the enforcement.

2:13

It's just a smidgen of snow the next day.

2:16

I I don't think that's a good policy.

2:18

I also don't like the policy, which is I didn't know about, and I spoke to some people in the council about this, they didn't know it either, where the the uh staff arbitrarily in a way decides that it's too cold for people to shovel snow, so that they actually tell them not to shovel the snow.

2:35

Now I'm somebody who's a rollator, and I know on my blocks there's been a lot of problems with that.

2:40

And so you know, we have to go out, we have to go someplace too.

2:45

So I'm just hoping that that they can they can change that policy.

2:50

And there's other issues too about how they specifically do it.

2:54

And I'm I'm just hoping that they can the other thing is they they they have an idea that as long if there's a layer of ice and it's not a steep layer of ice, but people can't go by, that's okay too.

3:06

Doesn't say that in the ordinance, but they they just make that as sort of an arbitrary rule.

3:12

So I'm I just want somebody to look at it because right now it's it's more and more difficult during bad winter days to go to get people about.

3:20

And we're supposed to be a friendly city for everybody, and uh it's not for people who are disabled and who um have problems walking, frail people.

3:29

Um the other thing I want you to mention is about roundabouts uh with roundabouts.

3:33

I know you have one coming up at the very end.

3:36

They appear there's not much discussion about the effect of roundabouts on pedestrians.

3:40

And what happens is when you a roundabout by its definition is like a circular thing.

3:45

So if you're trying to get diagonally from one street and then diagonally to the other side, it becomes very it comes harder to sort of do that.

3:54

And so I just think there should be more discussion about what the effect is again of roundabouts and how pedestrians would actually get around that big roundabout.

4:04

And so I I think that's an issue that's probably discussed, and I'm hoping they do that uh today.

4:11

Anyway, thank you.

4:12

That's basically what I want to discuss.

4:14

Thank you, David.

4:14

All right, anybody else?

4:19

Hi, Michael, go ahead.

4:21

Michael Wojak, executive director of the bicycle alliance of Minnesota.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████29%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Public Engagement██████████████14%
Active Transportation██████████████14%
Ethical Practices Board█████████9%
Ethics And Governance█████5%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission Meeting Summary - February 10, 2026

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission (PBAC) met on February 10, 2026, to discuss and vote on the Elton Hills Drive corridor redesign and a new mini roundabout at 7th Street and 11th Avenue NE. The meeting included public comments, a procedural training, and unanimous votes on all agenda items.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes of the January 12, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously following an amendment by Commissioner Aaron Buckley to clarify street designations.
  • Commissioners and staff introduced themselves.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Barry Skolnick expressed concern over the city's snow enforcement policy on sidewalks, particularly the reliance on call-in reports and the postponement of enforcement due to minor subsequent snowfall. He also raised concerns about the impact of roundabouts on pedestrians navigating diagonally.
  • Michael Wojcik, Executive Director of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, generally supported roundabouts for pedestrian safety. He strongly advocated for a four-to-three lane conversion and a bidirectional cycle track on Elton Hills Drive, emphasizing the corridor's low traffic volumes (15,000 vehicles per day or less, a volume that has held steady or declined for 40 years) and the presence of three elementary schools. He noted the corridor has not seen significant safety improvements since the City Council opted not to act in 2019.

Discussion Items

Informational Item 6.A: Robert's Rules Overview

  • Deputy City Attorney Brent Carlson presented an overview of the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, Open Meeting Law requirements, Robert's Rules of Order procedures (motions, seconds, debate, voting), and conflict of interest/recusal protocols.

New Business 7.A: Elton Hills Drive NW Corridor

  • City Traffic Engineer Sam Budzyna presented the staff report, detailing the project history (denied in 2016, studied in 2019), existing conditions (four-lane undivided, 30 mph speed limit), and the upcoming 2027 mill and overlay project.
  • The corridor was identified as the #3 Tier 1 priority corridor in Rochester's Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan and a top-10 near-term gap in the Active Transportation Plan.
  • Commissioners discussed design alternatives 6A (on-street buffered bike lanes) and 6B (a two-way cycle track median on the north side with parking on the south side), budget constraints, and the importance of neighborhood connectivity across the corridor.
  • The commission unanimously voted to:
    1. Endorse the overall project goals of improved pavement and increased safety for all users, as amended to include "increasing neighborhood connectivity" and "increased safety on crossing Elton Hills Drive."
    2. Select cross-section 6B as the preferred design for the full extent of the corridor, with 6A recommended as an interim alternative if budget constraints prevent full 6B implementation.

New Business 7.B: Intersection Improvements at 7th St NE and 11th Ave NE

  • City Traffic Engineer Sam Budzyna presented the proposal to replace the aging traffic signal with a mini roundabout, as the signal is at the end of its useful life and will be removed to accommodate a planned sewer project (Silver Lake Siphon).
  • The draft layout included a 10-foot shared-use path on the west side of 11th Avenue and slip ramps for bicyclists.
  • Discussion focused on refining the angles of the slip ramps and sidewalks to maximize safety and functionality for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • The commission unanimously voted to support the draft mini roundabout layout, recommending that staff consider minor adjustments to the angles of sidewalks and bicycle facilities to ensure maximum functionality.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Unanimously approved the January 12 minutes with a clarifying amendment.
  • Elton Hills Drive NW: Commission unanimously endorsed the project goals (amended to include neighborhood connectivity and safe crossing) and recommended cross-section 6B for the full corridor, with 6A as a budget-dependant alternate.
  • 7th St NE & 11th Ave NE Intersection: Commission unanimously supported the draft mini roundabout layout with minor adjustments to pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for March 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM CST.
  • Adjournment: The meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Mike Schmidt, I am here. Sarah Stevens. Aaron Buckley. Mike Zhu present. Ethan Swanson. Present. Dave Pesh is in Arizona. So he will not be here. And Paula LaRochelle. And Dave Olson. Excellent. All right. Next on the agenda is our open comment period. We have one person. All right, Barry. Welcome. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, nice seeing you all again. Um I want to mention two things. First, about snow and uh snow enforcement on this snow on the sidewalk. I'm really concerned about the way the city's snow policy is being enforced. Uh there's many, many streets where I walk by and people aren't shoveling the snow. People are reluctant to so we have a call-in policy, which basically means unless you rat on your neighbor, they don't enforce it. And so that's a big problem because a lot of people are afraid, I believe, of doing that. So we we don't have as many call-ins as I would like. Uh I'm concerned too, because uh the way the snow enforcement ordinance works, you're supposed to wait 24 hours. Everybody knows that. But with but what a lot of people don't know is that they don't enforce the uh the law at all. If the next day you have an eighth of an inch, or just a minute of squibble, like a almost no snow at all, it postpones it another 24 hours and keeps doing that until they have a day that's completely without snow. And say so you could go like we had a four-inch snow a couple of months ago. They weren't enforcing it for about four or five days. I I don't I don't like that. I wish they would change that policy so that they would have snow enforcement. Unless it was like two inches, I mean, I wouldn't keep postponing the enforcement. It's just a smidgen of snow the next day. I I don't think that's a good policy. I also don't like the policy, which is I didn't know about, and I spoke to some people in the council about this, they didn't know it either, where the the uh staff arbitrarily in a way decides that it's too cold for people to shovel snow, so that they actually tell them not to shovel the snow. Now I'm somebody who's a rollator, and I know on my blocks there's been a lot of problems with that. And so you know, we have to go out, we have to go someplace too. So I'm just hoping that that they can they can change that policy. And there's other issues too about how they specifically do it. And I'm I'm just hoping that they can the other thing is they they they have an idea that as long if there's a layer of ice and it's not a steep layer of ice, but people can't go by, that's okay too. Doesn't say that in the ordinance, but they they just make that as sort of an arbitrary rule. So I'm I just want somebody to look at it because right now it's it's more and more difficult during bad winter days to go to get people about. And we're supposed to be a friendly city for everybody, and uh it's not for people who are disabled and who um have problems walking, frail people. Um the other thing I want you to mention is about roundabouts uh with roundabouts. I know you have one coming up at the very end. They appear there's not much discussion about the effect of roundabouts on pedestrians.

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