Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission Meeting - June 9, 2026
Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission Meeting - June 9, 2026
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Commission met on June 9, 2026, to discuss the Mayo Clinic construction update, a Lime scooter and bike program update, and public safety concerns. The meeting included a remembrance for former commissioner Ethan Swanson, public comments, and planning for future agenda items.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of April 13, 2026: Approved unanimously.
- Future Discussion Item: Added a discussion on non-authorized motorized vehicles on trails.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barry Skolnick expressed concern about the lack of enforcement of moving violations related to Lime scooters, advocating for police enforcement and a human-staffed reporting system (e.g., 311) rather than an email-only system. He noted that sidewalk riding is illegal under state and city law.
- John Kruesel emphasized the commission's role as the "conscience of the community" regarding safe travel for Mayo Clinic patients and visitors. He urged the commission to adopt strong policies and enforcement to ensure safety.
- Martha Grogan highlighted safety hazards on 6th Street Southwest, particularly the steep hill and limited sight distance. She shared videos of scooter incidents and noted that reporting to Lime has been ineffective. She urged technology-based enforcement.
- Mike Degerstrom described his experience as a Lime scooter accident victim on September 25, 2025, with medical bills of approximately $30,000 and three months out of work. He criticized the disparity in reported statistics (e.g., only seven misparked vehicles reported while he alone reported three) and argued that Lime should use its technology to self-police rather than rely on police.
- Kim Feddersen, representing the Zumbro Valley Audubon Society, spoke in favor of robust pedestrian and bike infrastructure. She advocated for preserving natural areas and wildlife corridors along trails, emphasizing benefits for lower-income residents and wildlife.
Discussion Items
- Remembrance of Ethan Swanson: Commissioners shared memories of former commissioner Ethan Swanson, who passed away from pancreatic cancer. A moment of silence was observed. Several noted his advocacy for biking, his involvement in the Reimagined Sixth Avenue project, and his work on a rain garden at a city park.
- Mayo Clinic Construction & Transportation Update: Tony Spaulding, Mayo Clinic administrator, presented an update on eight major construction projects. Key points:
- Osman Building and Waterman Building (completion 2030).
- Granger Logistics Building.
- West Transit Village (2,500-stall ramp with fare-free bus rapid transit for all).
- St. Mary's ramp (1,000 stalls) and South Parking ramp (500 stalls).
- Temporary pedestrian access routes (covered walkways) on 2nd Street.
- Construction expected to continue through 2030, with several ramps opening by late 2026.
- Lime Update: Lime representatives presented fleet and utilization stats: 400 scooters, 60 e-bikes; 33,198 total trips in 2026 (31,000 scooter, 2,798 bike); 1.76 trips per scooter per day; 1.32 trips per bike per day. Parking compliance: 96% of end-trip photos reviewed; 2,576 warnings, 94 fines issued. Rider discipline policy: two warnings then $10 fine, then account deactivation for improper parking. Only five accidents reported in 2026 (all minor).
Commissioners raised concerns about:
- Underage riders and lack of age verification (Lime has technology but city policy decision pending).
- Joyriding and anti-social behavior; requested standardized penalties rather than case-by-case.
- Speed on hills; Lime confirmed a slow zone (8 mph) on 6th Street downhill but not on uphill.
- Need for more collaboration on parking pins and slow zones. Lime noted a $1,000 donation to Rochester Pride and plans for helmet giveaways and parking wardens.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Agenda Approved Unanimously.
- Future Discussion Item Added: Non-authorized motorized vehicles on trails (mini bikes, etc.) will be scheduled for a future meeting.
- Lime Update: No formal action. Commissioners provided feedback, including requests for standardized discipline for anti-social riding, consideration of age verification, and collaboration on additional slow zones.
- Next Meeting: August 10, 2026.
- Adjournment: Motion passed unanimously. New commissioner Paige Burgess was introduced.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. Mike Schmidt, present. Aaron Buckley. Allah LaRochelle. President. David Olson, present. Sarah Stevens. Steve emailed me and said she was not able to make it, so she won't be here today. Dave Pesh here. And Paige Burris. Yeah. Great. Um let's uh go into open time period. So open time period. Uh we try to keep uh relatively short, about 10 minutes for the entire comment period. So we do have quite a few people signed up today, so we do request that you keep your comments to two or three minutes. And we'll start out with Barry Sconley. Hi everybody. Um I'm really concerned about this. As everyone knows who's been on this committee for a while, been here. I've been actually pursuing this for about five years or so because we've never been able to get enforcement about moving violations relating to line. I'm very concerned about the idea of just doing an email. It's a really hard and inconvenient for the public to sort of get their iPhones out of their pocket and to quickly take photos of it. And some of them have trouble quickly calling uh some email, and there's no one there at the other end if you have questions. I just think it's very consumer difficult to do that. But if you're gonna do something like that, I would prefer 311 out of the city and not still line thing. Maybe you could do some kind of combination where you could feel line the information, but I don't think it should just go uh straight that way. Um I again have the human at the other end. Um I wanna point out that riding on the sidewalk is both a state and city law. So lack of enforcement by the police at reaching the point where people have been asking them. I know I have for years. I can't get them to enforce the law. That's a form of non-feas and civil office. If you look up the definition and you Google it, you'll see that if they don't, if you deliberately don't enforce the law because you don't want to, that's non-feasance of office, and that's an offense that police should actually be brought up on charges for, including the police chief. So at this point, I really think we've got to have the police enforcement. No more, we don't want to do it because we have crime to do. It's part of their responsibilities to do it. And if they choose not to, they can be removed. And I'm very serious about this because the police have to get involved in this. It's not just letters. Um, I also want to point out that that today, the decals that are on the sidewalk. Uh I was responsible for the decal that said no bikes on the sidewalk, but that was before Lime Scooter was even here for that we did that. They should fit. I've been told by even some police officers they want to amend that. They want to change that to say bikes and scooters should not be on the sidewalk, not just bikes, because that has to do with an enforcement issue. It would be better to have that as well. Um again, I I think it's very important that we have enforcement. I really want to hear. I'm reading a letter on behalf of the Sembra Valley Audubon Society or ZBAS. Now ZBAS is a local environmental advocacy group that served Eric around the last 50 years.
openpublica.com