BPAC could become formal commission under proposal
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By Brandi Makuski
City leaders next week will be asked to consider creating a new municipal government body.
Under a proposal from Councilwoman Tori Jennings, the bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee (BPAC) would become the bicycle‐pedestrian street safety commission (BPSC). Mayor Mike Wiza created BPAC shortly after being elected in 2015, saying he felt the city needed more input from bicycle enthusiasts. BPAC was intended, he said, to be “advisory only” to the city plan commission.
Jennings played an integral role in the early days of BPAC, initially serving as its chair and helping spearhead an abandon bicycle ordinance. She also lead the successful $400K federal grant proposal, which will fund painting a network of almost 14 miles of bicycle lanes across the city—a cost the city must match by 20 percent.
“However, the notable success of BPAC obscures the ongoing challenges this committee faces in light of its ambiguous ‘citizen advisory’ status and lack of formal staff oversight,” Jennings wrote in a memo to the public protection committee, the body which will consider the request on March 12.
In her memo, Jennings pointed to several municipalities across the state with similar bicycle safety commissions, reasoning they bring a “unique contribution” to city government via “a role that cannot be met by public works or community development alone.”
Under the proposal, the commission would include five members and one alternate member, including an engineer or planner, pedestrian and bicycle safety advocate, bicycle-friendly business owner, safety
educator, alderperson, and a non-voting community development staff liaison.
“In order for city council to take seriously bike and pedestrian issues, BPAC needs staff support and
collaboration,” her memo said. “Creating a bicycle‐pedestrian street safety commission in lieu of the current citizen advisory committee will help assure that the city’s transportation, safety, and livability goals and objectives are met.”
Formal creation of the new commission would mean the group can now carve out a permanent niche in oversight of community development, road construction plans and the city’s capital budget expenses, just as existing commissions and committees do, Wiza said.
Members of the city council and police and fire commission both receive small salaries for their work, but it was not immediately known if members of this commission would also be paid.