2007-03-08-LBAC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Hartwell Ave. / TMG / Sidewalk Committee report: Jerry brought us up to speed on his recent liaison activities. He reported on the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Office) meeting he attended in Waltham at which the MPO 10-year transportation plan was discussed. It was encouraging to see that bicycle / pedestrian paths are included. He will explore availability of the MPO report. The Design Advisory Committee, in seeking to expand business activities along Hartwell Ave and thus increase tax revenues, are considering mixed zoning, including retail businesses. Jerry spoke with Colin Smith, an architect and head of that committee, explaining our interest in better bicycle and pedestrian access. Mr. Smith seemed in agreement with the proposal for bike lanes. Center Safety signs: Stew explained the incorrect information he had presented at the February meeting which was based on his misunderstanding of the proposed plan. After discussion of the actual plan, as approved recently by the Selectmen, the committee agreed that the approval voted last month is still appropriate. Stew agreed to recommend to Dawn McKenna and Carl Valente that we be involved in deciding on the placement near the Bikeway of the additional Center Safety signs and to notify them that Marita has the template that was used for the existing HDC-approved signs. Route 128 overpass signs: George reported progress on the effort to gain approval for placing signs on the overpass identifying the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway to motorists. He has found to whom the request should be addressed at MassHighway and drafted a letter, sent by Stew this week, requesting the necessary application. Bikeway Safety: Abe reported on discussions he had with emergency responders in the fire and police departments regarding the possibility of tracking ambulance data for bicyclists involved in accidents in town. Currently there is no way to do a coded search of the records, selecting for bicyclists. Thus there may be more accidents than we are aware of, including along the Minuteman, because the records of them are not readily available. Access to such data would be helpful in our mission of improving safety for bicycling in town. Abe agreed to draft a letter to the appropriate authorities, requesting the needed record-keeping change. Emergency Vehicles on Bikeway: Abe reported that the emergency people he talked with at the Fire and Police Departments expressed dismay at the lack of understanding people have about emergency vehicles needing to use the Bikeway in responding to accidents or other calls for help along the Bikeway. On most such calls they usually encounter rude behavior from someone along the way. We discussed the need for education of Bikeway users to be respectful – dare we say even helpful – when encountering emergency vehicles on the Bikeway. Harvey agreed to send a message to MassBike about this, and Stew agreed to do the same for the Charles River Wheelmen. A letter to this effect in the Lexington Minuteman also might help. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM