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TOWN OF LEXINGTON | 5 <br />geoning school enrollments. Town Meeting appropriated <br />just over $4 million to fund designs outlined in the School <br />Building Consensus Plan to address overcrowding in the <br />elementary and middle schools. <br />Capital Planning in the face of municipal infrastructure <br />needs and burgeoning school enrollment will be an ongo- <br />ing challenge for the next several years. <br />Sustainability <br />In 2013 Town Meeting adopted a resolution to: (a) include <br />climate change in all its decisions and planning processes; <br />(b) take action to prepare for the impacts of a changing <br />climate; (c) reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and (d) de- <br />velop and implement a comprehensive climate action plan, <br />all with the goal of making Lexington a truly sustainable <br />community. <br />The Town has moved forward with an aggressive deploy- <br />ment of solar panels on municipal and school buildings <br />which was completed in the winter of 2014. In addition <br />the Town is pursuing a ground-mounted solar installation <br />and solar canopies on a portion of the Hartwell Avenue <br />Composting Facility. Annual Town Meeting authorized <br />the Selectmen to enter into a community choice electrical <br />aggregation program and contract for Lexington residents <br />and businesses. A request for proposals for brokers who <br />will then solicit electric supply bids is under development. <br />Economic Development <br />For many years now, the Board’s policy has been to find <br />ways to ease the burden on the residential taxpayer by de- <br />veloping our commercial sectors while balancing this de- <br />velopment against any adverse impacts on surrounding <br />neighborhoods. In collaboration with area landlords the <br />Town secured a Federal grant to create “The Rev” a shut- <br />tle service from the Alewife T station to Hartwell Avenue <br />businesses. Ridership on the shuttle has grown and pick- <br />up and drop-off of general commuters has been added in <br />the center for what had been the empty return run of the <br />shuttle. Landscaping of the traffic islands at the Hartwell <br />Avenue jug handle to create a gateway to the commercial <br />district have been completed, and a pedestrian crossing sig- <br />nal is being developed to allow access across Bedford Street <br />and Hartwell Avenue. <br />Transportation <br />Throughout the Town we have pursued several projects <br />to improve multi-modal transportation and traffic safety. <br />On Shade Street the use of speed tables to calm traffic has <br />worked well. In the Center, the Center Streetscape rede- <br />sign project will improve safety for pedestrians as well as <br />control the flow of traffic while refreshing the aesthetics of <br />the center. Concerns over the inclusion of a traffic signal in <br />the plan at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and <br />Woburn Street has led to additional public engagement <br />and engineering analysis. We expect a revised proposal will <br />be brought to the 2016 Annual Town Meeting. The Se- <br />lectmen approved the initial phases of a parking manage- <br />ment program for the center and have added new parking <br />spaces on the north side of Massachusetts Avenue near the <br />Muzzey Condominiums and have striped parking spaces <br />on Massachusetts Avenue to the west of the Battle Green <br />to improve safety and visibility. <br />In East Lexington, the Massachusetts Avenue reconstruc- <br />tion project is redesigning the intersections of Massachu- <br />setts Avenue at Pleasant Street, Maple Street, and Mar- <br />rett Road as well as the streetscape corridor between these <br />intersections. This redesign seeks to improve pedestrian, <br />bicycle and vehicular traffic safety as well as improve traf- <br />fic operations along this section of Massachusetts Avenue. <br />This project has been approved for 100% funding by the <br />Massachusetts Department of Transportation through the <br />State’s Transportation Improvement Plan. <br />Board of Selectmen continued from previous page David TabelingBoard of Selectmen: Front (L-R) Suzie Barry and Peter Kelley; Rear (L-R) Town <br />Manager Carl Valente, Michelle Ciccolo, Norman Cohen, Joe Pato and Lynne Pease, <br />Executive Clerk