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CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE REPORT TO 2016 ATM <br />Roads <br />Lexington has a total of 199.6 miles of roads, which include State and unaccepted roads. This total <br />consists of 135.0 miles of Town - accepted roadways, 18.5 miles of private /unaccepted roadways, and <br />46.1 miles of State highway. (Source: Fay, Spofford & Thorndike (FST) report, October 27, 2015.) The <br />DPW maintains the public, Town - owned, roadways; the remainder being maintained by the private <br />owners or the State. The DPW also maintains the Town's portion (5.3 miles) of the 10.0 -mile Minuteman <br />Commuter Bikeway ( "Bikeway "). <br />In April 2010, the Town retained FST, a civil - engineering consulting firm, to develop and implement a <br />Pavement Management System (PMS) for its public roadways and its portion of the Bikeway. The first <br />study was completed in November 2010 and has been updated annually. The PMS is based upon an <br />extensive roadway database describing pavement conditions and roadway characteristics, and among <br />other things reports conditions using a Pavement Condition Index (PCI), which is a 100 -point scale with <br />100 representing the best possible condition. Using the October, 2015, update, from 2014 to 2015, the <br />Town's PCI continued to improve, from 73.9 to 74.9. The 2015 74.9 PCI signifies that the majority of <br />streets are within the "Routine Maintenance" band. <br />The initial study reported the replacement cost for just the Town - accepted roadways would be in excess <br />of $85 million in FY2011 dollars (a more detailed analysis of the report is contained in this Committee's <br />report to the 2011 ATM, beginning on Page 21). The 2015 FST update states "Lexington is in a very good <br />place from the Pavement Management perspective with 75% of the Network in the `Do Nothing' and <br />`Routine Maintenance' treatment bands. However, the report goes on to caution that `future funding <br />scenarios are showing that the budget will not keep up with the expected deterioration of the `Structural <br />Improvement' candidates as the backlog increases significantly when these segments trickle into the <br />`Base Rehabilitation' treatment band." FST has recommended the Town secure at least $3.5 million this <br />fiscal year in order to continue progress in all treatment bands. <br />The Committee remains extremely pleased to see a quantitative basis for determining the condition of the <br />Town - maintained pavements. This Committee also supports the DPW's continuing efforts to raise the <br />Town's baseline pavement condition grade to "above average." Implementation of the PMS, along with <br />DPW management of other potential impacts to our pavements (e.g., utility work, construction for <br />storm -water and wastewater system improvements, sidewalk - related projects, etc.) offers the promise of <br />an even more productive and cost - effective program going forward. Funding for roads is provided by a <br />combination of State Chapter 90 funds and Town funds. (See Article 10(c & g)) <br />Sidewalks <br />The town has over 84 miles of sidewalks. In 2005, due to the overdue need to upgrade and extend the <br />sidewalks, the BoS appointed the Sidewalk Committee. In 2014, the DPW with assistance from FST (its <br />report, December, 2014), completed a sidewalk - condition survey. The survey results found that "the <br />average area -based Sidewalk Condition Index (SCI) in Lexington was 68 (an 80 to 100 score is "do <br />nothing "), which puts it in the middle of the Localized Repair treatment band. The survey also found 40% <br />of the sidewalk network in the `Do Nothing' treatment band and 34% in the `Localized Repair' treatment <br />band... ". The FST survey recommendation was that it would require $750,000 to maintain current <br />conditions, but would require $825,000 on sidewalks and ramps to ensure both quantity and quality. The <br />proposed DPW sidewalk replacement program is based upon the priority list developed in conjunction <br />with the survey. <br />Sidewalk replacement and extension are costly initiatives. Imbedded in these costs are sidewalk - <br />construction obstructions, easement issues, and negotiations with residents. The Sidewalk Committee's <br />overall policy has been to develop a prioritized sidewalk - construction plan focusing on the "Safe Routes <br />to School Program ", other high - pedestrian - traffic routes, and high — walking- hazard streets. All <br />reconstructed/new sidewalks are designed and constructed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities <br />Act (ADA)." <br />This Committee is pleased that funding requests for center - business - district (CBD) sidewalks are <br />presented separately from those for residential sidewalks and that there are now three sidewalk categories <br />18 <br />