2018-10-11-LBAC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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APPROVED MEETING NOTES LEXINGTON BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Thursday, October 11, 2018, 7 pm Parker Room, Town Office Building Members present: Peggy Enders (Chair), Bob Hausslein (FoLB Chair), Omar Khudari, Kevin Falcone, Jennifer Melot, Bob Dangel, George Gagliardi, Mike Tabaczynski Members absent: Lou Savarino Others present: Dave Enos, Suzy Enos, Sgt Paul Callahan The September 2018 meeting notes were approved. Advice and Recommendations to the Board of Selectmen: E-bikes and other Bikeway and Bicycle Issues Peggy recapped her draft outline of issues to present to the BoS. Kevin described his experience of using an e-lime bike. Peggy said the state needs to update the legislation about what constitutes a "motorized vehicle," this can't be defined at the town level. Kevin and Dave responded to Peggy's concern about bike weight by pointing out that cargo bikes plus the cargo it carries may also be very heavy but have strong brakes to compensate. Discussion of what class of e-bikes local companies are selling; CycleLoft does not sell any Class 2 (throttle-assist) or Class 3 (i.e., pedalec bikes built for speed) e-bikes. Suzy pointed out that all classes of e-bikes may enable transportation for those (e.g.,seniors) who are not practically capable of riding bikes without an assist (and may even need throttle-assist). MassBike, the bikeway towns, and state reps (e.g., Mike Barrett, Jay Kaufmann, etc.) need to work together to move guidelines forward. Bob Dangel said that what really needs to be done is put bike lanes from Arlington to Bedford St. He also mentions that people need to get out on the bikeway and talk with people who are behaving inappropriately, perhaps police. (Jennifer strongly agrees, but thinks this must be *contingent* on putting alternative infrastructure on Mass Ave.) Discussion of the idea that passing distance is perhaps the more salient issue than speed. Further discussion of the idea that better bike infrastructure is the key action the town can take to improve the situation on the bikeway, and is probably the cheapest thing the town could do to promote sustainable transportation, which they are currently doing very little to address. Omar asked how Zagster is doing; Peggy recapitulated the history of town involvement with Zagster. The current contract is for another year. Kevin said that the committee should recommend dockless options (e.g., LimeBike) be considered when the contract is up. Bikeway Speed Limit vs Other Solutions: Messaging was discussed; example of Shining Sea Bikeway (in Falmouth) signs — i.e., better than the new bikeway signs in terms of providing clear safety and behavior guidelines. Posted speed limit of 15. Mike said he thinks that setting a speed limit is "pointless." Jennifer agreed, saying that passing distance is the salient issue. Sgt Callahan said that the focus needs to be on