2011-02-18-GCC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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lands. When people appreciate that they can travel around town or to other towns without depending on a car, it raises awareness of the value of the connections, and maintaining them, for instance, by plowing the bikeway in the winter. There is synergy — as people benefit from the connections, they support their development and upkeep. Peggy Enders: The GCC work can provide a significant financial benefit and support economic development by attracting visitors, and making it easier for residents and visitors to travel to and around the town center without driving. Keith: In looking at near -term objectives for tangible results, producing a map is a clear objective. In particular, an overall map or a guidebook which is a convenient size. It could be developed for a specific event or for general use. Peggy: There has been some discussion of putting together a "Biker's and Walker's guide" for Lexington. We should track that activity and coordinate with it if possible. Paul: A few years ago I assembled an on -line map depicting a loop of trails and low- traffic roads encircling Lexington, about the length of a marathon in total. That could be used as a basis for some kind of more -or -less competitive event, as well as to demonstrate that there are already very good corridors of connectivity among many of the conservation areas. Deb Mauger: There are upcoming events, such as the Town's 300 anniversary in 2013, which would be a good target event for publicizing some kind of town greenway corridor network. Also, there has been some interest in reviving the earlier practice of the Selectmen annually walking the Town perimeter, which could be tied to identifying and marking the trails around the Town. There are also ties to various historical sites which can be connected off -road for pedestrians or bicyclists. Identifying those connections and making them easily available to tourists or citizens would be a valuable goal. Carryover Business from West Lexington Greenway Task Force: Keith described the remaining tasks identified by the WLG task force. He noted that the contractor VHB has not completed the 25% design or Master Plan document to the Town's satisfaction, although both are nearly complete, with much valuable information. The key part GCC needs to focus on immediately is the Minuteman Connector concept, to link the Minuteman Bikeway with the Minuteman National Historical Park's Battle Road. The initial design concept was for a universally accessible route which would meet guidelines for state or federal funding as a bikeway. Based on the 25% design work completed so far, the initial design would most likely lead to excessive wetland impact, as well as a very deep cut into the hill near Wood St. A narrower single -track route would almost certainly have lower environmental impact. Richard Canale: We need to be aware of the state cycles to include projects in the long -term plan (Massachusetts DOT Traffic Improvement Plan) and thus be eligible for consideration for funding. The Minuteman Connector plan will need to be added to the long -term plan by August of 2011, or it will have to wait five years to be added to the list. If there is an officially accepted Town plan to add a trail, it can be included in the state long -term plan, even if the design is not complete. There appear to be several options or alternate routes for designing the Minuteman Connector, and once a MassDOT project number is assigned and the project is in the TIP, the specific design can be modified to meet various environmental or other requirements. Keith: We will need to meet with Karen Mullins and John Livsey to prepare the materials needed to get the Minuteman Connector included in the TIP process. [Action] The meeting was adjourned at 9:30. Summary of Action Items: [Action] Keith Ohmart will arrange meeting locations for next three meetings. (completed) [Action] Peggy Enders will contact Judy Crocker. [Action] Keith Ohmart will contact Mark Sandeen