2012-12-03-WALKS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, December 3, 2012, 9 AM Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building Present: Jeanne Canale, Judy Crocker, Mary Hosmer Fanucci, Bettina McGimsey, Francine Stieglitz, Jerry van Hook,; Liaisons: Elaine Celi (Transportation), Hank Manz (BOS), Marc Valenti (DPW); Guests: Dave Cannon (DPW), John Livsey (DPW), Karen Stulck The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order at 9:05 AM. 1. Proposed Mass Ave and Pleasant/Maple/Marrett St Intersection: Dave Cannon of the Town Engineering Department provided the SWC with an overview of plans for intersection improvements on Massachusetts Avenue at the intersections with Pleasant Street, Maple Street, and Marrett Street. He also provided feedback on the plans from public meetings held with abutters and neighborhood residents in November. The current plan is to submit the plans for funding to State Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) at a figure of approximately $546 million. According to the plan, along Mass Ave there will be parking spaces, bump -outs, and enough room for bike lanes. The intersection at Marrett will have a traffic signal with two crosswalks. At both Maple and Pleasant both a roundabout and a traffic signal were on the table to improve the intersections. For Maple, the roundabout would require two lanes, resulting in right -of -way issues. A traffic signal at the intersection would be interconnected with the one at Marrett to facilitate good traffic flow. From the feedback at the public meeting, Mr. Cannon said that they have decided to move forward with a traffic signal as this would leave more green space and result in a safer intersection for pedestrians. Only the plans for the signalized intersection at Maple will be submitted to TIP. At Pleasant Street, a roundabout would require a two lane approach on Mass Ave eastbound, one lane to continue straight, with the other providing the right turn on to Pleasant Street. It would also need to be off center to avoid right -of -way issues. A roundabout would be less expensive than a signal since there would be no need for machinery. However, there would be better flow of traffic with a signal because a roundabout will cause inherent queuing problems between rush hour volume and Waldorf School dismissal times. Judy Crocker asked about the opinions of the abutters regarding a roundabout vs. a traffic signal at Pleasant. Mr. Cannon noted that feedback from the neighborhood has been mixed. Some abutters favor the roundabout, noting that three traffic signals in a short distance ( Marrett, Maple, Pleasant) would be too many. Others, including the Waldorf School, favor a signal. Per the school, a traffic signal would be better due to their dropoff and pickup queues and would help facilitate their access to the intersection. Jerry van Hook noted that the Town Engineering Department should look into and comment on pedestrian safety at a roundabout on Pleasant and Mass Ave. Given that there would be no pedestrian crossing lights, but only crosswalks, the many pedestrians who use this intersection to get to the two churches, the school, and Wilson Farms would be at more risk than if the intersection was signalized. He noted that when entering roundabouts, cars tend to focus on the traffic in the circle as opposed to pedestrians in crosswalks. With a signal it