2014-11-03-WALKS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, November 3, 2014, 9 AM Selectmen's Meeting Room Present: Jeanne Canale, Judy Crocker, Mary Hosmer Fanucci, Bettina McGimsey, Sean Osborne, Craig Weeks; Liaisons present: Elaine Celi, Tim Dunn; Visitors: Hank Manz, Craig Weeks called the meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) to order at 9:05 AM. The Agenda was covered quickly, for the most part. 1)Public Comment: Comments and concerns from the community – No visitors present and no recent letters received. Francine was attending another town meeting and had not reported any new correspondence 2)DPW Update Mr. Valenti was not present due to an unanticipated conflict. 3)Planning Board Update A possible sidewalk installation on an unaccepted portion of Colony Rd contiguous to the current sidewalk was discussed as part of a private lot improvement at an October PB meeting. Because the proposed section leads to the Fiske School property, Ms. Crocker spoke of how it would benefit the Safe Routes program. 4)LPS Transportation Update Ms. Celi handed out a report demonstrating the continuing success of the town-wide school bus advocacy program, tremendous improvement in ridership, thanks to many peoples’ efforts and the Town’s bus fare subsidy. 5)Safe Routes to School Update Ms. Crocker handed out a summary of the Safe Routes to Schools activities and FY15 school bus ridership figures. Currently, 47% of LPS students use the bus with the greatest ridership at Clarke (73%), followed by Bowman and Estabrook (56%). The most challenging population where about one-third of the students can drive is LHS, which boosts 36% ridership. The next Walking Wednesday event is the Turkey Trot on Nov 12. Coordinator roles for review: The major administrative issue on the table currently is the appropriate ‘home’ for the Coordinator. Should it remain a volunteer position or become a staff responsibility. The SRTS program is very well established after implementing the concept about 9 years ago and is now active in 8 of 9 schools. 6) Correspondence Log Nothing reported. 6)Review of Sidewalk Committee charge. An issue raised independently by two committee members is whether the SWC has fulfilled its charge and remains a viable asset to the town, as many of its charges are now addressed by other town committees or departments. Another element of the equation is whether the town is adopting Complete Streets design concepts, and how that impacts recommendations and standards for sidewalk network development.