2010-02-01-WALKS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lexington Sidewalk Committee Minutes February 1, 2010 11:00 a.m. Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Hall Present : Jerry Van Hook, Judy Crocker, Suzie Barry, Francine Stieglitz, Meg Lotz, Lucy Fletcher-Jones, Jeanne Krieger Liaisons: Elaine Celi, School Transportation; Richard Canale, Planning Board Guests : Jonathan Wettstone, Assistant Principal, Clarke Middle School Dawn McKenna, Tourism Committee-Battle Green Master Plan ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` January 2010 Minutes: Minutes were accepted. Bowman EOT Project: Judy reported about the recent meeting with representatives from DPW, Town Engineering, Bowman Safe Routes to School, the Project Consultant and the State EOT to provide input and answer questions before the final plans are submitted sometime in February. The grant is worth $455,000 and will include a passive pedestrian signal at Pleasant Street & Worthen Road East, sidewalk improvements and new sidewalk installation on Phillip Road and over Follen Hill, crossing Lantern Lane and Dawes Road to Locust Avenue. Current timeline suggests going to bid in the spring of 2010 and work to be done in the Fall of 2010 into 2011. Public hearings will need to be held; most likely at Bowman. Lucy reported there is a lot of enthusiasm in the Bowman community for the project. Clarke Middle School/Stedman Road access: Jonathan Wettstone, Assistant Principal at Clarke Middle School spoke about the challenges of the Clarke driving/parking/walking situation. Complicating the issue is Clarke has the same in and out for traffic and busses and is bordered by wetlands. Jeanne indicated she would follow up with Conservation regarding a sidewalk on the other side of the pedestrian bridge to help with walkability in an area that has drainage issues and she would also investigate the status of the gate on Stedman Road. Richard Canale briefed the committee on the request before the Planning Board for lot 87 at the opposite end Stedman Road from the Clarke gate. The Committee voted that no standalone sidewalk should be installed, no live parking allowed and no stopping signs should be installed by the walking path and that the gravel path beyond lot 87 be improved by making drainage improvements but the walking path should not be paved. Snow removal issues on narrowed sidewalks: Jerry reported on a stretch of sidewalk on Adams Street past East Street heading towards the Burlington town line where the sidewalk narrows due to a guardrail, trees and telephone poles and as a result cannot be plowed with the Town sidewalk plow. Jerry indicated there are students that travel this route to school in the winter months and it is quite dangerous left uncleared. The property owner adjacent to this stretch of sidewalk has his home on Brent Rd and the rear of his property fronting on Adams St is heavily wooded. Any contact with this owner, if needed for pole moving or other cleanup should come from the town. Jerry has contacted John Livsey and Wayne Brooks about generating a list of similar sidewalk locations where obstructions interfere with snow plow access for all the sidewalks currently plowed. The list will be reviewed at a future meeting Safe Routes to School (SR2S): Judy reported that the Safe Routes to School program is going well. Only half of the participating schools held their January walk day due to the weather. The February walk day would be themed around Valentine’s Day with thank you valentines to those who help the students get to and from school safely each day. Clarke Middle