2012-04-02-WALKS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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I Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, April 2, 2012, 9 AM Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building Present: Judy Crocker, John Davies, Jill Hai, Bettina McGimsey, Francine Stieglitz; Liaisons: Elaine Cell (Transportation), Hank Manz (Board of Selectmen), Marc Valenti (DPW); Guest: Bij an Afshartous The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order by Judy Crocker, who chaired the meeting in Jerry van Hook's absence, at 9:04 AM. 1. Review of March meeting minutes: The committee will review the minutes of the March meeting and approve them at the next meeting in May. 2. Welcome to Jill Hai: The SWC welcomed Ms. Hai as the newest member of the committee. 3. Watertown Street MBTA stop: Bij an Afshartous presented a petition to the SWC regarding the safety of the MBTA Bus stop for Bus 76 on the way to Alewife. General discussion was had regarding safety issues at this stop, including the small waiting area, the proximity of the pond and poison ivy, etc. Mark Valenti noted that the MBTA determines the placement of bus stops on their routes. The Town of Lexington is not responsible for the maintenance of the stops. Francine Stieglitz noted that the Transportation Advisory Committe has worked on these issues, but she did not know whether or not they had contacted the MBTA regarding them. Further discussion was had regarding the danger posed to pedestrians walking on Watertown Street in this area, given that there is no sidewalk. It was noted that building a sidewalk on Watertown Street would be very costly due to topographical issues and would need to go before Town Meeting. The committee noted that, should the residents of the area want a sidewalk, they should follow the SWC new sidewalk process and submit a petition to the committee. 4. Official confirmation of change in committee minimum voting membership: The Selectmen approved the SWC request to change the number of committee members from nine (9) to seven (7). 5. Update on Safe Routes program: Judy Crocker reported that the art and slogan contest was successful. The artwork students submitted will be used for bus flyers and other marketing materials. She also noted that the Lexington Safe Routes porgram was given a leadership award by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. 6. Update on the Estabrook School Transportation task force: Ms. Crocker noted that the task force will be coming to a close as they have met their charge. She reported that the Estabrook design team had presented schematics of construction accessibility which showed that there was no designated bus lane which may cause traffic issues. Jill Hai asked whether there might be staggered dismissal times for walkers and busers and those who ride in cars. This led to a discussion of the parent survey that is reported below.