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KEITH OHMART, CHAIR KEVIN BREUNIG ALEXANDRA DOHAN MARGARET ENDERS EILEEN ENTIN DONALD GRANT ROBERT HAUSSLEIN PAUL KNIGHT MICHAEL TABACZYNSKI To: Board of Selectmen Date: May 20, 2015 Town of Lexington, Massachusetts Re: Goal Setting Information Request Greenways Corridor Committee TEL: 781-698-4580 FAX: (781) 863 -9468 The Greenways Corridor Committee (GCC) would first like to express its appreciation to the Board of Selectmen and Town Government for its ongoing support for the development of the ACROSS Lexington: Rick Abrams Memorial Trail Network. Funding support authorized in 2013 from the Community Preservation Committee will enable the eventual completion of over 40 miles for this network, 17 of which have been completed to date. Support received from the various Town departments and committees for this project has been outstanding to date. As an integral part of its work, the GCC strongly endorses the following efforts within the Town to develop a more comprehensive approach to the subject of pedestrian and bicycle safety: • We support the implementation of Warrant Article 45, adopted by Town Meeting this spring, asking the Board of Selectmen to address town -wide bicycle and pedestrian safety needs and to develop a plan of action. • We request the installation of street crossings where needed for the ACROSS Lexington route system. • We support the ongoing efforts to expand the Town's sidewalk system. • We endorse the recommendation made during the presentation of Warrant Article 45 that the Town create a staff position charged with responsibility for bicycle and pedestrian safety and education programs, including but not limited to a sustained program for school -age children. The GCC also seeks the assistance of the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager in creating a management /oversight system for tracking and monitoring public access to parcels of Town open space via either land that is owned by the Town or where easements have been granted providing public access. This tends to be more of a problem for properties without a defined use, which are managed by departments other than the Conservation Department. With the pace of aggressive development throughout the town, once an access point has been inadvertently or intentionally landscaped by a developer or property owner, re- 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 greenwaycc @lexingtonma.gov