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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-12-04-WALKS-minSIDEWALK COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES -DECEMBER 4, 2006 The meeting was opened at 11AM by Chairman Weeks in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. Attending were Lisa Baci, John Davies, Sue-Ellen Briggs, Judy Crocker, Craig Weeks, Lucy Fletcher-Jones, Marianne Lazarus, Olga Guttag, Jeanne Krieger, Francine Stieglitz, Wayne Brooks and Sarah Chamberlain. Minutes from the November meeting were not available -therefore acceptance was postponed to the next meeting. Brief reports were given to the Committee providing current status of the Safe Routes to Schools (sr2s) programs. The ongoing programs at Bowman, Bridge and Hastings remain successful. Lucy F-J, Bowman SR2S representative, asked for clarification on sidewalk snow plowing priorities within each school district. As Bowman has now compiled a list of well used routes to school, it needs to update the snow plow list for this winter. Wayne Brooks of DPW replied that a list should be put together by the school, approved by the principal and sent to DPW care of Wayne Brooks. Presently, resources are stretched so restricting requests to high priority routes would be appreciated. The new crosswalk on Pleasant Street by E. Worthen Rd is now complete and being successfully used by Bowman students. However, Bowman has made a request for cone' signs to be placed in the crosswalk to further ensure that drivers stop for pedestrians. This has been received by the Police Safety officer and the situation is being monitored. Special attention is still being given to working out infrastructure issues regarding crosswalks and sidewalks at the Hastings School. Engineering (Dave Cannon) has reported that School Street is in the re-engineering phase in preparation for its rebuilding and careful attention is being given to creating effective sidewalks and crosswalks feeding towards the school. The Hastings sr2s group (lead by Jane Kalinslci) is working with Engineering and the Town Transportation Coordinator (Gail Wagner) with support from the Sidewalk Committee liaison of the Transportation Advisory Committee (Francine Stieglitz) to get the best result from available resources. Sarah Chamberlain has replaced Tracey Herbert at Bridge Elementary as the sr2s coordinator. Interest has been shown by Estabrook parents (Weeks reporting) and the principal at Harrington (Crocker reporting) in the sr2s program as plans are underway to initiate activity this spring, hopefully. Interest in sr2s at Fiske is still present, however Sue Bruce (Fislce PTA) reports that the present priority is preparing for the move back to the Adams St. location. The first discussion subject was recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year for sidewalk maintenance and repair. Ms. Krieger and Mr. Brooks stated that the DPW has included in its proposed budget $200K. It was decided that at this time no further created using BCL easyPDF Printer arlver recommendations were required and that the decisions relative to prioritization of the sidewalks for repair would be left to the DPW with the understanding that the focus should remain on routes supporting the Safe Routes to Schools programs and primary destinations about Town. Recommendations for the appropriate amount of funding for new sidewalks will have to come later, after the on-going prioritization of streets is more complete. This lead to a discussion on the need for action on the work list items developed by the Policy subcommittee back in September 06: 1. Continue to work to establish a prioritized list of existing sidewalks and sidewalks needing repair by ranking streets by: safety, current condition, usage, connectivity. Status: Of the six elementary districts only one has been substantially completed. 2. Draft apolicy/guideline for sidewalk construction and repair. 3. Draft a policy that covers seasonal maintenance. Status of items 2 and 3: Not yet started. Each Committee member was requested to submit one item/event/activity that a policy is needed for: Such as construction when the existing sidewalk is removed by the homeowner or contractor and not replaced. 4. Develop cost estimates for future construction and repair. Status: This is believed to be a staff job. 5. Propose recommendations that encourage staff to clarify and communicate the flow of information within departments and to the public. Status: Traffic Safety Procedures -such as when a request is made by a sr2s group for a new crosswalk, or crossing guard, or a resident complains of an unsafe intersection -are presently being flowcharted to show the interactions between Police, Traffic Safety Advisory Committee and Town staff in the resolution process. No other procedural process has yet been reviewed. 6. Continue with advocacy and awareness including the website, Safe Routes to School initiatives and ultimately form a Stewards group. Status: Continuing with activities such as the insert in the December 2006 property tax bill. 7. Complete the draft document 'Walking in Lexington' which frames the aforementioned work. Status: In process. created using BCL easyPDF Printer arlver Members were encouraged by the Chairman to take an active role in the work list activities. These tasks are the current focus of the Committee's work and need positive contributions. Currently there are only about 12 of the 19 voting members who are actually helping with the Committee work. This has been the situation for some time now. Chairman Weeks stated he will review this situation with the Board of Selectmen to determine appropriate action. The meeting was adjourned at 12 : 3 OPM. Submitted by Craig Weeks created using BCL easyPDF Printer arlver