HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-06-04-WALKS-min
Sidewalk Committee Meeting
June 4, 2007
Present: Jeanne Krieger, Francine Stieglitz, Marianne Lazarus, Judy Crocker, Meg Lots,
Laura Cecere, Jerry Van Hook, Sue Ellen Briggs and Lucy Fletcher-Jones
1. The first order of business was to approve the minutes of the May 21 meeting. In
discussion Francine suggested that last names be added to the minutes. A motion
was taken to approve the minutes with the addition of last names. This was
seconded and all were in favor of the amended minutes.
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2. Next a motion was called to accept the January 8 minutes, which were
distributed before the meeting. In the discussion it was noted that not all business
from that meeting has been resolved. Two items of concern are: How projects are
prioritized and scheduled and How to see where a project is on the “to do” list. It
was noted that the minutes represent what actually happened at the meeting. The
motion passed unanimously.
3. The minutes of the February 5 meeting were distributed. After review and
discussion names of those in attendance were added to the meeting minutes. In
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the third paragraph “scheduled for May 7 at 11AM” was removed since that
meeting was not scheduled at the February meeting. The fourth paragraph was
removed since these were personal notes. The minutes were unanimously
approved as amended.
4. The next item up for discussion was a procedure to address prolonged unexcused
absences of members and liaisons. It was proposed that three unexcused absences
and membership be terminated. After discussion it was decided that no formal
policy should be adopted. All members and liaisons are encouraged to invite
prospective members to a meeting.
5. Jerry will be presenting to the Board of Selectmen the new charge and the terms
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of the members of the committee on June 18. Jerry has been asking members
for their preferred term. All present at the meeting agreed to stay through 9/2008.
Olga has asked to defer her decision to continue her membership on the
committee until the fall of this year. Jerry will continue through 9/2009, Francine
through 9/2010 and Judy, Laura and Meg will continue through 9/2011.
6. The Master Plan was discussed as a vision of what we would like to have for
pedestrians in Lexington. It should be a statement of action that doesn’t solve
problems but identifies them. Sue Ellen and Lucy will work on this together.
They plan to have a draft ready by late summer for discussion.
7. Laura and Jerry are working on prioritizing primary and secondary roads in
Lexington that could use improvements for pedestrians. They will review the
data collected by the inventory subcommittee. They will also collect data from
the safe routes to school groups. Judy and Jeanne will send the data they have
from the school groups.
8. Jerry would like to see the committee research walking paths in open lands in
cooperation with CLC and LBAC. This would include walking to and parking
near open lands. Marianne will gather an up to date inventory of these paths.
9. Jerry presented as new business the Belmont Citizens Forum. This particular
edition of their newsletter had articles on walking. The Lexington Fund has seed
money for brochures if the committee was interested in that.
10. Francine brought up a traffic safety issue at Hastings School. This is an ongoing
issue. DPW is aware of this. One family in the area would like to have sidewalk
placed on the property to improve the situation. This topic was difficult for all
committee members to discuss since we are not all familiar with the area. Meg
will bring a detailed map to the next meeting so this can be discussed further.
11. Jerry contacted DPW about the pathway between Worthen Rd and the Center
Playground. DPW is aware of the wetness of the path. They could fill the
puddles with more gravel.
12. Judy talked about the increased bus fee, from $400 per child with an $800 family
cap to $550 per child with no family cap. The concern is that fewer families will
pay for busing and more children will be driven, increasing the congestion at
schools and emissions/idling. Judy will work on coordinating the communication
from the schools on this issue. Each school sends a packet of information before
the start of the school year. Judy will encourage the inclusion of drop off policies,
including idling and traffic flow. She will also encourage the inclusion of
walking and car pooling.
13. The final item was to have Jerry label the Sidewalk Charge as a Charge and to
include the date.
14. The meeting was adjourned at 12:43
15. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday July 9 at 11AM in the Selectmen’s
Meeting Room.
Respectfully submitted by Sue Ellen Briggs 6/9/2007