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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-12-11-LBAC-min MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting: December 11, 2008, 7 pm, Room 111, Town Office Building Members Present: Peggy Enders (Chair), Stew Kennedy, Mike Tabaczynski, Abe Shenker (FoLB Chair), John Frey, Jerry Van Hook, Richard Canale (Planning Board Liaison), Laurel Carpenter, Marita Hartshorn, George Gagliardi Others Present: Rich Spencer, Dave Pinsonneault, Chris Lokem-Kim Members Absent: Hank Manz, (Selectmen’s Liaison), Sandra Shaw (Recreation Liaison). Minutes: Revised and approved October minutes. Reviewed and approved November 13, 2008 meeting minutes. Snow Plowing: Peggy distributed copies of a document dated November 20, “Recommendations Regarding Snow Removal for the Minuteman Bikeway” outlining the terms of the snow plowing pilot as agreed to between LBAC representatives and town staff. Dave Pinsonneault said he hoped to clarify aspects of what the DPW is planning to do and emphasized that a delay in plowing after storms needs to be expected. The contractors and town staff will complete sidewalk plowing first, so that most sidewalks will be clear the day after a storm. It will probably be another day before the Bikeway can be cleared, longer if the storm is severe. The machine will be a 48- or 50-inch blower; an eight foot width will be clear with two passes. Since there will be a delay, snow compaction may occur on the Bikeway from users walking or skiing. The rate charged will be $65/hour for machine and driver; he estimates that the two passes will take a minimum of six hours (which is what a dry run took earlier in the fall); eight to ten hours may be a better estimate. In a discussion about what sort of hand-clearing might be needed around the gates or on street sides, Dave said that he will try to coordinate the street plows so that extra snow is not piled on the crossings, thus adding to the time it takes to clear the Bikeway. Dave was asked to ensure that the person who plows the parking lot behind CVS not to dump snow on the Bikeway and to clear the center Bikeway (Woburn to Revere to Bedford) as soon as possible. The committee agreed that the snowblower should stop at Westview, just before Bedford. The committee agreed to monitor the plowing after each storm and to communicate with Dave if there are adjustments to suggest. Dave agreed to email Peggy when the Bikeway is ready to be cleared. Members volunteered to monitor sections of the Bikeway as follows: Laurel: Bow Street to Waldorf area; George: Waldorf area to Maple; John: Maple to Woburn; Jerry: Woburn to Hancock; Stew: Hancock to Bedford; Peggy: Bedford to Hartwell and beyond. Jerry pointed out that there are 62 or more miles of sidewalks in Lexington, and Dave said that four sidewalk plowers have seven different routes, and that they plow at the rate of about 4-8 mph. The committee discussed Tom Fortmann’s e-mail suggestion about plowing only one 48-inch width and agreed that it had decided against this option in earlier discussions. Peggy will respond to Tom. Dave stated that the Bikeway would be striped as soon as the paint comes in and on the first good day weather-wise. He will also install the bike rack donated by Jerry Slack in the designated space. John Frey will send him the installation diagram, and Marita will give him the brass plaque and “No Biking on Center Sidewalks” plaque. Fog Line/Bike Lane Subcommittee Update: Richard Canale distributed letters from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and a letter from the Regional Transportation Advisory Council, both addressing the need for street design to accommodate all modes of transport -- walking, cycling, as well as automobile. Richard recommended that members familiarize themselves with some of the data and recommendations in the 2008 Mass Highway design manual – i.e., Chapter 16 on Traffic Calming and Traffic Management and Chapter 5, Exhibit 5-6, “Summary of Multi-modal Accommodation Options” which may be very helpful as the argument is made for improving striping and fog lanes on major town streets and roads.. The committee discussed the importance of meeting with the new Town Engineer soon after he begins working in early January. Richard Canale suggested we set priorities for those streets that are most dangerous to cyclists, keeping the reconstruction plans of these streets in mind as we do so. The game is changing, he said; “straight-wide-fast doesn’t work.” We may also be able to weigh in on how mitigation money is spent when a developer requests building permits from the town. Jerry reported that the town soon will have available on computer new aerial survey data for on-screen measurement of the width of all the streets that are candidates for side striping. Currently, these data are taken from maps that are dated and need checking, as roadway width can change with rebuilding and resurfacing projects. Wayne Brooks has the list of candidate streets and will enter the street width data on a spreadsheet when it is available, from which we can then recommend fog line locations suitable for each particular street. In the end, we agreed that the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee should advocate for equal and safe accommodation on major and some minor town arterials. Jerry and Richard agreed will to draft a letter, to be signed jointly by LBAC and the Traffic Mitigation Group, addressed to the Selectmen and the Town Manager stating a) that cyclists are at risk on many streets in town because of poor or non-existent bike lane striping; b) proposing that new standards for fog line striping will serve to both slow down traffic as well as provide wider lanes for bicycle traffic. The proposal may contain a list of streets in order of priority or suggest that streets under reconstruction be at the head of the list. The committee will review the draft at the January meeting. A copy of the letter will also be forwarded to the new town engineer. New Benches on Bikeway: Stew and Richard Spencer observed one new bench across from the Visitors’ Center and one cement platform prepared for two more benches which appear to be too close to the Bikeway to have proper safe clearance for cyclists and joggers. Peg will check with Lynne Pease as to their placement. Annual Town Report : Peg will e-mail a draft stating the highlights of our year for us to review. Setting Priorities : Next month the committee agreed will prioritize on the areas to focus on during the first half of 2009. The LBAC meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Record of Friends of Lexington Bikeways Discussion : Treasurer’s Report: Rich Spencer reported that FoLB received $430 in contributions and dues since our November meeting, including $350 in memory of Charles Herlihy. The current balance is $3886.32. Abe gave Richard an additional $675 in checks and $35.00 in cash to be deposited toward the plowing initiative. Abe will send thank you notes to contributors, both for the plowing and toward the memory of Charles Herlihy. To help fund raise, George suggested we offer sponsorships for sections of the Bikeway (“adopt-a-section”), or that we list contributors in the Minuteman as is done with tree lighting. Suggestions for good candidates for contributions are town realtors, Lincoln Lab, Season Four, Wilson’s Farm, Crafty Yankee, Shire, the Meriam Hill association, and 3M. Peggy proposed calling all those who signed the plowing petition seeking contributions. Finally, the idea of an annual FoLB potluck was discussed and enthusiastically endorsed as a way to attract new members and encourage more active participation from all members, perhaps with a business recruited to sponsor the food. No date was set. January Newsletter : Laurel proposed a January Newsletter focusing on plowing the Bikeway and highlights of the year. She proposed having our members e- mail articles for inclusion. E-mail and snail mail options for delivering the newsletter were discussed. Rails-to-Trails Sign . Marita will facilitate erecting the sign on the Bikeway at Bedford Street. Donation: Two OS20 Gear Cycling Jerseys have been offered to help fund raise for the plowing pilot. These may be used as a raffle, auction, or door prize at the proposed pot-luck dinner this winter. Archives : The Lexington Historical Society will keep photos of our bikeway events. Marita will mark photos with names, dates, and event. Jerry Van Hook has additional photos to be stored. Biking on Center Sidewalks : Stew reported that Andy Freidlich had an idea for placing no-riding-on-the-sidewalk stickers on trash barrels in the center. Stew will follow-up on consulting with the tourism committee, having bumper stickers made, etc. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Information Distributed: ?? Agenda for December 11 meeting ?? Draft minutes from November 13 meeting ?? Proposed changes to October 9 meeting minutes ?? “Recommendations Regarding Snow Removal” ?? Letters from Mass Highway (January 2006), Regional Transportation Advisory Council (October 2008), and Massachusetts Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board (August 2008) ?? LBAC Membership List (as of December 2008) Recorders : Marita Hartshorn and Abe Shenker Editor : Peggy Enders Next Meeting : January 8, 2009, 7 p.m., in the Legion Room, Second Floor, Cary Memorial Building.