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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-13-LBAC-min MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting: November 13, 2008, 7 pm; Rm 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. Others Present: Rich Spencer, Paolo Marinelli, Sam Shenker Members Absent: Hank Manz, (Selectmen’s Liaison), Sandra Shaw(Recreation), George Gagliardi. Minutes: Reviewed and approved October 9 meeting minutes. th Snow Plowing: Peggy reported on the November 10 Selectmen’s meeting, where Bikeway plowing was discussed once again and where Carl Valente asked for a response from LBAC with respect to the town’s continuing concerns about safety. The committee discussed a number of ideas that might improve wintertime safety on the Bikeway, including temporary bollards (large weighted barrels, orange cones), improving sight lines (removing bushes at intersections), and improving signage. We decided that the best course of action this winter is simply to ask the Selectmen for permission to plow the path this winter through volunteers and withdraw our request for use of town funds. The group agreed to request that the gates be opened for the winter and that the bollards be removed to allow the truck plow access to the Bikeway. We will request that a traffic barrel be placed in the center of the gap at gated intersections. We will pursue improved signage and sight lines. The Selectmen will discuss this issue again at their meeting on November 24; Abe Shenker agreed to prepare the presentation. Laurel Carpenter will assemble a group email list of people interested in Bikeway issues. Peggy and Stew reported that in a meeting with Dave Pinsonneault he said that beginning next spring the DPW (i.e., Dave Cannon) plans to remove all the gates permanently and replace them with a three bollard system -- each 5 feet apart -- that complies with federal standards. Jerry expressed some concerns about that plan, saying that he thought it not safe to remove the gates and asked how a three-bollard system was any safer than two bollards. Paths Summit: (Hank Manz) Although Hank was not at the meeting to report on his idea for a group gathering to discuss Lexington paths in general, members agreed that the LBAC wholeheartedly supports this endeavor. Fog Lines/Bike Lanes: Jerry reminded the group about plans for striping Lowell Street, saying that the Traffic Mitigation Committee,in an attempt to calm traffic and provide bicycle space on high volume roads, is in the process of identifying streets where fog lane striping might be improved. Peggy asked that LBAC committee members help to identify these streets and said she would send around the list of streets that have been identified as high volume (“red streets”) and ask whether other streets ought to be on the list. Richard Canale said that Sue Yanofsky is developing a list of streets with certain characteristics contained in Massachusetts guidelines that describe five ways of accommodating bicyclists. He and Jerry agreed to work together as a small subcommittee to develop a proposal from LBAC to the town regarding fog lanes. Mike said that a proposal to stripe streets with wider fog lanes (and thus narrower traffic lanes) should be sold to the town as being an excellent way to provide traffic calming. It was suggested that this might be a good discussion item for the next 4-towns meeting. Other Business: Abe proposed that we set specific goals for each quarter to help us focus on specific issues. Stew and Peg met with Dave Pinsonneault, who said he plans to finish the installation of the bike rack at the post office by putting stone dust under the rack. He also intends to install the Jerry Slack bike rack in the designated space behind the Depot. Peggy announced the upcoming Spring Street sidewalk hearing. Meeting Adjourned at 8:30 pm. Record of Friends of Lexington Bikeways discussion Treasurer’s Report : Rich reported that last month’s balance began at $2,648. Monthly income came from donations for the Hall of Fame Event ($1,349), donations for Charles Herlihy ($360), and FoLB dues ($70). Expenses included bumper stickers and costs of the Hall of Fame Celebration. He reported the current balance as $3,456. Ideas for Spending FoLB income : A number of ideas were discussed for spending the income received from the Hall of Fame celebration and the Herlihy memorials. Starting an endowment with this income was suggested, as was a “Herlihy Lexington Trust”, investing in capital improvements and developing educational materials. Moving Together Bicycle and Pedestrian Conference. Laurel Carpenter reported on this Boston conference. She was particularly impressed with the wide rage of attendees such as town selectmen, town engineers, DPW personnel, and police officers. We agreed to encourage our town officials to attend next year and possibly to fund their registration. FoLB Website : Laurel Carpenter is working with Candy McLaughlin to improve our website, including links to a list of members, meeting notes, and charter. We discussed establishing a wiki to permit everyone to contribute to the site. Archives : Marita Hartshorn contacted the Lexington Historical Society; they will be happy to store our photos. Peggy will store our supplies and the banner. We talked about what to do with the five Hall of Fame signs and agreed to share ideas at next month’s meeting. Other Business: We learned that each gate on the Bikeway was artistically and individually designed and crafted. Perhaps we, or the town, will have a specific use for the gates when they are removed. Meeting adjourned at 9:05 pm. Information Distributed: ?? Agenda for November 13 meeting ?? Draft minutes from October 9 meeting ?? Email from Jerry Van Hook to Dave Cannon: Sideline striping on town roads (10-13-08) Recorder: Marita Hartshorn Editor: Peggy Enders Next Meeting: Scheduled for 7 PM, Thursday, December 11, 2008, in Room 111 of the Town Office Building.