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LEXINGTON BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
December 8, 2005
The meeting was opened at 7:05 PM in Room 111 of the Town Office Building.
Those present were
SK: Stew Kennedy
JF: John Frey
MH: Marita Hartshorn
AS: Abe Shenker
RS: Richard Spencer
MT: Mike Tabaczynski
JVH: Jerry VanHook
SF: Steve Flemming
AS: DPW’s keeping to the requested mowing limitation (four feet each side) was well done this year. We should remember to remind
Dave Pinsonneault again next spring.
AS: Minutes approved as corrected by removing AS’s name as attendee.
Traffic Mitigation Group
SK: Passed out the charge for this new committee, which will have a liaison from LBAC. Any Hartwell Avenue bicycling/pedestrian
changes would come under this committee’s purview.
JVH: Comprehensive plan identifies many problems this committee can tackle. For instance, Mass Ave and Maple Street traffic light
needed. No crosswalks there.
SK: Comprehensive Plan recommends needed improvements for Hartwell Ave too.
SK: We need a primary contact for this committee to advocate for non-auto transportation.
JVH: It may be the opportunity to move these issues out of limbo.
JVH: Will take on the Hartwell issue.
JVH: Laura Cecere volunteered from the sidewalk committee.
JVH: Re: Middleby Road path the last house 40 Middleby Rd.
An 8000 sq ft house going there, building closer to the wetlands. Offering the sidewalk committee a betterment for a cul-de-sac.
Originally wanted to put two houses on lot; now just the big one.
JVH: Bridge School is now a model for safe routes to school.
HB: Is the Comprehensive Plan available? JVH has two copies – maybe one is SK’s missing copy.
MH: Nominate JVH to be our initial liaison to Traffic Mitigation Committee. JVH agreed, with understanding others of us will fill in
as interested or especially involved with certain issues. MSP.
Bike Racks at Depot
JF: LHS is offering commemorative bricks for paving the area behind the Depot. These special bricks will be inscribed with up to
three lines of text.
JVH: the LBAC unanimously agreed that the bike racks are part of the right-of-way, which comes right up to the edge of the building.
This is an issue.
SF: We should not have large groups standing that close to the active bikeway.
MH: There may not be space for a luggage cart.
LEXINGTON BICYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
December 8, 2005
JVH: Tom Fortmann was the one that suggested the luggage cart originally.
MH: MSP: Return both racks under the platform canopy.
MH: Agreed to draft letter to LHS stating our position that Bike racks should go back where they were before. Will forward the draft
to SK.
HB: Action: speak to Tom Fortmann.
MH: We should have a bulletin board for display of bicycle information.
HB: Pictures needed -- use last year’s.
Miscellaneous Issues
SK: Handed out a draft list of projects in various conservation lands that could be covered by the Community Preservation Act. This
was made by the Conservation Stewards Directors.
AS: Propose multiple rides around the various town areas. He will propose a route for a ride in the spring.
MT: Boardwalk construction costs about $15/foot.
JVH: The Sidewalk Committee has a website: Lucy Fletcher Jones put it up. Has map of town, how schools are organizing with safe
routes to get to schools.
SK: All our meetings in 2006 will be in this room: 111.
SK: No recent word on MWRA sewer work plan on Bikeway between Revere St. and Brigham Lane. Terry Flynn is MWRA project
engineer. Last we heard they had hoped to start this fall. They have promised to keep us “in the loop” on the project.
MH: MH and SK met with Carl Valente and Linda Crew Vine to discuss right of conveyance and get advice on next step. As a result,
wrote a letter to Mrs. Byrne, signed by SK and MT, informing her of plans for a 4-foot-wide wooden boardwalk on Blossomcrest
connecting to trail over (Meadow Brook Ave.) paper street on her land. Money will come from the Commonwealth Department of
Conservation and Recreation grant. Jere Frick offered to help if necessary with this contact with Mrs. Byrne.
SK: Passed around a newsletter addressed to us from the Metropolitan Area Planning Committee’s Transportation Planning
Organization. See www.bostonmpo.org for details. There is to be an open house Tuesday Jan 17 at the Transportation Building in
Boston to unveil the preliminary update for the Regional Transportation Plan.
MH: Who’s interested in XX skiing the Bruce Freeman Trail sometime this winter? Offered to organize an outing there.
RS: From Boston Globe Nov 10: Bedford funds $500K of community preservation funds to extend the path from Railroad Ave to
Concord Road.
JVH: attended meeting: 2 mile path from existing parking lot off Railroad Ave. to near Rte 62 crossing. Probably will decide on
blacktop rather than stone dust. The Bedford DPW has replaced the stone dust on the narrowgage trail four times already.
MH: Hiked in Arlington’s Great Meadows over Thanksgiving and was pleased to see many users of new trails / boardwalks.
MT: Vandalism of the boardwalk has ceased for now.
SF: We welcomed Steve Flemming, 9 years in Lexington, from London. Lives on Orchard Lane, off Sanderson Rd, off Lowell St.
Regular Bikeway user, and is most interested in mountain biking.
MH: MSP: Adjourn 8:37