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Home My WebLink About2008-01-10-LBAC-min o�`Ov5 1775 MOgN� tic Q j{ - ga� APRIL 14 �FXI NGT°� MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting. January 10, 2008, 7 00 pm, Rm 111 Members Present: Stew Kennedy (BAC chair), Harvey Bingham, Peg Enders, Sandra Shaw (Recreation), John Frey, Manta Hartshorn, Abe Shenker, Mike Tabaczynski, Jerry VanHook Others Present: Rich Spencer, Bob Dangel, David Gingold, Gladys Bingham, Carolyn Siccama, Jim Wichmann, Terry Gleason Members Absent: Richard Canale (Planning), George Gagliardi, Hank Manz (Selectmen) Record of Votes taken and issues discussed. Minutes from the November meeting were reviewed and approved as submitted. Terry Gleason of Bedford's Friends of the Bikeway talked to us of the difficulty they are experiencing in Bedford getting close cooperation between Bike and Trails committees This is particularly hindering advancement of the Minuteman Connector("Reformatory Branch") proposed project He is looking for evidence that bikeways don't create problems for adjacent conservation lands, and is interested in learning from Lexington's experiences Discussion followed of how Lexington has developed good, working relationships between LBAC, Recreation, and Conservation to the benefits of all interests Various trail improvement projects in conservation lands, Rec-Dept bike paths, and the West Lexington Greenway are examples of the results of collaborative efforts All present celebrated Harvey Bingham's many contributions and accomplishments furthering bicycling and the bike community in Lexington. We shared a cake made by Manta and reminisced about Harvey's years on the LBAC Hartwell Avenue update As a daily commuter there, Terry summarized experiences to date of the traffic effects from the restnping. Peggy added her husband's experiences as a commuter there and complaints he has heard about traffic backups queues have gotten worse It has been clear that a period of adjustment to the new conditions was necessary Since the first week, Terry finds things have calmed down. The Bedford Police seem to have stopped being particularly concerned. Terry has observed that big backups occur on days when Google Earth reports extra delays on Rte 128 South and/or at the Rte 3 and Rte 128 interchange Cut-through traffic in Bedford then clogs Bedford roads in the Hartwell area and Hartwell Ave itself. `Ov5 gN/ o� 1775MOtic (� ? Q j{ - APRIL I T �FXl rvGTO� SWC and TMG Report: Jerry came from and reported on a concurrent public hearing on sidewalks for Spring St and Hayden Ave Shire Pharmaceuticals has agreed to fund these, as part of their TDM efforts The west side of Spring and the north side of Hayden were chosen. An additional benefit of these new sidewalks will be opportunities for office workers in the area to walk at lunchtime It was agreed we should look into the possibility of getting Patriot Partners to open up the old fire road through their property that connects Spring St to Lincoln St This would provide a key off-road connection of these excellent walking areas Snowplowing the Bikeway in Arlington Arlington has commenced a trial program of plowing the Bikeway after snowstorms To get a sense of the effect, Mike biked it on Sunday, January 5 (and took photos to show us )He found heavy usage by walkers and people with strollers, but very few bikers He saw hundreds of people out enjoying the Bikeway Stew learned that even with the six storms that required clearing in December, Arlington had spent for the month only $1584 for plowing and sanding. He heard from the Arlington Planning Office that public feedback has been generally favorable Mike observed that people seemed less conscious of path sharing than usual And the shoulder buildup after several plowings also suggests that our recommendation for plowing only half the path (a sidewalk's width) in Lexington may need to be reconsidered. We agreed to wait until the end of this season to see what else Arlington learns from their experimental program and then revisit our position on plowing. North— South Bike Route Abe and Peg are interested in developing bike lanes in a north - south direction between the Center and Concord Avenue and between the Waltham line and the Burlington line There is interest in the committee to take this on as a future project We should look at the proposed routes in the Comprehensive Plan as a first step Environmental Bond Bill The LBAC voted unanimously to go on record in support of the Environmental Bond bill currently before the state legislature Woburn Street crossing We looked at new optional designs for the Bikeway crossing of Woburn St that were provided by Engineering. Stew will feed our comments back to Dave Cannon. Dave expects to hold a public hearing on Woburn St design changes later this winter Meeting adjourned. Record of Friends of Lexington Bikeways votes and discussions. Treasurer's Report Rich reported that the treasury now contains $2093 13 `Ov5 gN/ o� 1775MOtic - Q2. F APRIL 14 MAPC Bike Racks Manta reported the HDC approved all six of the bike rack locations in the center requested at the December 7 meeting. This includes the one for the front of the post office, which still needs Postmaster approval (The Lexington office manager favors it and has requested his boss's approval.) Manta will write a letter thanking David Pinsonneault for his excellent help with this process Clarke Bridge project Peg reported that Steve Flynn, Principal at Clarke, will be meeting Friday with the architect who is designing the bridge repair He will relay the plans or status to Peg who will then let Mike know It's not clear if this will provide detailed plans or Just concepts Environmental Bond Bill The FoLB also voted unanimously to go on record in support of the Environmental Bond bill currently before the state legislature Other business Stew suggested that FoLB fund the cost of the West Lexington Greenway website, and the motion was approved. Mike will design the website Stew has a bill from the MAPC bike rack HDC meeting for repro costs for reimbursement The first West Lexington Greenway public meeting will be on January 16 and members were encouraged to attend. Manta will promote the FoLB newsletter in the letter to the Minuteman she plans to submit regarding the Bikes not Bombs program. Harvey submitted his box of Bikeway related historical records to the Historical Society Meeting adjourned Information Distributed Draft minutes for November 2007 meeting Minuteman Bicycle Path - Winter Snow Clearing Report by Arlington DPW Recorder(s) Abe Shenker and Manta Hartshorn, Stew Kennedy (editor) Next Meeting February 14, 2008, 7PM, Room 111 in Town Office Building