HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-10-LBAC-min
MEETING MINUTES
Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee
Date, Time and Location of Meeting:
May 10, 2007; 7:00 pm; Rm 111
Members Present:
Stew Kennedy (BAC chair), Harvey Bingham, John Frey, Abe
Shenker (FOLB Chair), Mike Tabaczynski, Jerry Van Hook
Others Present:
Rich Spencer (FOLB), Bob Dangel, Peg Enders, Dick Fleiss
Members Absent:
George Gagliardi, Marita Hartshorn, Hank Manz (Selectmen), Sandra
Shaw (Recreation), Jim Wichmann
Record of Votes taken and issues discussed.
Minutes
from the April meeting were reviewed and approved as submitted.
West Lexington Greenway project status:
Mike reported that work is progressing well
on drafting of the RFP (Request for Proposals), with the goal to have the contract
awarded and work on the Master Plan started this summer.
Hartwell Ave. / TMG / Sidewalk Committee report:
Jerry announced that he has
agreed to chair the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) for the next year. He related that an
important goal of SWC is to continue to expand and solidify the Safe Routes to Schools
(SRTS) program they started in town. Bob Dangel, who serves on the board of MassBike,
said that MassBike is very interested in promoting SRTS and has money available to
grant to a good program. It is recommended that the SWC pursue this.
Jerry reported that the Hartwell Ave. traffic study has now been started by the consultant,
BSG.
Request for table by Bikeway during event:
Dick Fleiss, a York St. resident, brought
forward a request for permission for the Massachusetts Chapter of the Alzheimer's
Association to place a table somewhere along the Bikeway in Lexington for four hours on
a weekend day in June to promote its 11th annual Memory Ride. The actual event will be
on July 28 at Devon. They feel their target audience for this fund raiser will be well
represented on the Minuteman. At the table, reps of their association will hand out
literature to interested riders about the event. They prefer June 2, with June 3 as a rain
date. We suggested a good spot - with good visibility for their purposes but away from
busy shopping and historic-area foot traffic - would be west of where Fletcher Ave
crosses the Bikeway: near the White House parking lot. We also stipulated that the table
should be well off the Bikeway pavement so as not to pose any obstruction to Bikeway
users, that any signs be removed and the area be cleaned up afterwards. Mr. Fleiss agreed
to all these stipulations, and agreed to put the request in writing so Stew can forward the
request and our recommendations to the Town Manager.
Teepees and safety:
A discussion was held about the several “teepees” of tree branches
and sticks put up (by kids) beside the Bikeway east of Maple St. They are seen by some
members as innocuous signs of old-fashioned play. For others, the structures’ nearness to
the Bikeway pavement raises safety concerns and also suggests it’s OK to put up
whatever you want in the right-of-way. Stew agreed to try to locate families of the kids
involved get the materials moved back further from the pavement, and to get a promise
that material will be properly removed when no longer “in play”. This issue should be
revisited to decide if a general policy is needed.
Paint fumes at Mal’s Towing:
Abe asked if others have noticed the sometimes strong
paint fumes in the air when passing Mal’s towing on the Bikeway. It was agreed that
although smelly and unpleasant, there’s probably not a lot we can do to prevent them.
Abe will at least send a message to Hank so we have this on record as another complaint
about the impingement of that business on Bikeway use.
Other Business:
Abe reported the significant safety problem for bicyclists on Mass Ave
eastbound at the Pleasant St. “rotary”. We agreed we should register our concerns with
this intersection to the town.
Rich commented that the new parking lot behind Nstar is encroaching on the Bikeway
right of way. Stew answered that improvements are planned and there will be benefits.
Abe asked if the letter he had drafted for Stew to send to Fire Chief Middlemiss got sent.
Stew hadn’t sent it and appreciated the reminder, intending to send it out directly.
Meeting adjourned.
Record of Friends of Lexington Bikeways votes and discussions.
Treasurer’s Report
: Balance unchanged at $2,031.30.
FOLB Blog:
Abe reported he posted the recent articles written for the nascent newsletter
on the FOLB blogspot, which is found at http://folb.blogspot.com/. Members were
encouraged to check it out, and sign up themselves, and consider submitting pertinent
info to the blogspot. Kudos to Abe for getting this going.
Bikeway Cleanup review:
All agreed that the May 5 cleanup was quite successful.
About 44 volunteers gathered up about 28 bags of trash and left them at various
intersections. The Bikeway looks very clean, and quite a few new volunteers and passers-
by learned the important role of volunteers in keeping the Bikeway presentable. Thanks
and kudos to all who participated.
Discovery Day table:
CLC has offered to let us (and the Conservation Stewards) share
their table on May 26. We decided to take them up on the offer. Now we should let CLC
know who from the FOLB will be available to spend time helping to staff the table.
Miscellaneous:
First time visitors Peg Enders and Dick Fleiss both indicated they are
interested in the work of the LBAC and the FOLB and would like to receive pertinent
email notices, meeting announcements, etc. They both also showed interest in attending
future meetings and were happily invited to do so. Their email addresses are Peg:
peggy@mit.edu and Dick: rfleiss@rcn.com . They should be added to your group address
lists, if you maintain such.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Information Distributed:
Draft minutes from May 2007 meeting
Recorder Name:
Harvey Bingham (scribe); Stew Kennedy (editor)
Next Meeting: June 14, 2007, 7PM, Room 111 in Town Office Building