HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-12-LBAC-min
MEETING MINUTES
Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee
Date, Time and Location of Meeting:
April 12, 2007; 7:00 pm; Rm 111
Members Present:
Stew Kennedy (BAC chair), Harvey Bingham, John Frey, Marita
Hartshorn, Abe Shenker (FOLB Chair) Mike Tabaczynski, Jerry Van Hook
Others Present:
Rich Spencer (FOLB), Dick Canale (Planning Board), Bob Dangel
Members Absent:
George Gagliardi, Hank Manz (Selectmen), Sandra Shaw
(Recreation), Jim Wichmann
Record of Votes taken and issues discussed.
Minutes
from the March meeting were reviewed and approved as corrected.
MassHighway talk on trail surfaces:
Mike reported on the Bruce Freeman Trail Friends
Group meeting he attended in Sudbury at which a transportation trail surface expert from
MassHighway was the speaker. Interesting information included the competitive cost of
asphalt paving over stabilized stone dust, and the probable need, to meet wheel-chair
accessibility criteria, for a path with grade around 3% or higher, to be paved. This will be
pertinent in WLG planning. The MassHighway rep detailed some of the design problems
with the (stabilized stone dust) Battle Road trail in the National Park.
Arlington’s Snow Plowing of Bikeway:
Stew had been contacted by Jeff Roth, on
behalf of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, asking what Lexington’s reaction
might be if Arlington were to experiment with snow-plowing all or parts of Arlington’s
stretch of the Bikeway. After much discussion of the issue, on both pro and con sides, it
was agreed by unanimous vote that our committee would be interested in seeing what the
outcome of plowing would be. Stew will thus let Jeff know we see no problem with
Arlington’s giving plowing a try.
West Lexington Greenway project status:
Mike reported that the Master Plan funding
request got Town Meeting approval. Work is now underway to produce the RFP (Request
for Proposals), with volunteers initiating the task description and Karen Mullins and
Karen Simmons in charge of finalizing the RFP. The (aggressive) goal is to have the RFP
finished by the end of May.
Hartwell Ave. / TMG / Sidewalk Committee report:
Jerry brought us up to speed on
his recent liaison activities. The traffic / safety study on Hartwell Avenue has been
awarded to BSG (Boston Survey Group). A BSG member, Samuel Offei-Addo, spoke at
the recent TMG meeting about how they will conduct the count. Focus will be on current
conditions. It was gratifying to find that BSG understands their job is to determine what
can be done to make Hartwell safe for bicyclists and pedestrians. The count will be done
soon this spring.
Dick reported on the Regional Bicycle Plan, recently produced by the Boston MPO
(Metropolitan Planning Office). It is available on-line at www.mapc.org. He encouraged
us to study it and make sure our activities and plans in Lexington are reported to Barbara
Lucas, for inclusion in updates. For instance the West Lexington Greenway plans are not
reflected in this plan, but they should be. Stew agreed to draft a letter to the MPO about
the WLG Master Plan and to keep Ms. Lucas advised as activities progress. Dick
explained that the MPO’s model is for the communities represented to lead the planning
efforts, with key support then coming from the federally mandated MPO. Within the
MPO umbrella, the MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Council) is the principal agency
supporting bicycling project developments. Barbara Lucas is the recommended contact at
the MAPC.
Meeting adjourned.
Record of Friends of Lexington Bikeways votes and discussions.
Treasurer’s Report
: Balance unchanged at $2,031.30.
FOLB Blog:
Abe proposed that we establish a blog as a way to better communicate with
each other and the bikeway community in Lexington. Blogs are an easy way to post
articles and get feedback in the form of comments from readers via the web and internet.
Blogs can be viewed as web pages, using special blog readers, or they can be delivered
via email. They have a dated repository of recent posts and archive old posts, making
them easier to maintain than a traditional web site. They can also be used as traditional
newsletters have been used. It was noted that this technology might be interesting to
other town committees as well.
Abe went ahead and created a blog, which can be viewed and subscribed to at
http://folb.blogspot.com/
MAPC Bike Rack Program:
Marita reported that the Rec Department is requesting a
rack for each ball field in town. Dave Pinsonneault, who is coordinating the application
and is combining our recommendations with those from the Recreation Department,
remains concerned about where the up-front money will be found. Marita will speak with
him about our idea of requesting it from the Blossom Fund. She reminded us the deadline
for applying is fall this year.
Newsletter Mailing:
Not yet done.
Spring Cleanup:
Stew reported on a meeting with the Arlington BAC rep and the
managers of the two Starbucks stores in Lexington and the two in Arlington.Starbucks
will try to do a better job this year of advertising the May 5 event, and is committing time
on that day from each of their managers. We agreed on our cleanup leaders and their
respective sections: Abe – Arlington line to Waldorf School, starting at Fottler; George –
Maple St to Waldorf School; Rich – Maple St to Seasons Four; John – Seasons Four
toward Woburn St; Marita – Woburn St toward Seasons Four; Jerry – Hancock St to
Woburn St, starting at the Depot; Stew – Bedford St to Hancock St, starting at Camilia
Way; Harvey – Bedford St to Bedford line; Mike – riding the Bikeway with his trailer
full of tools and water, acting as a coordinator. We will also get an announcement letter
printed in the Lexington Minuteman in the May 3 edition.
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.
Meeting adjourned at 9:08 PM.
Information Distributed:
Draft minutes from March 2007 meeting
Recorder Name:
Harvey Bingham (scribe); Stew Kennedy (editor)
Next Meeting: May 10, 2007, 7PM, Room 111 in Town Office Building