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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-03-WALKS-minLexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, December 3, 2012, 9 AM Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Office Building Present: Jeanne Canale, Judy Crocker, Mary Hosmer Fanucci, Bettina McGimsey, Francine Stieglitz, Jerry van Hook,; Liaisons: Elaine Celi (Transportation), Hank Manz (BOS), Marc Valenti (DPW); Guests: Dave Cannon (DPW), John Livsey (DPW), Karen Stulck The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order at 9:05 AM. 1. Proposed Mass Ave and Pleasant/Maple/Marrett St Intersection: Dave Cannon of the Town Engineering Department provided the SWC with an overview of plans for intersection improvements on Massachusetts Avenue at the intersections with Pleasant Street, Maple Street, and Marrett Street. He also provided feedback on the plans from public meetings held with abutters and neighborhood residents in November. The current plan is to submit the plans for funding to State Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) at a figure of approximately $546 million. According to the plan, along Mass Ave there will be parking spaces, bump -outs, and enough room for bike lanes. The intersection at Marrett will have a traffic signal with two crosswalks. At both Maple and Pleasant both a roundabout and a traffic signal were on the table to improve the intersections. For Maple, the roundabout would require two lanes, resulting in right -of -way issues. A traffic signal at the intersection would be interconnected with the one at Marrett to facilitate good traffic flow. From the feedback at the public meeting, Mr. Cannon said that they have decided to move forward with a traffic signal as this would leave more green space and result in a safer intersection for pedestrians. Only the plans for the signalized intersection at Maple will be submitted to TIP. At Pleasant Street, a roundabout would require a two lane approach on Mass Ave eastbound, one lane to continue straight, with the other providing the right turn on to Pleasant Street. It would also need to be off center to avoid right -of -way issues. A roundabout would be less expensive than a signal since there would be no need for machinery. However, there would be better flow of traffic with a signal because a roundabout will cause inherent queuing problems between rush hour volume and Waldorf School dismissal times. Judy Crocker asked about the opinions of the abutters regarding a roundabout vs. a traffic signal at Pleasant. Mr. Cannon noted that feedback from the neighborhood has been mixed. Some abutters favor the roundabout, noting that three traffic signals in a short distance ( Marrett, Maple, Pleasant) would be too many. Others, including the Waldorf School, favor a signal. Per the school, a traffic signal would be better due to their dropoff and pickup queues and would help facilitate their access to the intersection. Jerry van Hook noted that the Town Engineering Department should look into and comment on pedestrian safety at a roundabout on Pleasant and Mass Ave. Given that there would be no pedestrian crossing lights, but only crosswalks, the many pedestrians who use this intersection to get to the two churches, the school, and Wilson Farms would be at more risk than if the intersection was signalized. He noted that when entering roundabouts, cars tend to focus on the traffic in the circle as opposed to pedestrians in crosswalks. With a signal it would be possible to have an exclusive pedestrian phase of the signal, stopping all vehicular traffic. He stated that he was opposed to the roundabout. Later in the discussion, both Ms. Crocker and Bettina McGimsey voiced their opposition as well. A discussion ensued regarding the proximity of the bike trail to this intersection. Both pedestrians and bikers could avoid the intersection completely by using the bike trail, with access to Mass Ave being most likely to be opened at the western edge of the Waldorf School property. Mr. Cannon noted that both options — a roundabout and a traffic signal - are on the table and will be submitted to the State. He further stated that the intent is not to optimize the intersection to allow cars to get through quickly, but rather to manage traffic and provide accommodation for pedestrians and bikes. Mr. van Hook asked whether additional public meetings would be held. Mr. Cannon is scheduled to meet with Wilson Farms to get their feedback. An additional public meeting will be held as well. The plans will then go to the Board of Selectmen and then ultimately to the State TIP. At that point there would be an additional public hearing. The timeline is that the plan would be submitted to the State by Spring, which would mean it would go to the Selectmen by March or April. The cost of this entire project to be submitted to TIP would be in the range of $546 million. If it was broken up into three smaller projects, the Town could possibly complete the project at a lower overall cost, because the level of planning would not need to be as extensive. Design for the State is more expensive, because the plans have to be more complete. 2. Robinson Road/Grove Street Update: John Livsey of Town Engineering gave the SWC an overview of improvements that will be made on Robinson Road and Grove Street in conjunction with the building of the new Estabrook Elementary School. These have been vetted by neighborhood abutters and have been through two design reviews. At Grove Street the issue to be solved is that the crest in the road east of the school exit makes for difficult sight lines for both vehicles and pedestrians. To solve this the plan is to lower the road by 1.5 feet. It will also be widened slightly on both sides. To make it easier to take turns out of Estabrook, the corner on the west side of the exit will be eased. The sidewalk across from the school entrance /exit will be widened slightly. This should all be done in June /July of 2013. Ms. Crocker noted that the additional space on the sidewalk is helpful to provide a landing place as children wait to cross the street. Mr. van Hook asked whether the crossing guard will continue to be there, and if not whether there could be a signal. Ms. Crocker noted that if you did that at Estabrook, you'd have to do it at all of the schools. Crossing guards are always at the intersections at the hours when children are walking to school. Further improvements will be made on Grove Street at Robinson Road to addresspoor sight lines. At that intersection,Robinson will pushed out slightly to allow for better sight lines. There will be a scored island in the middle of the intersection, as well as a crosswalk on the east side. Robinson will be an 18 -foot road throughout with a five -foot sidewalk. The sidewalk from Grove will begin on the east side of Robinson. Prior to the intersection with Turning Mill, the sidewalk will cross the street to continue to the end of Robinson. To cross the street, pedestrians will have use of a stop control to halt traffic for crossing. The redesign of Robinson Rd was funded by a special Town meeting this past Fa11.Work will start this summer. Mr. Livsey further reported that the sidewalks on Hayden Avenue have been completed. That project still needs some work on the bike lanes. 3. November minutes were approved as amended. 4. Updating Master Sidewalk List and Website: Marc Valenti provided the SWC with an overview of 2012 -2013 Sidewalk Reconstruction locations, as well as those locations for 2013 -2014. To determine the locations, he used the following process: • Review the Master Sidewalk List • Review a map that shows 2010 sidewalk conditions to isolate those sidewalks rated as poor or failed • Review requests that have been received from Town residents Jeanne Canale asked how the sidewalk conditions on the 2010 map had been assessed. Mr. Valenti said that it was a visual analysis by engineers who do the assessment. He was not sure if the map included all sidewalks in the Town. He will be updating the map and will do an overlay with the GIS. Based on the compiled list, the following sidewalks will be done in 2012 -2013: • Winthrop Road — new construction • Maintenance of downtown pavers • Bedford Road from Revere to the bike path (may be delayed due to water main construction on Bedford Road) • Phase 2 of path reconstruction between Worthen and Middleby • Ongoing maintenance on Muzzey Street • Mass Ave between Forest and Clarke • Parker Street from Mass Ave • East Street from Adams heading east • Drainage work behind Lincoln Field Sidewalk reconstruction for 2013 -2014 includes: • Baskin Road from Lincoln Field towards Loring Road • Forest Street from Mass Ave. • Taft Avenue from Mass Ave. • Continued maintenance of downtown pavers • Turning Mill from Robinson Road (while this road only benefits one neighborhood, it does help to enhance the pedestrian traffic in town) In terms of funding, Mr. Valenti will request additional funds for next year, raising the budget to $400K for sidewalk maintenance. The goal is to raise the budget requests incrementally until the budget available for sidewalk maintenance is between $500- $700K. Costs range from $25 /foot of asphalt sidewalk to $40 /foot for a concrete sidewalk. Generally, sidewalks are replaced in kind with no changes to materials. Mr. Valenti also noted that he had talked with TSAC regarding Prospect Hill and signage. For a sidewalk, the neighborhood will definitely need to go through the petition process. Francine Stieglitz has the old petition done a few years ago, but a new one is needed to include current abutters. A discussion was had regarding signage for school zones. Mr. Valenti said that he would have an engineering firm look at the school zones to assess what was needed. He noted that the signage that would be put in place would be whatever would put the Town into compliance with the law. S. Safe Routes to School: The committee is determining whether to march in the Patriots' Day Parade. They have begun car counts at the various school. Ms. Crocker noted that many children are being delivered by car to school, causing queues, which in turn has led to tardiness issues. It was noted that the gate at Clarke has been opened for arrival and dismissal. Fiveout of 13 Clarke buses which approach the school from the Concord Rd /Avalon on Waltham St area use this entrance and are arriving at school 10 minutes earlier than in the past. Abutters to the school are happy because parents are no longer turning around in their driveways. Only school buses are allowed to use the gate to access the school. School bus ridership has increased by 10% this year over last year thanks in great part to the bus fee subsidy. 6. Correspondence: No correspondence was received for the month. 7. New business: Ms. Stieglitz suggested that we have an Ask the Sidewalk Committee column with different types of questions. Ms. Crocker noted that in the past we did an article like this. She suggested that we find the article and put it on the website. Also we should put the snow removal policies on the website as well. 8. The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 AM. The next meeting of the Sidewalk Committee will take place on January 7, 2013, at 9 AM in the SMR. Respectfully submitted by, Bettina McGimsey