HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-07-WALKS-minLexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 7, 2013, 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: Hank Manz (BOS), Marc Valenti (DPW)
The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order at 9:05 AM.
1. Review of the December 2012 minutes: The minutes were approved as amended.
2. 2013 Meeting Calendar: Meetings of the SWC will be held on the 1s Monday of each month at 90 AM
in the Selectmen's Meeting Room. Judy Crocker's schedule was amended to reflect that the meetings
are held on Mondays.
3. Lexington Bike /Walk /Bus Week May 5 -11: A meeting will be held on 1/8/13 to organize this week. Ms.
Crocker will attend. The intent is to have it coincide with Lexington 300' activities, the May Safe
Routes to School walk in Lexington, and the final date for school bus registration. Jerry van Hook noted
that this would also tie into Bike to Work week.
4. Safe Routes to School: The Safe Routes committees are quiet due to the time of year.
5. Ad hoc School Transportation and Safety Study Committee (STS) Update: The last article submitted by
Ms. Crocker for this committee to the Minuteman was subsequently published in the December e-
newsletter of the National Association for Pupil Transportation. The article discussed how the middle
schools embody the new balancing fulcrum on the school transportation scale as this population drives
the flexibility of the Lexington tiered bus system.
Ms. Crocker noted a current problem of Diamond Middle School, which involves students walking out to
the traffic queue and attempting to board the buses before they arrive in the dedicated bus lane. C &W
has asked Diamond to keep the children in front of the school, while Diamond administration has said
that the bus drivers should not let the kids onto the buses. STS informed Dr. Paul Ash of the situation
at their last meeting. Elaine Cell is meeting with Diamond administration and C &W Transportation
presently.
Also raised in their last meeting with Dr. Ash was the importance of maintaining the parent fee for the
school bus at $300. Dr. Ash agreed and will submit the parent fee recommendation to the School
Committee as part of the LPS budget. In order to absorb this parent fee price point, the administration
will be asking to increase the transportation budget by $420,000. The STS is recommending that the
parent fee be subsidized at a cost of $300, provided parents register their children during the designated
registration period. Should the signup occur later than that date, there will be no subsidy and no family
cap. The STS and school administration is then recommending that parents then pay the actual cost of the
bus /student of $722.
Ms. Crocker then raised the issue of school zone signs, noting that signage is outdated and not
consistently in compliance with the law. Marc Valenti noted that he is working on a proposal to get
recommendations from transportation engineers to do a study evaluation. School signage and pavement
markings would be limited to the elementary and middle schools and would be consistent across the
schools. Mr. van Hook asked about the implementation cost for redoing the signage. Cost would be
determined based on the study findings. The major cost would be removing pavement markings. Ms.
Crocker noted that on Lowell Street a crosswalk has been moved, but the old markings still exist. A
suggestions was made that LED flashing speed limit signs be used on arterial streets. Jeanne Canale
asked about the source of funding for the study's recommendations. Mr. Valenti noted that he has the
money for the study, but is not sure where the funds for implementation would come from.
Ms. Crocker noted that a MAPC grant is available that might be able to cover the cost of this study.
Alternatively, there is a possibility that the grant could be used to look at crosswalks around town or to
create a curriculum piece to teach pedestrian/bicycle safety at the schools. Bettina McGimsey noted that
she had a curriculum piece currently in use at Hastings.
STS is also investigating the best practice for getting school grounds to be treated as legal public ways.
This would give the police jurisdiction in order to deal with traffic infractions on school property. TSAC
is trying to codify signage with the School Committee. If that does not work, STS will bring this issue
before Town Meeting to establish a town bylaw to give the Police Department jurisdiction on school
grounds.
6. Correspondence Log: Francine Stieglitz reported receiving a letter, which she sent to Mr. Valenti
regarding snow clearance issues at 100 -110 Concord. She forwarded an email from Tom Shiple to Mr.
Valenti, who had asked that the sidewalk between 10 and 12 Phinney Road be cleared of dirt and
grass. Mr. Valenti suggested that someone on the Committee visit the site, and Ms. Stieglitz agreed to do
so.
Mr. Valenti noted that the first snow removal had gone well. Snow removal contractors continue to
dump snow on sidewalks — it is supposed to remain on the resident's property. The dumping is illegal
but there is no way to enforce this. Mr. van Hook noted that the overall objective is to keep sidewalks
clear and the Town needs a law that says you can't obstruct sidewalks with anything, including snow, ice,
brush, etc. Ms. Canale asked about other town's practices in regards to this. Mr. Valenti said he could
send out a survey to find out what they do. In some towns the homeowner is required to keep the
sidewalk clear. Hank Manz noted that historically any rule that puts the onus on the homeowner never
makes it to Town Meeting. Mr. van Hook noted that there should be fine for putting snow on the streets
and sidewalks that the Town plows.
7. Updating Master Sidewalk List and Website: Mr. Valenti is currently working on the master list and the
planning for reconstruction in the Spring.
New and Old Business: Mr. Manz asked about the status of the crosswalk signs at Roosevelt and Wilson.
Mr. Valenti was unsure whether the signs will be moved to the other side of Roosevelt. He will check
with Dave Cannon to determine whether they will. Ms. McGimsey noted that if the crosswalk signs
can't be moved to the other side of the road where the crosswalk actually is, perhaps the stop signs
should be returned. It was also noted that at School and Marrett one of the stop signs is down.
Mr. van Hook presented comments for the SWC to consider regarding the plans for the intersection at
Mass Ave and Pleasant Street. The SWC is not taking a vote on this for the moment. We are waiting for
Dave Cannon to return to discuss this and then will take a vote and make a recommendation.
9. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 AM. The next meeting of the Sidewalk Committee will be
February 4 at 9 AM in the SMR.
Respectfully submitted by,
Bettina McGimsey