HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-03-WALKS-minLexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes
Monday, June 3, 2013, 9 AM
Estabrook Room of Cary Hall
Present: Judy Crocker, Mary Hosmer Fanucci, Bettina McGimsey, Sean Osborne, Francine Stieglitz, Jerry
Van Hook; Members absent:, Jeanne Canale;Liaisons: Hank Manz(BOS), Marc Valenti (DPW), Elaine Cell
(Transportation); Guests: Nick Havan, Nairi Havan
The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order at 9:07 AM by Judy Crocker.
1. Welcome Sean Osborne: Ms. Crockerstarted the meeting by welcoming Sean Osborne as the newest
member of the SWC.
2. Citizen's request for sidewalk on Marrett Road between Cary Avenue and Lincoln Street: Nick Havan of
555 Marrett Road presented his case for a sidewalk on the east side of Marrett Road between Cary Avenue
and Lincoln Street. He noted that his family had moved to this location to be close to schools and Lincoln
Field. However, due to the fact that there is neither a sidewalk on his side nor a crosswalk to get to the
other side, reaching those destinations is difficult. This situation, he noted, is exacerbated when there are
snow drifts on the road. A further danger is that the school buses that service the houses along this stretch
of Marrett stop on the other side of the road, making it quite hazardous for children to catch their bus.
Further, Marrett Road is a state roadway with a posted mph of 30, but in reality cars are driving much
faster than that.
Mr. Havan noted, that since pipes are being laid on Marrett Road, this might be a good time to consider
putting in a sidewalk. He also said that there is room for a sidewalk — of the seven or eight house along
this route, all have setbacks that are empty. He noted that he had discussed all of this with Dave Cannon of
DPW who had suggested he begin his process by coming to the SWC. Ms. Crocker then stated that,
because Marrettt Road is a state road, the process will take some time but the first step would be to start a
petition. Mr. Havan informed her that he had already gotten signatures from the houses along the sidewalk
route. Ms Crocker recommended that he get more signatures, including all abutters and the surrounding
area, to show the strength of neighborhood support. The SWC would then review the petition at a meeting
where both supporters and those opposed would be able to voice their opinions. Then it would go to the
BOS at which the SWC would make a recommendation. Following this, the proposal would go to Town
Meeting; if the funding for a study was approved there, engineering would be involved and ultimately this
would go to the BOS for a final vote. Mr. Havan asked how long a process this is — it was noted that
Concord Ave took 2 '/2 years to pass.
Mr. Van Hook then asked if certified letters should be sent to direct abutters. Ms. Crocker noted that the
work done on the Winthrop Road sidewalk petition had raised some issues about the Resident Guidelines
that may need to be clarified. Ms. Stieglitz suggested that all signatures on the petition should be dated; all
of those who are opposed should be listed in a separate document, ideally with a dated note of why they
were opposed. Mr. Osborne suggested that this document be treated like a seminar sign -in sheet: name,
address, what did they say. When Mr. Havan returns to the SWC, he would ideally bring a map, petition
signatures, and anyone else who wants a voice in this discussion.
3. Review of meeting minutes from April 29: The minutes were approved as amended.
4. Correspondence log: Ms. Stieglitz noted that she had sent an email to Mr. Valenti regarding the dangers
of crossing Hancock Street at Diamond Middle School, including large bushes and a lack of stop signs.
Ms. Crocker noted that World Tech is working with LPS to do an evaluation of all school properties and
traffic flow. Mr. Valenti noted that this area is a rotary, where vehicles are expected to yield. Should stop
signs be needed there, the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) would need to consider that, as they
are the Town committee that addresses regulatory signs. It was noted that when we refer something to
TSAC, we are not just dropping the issue, since Dave Cannon sits on TSAC and he and Mr.Valenti work
together. Ms. Stieglitz noted that we have asked TSAC to have a box on their form as to where the
recommendation to go to them came from so that they could loop the outcomes of their process back to the
recommending committee.
5. DPW Update: Mr. Valenti updated the SWC on the following projects:
• Muzzey Road: 95% complete with fixing trip hazards on Muzzey between Mass Avenue and
Raymond. Two ADA accessible ramps have been put in at the pedestrian crosswalk at 19 Muzzey
Street.
• Pathway behind Lincoln Road: Need to deal with drainage issues on SE corner of softball field.
Will pave out to Middleby Road and up to Baskin.
• Waltham Street will be rebuilt.
• Forest Street will be done on the northern side from Waltham to Muzzey. Clarke from Forest to the
central playing field is in rough shape and is a busy area. Mr. Valenti believes this should be
included with the work on Forest if possible.
• East Street is nearly completed. An ADA accessible ramp will be built on the Fiske side of the
crosswalk near the intersections of East, Hancock, and Hathaway. ADA accessible ramps will also
be built at Adams /Coolidge and at East /Emerson. Some of the sidewalks will be built with berm and
some without.
• Robinson Road work will occur over summer, as well as a 2000+ foot section of Turning Mill after
Robinson is completed.
6 Safe Routes to School: Ms. Cell noted that 2600 students have signed up for the bus as of the beginning
of June. Ms. Crocker said that Safe Routes is working with STS on evaluating school property signage,
pavement markings, and traffic flow. STS is also working with World Tech to help make traffic flow
more efficient and safe. They will set a recommendation for school property and school zones and then
work with Town Facilities to implement.
7. Winthrop Road: The BOS will discuss and vote on the Winthrop Road sidewalk at tonight's meeting.
8. New Business: The BOS has asked committees to participate in goal setting. Question is, as a volunteer
committee, how the BOS can help the SWC. One issue is that, without a budget, there are limits to what
the SWC can do, e.g., it is unable to send certified letters to abutters regarding SWC meetings on
sidewalks. The SWC can only use public venues likelistservs and the Minuteman. Mr. Osborne
suggested that the proponents might be the ones to send out certified letters to abutters, which would give
them proof that they had tried to contact those abutters. They could include the list of those addresses
they sent the letters to with their petition. This option will be discussed further in the SWC. The final
comment regarding goal setting for the BOS is that they standardize the process of community
notification. Also, the SWC will edit the petition form to add the date that someone signs the petition.
It was noted that this meeting was the last that long -time SWC Chair Jerry van Hook would attend. He
will be missed.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 AM. The next meeting of the Sidewalk Committee will be August 12,
2013, at 9 AM in the Selectmen's Meeting Room in the Town Office Building.
Respectfully submitted by,
Bettina McGimsey