HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-09-10-TSAC-min
Town of Lexington
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
TO: Deborah Mauger, Chair Board of Selectman
CC: Carl Valente Town Manager, Bill Hadley DPW Director, Donna Hooper - Clerk
FROM: Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC)
SUBJECT: Minutes of Meeting September 10, 2013
Members present: Manuel Ferro, Dave Cannon, Mary Ellen Dunn, Steve Frymer, Steve Ades
Members absent: Sudhir Murthy
Liaisons Present: David Kucharsky, Planning Dept; Jeanette Rebecchi, Human Services Dept
Guest: Carl Valente, Fairview & Hayward Avenue residents
Agenda:
·
ndth
Approval of July 2 & August 13 Meeting Minutes
·
Fairview Avenue
·
Militia Drive
·
Police Traffic Safety Monthly Updates
·
New Business
ndth
Approval of July 2 & August 13 Meeting Minutes
nd
The committee did not have any comments or concerns for either set of minutes. The motion to approve the July 2 &
th
August 13 TSAC meeting minutes was passed unanimously.
Fairview Avenue
The residents of Fairview Avenue and surrounding streets have complained to the town regarding cut-through traffic.
Lexington PD and Engineering visited the location as well as conducted traffic counts to identify the peak AM & PM
periods. Based on the results of the traffic data and the fact that Fairview Avenue is an unaccepted way TSAC made the
following recommendations:
·
Install No Left Turn Signs M-F (7AM-9AM) on Old Massachusetts Avenue at the intersections with Fairview
Avenue and Bonair Ave (also an unaccepted way)
·
Install No Right Turn Sign M-F (4PM-6PM) on Wood Street at the intersection with Fairview Avenue.
All three time-based turn restrictions will apply to everyone including residents. All of the residents present were in
agreement with the recommendation however one of the residents requested that the turning movement restriction on Wood
Street be extended from 3PM-6PM to account for children coming home from school.
The members of TSAC agreed and unanimously passed the following recommendations:
·
Install No Left Turn Signs M-F (7AM-9AM) on Old Massachusetts Avenue at the intersections with Fairview
Avenue and Bonair Ave (also an unaccepted way)
·
Install No Right Turn Sign M-F (3PM-6PM) on Wood Street at the intersection with Fairview Avenue.
Captain Ferro indicated that the recommendations would be brought to the Board of Selectman for consideration as it does
involve a regulatory change. As this process moves forward, residents would be notified, however he could not give an
exact timeline as to when the signs would eventually be installed. Once the signs are put in place LPD will assign officers
to the area to educate people of the sign changes. Both Engineering and LPD also agreed to monitor traffic in the area once
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Town of Lexington
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee
the signs are in place to see how it is affecting traffic operations of nearby intersections.
Police Traffic Safety Updates
Militia Drive:
The resident concern was the entrance to Militia Drive at Worthen Road with traffic allowed two-way
access on both sides of the island. The suggestion was to make each side of the island one-way. The one-way concept
would require extensive construction to expand the existing traffic island and could potentially restrict turning movements
for large trucks traversing the area. Dave Cannon also indicated that this option was previously suggested while Worthen
Road was being re-paved but was not agreed to by Grace Chapel which owns many of the parcels along Militia Drive. In
addition Captain Ferro noted that no traffic accidents had been reported at this location. TSAC recommended that no action
be taken at this time.
School Traffic Evaluation and Preliminary Recommendations Report:
Mary Ellen Dunn has been compiling all of the
submitted comments and will be meeting with WorldTech Engineering to review them later this week. She will also
contact Marc Valenti to discuss the progress of the School Zone study which WorldTech is also working on and is seen as
closely related to the recommendations being developed in this report.
Once the report is finalized, TSAC will review the issues and suggested recommendations on a school-by-school basis in
the future. It was thought that each school deserved detailed review and development of recommendations by TSAC in
future meetings.
New Business
Tracking & Notification of TSAC Recommendations:
Captain Ferro noted that Town Management is aware of the issues
related to the tracking and notification of implementation of TSAC recommendations. They are looking to identify an
administrative person(s) to better track the status of the recommendations and notify individuals once they have been
implemented or not implemented and why.
Hancock Street Rotary:
Mary Ellen Dunn wanted clarification as to whether the implementation of improvements to the
rotary at Hancock Street was to be accelerated. David Cannon indicated that the improvements have been designed and
could be made now but it would significantly impact traffic in the area given that school is back in session. Other attendees
asked if bike and pedestrian accommodations had been considered as part of the design. TSAC recommended that the
original plan of constructing the improvements during the next fiscal year be maintained.
Next TSAC Meeting:
David Kucharsky requested that the next TSAC meeting be rescheduled due to a conflict with the
Quarterly Transportation Forum. Toole Design Group will be presenting the report and recommendations from the
Navigating the Minute Man Bikeway Way-Finding Study which will include some safety recommendations that will
probably be of interest to the members of TSAC. Captain Ferro suggested TSAC members attend this meeting and
consider it their monthly meeting. There are no new traffic safety updates at this time to discuss. The group agreed to attend
the forum.
Attached Documents:
None
Next Meeting
Next TSAC meetings: October 8 (Lexington Quarterly Transportation Forum)
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