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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-06-GCC-min Greenways Corridor Committee 6 May 2021, 4:00 — 5:30 pm via Zoom Conference Members Present: Mal Crawford, Alex Dohan, Eileen Entin, Bob Hausslein, Susan Kenyon, Keith Ohmart, Stephen Perkins, Mike Tabaczynski Other Attendees: Bob Creech (Planning Board Liaison), Larry McCray, Francesca Pfrommer (Rec Committee Liaison), Mark Sandeen (Select Board Liaison) Votes: Meeting minutes of 4 March 2021: Approved Reports/Updates: • Stephen Perkins was officially introduced and welcomed as a new GCC committee member. Stephen has been involved in supporting routes J, K, and L, which are in his neighborhood. • Bob Creech was welcomed as our new Planning Board Liaison. • Regarding the Jefferson Drive Trail Connector, we are waiting for the Jefferson Drive development engineer to do the wetlands permitting. Once permitting is done, a 24- foot bridge will be built, plus trail clearing. GCC will need to request hearings with Burlington and Lexington to file for the actual permits. We will also want to provide ACROSS trail access to the Wright Farm. • On the Wayfinding Sign Project, Mike reported that he is close to the final format for the signs and should have that done within a couple weeks. Mark asked about the readability of the signs. Mike said they are 14 x 18, the same as the signs in the Western Greenway, which he said are readable. We are scheduled to go before the Historic Commission at their meeting in early June to obtain permission to mount signs in areas they cover. There was discussion of what is seen when an individual scans the QR code on the sign. Presently it brings up the full map, but not the ACROSS brochure, which means there is no reference for the points of interest (POls) marked on the map. Keith will organize an offline discussion on how to deal with this. • Concord Ave Conservation property Land Management Plan (LMP) update: Keith and Mike talked with Karen Mullins and Phil Hamilton, who agreed to review the priority of the LMP during the Conservation Commission's May 17 meeting with the conservation stewards. The Commission will look for ways to make space in staff time to support development of the LMP. • Mal reported that an Engle Scout candidate has taken on the project to complete the 3rd section of the Bridge School Boardwalk. The Scout is working on his proposal and expects to complete the project this year. Mal noted he may need to raise extra funds because of increased lumber prices. • Cultural District Planning Meeting: Susan reported that Peggy has represented the GCC at these meetings. Cultural Designation is a state designation that may be the source of funding for grants. We will want to monitor this to make sure walking and biking are included in any materials developed. • Brochure Distribution: A high school student is doing the boxes on the bikeway through the end of May. Members of the GCC have agreed to cover the ACROSS routes through the summer. Keith and Bob estimated that we have enough paper maps to cover us through the end of the fall season. • 2021 Program Improvement Request (PIR) budget: There is about $4000 available. We need to buy route arrows and logos. The cost of 500 arrows is $1000. We also need 10 to 14 8-foot posts, at -$15/post. The projected cost for these items is $1500- $1700. The possibility of using some of the PIR funds for the wayfinding signs was also raised. How to use these funds was discussed in conjunction with the question of whether to reprint the ACROSS maps (see second item in New Business) and resolving the issue of the linkage between the information on the wayfinding signs and the online maps. • Summer Construction rerouting may impact Route A at North Street and Parker Meadow, Route H because of the Shire parking lot repaving, and Route C/D due to construction at the Arlington Res. New Business: • Trail Apps: Francesca investigated the Alltrails app and GIS maps. She reported the GIS maps tend to be technical in nature and suitable for serious hikers and campers. The Alltrails app is popular and used by a variety of people. In the Alltrails app it is possible for people to comment on conditions and also on their opinions of trails and who might like them. The free version is fairly robust. If the GCC is a recognized group we can have preference on the control of the maps, meaning we can input and update the maps as needed, but changes suggested by others would be vetted. Alex noted Bedford has all their trails officially on Google maps - but these are trails on conservation lands, hence under Bedford's control. Another option is Trailforks, where entities can own their maps and also can add POls. Keith suggested we need to appoint a few of us to look at on-line apps, especially regarding usability and control. Mike has looked into google maps and believes municipalities can own their own trails. He volunteered to look into this further. • We discussed whether to eliminate the paper version of the ACROSS brochure (hence paper map) in the future. If we were to do this, Keith thought we should put a note on the next printing of the brochure stating that it would be the last one. Alex suggested the possibility of making print maps available when all the ACROSS trails are complete, including the idea that people could order a large size map. This raised the question of what would happen to the POls in the ACROSS brochure. Mike Susan and Keith will develop a plan to present at the next meeting. Pending Items: • History project update (Larry McCray) • Archive options for maintaining copies of ACROSS artwork, etc. Next Meeting: 3 June 2021, 4:00-5:30pm, via Zoom Conference Future meeting dates: Sep 2, Oct 7, Nov 4, Dec 2 Respectfully Submitted by Eileen Entin, Secretary