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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-25-TMG-minMinutes for Traffic Mitigation Group Meeting July 25, 2006 Members Present: David Cannon, Elaine Dratch, Jeanne Krieger, Scott Schilt, Judith Uhrig, Jerry Van Hook, Gail Wagner. The Traffic Mitigation Group (TMG) met on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 9:00 AM in Room 111 of the Town Office Building. The following summarizes the discussion. PROJECTS Hartwell Avenue Safety ➢ The Massachusetts Highway Dept. has appropriated $500,000 through the Transportation Improvement Program for a project to improve intersections on Hartwell Avenue. Their website shows the project is scheduled for construction in 2011. Staff is trying to get more information from MassHighway about the project. The opportunity seems to be open to get more parties involved to do more improvements along Hartwell. D Lincoln Labs and the Air Force Base have been contacted by interested stakeholders about getting involved with promoting needed improvements. Management at both facilities have been asked to contact Town staff about how they can assist. D. The Bicycle Committee is recommending that "Share the Road" signs be placed along the road. It was noted that such signs may provide a false sense of security for bicyclists and pedestrians, and that the real effort should be to construct a dedicated off road facility for bicycle safety. ➢ The amount of wetland adjacent to Hartwell Avenue will require approval from the Department of Environmental Protection for any construction activities; the amount of disturbance that will be necessary is beyond the jurisdiction of the Lexington Conservation Commission. Concord Avenue /Waltham Street Intersection ➢ Sudhir Murthy reviewed the intersection analyses done by both Rizzo Associates and the Central Transportation Planning Staff to identify the different level of service results in the two reports. He found that Rizzo based their assessment on the signal being pre - timed, while CTPS thought the timing was actualized. The signal is pre - timed. Therefore the assessment by Rizzo for the AvalonBay project is correct, and the improvements suggested would be for safety and not for poor levels of service. David Cannon is still pursuing consulting services to verify whether lane striping can be done within the existing roadway layout. D Construction of crosswalks across Lexington Street in Waltham to enhance pedestrian safety from Brookhaven to the supermarket was in the budget approved by the State; it is not known whether Governor Romney vetoed the provisions. Jeanne Krieger will follow up. D. Scott Schilt will follow up with the Waltham DPW on the status of the posting signs for truck restrictions on Walnut Street. Planning Board Review of Article XII of the Zoning By -Law D. The Planning Board, as part of its work program for the next year, will review the Traffic by- law for updates, primarily for thresholds for when traffic studies will be required and the types of mitigation to be imposed. The TMG should make recommendations, as the by -law will impact what the group hopes to achieve when negotiating mitigation packages as part of development proposals. It was agreed that the TMG should review the current by -law, in addition to the Planning Board policies for transportation demand management, and will conduct a work session at its next meeting to start preparing recommendations for the Planning Board. ➢ It was noted that the zoning requirements should be linked to an objective base in order to justify mitigation measures. Gail Wagner recommended that the City of Cambridge has some innovative resources on their website that should be considered for Lexington's regulations. [See http:ll www. cambridgema .govlcddletltdmlindex.html] ➢ Scott Schilt will update the TMG on the Planning Board's discussions about Article XII, primarily as to what the Board views as being problematic with the existing by -law. Montessori School Improvements • The Building Commissioner informed the Planning Department that plans for improvements to the Montessori School property will be submitted soon. He wants input from the Development Review Team on the site plan. Scott Schilt will request that the TMG review the plans as well. Ms. Krieger stated that she attended a neighborhood meeting about the project, and the plans seem sensitive to the neighborhood. ➢ The Transportation Safety Advisory Committee will be evaluating whether to recommend construction of crosswalks across Watertown Street near the Pleasant Street intersection; Starwood Hotels Special Permit ➢ Judith Uhrig stated that the Starwood Company has submit plans for the Zoning Board of Appeals to review for a Special Permit. She is going to request that the covenant to provide traffic mitigation that was signed by Starwood and the Board of Selectmen for the property rezoning be attached as a condition of the Special Permit. ➢ The Finance Director is reviewing the covenant to determine if there are any requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue that would limit whether Starwood could deposit mitigation funds into an interest bearing account to allow for future endowments to LexPress from the one -time contribution. The covenant may need to be amended before the ZBA can approve the Special Permit. Next Meeting ➢ Tuesday, August 8, 2006 at 9:00 AM in Room 111 of the Town Office Building. There will not be a TMG meeting on August 22nd Minutes submitted by Scott Schilt, Senior Planner on July 26, 2006.