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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-08-31-GCC-min Greenways Corridor Committee August 31, 2015 Training Room, Hadley DPW Building Lexington, Massachusetts Members Present: Alex Dohan, Peggy Enders, Eileen Entin, Don Grant, Bob Hausslein, Keith Ohmart Other Attendees: Laurel Carpenter, Conservation Steward; Oakes Plimpton Votes : Minutes approved: 6/29/2015 with minor changes Reports/Updates : • Kevin Breunig will be resigning his seat on the GCC. Please think about candi- dates for his replacement. • The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission will be visiting us on October 8 to take a look at ACROSS Lexington. Aaron Henry will coordinate this morning event. There will be a presentation and a walk, probably through Chiesa Farm and Parker Meadow. Current Business Review : •None - this meeting was scheduled specifically to discuss our route development philosophy New Business: • ACROSS Lexington routes have been created for use by any and all non-motor- ized users, primarily walkers and cyclists. Some routes are not particularly wel- coming for road bikes. In thinking forward, how do we want to be welcoming to road bikes without losing the off-road aspects of our route system? Keith put for- ward three options for discussion: 1) keep going as we have been, 2) add alterna- tive bike signage on standard routes (to direct road bikes on a “friendlier bypass route”), 3) create a new set of additional bike routes. • This came up because of the stretch of Route E near/through the Freemont Street Playground that is not bike-friendly. It might make sense to have a diversion on Martingale Road with one path for bikes and one for walking. To date we have made some compromises between efficiency and aesthetics on existing routes, in an effort to get users to scenic parts of town. • After some discussion it was agreed that we will split the route on Freemont, di- recting cyclists along the road and walkers into the play area. Option 3 was deemed too complex, and option 1 didn’t seem to offer enough, so we will try op- tion 2 in this instance and see how it works out. • There was also some discussion about loops and “one-way”connectors as we continue to grow throughout town. • Laurel announced the Open Space Open House, to be held at Cary Library on Oc- tober 24, 1-3pm, hosted by the Conservation Stewards. GCC and CLC will also be represented. • Oakes Plimpton came in to make his case for changing the logo. He doesn’t like the tricorn/bike seat because the colonists were not environmentalists. He would prefer a green hiker silhouette. He also thinks we should avoid streets, preferring only green space routes. We explained the theory behind the ACROSS Lexington concept, i.e. connecting open space to all parts of the town, and confirmed that the tricorn logo is to honor Lexington's historical heritage. Next Meeting : September 28, 2015, 4:30-6:00pm, DPW Training Room Future meeting dates: October 26, November 23, December 14 Pending Matters: - Conservation Restriction Data Base Respectfully Submitted by Alexandra Dohan, Secretary