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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-09-10-LBAC-min APPROVED MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting: Sept 10, 2015, Cary Library, 7:00 p.m. Members Present: Peggy Enders, (Chair), Marita Hartshorn, Bob Hausslein (FoLB Chair), Laurel Carpenter, Bob Dangel, John Frey, George Gagliardi, Carolyn Levi, Sandra Shaw (Recreation Liaison), Richard Canale (Planning Board Liaison). Member Absent: Mike Tabaczynski, Others Present: Jennifer Melot, Luis Melendez, Elaine Ashton The July Meeting Minutes were approved as submitted. Should Lexington have a Bicycle-Pedestrian Committee ? The Committee discussed the pros and cons of replacing the Bicycle and Sidewalk committees with a Bicycle/Pedestrian group. Richard Canale suggested instead a “mobility committee,” another member worried about “diluting the agenda” of a bicycle-focused committee. Others members said it is not the right time to restructure transportation groups, since town staffing is in flux. The committee agreed that if a Bicycle/Pedestrian advisory committee is established, then a staff person should be identified who has responsibility for attending the LBAC meetings, working with the committee and coordinating town- wide bicycle and pedestrian issues (e.g., bike/ped advocacy, safety and education programs; bicycle parking inventory and standards; data analysis and sharing of bike and ped accidents; town-wide ped and bike counts, etc.).Peggy will meet with Selectman Barry and David Kucharsky to find out more about what is being considered and to convey the position of the Bicycle Committee. Bikeway Paving, Closures, and Detours: Peggy, Jennifer, Bob Dangel, and Carolyn met with Dave Cannon to discuss detours while the bikeway is being paved. The work is slated to begin on September 21. In a discussion about bicycle accommodations on town arterials, Richard stated that Wood Street was not slated to be improved until sometime between 2021 and 2025. Given the heavy bicycle traffic on that street, the committee agreed to ask for the DPW to budget for sharrows in the immediate future. Peggy said that the group that worked with Bob Dangel to produce “bicycle network” recommendations for John Livsey would meet with John soon to review the status of bike accommodations on newly-paved arterials. For instance, Concord Avenue has been recently repaved; the spreadsheet prepared by Bob Dangel for the Town recommends sharrows. Similarly, the bridge repairs over Route 128 at Mass Ave should be followed by painted sharrows to continue the sharrows already there. Laurel commented that such a document, and one similarly prepared by the Sidewalk Committee, ought to be public, or at least available on the web to all Town staff as part of the Town’s transportation plan. Summer Signage on the Bikeway : Thanks to George, Jennifer, and Peggy the “Burma Shave” signs are now in place and in most cases very well received. The committee has even gotten suggestions for future sayings. The messages should be replaced often so that they do not become stale to the readers. Peggy mentioned that Toole Design has signed a contract with the town and soon will begin their work on the master plans for permanent Bikeway signage. Richard Canale reported that the Battle Road Committee has developed their signage; there should be some coordination with the Toole plan. Center Streetscape and the 3-Intersection Corridor Project: Luis Melendez, representing himself, Tom Fortmann, and others on the Battle Road Friends group, said he felt that the early hearings on both the Woburn Street intersection and the Mass. Ave. Corridor project were “not a welcoming and open process.” He described his bicycle commute from Boston to Lexington as a “decompression,” saying that he does not think the proposal to provide bike lanes on the Mass Ave corridor is a good idea. They are concerned that there is not enough space for parking spaces and bike lanes; the space allocated to the proposed bike lane risks the cyclist getting doored. Richard responded to their concerns about crash data and the intersection designs, stating there was much misinformation being distributed. He said that the Woburn Street intersection is considered one of the most dangerous in the state according to MassDOT data. He would challenge them to propose a safer project than the one before the town at the present; the status quo is not safe. Peggy said that the Bicycle Advisory Committee should focus its opinion and endorsements on the need for bike lanes and other bicycle accommodations to improve safety and hopes to continue this discussion at upcoming meetings. She encouraged all members to attend the October 14 meeting at Clarke School about the Corridor Project. Annual Report : The deadline is the end of October for the committee’s annual report. Liaison Reports: Richard said he just returned from Copenhagen; there is an entirely different bike culture there that favors bikes over cars. The bike ways are plowed first and bikes have the right of way. Other business: Laurel announced the New England Bike-Walk summit on October th 24 at the DCU in Worcester. Peggy said that Waltham has developed guidelines and standards for bicycle parking that are overseen by their traffic commission; the committee should continue to recommend that Lexington adopt similar standards for all bicycle parking, public and private. Record of the Discussion of the Friends of Lexington Bikeways The Treasurer's Report was given. Bikeway Counting for CTPS thth : Peggy is organizing the counts on Sept. 15 and 19. Please respond to her email. Farmers’ Market Bike Corrals : We parked bikes and distributed coupons to roughly 25 th people last Tuesday on a very not day. The next corral is Oct. 13. Bikeway access at Munroe Cemetery : Bob is working with Karen Mullins to improve a pedestrian connection between the Bikeway and Monroe Cemetery with access to Mass. Ave. Upcoming Dates CTPS Bikeway Counts: Tuesday, September 15; Saturday, September 19 LBAC/FoLB meeting October 8, 7 pm, Learning Center, Cary Library Farmers’ Market Bike Corral: Tuesday, October 13, 2 – 6:30 PM Public Hearing on the 3-Intersection Project: Wednesday, October 14, 7 pm Lexington High School auditorium 2015 Moving Together Conference: Wednesday, November 4. “Healthy Transportation, Healthy Communities” Marita Hartshorn, Recorder Peggy Enders, Editor Items Distributed: • Excerpt from NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide (“Buffered Bike Lanes”) • Memo from David Kucharsky to Carl Valente, June 24, 2015 • Charge to Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee, 2001