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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-08-GMA-min Grain Mill Alley Ad Hoc Steering Committee Meeting Minutes 7/8/2015 (including Fred revisions) Fred Johnson, chair, welcomed George Smith, a member of the new Lexington Center Alliance group who is interested in the work of the steering committee. All committee members were present except for Mr. Frey and Mr. Gunn. The June 17 meeting notes were approved. Fred said he would like to develop consensus around various design elements to pass along to GroundView, who might then be asked to come to an upcoming meeting with a sketch of ideas to demonstrate their ability to be “practical and responsive.” The committee discussed first the content of a formal motion for the node adjacent to the Bikeway. Ginna asked about taking space on the other side of the guardrail to frame the approach to the gateway from the parking lot. She suggested narrowing the opening and planting a couple of trees. Michael said this would be met with resistance if it involved taking additional parking. The committee agreed it should pass on the idea of improving the parking lot view to the designers. Motion 1 : The Steering Committee supports the concept of an alternative transportation “node” adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway that includes the following elements: a) the space should be prominent so that it attracts users from both the Bikeway and the adjacent parking lots; b) it should provide space for bicyclists and others to pull over safely from the Bikeway; c) it should add to the existing bike parking capacity; d) it should provide permanent, vertically-oriented maps, showing both the town layout and the Bikeway as a whole, and e) that the one oversized parking space to the east of exiting walkway should be taken and incorporated into the node . The committee would like to see designs for the node area that include an improvement of the entry from the Depot parking lot. The committee then talked about the installation of raised pavement at the Edison Way crossing. Fred pointed out that the roadway is not stripedon either side of the crossing to clearly define the two vehicle lanes. It was suggested that snowplowing a raised table (as distinct from a speed bump) shouldn’t be a problem for DPW. Motion 2 : The committee supports the concept of the installation of a raised speed table (i.e., a long raised hump with a flat section in the middle and ramps on the ends) to calm traffic on Edison Way at the point where bicyclists and walkers will cross vehicular traffic. The design should take into account composition, visibility, drainage, and access by emergency vehicles. The committee then discussed elements at the other end of the alleyway and the current Beta Group design that is part of the Center Streetscape plan. Ginna said she hoped the existing plantings on some of the north sidewalks (i.e., the evergreens that were part of the 1970’s Sasaki design for the Center sidewalks) will be preserved in the new design; these bushes and trees are a relatively simple planting solution that might be continued at the entrance to the alleyway. Kerry agreed, saying that the yews work well; she sees the potential of the open space as a “living room” with single chairs and benches aside the public way. In response to a question about the water feature, Ginna said that maintenance problems would be “extraordinary” and doesn’t recommend that a water feature be included. Joe Trani said he wanted to be sure that his tenant Bertucci’s would not lose table space on the sidewalk. Joe Pato described the current plan for concrete walkways with brick as an accent treatment. Melisa explained the history of the Grain Mill Alley, saying that in the late 1 1800’s a grain mill did exist on the site, where grain was then loaded onto trains. It was agreed that a plaque explaining the origin of the name should exist on the site. The committee then talked about a variety of issues, including the sidewalk from the node to the alley, some of the expectations of the bank, and how to encourage bike traffic to dismount and walk. Fred said he wants the designers to focus on making a clear separation between vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The group discussed ideas about driving and parking patterns at the bank. 9ķƓƚƷĻʹLƓƷĻƩĻƭƷźƓŭƩĻŅĻƩĻƓĭĻʹŷƷƷƦʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ĭğƩǤƌźĬƩğƩǤ͵ƚƩŭΉǞƚƩƷŷĻƓΉĻǣŷźĬźƷЊΉĻЊЉЉБЊğ͵ŷƷƒ Њ Motion 3: The committee requests designs where pedestrian and vehicular traffic ways are clearly defined and separate, beginning at the Bikeway and extending through to the pedestrian walkway on Mass Ave. The design should take into account existing conditions (e.g., vehicular parking and traffic on Bank of America property) and include some form of signal and/or barrier to encourage cyclists to dismount at the entrance to the parklet. Melisa updated the group on the plan for the alley parklet over this summer, saying that the furniture will be the same as what is at the Mass Ave parklet. Seasons 4 will donate six tables and 18 chairs. Plans also call for two umbrellas and two more planter barrels, as well as an outdoor playhouse. During the meeting, a number of other elements were discussed that are not currently within the scope of the plan but that might be suggested to the Board of Selectmen, including: the striping of Edison Way to clarify vehicular lanes; the replacement of the wooden guardrail on the Bikeway with one of better design; plantings on the pathway to address the transition between the Depot parking lot and the Gateway; suggesting to the Bank of America that they consider angling their parking spaces to widen the space available for a pedestrian walkway. Fred said he would like to devote the next meeting to settle unresolved questions, including What sort of furniture? Movable?Fixed? What sort of material? Do we want to provide shelter? A canopy? What sort of lighting? What sort of plantings? What about sound isolation from traffic? Should there be a construction budget cap? What’s the relationship between the Center Streetscape design and that of the Grain Mill Alley? Paul volunteered to organize the questions into themes (i.e., Purpose and goals; Design elements/challenges; Implementation; Other). After some discussion the group agreed that GroundView should be invited to the next meeting to respond to our work to date, and participate in the remaining discussion. The Town has an open purchase order with them committing us to some additional work. It was also suggested that their response might help us decide whether to recommend the Townremain with that group or look for another designer to move the project forward as approved by Spring Town meeting. The next committee meeting will be on Wednesday, July 29, 9am in the Parker Room.