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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-06-06-WALKS-min MINUTES SIDEWALK COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 6, 2005 The meeting was called to order at 11:10 with 11 members and one visitor(Francine Stieglitz from the Transportation Advisory Committee). Ms Stieglitz may be attending in Ms. Arnolds stead at times. The Minutes from the May 2 meeting were accepted. As recommended in previous meeting a representative from the Police Department, Paul Jenkins, has been designated to be the public safety liaison, and will participate as an adjunct member in discussions and matters related to public safety. The Inventory Group reported that the inventory is substantially complete and will be finished within the next couple of weeks. Inventory data consists of both maps indicating the location of sidewalks and pathways and tabular data reflecting conditions and other physical data. Lucy Fletcher Jones and John Davies will work together to prepare content for the website to be posted this month. A question raised was how to prioritize existing sidewalks with respect to repair and maintenance and how to determine which roads should receive priority for new walkways. Safe routes to schools will be one value assignment,plus public opinion received as another, with as yet undetermined values also. It was recommended that photos be included as part of the inventory data. Another question raised was whether it was the responsibility of the Town to repair and maintain unaccepted streets. Wayne Brooks stated the Town is not strictly responsible, yet the Town does attempt to fill potholes to make unaccepted streets passable and reasonably safe. Data from Wayne Brooks on sidewalk costs: Type Expected life Base Top surface Cost/linear ft— 4 foot wide New Concrete 30 ears 6" ravel 4" $23 New Asphalt 15 years 6" gravel +2" 1" $15 binder Remove and 30 years Use existing 4" $19 replace concrete Remove and 15 years Use existing 1.5" $5.50 replace asphalt Comments relative to sidewalk life and maintenance were: 1. tree roots create the most damage to sidewalks and significantly shorten expected life of sidewalks and pathways 2. the current town recommendation is to plant trees no closer than 4 feet from a sidewalk minutes side com 6jun05 page 1 Of 3 3. packed gravel sidewalks are about '/z the cost of asphalt but require more maintenance and the gravel is easily displaced onto adjacent areas 4. the town can trim overhanging shrubbery and trees from sidewalk areas but usually relies on home and business owners to do so The Policy Group has not made significant progress as its members has both been busy with family issues that have limited their volunteer time. The Group's objective is to meet with Wayne Brooks and Jeanne Krieger to structure the gathered information before June 26 to enable publication on the website before the end of June. Bicycling rules and related safety issues need to be included in the website data. The website is up and running. Ms. Fletcher Jones indicated she intends to update the website monthly. Fresh content is required from each Group by the 25th of each month. Several emails have been received through the website, each of which has been supportive of the committee and provided useful information. Ms. Guttag emphasized that incomplete content should not be posted. Another recommendation was to post a clear statement on the site as to when the site was last updated and the frequency of updating so that users would not be uniformed or disappointed by perceived stagnant information. An effort will be made to enhance visibility of the link to the website from the Town Home Page. The website address is http://ci.lexington.ma.us/sidewalk committee - email address is lexsidewalkcommittee(�a,hotmail.com The Community Focus Group has almost completed the school survey with a very few inputs from Clarke Middle School and the high school still to be tabulated. The data will be posted on the website this month. It was reported that Mr. Van Hook had tabulated responses by school and observed that the Bowman school had the highest rate of response. Discovery Day was useful according to Sue-Ellen Briggs. Comments received typically were specific concerns, with a number of written suggestions put into the suggestion box. The next major effort will be to meet with the community and gather input, with an objective of many meetings throughout the summer. The Lexington Center Collabarative Charrette is June 11, 2005. Several members of the Sidewalk Committee are involved and will be present to gather more information from the community at large. Ms. Crocker offered to attend as the Sidewalk Committee representative. She needs presentation material. A relevant comment made by Ms Wagner that can be a cornerstone of any presentation is that walking is the oldest and most used form of transportation. It is a component of every other type of transportation. Safe walking is critical to the society at large, and that the importance and seriousness of the safety element in pedestrian transportation cannot be overemphasized. It was further stated that the esthetic value of walking is also an important element of both any presentation and value assessment undertaken by the Sidewalk Committee. A Safe Routes to Schools Group was formed, consisting of, at this time, Ms. Guttag, Ms Crocker, Ms. Krieger and Ms. Wagner. Ms. Guttag will contact the new superintendent of schools to learn whether the effort should be focused on a pilot school like Bowman, that has shown significant interest, or be a system wide program. minutes side com 6jun05 page 2 Of 3 Snow removal and snow issues were again raised and tabled until community input is gathered and the Policy Group compiles relevant regulations and information from other communities. It was commented that many of the snow removal matters may be closely connected to Safe Routes to Schools issues. A discussion on funding of infrastructure maintenance and development raised many questions. The Selectmen want to know does the community want nothing done, or if something how to pay for it, such as 1. betterments 2. debt exclusion 3. increase in the tax base (rate) 4. other novel idea The Policy Group will investigate Chapter 90 funding and inform the group was it is and how it works. They will also contact Peter Chalpin, Senior Town Engineer, to learn how sidewalk funding (both maintenance and new construction)has been achieved historically. The question was raised—why build something the Town can't maintain? Probably a high priority in community discussions needs to be whether townspeople are willing to pay to maintain what currently exists. Standards for new sidewalks need to be developed. Another question was whether new home and business construction (or significant renovation) should pay an assessment (linkage fee) to the town for sidewalk construction. It was generally agreed that budgetary recommendations to the Board of Selectman are unlikely to occur for the next budget cycle starting in the fall of 2005. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30. The next meeting date is June 27, 2005 at 1 lAM. C. Weeks m�nUces s�ae�om 6;unos page 3 of 3