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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-04-WALKS-min Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, November 4, 2013 Selectmen's Meeting Room,Town Office Building Present: Jeanne Canale,Judy Crocker, Mary Hosmer Fanucci, Francine Stieglitz. Liaisons present: Mark Valenti,John Livsey Guests present: David Kucharsky,Planning Department The meeting of the Sidewalk Committee (SWC) was called to order at 9:05am by Judy Crocker. 1. Complete Streets: There was discussion about the Complete Streets program. David Kucharsky of the Planning Department presented an overview of the national program and how Lexington could benefit from adopting its policies and philosophies. The notes below are copied directly from a summary provided by Mr. Kucharsky. In 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) adopted a new Project Development and Design Guide which implemented"context sensitive" design concepts that are similar to those used in a Complete Streets design process. In 2009 MassDOT adopted a Complete Streets Design Policy. Through project development and design changes,this policy encourages the use of bicycles,public transportation,and requires provision for pedestrians and individuals with disabilities on all MassDOT-funded roadway projects. In 2010 MassDOT adopted a GreenDOT policy which contains three primary objectives; reducing greenhouse emissions promoting healthy transportation (biking,walking and using transit), supporting smart growth In 2012 MassDOt established a statewide Mode Shift Goal of tripling the share of travel in Massachusetts by bicycling,transit and walking by 2030 In 2013 MassDOT announced a Healthy Transportation Policy Directive will require all state transportation projects to increase bicycling,transit and walking options. This new directive is intended to promote multimodal access for all users Related legislation includes S68/H3091 (an Act relative to Active Streets and Healthy Communities) and H4165 (an Act relative to speed limits) . The question was raised as to whether the Selectmen endorse this policy. Not yet. Should the SWC endorse it and write a letter to the Selectmen? Plymouth just adopted the Complete Streets policy. It was concluded that more than the endorsement of our committee is needed to encourage the Selectmen to adopt the policy. It was also noted that Lexington's current roadway program already encompasses much of the policy anyway. John Livsey suggested that we should be careful when endorsing or adopting policies since they can sometimes be restrictive and ultimately slow progress. He suggested that whatever is adopted shouldn't be too tightly and it should be context sensitive.All solutions are not appropriate for all situations. Judy Crocker said that Michelle Ciccola suggested we should think about how to make connections. Sidewalks to nowhere are not useful nor functional. She offered the sidewalk in a new development on Pleasant Street as an example. The Planning Board has no jurisdiction over how developers install sidewalks. Ms. Crocker also mentioned GreenDOT and that Lexington already has a "no idling" policy to reduce emissions. She offered No Idle stickers for the Lexington Highway Department vehicles. Mark Valente indicated that the newer equipment has idling timers and shuts off after a certain amount of time. The vehicles require more maintenance when they idle so this feature reduces maintenance. Francine Stieglitz indicated she would put one of the "No Idling"stickers on Lexpress vehicles. There was also discussion relating to handicap ramps. Mr. Livsey said ramps are removed and replaced regularly. Several hundred have been done over the last 3 years. He offered the example of Worthen Road and Waltham Street. Mr.Valente said that engineering upgrades the ramps when engaging in an engineering project. Both departments are chipping away at upgrading all Town ramps,but the process takes time. The best time to replace a ramp is in conjunction with a sidewalk or roadway project. Elevation must be considered in order to make the ramps accessible. It costs a few thousand dollars for each ramp set. Signals are also required for notifying disabled that they are approaching a ramp. A note was made regarding providing warning of the crosswalk at Simonds Road. Francine noted that the issue with TSAC is that when the SWC passes information to them we never know if they have followed up on it. Others have had issues with that as well. Mr. Livsey agreed that TSAC has communication lapses. However, a meeting was held a few weeks ago and the topic was how to organize to improve communication. The Town realizes this is an issue that needs to be solved and is at the Town Manager level.Apparently,a staff member has left and is yet to be replaced. This is part of the communication problem. Francine Stieglitz suggested that information request forms be modified to suggest that TSAC respond to the SWC or whatever other committee is recommended. 2. Ms. Crocker will amend the meeting notes from October 2013 to reflect changes Mr.Valente mentioned regarding 44 Forest Street. Mr.Valente would like the notes to reflect that the work will take some time and that hopefully will be replaced. Work is required before proceeding. The minutes were approved with the suggested amendments. 3. The discussion next covered mixed use on Hartwell Avenue. Warmer weather is required to continue the work. The Lincoln Pathway was being done this week. Colder weather will cause a work shutdown. For now,the binder will be done. The top coat will happen in the spring.The berm on East Street will be completed and that will be it for the season. Mr.Valenti indicated the Taft Avenue sidewalk would be replaced. Winthrop Road is completed except for the repair of a few sprinklers.All agreed that the new sidewalk is beautiful and an improvement to the neighborhood. The sidewalk on Waltham Street has been continued to the signals and connected with Winthrop Street. The project went well and the vast majority of neighbors are happy. Grove Street and the Estabrook School driveway entrance is complete.Accessible ramps are installed. They are close to finished with permitting for drainage. Construction will occur in the spring for Robinson Rd. On Concord Avenue,the culvert replacement is close to permitting. They need to work with the Conservation Commission for the permitting and construction is scheduled for the spring. Mr.Valente indicated that the Turning Mill sidewalk would be replaced. Outreach is required for this project. He said the project is at least 2,000 feet. Residents should trim foliage, etc.to help the sidewalk last longer. Notices need to be sent out 2 months prior to the work being done. Engineering will be done with Robinson Road and Turning Mill and then this phase of work will happen in 2014 or 2015. Mr.Valente also indicated that the Lincoln Pathway would happen in the spring. There is lots of pedestrian traffic. By doing this project between the northern forest and the Clarke forest to the playground, people will be able to walk to the Center. John and Mark will work together to refine plans for what their departments should target over the next 5 years. They will keep us posted on their progress. They will create a map of road and sidewalk conditions. The discussion continued on to walking routes for the Safe Routes program. Coordination will happen with John and Mark. These need to dovetail with school zones. The Dept of Facilities and DPW need to clarify the school property boundaries. Mr.Valente talked about Sedge Road. The roadway is not owned by the Town from the baseball backstop to the school. DPW can only maintain the municipal portion. There are 27 miles of road in town that Lexington doesn't own. The schools and town need to improve coordination on these areas. A list of these locations can be a tool to address upcoming projects. It can be adjusted as needed. Engineering and maintenance will coordinate to complete it. The list will tie in with maintenance. If there is connectivity between projects then they can be completed more efficiently. Ms. Crocker discussed that the Lexington Public Schools will be requesting in the FY15 budget$10K per school times ten ( $100,000) from town meeting for improvements based on recommendations from the WorldTech traffic mitigation study. Separate line item requests will be made to implement the recommendations of the WorldTech school zone grant.As an example, for 5 schools approximately 140 new signs are recommended. 4. Safe Routes to School. International Walk to School was in October, and a huge success.A Turkey Trot was planned for November. Pictures of the Turkey Trot Walk to School will be submitted to the Colonial Times Ridership on the school buses is at 44%, the highest since 2006. This is the percentage registered to ride. Clarke Middle School has the highest. 270 students have FlexPasses.About 240 elementary students are using the Ride After program. Last year there were 370 late sign ups. This year there were none! 25 busses are being used. There are currently 61 routes, up from 44. The transportation policy is still being developed. It needs to be completed so funding can be requested at Town Meeting. That is the last project for the transportation committee. They are almost finished. 5. No new correspondence. 6. Bijan requested a sidewalk on Watertown and Pleasant Streets. The petition is for a Watertown Street sidewalk.Are these neighborhoods connected?What is the easiest way to proceed with this project? It should have been started 2 years ago. Hill Street is being resurfaced next year,This could be a good opportunity to install a new sidewalk on this street. Judy,my notes for this part of the meeting are not very good. I don't have details for the discussion regarding Cary Avenue and Marrett Road. 7. Resident Guidelines for Requesting Sidewalks Ms. Stieglitz recommended that the SWC prepare the form for collecting signatures. It should include name,time, date,home, not home,etc. It was suggested that a certified letter be sent by the town to abutters in order that all interested parties are notified about the request for a sidewalk. Ms. Crocker emphasized that we create the template,but can only make recommendations as to whether a sidewalk should be installed. We are not the decision makers. Mr. Livsey suggested that the burden should fall on the town to eliminate any air of favoritism regarding any potential sidewalk projects. Mr.Valente noted that petitioners should keep records of how many times they approached the homes in their neighborhoods. It is important to eliminate complaints that"no one told me"when abutters say they weren't notified about a petition. He also noted that a signature on a petition does not always equal a yes vote for a sidewalk project. He said that the town mailing is key in the process. Ms. Stieglitz commented that during the Winthrop Road project there was a lot of duplication. She wondered whether the petition should be left behind with a description of the proposed project. Mr.Valente said the petitioner should leave something behind and also try to approach homeowners at different times of day. They should try to be as thorough as possible when trying to reach out to their neighbors. He also wondered who should write the project summary for future petitions; the SWC,petitioners, the town? Regardless of who does authors the document. the description should be brief- 1 or 2 paragraphs. IMr.Valenti's suggestion is that there doesn't need to be a recommended number of visits to get petitions signed. He said a mailer from the town is very important. That would be sufficient for notice.There will always be a percentage of the mailers that get returned because town records can be up to one year out of date. He further indicated that it is important that the SWC documentation remain as guidelines only. The hearings for any future projects will set the pace for next steps in the process. Mr. Livsey indicated that the direction abutters are the most important in the process and that petitioners should make multiple attempts to connect with them.A letter should go out to the entire neighborhood regarding the petition. Mr.Valente strongly emphasized that abutters should be directly contacted as well. Ms. Crocker said she would work on the documentation using the above suggestions. The meeting was adjourned at 10:32am. Respectfully submitted, Mary Hosmer Fanucci