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Home My WebLink About2022-04-14-LBAC-minTown of Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee 4/14/22 14 April 2022 / 7:00 PM / on Zoom ATTENDEES Members: Betty Gau, Ram Reddy, Mike O’Connor, Matthias Beebe, Dave Armstrong, George Gagliardi, Mike Tabaczynski Also Attending: Susan Barrett (Transportation Manager), Omar Khudari, Peggy Enders, Bob Hausslein, Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Richard Canale (Battle Road), Archana Dayalu, Ross Morrow Guests: Sandhya Iyer, Economic Development Director, Town of Lexington Open: 7:00 pm FoLB/Bike Lexington 7:00 – 7:30 pm 1. Treasurer’s Report – Omar – We have $20K approximately, plowing bills paid. Budget into 3 areas – Advocacy, Education, Community 2. FoLB Board Organization – 6 members; President-Peggy, Treasurer-Omar, Clerk-Ram. Betty, Bob and Jim are the others 3. Bike Park Proposal – Mike O’Connor talked about his experience in CA. Pittsfield has largest bike park (3 phases - $500K cost). Talked to Melissa/Recreation Dept, Conservation – Karen Mullins and Dave Pinsonneault and other stakeholders. There is strong interest. 8 prominent sites identified – prefer non-conservation properties. 1 promising one – private land – near Burlington Street (Landlocked forest, Keenen’s Park properties, parking at Estabrook BUT people may park on road) – donate a part of their plot (talk to abutters, was suggested) AND look at other candidates. Combination of Hill and Flat property. Diamond Middle School – Chiesa Farm – Municipal Land – Wooded area part of the Middle School (not conservation land) – lot of acreage there – More central and better parking. Old reservoir – Near Bridge School (not conservation land) another option. Clark Middle – up to Franklin Park. 4. Upcoming Events – Volunteers Needed and many folks volunteered • May 1st – Bikeway Clean-up Day 9:00 – 11:00 • May 14th - Bikeway Counting – Volunteers • May 20th - Bike Breakfast • May 28th - Discovery Day – Recruit folks, Get Helmets for kids 5. Burma Shave signs – most probably will be put up soon – George G Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee – 7:32 pm 1. Review and Approve March 17, 2022 Meeting Minutes – Motion approved and seconded. Approved 2. Talk from Economic Development Department on Rapid Recovery Program Wayfinding Signage - Sandhya Iyer: a. Received grant for East Lexington – Defining Signage; to advertise there is a Business District. M3 Corridor - $150K to put way finding signage b. We used Tool Design 3 years back – No business signage – no cohesive look for the businesses. Also, ARPA funding received. Design guidelines being worked up c. RFP issued for regional – Arlington Heights, East Lexington (Bow Street) and Bedford Depot – to hire design consultant – For Wayfinding. d. Richard Canale - Battle Road Byway Committee has an opportunity for federal grants with a letter of intent by the end of April. They want to look at whole bikeway – East Lexington will be part of this – as the bikeway is close to the Battle Road, near Lexington – and have kiosks. Separate conversation with Sandhya. 3. Liaison Reports: Mark Sandeen –Town Meeting approved the Bike Ped Plan funding and the roundabout project. Ross Morrow - Hartwell Project will need Biking modifications for Wood Street. One-side sidewalk and one-side for Biking 10 feet. Richard – Trucking on Wood Street, when that will end. Not sure, said Ross. Richard – MIT should move entrance to Hartwell (instead of Wood Street). Ross noted this. Vision Zero – No fatalities. Town Policy about Goals – Crash cluster, living list. Structured more from a Construction perspective – Engineering Geometry, Looks at Accidents, Less on Signage AND less for education. Long list. Bike-Ped Plans will be part of Vision Zero discussion. Comprehensive Plan is at a later date so will not be part of the Vision Zero. Will be looking at Boston, Cambridge and Somerville (the ones that have a Vision Zero Plan). Consultant is Environmental Partners (they are connected to Center Streetscape project, so knowledgeable). Cedar Street – Curb Design discussion – Funding for entire project is July 1 – Design Starts. Ross will look at options. Richard Canale Looking at whole Byway for all transit – LOI next week. Applications by end of June Rte 2A resurfacing – Last year 33 Cycle signs. 75% Plan - 23. Now – Zero Signs. Cyclists are not being considered. Not safe to cycle says DOT. Concerned. Richard is going to have Byway Committee send letter. Select Board to write a letter that LBAC may recommend. Putting in an application on the byway - Letter of Intent at the end of the April Repaving of 2A – Richard received feedback from engineers: They will put up signs but now there is a reduction of signs – since they are not widening anything then it is not safe to bike along there so MassDOT decided not to put any signs They are adding a 4 ft wide island several hundred feet. 5 or 6 islands interspersed at intersections – so there will be one at Mill Street It was discussed: Should LBAC advise the Select Board to write a letter to MassDOT? Do we have any indication that it will make a difference? Richard will send Betty a draft letter for LBAC review. Omar asked if LBAC should tell MassDOT even if we are out voted. Town did ask to reduce speed. Lexington may have funds / grant to do it in the second phase. Tabled for separate discussion. 4. Lexington High School Student Survey Summary – Arnav and Dave – Dave organized the data and provided a summary. Even confident school bikers reported concern about Traffic and Safety. Few folks – Practical, Fast and Feels healthy. Good work by Arnav. LBAC’s job is more important – School Kids are depending on us. 5. Bicycle Friends Community Survey – Susan Barrett – Bike Friendly Community Application in Sep 2022 – A pre form on Equity is being asked for– Accessibility, Infrastructure, Subsidizing for folks that can’t afford bikes, less English-proficient – so that not just for the spandex crowd . May 4 – Bike-Walk-Roll Day – Bike Train May 20 – Bike Breakfast June 25 – Bike Rodeo LHS – New Plan – Alternative modes of Transportation - Should be considered very early. Other than Discovery Day, you can find all events at www.lexbikewalkbus.org 6. Bike Ped Plan Update – Mike O’Connor Town Meeting approved the funding for $65K for Bike Ped Plan; Mike sent out to LBAC bike plans from 5 area towns and Davis CA which is very good Davis CA has the best biking infrastructure in the country. Mike explained that these plans take different forms for different communities. Dave felt that Salem, MA was better suited/relatable. Betty agrees. What should the qualifications/scoring be – in the RFP – so we pick the right Consultants. We can advise Sheila Paige what they should be asking in their RFP they plan to issue in July. The RFP will be for a consultant to create a bike/ped plan. The contractor selected should have a core competency in writing effective bike ped plans Ram – we should try to go for the best plan and be innovative – go all in Susan – there is a review committee who reviews RFP proposals and we can ask Sheila if we could have a representative on this review group 7. Signage Project – Jim was not in attendance so we will table the discussion until next month. 8. Raised Sidewalk curb, 4-1 design discussion: Ross said there would be many opportunities over the next year during the Cedar Street sidewalk design to give input on curb design. 9. Permitted Bikeway Events • Tough Ruck Marathon Event April 16th 9:00 – 5:00 pm, 400+ runners/marchers enrolled • Charlie Proctor Memorial Bike Ride May 29th 9:30 – 2:00, 80 – 100 riders on the Bikeway Upcoming Dates: • LBAC / FoLB Meeting – May 12, 7pm