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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-02-GCC-min Greenways Corridor Committee February 2, 2023 DRAFT Parker Room -Town Office Building, and Zoom Lexington, Massachusetts Members Present Mal Crawford*,Alex Dohan, Peggy Enders, Eileen Entin, Yifang Gong, Bob Hausslein*, Keith Ohmart, Stephen Perkins Member Absent Bobak Moshiri Other Attendees , Mike Tabaczynski, Charles Hornig* *via zoom Votes • Meeting minutes of January 5, 2023 Approved - Crawford, Yes, Dohan, Yes, Enders, Yes, Gong, Yes, Hausslein, Yes, Ohmart, Yes, Perkins, Yes Reports/Updates • Members approved meeting date changes from March 2 to February 23, June 1 to June 8 • Bob Hausslein talked about a series of three ACROSS Lexington walks he will lead to encourage those not familiar with the ACROSS network to join him in relatively leisurely explorations of three of the routes The walks will be widely publicized and are scheduled in late April and May • Peggy said that Sheila Page is planning a Bike/Ped Plan kickoff meeting for February 15, the session will involve the VHB consultants, some town staff, and representatives from a number of transportation-related committees In addition to the GCC liaison to TSG, another member from GCC will be asked to join the advisory group, Bobak will be that second representative The advisory group will meet three times during the course of the Bike/Ped planning process • Mike said that the status of the GIS interactive mapping project remains unchanged since his last report He is in the process of converting POI's to data format and plans to follow up with town IT staff • Keith gave a recap of the January 30 meeting with the Conservation Commission, saying that the Commission responded positively to the three pending route projects He said that the challenge for GCC members will be to sort out priorities, the balance of this evening's meeting was devoted to a discussion of that process based on Keith's handout that itemized work to be done Of the three, he said, the Wright Farm et al Loop is the one most doable in the short term, subject to a few unknowns Site walks for the proposed loops need to be scheduled Concord Avenue/Route 9 • Obtain boundary survey quotes • Review Mass Audubon LMP quote with Conservation • Reconfirm Mass Audubon LMP quote with Bill G (Keith) • Submit Mary Record Fund application • Review estimated LMP process timeline from Conservation/Coordinate LMP (Keith) • Supervise LMP process • Touch base w Fred Hoppin/Brookhaven Nature Committee (Keith) This new route south of Concord Avenue links to the BeaverBrook North reservation After reviewing the to-do list provided in the call to the meeting, Keith said that he is looking for a volunteer to prepare the application to the Judy Record Fund (a trust fund in memory of an active Audubon volunteer) as well as to coordinate the project starting July 1 There was discussion of the need for coordination to stay on top of what two contractors will be doing, with public meetings, GCC's role, and contact with town staff—work that will take place over the summer and into the fall Keith will check whether or not an RFP is needed Mike is concerned that DCR may be an obstacle to executing a plan that would require wetland permitting on DCR property Keith proposed a site walk by GCC to determine whether to use existing trails or install a new one Keith mentioned another unknown is the need for a crosswalk at Concord Avenue, Mike suggested that a crosswalk at Scott Road be recommended in the land management plan Proposed Route 19 • Obtain copy of Design Plan for MRWA storm abatement work from Conservation/Town files (Keith) • Confirm alignment of existing social trail with plan's proposed public access • Review trail alignment with Conservation • Approach Lexington Housing Authority for route access permission • Approach School Department/Facilities (Mike Cronin) and Recreation Department for route access permission • Review new AGM trail alignment with FoAGM/Town of Arlington (Mike) • Arrange for permitting process with Lexington Conservation for new trail if approved by Town of Arlington • If needed, approach Emerson Gardens homeowners association for posting signs along rear access road bordering AGM Coordinate with FoAGM This route would link Route C in Arlington Great Meadows with Route G at Lower Vine Brook Arlington is deciding whether to transfer authority of AGM from their select board to the conservation commission, this may delay permission for a route A possible work- around is through Emerson Gardens With respect to Maple Street at Harrington School, Keith said Karen suggested going along the drive to Harrington and going into woods behind the admin building would be faster than waiting on Conservation to process using parcel 38-137 There is already a design plan for parcel 46-113 A from the Mystic River Watershed Assoc that includes public access Keith said Karen will look into providing a copy Keith outlined two options for the AGM workaround 1)talk to Emerson Gardens homeowners association to post signs (however, it's a driveway with parking, not a continuous path and no prior contact with Emerson Gardens), 2)just use Maple Street, Emerson Gardens Road, and the brand new entranceway built for new condo, go into AGM that way Keith summarized that the workarounds with respect to existing impediments require contacting Harrington School/Facilities, Recreation Dept , and the Lexington Housing Authority and possibly the homeowners association of Emerson Gardens The rest of the route would be on streets and sidewalks Keith asked members whether GCC is ready to move forward on Route 19 on this basis (i e , putting on back burner Pheasant Pond,AGM, Lot 38-137) and the sense of the meeting favored that option Wright Farm et al Loop • Depending on approval from Conservation for ACROSS route along eastern boundary of Wright Farm property, review options for using Jefferson Drive access • Review options with Friends of Landlocked Forest (Mike) • Resolve Grove Street crossing at Paint Mine trail • Obtain permission from Drummer Boy to place ACROSS signs on existing trail Keith said that the proposed route along the eastern boundary of Wright Farm property was essentially approved by the Conservation Commission at their meeting on January 30 Members discussed what to expect from the town of Burlington in terms of being allowed to place route markers in the Landlocked Forest Mike said that, if there is resistance from the Burlington select board, he might be able to place arrows in the forest or just post the map Members discussed the options for the Drummer Boy section, the route would cross a piece of their property An alternative would be to route through a piece of conservation land requiring wetland permitting The route section at the end of Rangeway was discussed, the developer of the nearby lot built a retaining wall with a drainage pipe Permitting was given with understanding that the area would continue to be walkable Also discussed was a connection on the other side of Grove Street to existing Route B Mike mentioned the idea of bundling Proposed Routes 4 and 14 Eldred Street was mentioned as part of a new route 14 that uses Eldred instead of the school Keith will be in touch with the president of the Drummer Boy association, Bob Peters With their permission, and with a solution to get across Grove Street, the Wright Farm loop work could proceed Keith asked members to consider options for further discussion at the meeting on February 23 Other Business • Still $1500 left of the FY23 PIR money to spend before June 30 Need to determine how much sign material to have in stock for the next three years • Winter clearance of town sidewalks needs to be an issue for the Bike/Ped planning effort • Briefly discussed was the idea of publicizing routes that touch Lexington but aren't officially ACROSS routes Such routes include trails in Lexington that connect to the Old Reservoir in Bedford, BeaverBrook north, the Landlocked Forest, etc There was interest in considering this as a possible future project The meeting was adjourned at 6 00 pm Next Meeting: Thursday, February 23, 4 30-6 00 pm Future Meeting Dates April 6, May 4, June 8 Recorder Peggy Enders