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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-07-26-AHTC-min (PM)Ad Hoc Transportation Committee Lexpress Public Forum 7/26/2023 Meeting of the committee called to order at 6:51 pm Meeting minutes from previous committee meetings accepted. Public meeting called to order at 7:00 pm Deepika introduced the meeting calling for public feedback.Slides were shared on screen. Slide presentation:Carolyn explained the reason the ad hoc Transportation committee was instituted. Sally reviewed the challenges the town faces in running /funding Lexpress.Bridger invited the community to comment. PUBLIC COMMENT: John Zhao –Cochair of the Council on Aging –commenting as a private citizen.Seniors take Lexpress a few times a month to go to the mall and Lahey –they don’t take it every day but may take it monthly. The seniors who live in the three senior living villages in Lexington often do not drive.Therefore, Lexpress is important for them. Leena Dey –student at LHS –Lexpress is good for students –would really like weekend service –LHS end timing and Lexpress schedule doesn’t correspond.The Lexpress doesn’t come soon enough –should mesh better with student ’s schedules.Should train elementary-middle school students how to use the system,flag down the bus.Previously the students would learn from older students,but that is not the case now.Only people who know about it use it and not everyone knows about it. Ruben Uesche –Has been a resident in town twice,in between moved away.Previously he used a car but now he doesn’t have a car and uses Lexpress with his wife.Has taken all the routes.People with disabilities are treated very nicely when they are going to Market Basket and Lahey.Lexpress stops at all crosswalks unlike other drivers and so sets a good example,by courteously sharing the road.We need sustainable energy solutions for Lexington.Is Lexpress energy efficient?Look to the town development goals for 2030.We need to lead by example.“All politics is local.”We can show what a Town can do!Is Lexpress can assist security as Lexpress dirvers go everywhere in town and can see what is happening on the roads,such as bears in town etc.Drivers can support emergency cases. Uttam Rajbhandari –88 years old.Lived in Lexington for 53 years.Couldn’t drive for a period and used Lexpress.Could go to the PO,center,pharmacy,library,Lahey,etc.It made him appreciate Lexington Center.He used it to go to Arlington Heights,connect with the bus to get to Alewife and then all over.It made it possible to get around.It is timely,drivers are polite,and very nice.Got to know other passengers –visitors to town,elderly,groups of students.Can drive now but will continue to ride Lexpress.It is a wonderful resource.He notes that drivers do not always collect fares as they should. Spoke of one driver whi is a veteran at 70s years old and has started a charity to help children.Lexpress brings people together.Will encourage his friends and neighbors to use it. Nishanth Veeragandham –Student at Lexpress,liaison to TAC.Strong interest in the pass.Shouldn’t jump to conclusions about current demand as it is the summer and students are on vacation.He thinks Lexpress schedules are not well aligned with going to and from school and after-school activities.To many students drive their cars to school and it is very congested around the school.Should keep Lexpress to help with this.More frequent service would prevent long waits for the bus in the cold during winter. Sanjay Padaki –town meeting member –thinks Lexpress should be better aligned with people’s schedules –a lot of rides at the beginning and end of the day –not so many in the middle.He thinks the routes are good,but the schedule is not.Spoke about the three demographics to be served:seniors, students (have fixed schedules and defined destinations)and everybody else.“takes me where I want to go but never when I want to go”. Carolyn Levi –Lives on Turning Mill –Can’t lose our public transportation or she won’t be able to vote. Currently her voting station is 4 to 5 miles away.She uses Lexpress every couple of months and is counting on it for aging in place.Need an easier way to get info about how to access Lexpress.She doesn’t want to have to plan for a ride a day ahead but with Lexpress she can look up the schedule and plan a couple hours ahead,which is good.She reads the SAGE newsletter. Conan –Used Lexpress frequently in the past –not ideal for commuters because it doesn’t start early enough.Could drive to the center and then take the MBTA.Could use school bus funds if Lexpress is used to meet student needs for after school activities.There is possibly a market for early commuters. Ruben (second time)–Students in Boston would like to come to Lexington for historical tourism. Universities should promote Lexington particularly for foreign students. Jing –Has lived in Lexington 10 years –lives on Middle St.Lexpress has been a great value for her family –her parents (mid 70s)took Lexpress to Market Basket and to the Mall.It increased their autonomy. (The bus drives are great.)They stopped taking it during the pandemic –then the routes changed and they don’t use it anymore.They take the MBTA to the center but then must wait too long for Lexpress. The schedules do not coordinate as they have to wait.They never go to the Burlington Mall.Maybe the ridership decreased because the routes are worse.We really value the Lexpress services that Lexington has provided. Kavitha Chiiukula –Constitution Road –Her kids don’t take the schoolbus every day.Would be great to have Lexpress as an alternative way to get to school.Recently stopped paying for the school bus as her children bike,or get car rides to school. Jodia Finnegan –Used it quite often in the past –it doesn’t come down Grant St.anymore so she can’t use it.She used to use it for grocery shopping or go to the Mall. Nishanth (second time)Students need Lexpress to get to work.Students need to advocate for it because they are the ones that need it to get places.Students not aware that the Ad Hoc Committee is considering ending Lexpress.We need to let the students know they need to use it or it could end.If Lexpress operated on weekends that would be great for students.Mentioned lack of student representative on the AHTC.Some of the places the LHS students he knows work are at Walgreens in Lexington or the Mall in Burlington. Jyoti Dhekane –Shade St.–Doesn’t come close enough to her neighborhood –would like it to come within a mile of her house.Works downtown and has to drive to Alewife everyday and park there. Shreyas Patchala –Would be great it went to Hayden and Lincoln Park. Sanjay –Routes are long –would be great if there were short routes for students and more frequent service during peak hours.For students we have very targeted destinations there if service could increase to those areas then Lexpress would be more used. Zoe Rahbhandery –Parents live in Lexington on Wheeler Road –her father took Lexpress to Lahey –He got stuck in a snowstorm –Susan Barrett made sure that a bus came to where he was and got him home. Elaine Quinlan –she had no car for a year.She bought a senior Charlie Card and just got the $20 Lexpress pass.She likes the pass.MBTA has a better bus project.Lexpress should coordinate with that. Diane Pursley –Turning Mill –Traffic in Lexington is increasing dramatically –it now takes 25 minutes to get into the center;it used to take 10.Town Meeting continues to pass high density bylaws.She bought her daughter a pass –so many of the kids have their own cars –she needs the bus to come into her neighborhood.Need to educate the kids and their parents about how to use Lexpress.More publicity.If you decrease service,you decrease ridership.As Lexington gets denser,should double down or even triple-down the $$to Lexpress,especially after passing the TMM article on MBTA communities. Tina McBride –Turning Mill –Grew up in Lexington riding Lexpress as a teenager.Lexpress opened up a lot of opportunities for her to get around.Concurs with Diane –need more service not less.In Manhattan even young children use public transportation.We shouldn’t have parents sitting in their cars outside schools,car idling –have to think about climate change –and the air their kids are breathing. Jeremy Bowman –He moved here two years ago from Somerville.Was very mass transit dependent in Somerville however uses the car in Lexington.Would like to use Lexpress.A minor tweak to the route A2 would link it to bus 61.It would allow Lexington folks to reach the Star Market stores area in Waltham. He notes that the route map on the website is blurry and pixelated. Conan (second time)70 acres in Lexington are zoned for multi-family.We will need Lexpress for increased density –if we cut it now it will be hard to get back later.Also weekend service would help [serve]that population Paul Benger –Springdale Road –No route near his house.Closest stop is nearly a mile away.He isn’t able to enjoy the benefits of Lexpress.The Lexpress drivers are courteous and the service is safe however that is not so with the T.He would like to use Lexpress to go to the center.Should add routes – that will increase ridership. Tina McBride –her daughter says that there should be field trips on Lexpress to all the taverns. Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:33 pm.