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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-12-15-CRC-min RECEIVED 9 SELECTMEN //,J if JAN 2 3 1984 Minutes of Center Revitalization Committee The Center Revitalization Committee (CRC) met on December 15, 1983 at F 12 37 FM in the Selectmen' s Meeting Room in the Town Office Building Present from the CRC were Margery Battin (Chair) , Jacqueline Bateson, Laura Nichols, John Powell , Robert Sacco, Joseph Trani and David Wells Robert Bowyer and Walter Tonaszuck were present from the Town Also attending I were Norma Bogen (Land Use Subcommittee) , Fay Bussgang, Frank Cavatorta, John Eddison, Angela Frick (MAPC) , Sheila Hoadley, Judy Newman (Land Use Subcommittee) , John Oberteuffer (Conservation Commission) and Don Olson (Land Use Subcommittee) Timothy Wege represented the Chamber of Commerce The agenda for the meeting included approval the minutes from the December 1 i meeting, discussion of possible warrant articles, a change in the commuter bus stop and elimination of parking on part of Winthrop Road Approval of minutes from December 1 meeting Several changes were proposed to the submitted minutes It was suggested that the minutes be changed to say that a policeman was not necessary to control the traffic light at Waltham Street and Mass Ave It was also suggested that it be stated that a direct access to Grant Street from the Edison Way lot was not possible and that there should be a reversal lane and channelization at the Woburn Street /Mass i Ave intersection R Sacco suggested that approval of the minutes be delayed until the CRC had a copy with the final changes N Battin asked if it was OK to release the preliminary draft to the newspaper with the proposed changes The CRC had no objection Discussion of Parking Area near Park Drive and Muzzey Street M Battin had contacted Tony Clough, from the School Committee, and Geoffrey Pierson, School Superintendent , to get their reaction to the proposal to build a parking area for permit parking on school property adjacent to the High School The school administration has several concerns about the proposal including the problem of parking on Muzzey Street and the proximity to the High School with the problem of safety of students going to and from the High School and the problem of control of the students in the parking areas Clough and Pierson said that moving of the school administration out of the School Administration building is part of the school closing plan, but there would be no decision until February 1984 and no action until 1985 W Tonaszuck had contacted the Police Department for their reaction to the parking proposal They expressed concerns about landscaping around the area D Wells contacted the Recreation Committee The Recreation Committee was primarily concerned with the precedence of using recreation land for parking "Where will the next encroachment be?" they ask They were also concerned with the aesthetics of the proposed parking area It was also pointed out that the drawing of the church land was inaccurate and there was no land available behind the church J Oberteuffer from the Conservation Commission reminded the CRC that much of the area was wetland and would require action by the Great and General Court and the Town Meeting Furthermore, there has been a change in the state wetlands law and there might be less latitude under the new law He was not optimistic about this proposal P Page 2 L Nichols reported that the Land Use Subcommittee is opposed to the use of the residential areas around the Center for parking areas for employees and customers of the Center The group felt that since the Belfry Lot was not fully utilized at present , further parking in the area could not be justified There was no objection from the Land Use Subcommittee to the development of parking at the end of Park Drive adjacent to the playground W Tonaszuck said that this area was too far from the Center and there was no demand for parking in this area The Land Use Subcommittee is also concerned with safety because of cars backing on to Muzzey Street It would also be difficult to develop the area without worsening the water problems in the area W Tonaszuck also met Don Olson, representing the neighbors There was a lot of negative reaction from the neighbors to the proposal It was felt that if there was to be any parking developed, then it should be behind the church M Battin summarized the concerns expressed by all the people contacted The school department had no problem with parking directly on Park Drive However, even this area would require a 2/3 vote in Town Meeting and 2/3 vote in the Great and General Court T Wege from the Chamber of Commerce said that the proposal should be pursued since the 195 spaces would help alleviate the present shortage of 221 spaces The Chamber would like to see money spent where it would have the most effect to alleviate the parking problem M Battin asked if there was agreement that it would be unwise to proceed with a proposal for a large parking area adjacent to the high school and perpendicular parking on Muzzey because of widespread opposition and our own concerns about safety and aesthetics The committee agreed W Tonaszuck reviewed the options for other development on Park Drive The first was to build 54 spaces of parallel parking for $31 ,000 The second option was to build the 54 spaces with another 10 behind the church for $39 , 000 The third option was to build 86 spaces of perpendicular parking on Park Drive for $82,000 The third option has the problem of cars backing out on to Park Drive and it was being studied to see what the upper limit was in the number of spaces that could be built in the area The above costs are for construction only and do not include cost of landscaping the area L Nichols proposed a compromise of parallel parking on the south side of Park Drive and perpendicular parking on the north side of Park Drive behind the church There would be no parking behind the three houses on Forest Street closest to Waltham Street M Battin asked if the CRC would at least keep space available on the Warrant for development of a parking area and continue to explore more limited parking on Park Drive in line with the Nichols Proposal Meriam Street Lot The discussion turned to the Meriam Street lot W Tonaszuck said there were generally 26 to 28 empty spaces in the permit area In a survey, they found 9 cars with permits had not used to lot in a whole week The permit area has 76 spaces and 94 permits had been sold J Bateson said that the lot was underutilized, but that there were times when people with permits could not find space there W Tonaszuck said there were 30 people on the waiting Iist for permits in the Meriam Street lot , but Page 3 he felt that some of these were on the list just for insurance and would not necessarily purchase permits when they became available K Sorensen suggested that the lot be made available for ticket parking on holidays and weekends when full-time employees generally did not need the space R Bowyer suggested that no more permits be issued and that the present permit area be slightly reduced He also suggested that permit holders be permitted to park in the rest of the lot for free He agreed that the permit area should be available to all ticket holders for parking on weekends, holidays and evenings J Oberteuffer suggested that attendants be hired to staff the parking lots They would park the cars and many more cars could then be parked in the same amount of area Perhaps the attendants could work only during the peak time of the day It would be a matter of hiring several workers and they could be paid out of fees for parking W Tonassuck pointed out that the Town was not a private business and that the money to be spent had to be appropriated by the Town Meeting and the receipts would go to the E & D Fund Such a scheme of attended parking lots was at least a year away It was also impractical because of budget restrictions and liability problems R Bowyer said that there was no time right now to work on attended parking , but that the Town should appropriate money to pay for Town staff for parking studies and administration M Battin pointed out that since the issue we all appeared to agree upon was better utilization of existing spaces, these recommendations merited further consideration and if an attendant might contribute to a solution, monies could be asked for at ' 84 Town Meeting to go into effect July ' 84 D Wells said that there was still the problem of dealing with the 28 empty spaces in the Meriam Street lot K Sorensen suggested that the permit be used as a pass and that no spaces be reserved for permit parking After discussion, the CRC decided to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that a six month experiment be tried where permits would allow parking without buying a ticket from the machine, but no spaces would be reserved for permit parking Permits would be valid on weekends k J Bateson suggested that a meter person be hired to enforce parking regulations because many people were parking without buying a ticket School Administration Lot At this point there was more discussion of the development of the school administration lot for permit parking See discussion above M Battin felt that , because of great opposition two years ago, it was unwise to bring the school administration lot proposal back to Town Meeting in ' 84 W Tonaszuck said that the lot had 21 spaces and 21 permits and was never fully utilized There is no waiting list for permits in the school administration lot Some of the permits are purchased by businesses that move and do not inform the Town Parking on Mass Ave from Winthrop Road to Slocum Road A letter was received from a resident on Hunt Road suggesting that the parking on the south side of Mass Ave from Winthrop Road to Hunt Road was a hazard because of reduced sight distances for cars coming from Hunt Road on to Mass Ave Page 4 3 J Trani said that the problem was serious and existed all the way to Slocum Road A motion was made by J Trani and seconded by L Nichols to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that parking be prohibited on the south side of Mass Ave from Winthrop Road to Slocum Road After further discussion, the motion was amended and voted to prohibit parking from 6 to 10 AM with 2 hour parking permitted thereafter It was agreed to monitor the results over the next several months to determine if outright prohibition was needed Parking on Winthrop Road The discussion turned to a request to extend the parking prohibition on the east side of Winthrop Road from where it presently ends near Mass Ave to the point opposite Vine Brook Road L Nichols felt that this area should have the same 6-10 AM prohibition with two hour parking to 6 PM as was used on most of the other residential streets around the Center After further discussion, it was decided by consensus of the CRC that it be recommended that parking be completely prohibited on the east side of Winthrop Road from Mass Ave to the point opposite Vine Brook Road Commuter Bus Stop A short discussion was held and it was decided to recommend that the commuter bus stop presently at the rear of St Brigid ' s parking lot on Worthen Road be moved to the area by the Town Pool parking area on Worthen Road Meeting The next meeting of the CRC will be held on January 19, 1984 The time was tentatively set at noon and the place will be the Selectmen' s meeting room Because the noon hour is difficult for a number of people on the committee, an evening meeting will be considered Back to School Administration Lot R Sacco made a motion, seconded by J Trani , to go forward with bringing the School Administration lot to the 1984 Town Meeting for consideration J Newman, speaking as a neighbor, said that she was opposed to the development of this area for more parking It would have a visual impact The lots in the area were small and this area was the only open area for casual sports where a major street need not be crossed W Tonaszuck felt that bringing too many proposals to Town Meeting would reduce the credibility of the CRC People would say that the CRC represented only the business interests in the Center J Powell and J Bateson both made the point that development of the area would tend to improve what it is now an unattractive area D Wells tended to agree with W Tonaszuck regarding too many articles and felt that the only real solution to the parking problem in the Center is to build a parking garage The motion was defeated by a vote of three in favor (J Powell , R Sacco and J Trani ) and four opposed fM Battin, L Nichols, K Sorensen, and D Wells) J Bateson abstained Executive Session The CRC voted unanimously to go into executive session to discuss the potential acquisition of land where the release of information would be detrimental to the Town' s interest in its negotiations with the owner of the land Meters on Edison Way J Bateson made a motion, seconded by R Sacco, that 15 meters in the Edison Way lot be converted to 10 hour meters J Bateson reported that Henry Patterson, owner of Bel Canto, was not opposed to the proposed change The motion passed unanimously Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 2 51 PM Respectfully submitted , Karsten Sorensen Revised Jan 21 , 1984 per CRC meeting of Jan 19 , 1984