HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-09-27-CSDRC-min
Town of Lexington
Center Streetscape Design Review Ad Hoc Committee
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Parker Room, Lexington Town Hall
8:00 AM to 10 AM
Minutes
Attendees:
Committee Members; Committee Chair Howard Levin, Victoria Buckley
(Disability Commission), Margaret Enders (Bicycle Advisory), John Frey (Tree),
Jonathan A. Himmel (Tourism), Wendell C. Kalsow (Historical Comm), Timothy
D. Lee (Design Advisory), Pamela F. Shadley (Center Comm).
Liaisons; Elaine Doran (Garden Club), Wendy Manz (Capital Expenditures),
David Wells (Hist. Soc.), Eric Michelson (Retailer's Assoc.), Glenn Parker
(Appropriation)
Invitees; Nancy Adler,Elizabeth Brach, George Burnell, Mark Connor, Jay Flynn,
Fred Johnson, David Kucharsky, Gerry Paul, David Pinsonneault (DPW)
The meeting was called to order at 8:07 AM. Attendees were welcomed and asked
to sign in.
The minutes of September 19th meeting were approved noting one typo on page
one.
Levin gave overview of the Selectmen's meeting held the previous night, Monday
9/26. Questions about installation and lifecycle costs on concrete vs. brick were
raised. This committee needs more data before it can establish costs.
Levin then welcomed Kelly Carr and Kien Ho from Beta Group to present on the
Tiers 1 and 2 phases of the project.
Carr and Ho's presentation included:
o Safety sighted as an important issue in gateways, crosswalks and lighting.
o Flow of design elements from Center to Woburn Street important for all user
groups; citizens and visitors for a pleasant pedestrian, bicyclist and driving
experience. updating lighting, incorporating more bike racks, more 'bump outs' to
encourage lingering and conversation.
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o Trees and plantings: Beta informed committee that its preliminary assessment on
trees needs to be addressed again. Committee members concerned about removing
70 of the 76 existing trees and the new design not incorporating a double row of
trees in order to have a promenade experience for the pedestrian.
Structural soil needs close examining for tree health. Professional consultant will
be asked for assistance on this. Current trees have suffered and this may be due to
inadequate soil prep., lack of sun or a blight.
Shrubs and planters to be used to buffer roadway and emphasize gateways. Current
wooden barrels replaced with more durable all weather planters.
o Irrigation and drainage systems not designed as yet.
o There is no plan to change the current memorial bench program. DPW's annual
power washing cleans surface dirt and allows the teak wood to weather naturally.
Committee member asked to have wheelchair space next to benches. It was
suggested some of the benches be placed perpendicularly to encourage
conversation and interaction.
o The plan calls for 42 single loop bicycle racks and 5 multipleloop racks, and
reset the existing.
o Crosswalks and gateways to be constructedof mixed materials. April Parade
route taken into account,so no raised medians.
o Interpretation, signage and wayfinding. Beta proposes mounting graphics, maps
and panels simply to unify the existing historic and 20th c. signage. Beta is under
contract to advise and design new signage and interpretive elements.
Beta concluded its presentation and discussions ensued.
Connor: (Referring to Beta's plan), raised concerns over the loss of space and
elimination of trees at Edison Way and Mass. Ave. crosswalk. Can space
accommodate ramp and trees?
Michelson: Concerned over loss of parking in town. Prefers no 'bump outs' in favor
of additional parking spaces. Pointed out to Beta the different heights on the two
sides of Mass. Ave. ; this is important factor to consider before design is
completed.
Buckley: Lighting is crucial where there are trees.
Johnson: Suggested no 'bump out' at Grain Mill Alley as it might encourage
pedestrians to cross where there is no crosswalk.
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Note; It was clarified with Beta thesidewalkportion of Grain Mill Alley is inthe
public way / sidewalk is in their scope.
Paul: Notes lack of trees on Waltham Street. Suggested plantings and bump outs
to encourage pedestrian traffic there.
Wells: Suggested it would be helpful to have a rendering of Beta's plan froma
pedestrian's view.
Kalsow:Beta should look closer at Sasaki's plan as part of their existing conditions
work.Feels they need to be more sensitive to it.
Levin: There is a desire to respect the Sasaki plan. It is an historic and significant
plan that preserves the mid-century elements. This committee is here because of
dissatisfaction with what happened in previous meetings concerning streetscape
renovations. We are asking you (Beta) to evolve your work to reflect our
committee's decisions
Enders: Noise level (as a pedestrian) is too high. Current plantings around benches
were meant to buffer noise, but they are just a visual barrier.
Pinsonneault:Beta’s work reflects 25% designonly. This is opportunity to make
revisions.
Review of Work Plan
Levin reviewed scope of Tier 1and Tier 2 Work Plans.
Levin thanked Beta for the open and thoughtful presentation to create a coherent,
consistent program for the Center. He added that we need more resources to arrive
at the bottom linecosts.
Currently the recommendation is for nearly100% wire cut brick surface with some
concrete.
Pinsonneaultasked that all brick areas be defined in order to cost out.
Enders will present on bicycle/parking accommodationat October 25th meeting.
Discussion on appointing consultant(s) for trees, structural soil and irrigation.
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Flynn: Expressed concern for the Woburn Street/Mass. Ave. intersection re-design
and how it relates to the proposed traffic light installation there. Our charge is the
design and materials but it isn't in our scope to consider traffic lights.
Emphasized was this intersection's importance as a major gateway to Lexington
Center.
Following discussion it was determined that the committee can produce core
design elements that can later be modified to accommodatethe traffic lights.
Kien Ho(Beta): We can come up with a plan for the intersection at Woburn Street
and Mass. Ave that will fit in to the rest of the plan and facilitate that challenging
section (of the center.)
Beta and DPW will discuss lifecycle costs.
Buckley & Committeemember to work on what else we can do to educate
committee members about variety of disabilities and how that affectschoices of
materials.
Levin expressed effort to streamline the Tier subgroups in the interest of
efficiency.
Meeting was adjourned at10:12 AM.
Next meeting on Tuesday, October 11 at 8 AM.
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