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Home My WebLink About1984-02-29-TAC-min.pdf T.A C Meeting Minutes February 29, 1984 - 1 Present Sally Castleman, Webb Sussman, Bill Mix, Lance Newman, Joyce Hals, Lillie Silvera, Chuck Stevens, Sara Arnold, Alice Hinkle, David Stumpp, David Pickman, ST Tung, and Nancy Wilson 2 Hudson Bus - Sara reported that Hudson has started a new service which begins in Lexington and terminates in Boston, Mon - Sat , all day - Price to Boston is now $2 as opposed to the old price of $3 This is the same that Gray Line charges per ride from those who purchase a book of tickets This may result in some competition although Gray Line is faster and uses coaches 3 Gray Line - Sally reviewed the sequence of events that has resulted in a serious parking problem related to commuters on the Gray Line Specifically, Harding Rd res- idents want their street posted No Parking 7 a m - 10 a.m These Parkers need a place to park Also the parkers in the pool parking lot must be moved out in April - Discussion followed Sally said the Selectmen are looking into using St Brigids Joyce suggested dispersing cars by having some people park opposite the Field House and some opposite the Grace Chapel this would eliminate the stop at the Center library Other areas mentioned woods on Worthen Rd between the bike path and Hayden (costly) , Lincoln Field (remote and eliminated by the Selectmen) , 1 Res parking on Marrett Rd (remote) , DPW tree farm (costly) , and railroad tracks near DPW (narrow) - Committee members should look into these areas and see if there is a new approach or suggestion that can be reviewed 4 M.B T.A Routes after Alewife Opening - Four residents attended to express their concerns Mr Stumpp uses the # 76 from Marrett Rd to Harvard Sq Mr Tung relies on the Five Forks bus; Dave Pickman from Bedford is concerned that service be continued into Bedford Nancy Wilson was generally concerned - Lance reviewed the four current routes and possible alternatives # 76 - Hanscom - Harvard Sq - could terminate at Alewife; it is unlikely that this bus, if it goes to Alewife, would continue to Harvard Sq because it would parallel service to the underground # 62 - V.A Hosp -Arlington Heights - could take Pleasant St to Alewife or could take Park Ave to Alewife # 67 - Five Forks - Arlington Center ridership is light in Lexington - could terminate in Arlington, eliminating Lexington section # 61 - Waltham Sq - Lexington Center - ridership is light in Lexington - could travel from Waltham to Rt 2 and take Rt 2 to Alewife - These alternatives are being considered a preliminary recommendation will be made in April to solicit public input A final recommendation will be made to the MBTA in June - Other services being looked at include service from Burlington, Bedford, and Concord to Alewife using Rt 128 (if necessary) and Rt. 2 -2- Other ideas brought up by Committee members or the public were evening service and having the Five Forks bus come into Lexington but turn right at Woburn St to provide service to 7oburn (After the meeting Elainre_ Dratchibroixght up the question of serving .Hayden Ave, Opinions were solicited by telephone 1 - Chuck suggested having LEXPRESS serve Alewife in the evening This seemed feasible since the buses are not on their regular routes after 6 30 p.m. - Lance also has a possible routing for the #62 and #76 which would allow both routes to cover Hartwell Ave - The Committee decided to make the following recommendations to the Board of Selectmen 1 Hartwell Ave should receive service - the coverage by the #62 & #76 appears to be workable 2 Arlington Heights should be served by a bus so that there is continued coverage on Mass Ave between Pleasant Street and the Heights 3 Coverage on Hayden Ave should be seriously considered, probably in conjunction with a bus that travels from Rt 128 to Rt 2 4 The Town should request that LEXPRESS and non-profit transportation services (ie Share-a-Ride) be allowed to serve Alewife and Arlington Heights A written response should be solicited 5 The Town should request a policy statement on the potential for private carriers to serve Alewife 6 The Town should request a statement of the cost of providing limited evening service between Lex center and Alewife Also, the feasability of the T providing evening service should be determined :-y%' - The Committee will also inform the Selectmen of the following 1 Ridership on the Lexington section of the #61 and #67 is very low This would strongly suggest that it will be recommended to eliminate these sections 2 Several residents who use the #67 have expressed their need for this service 3 There are some requests for evening service There is a potential that this could be supplied by LEXPRESS 4 LEXPRESS - Sally and Sara have made arrangements to include an ad and coupon in the United Coupon mailing It will go out around March 19 Chuck requested that he see the proof beforeit is approved It was decided to make the coupon valid through April 13 Chuck_ said that a 10`b return is considered very high and that we shouldn't worry about extending the time allotment - Ae will conduct a ridership count on March 14 - 2 buses if possible Webb -g i volunteered to do one bus all day with a lunch break Sara will look into available interns Th -Sally reported that some changes have been made in personnel at Transcomm, and since those changes we have seen an increase in cash revenue of $40 to $50 per day The personnel changes came as a result of a suspicion of theft Unfortunately the police were unable to make any arrests so we are not in a position of being able to accuse anyone of anything This must be handled judiciously by Committee members so as not to jeopardize the Town legally The Committee understands that they are not free to discuss this publically and will wait for the Town Manager's lead on how ±t will be handled at Town Meeting 5 Next Meeting--scheduled for Wed , March 14