HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-10-GCC-min
Greenways Corridor Committee
July 10, 2017
Ellen Stone Room, Cary Hall
Lexington, Massachusetts
Members Present: Mal Crawford, Alex Dohan, Peggy Enders, Eileen Entin, Don Grant, Susan
Kenyon, Keith Ohmart,
Other Attendees: none
Votes: Minutes of June 12, 2017 meeting: Approved
Discussion of change in meeting day/time: No change to be made at this time
Reports/Updates:
• Presentation proposal to Mass Trails Conference was not accepted.
• 0 Grove St - with Planning Board. No more for GCC to do at this point.
• Old Mill St trail still in hands of lawyers.
• The simplified ACROSS map designed by Glenn Parker has been made accessible with a
link that Susan will put on the Facebook page. Glenn is happy for us to use it.
• Zoning bylaw to include trail requirement for new developments. Aaron Henry will give us a
link to the bylaw.
• Keith met with Carol Kowalski over several items: Working with Michelle Ciccolo and Carl
Valente, will look into having the School Dept Print Shop print the new ACROSS brochure.
Regarding the Pelham Rd property, Melissa Batite, Director of Recreation and Community
Programs, was looped in as the proposed new School building will have a connection to the
Community Ctr and it would be better to plan it all at once than make alterations later on, if
we can. Peggy will work with Mike and the Conservation Dept to work out a trail to Upper
Vine Brook for Cotton Farm; Karen Mullins can inform us of permitting requirements; may or
may not need a boardwalk. For trail maintenance on non-Conservation property, Carol would
like a budget amount so she can add it to Conservation - DPW does not have time for that
work. Places to consider - trail between Coppersmyth Way and Bridge School, Laconia St
trail (Andy Friedlich is presently mowing as needed), Freemont St trail occasionally has
branches come down.
• Route H - Needs some pruning, but rocks and stumps have been removed. We will need to
apply for a permit to add a new boardwalk between Coppersmyth Way and Bridge School;
Mal will begin the process, consulting with Karen Mullins as to which permit is required. And
CLC will offer a Route H walk as part of the fall series on Sept 17.
• Goal Setting for Select Board - Peggy described how the staff goes through the list and
some items get forwarded to the Select Board. We should propose one “high level” goal and
one “concrete/attainable” goal.
• Rerouting Route A - Diamond Middle School is closed off for construction now. Keith has
emailed Dave Kucharsky about using Victory Garden Way, which would require two new
posts. Will wait to hear from Dave K to make further decisions. Clarke M.S. route is also tem-
porarily closed for construction.
• Meeting with Melissa Tintocalis, Office of Economic Development - There will soon be a Bike
Share hub by the Visitor Center, and a mailing will go out about that and ACROSS with the
next round of tax bills. We discussed which map to include in that mailing. Melissa will con-
nect GCC with new Minute Man National Historical Park superintendent so we can begin
working on getting ACROSS signs on the Battle Road. Nordblum Development Corp is inter-
ested in developing a trail from Burlington to the Vine Brook Recreation Trail via Myrna and
Carl Roads. We discussed this area when we were creating Route A, but never pursued it.
This would also connect to apartments being build behind Wegman’s in Burlington. Shire
folks would like a guided walk on Route H - another leader would be good for that event.
• Meeting with Melissa Batite and Peter Coleman, director of programming, from Recreation &
Community Programs. This was a second meeting. A series of walks are listed in the fall cat-
alog - we can list ACROSS walks in the Health & Wellness segment of their website, with a
brief description of difficulty and terrain. Susan will gather route info for these one-paragraph
descriptions. Christine, the director of the Community Center, likes to have maps on hand.
Could we get a large map for the wall there, and at the Library? Charlotte Rogers, in Human
Services, is filing an application for Lexington to be listed as an “age-friendly community”.
GCC will make a presentation to the Recreation Committee in the fall, and will ask for a new
Rec liaison. The Transportation Node at Grain Mill Alley is on hold while the Historical Soci-
ety sorts out parking spaces, but the new Visitor Center will open on to the Bikeway as well
as the Green.
Ongoing Business:
• Route J - a successful scouting walk, including Laurel Carpenter, was recently held. There
are a number of questions that need to be answered about who actually owns several areas
that we hope to use, but the rough outline was agreed upon. See Keith’s notes (attached be-
low). Keith will request a meeting with Dave Kucharsky to determine ownership if parcels in
question. We will also need to contact homeowners/neighborhood associations where nec-
essary.
New Business:
will be held until next meeting, due to time constraints
Pending Items:
Garfield St abutter indemnity
Seasonal trail maintenance on non-Conservation properties
Next Meeting: September 25, 2017, 4:30-6:00pm, Ellen Stone Room
Future meeting dates: Oct 23, Nov 27, Dec 18* (Generally 4th Monday, *3rd Monday)
Respectfully Submitted by
Alexandra Dohan, Secretary
Route J Details
1.Check public access status for Ellen Dana Court.
2.Check final location of Mass Ave crosswalk at Ellen Dana Court when road repairs are finished,
or if repairs not finished this season check with DPW Engineering.
3.West Farm – determine property status for the lowest path adjacent to Wilson Farms.
4.Connections between West Farm/Liberty Heights/Sutherland Woods – determine best routing.
Determine whether to mark a smaller loop connecting just these properties as a subset of a larger
loop connecting through Peacock Farm neighborhood and beyond.
5.Sutherland Woods – determine if the Tarbell Ave entrance is Town land.
6.Determine property lines for Town land where Sutherland Woods trail exits between 41 and 43
Peacock Farm Road.
7.Determine width of Peacock Farm Road Right of Way south/west of 41 Peacock Farm Road.
8.Negotiate permission to use Peacock Farm Property Owners Association off road path between
29/31 Peacock Farm Road and reconnecting with Peacock Farm Road closer to Watertown
Street.
9.Determine status of Green Lane for public right to pass and obtain permission from abutters if
necessary.
10.Determine Town management of Bowman Park.
11.Mason Street between Peacock Farm Road and Pleasant Street could be an alternative to the
Crescent Road/Green Lane/Bowman Park connection if necessary.
12.Explore public right to use the “Milliken Way” path between 55 Pleasant Street and Moon Hill
Road.
13.Exit Daisy Wilson to Pinewood Street at Summit Rd.
14.Option to use Gibson Rd to Mass Ave as alternative to following Follen Rd to Pleasant Street.
Determined if public way.