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Bicycle Advisory Committee 2/12/2026
February 12 2 2 / 7: PICU / Town Hall. Parker Room and Hybrid
Members present:
Betty Gau, Jhm Cadenhead, Dave Armstrong, Sarah Hews, Jason Dearl-ing, Tom
ShHple, Ben Alperovlch (LHS Student Llalson), Nlck Dell Anno (LPD llalson)
Also Attending: Anagha Kelkar
Guests: Max Mandell (LHS GIS club presenter), Rhys Behl-ing (LHS GIS club),
1. Approve January 8th, 2025 LBAC Meeting Minutes
Motion was approved.
2. Article 12 b and c Letter of Support
Betty: summarizes the articles (see Land Use Capital Requests - FY2027-31_forArticle 12 b
c.pdf), noting that for the Minuteman Bikeway to LHS project, $180,000 is budgeted in FY2027
for design, then $330,000 for FY2028, and $1,040,000 for FY2029.
The discussion commenced about the Articles.
Jim asked if anyone surprised by design cost?
Betty responded that she is not surprised based on other town design costs in recent years, and
the design process also will look at the route from the fire station down Worthen road, etc. to
find the best route. She notes that the priorities come from Bike/Ped Plan (BPP).
Sarah - This gets us a bike route to LHS in 2029?
Betty - Yes.
Jim wonders if the construction is going to amount to a lot of paint.
Betty - The project is also looking at center parking lots, to reduce traffic, and the Planning
Department is listening to us and looking at BPP for priorities.
Sarah says she will support the letter, and remarks on how long and elaborate the process is.
Ben asked to confirm that this will not happen in 2026-27 right? The answer is yes.
Sarah - We are looking at 2030 to have safety?
Jim - At least we are looking in the right direction.
Betty summarizes Article 12C — $100,000 for design/engineer for multi -use side path along
Worthen Road. She recalls that the $1.1 million for construction is about what Ross Morrow
(Assistant Town Engineer) had predicted.
Betty introduces the draft letter strongly supporting Articles 12 b and c and noting safety issues.
She asked for responses/feedback.
Members respond favorably to the letter as drafted, and a motion to send the letter is approved
unanimously.
Betty also says she will also put the letter into the town meeting package, and notes that it
may/should be seen as a small amount of money.
Sarah - As a parent, it's hard to know why projects take so long.
Jim notes approval for the green painted bike lane on Mass Ave, and that people are still riding
even in very cold weather.
Sarah relates that people she works with are enthusiastic about the green paint bike lanes.
Betty - Hopefully we can influence the project from Minuteman Bikeway to LHS, to get more
than paint.
Jim, noting that maintenance of bike lanes in Winter is a problem, relates that a Boston College
group was unhappy that they had to shovel bike lanes themselves.
3. E -Mobility Devices Education Forum March 27th - Update
Jim - The "all about ebikes forum" starts with a wheelie seminar and has free pizza. Those are
lined up, so hopefully those bring kids in. Now we need the parents in. The event is the same
week as the national bike summit, so mass bike folks will be fewer.
Jim summarizes the proposed timeline for presentation, including a quiz and a certificate for
completing the training. He expresses hope that other groups will use the learning materials
(noting that the materials don't have a lot of "dont's"). He describes the event as promoting town
programs about safe cycling, promoting helmets, and explaining the types of ebikes and
emotos, followed by a q and a. He notes that Nick DelAnno from LPD will also be a presenter.
Betty asks about the quiz, and Jim gives some sample questions.
Betty - Is there registration?
Jim - No.
Ben - Registration might help folks feel like they have to go.
Jim - With questions like "do you want pizza".
Ben - Is there advertising?
Jim - it's on the town's community ed page right now.
Betty - The town webmaster is happy to post it there.
Jim thinks it will be in parent square also. Has talked to a graphic designer. Hoping to get it
together in the next week or so.
Betty - Julie wants really basic, easy to read info. Asks Jim if he needs help, volunteers.
Jim asks Ben and Max if they know anyone, noting that as many High School students as can
be there would be good.
Ben - fewer kids will choose to come on a half day
Sarah notes that March 27th not a half day.
Jim checks calendar and agrees, March 27th is not a half day. He will reach out to see if April
3rd is a possibility, and will keep us posted.
4. LHS GIS Bike Parking Mapping Project with guest Max Mandell
Max shares his screen with the bike rack location GIS map, and introduces the project. Shows
town -owned areas, bike rack locations, and area of town where their surveying is completed.
Includes town land bike racks, with photos of the racks. He shows metadata possibilities that
could be included, like number and type of racks.
Betty suggests bike rack condition as an element
Max says notes and images will be used. Gives an example of a rack at the reservoir that is
hard to access, and one at Lincoln Park that is often full.
Max shows the process for adding racks, noting that paths through the areas are included on
map so that trailheads can be examined for racks. He notes that they have to walk through the
properties often.
Sarah - it would be good to layer their map with the Across Lexington paths map.
Max agrees.
Betty - can we put it into town GIS?
Max - The town's GIS isn't easily accessible for the public, so their GIS would probably be better
in an App
Betty - We could put QR code in at kiosk to show bike racks in the area.
Max - We could even include directions to racks.
Sarah notes how few racks are along MMBW
Jim - Can it go on Google Maps? Unknown but a good idea was noted.
Dave describes the state of completion of the LBAC's bike rack spreadsheet.
Jim - A scavenger hunt would be a fun way to check/maintain asset management.
Betty notes that she has asked Melissa Battite, Recreation Department Manager, about adding
bike parking to their information.
Tom says he wants bike parking to just be a regular item the Recreation Department considers
without having to be asked, as was the case with the new cricket field (that will have 24 bike
parking spaces).
Sarah - So it's not like an additional amenity, but a regular thing.
Betty - Like they do for car parking.
5. Update on LPD's Electric Bike Brochure and Social Media Post
Last week Betty and Nick met with Julie Flood the Town Web and Digital Engagement
Specialist and Taylor Galusha the Town Director or Communications. They provided the E -bike
and E-moto documents and Julie will work on uploading the information to the Town and LPD
websites/social media. The goal is to get the Ebike info on social media by the end of March
2026.
The Committee reviewed the Ebike and Emoto one-page write ups and provided additional
feedback.
Betty - We have web design and communications heads for all our town information, including
the ebike and emoto info. We want to make web page with *all* the info, and social media posts,
and a brochure.
Jim notes class 3 is not recognized.
Nick agrees, says they have it there for out of state riders, and asks if we should get rid of it for
now?
Jim - Yes.
Tom thinks we should leave it in, as people know that "class 3" is a thing.
Jim - So, what about enforcement?
Nick says that officers won't know one type of ebike from another, and that he can see taking
the class 3 info out, or leaving it in.
Jim - Having a lack of specific guidance is a problem, knowing what to say to people.
Tom - Remove "class 3", as language in LBAC media post covers it as "not class 1 or class 2"
Nick asks about how to coordinate links to web pages town creates.
Betty notes target of end of March. Says she will get back to the town with a new version of the
social media post with class 3 out.
(Quick discussion of bolding within the text.)
Betty - Do we still need the emoto page?
Jim - Yes, it's important. But change "bikes" to "vehicles".
Tom - Get rid of "bikes" everywhere in the page.
Betty - I will get these to Julia.
Ben - Suggests adding a Massachusetts law line, as on the e -bikes page.
Betty - Yes good catch.
Betty provided both updated documents to Julia Flood and Taylor Galusha.
6. Liaison Reports
Nick summarizes motor vehicle (MV) crash report. There was only one MV vs cyclist accident
since September. He describes what the reports detail, noting that a lot of information is
redacted. He notes there were six MV vs pedestrian accidents since September.
Jim says that this underscores that cars are the danger.
Nick relates that there were few other cases, but that there was one incident at Hastings that
was never reported by anyone.
Jim observes that kids won't report, and that is a problem.
Betty relates how close calls have been mentioned relating to kids biking to LHS.
Nick describes a few other MV versus pedestrian accidents, and says he will continue to bring
stats to committee every month.
Betty - Does town DPW use this data?
Nick - People know where the busy intersections and such are, but should go to LPD for actual
data.
Betty - Would we want the data for the GIS?
Jim - Probably not for this project, but it could be useful
Nick - We can pull data going back 5 years on MV/bike and MV/pedestrian accidents.
Jim - Was this data used by bike/ped plan consultants?
Dave - It should be used by consultants for current projects.
Nick - Notes that there are 70-100 car accidents per month in Lexington.
Jim - Yes, that's the thing, that cars get in accidents too.
Tom - Asks about current Miriam Street accident. Was the cyclist in the wrong because they
were riding in the crosswalk?
Betty brings up the topic of safety signs on the bikeway, with possible MPH guidance signs.
Some wanted it, some didn't. The Select Board liked the 15MPH signs, and now there's talk of
adding more. Something like "crowded area 10MPH". She notes that we would have to go
through the whole process, but maybe in the meantime we could have "burma shave" signs.
The Friends of Lexington Bikeways asked if we could do this. She asks for reactions.
Dave - The earlier signs light touch helped. We should try not to be scolding. Thay are worth a
try.
Jim reads texts from previous "burma shave" signs, but notes that people say they haven't even
seen the current signs.
Jason - Yes, keep positive tone. But 10MPH is way too slow.
7. Upcoming Events on the Bikeway with Approved Permits
• Tough Ruck Sunday April 19th
• Paul Revere Ride Saturday May 16
• RideAtaxia Fundraiser Bikeride and Walk - Sunday August 2nd, 2026
(These were not discussed at this meeting, but are included here from the meeting agenda)
8. Other Discussion
Betty asks Tom - do you expect pushback on 180K consultancy? Tom expects they will be
skittish, but because of the bigger costs in other years that the consultancy brings in.
Betty describes the costs of Articles B and C again. Tom - nothing is cheap. Will speak at Town
Meeting, as these are critical. Also, for the shared path, a lot of the money is in the school
budget going towards Mass Ave.
Betty - Budget for 12C is for the Skate Park section?
Tom - We need to see about the Waltham St corner property.
Jim - Thinks the path might go behind that house in the current plan
Jim - We want consultants to give alternate paths to LHS, so we would be part of the process.
Betty - community meetings, like with BPP?
Yes it is expected there will be community meetings.
Meeting adjourned 9:05 PM