HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-14-TAC-min Transportation]Advisory Committee(TAC)Minutes _- Commented[eD>]:
January 14,2020
7:00 p.m.Parker Room(lower level of Town Office Building) [Commented[5B2Rt]:
Members Present: Hank Manz, Co-Chair;Sally Castleman, Co-Chair; Pamela Lyons,
Vinita Verma
Members Absent: Elaine Dratch,Sara Arnold
Liaisons: Mark Sandeen,Select Board; Bob Creech, Planning Board; Sudhir Jain(COA)
Staff: Susan Barrett
The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:10 p.m.
Mr. Manz opted to withdraw from Co-Chair position for next 30 days.
Minutes: Ms. Barrett stated that minutes for December 10, 2019 needed to be edited and
therefore it wasn't approved.
Age Friendly Report: Mr.Jain presented a report on age-friendly community.What is age-
friendly community?An age-friendly community is one that is a great place to grow up and grow
old. It has safe and accessible public transportation options;affordable, accessible, and safe
housing; pleasant and safe parks and outdoor spaces; quality community and health services;
ample employment and volunteer opportunities;and engaging social activities and events for
people of all ages.The needs and preferences of older adults are taken into consideration.
Older adults are respected, and their knowledge,skills, resources,and contributions are sought
out.They are integrated into the fabric of the community
The Lexington for All Ages initiative is meant to ensure that Lexington is and remains a place
where older adults can comfortably and safely age in place.A research was done on behalf of
the Lexington Department of Human Services,to investigate the needs, interests, preferences,
and opinions of Lexington's residents age 50 and older.Available evidence suggests that the
number of older residents has continued to increase and is likely to expand in coming decades.
Projections generated shortly after the 2010 Census suggest continued growth in percentage of
Lexington residents age 60 or older(22%in 1990,24%in 2000,25%in 2010, 30%in 2020 and
35%in 2030).
One purpose of the report is to educate community about unmet needs in the 50+community
and invite conversation about how to address them.A second purpose is to provide information
that will contribute to future planning by the community for making Lexington more livable by
focusing on housing,outdoor spaces,civic participation, employment and transportation.
Parking: Regarding the accessibility of parking meters, it was stated that it can be difficult and
unsafe to put money in meters,especially in winter with snow and ice.Was suggested to have
annual stickers for older people.
Mr. Manz mentioned how formal parking management group was constituted to create current
parking situation. He stated how group of people were appointed to take care of school warning Commented[sB3]:This comment related to school signs
signs. - doesn't seem related.I am thinking this was perhaps Hank
also mentioning there is the Traffic Safety Group which
looks at an array of safety measures,including traffic
signage on school properties.I think you can delete this
sentence.
1040-1050 Waltham&TDM: Mr. Creech acquainted us of second meeting regarding 1040—
1050 Waltham&TD related to parking garage that was two feet from property line, not clear on
plan as usual.This issue is coming back to Planning Board on January 22"d.They made parking
garage more than 100 spaces smaller, around 475 parking spaces, if Town Meeting will
approve it.
Ms.Castleman raised a question regarding single occupancy vehicle.Why do they have so
many parking spaces since the area is a congested one to begin with and they will only add to
the congestion.
Mr.Creech has drafted a memo for Select Board and Planning Board regarding usual driving
speed of cars are 7 miles over the speed limit near Cotting School.
Lexpress FY21—changes to consider:There is need to configure timings and routes of
Lexpress starting in July 2020 since school start time will be different thus impacting traffic and
the ability of the bus to operate in a timely manner. Routes have gotten too long over the years
and are already operating at more MPH than is reasonable for transit for timely service.There is
a need to maximize route efficiencies utilizing routes as best as possible by time of day for
different audiences.The aim is to not duplicate service(i.e.don't overlap with MBTA, but rather
connect to it),as much as possible.We should try to close transit gaps as best as possible and
connect services where possible to maximize options.
Ms. Barrett showed the software for transit planning and some sample route ideas.
Transportation Manager's Update: Ms. Barrett is going to attend Traffic Congestion Forum on
January 21.Past the Tipping Point:Fixing The Commonwealth's Traffic Congestion Crisis will
bring together local and national experts to discuss how Massachusetts policymakers can
address this problem.Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack will deliver the keynote
address. Earlier this year,the Baker administration's landmark 2019 study,Congestion in the
Commonwealth,concluded that traffic congestion has reached a"tipping point".This event will
help the state move past the tipping point and towards action.
She is attending the Climate&Transportation Forum by MAPC on February 10th.
Tri-Town Transit:We are trying to get moving on the recommendations suggested of
integrating with school transportation resources and coordination and developing (consistently
enforced)strong TDM policies to help develop and sustain transportation services for the public.
This is going to be a long process.Jim is meeting with Ms. Barrett on January 23. It sounds like
the SChOOIS d0 not Want t0 discuss this topic. Commented[SB4]:I would leave this sentence out.While
accurate,it makes the schools sound bad,and it is quite
META: possible that they have just been so busy with all their other
initiatives.That is my opinion,but I defer to you.
• Awaiting word back on transit service pilot proposal to add later night and weekend
service
• Ms. Barrett will update Planning staff on the bus stop consolidation process that
happened a while back. New staff in Planning,and apparently they have had a question
on this.
• We have not had any Lexington residents request the new Youth Pass, but we have had
other town residents ask us about it.We can distribute to Lexington low-income youth 25
and younger who are low-income and not enrolled in middle or high school. (Any middle
or high school student is entitled to a reduced fare Student Charlie Card).
Lexpress:
• As the credit card sales for passes have worked out great,we added ticket booklets for
sale online.You can buy two booklets.The reason it is two is because we didn't want to
mail them one at a time.
Lex-Connect&THE RIDE
24 people received LexConnect Taxi vouchers in December.6 of those people received free
vouchers. 18 paid for the vouchers.The number of riders seems to be decreasing.This could
be due to increased education on transportation options. December taxi expense were$1,971,
Our contract with Checker Cab expires this month.A new RFP will have to be issued.
As a reminder,about 1,240 rides occur via the RIDE each month.The RIDE is part of our MBTA
assessment. 191 customers averaged at least one ride originating and/or ending in Lexington
per month. Of those, 74 average at least 4 RIDE trips/month.
Next TAC meeting is scheduled for February 11th.
Respectfully Submitted,Vinita Verma
Approved
Materials presented at the meeting:
• Agenda for meeting
• Lexpress data of Daily Ridership Including Monthly Average for December 2019 and
January as of January 10,2020
• A page of Age-friendly report done on behalf of the Lexington Department of Human
Services
• Transportation Update