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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-12-LBAC-min MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting: October 12, 2006; 7:00 pm; New Conf Rm, Cary Hall Members Present: Stew Kennedy (BAC chair), Harvey Bingham (scribe), John Frey, Marita Hartshorn, Abe Shenker (FOB chair), Mike Tabaczynski, Jerry Van Hook, Dick Canale (Planning liaison), Hank Manz (Selectmen liaison), Sandra Shaw (Recreation liaison) Others Present: Rich Spencer (FOB) Members Absent: George Gagliardi, Jim Wichmann Record of Votes taken and issues discussed. Minutes from the September 14 meeting were reviewed and accepted. Hartwell Ave safety: Again this month there was much discussion of Hartwell Avenue safety. Hank reported that our presentation to the Board of Selectmen in August had been received favorably. The town manager afterwards spoke to the police chief asking that the police keep us informed of their efforts to control and monitor traffic conditions on Hartwell. Stew reported he was asked to be our contact point and on his conversations with police Lt. Mike O’Connell who was designated as the police contact. When Stew asked for a volunteer to replace him as our point of contact, Abe graciously volunteered. Hank encouraged us to seek a short-range solution, and to focus on the most problematic stretch – from Maguire Road to the Hanscom gate. It was generally agreed that any long-range solution will be many years away. Hank also suggested pursuing the possibility of getting help in funding a traffic study from Lincoln Lab and/or from some of the businesses along Hartwell. A traffic study will keep the business interests in the loop. We should also consider keeping the dialog going with the business owners and tenants on Hartwell Ave: maybe they could be invited to a public meeting to continue the discussion started at the recent Chamber of Commerce forum on Hartwell Ave. CPC Project Application: Mike described the proposal several of us have come up with to bring to Lexington’s Community Preservation Committee, jointly from the BAC and the Conservation Stewards, for a West Lexington Greenway Corridor. The trail corridor will be a network of pedestrian and mountain bike trails through the various conservation lands and the NSTAR powerline right-of- way west of Route 95. Its centerpiece will be a new trail, of the quality of the Minuteman National Historical Park’s Battle Road Trail, that connects the Minuteman Bikeway and the Battle Road Trail. The request for 2007 CPC funds will be for money to commission a master plan for the project, including the design plan for the connector. $125,000 will be requested for this. The BAC’s co- sponsorship of this application was approved unanimously. Status of MWRA Sewer relining: Stew gave an update on the sewer pipe relining project being managed by the MWRA. Work began about three weeks ago and seems to be progressing smoothly so far. The contractor hopes to finish with all but landscaping by the end of fall. The landscaping should be completed early next spring. During the relining there may be two different days when the Bikeway will be closed all day to traffic and detours set up, but otherwise will be kept open except for very brief periods. The contractor understands the importance of keeping the path open. Sidewalk Committee Liaison report: Jerry reported that the barricaded bridge (because it’s damaged and unsafe) leading from the Clarke School building to the playing fields is a priority of the Sidewalk Committee to get repaired and reopened. He showed photos of the bridge conditions. Mike agreed the repair would be within our capabilities to carry out, with volunteer help. The organizing, coordinating with the school administration, and fund-raising would first need to be carried out by interested Clarke School folks. Abe, who has a daughter at Clarke, agreed to contact Lisa Baci and Sue Ellen Briggs and get a group organized to spearhead this. Hank will talk to Bill Hartigan, facilities manager for the schools, letting him know of our interest in this. Hank asked if this would be a suitable Eagle Scout project. Review with DPW of Bikeway Problems: Stew has been unable to set up a ride of the Bikeway with DPW (Dave Pinsonneault), but will do so soon to come up with a punch list of problems needing DPW attention. Mike, Marita, John, Rich, Abe and Stew all expressed interest in participating, depending on availability. Letter of Support for Paving of the Bedford extension: A draft letter from the BAC to the Bedford Friends of the Bikeway offering our support for asphalt paving of the proposed extension of the Minuteman in Bedford along the “Reformatory Branch” of the B&M line right-of-way was approved by unanimous vote. Stew had been asked by Bob Sawyer and others in Bedford to give our support to paving. Apparently the town is asking for public comment on whether to pave or not. Record of Friends of the Bikeway votes and discussions. Treasurer’s Report : Rich reported the treasury contains $2209 and that there is still confusion on the Town staff about where these funds are. Bollard caps and STOP painting: Marita has been unable to reach Dave P. to get a status report on the caps. She will do so for the next meeting. The STOP painting at intersections has been done, very nicely it was agreed. A vote was taken that approved reimbursing the DPW for the purchase price, although the exact price isn’t known yet. Newsletter: No article write-ups have been sent to Harvey yet. As he will be out of town much of the time until the end of November, it was agreed that write-ups should be in to him by then. Friends of the Bikeway Name Change: Abe suggested we consider renaming the Friends committee. The name should reflect the broader interests of the group than just the Minuteman Bikeway, including other bike paths and bike routes throughout town, bicycling safety, alternative transportation, etc. Some suggestions offered were “Biking in Lexington” and “Lexington Friends of the Bikeways”. No [My decision was reached, but we agreed to think about this and decide at the November meeting. notes and Harvey’s didn’t reflect the previous sentence – not sure what was decided – but this seems like the way we probably left it. SK] Abe will write an article to go in the Lexington Minuteman about the Friends group once we settle on the new name. New Business: Rich reported seeing a new symbol painted (stenciled) on the roadway on Winchester Drive approaching the Lowell St. intersection: it was a small image of a bicycle, painted on the right- hand sign of the roadway. No one knows anything about it – who authorized it and who did it. We should keep our eyes (and ears) open to find out more. Miscellaneous Announcements: 1. Marita, Dick and Stew planned to attend the state Executive Office of Transportation’s public meeting on the statewide bicycling network scheduled for Oct 19 in Concord. Information Distributed: Draft minutes from the September 14, 2006 meeting Draft letter from BAC to Bedford Friends of the Minuteman Bikeway in support of paving the proposed extension of the Bikeway Notes from Bikeway ride with DPW on October 22, 2004 Recorder Name: Harvey Bingham (scribe); Stew Kennedy (editor)