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Home My WebLink About2010-04-08-LBAC-min APPROVED MEETING MINUTES Committee Name: Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee Date, Time and Location of Meeting: April 8, 2010, 7 pm, Room 111, Town Office Building Members Present: Stew Kennedy, Mike Tabaczynski, John Frey, Marita Hartshorn, Abe Shenker (FoLB Chair), Peggy Enders (Chair), George Gagliardi, Laurel Carpenter, Jerry Van Hook Others Present: Bob Hausslein, Richard Spencer, Bob Dangel, Rod Moreno Members Absent: Richard Canale (Planning Board Liaison), Peter Kelley, (Selectmen’s Liaison), Sandra Shaw (Recreation Committee Liaison) Minutes : The March minutes were accepted. Selectman Liaison : Peggy reported that she understands that Peter Kelley is our liaison to the Selectmen. CPA and Town Meeting : Town Meeting approved the CPA warrant article for $320,000 to address drainage and root barrier problems along the Bikeway. An additional $20,000 has been added to the DPW 2011 operating budget for intersection improvements and Bikeway maintenance. A big thank you goes to Peggy Enders and Stew Kennedy for proposing this article and working with John Livsey to make it successful. Peggy reported that John Livsey hopes to have an intersection improvement plan in place soon and to review it with the LBAC. Farmers’ Market Signs on Bikeway : Peg will check with the Town Manager’s st office to see if “ALS Cure is Coming” sought approval for its May 1 walk-run on the Bikeway and will remind the Town Manager’s office that the LBAC should be consulted on requests to use the Bikeway. We approved the Farmer’s Market request to post signs on the Bikeway for their Tuesday events throughout the summer and into the fall. Bike Routes for Safe Routes to Middle Schools: In a conversation with Judy Crocker of SRTS, Peggy reported that their greatest need is for more bike racks at the middle schools. It was suggested that businesses be approached about donating bike racks to schools. Tri-Town Meeting : On Monday, April 5, Peggy, Laurel, Marita, and Bob Hausslein attended the Tri-town meeting in Arlington. Other towns represented were Bedford, Arlington, and Belmont. Peg reported on the following: a. The bike path will be closed this week in west Arlington to fix the flood damage. Cost estimate is 20K. b. The Bedford extension was approved by their town meeting. The path will extend 1000 yards across Route 62 to the Concord Town Line. A light will be installed on Route 62 and the path. c. Bob Dangel offered to draft a new map of the Bikeway for a new Bikeway map. When the draft is ready he will seek feedback from us and a tri-town group will form to work on the rest of the content. He suggested there be more than one version available (e.g., a pdf that prints the entire map on one page). Jerry recommended the new map show the path with extensions to many of the other paths in the area. The map should also be easily accessible. To improve way- finding on the bike path, we are considering installing kiosks – e.g., at the new “Grant Street Park.” (This recent Eagle Scout project has been well-received.) st May Bikeway Count : There will be a statewide count of users on May 1. Peggy will seek volunteers via email. Other business : Peggy shared an email from Dawn McKenna, who has expressed interest in working more closely on tying Lexington tourism and bicycling. For instance, Dawn suggested that the two tourist websites contain information about biking in Lexington, biking to the historic sites, etc. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm. Record of the Discussion of the Friends of Lexington Bikeways Treasury: Bob Hausslein reported a balance of $5,506.50. Winter plowing invoices totaled $2,160 [six plowings]. Peg will write to the Selectmen to report on the success of this season’s effort. Bob bought 20-safety vests at $6.00 each. Nine were sold at the meeting. Shire is donating $1,000 from two races (the Running Store’s contribution toward plowing). Discovery Day and Bikes Not Bombs : We will participate in Discovery Day on May 29 and seek used bikes to be donated to “Bikes Not Bombs.” We have to determine the best place for the donation truck to park. Bikes Not Bombs requests a $10 donation with each bike to defer the cost of shipping. st Spring Cleanup Plans: Bob Hausslein is coordinating the May 1 Spring Clean- up via email. We will focus on litter pick up and aggressive pruning. We will publicize in the newspaper, on-line and on the Yahoo newsgroups, the FoLB Facebook page, and through the Lexington High School community service program. Bike Corral at the Farmers’ Market : The first Bike Corral at the Farmer’s th Market is June 15. Peggy is working with Deb Jackson and reported that the Boston Sports Club is offering three day passes to the first 100 people who use the corral. Volunteers will be needed to staff the corral from 1:30 to 6:30 pm. We anticipate a mid-summer and a fall bike corral at the Farmer’s Market, as well. Retailers and Bike Racks : Jerry distributed a list of 11 possible locations for new bike racks. We added 4 more to the list: Waltham and Marrett, Lowell and Woburn by Dunkin Doughnuts, Lowell and Woburn by the gas station, and Wilson’s Farm. Peggy, Stew, and Abe volunteered to help approach retailers. Plans for a Tour de Lexington : Laurel and Marita will plan a tour of Lexington for June or July. Possible routes are over boardwalks in conservation land. We will contact Paul Knight for his recommendations. We should have cue sheet as well as a leader and sweeper. Lexington Outside : Peggy along with Bonnie Newman and Keith Ohmart proposed a “Lexington Outside” column in the Minuteman to Ben Aaronson, the new editor. The first article will be about bicycle safety. Other Business : Richard Spencer was knocked off his bike by an unleashed dog in the vicinity of Waldorf School. He sustained major injuries. We recommended that Richard report the incident to the police. Rod also was knocked from his bike by a dog in the same area and did file a complaint with the police. Richard Canale sent an email saying that Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation stating that federal funding may be available for plowing bike paths if the bike path was originally federally funded. (The Federal "Policy Statement on Pedestrian and Bicycle Accommodation" was signed in March 2010 and states that … “Current maintenance provisions require pedestrian facilities built with Federal funds to be maintained in the same manner as other roadway assets. State Agencies have generally established levels of service on various routes especially as related to snow and ice events.") The Minuteman Bike path was federally funded with funds from the Clean Air Act of 1968. Federal money is also available for intersection improvements on Mass Ave at Marrett, Pleasant, and Maple. John Livsey will attend the Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety on Bridges meeting at District 4 on April 14. Bob Dangel said that MassBike is holding their festival on the Hayden Field on August 14. Details to follow. Bob also started a spirited discussion about the practice of pavement arrowing. Bob Hausslein distributed a draft of a survey to people interested in FoLB activities and volunteer opportunities. People should respond to his draft via email. George and Abe will help with distribution. Items Distributed:  March Minutes  Retail Locations for Bike racks  Friends of the Bikeway Survey  Email from Dawn McKenna  Request from the Farmer’s Market Next LBAC/FoLB meeting is Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7:00 p.m. in Rm 111. Marita Hartshorn: Recorder Peggy Enders: Editor