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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-10-WALKS-min Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes of April 5, 2009: 11:00 am, Selectman’s Board Room Members Present : Jerry Van Hook (chair), Judy Crocker, Lucy Fletcher-Jones, Suzie Barry, Margaret Lotz, Francine Stielglitz, Jeanne Krieger Liaisons Present : Elaine Celi (Transportation), Hank Manz (Board of Selectmen), Wayne Brooks (DPW), Richard Canale (Planning Board) Visitors: Those discussing possibility of a sidewalk on Hill St. Sharon and Andreas Olofsson 36 Hill St., Tom Hamilton 122 Bedford St., Edith Petterson, 6 Hill St., Simona Raffioni 80 Hill St.,. Lawrence Woods 1 Hill St., Kristine Wise 19 Hill St., Claire Bertucci, 50 Hill St., Dave Robinson 15 Hill St., Gail Arnold 62 Hill St., Marilyn Kolb 64 Hill St., Anne Marie Healey 21 Hill St., Bettina McGimsey 11 Hamblen St., Makiko Wada 23 Hill St., Charles W. Goodell 31 Hill St. Requesting a sidewalk on Hastings Rd: Tim Spriano 20 Childs Rd. Hastings SR2S representatives: Jane Kalinski and incoming chair Bettina McGimsey Agenda topics: 1) Discussion of the possibility of a sidewalk on Hill St. Sharon Olofsson and 14 others in the Hill St. neighborhood attended the discussion on the dangers of walking and biking on Hill St. Sharon Olofsson started the discussion and noted the following points:  She has been living on Hill St for about 4.5 years, and soon after moving in was almost hit by a school bus as she was walking on the Bedford St end.  She does not let her 3 children walk to school.  Hill St. runs between Paul Revere and Revere St., both of which have sidewalks.  The road has pronounced curves and blind spots and almost no shoulder in places.  She and her husband estimate that some car are speeding at 50 miles/hour.  She finds that buses (school buses coming back and forth from Diamond, Hastings and the High School, Lex Express buses and small school vans) are going particularly fast considering their width.  There are no speed limit signs and almost no blind driveway signs.  She feels that those with no choice but to walk (folks walking to Temple and those walking down to Bedford St. to catch the MBTA bus) are in danger.  Hill St is only 0.7 miles long. The bottom part near Bedford St. is flat and relatively straight and could easily have a sidewalk. The part from the conservation land to the main entrance of the golf course curves and is steep with the least visibility. This length poses the most danger to pedestrians and bikes, but also poses more issues for engineering a sidewalk. The part from the main entrance of the golf course to Cedar St. is straighter, although drops steeply down on the north (odd-numbered) side. Questions arose about the speed limit on Hill St. One neighbor said the speed limit should be 30 in a residential area. Jerry recommended that the neighborhood should contact TSAC and ask for speed limit signs. The possibility of speed bumps was discussed, but they are not feasible on a connecting road on which emergency vehicles may have to travel at high speeds. Judy and Jane Kalinski noted that Hill St. has been at the top of SR2S priority list of streets needing a sidewalk in the Hastings district because of its high connectivity and high danger to pedestrians and bike traffic. Simona Raffioni, who has lived on Hill St. for 5.5 years, walks her children to Hastings along Hill St. and commented that traffic comes down from Cedar St. really fast. She has stopped some of these speeding drivers to remonstrate with them and has been harassed. She thinks that Hill St. is a cut-through to Bedford St. and that the drivers are very aggressive. She notified the PD and they put a speed-monitoring unit on Hill St., but in her opinion, this failed to make drivers aware of their speeding. She has seen cars passing other cars that were going more slowly. She ended by saying that if the town wants to reduce traffic, pollution and protect the environment, then it needs to encourage more walking by installing sidewalks on streets like Hill St. that connect neighborhoods with schools, in this case Hastings and Diamond. Dave Robinson, who has lived on Hill St. for 7 years, stated that the street is unusable for his family. He realizes that a sidewalk is expensive, but feels that children who walk or live on Hill St. are in danger of their lives. He has yelled at speeding drivers, put cones in the street to slow down cars, and has parked cars along the sides to slow drivers down with no result. He mentioned that at least one car drove over a lawn as it sped around the corner of Bedford and Hill St. He feels that participation in SR2S is not possible for his neighborhood because there is no safe way for children to walk along Hill St. to Hastings. Instead, the children are driven to Hastings Park and walk from there. Wayne Brooks commented that speed limit signs are overseen by TSAC and that residents can file a request on the TSAC/police website. He also mentioned Concord Ave. residents as an example of the procedure that a neighborhood can implement in order to have a sidewalk constructed. The residents should sign a petition requesting a study of the cost and feasibility of installing a sidewalk and submit it to the Engineering Department. The petition would be brought before Town Meeting, which would vote to appropriate or disapprove the money for the study. After considering the study findings, the town could then decide whether to install a sidewalk on Hill St. or take other measures outlined in the study to make the road safer or turn down the request completely. Wayne added that the SWC budget mostly covers repairs and that currently, sidewalk repairs are reaching $3 million in cost. Jerry added that large projects such as installing a sidewalk on Hill St. would overwhelm the SWC budget of $200,000. A resident asked whether the funds for a sidewalk could be raised by betterments or assessments aimed at the abutters. Jeanne replied that the town no longer applies betterments and funds come entirely from the tax levy. Only the South Lexington Development funds are from industry. She added that the cost of sidewalk installation is about $1 million per mile. Jeanne also recommended sending one request from the residents outlining concerns to the TSAC website, and that the more who sign the more force it would carry. Residents should be aware that the town needs to determine the size of easements and abutters need to consider what’s at stake if a sidewalk is installed. Getting a sidewalk could take 5-10 years, and that there is one petition for a sidewalk feasibility study now ahead at the latest town meeting. Hank Manz commented that the neighborhood has to amplify their concerns beyond sending an email to TSAC. He recommended that the residents unify, and resolve, as part of their petition, questions such as which side of the street is preferred for a sidewalk, and whether trees can be removed Richard Canale responded that even with a sidewalk, there are still issues of traffic calming, and that during repaving the town could take other measures to calm traffic. He noted that there is a new Federal policy mandating equal priority to bike, pedestrian and car traffic. The town should do likewise. Claire Bertucci has lived on Hill St. since the early 50’s. She reported on the history of Hill St.’s issues. First, there used to be a patch of sidewalk on the odd side (north side/golf course side) near Bedford St. She feels that the sidewalk issue can not be separated from the speeding issue. She went to TSAC 10-12 years ago after cars exiting her driveway were hit by oncoming traffic. TSAC turned down the suggestions of speed bumps or speed signs. Rather, they installed a blind drive sign at her driveway. Charles Goodell has lived on Hill St since 1975. He read a letter composed by his wife Trelawny Goodell. Mrs. Goodell is opposed to a sidewalk. She feels that the street is too busy and that a sidewalk might lure pedestrians into a false sense of security. She could remember 4 serious car accidents caused by speeding in icy conditions, including one in which the driver lost control and crashed into cars in their driveway. She did add that there have been no accidents recently. Mr Goodell is in favor of a sidewalk because of connectivity with the town center. Anne Marie Healy has lived on Hill St. for over a year. She asked whether the street could be designated for residents only, or whether residents could install their own blacktop path. Mr Goodell responded that abutters could allow children to walk on their property, and he questioned whether the golf course would allow pedestrians to walk on their property. Mrs. Bertucci mentioned that on old maps, Hill St. is called the County Road, and for this reason thinks that it could not be designated residents only. No further comments were offered by the Hill St. neighborhood. 2) New time limits in which to type and send SWC meeting minute DRAFTS to interested parties. Jerry, concerned that last months minutes did not reach the Planning Board before they closed the public discussion on the Lexington Gardens proposal, made a motion that meeting minute drafts be typed and sent to interested parties within 2 weeks of the meeting. However, Richard feels that the Planning Board is thoroughly aware of SWC’s concerns over the path leading out of the development towards Diamond MS, and that they will be considered when the PB makes its decisions in regard to that development. He noted that minute drafts are public records as are the finalized versions. Lucy re-proposed the motion, and it was approved. Jeanne suggested these guidelines: Within the first week, send the draft minutes to committee members, make changes and then within the second week, send these amended drafts to other parties. 3) Transportation issues around Clarke MS Judy reported that she had not heard from Pat Goddard, nor Karen Mullins, the head of the Conservation Commission, about the newly proposed foot and traffic patterns around Clarke and she asked Jerry to invite Pat to the next SWC meeting. In response to Elaine’s question, the tennis court path is still being considered. 4) Transportation issues around Diamond MS Judy reported that Mr. Callaghan wants to open the Sedge Rd. entrance to a few buses as a feasibility test. Elaine said that John Henry of the bus company agrees with the idea. The SWC still has outstanding questions for Pat Goddard and Karen Mullins about both middle school proposals. 5) Removal of sidewalk obstructions to snow plows Jerry noted that the ledge obstructing the sidewalk near 47 School St has been removed by the town. 6) SR2S update Judy announced that Diamond MS now has a SR2S committee as well as Clarke MS. She hopes that both committees can persuade the gym departments to talk about bike and pedestrian safety during gym class in a manner suitable for teenagers. Jerry recommended that the middle school SR2S committees develop a rapport with the Bike Committee. Judy also informed all schools that the Bike Committee has offered to help donate bike racks to any school that asks. No news on the Bowman/DOT project, but she assumes its going forward. Jane introduced the incoming SR2S chair at Hastings: Bettina McAinsey 7) Safe Mass Ave Committee Jerry reported that most of the pedestrian visibility flags are missing, and that SMAC has ordered th new flags. There will be a meeting on April 7 to assess the effectiveness of the flag program. Jerry feels that it is useful to raise public awareness about the danger of the 3 intersections on Mass Ave in East Lexington: Maple, Marrett and Pleasant St. 8) Both the February 2010 and March 2010 minutes were approved. 9) SWC support of Town Meeting Articles The SWC voted to give their support of the following Town Meeting Articles: Item B (funding for intersection improvements study on Mass Ave in East Lexington) Item G ($200,000 be set aside for sidewalk repair and improvements from SWC list) Item I (funding for ornamental mast arms at the intersection of Marrett and Waltham) Item L (funding for a study of pedestrian circulation on the Hayden Ave/Spring St intersection) Item K ($50,000 to be set aside for traffic mitigation study) Item M ($90,000 to be set aside for Concord Ave pedestrian safety study) Item N ($50,000 to be set aside for town center cross walk study) Item P (pedestrian signal improvement) Item U (street improvement) Meeting adjourned Minutes submitted by Margaret Lotz