Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-12-PB-min PLANNING BOARD MINUTES MEETING OF JUNE 12, 2010 A community meeting sponsored by the Lexington Planning Board in Cary Auditorium in Cary Memorial Hall, 1605 Massachusetts Avenue was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Chairman Gregory Zurlo with members Richard Canale, Charles Hornig, Anthony Galaitsis, and planning staff Maryann McCall-Taylor and Aaron Henry present. Wendy Manz was absent. *******************HARTWELL AVENUE TRANSPORTATION PLAN******************* Mr. Rick Bryant and Ms. Sasha Wood of Tetra Tech Rizzo were present as the consultants working on the project with the Planning Board. Mr. Zurlo began by explaining that the meeting was held to present the recommended plan to the community and get additional feedback on the plan. Mr. Bryant began by briefly summarizing the first two community meetings. Then some new (policy) information was presented. Many community members attended the meeting, including some new members who had not previously attended either of the prior community meetings on this project. Many neighbors shared their concerns and ideas for improvements at the meeting as outlined below. Audience Comments and Questions  Was commercial air out of Hanscom considered as part of the future development scenario? No  Eliminating the left turn from Wood Street to Hartwell Avenue (toward the Base) will have very little impact. The majority of cars turn right out of Wood Street and most of the Base traffic coming from Wood Street turns in at Lincoln Labs. This point was reiterated by a couple of people. It was noted that the distance traveled by this change would increase and therefore emissions would increase.  How does a bicyclist negotiate the roundabout? One of three ways: take a travel lane, transition from bike lane to the sidewalk, or walk the bicycle through the intersection as a pedestrian would.  Would the grade-separated bike path on Hartwell Avenue go above or below the roadway? This has not yet been determined.  Forcing bicyclists to take a travel lane along Wood Street to get past the median treatments (where the roadway would be narrowed) is a dangerous situation, especially where the cyclist Page 2 Minutes for the Meeting of June 12, 2010 would not be traveling as fast as the cars. The safety of bicyclists should be taken into consideration. A separate bike lane on Wood Street is preferred.  There are concerns of Winter Street residents about the Hartwell Avenue/Bedford Street signal being eliminated. The current traffic signal provides them with gaps to get out of Winter Street. Without the gaps, it would be nearly impossible for residents to get out onto Bedford Street. This concern was expressed by multiple residents in the area.  Bedford Street is a walking route for children getting to Estabrook School. How would children cross the roundabout?  There should be a traffic signal at the intersection of Wood Street and Hartwell Avenue.  The “No Left Turn” sign at the Quality Inn should be eliminated. There are times (at off-peak hours) that the left turns to and from the hotel can happen without any friction.  Sidewalks along Hartwell Avenue from Bedford Street to the Base are a good idea.  Bedford Street should not be carrying all of the traffic from Route 128 to Hartwell Avenue. Access from the highway through the landfill should be considered.  A traffic signal at Eldred Street is a necessity.  Eliminating traffic signals is a bad idea. Signals at the Bedford Street and Maguire Road along Hartwell Avenue cause breaks in traffic that would help side streets and driveways nearby.  Bicyclists have effectively been cut off from Wood Street in the current plan. Major changes should be made to the plan before it is finalized.  The primary plans need to respect the private nature of Drummer Boy Way. This should also be noted in the report.  Sketches for Winter Street striping options should be shown.  What is the difference between the roundabout proposed and the Alewife rotary (aerial photo shared)? Deflection and size.  How do you handle weaving within the roundabout? Weaving should happen before the roundabout. Lane use signs would be placed in advance of the roundabout so drivers would change lanes before arriving at the roundabout.  Land takings should be shown on all drawings in the report, including Appendix B.  Hanscom AFB should be formally included in discussions for this area. Minutes for the Meeting of June 12, 2010 Page 3  A construction management plan should be provided which shows alternate routes to be used during construction of the different phases of this project.  Travel lanes along Wood Street should be narrowed to 10’ for the entire length of the roadway, not just at four or five select locations. This would allow for 3’ shoulders for bicycles along the length of the street.  More details should be provided about how the recommended plan ties into the West Lexington Greenway. The Master Plan is almost complete now and there is no mention of that in the report. The recommended plan should coordinate with the Greenway to the extent possible.  The current Hartwell North plan does not show an accommodation for recreational bicyclists, only commuter cyclists. A multi-use path should be considered (perhaps in addition to bike lanes) on the north segment of Hartwell Avenue to provide two-way bicycle traffic on one side of the roadway.  Hanscom AFB access from Wood Street is not appropriate.  The current plan at Wood Street/Hartwell Avenue (turn restrictions by way of medians) would not completely prohibit left turns from happening from Wood Street toward the Base. Some people may ignore the geometry and make the turn anyway.  The West Lexington Greenway crossing at Wood Street could be a location to incorporate a roundabout.  Raised, textured speed tables should be reconsidered along Wood Street.  The study focuses on peak hour conditions, but some of the plans will make things worse during the off-peak hours.  A circle was left out of the crash summary slide at the intersection of Bedford Street and Route 128 SB ramps.  Off-peak crashes are directly related to speeds. The speeds along Bedford Street in the off-peak hours are approximately 50 mph from Route 128 to Hartwell Avenue.  Recreational bicyclists need separation from vehicular traffic. Consult with City of Cambridge, if necessary to get additional information.  MassDOT wants traffic to keep moving on their streets and not back up onto the highway. The lack of traffic lights along Bedford Street is helping to keep traffic flowing and making the plan more desirable to MassDOT. Page 4 Minutes for the Meeting of June 12, 2010  It is currently dangerous to cross Bedford Street near Eldred Street and there are some people who need to cross it to get to the hotel to work or to get to the bus stop.  There is a need to work with other Town departments to make existing conditions better (i.e. police enforcement of the speeds).  There appears to be more linear distance for a pedestrian to traverse under the roundabout option than in the modified signal option.  Winter Street is currently viewed by many as a part of Bedford and it needs to be given more consideration in this study.  A frontage road that parallels Route 128 should be considered.  Fifer Lane and Drummer Boy Way are not public streets and are not up to standards for public roadways.  A connection to Drummer Boy Way should not be made as part of the recommended plan.  Right turns from Wood Street to Hartwell Avenue have a hard time in the afternoon peak hour. Most nights the traffic is bumper to bumper exiting the Base and vehicles have a hard time turning right from Wood Street to enter that traffic stream. A second lane should be provided traveling away from the Base to allow those right turns out of Wood Street to happen.  Did the volume-to-capacity slide relate to existing volumes or future volumes? Future  The recommended plan should try to minimize the number of things that get worse.  Some residents would like to see the roundabouts work, but others do not have confidence in the roundabouts.  There is concern for people crossing from the neighborhoods (both Eldred and Winter Streets) to Hartwell or bus stops. Pedestrian signals should be provided at the roundabout and Eldred Street.  Traffic calming measures should start in Bedford.  There should be two lanes on Hartwell Avenue eastbound to improve operations for motorists exiting Winter Street.  Speeds have increased on Bedford Street since MassDOT restriped the intersection with the Route 128 SB ramps.  Eldred Street is frequently used as a U-turn for people exiting businesses on the south side of Bedford Street who cannot turn left to travel west on Bedford Street. Minutes for the Meeting of June 12, 2010 Page 5  Will there by any land takings on the north side of Bedford Street (residential side)? No, at this time, it is planned to take any necessary land from the businesses on the south side of the roadway.  At this point, there is no workable solution that is even close to get to the order of magnitude costs that are needed to move this project to the next step. The full cost of improvements necessary to this area has not yet been estimated.  Consider pedestrian overpasses on Bedford Street.  Semi-trailers currently use the jughandle to reverse direction along Bedford Street. The modified signal plan would need to be modified to accommodate these trucks, as well.  The Town should try to coordinate with any other projects (i.e Margarita’s) that may be planned (or in the planning stages) on this project.  It should be clarified that the Drummer Boy Way access would not be included as part of the modified signal option. All traffic would be forced to use Winter Street. As all present had had an opportunity to express their opinions and ask questions, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m. Anthony Galaitsis, Clerk