HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-10-WALKS-min1/2
Lexington Sidewalk Committee Meeting Minutes
Monday, January 10, 2011, 11 AM
Present: Judy Crocker, John Davies, Lucy Fletcher- Jones, Jeanne Krieger, Bettina
McGimsey, Francine Stieglitz, Jerry Van Hook (Chair); Liaisons: Richard Canale (Planning
Board), Elaine Celi( Transportation), Hank Manz (Board of Selectmen), Marc Valenti (DPW);
Guests: Dave Cannon (DPW), John Livsey (DPW)
The meeting was called to order at 11:10 AM.
Updates from Engineering on Sidewalk Projects: John Livsey and Dave Cannon of Town
Engineering presented the plan for the intersection of Spring Street and Hayden Avenue.
Construction will begin spring 2011 to be completed by mid - summer. The traffic signals
at the intersection will include crosswalks with pedestrian controlled signals; however,
there will be no such traffic signal or accompanying pedestrian control at a crosswalk
along the slip lane from Hayden Ave to Spring Street. The plan accommodates pedestrian
connections to a future sidewalk that will go from Spring Street along Hayden Ave and
Concord Ave to Waltham Street. The Spring Street/Hayden Ave intersection project is
within state jurisdiction.
Mr. Livsey and Mr. Cannon also updated the committee on the Bowman School sidewalk
project (project has been bid and a contractor is lined up), the project at Marrett/Waltham
Streets (contract has been awarded and will start in the Spring, to be finished most likely
over two years), and Concord Avenue (feasibility study will take place soon). Judy
Crocker requested that the SWC be given the dates of the various construction projects so
that parents and other residents of the affected neighborhoods can be notified.
2. December 2010 minutes were approved.
3. Jerry Van Hook reported that the Safe Mass Ave Committee will meet Wednesday,
January 12, 2011, to discuss their response to a received TSAC letter. He will be certain
to include the SWC's discussion from December.
4. Snow Removal from Sidewalks: Jeanne Krieger commented that Town Operations has
done an excellent job of removing snow from sidewalks; however, despite their excellent
efforts, private contractors and others are piling snow on already- plowed sidewalks.
The committee discussed the recent State ruling regarding snow removal. Hank Manz
commented that the ruling does not require that citizens remove snow, but rather gives a
legal right to sue due to an injury from non - removed snow. He will follow up with Police
Chief Corr to get some guidance on this. Richard Canale noted that if the Town issues no
ordinance, residents will not be legally responsible for snow removal on Town property.
Mark Valenti noted that, despite the fact that residents are not allowed to dump snow onto
sidewalks and public roads, all they get is a warning if they do so.
2/2
Richard Canale asked about snow removal on the sidewalks on Spring Street, particularly
from Shade Street out to Route 2. Mark Valenti will check on this and report back.
5. Citizen Petitions for New Sidewalks: A committee of citizens interested in a sidewalk for
Hill Street has formed and is planning to come before the SWC later this year.
A discussion of the Sidewalk Petition Process ensued. It was noted that the process memo
is still a draft and is open for comment. Before the petition process can be made into
policy, it must go before the Board of Selectmen.
6. Safe Routes to School: The Safe Routes to School Committee has been asked to keynote
at the MassRides statewide Safe Routes Forum. The current plan is to discuss Lexington's
Sidewalk Committee Model - how we have coordinated across Lexington and used open
communication. Jeanne Krieger highlighted the ground work done early on through
surveys to find out the routes that families use to get to school. Lucy Fletcher -Jones noted
that these initial surveys helped to determine the interest of families in walking to school.
Judy Crocker and Elaine Celi also reported that an increase in funding from the Town is
needed to keep school bus service at its current level. The deficit is due, among other
things, to the fact that the number of children who live more than two miles from school
who can ride for free has increased, as well as to the numbers of children who are
receiving financial assistance to ride the bus. Furthermore, families who live within the
two miles are often choosing not to use the bus service. Reasons cited have been
behavioral issues, cost, and lack of timeliness. The need for a standardized school parking
plan was discussed. Possible remedies for all of these issues were discussed. A survey of
parents will be undertaken to better understand why children are not taking the bus.
7. New business: Richard Canale suggested that the Bike Advisory Committee would like to
make suggestions for safe routes for children to bike to school and is looking for input.
Lucy Fletcher -Jones noted that the SWC minutes can now be accessed by going to the
Town website and entering the public records portal.
The meeting was adjourned at 12.25 PM. The next meeting will be on Monday, February 7,
2011 at 11 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Bettina McGimsey