HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-04-15-GCC-min Greenways Corridor Committee Minutes
(Approved)
April 15, 2011
8 am — Ellen Stone Room, Cary Hall
Members present: Rick Abrams, Alex Dohan, Bob Hausslein, Stew Kennedy, Paul
Knight, Deb Mauger (Selectmen's Liaison), Keith Ohmart
Members Absent:
Duke Bitsko (Conservation Commission Liaison), Michelle Ciccolo (Planning Board
Liaison), Peggy Enders, Mike Tabaczynski
Others present:
Richard Canale
1. Votes
1.1. Approval of March 18 minutes—approved unanimously
2. Reports
2.1. Response from Recreation Committee/Safe Routes to School,
regarding committee representation (Deb, Peggy).
2.2. Keith reported that Howard Vogel will probably be able to represent
the Lexington Recreation Department as a Liaison. Safe routes to School
may also be a source of a GCC member
2.3. Deb will contact Francine Stieglitz to get her suggestion regarding a
liaison from the Commission on Disability.
2.4. Citizen interest in using Simonds Brook area trail to go to Estabrook
Elementary School from Drummer Boy area.
2.5. Keith reported that John Livsey gave him TIP forms.
2.6. Action items reports—to be included as regular agenda item
3. New Business
3.1. Proposal to move meeting time to late afternoons
Keith led discussion on modifying meeting time, since some members have been unable
to attend weekday morning meetings
- Mike T. not able to attend morning meetings, but can attend in afternoon.
- Rick Abrams noted that he may have trouble with afternoons.
A consensus emerged that a better time for meetings would be the late afternoon of the
third Monday of each month.
— Next meeting is set for May 16—4:30-6:00.
— Following meeting will be June 20
— Setting summer meeting dates:
— Keith will be out of town during summer.
— At June 20 meeting, will decide about July/August meetings.
— ACTION: Keith to revise meeting schedule with Lynn Pease.
3.2. Proposal to assign individuals to keep tabs on specific trail easement
projects (e.g. Shire, Waltham Street property next to Brookhaven)
Focus is to track progress over time, coordinate with planning department (Aaron Henry,
Senior Planner with Town Planning Staff, is a key contact) Aaron would be best contact
for Waltham St.; Karen Mullins for Shire.
Richard Canale reported that Shire fire road construction appears to obstruct access.
Stew, Richard and Keith suggested that individuals be assigned to track things by
identifying and contacting responsible town contact and occasionally go to the site.
Zoning enforcement officer is a contact.
— Projects need to be identified: (several underlined below)
— Fiske Common - Deb
— Waltham St—DeVincent property 960-980 Waltham (just before Brookhaven)
(11 townhouse development—easement from Waltham St. along brook to
conservation land behind, to cross stone bridge to Brookhaven, thence to Lot 1. -
Bob Hausslein—Richard suggested Bob can contact Aaron Henry in Town
Planning Dept. Aaron would also be a good source to get list of recent easement
access agreements.
— Others : Victory Garden Way—map on web site shows handicap-accessible trail
easement.
— Richard—check on easement at Martingale (at lower end of Cedar St.)
— Stew noted the comprehensive listing and analysis of conservation easements
conducted by Bonnie Newman and Emily Schadler.
— Richard noted that the Planning Board has access easements with several
developments, but they are sometimes not known or marked, resulting in
situations such as pines being planted in a Bridge School access easement from
Cobbersmyth Way.
— Keith noted the need to concentrate on specific projects being actively developed,
and track and coordinate the easements associated with them
— Richard—There is a lot of value in coordinating to ensure access path is
constructed on easements
— Shire—coordinate with Karen Mullins—ask Tom Whelan? Stew will talk to Tom
—ACTION
— Keith will track Lexington Hills—where easements off cul-de-sac need to be
marked.
— Keith: Who is to be notified—(develop a notify list?)
3.3. Discussion of committee priorities per e-mail ranking (ranking results
are at end of meeting minutes)
Discussion: (Initial focus - #4) TIP form updating for West Lexington Greenway and
Minuteman Connector—What is the level of importance?It would be needed for long-
term plan. Do we need to do it now?
Richard: It would not get on to current list. Could get on the 2016 list, next year. The
process is changing. Michelle has more info. MassDOT—would want to know if the
project is defined in the Mass bicycle plan. It is a five-step process. Scenic byway
funding may be more appropriate. We need to define: Is an inland route (running
somewhere in the land between Hartwell and I-95/128) feasible? If not, it would need to
be redefined for TIP.
Keith: Do we need a specific route identified to fill in the TIP form properly?
Richard: That is not clear, but we may have missed the window for pushing it this year.
With town priorities not clear, we need to see how it fits in comparison to road projects.
Deb: CPA funding is a definite possibility.
Keith: Described some of the study and measurements done on the general inland route,
with a recent field trip by Keith, Paul, and Jay Sklar.
Richard: Should do the work on the TIP forms, make sure they are set up to score highly
in the process.
— Figure out the nature of what will go between the two bikeways (Minuteman to
Battle Road) in the greenway space—is the intent to support regional or local use?
It would need to be an improvement over the current Mass Ave designated route.
— If greenway route is not regional quality, what is alternative?
— It needs to feed into planning for Hartwell corridor, - funding from local sources,
TIP, possibly scenic byway funding
Deb: The town planning process needs to define priorities
Keith: Getting a sustainable trail on the ground is a priority. Recent survey identified
about $100K to get bridges in (for materials).
Stew: What is a starting point for assessing the applicability of CPA funding?
Deb: Nattie Rice upstairs is a key resource for understanding CPC funding.
Keith: I will talk with Mattie for CPA application information. (ACTION)
Keith: We need to get VHB to finish the WLG Master Plan, and complete the 25%
design to get town sign-off on the work so far, otherwise the town will be understandably
reluctant to provide any more funds.
Keith: Once the Master Plan work is completed, we need to decide on future funding
strategies - between asking for CPA for 75% design phase funding for a regional bikeway
or for funding bridges to implement a less ambitious trail system of our emerging
standard quality, with 3 to 4 foot widths.
Stew: Would a high-quality regional bikeway still even be considered feasible, based on
the results of the Master Plan study to date? It's not apparent, and there are serious
concerns regarding the wetlands impact and mitigation requirements.
Deb volunteered to talk with Karen Mullins regarding the importance of closure for the
VHB contract work on the Master Plan. (ACTION)
Deb: To summarize—the first VHB design shows that there are serious challenges to
putting a high-quality regional bikeway along the originally proposed corridor between
the Minuteman Bikeway and Wood Street at the power lines. It is not a bad thing to
redirect a planning effort when a study shows it will not work as had been hoped. A study
that shows something will not work as planned can be seen as a wise use of the town's
resources. It allows us to focus on other approaches to make connections.
Richard: Wood St to Battle Road—Even if a bike route is defined along Hartwell and
Wood Street, we would still benefit from this connection, and it still needs design work in
order to make this connection.
Keith: The Drummer Boy request—for a good walking trail to Estabrook - shows the
need for providing usable access along the entire West Lexington Greenway corridor.
Alex: Do we need to have a decision or wait for town?
Keith: Environmental concerns of the Minuteman Connector part will make it hard to go
with the initial concept through that section in the near term.
Deb: From this committee, we need to advise the Board of Selectmen how we want to
proceed, not expect Selectmen to decide without GCC input.
Rick: From an overall greenway corridor perspective, we need to identify good examples
for adding high-value connections. Rick and Alex volunteered to lead a study to look at
examples—look at connection points. The complete focus needs more fleshing out, will
discuss further.
adjourn—9:32
4. Remedial session for new members to follow regular meeting adjournment.
(postponed)
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Knight, Secretary
GCC Prioritization Choices- Final Ranking
April 2011
# 1 - Map Existing/Potential Trail Connections Throughout Town (MTC)
- work with town maps/GIS department to construct detailed list of
existing/potential trail connections. Prioritize.
- will then lead to pursuing specific individual trail connection projects
#2 -WLG Minuteman Connector—Local Funding (WLGL)
- piece together local funding options (CPA, RTP Grants, etc.)
- much shorter time horizons
- lower budget construction costs
- could always upgrade trail if TIP funding achieved
- Next steps:
• reconnoiter possible routes, estimate material costs (report from
Paul/Keith on recent expedition)
• investigate CPA and other funding opportunities
• pursue active interest for potential limited Lincoln Lab grant for
selected boardwalk/bridge structures on Wood St end of Minuteman
Connecter. Investigate interest from Drummer Boy parents for walking
path through Simonds Brook area to Grove Street.
#2 - Trail Connection Operations (TCO)
- design trail blaze logo for marking connecting trails throughout the town,
especially trails crossing non-town land.
- work with DPW to develop pavement/sidewalk marking system to mark
connecting routes between conservation parcels (examples -Parker
Meadow/Cheisa loop, Fletcher Ave connection from LVB Hayes lane path to
Bikeway)
#3 -Easement Policy Review (EPR)
- review existing town policies/practices for trail easements.
- codify existing easement policies as necessary and propose revisions for
adoption by appropriate town departments/boards/committees.
#4 -WLG Minuteman Connector—TIP Process (WLGT)
- 10-15 year lead time
- will increase construction costs substantially
- Next steps:
• update TIP forms
• secure funding for 75% design costs