Minutes
Public Ways Safety Committee
Bolton, Massachusetts
July 8, 2009
Members present: Barbara Bing, Leslie Breeze (Co-Chairs), Mary Ciummo, Rob Hagopian, Deborah Kellett, Tom Kittler, Peter Ross
Guest: Harold Brown, Director, DPW
Minutes from the June 29th meeting were approved and accepted.
OLD BUSINESS:
Chair: New chairperson(s) are elected each July for a one-year term. Mary Ciummo was elected chair for 2009/10, with Deb Kellett serving as her assistant.
New Member Approval: Tom Kittler’s nomination to PWSC was approved by BOS at their last meeting. He will fill out the remaining year of Cia Ochsenbein’s term.
Rescheduling of Meeting with Don Lowe: Mary Ciummo is working on a new date.
July-December Meeting Schedule: Leslie Breeze confirmed that all meetings have been posted through the end of December 2009, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, Town Hall.
Harold’s November 2008 List Follow-up: DPW Director Harold Brown joined the group to review the status of last fall’s recommendations to DPW:
- Harvard/Manor Signage: 30 mph Caution sign in place; road name signs in process; 2 Stop signs are in place on Harvard.
- School Zone Flashers: materials were ordered on 6/9/09 and the estimated date of completed installation is 8/28/09.
- Fog Line & Center Line Painting: Due to budget restraints, Berlin Rd. will not be repainted this year. Wilder & Harvard will get Fog lines only. Main St. (117), Hudson Road (85), Wattaquadoc and Still River Road (110) will all get Center lines and Fog lines repainted this year.
- Signage, Road Painting at So. Berlin and S. Bolton and Frye: New yellow Arrow signs (MUTCD #W1-10R) have been installed. The ride-along sign, Left Turn Must Yield (B/W with red yield triangle) has to wait due to budget constraints. Harold is as yet undecided how best to deal with the issue of road paint to clarify right of way here.
- Stop Sign Needed at South Bolton and Century Mill: Requested additional sign has been installed.
- Passing Zone Issues: Discussed several issues relating to Passing Zone signage (see Hagopian memo of 7/8/2009 for summary). Harold thinks it unlikely Mass Hway would approve any changes in sign location or types of signs, but is willing to keep discussing these issues with us. We will pursue the issue in terms of specific signs and locations and send list of discrepancies to DPW.
- Brush Cutting: DPW does what it can as it can. The curve at Golden Run and Old Sugar was discussed at length. The worst area for brush is the roadside along the old Garrison. The Conservation Trust owns that land. PWSC will contact Conservation Trust to see if they will provide ongoing permission to DPW to trim for safety.
- Island Stop Signs: At last PWSC meeting with Police, Chief Alfano expressed concern about intersections where signage and road painting are not in compliance with regulations. Alfano and Brown have not yet had an opportunity to review these intersections, but Harold will contact Chief Alfano and arrange a meeting.
- Remove Blank No Parking Signs along Main Street: All have been replaced with legible signs.
- Removal of One of the School Bus Signs near Bolton Woods Way: Work order has been issued.
- Cut in Guardrail at Nourse and Main: Discussed and dropped as pointless at present.
NEW BUSINESS:
Fence Regulations and Visibility: General introduction of our thoughts on fence regulations in terms of highway visibility. Harold has no problem with the general idea and we will keep him informed as we proceed on this issue.
110 x 117: Harold updated us on his thoughts/concerns about this intersection. After extensive consultation with Mass Highway engineers, a rotary has been ruled out. Harold is actively pursing other ways to remediate the intersection (completely redesigning is financially impractical), including the installation of strobing LED lights as well as an LED early warning sign (as one approaches the intersection going south on 110).
Inconsistency of Stop Sign and Road Line: Shared with Harold the concerns of Police about the miss-match of signage and road paint at Chase St. and Sargeant Road. Harold will follow up with Chief Alfano.
No Parking Signs and Traffic Rules and Orders: Various No Parking signs around Town have not been posted to the Traffic Rules and Orders. Harold will contact the BOS about remedying this omission.
ACTION ITEMS:
- Rescheduling of Don Lowe (Mary)
- Refine list of Passing Zone discrepancies and send to DPW (To be decided)
- Contact Conservation Trust re/brush cutting around Garrison site (To be decided)
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 on Wednesday, July 22, 2009.
Minutes submitted by Deborah Kellett
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