Salem Bike Path Committee
Minutes of Meeting
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A regular meeting of the Salem Bike Path Committee was held on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting Room 313 at Salem City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street.
Members Present: Vice Chair Jeff Bellin, Dan Shuman, Jerry Judge, David Pelletier, and Rachel Hunt. Also present was Frank Taormina, Planner/Harbor Coordinator
Members Absent: Chairman Stan Franzeen, Nancy Sachetti, and Christine Michelini
Public in Attendance:
In the absences of Chairman Franzeen, Vice Chair Bellin assumed Chair and called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
1. Approval of Minutes
The Committee could not vote to approve the meeting minutes because there was not a quorum of Members who were present at the 6/13/07 and 9/19/07 Meetings.
2. Public Comment
No public comments were heard that night
3. Old/New Business
East Coast Greenway Alliance Dedication Ceremony
F. Taormina discussed the time/date of the ceremony.
Bike Path Maintenance Site Walk
Vice Chair Bellin opened this item by stating that the original site walk time/date had to be rescheduled because it fell on the night of the Halloween Parade. He went on to say that the Committee would need to reach consensus on a time/date that works for everyone.
D. Pelletier mentioned that the Mayor’s Office has been made aware of some of the maintenance issues with the bike path.
F Taormina clarified that the purpose of the site walk is to identify all the maintenance issues and take an inventory of the items that need to be addressed during the offseason (e.g. graffiti, missing trail signs, fix broken footing on one of the bike gates, etc).
D Pelletier asked what happened to former list.
F. Taormina mentioned that a few of those items have been addressed but most haven’t, but we can add them to the list and address everything during the offseason.
Vice Chair Bellin asked if Next Tuesday, Oct 16th after the Eastcoast Greenway Dedication Ceremony (approx 3:30 p.m.) could work.
The Committee Members discussed it and reach consensus that next Tuesday, October 16th at 3:30pm or after the dedication ceremony would work.
F. Taormina added that he would e-mail the site walk time/date to the absent Committee Members.
Green Line Bike Trail
D. Pelletier presented the Green Line Bike Trail to the Committee in greater detail and asked the Committee Members to vote to recommend to concept to the Mayor. Also asked if the Committee could look into the estimated cost of the ‘missing links’: A hard pack or paved connection from Congress Street to the Palmer Cover Walkway and a connection from the existing Peter Tracy Walkway to the future By-Pass Roadway Bike Path via an abandoned MBTA Right-Of-Way.
D. Pelletier also mentioned that the Committee needs decide on how the Green Line Route could be identified by signage or by a painted green line on the ground. D. Pelletier went on the mention that this could be first step toward Safe Routes to Schools and qualify us for grant money. The Green Line Bike Trail can be a model for achieving reasonable results with little cost.
R. Hunt stated that she does not prefer a painted green line throughout the city and would recommend that the Committee look into trail markers or signage.
D. Pelletier stated that that could be decided at the next meeting, but the first thing we should focus on is making the needed connections to make this work.
Vice Chair Bellin asked if we could forward this proposal to Council President Matt Veno. F. Taormina stated that he didn’t see a problem with that and added that he should just forward it to all the City Councilors, since the proposed Green Line Bike Trail traverses several different City Wards.
D. Pelletier stated that his goal is to get this in place by Spring 08.
D. Pelletier mentioned that we should also start looking into grant programs to help fund this inititive, such as the Safe Routes to Schools Program.
D. Shuman added that we can also get money from Bikes Beyond, Mass Bike, and SEED.
D. Pelletier made a motion that we send a letter to the Mayor requesting implementation of the connector from Congress Street to the Palmer Cove Walkway as per our discussion. Seconded by J. Judge.
Vice Chair Bellin opened the item for discussion and requested that the connection be asphalt, bituminous, or some environmentally friendly paver.
F. Taormina says that we should request what we want and then settle for less if necessary. If the rest of Committee agrees that the connection should be bituminous then that’s what we will ask for.
Vice Chair Bellin asks for a vote to include a paved/hard surface material. Seconded by J. Judge and approved unanimously.
Downtown Bike Rack Installation
F. Taormina updated the Committee on the installation. He stated that all the rack were installed except for four (4) Bike Hitches because the parking meter poles were either to short or to wide at those locations to accommodate the bike rack. He also stated that one rack was not installed in the right location and needs to be relocated to the approved location (at the corner of Washington Street and Essex Street)
The Committee agreed to review each location and determine whether it should replace the parking meter pole or relocate the rack to another location that works. The four locations were: in front of Beer Works (don’t replace pole), Beverly Coop Bank (replace pole), Joshua Ward House (don’t replace pole), Rockafellas Bar (replace pole).
R. Hunt stated that that leaves us with two racks that need to be relocated.
D. Pelletier proposed that one locate directly in front of the Front Street Café and relocate one in front of Comcast/Eastern Bank on Washington Street. D. Pelletier also added that one of the existing racks on Essex Street should be relocated in front of Harrison’s Comic Shop on Essex Street.
The Committee Members discussed the location is greater detail
D. Pelletier made a motion to approve the locations above as he outlined. D Shuman seconded the motion and it was approved unanimously.
D. Pelletier made another motion to send a letter to the Mayor cc: DPW and Parking Department and thank her for moving this program along so quickly and professionally. D Shuman seconds the motion and it passed unanimously.
4. Bike Safety Seminar
Vice Chair Bellin opened this item by introducing the seminar and outlining his proposal to the Committee Members. He discussed some of the item he would like the Committee to consider in the seminar such as but not limited to: cover rules of the road, cycling safety, perhaps some basic bike maintenance (maybe Dan or someone from the bike shop could assist in that), helmets, clothing, etc.
D. Pelletier asked if this type of issue is within the Committee purview or not.
F. Taormina stated that one of the goals of the Bike Path Committee is to advocate for bicycling and bike safety so this is in their purview to discuss and advocate for.
D. Shuman mentioned that Mass Bike assists communities with bike safety workshops.
F. Taormina mentioned that when Jeff first proposed this idea at the last meeting he recommended that it be facilitated by the Bike Path Committee but he wasn’t opposed with having Mass Bike or the Salem Police Bike Unit assist in the seminar.
Vice Chair Bellin agreed and stated that he doesn’t want it to be authoritative. Vice Chair Bellin then asked where the best location for the seminar could be. He prefers Salem Common but understand that a paved surface would be better suited for bikers.
D. Pelletier mentioned that it should be in the afternoon, perhaps an event for kid to get out of school early and to learn bike safety before summer.
Vice Chair Bellin stated that he recommends that the seminar not be geared solely for kids but for adult riders as well.
F. Taormina mentioned that Chairman Franzeen would be a great resource to discuss the seminar with and try to make it incentive based to draw the crowd that we are looking for.
Vice Chair Bellin agreed and stated that maybe we could have sponsors like Treadwell’s Ice Cream and end the seminar with ice cream.
F. Taormina mentioned that maybe the bike seminar could piggy-back with the Green Line Bike Trail. The seminar could be followed by an inaugural bike ride on the Green Line Bike Trail and end at the Willows for instance, followed by food and drinks there.
D. Pelletier made a motion to embrace Jeff and Frank’s idea and integrate the seminar into the Green Line Trail launch ceremony. Seconded by D. Shuman and approved unanimously.
The Committee agreed to continue the discussion of the Bike Safety Seminar to the next meeting on November 14, 2007.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Committee this evening a motion was made by D. Shuman to adjourn the meeting, seconded by J. Judge and approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by:
Rachel Hunt, Clerk
Salem Bike Path Committee
BPC 10-10-07
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