Salem Bike Path Committee
Minutes of Meeting
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A rescheduled meeting of the Salem Bike Path Committee was held on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 7:00 PM in Meeting Room 312 at City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street.
Members Present: Dan Shuman, Will Peck, Ernest DeMaio. Jamie Metsch and David Hallowes. Also present was Staff Planner/Harbor Coordinator Frank Taormina
Members Absent: Jeff Bellin and David Pelletier.
Public in Attendance: Steve Tgettis (Salem resident, Aborn Street)
Chairman Shuman called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM. He acknowledged those members absent and present for the record.
W. Peck made a motion to approve the December 14, 2011 Meeting Minutes, seconded by E. DeMaio and approved unanimously.
Chairman Shuman asked the Committee if they had any questions regarding the 2011 Annual Report. There none being, Chairman Shuman asked for a motion to approve the 2011 Annual Report. E. DeMaio makes that motion, seconded by W. Peck and approved unanimously.
Chairman Shuman acknowledged the public in attendance and asked that individual’s name for the record and if he had any public comments at this time.
Steve Tgettis introduced himself to the Committee and shared his interest in biking. He stated that he is a retired safety manager for a railroad company and despite his background he is an advocate for converting unused or abandoned railroad right-of-ways into bikeways. He mentioned that he is a member of the East Coast Greenway as well as the Rails-to-Trail Conservatory and is interested in bike paths, especially in their regional connectivity. He is also interested in bike safety on-streets and like many bikers has developed a real fear of distracted drivers. He commended the Committee and City on installing the bike lane throughout Salem, especially on Lafayette Street to Marblehead, as he rides that often. He is interested in hearing what else the Committee and City has planned with respect to on-
and off-road bike safety and off-road (bike path) connectivity with neighboring communities.
Creation of User Friendly Bike Routes Map
F. Taormina showed the Committee the latest progress print of the bike routes map.
J. Metsch asked if the map should be zoomed out a bit to show more of Salem and identify the best on-street routes for bikers to take in order to get to our neighboring communities and perhaps insets of downtown Salem and or Salem Woods trails. Discussion ensued. The Committee agreed to keep the map at the present scale and consider that in future versions of the map, especially since best routes to neighboring communities was not addressed in the Bike Circulation Master Plan. The Master Plan identified various City streets that can accommodate bike lanes or sharrows and identifies each as high or low volume roads, but does not determine which is the best route to take in order to get to Lynn, Swampscott, and Peabody; etc (although navigating to Beverly and Marblehead is fairly
straightforward).
W. Peck suggested that the font size and symbols be increased a half-a-point so that it is more legible. Committee agreed.
Chairman Shuman asked about all the public beach symbols at Forest River Park. He suggested that perhaps you just use one symbol at Forest River to identify that there are public beaches there. F. Taormina suggested that all three public beach symbols remain on the map as Forest River Park is very large and many people do not know that they even exist. Additionally, Forest River Park has a public pool, playground, and Pioneer Village which are all identified as points of interest on the map for riders.
Resident Steve Tgettis stated that as an outsider, if he were utilizing the map and there were just one public beach symbol at Forest River Park he would assume that the beach near Pioneer Village would be the beach the symbol was speaking to, however identifying three beaches would encourage riders or visitors that do not know any better to explore the rest of Forest River Park and visit them. The Committee agreed to keep all the public beach symbols at Forest River Park.
Chairman Shuman asked if there were any other comments regarding the map. There none being, he asked F. Taormina what the next steps are.
F. Taormina suggested that he have the minor edits made to the map and then focus on the back side of the map, where biking resources and information can be inserted. The Committee agreed.
D. Hallowes suggested that perhaps the Committee sell advertising space on the back of the map to help pay for the cost of the maps. J. Metsch shied away from the idea, because as a business owner himself he feels that there will only be limited space available and the same usual suspects will likely be fighting to be on the map.
F. Taormina stated that he got a commitment from the Park and Recreation Department to pay for the printing of the maps. However, in the future as the map grows and changes are made on a yearly basis, then the Committee could consider having advertising space on the back of the map help pay for, or entirely pay for map production costs. The Committee agreed.
Review Draft Bike Safety Pamphlet
Chairman Shuman opening up the item and then turned the floor over to Committee Member D. Hallowes. D. Hallowes passed out copies of the latest iteration of the safety pamphlet for the Committee’s review.
F. Taormina suggested that an image of a front head light be shown in place of one of the two reflectors, so that it corresponds with the text in the section “See and Be Seen”. The Committee agreed.
E. DeMaio suggested that the font size be slightly smaller and to use a crisper font so that it reads better. Discussion ensued. The Committee agreed.
W. Peck pointed out that the statement at the top of the pamphlet states that “Massachusetts State Law requires the use of helmets by minors when riding” where as it is clearer in the section under ‘Helmets’ that “Massachusetts State Law requires the use of helmets by anyone 16 years of age and under when riding a bike”. He stated that he believes a minor is anyone under the age of 18 whereas the law states anyone 16 and under is required to wear a helmet. The Committee agreed that that was a contradiction and changed “minor” to “16 years of age and under”.
Chairman Shuman pointed out another discrepancy I the text. Instead of “A Bicycle is a moving vehicle and is subject to similar laws as cars” it should be changed to ““A Bicycle is a moving vehicle and is subject to the same laws as cars”. The Committee agreed.
Chairman Shuman asked if there were anymore questions regarding the text or formatting of the safety pamphlet. There none being he asked what the next steps were.
F. Taormina suggested that a draft final version be prepared by D. Hallowes and sent to him for distribution to the Committee in advance of the next meeting. Then at the next meeting the Committee could vote to approve the draft final safety pamphlet and it could then be forward to Salem Police Department for their endorsement. The Committee agreed.
Other Old/New Business
Chairman Shuman asked if there were any other old/new business items the Committee would like to discuss tonight.
Resident Steve Tgettis commended the Committee on its efforts to create a safety manual but stressed that in his former profession he installed hundreds of signs and created numerous safety manuals, but people especially kids, do not read or pay attention to either. He mentioned that parents buy their kids bikes and then do not teach them the rules of the road or how to ride a bike safely, they just tell them to be careful. He suggested that the Committee do some outreach to kids and explain bike safety face to face, as that will reach more kids then the safety pamphlet.
Chairman Shuman stated that a couple years ago the Committee had a Bike Safety Event there they did just that and gave out free bike helmets and bike locks.
W. Peck stated that he envisions that once the bike safety pamphlet is completed that it would be sent to the school department and sent out with each child’s report cards, so that parents will see the pamphlets as well.
F. Taormina stated that although the Committee does not hold a Bike Safety Event anymore, the Salem Police Dept Bike Unit does hold safety events, and perhaps the Committee can also participate in that event.
J. Metsch stated that when he was young, he remembers registering his bike at the Police Station. Even though that doesn’t really prevent your bike from being damaged or stolen, it was an opportunity for the Police to encourage bike safety. He asked if the Salem Police Department would be interested in such a thing. F. Taormina stated that he would look into it.
Resident Steve Tgettis asked if a representative from the Park & Recreation Department and the Salem Police Department could be added to the Committee, as both of their input would be very helpful in getting things done. F. Taormina stated that he works closely with both Departments on all thinks biking and thinks that is a great idea but he believes that only Salem Residents, not City of Salem Employees, can be appointed to a City Board or Commission. If that is the case, at a minimum he will look into whether or not someone from the Park and Recreation Commission would be interested in serving on the Bike Path Committee.
J. Metsch asked if F. Taormina send MassDOT a letter about adding bike sharrows to Bridge Street from the bike path intersection (Peter Tracy Multi-Use Walkway) to the Beverly Salem Bridge. F. Taormina stated that he did not intent on sending MassDOT a letter, but working through the City Engineer would make the request on behalf of the Committee/City. He will touch base with the City Engineer and report back to the Committee.
W. Peck asked about the MBTA Parking Garage and the bike accommodations we requested. F. Taormina stated that they MBTA will be installing a secure indoor bike parking facility, similar to Alewife Station, but it is unlikely that they will construct the at-grade crossing across the tracks to Jefferson Station Apartments. He informed the Committee that the MBTA has shrunk the budget for the project; he believes it is 30 million dollars and we are lucky that some of our requests were incorporated.
D. Hallowes asked if the Committee could have a booth at various City Events like the Witch’s Cup Bike Race, Living Green Fair, etc where they could interact with the public and stress bike safety. Chairman Shuman suggested that F. Taormina ask for a list of City Events from Ellen Talkowsky (City Special Events Coordinator) and then sign up and have a presence various related events. The Committee agreed.
Chairman Shuman asked if there is any further old or new business to discuss tonight. There being none, he asked for a motion to adjourn. D. Hallowes makes that motion, seconded by E. DeMaio and approved unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
Frank Taormina,
Planner/Harbor Coordinator
Minutes approved by the Salem Bike Path Committee at their March 14, 2012 Meeting
| 
