Salem Bicycling Advisory Committee
Draft Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
A meeting of the Salem Bicycling Advisory Committee was held on Wednesday, April 8th, 2015 at 7:00 PM in Meeting Room 312 at Salem City Hall Annex, 120 Washington Street.
Members Present: Chairman Jeff Bellin, Bruce Mabbott, Ernie DeMaio, David Bowie, Kristin Anderson
Also Present: Jeff Elie, Energy and Sustainability Manager, Gary Hebert (Fay Spofford & Thorndike, Salem resident)
Members Absent: Brad Sandler, Will Peck, Dan Cooper
Invited Guests: Tracey Ware
Public in Attendance: Nina Cohen
Chairman Bellin called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. He acknowledged those members absent and present for the record.
Chairman Bellin asked if there were any comments or edits for the March 11th draft meeting minutes. There being none, motion was made by B. Mabbott motioned, D. Bowie seconded, all approved.
Chairman Bellin asked if there were any public comments at this time. There was no public comment.
J. Elie checked with Committee for any comment on Project Tracking Form, which is now online. B. Mabbott asked whether there was any news on the Footprint Power pipeline excavation and installation project. J. Elie informed the Committee that there had been no new news but he would ask Footprint at the One-Stop meeting with Footprint later in the month. The idea would be to connect the Collins Cove off-road path through this parcel of land, through Beattie Park, which already has a path, and onto Derby St. Footprint will already be doing mitigation on that overgrown parcel that the pipeline goes through so this would be an opportunity to connect two areas off-road making a safe path for Salem residents and visitors.
The Committee made a motion to draft a letter to Footprint to dedicate funding to clean up landscaping and create a path through the undeveloped, City owned land between Szetela Ln and Fort Ave, through Beattie park, and to to make a connection from the Collins Cove path to the existing bike route on Derby St.
- K. Anderson Motioned
- B. Mabbott seconded
- All approved
Action Item: D. Bowie will draft letter and share with SBAC
Chairman Bellin inquired J. Elie about the repair of the bike path kiosks, which are currently not operational. J. Elie informed the committee that the plexiglass in one of the kiosks needs to be replaced while on the other kiosk, the whole door and glass need to be replaced. Also, the inside material will be upgraded to a more weather resistant material so it doesn’t break down if the weather is bad. J. Elie is working with Dan of the DPS to order the replacement materials and have them installed.
Chairman Bellin had communicated with Richard Fries, new Director at Mass Bike, about coming to the May meeting. It was agreed that he would attend the meeting and give a 20 minute long presentation about bicycle related initiatives on the North Shore, particularly what is being done in Salem and how Salem can connect to other communities via bicycling infrastructure.
- Bike Circulation Master Plan –Fay Spofford & Thorndike has provided the Task Order and Scope of Work for the Master Plan update. Contingent upon the Task Order being executed between FST and the City, the first kick-off meeting will be scheduled for the May 13th meeting.
- Canal St. Path Riley Plaza Connection – Discuss the potential design to connect the new Canal St off-road path through Riley Plaza and to the Washington St. corridor. J. Elie informed the Committee that the first phase of the project, which will be funded by MassDOT, is to have the bike path constructed while the City develops a plan of how the entrance to the path in the Downtown behind Domino’s Pizza will integrate into the traffic situation at that intersection near Riley Plaza. The most practical design is to have bicyclists cross the road via a crosswalk at Mill St., go through the Riley Plaza adjacent to the retaining wall and exit bicyclists at the new mid-block pedestrian cross at Washington-Dodge St., and up at New Derby St in front of the Post Office. There would need to be additional bicycle signage, painted bike
boxes, and improved signaling at lights to make this safer than the current configuration in the downtown.
Nina Cohen inquired about lighting along the path and pedestrian accommodations such as benches. The current design does not have lighting but J. Elie will inquire with the Engineer and Electric Department to find out a solution for users who want to safely travel the path in the dark.
- Salem Spins/Regional Bike Share Network – Jeff Elie met with Andrea Leary of the North Shore Transportation Management Association to discuss a potential opportunity to expand the Salem Spins bike share to a regional network including existing hubs with hubs in Beverly to connect colleges in Beverly to Salem. Because funding is the main challenge, Andrea asked J. Elie to research possible low cost bike hub solutions that could make the program automated.
- Beverly Bike Committee Meeting – Discuss potential to communicate with the Beverly Bike Path to explore collaboration and share ideas. Invite a member to our meeting or attend their meeting.
Summary of Action Items
D. Bowie – Draft letter to send to Footprint in support of cleaning up the landscaping on the property between Szetela Ave and Derby St. in order to create a path connecting Collins Cove out to the Wharf area
J. Elie – Work with FST on updating the Master Plan update scope of work and get the funding approved.
Chairman Bellin asked if there were any further items to discuss tonight. There being none, D. Bowie asked for a motion to adjourn. K. Anderson seconded the motion. All approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:34 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
Jeffrey Elie,
Energy and Sustainability Manager
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