 |
Salem State University Neighborhood Advisory Committee
May 16, 2011 – Minutes
Attendees: Beth Bower, Jason Doviak, Maureen Fry, Jack Hoar, Joseph O’Keefe, Jason Silva, James Rose, Andrew Soll, and John Walsh
Absent: Marcia Lambert, Robert McCarthy, and John Ronan
Guests: Gary Hebert, Fay, Spafford and Throndike; David Knowlton, City Engineer; Michael Lambert (Division of Capital Asset Management); Leif Lamoray (Leftfield Inc.);
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
- Library and Learning Commons
- Andy Soll introduced Mike Lambert from the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), who attended the meeting to answer any questions about the project.
- Demolition of Existing Building
- The removal of the brick panels continues. This phase of demolition will focus on the back 20 percent of the building (away from Lafayette Street).
- The next few weeks will consist of the removal of brick infill panels between the structural beams and the columns. This phase will include the removal of windows, which will be stored in the building for the time being, and brick infill, which will be sorted and stored in the building until a full load is ready to be removed by truck. No piles of debris will be stored outside the building. The structural demolition of this portion of the building will follow.
- Trucks will be onsite for debris removal, but the schedule will be sporadic with three to four trucks per week over an eight to ten week period. There will be no stacking of trucks on streets. Campus police will be notified as needed to assist trucks leaving campus onto Lafayette Street.
- Construction of New Facility
- The contractor has made good progress and will continue work on the relocation of underground utilities to prepare the site for the new building.
- The servers are scheduled to be moved to the new Data Center the week of June 13. The target completion date, which would allow decommissioning of the DX Units, is the end of June.
- O’Keefe Center – Lighting will be replaced in large interior spaces including the hallways, pool, rink, gyms and classrooms. The building will remain open during this work. The O’Keefe Center will also have select internal renovations to create a new athletic training laboratory for the Sport and Movement Science department.
- Sullivan Building – Renovations will take place in the basement to provide improved classroom and laboratory space for the theater program (all work will be inside the building). The project is currently out to bid.
- Administration Building (354 Lafayette Street) – Windows will be replaced over the summer. Bids will be received the first week of June. This is the building located between the Sullivan Building and Meier Hall. It is connected to the Mainstage Theatre and Dining Commons.
LORING AVENUE TRAFFIC STUDY AT RAYMOND ROAD
- Fay, Spafford and Throndike (FST) performed a study of pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the Raymond Road/Loring Avenue junction. The study examined the intersections of Loring Avenue at Broadway and Raymond Road and the intersections of Lafayette Street at Loring Avenue, West Avenue and Raymond Road. The university is sharing the cost of the study with the city. David Knowlton, city engineer, managed the study.
- Gary Hebert of FST presented the findings. A link to the presentation can be found on Salem State University’s website on the Community Connections page under Neighborhood Connections.
- The presentation covered:
- The functional classifications of the area studied.
- Existing conditions of the four study areas.
- Recorded vehicle volumes of the area studied.
- Recorded pedestrian volumes of the area studied.
- Accident statistics in the area studied.
- Options for adjustments to the area without traffic calming.
- Options for adjustments to the area with traffic calming.
- Next steps.
- Committee Member Comments/Questions:
- Councillor O’Keefe questioned how the settings at the Loring Avenue/Lafayette Street/West Avenue light could be changed from its current static cycle. – Mr. Hebert reported that this is a city issue which would involve the installation of sensor wires in the pavement at the intersection around the light. The estimated cost for this would be between $40K and $60K.
- Andrew Soll questioned if consideration was given to the Canal Street/Loring Avenue intersection. A change that would allow left turns from Canal to Loring would keep traffic on Canal Street longer. He also asked if traffic relating to Horace Mann school was included in the study.
- John Walsh asked if trucks and cars were differentiated in the count. – Mr. Hebert responded that they were and that bicycles and pedestrians were counted as well.
- Jack Hoar suggested that there be a no left turn sign for Raymond Road at the Loring Avenue intersection.
- Jason Silva noted that changing traffic patterns is easier than changing pedestrian behavior.
- Neighborhood Comments/Questions:
- Teasie Goggins asked if there could be a “residents only between certain hours” sign at the Loring Avenue/Raymond Road intersection. – Mr. Hebert stated that this is a taxation issue, and everyone has to have the same access to public roads.
- David Coleman stated that reducing the cut-through traffic on Raymond Road would reduce the traffic on Broadway. He added that truck traffic to Marblehead will increase as the summer progresses, particularly by landscaping vehicles. Mr. Coleman suggests that the city eliminate the cut-through traffic on Raymond Road.
- Mary Lou Gauthier stated that she understands that vehicular traffic is an issue, but she is concerned with pedestrian traffic. She suggests a crossing guard at the Raymond Road/Loring Avenue intersection Monday through Friday at peak times. She stated that visibility is impaired by the high shrubbery at the residence on the corner of Loring Avenue and Raymond Road.
- Stephanie Eugenio noted that she doesn’t want to be limited in how she can gain access to and from her home on Raymond Road.
- Mr. Hebert stated that for any of the traffic calming options, the traffic signal at Loring Avenue, Lafayette Street and West Avenue would need to be updated. He further noted that he would take the suggestions and comments from the committee and neighbors present and incorporate them into his recommendations to the city. Recommendations will be shared at a future SSUNAC meeting.
PARKING
- Mr. and Mrs. Balentine requested that more work be done to educate the students on parking rules and behaviors of a good neighbor at the last SSUNAC meeting.
- Beth Bower & Adria Leach met with Executive Vice President Cahill to discuss how to incorporate educating the students on parking through orientation and fall programming. Progress will be provided through the SSUNAC meetings as a plan is devised.
ISSUES IN PROGRESS
- HVAC System at Building 1 Update
- The data center in Building 1 is scheduled to be moved to its new location starting the week of June 13 with a targeted completion date of June 30. Once the equipment is moved, the DX units behind Building 1 will be decommissioned. The cooling tower will still operate but is set to shut down around 9 pm each evening.
- The city of Salem has taken the precautionary measure to close the two lower fields of McGrath Park due to the results of some recent soil testing. This closure has displaced the Salem Youth Soccer program. In an effort to assist the city and the program, Salem State University has made its Alumni Field available to Salem Youth Soccer. In order for youth soccer to use the city’s Memorial Park, the university has also agreed to host Salem High School’s JV baseball practices at its baseball field. Field rental schedules are posted on the university’s Community Connections website under Neighborhood Connections, Campus Updates.
SALEM STATE COMMUNITY DAY
- The university is interested in hosting a day for the Salem community to visit campus and experience what’s happening at Salem State. Through the committee, the university is soliciting ideas of what activities would be of interest to the community. The university will also solicit ideas via the neighborhood email blast.
NEW BUSINESS
- A neighbor noted that the trees along the bike path that were planted as screening of Marsh Hall are not thriving. The university will investigate.
MEETING SCHEDULE
- NOTE CHANGE IN MEETING DATE: The next meeting will be on Monday, June 27, at 6:00 p.m. in the Enterprise Center Training Room B located on Central Campus at 121 Loring Avenue.
| |
