HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-3-20NANTUCKE
TOWN CLERK
Town and County of Nantucket
ROADS AND RIGHT OF WAY COMMITTEE 2018 APP 19 AM 11: 41
Meeting of 20 March 2018
Conference Room of 2 Fairgrounds Road
FINAL AND APPROVED MINUTES
1. Call to Order, Approval of the Agenda, Approval of Minutes, and Public Comments.
A. Chair Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:07 pm. In attendance were Rick
Atherton, Nelson (Snookie) Eldridge, Leslie Forbes (arrived at 4:28 pm), Allen Reinhard, Bert
Ryder (arrived at 4:53 pm), Lee Saperstein, and Stephen Welch (arrived at 4:07 pm; left at 4:50
pm); there was a quorum at all times.
Guests: Mike Burns, Transportation Planner, Rachel Hobart, Project Manager, ReMain
Nantucket.
Janice Davis, Cynara Reid, members of the public.
Absent: Nat Lowell and John Stackpole.
B. Public Comment.
Allen Reinhard invited Janice Davis and Cynara Reid to share their concerns about the status of
Lovers Lane. Both spoke about their concern for the absence of maintenance and wanted to
know if the Town intended to repair the existing surface or pave it. Janice Davis is at the south
end of Lovers Lane at number 54 and Cynara Reid lives at number 18. Allen Reinhard said that
the Town has graded the road surface in the past. They replied that this was correct but not for
some time and even when it was graded it did not always solve the problems. Large delivery
trucks from the nearby building supply company add to the damage. Mike Burns said that there
is a request for capital funds on the warrant at this town meeting to improve the road; in response
to Allen Reinhard's question, said that this was for the entire length of the road. Stephen Welch,
who is Chair of the Capital Program Committee, said that, yes, it is in the warrant. Allen
Reinhard thanked our guests for their input and reminded them that the DPW Director is
responsive to citizens' concerns; Rick Atherton added that the Public Comment period at the
Board of Selectmen's meetings is also a good place to lodge concerns.
C. Minutes. Snookie Eldridge moved and Rick Atherton seconded approval of the minutes from
January 18, 2108. They were approved unanimously.
2. Harbor Walk Presentation to Select Board.
Allen Reinhard said that our committee has had a long-standing interest in the creation of a
Harbor Walk and then introduced Rachel Hobart, Project Manager for ReMain Nantucket, who
reviewed the open session, held yesterday, Monday, March 19, organized by ReMain, on the In -
Town Bicycle Route. She started by saying that ReMain is very interested in the health of the
downtown area of Nantucket and, as a consequence, is looking at ways to improve access,
including, particularly, for bicycles. ReMain has commissioned VHB consultants to perform a
large-scale study on bicycle routes along Washington and Orange Streets that can join the
existing bike paths radiating out from the Milestone Rotary. Assisted by aerial photographic
maps, she described the planned short-term and long-term plans for this bike route. The Town
has already built a portion of this on the old railroad causeway at the end of Washington Street
Extension and out on to Orange Street. She said that in addition to the open session, which was
well attended, she made a presentation to the Select Board, the Traffic Safety Work Group, and
will also meet with the bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee; she hopes the Roads and
Right of Way Committee will work closely with these other groups.
In brief, the short-term route will follow the existing roads and will rely on bicycle lanes,
signage, and road markings, "sharrows" (contraction of "share" and "arrow"), to improve access
and safety for bicyclists going to and from the Rotary. As the VHB consultants talked with
members of the Nantucket Department of Public Works, there was a realization that some of the
signage and markings could be installed as soon as the weather improves. This early installation
is now called, the very short-term plan. The long-term plan is to take the bicycle path out of
Washington Street and on to a separate bicycle path on the harbor side of the road that will take
advantage of the public and publicly accessible land there. At the end of the causeway, the long-
term plan will route the bicycle path alongside the wetlands to become a multi -use path for
bicycles and pedestrians who use the route as a harbor walk.
The long-term plan connects the bicycle route to our committee's interest in the harbor walk.
Although the current planning is conceptual, it is intended that VHB will perform a detailed and
scaled survey of potential pathways. Several committee members weighed in with suggestions
for how to route the walk around private property and where it should rejoin the road network.
Lee Saperstein pointed out that there may be potential conflicts among the requirements of
MassDOT for bicycle paths, the Department of Environmental Protection's waterway rules under
MGL Chap 91, and our Conservation Commission's rules for the protection of wetlands. He
suggested that early communication among these groups may help to resolve the conflicts.
Leslie Forbes and others suggested that VHB should create a blown -up section of the map of the
long-term route that covers only the wetlands portion. She said that this larger -scale map should
show the 100 -ft boundary along the wetlands as well as the Chapter 91 boundary. Allen
Reinhard indicated that he had spoken with a VHB consultant about design principles for
bicycles on a raised walkway (boardwalk). Rachel Hobart thanked the Committee for its input
and said that ReMain will follow up on all of our suggestions.
3. Public Footpath Easement from Monahassett to Adams Street.
Allen Reinhard explained that there had been a footpath alongside the boundary fence at the
south end of the airport that residents had used to get to the beach. In a recent land subdivision
and subsequent conveyance, the Planning Department had managed to insert an easement for a
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more direct footpath to replace the old one alongside the fence. Lee Saperstein projected the GIS
map of the area where the turning circle at the end of Monohassett could be seen. The easement
goes directly south from the circle, between the two properties, down to Adams Street. Allen
Reinhard said that the path is seen easily and proposed a Public Way monument on the circle at
the mouth of the path. This will mark a popular way to the beach. The Committee was
unanimous in support of the monument. [Action: Allen Reinhard to organize placement of a
Public Way monument]
4. Definitive List of Town Public Ways and Up -to -Date Street Map.
Allen Reinhard explained that he often could not find on existing maps recently created streets in
the new subdivisions. He also mentioned that there are a few outstanding disputes over private
versus public ownership of roads, such as on Franklin Street. These concerns led him to ask if
there was a definitive list of public ways and if the map, "Nantucket Road Ownership
Worksheet," on the Town's web site was up to date. Mike Burns replied that there is not a
perfect system of notifications when a new road is cut. There are multiple files of roads in
PLUS, the Police and Fire Departments, the DPW, and with the Town Clerk and he cannot say if
they are identically up to date. Rick Atherton suggested that PLUS should be the ones to keep it
up to date. Lee Saperstein asked about the Town's Street List, which he thought was all streets,
public and private and maintained by the Town Clerk. Mike Burns said that it was his
understanding that Art Gasbarro had been given a contract to organize street information. He
said, also, there are separate GIS databases that need to be reconciled. It was said that PLUS
should take responsibility for maintaining the master list. Mike Burns thought that the ultimate
authority on street ownership is the Registrar of Deeds. AR will follow up these leads and bring
his findings back to the committee. [Action: Allen Reinhard to contact PLUS and the Town
Clerk for find out more about the Street List and Road Ownership.]
5. Discussion and Review of Outstanding Projects List: Goals, Priorities, Process.
Allen Reinhard reminded the group that we had started to review all of the projects, listed at the
end of the agenda, which are our goals for future actions along with a summary of those
underway or completed. He said that we had discussed at our last meeting (but not confirmed for
lack of a quorum) giving lead responsibility for each project to a committee member or members
in the expectation that this would encourage action on the project. He then went through the
projects and suggested names of people to take charge or who had already committed to the
project. Secretary Saperstein has annotated the list with these names. Those committee
members who are not named are welcome to add their names to projects in which they are
interested.
Starting with sidewalks, the committee got into a lively conversation about missing sidewalks
along Cliff Road, Prospect Street, and Pleasant Street. Mike Burns said that these projects are on
the radar of the Planning Department but are still long-term. He recommended that all
committees involved should work together to move these projects forward: Traffic Safety
Workgroup, Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee, the Capital Program Committee
and us.
Allen Reinhard also mentioned his long -held dream of a Greenway and trail system across the
length and breadth of Nantucket and hopes that we can get some action on it. With respect to our
project for a historic walking trail along the roadbed of the Nantucket Railroad, he mentioned
that the Nantucket Conservation Foundation is doing more brush cutting on it. Lee Saperstein
said that it may be time to meet with the respective owners and authorities about coordinating an
historic walking trail from Steamboat Wharf to Sconset.
6. Old, New, or Other Business: Historic Coloured Cemetery Access
Allen Reinhard reported that the cemetery and its access are in good condition. He saw no
vandalism.
There were no other Committee member comments.
7. Adjourn
Adjournment came by acclamation at 5:36 pm,
Next meeting: 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2018.
Roads and Right of Way Committee Outstanding Projects List:
• Public Way Monument Project. Coordination by Allen Reinhard and Lee Saperstein
o Install remaining monuments at Sconset Footpath, Hulbert Ave.
o Update file of existing monuments
o Move monuments at Westchester St. Ext. & Crooked Lane
o Install monument at Monohassett Circle
Sidewalk Projects. Lee Saperstein
o Prospect St. (bike path to Upper Vestal St.) and on to Madaket bike path
o Cliff Rd. Coffin Park to bike path at Sherburne Tpk.
o Pleasant St. Gardner Perry Lane to Williams St.
o Follow implementation of downtown sidewalk improvements
o Bike/Pedestrian connection from Surfside to Hummock Pond to Madaket paths
• Harbor Walk Project. Rick Atherton
o Identify route and identify sections needing constructed walkway
o Concept drawings of construction required
o List permits and approvals needed and process to obtain funding
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• Spruce Street (East Creek Rd.) Viewing Platform. Rick Atherton
o Choose site
o Review requirements of CPA grant
o Develop concept and plan
o Permits and approvals
o Bids
• Chapter 91 Monitor Project. Leslie Forbes and Lee Saperstein
o Define goals for project
o Make local license information available on line
o Chapter 91 licenses along route for the Harbor Walk
o Locate other locations on Nantucket and Madaket Harbors requiring licenses
• Nantucket Greenway and Trail System Project. Allen Reinhard, Bert Ryder, and Lee
Saperstein
o Nantucket Central Rail Road trail
o Map existing island trail and footpath systems and identify missing links
o How should maps and information be shared?
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Lee W. Saperstein, S
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