HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-9-18Town and County of Nantucket
COMMITTEE ON ROADS AND RIGHT OF WAY
Meeting of 18 September 2012 Z o
4:00 pm in the Training Room of 2 Fairgrounds Road z
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APPROVED MINUTES m
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1. Call to Order, Agenda, Approval of Minutes
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A. Chair Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:01 pm. In atlendaece o
were D. Anne Atherton, Joe Marcklinger, Sylvie O'Donnell, Allen Reinhard,�Be der
(at 4:07 pro), Lee Saperstein, and John Stackpole (4:05 pm), Nat Lowell was a o
attend.
Guest: Rick Atherton
B. The acceptance of the minutes from August 21, 2012, was moved by D. Anne
Atherton and seconded by Joe Marcklinger and approved unanimously.
2. Consideration of Possible Subcommittees to Focus on Specific Projects.
Chair Allen Reinhard introduced this topic by reminding committee members that
each meeting agenda has an appendix that lists projects of interest to the Committee.
Allen Reinhard said that he has regular meetings with Andrew Vorce, Planning Director
and now the new head of the Department of Planning and Land -Use Services, PLUS, and
Mike Bums, Transportation Planner, to discuss progress on these projects. During our
August meeting, we discussed the possibility of creating subcommittees to make formal
this monitoring and, perhaps, accelerate the progress of these projects. Subcommittees
would be small, flexible, and populated by people with interests in the subject. Reports
of subcommittees could, at the option of the full committee, form the basis for
recommendations to the Board of Selectmen. Many of these potential projects are in
progress to some degree or another and our role continues to be to monitor status (e.g.
Bike Path and Bike Lane from Washington Street Extension to the Rotary, Spruce Street
bird - watching platform, etc.) and to provide advice to the Board of Selectmen about the
projects. The quondam Secretary, D. Anne Atherton, provided us with a list of projects,
arranged by similarity of type, that was attached to the minutes of the previous meeting.
After an extended discussion of the grouping of similar projects into subcommittees,
listed below, the following committee members volunteered:
• Development of sidewalk survey protocol and application of the Town's
encroachment policy, to include monitoring of the adoption of recommended
amendments; liaison with the Town's revived Streets and Sidewalks Advisory
Committee: Joe Marcklinger and Bert Ryder; Nat Lowell, who is a member of
the Advisory Committee, will be asked if he is willing to serve on this
subcommittee.
• Pedestrian and bicycle paths: Prospect Street sidewalk; Bike path to connect
existing paths to south side beaches including the previously reviewed route
around Mill Hill Park, Joy Street, Mount Vernon Street, Saratoga Street, and
Winn St: First Way/Backus Street: D. Anne Atherton and Allen Reinhard.
• Town access routes for pedestrians and bicycles: Washington Street to Rotary and
harbor walks; Mike Burns, ReMain, and the Advisory Committee of Non - Voting
Taxpayers are all in support; also Pleasant Street: Allen Reinhard and Bert Ryder.
• Chapter 91 Licences and liaison with the Harbor Plan Implementation Committee:
Lee Saperstein and John Stackpole.
• Trails on the routes of the historic Nantucket Railroad: Lee Saperstein and Sylvie
O'Donnell.
• Publication of pamphlet by Fran KaAtunen on "A History of Roads and Ways in
Nantucket County ": John Stackpole
3. Prospect St. Sidewalk, and Alternate Route Possibilities.
This agenda item on Prospect Street pedestrian and bicycle routes was,
necessarily, covered both in the previous agenda item on subcommittees and this separate
item. Allen Reinhard reported on efforts made in years past to survey and lay out a
sidewalk along Prospect Street; he mentioned also that our Committee had made an
earlier review of alternate bicycle routes around the Quaker Cemetery to connect Milk
Street and the Madaket Road bike path to the end of the Mill Hill multi-use path. If we
renew our recommendation to fund and construct this path, the status of Saratoga and
Winn Streets will need to he resolved. The former is one way and the latter is a private
way. Joe Marcklinger commented that the physical surface of Winn Street is not always
coincident with the road's layout.
Allen laid out maps of alternatives, including the one that we had recommended
previously that used Mill Hill Lane, an unpaved way across Mill Hill Park. A modest
alternative would be to cross Mill Hill lands owned by two separate Egan Foundations.
A question for the subcommittee is "can we provide a convenient linkage to all of the
south shore bike paths: Surfside Rd, Hummock Pond Rd, and Madaket Rd ?" The
Committee agreed that it is timely again to talk with Mike Burns, Transportation Planner.
Allen Reinhard will confer with Mr. Bums and Andrew Vorce to make this invitation
[ACTION]. We can provide an active advisory role for the next iteration of planning this
project. Inasmuch as Nat Lowell is an elected member of the Nantucket Planning Board
and, consequently, chairs the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development
Commission, NPEDC, he should be asked if we should also report to these two bodies on
our findings.
4. Streets and Sidewalks Committee Downtown Work.
Allen Reinhard elaborated on his report of the previous meeting (see minutes)
that, with immanent construction of Phase 1113 of the sewer project, the Town revived the
Streets and Sidewalks Advisory Committee to advise on impacts. At this time, the
committee membership is the same as existed when it gave its last report in 2009; that
final report is on the web: htto'//nantucket-
ma Kov /Pages/NamucketMA BComm /streetssidewalksfimlMort.odf. Four meetings of
the revived committee have been, or shortly will be, held: three walk meetings to look
at existing sidewalk conditions, reports of these meetings on August 9 151°, and 22" `
will be posted to the web once the minutes are approved (http•//nantucket-
ma gov[PaEes/NantucketMA BComm/streetsidewalks), and a meeting scheduled for
Thursday, September 20m, in the DPW conference room. Allen Reinhard showed the
Committee drafts of minutes from the inspection meetings and they contain extensive
recommendations for repair of existing problems after the sewer work is done. Joe
Mareklinger asked if there will be time to include all of these repairs in the request for
bid (RFB) documents to be released presently by the Town. Allen thought not but hoped
that the contractors will be able to make the repairs as part of their post - construction
restoration efforts.
It was noted that a similar survey effort can be made by our subcommittee on
encroachments. They would select certain streets with known problems of
encroachment, visit them, photograph the problem, and then report to the Committee on
how the proposed encroachment policy might be applied to problems that they saw.
S. Town Encroachment Policy Update.
Char Reinhard reminded us that we sent copies of our proposed modification of
the Town's encroachment policy to the Town Manager and the Department of Public
Works. We have had a response and will discuss it once the subcommittee on Sidewalks
and Encroachments has had an opportunity to review the response and recommend
further amendments to our policy if necessary [ACTION]. Once we have all acceptable
modifications in place, we will submit the amended policy to the Board of Selectmen for
their approval. As suggested above, eventually the subcommittee will need to select
segments of downtown do its own walkabouts and then file reports similar to the Streets
and Sidewalks Advisory Committee. In the interim, we will continue to collect
individual examples and eye - witness reports of encroachments.
6. Old, New and Other Business.
A. D. Anne Atherton introduced two new but related items on access to Town -
owned beaches. Her concern was that proposed erosion - control projects, which are
before the Conservation Commission, would have an impact on pedestrian access to
adjacent Town -owned beaches. Because these items came under the heading of new
business, the Committee agreed to put them on future agendas thus apprising the public
of them through publicly posted agendas. She had several handouts about the two
projects and they are included as attachments [when received in digital format].
First, she asked about erosion - control projects at 93 and 99 Eel Point Road, which
she had mentioned at the previous meeting. The public - access issue here is that the Town
is offering to abutters, through its yard -sale program, portions of the paper street,
Tristram Avenue, but will retain water -front control of the street where it intersects the
beach. This plot of land is immediately to the east of number 93 and may be subject to
scouring once the project is built She asked if our committee should recommend to the
ConComm a provision to nourish the beach in the event of scouring of Town -owned
beach. The Committee will take up this issue at a meeting where it is on the agenda.
Next, D. Anne and guest, Rick Atherton, asked about the `Sconset Beach project
and potential impediments to walking along the Town-owned beach below it.
Apparently, proposed remedial work will limit beach access at high tide; project
proponents offer to provide a walkway above the remediation. They suggested that, as
far they knew, no representative of the Town went to Conservation Commission hearings
to represent Town interests, i.e. the Town-owned beach and bluff. Again, the question is
whether or not we should provide input to the Conservation Commission about a concern
for access. D. Anne Atherton shared three items given to the ConComm by the
proponents of the Beach project; they are attached.
B. Bert Ryder asked about any road and access warrant articles that might be
offered at the Special Town Meeting on October 22nd. Allen Reinhard said that there
were several having to do with paper streets. A significant one would be the taking of a
way to give access to Newtown Cemetery (http://nantucket-
ma eov /Paees/NantucketMA TownMeetina/2012stm/2012 BOS STMwarrant091212.p
dt).
Adjourn
With the agenda items completed, Adjournment by acclamation came at 5:45 pm.
Next meeting: October 16, 2012, 2 Fairgrounds Road Training Room.
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Marine Mattress and Gablan
Plan View
Sand-colored geogrid to blend with the natural setting