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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-8-19l uz�_ La�0, � r I - i Town and County of Nantucket COMMITTEE ON ROADS AND RIGHT OF WAY Meeting of 19 August 2014 P` C E I V C D 4:00 pm in the Training Room of 2 Fairgrounds Road FINAL AND APPROVED MINUTES 14 ��° 17 12 C9 i'lA111 Ut;K Er T0`,'i CLEF � 1. Call to Order, Approval of the Agenda, and Approval of Minutes A. Chair Allen Reinhard called the meeting to order at 4:06 pm. In attendance were Leslie Forbes, Nat Lowell, Joe Marcklinger, Allen Reinhard, Lee Saperstein, and John Stackpole; there was a quorum. Guest: Mike Burns, Transportation Planner; arrived at 4:12 pm. B. The agenda was approved by acclamation; a motion to approve the minutes from July 15, 2014, was made by John Stackpole and seconded by Joe Marcklinger. They were approved unanimously. Allen Reinhard said that several people in our committee needed to be at Miacomet Golf Club by 5:30 pm for a meeting of the Land Bank with the members of the Golf Club and, thus, he hoped to complete this agenda by 5:00 pm. There were no comments on issues not on the agenda. 2. In -town bike path: Update and discussion. The previously distributed agenda for this meeting was amended last week to include this item. The amendment was in time to meet the scheduling requirements of the Open Meeting Law. This item was precipitated by the Nantucket Historical Commission's (NHC) letter of August 6tn in which they asked the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) to delay the onset of the In -Town Bike Path project over the former Nantucket Railroad causeway at the Goose Pond on aesthetic and environmental grounds. Allen Reinhard said that he has a concern that their letter is outside of their brief, which is to preserve Nantucket's history and archaeology and not to substitute for other review committees on the Island, which have already approved the project. Based on a conversation with Mickey Rowland, Chair of the Committee on disabilities, he reported that their suggestions for surface material and width are counter to designs appropriate to the requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA. Soft surfaces simply do not work for wheel chairs. Allen Reinhard felt that their letter needed a response. Lee Saperstein reported that, after receiving the amended agenda, he had drafted one and sent it to committee members for their review. Leslie Forbes had suggested some editorial changes that Lee Saperstein said were helpful and not substantive. At this time, Mike Burns entered the room and gave a better address for our letter. Lee Saperstein had copied the NHC address, which was to the MHC; Mike Burns suggested that the letter, if approved by ROW, should go to Shawn Holland at the MassDOT, who would assemble the entire project file including all correspondence and send it the MHC for their review. Allen Reinhard asked Mike Burns if he had any comments specifically on the Saperstein draft and, in general, if the overall project review was still on schedule. Mike Burns said that the letter was a good one and that the process had slipped by a month or two; MassDOT was evaluating the design modifications sent to them recently by the Town, particularly for ADA compliance with the surface. Nat Lowell expressed concern that these delays will upset the schedule for Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) funds for Fiscal Year 2015. He hopes that these issues can be resolved promptly. Mike Burns said the process is for MassDOT to assemble a project package for a 30 -day review by MHC. John Stackpole moved and Nat Lowell seconded the sending of the Saperstein letter; the Committee approved the motion by a vote of 6 -0. The letter will go to Mr. Holland at MassDOT with a copy to Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Nantucket Board of Selectmen, the Nantucket Historical Commission, and others. A copy of the letter is attached to these minutes. [Action: send the letter] Because one of the Nantucket Historical Commission's concerns was to provide for flushing of the Goose Pond by tidal exchange, Lee Saperstein asked Mike Burns and Allen Reinhard about sediments in the bottom of the pond. Allen Reinhard said that the Nantucket Land Council had surveyed the pond some years ago and found that there was enough toxic waste in it to require the bottom to be dredged and sent off to a hazardous -waste disposal facility. 3. Core district sidewalk survey project update and next steps. Allen Reinhard suggested that we resume the sidewalk survey in September. He related that his examination of a lot of downtown streets suggested that there were more tripping hazards than he realized. Nat Lowell said that many streets, such as Quince, were re -built after the sewer project and made more difficult for traffic by the installation of high curbs. John Stackpole suggested that there should be a local project manager to work with the contractor whenever streets are opened or repaired. Allen Reinhard remembered that the ad hoc street advisory committee had reviewed all the streets to be disturbed by the II -B project but that nothing has been done since then to remedy trouble spots. Lee Saperstein suggested that we review our street list and pick a bunch to survey this fall. He shared the working list that we have of streets surveyed and asked Allen Reinhard to pick a number of them to survey. [Action: pick streets and suggest volunteers] Joe Marcklinger asked if we have had any progress on implementation of our suggested Encroachment Policy. Allen Reinhard has spoken with Kara Buzanoski about it; she said that they were still reviewing it and would speed it up. Allen Reinhard said that he will follow up with her. [Action: contact Kara Buzanoski] 4. Railroad trail project update. Fa Lee Saperstein indicated that he will work with Bert Ryder to complete an application to the Sign Advisory Committee of the HDC for a COA for signage. Locations, in addition to the causeway, that could be installed now include Steamship Wharf, Easy Street, and the parklets along Washington Street, etc. [Action: complete application for a COA for signage] 5. Surfside to airport road takings update. Allen Reinhard said that the layout has been staked on the Boulevarde. Money has been allocated in the forthcoming Town budget for surveying and layout design. The Surfside Area Association met two weeks ago and reported that they are in touch with the Town over this project. 6. Old, New or other business. Old Business. With respect to the Town's budgeting for the Capital program, Town Manager Libby Gibson asked Allen Reinhard if there are any projects coming from Roads and Right of Way Committee. He responded that we have two: the Prospect Street sidewalk to be continued to Upper Vestal Street and a bike path to go from the end of the Prospect Street bike path around the Quaker Cemetery using Saratoga and Winn Streets. Mike Burns added that there is a request from his group for a sidewalk from Hummock Pond Road along Milk Street Extension to Prospect St. The Committee agreed that this was an important link that they had discussed previously and were in favor of it. 7. Adjourn. 5:02 pm. Next meeting: September 16,2014,4:00 p.m., 2 Fairgrounds Road. Submitted by Lee W. Saperstein, Secretary R &ROW Committee Outstanding Projects List (as listed on the meeting Agenda): Projects Under Way: • Downtown Sidewalk Survey Project • Nantucket Open Space Plan Update • Nantucket Greenway and Footpath System • Nantucket Central Railroad Trail Project Projects in need of advancement: • First Way Pedestrian/Bike Access and Road Improvement Safety Project • Boulevarde to Airport road takings, and reconstruction as Public Ways • Installation of sidewalk from Prospect St. multi -use path to Upper Vestal Street • Bike path linking Surfside, Hummock Pond & Madaket Bike paths via Mill Hill • In Town Bike Path from Washington St. Ext to Rotary • Spruce Street viewing platform 3 • Surfside paper road/abutters way takings • Harbor walk • Update Potential Takings List and process used to evaluate priority for takings Completed projects needing implementation and follow up: • Access to Sconset Footpath, maintenance and signage • Work with DPW on maintenance plan for public way monuments and trails • Oversight of maintenance West Chester St. Ext., Crooked Lane and Cathcart Road • Chapter 91 Public Access License Enforcement: Harbors Plan Implementation 4 Attachment 1 Town and County of Nantucket Committee on Roads and Right of Way 16 Broad Street Nantucket, MA 02554 August 20, 2014 Mr. Shawn Holland MassDOT Highway Division — Project Management Section Ten Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116 Re: Letter of August 6, 2014, from the Nantucket Historical Commission Concerning the Nantucket In -Town Bike Path Project #606433 Dear Mr. Holland: The Nantucket Roads and Right of Way Committee, ROW, is an official committee of the Town of Nantucket charged with providing advice to the Board of Selectmen on ways on Nantucket. Its members have reviewed the letter of August 6, 2014, sent by our colleagues in the Nantucket Historical Commission, NHC, to the Massachusetts Historical Commission, MHC, and subsequently forwarded to you on the in -Town bike path and its passage over the former Nantucket Railroad causeway. We have previously reviewed earlier suggestions made by the Nantucket Historical Commission and are pleased that many of them were incorporated into the final plan submitted to you by the Town in their letter of July 9, 2014; there is no question that the plan has benefitted from their initial review. We respectfully disagree, however, with their August 6`" comments and hope enthusiastically that we can begin work on the in -Town bike path as soon as possible. In this letter, we present to you a summary of our researches on the Nantucket Railroad and its routes across the Island of Nantucket so as to give some context to our comments; we discuss our advisory work with the Nantucket Plannini Office and its Transportation Planner; and we give you our specific responses to the August 6 letter. History of the Nantucket Railroad For some time now, a sub - committee of the ROW has been researching the routes of the railroad with the ultimate goal of establishing historical walking paths along these routes. Much of the railroad bed is on public or publicly accessible land (Town of Nantucket, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, and the Nantucket Island Land Bank) and with a modest amount of vegetation clearance could become a sequence of rural historical walking trails. Once permission is obtained from the land owners, we will apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness, COA, from the Nantucket Historic District Commission for a distinctive sign and menu boxes into which to put brochures about the railroad. The railroad was first proposed in 1879, construction began in 1880, and the first trains ran in early 1881. Train is something of a misnomer because it was typically comprised of an engine and a single car. The track was a three -foot narrow gauge, and had 40 -1b rails (weight per yard). Recent exploration drilling on the Goose Pond causeway, site of Phase I of the proposed In- Town Bike Path, shows significant amounts of carbonaceous material in the sub -base of the causeway with fill material above that that was poorly graded and quite unconsolidated. This suggests that the builders of the railroad causeway in 1880 dumped borrow material directly onto the marsh bottom without attempting to dredge down to the underlying sand. We do not know the source of the borrow material; it may have been local and it may have come from off Island. The clay pits alongside of Hatch's Store at 133 Orange Street may have been part of the local source. The causeway and other raised portions of the railbed were built quickly with off -Island work crews. The railroad provided transportation to the eastern communities on the Island and was supported financially by the land development companies that hoped to create expanded communities at Surfside, Tom Nevers, and Siasconset (`Sconset, locally). The railroad company collapsed in 1918 with the removal of the ban on private automobiles on Nantucket and most of the salable items were removed off - Island. When they pulled the rails for salvage, they put the track spikes into boxes that were never picked up and current residents talk about finding them today along the route. We have a digital map of the route that we would be happy to share with you. One member of our sub - committee presented a "Food for Thought" talk to the Nantucket Historical Association, NHA, as "Tracking the Nantucket Railroad," on March 27, 2014, which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVDMYDMm V8 &list= PLjgJVmnztYsTgYVn ijBhCGxA 5- 7DMtGw, or by searching the Nantucket Historical Association's web site, www.nha.org. The NHA Research Library has over 250 pictures of the railroad and its artifacts. A substantial source of information about the railroad is Clay Lancaster's "Far Out Island Railroad," 1972, Pleasant Publications. Advisory Work with the Nantucket Planning Office and its Transportation Planner The ROW has been working with Mike Burns, Nantucket Transportation Planner, to fill the bicycle and pedestrian gaps between the Core District streets with sidewalks and the existing multi -use paths that lead out of town and ultimately to the beach. Unfortunately, the gaps are hazardous stretches of busy road that force bicyclists and, sometimes, pedestrians into the vehicular traffic. The proposed in -Town bike path would give bicycles and pedestrians a safe alternative for part of the only truck route used by tractor - trailers to deliver groceries and building materials and to remove recycling waste. Evidence of the need for this path is its current informal use by local bicyclists over its rough and un -safe surface. The causeway has degraded substantially from 1918. Its 10 -ft width (seen in 1909 Sanborn Maps, sheets 15 and 16) has been lost in many places and its elevation has depressed from wear and subsidence. At some time in the past, someone threw chunks of asphalt onto it in the hopes of providing a resistant surface. It may have seemed a good idea at the time but for the most part these chunks are now only a tripping hazard. G The ROW first discussed the causeway's potential for a multi -use path in a joint meeting with the Transportation Planner in 2009. He returned to us in 2013 to present a short summary of his public presentation to the Board of Selectmen on September 4, 2013. That presentation became the substance of a presentation to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation at a public hearing and can be seen at http: / /ma- nantucket. civicplus .com /AgendaCenter /ViewFile /Item /941 ?fileID =1149. At each meeting with the Transportation Planner we saw full sets of the design plans for the proposed bike /multi -use path and also discussed the benefits of separating cyclists from our heaviest used street. At each point, we voted to support the plan. ROW Responses to the August 6`h NHC letter We understand that the Town will also be responding to the August 6t' letter so we will keep our technical responses short. The items match those in their letter. • Item 1. Width. The original width was 10 feet providing for the railroad and a construction and maintenance way alongside of it. • Item 2. Fence. Based on input from the NHC, the original fence design was modified to make it simpler. We agree with the Transportation Planner that this simple fence is necessary. • Item 3. Steel Sheeting. Degradation of the causeway suggests the need for sheeting. The bulkhead at Easy Street and Steamboat Wharf dates back to the construction of the railroad and incorporates steel sheeting. • Item 4. Goose Pond restoration. The original plan for the path included large culverts to provide for tidal flushing of the Goose Pond. Environmental surveys have shown that the sludge at the bottom of the pond, as a result of a century of street run -off, is heavily contaminated and needs to be dredged safely before its waters can be allowed to enter our Harbor. The need for the bikeway is so great that we accept the division of the project into two parts. • Item 5. Goose Pond Lane. This public way provides an entry to the pedestrian Public Way on the causeway and then serves as a driveway to numbers 1 and 5 Goose Pond Lane. It is not a rural road. • Item 6. Harbor flooding. During Nor'easter storms at high tide, we frequently have our downtown streets closed due to flooding. Winds in excess of 80 mph drive the water over our streets. The causeway is open to the harbor and flooding is a hazard. Such flooding would wash away an unsealed surface. • Item 7. Current use. The path is used by pedestrians and cyclists but it is currently not safe for either. As for its history, as soon as the new path is installed, the ROW will be applying for a COA for signs that explain its origins. The Nantucket Railroad was a commercial enterprise created for transportation. We believe that its re -use as a multi -use path is in perfect keeping with its origins. The time for its use as a multi -use path is overdue; please do not add any delay to its construction. Finally, there are other segments of the railroad that are under threat from development. We hope that the Nantucket Historical Commission will work with us to protect them. 7 This letter has been reviewed by the six members of the ROW present at our meeting of August 19th and was approved by them unanimously. For the Committee, Allen Reinhard, Chair\ Nantucket Roads and Right of Way Committee Cc: Nantucket Board of Selectmen; Nantucket PLUS; Massachusetts Historical Commission 220 Morrissey Boulevard Boston, MA 02125; Nantucket Historical Commission 8