Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee - Jan 17th, 2024
Meeting held via remote participation. Materials were available from https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/33536/. These notes cover a subset of agenda items.
E-Bike Report for the Select Board
Lexington is working on a bicycle and pedestrian plan. The current draft recommends that Level I and Level II e-bikes be allowed on all bike-specific infrastructure.
Planning Department Updates
Transportation Planner John Alessi provides several transit-related updates from the Department of Planning and Community Development.
Mass Ave and Appleton Street Improvements
The town recently put out an announcement about improvements to the intersection of Mass Ave and Appleton Street, https://www.arlingtonma.gov/Home/Components/News/News/12347/16. We'll continue working on the intersection design so we can apply for a MassWorks construction grant this summer. The preliminary design has raised bicycle lanes that are separated from the roadway. Town staff plans to have a dialog with the owners of the Dunkin Donuts, regarding improvements to traffic and circulation improvements for their parking lot. The bike lane will have a design speed of 10--15 miles/hour, which is similar to shared use paths. The news release has a link to a form where people can leave questions or comments.
Medford Street Bike Lane
The new bike lanes on Medford street will only consist of pavement markings (no separation). Most of the on-street parking spaces will be removed, but some will be retained in the vicinity of the cemetery, where the roadway is wide enough. There will be an effort made to integrate these lanes with planned future improvements to the Mystic Valley Parkway.
Grant Applications
The Planning Department recently submitted two grant applications via programs offered through the Boston MPO. Grant number one is for a design pilot, to develop 25\% plans for turning the Broadway Corridor into a complete street. \$575k is the amount requested. Grant number two is for expanding the number of bicycle racks in Arlington (locations TBD). Terms of the grant require the racks to be installed in public rights of way.
The Bicycle Advisory Committee votes to endorse both grant applications.
Tri-town meeting
The next ABAC meeting is the night of the Tri-Town Bike Committee Meeting; ABAC will join the tri-town meeting instead of holding their usual meeting.
(note: I believe "tri-town" refers to the Minuteman Bikeway Communities -- Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford).
2024 Tour of Arlington
The 2024 bicycle tour of Arlington was tentatively scheduled for May 19.
Other Business
The bicycle committee is joined by Jim Cadenhead, who's a member of the Friends of the Lexington Bikeway. They're in the early stages of planning a "Bikeway Block Party", which will take place on September 15. The Monroe Center for the Arts is a co-sponsor. The goal is to foster collaboration between businesses, the bikeway, and the arts community.