Okay. So, here we are. February meeting, bike and pedestrian safety committee. Can I get a motion to open the meeting? >> Motion. >> I make a motion we open the meeting. >> All accept. All in favor? >> I. All right. Uh, first thing we can do
is approve the minutes from the last meeting which Sherry emailed to everyone. Uh, I was okay with it and I vote you are. >> Yeah, me too. >> Accept the minutes. Uh, I >> make a motion we accept the minutes.
>> You just Oh, you did. Okay. A second. >> All in favor? >> I >> I >> We'll get this one of these days. >> Okay. the uh yeah uh the bike safety classes. Okay, that is actually I have
it on here. It's now officially scheduled for Thursday, March 26th. >> Fabulous. And it's going to be at the uh middle school with Colleen from she's from uh mast
safe routes to school and she's going to um spend the day there basically working uh she's going to teach some some big safety classes. They're going to break up the day. We'll we'll go through the schedule next month
cuz it's going to be time. We'll post it or whatever, but it's it's in school. So, it's not, you know, anything anybody really needs to >> What What day is this going to be? >> It's going to be on a Thursday, March 26th. >> 26th.
>> Yeah, I should put the date. >> Yeah, there's no date there. >> I read it here. March 26th and I can >> March 25th. >> 6 >> March 6th. 26. You see 26. >> Oh, I see already. Okay. 26. >> Yeah.
>> Okay. So, like I said, we'll next month we'll finalize the actual times and everything. >> Excellent. >> Street signs, flags, uh, for crosswalk. Well, as far as
the flags, I don't really know. I haven't really looked into that, but all the street signs because that's something we're like ongoing. We're going to if we see one missing, if we see an empty pole, which I have around town and just make a note of it so we can find out what the sign is, it's
supposed to be there. Um, and then on a side note, as far as sidewalks, um, I saw people were complaining about the sidewalks in the center of town not being plowed
online. So I uh messaged uh select Hley and he said that they because it was frozen they were couldn't clear it but they were working on they couldn't clear it with a um a snowblower so they had to use something else. So they and now
actually as you can see there cleared cuz I just talked about that earlier. So, yeah, they did a great job and uh that's helped because I just saw people walking in a cemetery on my way in tonight on the sidewalk. Let's see.
Okay, next number five. The town is working on a complete streets prioritization plan and they had a little setup at the library last week and they have a
website that you can go to and um take a survey and it's to try to you know help make getting around town safer whether you walk, bike, drive, use a wheelchair,
push a stroller or take the bus. Uh the town want streets that work better for all users. So I mean I don't know how we if you want to >> um can we put this on like all all things of Kushet? >> Yeah. >> Can we just post it?
>> I can do I >> you want to do it or I can do whatever. >> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Maybe we can post the I'm not sure how long that survey is up for, but we can probably post the QR code and the the um information the uh link
>> online. >> All right, so we're down to we just uh finished our little business. So now here we are. John Gray from Serad is here to talk about uh middle road safety. >> Yeah, I'm I'm happy to answer any
questions you have. I guess I'm um thinking about um you know obviously Nicole was talking I'm assuming about the complete streets prioritization plan. Um my question would just be uh you know
sort of where that sort of process is currently so I have a kind of a little understanding of that process cuz I think it might connect into the middle conversation as well. Um,
but yeah, I mean I think for middle road like it's, you know, it's a wider road. I'm not sure of the width on it. I would, um, I obviously I would love to see any, you know, if I ask plan, I would love to see
any kind of improvements. I think, um, I might look to go in a different direction than Middle Road. And here's why. Um, putting lanes like bike lanes on middle road seemingly would be um, you
know, a relatively straightforward process. I think it would be not a a insurmountable um, expense. But I think one of the things that um that I find is
when um facilities are are built but they're not like a high comfort facility. Um so the difference between sort of like a lane u that's like unprotected and you know a shared use
path is substantial. Um, and so when we're thinking about how we want to kind of prioritize and build out sort of the sidewalks and bike infrastructure within the community,
I think you first have to think about where do we where do we want to prioritize the sort of like the high comfort facilities? Um, and you can almost think of that as like your interstate highway system. like if you don't have an interstate highway system,
you know, a lot it's a lot it gets a lot more convoluted. Um, and so the reason why I I suggested potentially not, you know, I I know you you you'd asked me to come in to talk about um, you know, Middle Road and and I I don't want to
totally um, you know, shut down that idea. I think it's a great project. It's just that I think, you know, obviously protecting children riding is like a a big priority and and getting children to have a better
connection between their school and the library I think is needed. Um, but I don't know if, you know, lanes on middle road would be something that, you know, parents would
like feel super comfortable, you know, with their kids, you know, going on, you know. So, I think obviously, you know, the library and um and the schools are important destinations to get to. Um, I
think I would, you know, sort of think through like, okay, well, if middle road, if if if there's an opportunity to do like a reconstruction of it or something where you or or just adding a path along one side, like a separated path off of one
side, um, that would definitely be something that would would um facilitate more ridership. Um and so the the statistics that um you know bike lanes versus paths, it's like
um there's a I I'm happy to follow up and send um some of this resource. Anything I mentioned, feel free to um make a note of and and reach out to me to um send it to you. But there's a a resource called the Federal Highway uh bikeway selection guide. Um, and they
sort of have a breakdown of um, what I'm sort of discussing, you know, kind of the the separation and distinction between like a high comfort network um, and kind of like a basic what they refer to as like a basic bikeway network. Uh, and it's basically
like sub 10% of folks general public wise. Uh, so it's around like 7 to 9% of folks feel comfortable using bike lanes. Um, but once you show them a picture of a shared use path and say, "Would you
use this?" All of a sudden that number goes up to like 60%. Um, and then there's like 30% of folks that just say, "I'm never going to ride a bike ever." Like you there's nothing you can do or say that will change my mind. So there's about 30% of folks that are just not going to use biking
infrastructure and that's fine. Um but I think you know for me one of the things that I really want anytime I'm interfacing with like local um boards and committees is like emphasizing you know 7 9% versus 60% it's huge. Um, and
I think it it really is the kind of thing where um it's it's worth your while to kind of consider that like, okay, is this going to be a high comfort facility? If not, is there like an alternate route
to do, you know, like a low stress option? Um but yeah, I it's um the so one of the one of the alternatives I would just propose and and it's not to say that um I don't think that the the library and um and the school should be
connected in a bikeway network. They absolutely should be. Um but I think one of the things you have to think about when you're building that kind of high comfort network in a Kushnet would be what are our existing bike paths? No, not not much in terms of like paved
shared use paths that I'm aware of at least. Um, and what are what is already in the pipeline? Um, and then okay, now that we know what we have and what's in the pipeline, what do we think makes sense as like the next step? And the
reason why I bring that up is because South Main Street obviously has this plan for like a shared use path down the whole length of it. And that's like a pretty significant length, you know, and and it connects right into, you know, a cushioned center. Um, and obviously
you've got the Fair Haven, um, Phoenix Rail Trail sort of, you know, as like a further down. It's not directly connected to South Maine, but um I did see I believe Fair Haven I want to say submitted a grant application for
um protected bike lane buffered bike lanes along one of the streets. Uh it might be Alden I want to say Alen Street they did lanes they did. >> Okay. So, um, so Fair Haven obviously knows about, you know, wanting to
connect into, um, into South Maine. And so I think of that as, you know, a great opportunity to say, okay, how can we leverage that project and think about almost ways to to complement it? Secondly, um, I think the other thing that comes
to mind would be right across your border in New Bedford, right? Um, so you've got South Coast Rail. They just built a station on Church Street, um, which is, you know, your closest MDTA station. And so that's sort of
already, you know, a transit destination that folks in the Kushnet would seemingly want to get to. And, uh, there is a project that's in the works. that's in like the pre25% design state, so it's, you know, still open for, you
know, comments and and and critiques is for Tarl Hill Road. And so they're they're planning, you know, it's at least a mile or two of Tarl Hill Road that they're going to reconstruct. And that project
should it should have a shared use path as a part of it. If it does not have a shared use path as a part of it, Serpent would be very vocally uh trying to change that design to include a shared use path because it is considered like
um a high potential for everyday biking kind of um corridor. And obviously for folks that are riding to get to the Church Street station, whether they're in North End and New Bedford or a Kushnet, um they're going to be using that corridor every day. Um, and so, you
know, I think of that that other project and I think, you know, okay, well, how can maybe you link those, you know, with South Main and then Tarkill Hill Road, maybe there's an opportunity to maybe build a little connection or prioritize a connection between those,
connect into your housing authority and your town center and, you know, that kind of So, that's just something that I would just throw out there as like an opportunity. I know that is is a Kushnet in the process of updating the master plan right now. >> Yes. >> Has it been already drafted and approved
or is it sort of in the >> I don't know. >> Okay. Yeah. I mean that that might be something to to sort of note in the in the master plan is um you know that's essentially like an alternate route for the south coast bike way. Um and so
anytime a Kushnet obviously um you know anytime you can link your local priority to a regional priority it elevates it um and it makes it harder to ignore for like you know u a mass DOT you know sort
of design. Um, and so I mentioned all of that to say, you know, the the the kind of how do you build that network and grow it is completely like a local decision. And
I do think that, you know, like you like I think you you were probably talking about middle row because it's just a wide road that can be repurposed. >> An easy sort of >> Right. Right. And um and yeah, and I think honestly um I'm giving, you know, some thoughts off the top of my head,
but but I think, you know, I would probably, you know, try to talk to the the DP, is it the Department of Public Works? Nico, talk to the Department of Public Works to get a sense of um you know, things that that might not be apparent about um Middle Road that they
would know. So like random things like culverts or or or um you know uh plans that they already have to add like a sidewalk or something like that, you know. So I think
um the the middle road project um I I think that it absolutely should be a part of the complete series prioritization plan. Um, I just think that, um, if the town of Aushnit were to apply
for like a complete streets grant, um, the middle road project, um, bike lanes or shared use path, whatever, whatever that, you know, possible linkage would be. Um, I think that
grant, although, you know, connects a school to a library, I don't think it would score as highly as a project that's building off of like the, you know, South Main or connecting to, you know, a Tarkin Held Road project or
something like that. Um and and you know the sort of one of the the maps that I can share as well is like the um it's the potential for everyday biking. Um and they have a
statewide map that sort of maps out roads across every municipality and each road is ranked in terms of like its potential for everyday biking. Uh, and you know, I would say obviously like a Kushnit or I should say New Bedford
obviously has lots of high potential areas. You know, Tartar Hill Road is like one of them and Ashley Boulevard, you know, all these these major roads that Kushnet have. Um, once you get to a Kushnet center, I think it becomes more of like um medium
potential for everyday biking. Um, and then obviously, you know, as you get more rural, it it becomes more of like a low potential for everyday biking. Um, so I think that is sort of like my my general thoughts and like I'm happy to answer any questions you have um about, you know, what anything I've just said,
but but um I I do think that, you know, that conversation with the Department of Public Works, maybe they already want to do this and there's like a large appetite to do bike lanes on middle road and they like
really want to do that. And I would say in that case, okay, maybe I'm changing my whole plan cuz, you know, I think you kind of want to you kind of want to um figure out where are the the ships already steering and then, you know, figure out how can we start to build
this bike network locally in a way that isn't like a drastic change from what the town sort of already has in mind. Um, and so that's sort of how I would think about it. And yeah, you know, just
harping back on it because I think it is important to kind of emphasize is like, okay, where is those high comfort facilities? Cuz that's really where the high comfort facilities is really your facilities that actually serves like older adults uh with limited mobility or
limited vision. young people that are, you know, they're 15, they don't have a permit, you know, but they want to get to their friend's house or something. And so those high comfort facilities serve everyone, everyone that's willing to, you know, walk or bike. Um, and and
the the lower stress facilities, that's, you know, a lane on a road. Um, it's really it's it's going to serve a percentage of folks, but I worry because there is instances in in the circuit
region where um we've seen like a community say like, "Oh, this road is super wide." And I'll I'll just mention it because I'm working on a memo for them right now. But in the town of Wearham, um Onset Avenue is like a a road that
kind of goes right into Onset Village and it's super wide. Um it's like 40 ft wide in a lot of places. And it's at least like a mile or two of like 40 ft wide. And back in 2013, the town of um
where added bike lanes onto it. Um, but now it's 2026. There hasn't been any other bike infrastructure that's been built to connect into it. The bike lanes are like faded and basically completely
untouched. And I think, you know, it it's almost um if they had said, "Okay, we're gonna instead of doing a 5ft bike lane over here and a 5ft bike lane over here and forgetting about them in, you know, 13
years or whatever, if instead they said, "Okay, we're going to combine those. We're going to put a path off to one side that's 8 to 10 feet wide and put a barrier or something that >> provides like a level of safety that you
know people people walking benefit from or people biking obviously if they have a barrier it's you know going from that 7 9% much higher um it's sort of like that's kind of a missed opportunity right um and I think you know it's it's
separate anytime you're going from like the the lower um lower stress infrastruct or or higher stress infrastructure but like bike lanes to a a path there's a bunch of questions that come up and you know it's more difficult for the department of public works to to
to manage a path and a road as opposed to just a road with bike lanes you know um but but that's sort of yeah I I I and I'm fully open to um being told off and critiqued and say, you know, that's a terrible idea. Why did you propose it?
But that's just one thing that, you know, I want to I wanted to come and kind of like maybe spur some kind of discussion about, you know, that kind of like high comfort versus low comfort and priorities and things like that. >> So, we have to ask the DPW what their
plans are basically, if they have any at all. >> Right. I mean, I assume um you know, they're probably working with the the complete streets planning process. So, you know, I think to some extent what their local priorities are um as far as
like the local DPW, where they want to put sidewalks, where they want to put bike lanes or paths, it's probably going to end up in like the draft complete streets prioritization plan cuz they're working for the town and so the town's saying here's sort of our ideas.
>> Um >> so yeah, I mean um I don't know. Is Nicole still on? I don't know. Nicole, I guess I am. >> Yeah, Nicole, I guess I I'm just curious if um if you have had conversations with the town yet in terms of uh
where where the the local Department of Public Works has sort of indicated they are planning to or you know prioritize specific like locations so far. >> Yeah, definitely. Um, yeah. So, we've
met with the town and it kind of sounds like, you know, in terms of maintenance, they're focused on existing the maintaining the existing network that is out there. Um, you know, it kind of sounds like the DBW is um pretty short
on resources right now. So, what we're doing kind of on the complete streets prioritization plan right now. Um, we're still kind of in our initial process. So, we had a public kind of pop-up event a couple weeks ago. We have an online survey that's going right now and we
have just about 100 responses on that which is really great kind of identifying a lot of barriers and opportunities out there. Um but just to touch on on middle road uh that is a road that kept coming up consistently um throughout our public outreach efforts.
um you know there's no bike lanes out there, there's no sidewalks out there and we got some anecdotal information at the library um that the schools that are on there actually have a lot of queuing on the road. Um so I would also not be
hesitant to put bike lanes on the road um as they would likely be blocked a lot of the times. Um the other thing about middle road, we're going through you know kind of our existing conditions analyses right now but we're looking at you know volumes and speeds specifically
because Aushnet doesn't have really any bike facilities. So if we are going to be recommending um some priority locations we want to make sure that those are applicable and safe for the volumes and the speeds that are occurring on these roads. The middle
road actually has like an 85th percentile speed of like almost 45 um mph. And right off the bat there, uh John mentioned there's this Federal Highway Administration um bikeway selection guide and there's a table
right in that report and I John I can follow up um with Lori and send that. Um but there is some information about you know volume versus speed and what type of bike uh accommodation is applicable for that type of roadway and when you're
sitting at a 45 mph roadway uh you know a shared use path or a separated uh bike facility is definitely recommended over anything with a bike lane. Um I'll also say that you know middle road right now is very wide and between the library and
the schools it's a straightaway. Um, so that's just encouraging a lot of speed. Um, so definitely where you have, you know, school age children, um, walking between the library and the schools, we would definitely recommend, you know, a separated path there. Um, so all of
these things that John mentioned as well, you know, the Tarkin Hill, um, improvements that are happening in New Bedford, uh, the fair paving improvements on Alden, uh, Alen Road, um, all of these things, looking at the South Coast bikeway and kind of the Blue
Lane for New Bedford. We're kind of looking at those areas and, um, how can we tie into those networks as well. That's not to say that Middle Road will not be in the prioritization plan. it absolutely will be. Um it's clearly a a
local priority for the residents. So, we're kind of, you know, taking all of these data sets and figuring out the best way to to rank them. And that being said, you know, this prioritization plan does give, you know, the town kind of a road map to move forward. But like the
ranking doesn't hold the town accountable for implementing projects in in that manner by any means. Um just kind of, you know, a a framework. um if you may. Um so that's kind of where we are in the process of things and we're
starting to you know really take a lot of that public outreach that we're hearing all of our existing conditions and starting to come up with that draft list of projects all of you know John everything that you touched on that's all in our potential list. Um you know Sor Pit also did a regional um
pedestrian plan and a regional bicycle plan. And so we're looking at those and incorporating, you know, those and how can we tie into that as well as, you know, there was a safety action plan in there as well. So we're looking at those segments and those intersections that
coming up as a, you know, safety risk or a high a high risk. Um, so that's kind of where where we're at in the process. And it sounds like, you know, what what I'm saying and John, what you're saying are very much in line. Um and I think you know a question has you know it's
kind of a blank slate which is you know exciting. There's a lot of opportunities there but definitely like how do we prioritize where we're you know kind of building that network to to make sense in the in the grand scheme of things.
>> Thank you. I appreciate all that um feedback. One one additional qu question I have for you. At the um recent public meeting, aside from Middle Road, was there other streets or areas or places
that came up? Um >> absolutely. Like um Main Street, South Main Street, Sloum Street, you know, all of these kind of, you know, minor arterials and and collector roads. Um Lake Street was
another one. There's a reservoir there. Uh there's like a little skirt of sidewalk, but no no way to get to that little skirt of sidewalk. Um you know, in terms of biking, um like Halfway, Halfway Road, Wing Road, um Matapoet,
Wendle, um or Mendle, excuse me. Um so a lot of these more connector roads and arterials are, you know, continually popping up and, you know, within the existing conditions data as well. That's where, you know, crashes are occurring. Um, you know, another area is is Hope
Street in Garfield, I want to say. Um, there were, uh, two pedestrian crashes down there, um, that we'll be focusing on, as well as some cutth through traffic. So, that intersection at Maine and South Main, um, you know, when
that's backed up, folks will cut down the side streets, um, often at, you know, carrying some speed. So that becomes a safety issue as well. Um so these are all things that we're hearing. Um but mostly you know targeted towards those more major streets.
>> That makes sense. Very careful. >> Yeah. And and a lot of times you know those major streets are sort of like the barrier for someone. You know someone you know might feel comfortable biking down their street or their subdivision. Um, but they have, you know, a bad, you
know, a dangerous feeling intersection that's between point A and point B. And just because of that one intersection, it makes it so that it's not really like a bikable trip for them. And so yeah, um, kind of like figuring out those like
high stress areas and like what are the ways to kind of like address that. Um Nicole, one one additional question I had for you was um uh there there was a so serpent has been working on the master plan for a Kushnet
and one of my colleagues had uh reached out to me asking about um like the power lines sort of running along the Kushnet River on like the river side. So essentially like running
parallel to South Main Street. Um and then there's also sort of the power lines that run sort of north of the quarry area that I believe come like off of South Main and then sort of like loop around like almost like the perimeter of
um a Kushnet center and then go I think north sort of norththeastish. And so for me, you know, thinking about those other kind of concepts of like they're not existing, uh, roads and they are, you know, easements most likely not
like property ownership. Um, I thought that, you know, although I think, you know, if I had all the money in the world, putting a bike path along the Akushet River like would be amazing. I would love it. Um but to me, you know, since the South Main project um is sort
of already in the works, that's a parallel facility, you know, to the Akushnet River. And so I would say, you know, kind of the the path along the riverfront, I think, would be something that I would pursue if there was like
private um entities that could um maybe provide like a path. So like Buzzers Bay Coalition, I want to say they're like redoing a whole like former junkyard area all along. >> It's finished. >> It's finished. >> Okay. And so yeah, I mean if they were,
you know, I that and then further down in in Fair Haven, I want to say Buzzards Bay Coalition also did the um >> whatever that where there's the radio towers on the waterfront there. >> Marsh Island. >> Marsh Island. Yeah. And so they added, you know, some paths through there,
walking paths through there. Um, so yeah, you know, that connecting down to Marsh Island and like the walking path along there um would be great. Um, but yeah, so I was thinking, you know, maybe the along the Kushnet River, maybe that's not like the the priority right
now because you already have that South Main, but I was kind of interested to some extent in um the power lines um sort of north of the um the quarry just because I believe it is owned it's
property owned by um National Grid. I want to say is your local public utility National Grid or Eversource? Eversource. Okay. It might not be Eversource, but I want to say it's owned by a local public utility. I want to say that there's
already sort of like an a dirt access road. >> So, it might be one of those things where um that that utility may allow, you know, um recreational use of the utility line.
Um and you know unclear whether whether you know that might be something that um that could be maybe thought about as far as the complete streets prioritization plan because the complete streets prioritization plan I think is for the most part you know especially for a
rural community like a Kushnet you're really not trying to build a whole lot of new infrastructure if you can avoid it. So, I kind of hesitate to to make that suggestion, but that is just one additional thing, Nicole. I guess I just wanted to just throw on your radar as um
as you know, the person working on the complete streets prioritization plan as you know, if there are utility corridors that are um you know, owned by the utility um and already have you know, an existing sort of walking path along it.
um it might be an opportunity to kind of like another kind of way to build almost a spur off of that South Maiden project as well. >> So I'd be curious um I would be curious because on the so heading towards Fair Haven the utility
lines on this side of the street have that sort of walking path right where you can see it when you go by the access road. But on the other side it's an actual road that goes back to like some businesses or something back there. I'm not sure if it's I want to say I saw in
in you know the southern part of sort of a Kushnet center or maybe some of the subdivisions south from there. I want to say there may be some paper streets that like connect in to that utility line sort of corridor as well.
>> Um so that that would be something I want to say. I recall seeing, >> you know, like the street grid for a Kushnit, um, you know, even where it's not a road that's actually paved, but the actual like laid out right of way for the public, um, looked like it may
actually connect into that utility corridor in some spot. Um, but but I think, you know, the other thing too, um, which I can follow up with is a, um, it's called the level of traffic stress. Um so it's basically a ranking of every
road on a one to five scale. Um five being most stress, one being one uh one being lowest stress. Um five would be an interstate highway that does not allow bicycle or pedestrians on it. So it's
really like a more like a one to four scale. uh with one roads that are one range one and two as um low stress because they're um low traffic or low
speed or both. Um and then the streets that are ranked three or four are your more stressful sort of um you you know your main roads with lots of traffic, fast speeds. So like middle road would
probably be I would guess a three. It might be a two but it probably is a three or three. >> Yeah. I mean without having actual data that's one of the really the main Yeah. That's you know >> Yeah. So especially with the speeds I think it would be you know that kind of
like three or four range. But but um one of the things that I think is very helpful about a level of traffic stress map and I actually have um a statewide LTS map that I can share is that you can look at it and kind of piece together
sort of low stress facility, low stress streets um that kind of can get you to places maybe somewhat indirectly but at least it's you know a low stress way to bike some
place. >> Um, and so that's something that I think would be useful as well. Um, and I'm sure you know Nicole is very much aware of that and and you know looking at obviously the speeds and the traffic volumes and things like that, but at
least for like the the committee um looking at how can we like build like almost like a low stress kind of neighborhood connectors and things like that. So, um, you know, for example, if there was, uh, a Kushnet River access
point, like a dock or something, and there's a subdivision that was like right up next to it, um, then there's like a subdivision that's like across the main road from that subdivision. You know, you can basically kind of say, oh, well, we really should
prioritize the crosswalk between these subdivisions. Or if the subdivisions are like offset, let's say that, you know, the entrance to one subdivision is, you know, at, you know, a certain area on the main road and then like 100 ft down
the road is this other subdivision with tons of houses on it, you know, kind of maybe, you know, um building that like uh really high comfort crosswalk to get across and then a short segment of like
Sher's path that's only like 100 f feet or something, but it's just enough to get that neighborhood to have like a really um low stress way to get to that like recreation site or whatever. So, yeah. >> And you're talking and I know exactly what you're talking about cuz So, I live
almost at the very end of of a cushion this way and I run into a Kushnet. So, I basically do that. I go on South Bane for as short as amount of time as I need to. Yeah. And then I go up and I back road it all the different back roads and I go all the way to the Kushner Crearyy and I barely touch the main roads.
Right. >> So I get that concept because I feel so much safer. I'm not worried about cars flying by me. I might have one car that goes by me the whole time I'm on those roads. >> Right. And I think a lot of people Yeah. A lot of people kind of go that route. Um, you know, cuz, you know, a lot of
times the, you know, it's the people that are looking to ride the shortest possible distance to get from point A to point B and don't mind the fast cars. >> They don't need the infrastructure. It's the people that are, you know, hesitant
and and reluctant to go across a crosswalk or go through an intersection or go down a stretch of busy road that you want to provide them that facility to kind of like bridge the gap for them. >> Yeah, absolutely.
>> Mhm. So yeah, one one final thing I I would say um just you know and Nicole I know you're still listening so you know maybe it's something for consideration of the complete streets prioritization plan um is like taking a hard look at the crosswalks
uh in a Kushnet and where are the existing crosswalks and which crosswalks are already known to be like heavily traveled. um because that is the kind of
thing that I would definitely prioritize for, you know, improvements for that crosswalk. And and one of the things that often times gets forgotten about with crosswalks is lighting. >> Um and and not just any kind of
lighting, but like pedestrian scale lighting. Um, you know, a lot of the lights that are on local roads where they are mounted on local roads, a lot of times they're like lights that are up on a telephone pole, like 20 or 30 ft up in
the air. And those lights are really just for the most part provided just to give a little bit of illumination for the overall road. Um, but they're not typically sufficient enough to really
well illuminate a pedestrian walking through an area uh through a crosswalk. And the other thing too is the position of the light really matters. And so um if the light is coming from uh you know behind a person uh and
there's a car approaching that per that person might be invisible uh because the light's just coming from the wrong direction. Whereas if the light is kind of like blasting on their face like like headlights, all of a sudden now this person's very very visible. Um, and you know, obviously there's other things
that you can do with crosswalks, whether that's like a median island. Um, but the simplest thing with crosswalks that I always want to kind of emphasize is um high visibility markings. So, um the continental style crosswalks,
um there's research to show that um continental style crosswalks can be seen um hundreds of feet earlier than than um traditional transverse line crosswalks in some cases. Um >> can you I'm sorry. Can you explain what
a continental crosswalk? >> Yeah, absolutely. So, a a continental crosswalk is like the um like large white rectangles um that are kind of like not connected
with like So, there's a ladder style crosswalk. Yeah. So, a ladder style crosswalk is like transverse lines going from curb ramp to curb ramp and then ladder rungs in between. Continental style is the ladder just without the
diamond >> uh the transverse lines connecting them. Um and yeah there I mean the ladder style crosswalk uh is also considered a high
visibility um crosswalk. The continental style what I what I just talked about um that's considered a high visibility crosswalk. Um but what often gets put down is a transverse line crosswalk which is basically the parallel lines.
Um and those are yeah not as visible um when you are kind of approaching it as a motorist. Um and so it's it's one of those things that it's like it's such an easy thing to kind of uh to to to you
know know and it's very actionable. It's just a matter of how you're applying paint to your roads and what style of painting actually does matter. Um, and so yeah, I would just, you know, I always try to recommend communities, um,
you know, just consider the the style of crosswalks that they are putting down, um, in trying to kind of incrementally um, uh, convert especially the high usage crosswalks
towards those high visibility pavement markings that we know are safer for folks. So, um, yeah, I'm a big fan of high visibility crosswalks. So, yeah. >> Yeah. And I'll just >> go ahead and add on to that too in the
discussion of crosswalks, we're also going to be looking at the location of some of the existing crosswalks that are out there. So, I'm just looking at Main Street right now where we have four crosswalks within like 200 ft. Um, so there's just a lot going on there and
that's just like a pedestrian safety issue waiting to happen. Um, you know, people are really trying to focus on the road. There's that stop sign that just kind of like pops up on you. So, you know, we're going to be looking at signage improvements as well, um, both
at the crosswalk in in advance of the crosswalk, uh, to get people, you know, in that line of thinking that they're, you know, changing from one context to another. Something that a cushion has as well is a lot of, you know, pretty significant speed differentiators. So it
goes from 40 like down to 25. Um, so that's what we call a transition zone. So you're going from a really high speed down into like a village context where there's a lot more going on. So we want to make sure that we're slowing vehicles
down as they approach that 25 mph um kind of limit there. So, that's another thing that we're looking like those crosswalks, those midblock crosswalks that are located within those transition zones. >> Yeah, that's a a great point. Um, yeah,
especially for the accushnet center area. I I I would I would have to assume that there's probably uh some additional crosswalks that might be needed. You know, I I don't know. I'm I'm not, you know, super familiar with a
Kushnet. Um but I I you know I find that often times um you know where the crosswalks are um are typically you know obviously used well but but there's a lot of you know places that I have found
where um oh yeah there's people that just cross the street here because the crosswalk you know is a couple hundred feet that way and and a couple hundred feet the other way and it just makes more sense to just cross here. So I you know I would say yeah especially for the
Aushnet Center I would not I would not be um I would not be hesitant to maybe put in more crosswalks than than is currently there just because the other thing with crosswalks are that they they can kind of be a little bit of like a
traffic calming kind of lowering speeds and that's sort of what you want in your center of your your town. Um so that that would be something that you know you might want to look at as well. Um you know for for where those crosswalks are and and you know trying to identify
any potential locations where um where you know there might be a need for new a new crosswalk and um Nicole I want to say Sloum Street is getting rebuilt with a new sidewalk I want to say as well. So that, >> you know, I want to say there probably
is a crosswalk there, but if there's not, um, you know, it definitely would need one there as well. >> There isn't at this point, but they but there might be in the in the final version because they just did sort of the I don't know what it's called, but where they just put they laid it down for the winter and they'll So there might be when it's all said and done,
but there is one right now. >> Yeah. >> The town that the DPW should know about those Continentals sidewalks, uh, Continental crosswalks. they um they might not I mean um they might know them
as high visibility crosswalks. Um I think one of the things that uh you know if it they might not know you know the specific research about high visibility um pavement markings um you know being
more easily seen by motorists but you know in some cases these crosswalk styles that I'm talking about might actually require more paint or more uh thermoplastic tape which is like instead of painting they actually put down almost like a plastic kind of thing
because it's more reflective. Um, but thermoplastic tape costs a lot of money. Uh, more paint obviously costs more than, you know, transverse lines are relatively simple and straightforward. And so a push back, you
know, on on crosswalk, you know, pavement, uh, marking, you know, increasing the budget line item for that might not be like in the town's, you know, plans. Um, but But I think um it's
definitely a conversation that I think should be had because for certain areas um if you you know I I saw I saw a bunch of uh the um sort of yellow crosswalks that you know are are already around and I do think that that sort of transverse
line with white and then the yellow in in the in that that is um more more visible than just the white lines themselves. But um but yeah, I would say I think the contrast is another thing that makes the continental and the
latter style a little bit more apparent cuz it's white, bright white on black. And so um the contrast kind of >> gets people to see it a little bit easier. And so, um, yeah, I I I I think
that that, um, that sort of, you know, a cushion center area definitely, um, the high high visibility crosswalks all through there, um, would be definitely a priority. And I think that that, you know, for the South Main project with mass DOT, I think they probably will
include the high visibility markings. Um, but outside of the mass DOT projects, it might not be. Um, so that's where I would um kind of, you know, be be cognizant when you're kind of looking at potential designs that come come down the pipeline.
>> Good information. >> Yeah, real good. >> Uh, anything else, Nicole? >> No, just encourage you all to take the online survey if you haven't already. Um, you know, feel free to share with family, friends, other departments, all
of that stuff. the more data points we have the better um not only for this project but for you know the town of Aushnet altogether. Um having like all that public input um really helps like build the case when the town goes to start applying for grants. Um they kind
of have like some idea of what the community is already thinking. So we'll be you know handing over all of that raw data um to Victoria and the DDW to kind of do what they they wish with it. Um but uh yeah there's um on that flyer too
that so that links you to our kind of project website um so you can also look at all of the you know existing data that we're already collecting um as well and kind of just get some more background information on the project as a whole. So this um you know site will
be updated. So once we have our draft list of projects, we're going to map those all out. We're going to put them on this website. Um we're going to have another round of public outreach and people will actually be able to you know slide projects um and rank them um so
that we have like a little bit more you know community input in this as well. And you'll see on the online survey right now that's running there are a handful of questions about you know how the community um wants to prioritize
like sidewalks so bike lanes. Do they want to expand the network or focus on the existing network? Um, you know, how would they like to see projects prioritized once we do have that, you know, kind of final draft list. Um, so all of that like data, you know,
collection is very helpful for us. Um, so please share and, um, I'm sure I will see you all again pretty soon once we have that draft list. Um, so Cole, um, before you before we wrap up, do you have a date for when the survey will come down?
Um, so we had our outreach on the 27th, so I I'll probably leave it up until the end of the month. Um, I just created a paper copy actually for Sandra at the library. Um, cuz some folks have been going in and just want to take a paper
um, survey for that. So, she's going to be printing out some of those. Um, Victoria is going to have a few distributed as well. Um, and I think Victoria said she had like all the boards from our um, you know, pop-up
event up at uh, town hall as well, so folks can kind of go in and mark those up. Um, but yeah, it's it's been um, you know, a pretty good response thus far and a lot of like really thoughtful comments coming in. Uh, which is really great. So,
>> thank you. Good to know. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. All right. Okay. Well, >> thanks for coming, John. It was really, really happy to information. You
>> Yeah. Uh, and Nicole, um, great to virtually meet you and I'm sure we'll, uh, potentially cross paths at some point in the future. >> Likewise. Yes. Nice to meet you as well. >> Um, yeah, I'm happy to stick around. Um,
if you want to, you know, if you have anything else for Nicole, you know, or if you want to let her go or I don't know if you've got anything else on the agenda, I'd like to wrap it up. >> Yeah, for now. Thank you so very much. >> Yeah. Thank you, Nicole. >> Awesome. Thank you all so much. Have a great night.
>> Thank you. >> So, yeah, that was great, John. You know, we got a lot. >> I mean, we we just pulled that middle road idea. >> Yeah. And it makes yeah it makes perfect sense. I think looking at a Kushnet >> you know on the map
>> I think middle road comes off as like oh this is a you know important road that and then you look at you know how wide it is and you think oh yeah that makes a lot of sense. Um, but yeah, I think you know, putting on my like mass dot like grant,
you know, reviewer kind of like lens on >> um I would say, >> yeah, trying to build off of your your self project is going to get you something that's >> a little bit more competitive. I don't
know if uh I'm assuming SRTA has a bus that runs through the center. Does it? >> I don't think so. >> Does not corner. I think corner is the closest. >> So there's nothing that services like the the housing authority or
>> Okay. No. Well, yeah. I mean that um that's the kind of thing that Mas dot, you know, that's right in their wheelhouse. If if there's a bus stop, they would love to, you know, do a project that improves a bus stop or access to a bus stop. And so if you
don't have a bus stop uh in a Kushnet then um I >> mean I would think that the closest one would be on Tarpon Hill Road. >> So if we worked on if we sort of put our focus and this is just throwing ideas out there but if we put our focus on Maine, >> right? That would then connect the work
they're doing on Tarpon Hill Road to Maine which would then connect it to South Maine >> and then to Slo kind of just like through the center if we sort of focus. But we can tease that out more. That's just a >> Yeah. Um Sandy had Maderas had actually
we talked and I have an email that you and her were sh were going back and forth about the what you talked about at the >> the path along the river. >> Yeah. >> Because one thing there's all you know they have there's a little path uh at the bottom of Sloum Street now that goes
from Main Street >> over to to >> next to where you live. slum well kind of connected >> like rivers end or something. >> Yeah. >> So anyway, we thought, you know, maybe someday trying to get that some kind of connection and have a path behind
connected to behind the river along the river, >> right? Cuz you got the utility corridor that runs along the river there. And um I want to say yeah if you could you know connect that sort of existing sort of shared path in in the case where um
you've got that sort of wide facility it's a bike path you know sort of next to the road they call it a side path um so shared use path it's interchangeable with side path but um if you could you know cross slum and then again is that
the titleist facility yes you get across. >> Yeah. >> And and get I don't know if there's, you know, another another kind of thing to look at would be like if there's like a paper street off of there. >> I don't know if I know there's a couple, but I don't know if they're there.
>> Yeah. We'd have to go down there in the spring >> and take a walk down there. >> See what's available. >> Look at And look at >> see what So if we if we have an idea >> and if it's possible, >> winter time is is when there's not snow. you know, now snow, but um the winter
time is also a good time. Fall, late fall, anytime you've got uh the leaves off the trees, it's much easier to see like >> land form. And so like, you know, um >> it's it's you know, there in in my, you
know, in my role, always looking at like old railroad beds that are abandoned. It's it's crazy, you know, seeing like uh just a vegetated wall of trees in like the spring or summer and then all of a sudden the the leaves are gone and you can clearly see, oh, there's the old
railroad bed. Like very easy to see. Um, so yeah, I would definitely recommend um, you know, if you're trying to kind of like um, uh, look at, you know, where like, you know, like I was talking about before, kind of like, oh, there's a subdivision here and a subdivision here
and there's a town paper street right, you know, looking at it in like the winter um, when there's not snow in the ground, you can kind of maybe get a sense of, oh, okay, they didn't build the the street there because there's a wetland there. you know, it's something like, you know, it becomes more apparent,
>> right? >> Okay. >> But, um, one thing that I I did want to just, um, mention as well, uh, would be for the South Main project, um, I believe, you
know, I I had a conversation with, um, Diane Hayes, who is the assistant project development engineer at Mass DOT District 5. She was talking with me about um the South Main project as it
relates to the South Coast Bike Way and then she was also asking me about Sloum Street. Um she was trying to get some more information about it. I guess there was potentially an earmark for funding the Sloum Street um sidewalks. Um, but
she um she had indicated that the ShareJu path was going to basically start around like the Fair Haven Town line and go up and then once you get into more of like the like center of Kushnet Center like basically north of
Sloum Street, it sounded like they might not be doing the shared use path on that segment. >> That's right here. >> Yeah. >> Right. Um, and I want to say they were planning to have like on street parking
along one or both sides >> really good >> of South Maine to um sort of start it seemed like, you know, correct me if I'm wrong. It it it seems like the town may
have a bit of a priority of almost developing more in the in the town center of like more like commercial business, you know, storefront kind of like walkable place. I don't know. >> The stores that are there can't even stay open parking. Um that's why
probably >> so yeah so you know that was one of the things that um I think that the plan was to potentially add parking on one or both sides of South Maine and I just thought that you know looking at it um I
totally get you know wanting on street parking for like some of those businesses that are along there um and I think there's like there's at least one or two restaurants um >> but you know it made me think that um it might be a little bit of a missed
opportunity um if the shared use path doesn't continue through >> um because you know as I was you know we we've talked about having the south coast bike way have sort of an alternate
route through a Kushnet center and if if you've got a path that leads to a Kushnet center and it stops >> um you you know, it doesn't it's not a very high comfort facility. And so, you know, I was just sort of like looking at
that south south main sort of stretch between Sloum and and Main Street and seeing, >> you know, you've got some like paper streets or real streets that kind of branch off on the sides there. >> Yeah.
>> Um that might be like a better place for parking. Um, obviously I think you know the the residents that live along those side of side streets, they might not want that and it I totally get that. The other
thought too was I want to say the town hall campus might have some additional town owned properties that are like this direction. So south from the town hall. I could be wrong in this, but I want to say there might be some opportunities to
have like more parking in this general area potentially if there's like a paper street. I'll have to look at the map, but >> you're talking about like there's like almost like a lot. >> Okay. Yeah. So, if there's a if there's an existing lot or something. Yeah. Sort of figuring out a way to >> I mean that public parking versus
>> Yeah. So, you know, figuring out out a way to um to try, you know, if possible to get the shared views path to continue along the whole stretch and not dead end. >> Uh I think that would if I was if I was
uh on the committee, I think I would be advocating for that. Um because you know I think it's it's really it's going to be a difficult challenge to try to get like a south coast bikeway
sort of route um through a cushion center if you don't have that component of the project. So >> because you know if you don't have that component then you have to find an alternate sort of path. So maybe it would just kind of, you know, create a
bunch of uh challenges that um I I've just got um >> why don't they go through why don't they take go like Belleville Avenue or Mill Road? Mill Road goes along the river and right right before the bridge, you know? >> Yeah, it certainly could.
>> That takes way all this right here. All this center of town and everything, right? >> So you talking about for the Southwest? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean, um I I I don't I I don't have a map handy, so I I can't visual visualize it, but yeah, I mean, it
certainly could theoretically go down like Sloum. Um but but the thing is, you know, it's like, okay, well, you're building sidewalks on there right now. And >> yeah, and they did not include >> it's not a shared use path. And so, you know, it's it's it just becomes harder
and harder to >> get sort of that that, you know, planned connection as you sort of invest in only sidewalk. And it's not to say that, you know, folks were going to ride their bike on a sidewalk regardless of what anyone tells them to do. It's not that
it's not great. Like I love sidewalks, but but but um yeah, in terms of how um you know, if you're trying to think strategically about how a Kushnet can really like grab the South Coast bike way by the horns and say, you know, we
are going to kind of like fully be a part of this. Um it it seems like you know making sure you know at least trying to get some some concession of having the shared use
path continue and um you know that might be a difficult conversation about parking and and I I don't envy any kind of conversations about you know trying to take away potential parking spaces from you know businesses because they do
rely on it. Um, but I think that, you know, perhaps you can talk about maybe some other opportunities to have sort of uh parking more on like the back of buildings on the side streets or in the town hall campus area or you know kind of like
>> figuring out ways to have um you know shared parking arrangements and things like that. I >> you know I I did the regional bicycle plan and the regional pedestrian plan. I'm also working on the regional um parking utilization assessment and um
you know it's parking is a hard one because um everyone thinks there's not enough of it and uh the the reality is in a lot of cases there's plenty. Uh it's just that when people want to park and there isn't a space, they immediately think there's not enough
parking. um but but they might not see you know parking that's behind a building or all these places that are around them. And so um you know we are always trying to kind of uh emphasize some you know think you know thinking
about parking and and um safety and you know parking is really a convenience question and and it's you know how convenient is it to go to a place. Um but when you're talking about a shared use path you're talking about
safety. Um and safety in in transportation planning, >> safety really should be the top priority and convenience for one specific mode, you know, should be a little bit lower. Not, you know, it's not like at the bottom, but it's lower than safety
typically. Um that's not always going to be carried out in practice. Obviously, there's there's, you know, differences of opinion about that. Um but but yeah, we would, you know, if there's uh if there's a proposal to do like parking on
both sides of the street, um you might want to consider trying to advocate for maybe just one side, you know, give give yourself the opportunity to have that charity's path or separated facility up through the entire corridor.
>> But yeah, I uh I I tend to to to talk a lot, so That's why you're here. >> But you're here, John. >> I'm always available. Yeah, you can always >> When is that starting? Is it this year or South? Do you know? >> South. Oh, no. That's probably multiple years off. >> Years off.
>> Yeah, typically. Uh >> that's right. They haven't even finished. Uh >> it it it could be multiple. Um I honestly I don't know if it's even been allocated um funding to to build it yet.
So it it might be more than 5 years off. Um >> I would have to look at >> where where that process I I believe it's pre25% design. Um I'm not entirely sure but but
that's the that's one of the challenges uh is certainly um funding for big projects like that. Uh, it takes a while. And so, um, I got my start in bike planning on the Taton
Pathways Committee and we, uh, had an old railroad bed in Taton that we started, you know, it was part of a Taton River Trail multi-mile, kind of like the South Coast bike way. Um, and, um, you know, we started that process in
like 2016, 2017. And that rail trail went from 3 or 4 million to 11 million to 18 million to now 27 million. And then when
it gets constructed in 2030, >> it'll be 30 million. >> So it went basically 10x up in price. um for reasons that are very frustrating um including oh we need we need this you
know shared use path bridge to be not 10 ft up off the road it needs to be 17 ft up off the road so a tractor trailer truck can go you know it's like all these okay well we're dramatically increasing the bicycle pedestrian cost because of trucks you know and so it's like
>> you know the project has become >> um very expensive for reasons that are not really bicycle friend, you know, it's not it's not >> improving other people's issues. >> Yeah. So, um you know, these projects can take a while. South main project,
I'm not sure when when it is, but typically if it if it, you know, gets to like 25% design, you might have a better idea of when that construction might be. Um and it really depends on um how the
the designer for the project if they are advancing the project on the timeline that mass dot is expecting then it'll proceed on like a regular sort of like normal scheduling kind of um but in what we have seen at Serpent is if the town
is not saying hey designer we need to make this you know 25% design submitt middle deadline if the town isn't kind of advancing or or kind of making sure that their designer is meeting sort of the the benchmark dates for submitts and
things like that, projects can fall behind. Um, so it's we always try to encourage municipalities to really like stay on your designer to make sure that they're reaching those milestones when they should be um to kind of keep you on
track. Um so yeah that's just one additional kind of thought thought that uh I'm not saying that I have any inclined is not moving this project at you know a normal pace um but it's just something to be be wary of because projects where
they are um kind of falling behind what happens is the cost goes up and it goes up and it goes up because inflation it just it just every year every project goes up in a certain certain percentage because it's just the cost of materials and everything else. So, it's always,
you know, trying to beat the clock to, you know, not have it be over budget by, you know, a million cuz it's, you know, got someone didn't submit the design in time. >> Mhm. >> So, >> Okay. >> Well, thank you.
>> Absolutely. >> Thank you, John. >> Yeah. >> Uh, is there anything else on the agenda or >> No. All right. We're closing out. >> All right. All right. >> I I kept you too long. >> Where you from, John?
>> Um, I'm originally from Don. Uh, and then I went to UMass Ammerst and then I moved to Taton after that. But I feel Don and Kushner are very very similar in a lot of ways. Yeah, without a doubt, >> you know, kind of like a small charming
town right next to like a more of a major city, you know, so sort of always sort of relying on that that sort of nearby city for, you know, a lot of different things, but but also, you know, having that small, you know, >> special feeling about, you know, your
your town. >> Yeah. Um, so yeah, that's yeah, that's uh my Eagle Scout project back in 2008 was a nature trail on an old railroad bed in South D. And so
never would have thought that uh trail building would be my my profession, you know, in Boy Scouts, but that was my, you know, my first foray into >> Yeah, it's you know, it it pays the bills, which is uh better than, you
know, I it I told you I started on the Tom Pathways Committee. I was just a volunteer. Um and now, you know, I'm a salary employee at Surp, >> you know. Yeah, it's it's pretty good. Um but uh yeah, I I always want, you
know, always want to be a resource for you folks. So, um if you got any questions, feel free to shoot me an email and I'll try to get back to you. Um but yeah, definitely um try to keep tabs on um on the South Main project. And anytime, you know, you see um like a
design that gets released or whatever, let me know and and I I'd be happy to take a look and let you know my thoughts on it. Um, you know, anytime you um have a question or whatever and you want to run it by me, always feel free. >> Mhm. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Absolutely. We're we're also
>> working out that door. You don't I don't know where parked, but >> Yeah. It looks like the whole building is closed, but it's actually right there. Yeah. >> As I was talking about, you know, lights for crosswalks, you know, light
guest. Exactly. >> We'll give you a flashlight, brother. >> Yeah, sounds fair. >> All right. Thanks, folks. >> Okay. Can I have a motion to >> new business? Just go down. >> Oh, new business is done, right? No new
business. >> No new business. >> And then our next meeting is March 12th. >> Yes. March 12th. >> Do you know if it's here or you'll >> Yeah, it's here. Okay. >> Sorry, Eric. Anyway, okay. So, next meeting is March
12th. Uh, can I get a motion? Motion. >> I make a motion. We adjourn. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Wow.