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. . . to discuss City plans to address pedestrian issues related to the new Lechmere Station. |
December 12, 2006Committee Report #2 TRANSPORTATION, TRAFFIC AND In City Council February 5, 2007
The Transportation, Traffic and Parking. Committee held a public meeting on Tuesday, December 12, 2006, at five o’clock and thirty-five minutes P.M. in the Sullivan Chamber. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss City plans to address pedestrian issues related to the new Lechmere Station. Present at the meeting was Councillor Craig Kelley, Chair of the Committee, Councillor Michael Sullivan, Vice Mayor Timothy J. Toomey, Jr., Councillor Henrietta Davis, Sue Clippinger, Director of Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Susanne Rasmussen, Director of Environment and Transportation Planning, Community Development Department and Donna P. Lopez, Deputy City Clerk. Councillor Kelley opened the meeting and stated the purpose. He then opened the meeting to public comment. No one appeared for public comment. Councillor Kelley submitted an e-mail from Elvina Reyes for the record (Attachment A). At this time an overview was received from Ms. Clippinger on pedestrian crossings of the Monsignor O’Brien Highway (Attachment B). North Point Development is a large project with a variety of permits. Councillor Kelley asked about funding for the project. The project received no public money but did receive $5 million in safety money via a federal transportation bill, with other costs being born by the developer. There are three new intersections with improvements to other intersections with pedestrian crosswalks and five signalized lights. The intersection from First Street to Monsignor O’Brien Highway allows good connections and provides connection to Kendall Square without going through the neighborhood. Monsignor O’Brien Highway was reviewed for design, access for pedestrians and into North Point. There are bike lanes on Monsignor O’Brien Highway. The idea is to make the highway area more permeable for pedestrians. The Gilmore bridge, which goes by the Museum of Science, is very congested and the hope is that this project will pull cars off of the site on the East and West sides, even though through traffic stays on Monsignor O’Brien highway. Ms. Rasmussen stated that Mass. Highway was to build two bridges as part of the Big Dig mitigation, up and down stream, but there is no money to build these bridges. This is a serious issue, which needs to be resolved. Councillor Sullivan asked about the mitigation with the Mass. Law Foundation. There is an $80 million cap responded Ms. Rasmussen. The Central Artery realizes that it cannot walk away. The money for this project is getting front-loaded. Ms. Clippinger stated that the signalized crossings have a variety of signals. The DCR operates two signals, the City one. The Museum signal timing will be reviewed. The last block of Cambridge Street is 1 way, and all the confusing moves happen a block earlier at 1st street, which is an easier place. All crosswalks will be signalized and the City is working with DCR to coordinate their two signals. Councillor Sullivan requested police presence for pedestrian access at the Charles Street Reconstruction Project. He asked if the City anticipates using the state of the art in lighted crossings. Ms. Clippinger responded that the goal is to make delays short, crossing time long and use LED lighting with lead pedestrian interval (LPI). However, each crossing is different. The principal goal is to have pedestrians able to cross easily. The volume of Monsignor O’Brien Highway is so much more than elsewhere that it is tough to make comparisons. There are a total of 7 lights, two are DCR, one is new, one is moved. The lights will have a ‘pedestrian jump, also called a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LBI). Councillor Sullivan commented that the bend in the road was to be eliminated. It will be a soft curve because on straight roads motorists speed and run red lights stated Ms. Rasmussen. The median will be widened with half crossings to accommodate left and right vehicle turns, stated Ms. Clippinger. Pedestrians can walk from Northpoint to Cambridge. They are trying to keep travel lanes consistent as they go through the site. Also, they will allow people to cross the part of the road in some light cycles where there is no conflicting traffic. People would cross anyway in such cases. Councillor Kelley asked if the timeline would be published in the media. Ms. Clippinger responded in the affirmative. Councillor Sullivan asked what is the timeline. Two seasons responded Ms. Clippinger. Councillor Sullivan cautioned allowing access during the construction period. This is a collaborative project stated Ms. Clippinger. Vice Mayor Toomey requested that a discussion occur with the MBTA, and the DCR to discuss the feasibility of installing a tunnel. Ms. Rasmussen stated that the utility lines needed to be changed. The timing is important because it is in the design phase. Access and detail on engineering solutions must be consistent day and night stated Councillor Kelley. Massachusetts Highway and the Federal highway departments need to approve the plans. Councillor Sullivan noted that this is at least a two-season project and, looking at the Charles Street madhouse, he wants to make sure that there is a safe crossing. Ms. Clippinger noted that the developer will have two open buildings at this time so it will be in their interest to make the crossings as safe as possible. Councillor Kelley asked if there would be a bus stop on the Galleria side. This has not been decided yet responded Ms. Clippinger. Can the bus stop access be figured out asked Councillor Kelley? The expectation is that the bus takes the most direct route, to avoid congestions, and then to make the crossings as safe as possible. Then people will walk from the bus stop. Councillor Davis asked if the road would be narrowed. Cambridge Street was narrowed; a bike lane was added. Councillor Davis commented that the Land Boulevard crossing is horrible. Ms. Clippinger responded that there is no crosswalk at the bottom of the bridge. A crosswalk could be added and then eliminated to the right turn slip lane to make it easier for pedestrians to get to the island. Runners use the Prison Point bridge. This is a difficult area to make pedestrian improvements because of the amount of traffic. There will be islands for people to shelter on, though the island at Monsignor O’Brien Highway is currently really uninviting. To resolve the issue pedestrians help is needed stated Councillor Davis. Prison Point Bridge is really tough. People come from the Orange Line. Ms. Rasmussen noted that it would be tough to improve Prison Point Bridge because of the volume of traffic. Vice Mayor Toomey asked if there is any shuttle from the new stop at the Galleria. Ms. Rasmussen stated that it will take as long to travel in a shuttle as it takes to walk. The mass of walkers might make things safer, as it would put cars on notice that pedestrians are there. They are also building a bridge over the railroad tracks from Charlestown for bikes and pedestrian. It is the NorthBank Bridge from Paul Revere Park and it is out to bid now. Councillor Davis said that this may turn into a lawsuit and that the Artery’s commitment must be met. Councillor Sullivan spoke about the pedestrian light at First Street. This site is a free for all. Councillor Davis also commented that she called the Traffic Department about the problem with this light. Councillor Sullivan spoke about the new bridge in the area of the Museum of Science. This is an island bridge stated Ms. Rasmussen. Cambridge has put the Central Artery on notice that the City expects this bridge to be built. Will the path at Museum Towers connect to the bridge or the railroad asked Councillor Kelley? Ms. Rasmussen stated that the North Point Bridge is out to bid. It is an inland bridge that connects Charlestown and Cambridge. This is unsatisfactory progress for Cambridge. Southbank Bridge would go around Spaulding Rehab building on the other side of the River, but that project has fallen apart. There should be two more bridge for crossing the Charles River on either side of the Railroad Bridge. Councillor Kelley asked if the North Point Bridge would be a push button crosswalk. Ms. Clippinger responded in the negative. The timing of the crosswalks was discussed. The longest wait is 72 seconds. In some places traffic will be too heavy to make a concurrent right turn. The curbs will be six inches high. Councillor Davis asked if the lights are LED. All intersections are LED conversions stated Ms Clippinger. Vice Mayor Toomey asked if there were any plans for the overpass from Somerville at Twin City. This bridge is deteriorating and may go down in a bit. How would that impact this project. Ms. Clippinger stated work is being done at Longfellow, BU and Storrow Drive bridges. There is talk of sequencing; but funding is the issue. Councillor Kelley asked when the BU work starts. The BU project is an 18-24 month project. Ms. Clippinger stated that this issue needed to be addressed with the Urban Ring. These are all tossed into the ring at once. This may encourage people to look at other options to move around. There will be 3000 new units, more or less, at North Point and other local areas. At six o’clock and forty minutes Councillor Kelley opened the meeting to public comment. Kathy Podgers stated that she has been driving here since the sixties. There is heavy pedestrian traffic at the large intersection at Land Boulevard going towards Bunker Hill. There is enough time for pedestrians to cross because each direction has its own signal. What does not work is when the traffic from Boston hits the red lights and the drivers speed up. It is dangerous for drivers because there are two red lights. Red lights that are too close together do not work because if someone runs a yellow/red light they cannot stop for a subsequent second red light. Land Boulevard also takes traffic off of Cambridge Street. It is difficult for traffic coming off of Cambridge Street to make turns. Narrow lanes on Monsignor O’Brien Highway make it difficult and dropping lanes also makes it tough. Pedestrians by the Green Line have trouble. This area needs traffic calming. Public comment closed at six o’clock and forty-four minute P. M. Councillor Kelley thanked all attendees. The meeting was adjourned at six o’clock and forty-five minutes P.M. For the Committee, Councillor Craig Kelley, Chair |