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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBikeways 3.12.21 Stakeholder Outreach Vision Plan Implementation Progress The Vision Planning Committee is tracking what has been done to achieve the goals of the Vision plan. We are interested in identifying actions that have been taken that will help achieve the goals and purposes including but not limited to the actions that are identified in the Vision Plan. This interview will help the Committee start to track actions that have been taken or are in progress and we will ask for another interview in about six months. From this, we will produce an annual Vision Plan implementation report that will be presented to the Select Board and broader Brewster community. At the same time, the Vision Planning Committee is working on the development of a Local Comprehensive Plan which will build on the Vision Plan and include a targeted action plan. The goal and purposes of the each building block have been provided to help facilitate the following Q&A conversation. Question 1: Since adoption of the Brewster Vision Plan in 2018, has your (organization/department) seen specific progress on the goals of the Vision Plan for (insert Building Block, i.e Water Resources). What specific actions have been taken or are in progress? Question 2: What do you attribute to the successful implementation of specific goals and actions? For goals and actions that have seen less progress, what have been the barriers to implementation? Question 3: Since the adoption of the Vision Plan, has there been a shift in the priority of specific actions from the Vision Plan? What kind of shift? Are there actions or items that were not in the Vison Plan but that should be included in a Local Comprehensive Plan to achieve the same or similar goals Question 4: How have Climate Change considerations altered or been integrated into what your (organization/department) does? To what extent should Climate Change related goals and actions receive priority status in the Comprehensive Plan’s targeted action plan? Question 5: Do you have any specific recommendations for the Vision Planning Committee as they work toward Vision Plan implementation and development of the Local Comprehensive Plan for Brewster? 12 TOWN OF BREWSTER VISION PLAN • 2018 Community Infrastructure GOAL: Maintain and expand town infrastructure in ways that expand opportunities for community interaction, support the development of a “green” economy, expand recreation opportunities, and promote public safety. PURPOSE 3 Provide active recreation opportunities and facilities including those for youth 1.Sur vey the community (all ages) to identify desired activities and programming. 2. Inventory existing facilities and identify potential locations for new facilities such as a community pool, pickleball, volleyball and basketball courts. 3. Expand and promote existing and future active recreational (seasonal and year-round) programs. 4.Research potential ways to provide transportation to recreation areas. PURPOSE 1 Create a community center to house activities and interaction for people of all ages 1. Form a committee to facilitate the process and hold public meetings for community input. 2. Conduct a feasibility/location study to identify the best location for a community center. 3. Repurpose an existing facility (such as Eddy School). Utilize neighboring town experience (such as Harwich) as a model. 4. Develop uses and programming, with activities for all ages, for the proposed facility. PURPOSE 2 Expand the bike and pedestrian trails and paths for recreation and transportation throughout town 1. Develop a town wide plan that includes all existing trails and sidewalks, potential areas for expansion, trail connections and links to key recreation areas, bay beaches and west Brewster. 2.Identify areas of improvement for existing trails and sidewalks such as signage, safety, and lighting and provide more bicycle safety information. 3.Make the town more bicycle/pedestrian friendly by providing information on the trail system. 4.Review and modify existing policies and development guidelines to require (where possible) sidewalks and bike lanes on new roads and re-pavement projects. Examples of stakeholders • Planning Department, Planners, Architects • Building Department, Department of Public Works • Water Dept., Recreation Dept., School Dept. • Historical Commission • Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority • School Committee, parents and students • All Citizens Access Committee • Bikeways Committee, Bike Shops • Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation • Brewster Ladies Library, Churches, Council on Aging Page 1 of 4 BREWSTER VISION ADVISORY GROUP SUMMARY PAPER COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE OCTOBER 2017 I. Background Overview The term community infrastructure is meant to encompass the variety of physical infrastructure and facilities that the town and other community organizations provide for public purposes. The June vision workshops showed the considerable value the participants placed in community infrastructure for recreation, public gatherings, and alternative transport. Frequently mentioned specific places included the bike trail, the Ladies Library, Drummer Boy Park, Nickerson State Park, and the Stony Brook Grist Mill. However, the most frequently mentioned infrastructure issue, by far, was a community center, combined with a new location for the Council on Aging. Participants expressed interest in having a place for community gatherings and events and where people of all ages could interact. Bike trails and sidewalks for recreation and as a means of alternative transport around town were the second most frequently mentioned infrastructure. The Vision Committee conducted a supplemental survey with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the Eddy School to determine their priorities. While many of the issues they identified were similar to the general workshop findings, the need for active recreation sites such as skateboard parks, sports fields, and swimming pools stood out. Community infrastructure is, in many ways, a building block that supports many of the other building blocks, particularly community character, economy, and coastal management (beach access). This paper will focus on the issues of the community center and bike and pedestrian ways as the two highest priorities. Current status a. Community space A variety of facilities are currently used for public meetings and gatherings. The main locations include the Ladies Library (meetings and events), the Brewster Baptist Church (elections and workshops), the Council on Aging (senior activities), the Eddy School (recreation), the Stony Page 2 of 4 Brook School (Town meeting). Town Hall is used primarily for official board and committee meetings. There is no multi-purpose facility which allows a variety of uses and interactions. Town facilities for active recreation are spread out throughout the town. They include the Freeman’s Way ball and soccer fields, the Town Hall ball fields, Gage Field (behind the Fire Station), and the community tennis courts off Underpass Road. b. Bike and pedestrian ways The Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) stretches 7 miles from south central Brewster to the northeast line with Orleans, linking to the entire 22 miles of paved bike/pedestrian trail. The CCRT is one of the most actively used recreational features in Brewster and serves as a center piece of Brewster’s “green economy.” In the summer, it also serves as a way for visitors and summer workers to get around the town. Recent re-paving projects in Brewster have expanded both biking and pedestrian access around town. The Rt. 6A repaving in 2016 expanded the sidewalks in the center of town for bicyclists and pedestrians. There are now 7 miles of sidewalks along Rt. 6A from Nickerson State Park to Stony Brook Rd. Also in 2016, the Town completed the re-paving of Underpass and Snow Roads, extending the sidewalks and creating narrow bike lanes. The Underpass design may serve as a model for future re-paving of town roads. At a cost of $3 million, this project was completed using part of the $10 million bond that was approved by Town meeting in 2015. The next priority for road bond funds is Millstone Road to include re-surfacing and pedestrian and bike improvements, yet to be specifically defined. The Town also receives approximately $400,000 annually of Chapter 90 funds for road improvements. Over $1 million of these funds have been accumulated over several years. The next target for Chapter 90 funded improvements is Highway 137, including re-surfacing and accommodating bike and pedestrian traffic. While there have been recent improvements in bike and pedestrian access around town and more are planned, access remains problematic, particularly if road design is the primary avenue for expanding access. The main challenge to expanding bike and pedestrian ways is the narrow width of Brewster’s roads—both the pavement and the rights-of-way—which do not allow for easy addition of sidewalks and/or bike lanes. The extent of wetlands along town roads also constitutes a constraint on expanding road ways to accommodate bike and pedestrian facilities. On the larger roads, speed limits also dictate design standards: the higher the speed limit, the greater need for separation (distance or curbing) of vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists. Page 3 of 4 Table 1: Summary of Roadway Ownership in Brewster Ownership Length gravel (mi) Length paved (mi) Total length (mi) % of total Town-owned streets 10 54 64 31% MassDOT-owned streets NA 16 16 8% Private/unaccepted streets 42 83 125 61% Total 52 153 205 100% Source: Brewster Pavement Management Plan, 2015 A considerable portion of Brewster’s road network is made up of private roads, which creates a degree of management confusion. The Town generally plows private roads, sweeps private paved roads, and provides some help with signage. However, creating public access (for a walking trail or identified bike route) requires getting easements from each landowner, which is a long and complex procedure. The fundamental challenge to expanding bike and pedestrian access in town is how to create connectivity: to link places around town without relying solely on the public road layout. Recent actions in town a.Community space In 2009, the Town proposed to sell Town Hall to the Lighthouse Charter School and move town administration to the Eddy School and create a community center there. However, planning for this action was stopped when the State Board of Education refused to allow the conversion of a school for which state capital loan funds were still being reimbursed. The Town has since completed reimbursement of state loans and the Eddy School is mentioned as a potential site for a community center. The Recreation department is currently housed there. More discussion is needed with the School Committee about consolidating Eddy and Stony Brook Schools before a solution is found. The Town’s five year Capital Plan 2018-2023 identifies a feasibility study for a combined Council on Aging (COA) and community center in 2019 and possible construction in 2021. The recently completed COA needs assessment, The Future of Aging, indicates that many of the respondents to the survey and participants in focus groups, which were the basis for the study, preferred a community center in which COA would be housed. b.Bike and pedestrian ways In 2015, the Town completed a Pavement Management Plan which assessed the conditions of Brewster’s roads and the long term financial liabilities of the road network and recommended improvements. Based on that assessment, the Town approved a $10 million road bond in 2015. The bond proceeds funded the repaving and improvements of Underpass Road at a cost of $3 Page 4 of 4 million in 2016-17. The next priority for repaving and bike and pedestrian improvements is Millstone Road and the remaining funds will be used for general roadway improvements around town. The Rt. 6A re-paving and improvements were completed in 2017 and funded entirely the State. In 2016, the Board of Selectmen approved Biking Brewster: a strategy to enhance biking in Brewster, prepared by the Bikeways Committee. The strategy identifies alternative biking routes for transport and recreation, proposes safety improvements, and recommends public education measures. The Town also completed a Beach Access strategy, which includes expanding bike and pedestrian access to town landings as a way to reduce the need for more beachfront parking. In 2017, Town Meeting approved $100,000 for the installation of warning lights at the four CCRT crossings in town: Rt. 124, Rt. 137, Underpass Road, and Millstone Road, a recommendation of the Biking Brewster strategy. The lights will be installed in Spring 2018 and are intended to enhance safety at the crossings. The Town’s Natural Resources Department has made a proposal to the State Department of Conservation and Recreation to create a Rail Trail spur from the current location near the entrance to Nickerson State Park to the beach between Crosby and Linnell landings to expand bike and pedestrian access to the beach. II. Key issues moving forward How should the Town proceed to examine options for a multi-use community center? How aggressively should the town promote connectivity off of roadways (for example on Town land from Underpass Rd to the Stony Brook School to the Eddy School to Rt. 6A near Town Hall, or along Eversource’s rights-of-way)? III. Draft Vision Goal Draft Goal: Maintain and expand town infrastructure in ways that expand opportunities for community interaction, support the development of a “green” economy, expand recreation opportunities, and promote public safety. Purposes: 1.Create a community center to house activities and interaction for people of all ages. 2.Expand the bike and pedestrian trails and paths for recreation and transport throughout the town. 3. Provide active recreation opportunities and facilities, including for youth. Taking Action Turning the Plan into action The Vision Plan is intended to be a living document, guiding the near- and long-term decisions on which our community’s future is built. Therefore, it is imperative that the goals guide actions of Town government and community organizations and that the relevant stakeholders play their part in implementing the actions presented in the Plan. Implementation will involve figuring out the details and making the actions work in the context of town capacity, financial and fiscal constraints, and the legal framework for town action. Overall, the Select Board, Town Boards and Committees, and citizens through Town Meeting will oversee turning the Plan into action. Implementation will be most effective if there is a true partnership between town government and the community to assure that the goals laid out in the Plan are reached. What the community can do to promote the implementation of the Vision Plan. TOWN GOVERNMENT Adopt the Vision Plan as a formal action of the Select Board and assign responsibility for implementation. Communicate the Vision Plan, including important milestones and progress towards implementation through a variety of traditional and innovative vehicles. Make the Vision Plan a guide for policymaking and town decisions (budgeting, town warrant articles, town mission statement). Engage Town department heads and town staff to take owner- ship of the Vision Plan and integrate it into their daily work and future plans; restructure and reorganize staffing as needed. Create a Vision Implementation Committee to shepherd and oversee implementation and to keep the Vision Plan in the forefront of Town priorities, including ongoing stakeholder involvement. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Embrace the Vision Plan, organize meetings and other communications to build awareness and understanding about the Vision Plan. Use the Vision Plan to guide organizational plans, take on Vision Plan projects related to organizational mission for implementation or collaboration with Town. Help foster two-way communication with the Town, organize meetings and other forms of communication to educate people about issues and provide feedback. CITIZENS Work together to create a culture of engagement, talk with friends and neighbors, make a difference. Act, vote, attend meetings. Get involved in a Vision Plan issue, volunteer. TOWN OF BREWSTER VISION PLAN • 2018 13