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Home My Public Portal About2020-10-13 Arlington St. Bike Lane Striping Subject Fw:Arlington St. From Kounelis,Angeline To Pronovost,Marilyn Cc Town Councilors; Driscoll,Michael;Magoon,Steven;Tracy,Thomas Sent Tuesday,October 13,2020 9:27 PM Attachments <<See Attachments Below Hello Marilyn, Herein please find Requests for Information, dated 10/13/2020 and 10/10/2020, as submitted into the record at the Town Council Meeting on 10/13/2020. Please include this transmittal, in its entirety, in the minutes of said Meeting. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Kounelis,Angeline Sent:Tuesday, October 13, 2020 7:35 AM To: Driscoll, Michael; Magoon, Steven Cc:Town Councilors;Tracy,Thomas; DPW; Wiener, Laura Subject: Re: Arlington St. Messrs. Driscoll and Magoon, Visual observations of the pavement markings on Arlington St., do not denote markings for a northbound bike lane. Please explain the logic behind a one direction bike lane; only in the southbound direction. In my opinion: a possible narrower northbound, shared travel lane, will create a greater "bicycle level of stress", than is currently perceived to exist; by the standards of the Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Report. I anticipate that the design specifications, that I have requested, will be enlightening. Also, please advise of the costs associated with the Arlington St. Bike Lane Project. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Kounelis,Angeline Sent:Saturday, October 10, 2020 5:28 PM To: Driscoll, Michael; Magoon, Steven Cc:Town Councilors;Tracy,Thomas; Wiener, Laura; DPW Subject: Re: Arlington St. Messrs. Driscoll and Magoon, When you have the opportunity, please supply factual documents for the existing and proposed conditions of Arlington St. Inclusive of all dimensions; design specifications and typical sections for the entire span of the Arlington St. corridor; within the bike lane project limits. I am unable to locate any plans for the Arlington St. Bike Lane on the DPW Website. Also, please advise as to the "routine maintenance projects", on Arlington St. that prompted the bike lane installation. Could it be the periodic line painting? Visual observations of the pavement markings, indicate that the center-line will be shifted to the east; in order to accommodate the southbound bike lane, sharrows and buffered bicycle lane. In the area of the 175-191 & 201-203 Arlington St., commercial block; patron drop-off and delivery vehicles have been known to double park. Also, large tractor-trailers, back into the loading dock, protruding into the northbound travel lane. Please advise the following: httD://watertown.DatriotDroDerties.com/Summarv.asD?AccountNumber=3313 httD://watertown.DatriotDror)erties.com/Summarv.asD?AccountNumber=3311 • Will the northbound travel lane be narrowed; causing delivery trucks into the southbound travel lane? • How will motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians be protected, while maneuvering shifting lanes, when double parked delivery vehicles are conducting business in the northbound lane? • How will residential abutters, on the west side of the street, safely egress their driveways, while traversing the multiple lanes and double parked adjacent delivery vehicles? • In the aforesaid scenarios, and project limits; are all sight lines unobstructed? Conceptual endorsement of the Comprehensive Plan, that I did not accept, and Complete Streets are not adequate in scope to respond to concerns of area residents. Apologies if the design plans have previously been submitted. As I stated on Oct. 7t": please refresh my memory. In addition, it would be advantageous to have a hard-copy of the Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Report. Thank you. httDS://www.watertown-ma.aov/DocumentCenter/View/30236/2020-10-13-PLAN NING---Bicvcle-Pedestrian-Plan- Report Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Kounelis,Angeline Sent: Friday, October 9, 2020 7:57 AM To: Kounelis,Angeline Subject: Re: Arlington St. Greetings East Enders, Many of you have viewed and inquired about the pavement markings and scoring of Arlington St.; from the area of Grove St. to Arsenal St. Social media is abuzz with conversations. Unbeknownst to myself, and others, Watertown's Administration has chosen to prematurely set forth a plan for proposed bike lanes; as outlined on page 2-14 of the Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Report. I have brought my concerns to the attention of the Administration; but have no authority to intervene. Staff directly reports to the Town Manager; not to the Town Council. httos://www.watertown-ma.aov/DocumentCenter/View/30236/2020-10-13-PLAN NING---Bicvcle-Pedestrian-Plan- Report On Tuesday, Oct. 13t", 2020, the Town Council will convene at 7:00 P.M. Agenda Item: 10. B., under: Communications from the Town Manager, is the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Report. A statement, noted in the cover sheet of the report, under the signature of Town Manager Michael 1. Driscoll, is as follows: ".....respectfully request the matter be referred to Committee for policy consideration and guidance from the Honorable Town Council." httDs://www.watertown-ma.aov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/4945 httns://www.watertown-ma.aov/DocumentCenter/View/30236/2020-10-13-PLAN NING---Bicvcle-Pedestrian-Plan- Report If the Town Council affirmatively votes to refer the Report to Committee; there will be an open public process to review and discuss the Draft Plans. The Committee will then make recommendations to the Town Council, for an open public process, prior to a vote. In my opinion, the untimely public-way pavement markings, authorized by the Administration, are a blatant disregard for process and disrespect for the Legislative Body that you elected. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you From: Kounelis,Angeline Sent:Wednesday, October 7, 2020 1:36 PM To: Driscoll, Michael; Magoon, Steven Cc: DPW1;Tracy,Thomas;Town Councilors Subject: Arlington St. Messrs. Driscoll and Magoon, When you have the opportunity, please refresh my memory. There are street markings on Arlington St., noting a reconfiguration. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you f r � _ I _ From: Driscoll.Michael To: Osmond.Marsha;Hand,JoAnna Cc: Dent.Heads;Comm Dev&Develooe;DPW1 Subject: Arlington Street Date: Friday,October 09,2020 12:49:07 PM Please include in today's Misc Items to Council. From: Magoon, Steven Sent: Friday, October 09, 2020 12:44 PM To: Driscoll, Michael <mdriscoll@watertown-ma.gov> Cc: DPW1 <DPW1@watertown-ma.gov>; Tracy, Thomas<ttracy@watertown-ma.gov>; Wiener, Laura <Iwiener@watertown-ma.gov>; Shuman, Matthew<mshuman@watertown-ma.gov>; Duffy, Kevin <kduffy@watertown-ma.gov>; Hand,JoAnna <jhand@watertown-ma.gov>; Osmond, Marsha <mosmond @watertown-ma.gov> Subject: RE: Arlington St. In response to the Councilor's request, the road striping efforts are being done on Arlington Street and do include a bike lane on the southbound side. As background, the road striping efforts are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, which included a Complete Streets endorsement. Further, the Council previously adopted a Complete Streets policy which includes guidance to incorporate multi-modal improvements into all of our road work, including any opportunities to incorporate these design elements when we are doing routine maintenance projects. As part of the Complete Streets process, a Complete Streets Committee was created, which includes representatives from a number of Departments as well as the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. This Committee has reviewed several work efforts of the Department of Public Works to ensure that they consider opportunities to enhance all modes of transportation, including bicycles and pedestrians. Additionally, as staff began to draft the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, we included any known projects that the Department of Public Works had slated to be done. Further, this road painting does not involve the elimination of any parking or travel lanes, so it did not get presented to any other boards or commissions. Unfortunately, staff did not communicate to the Council that this work was going to be done. I fully recognize and appreciate that Councilors can't help explain things going on in Town if they themselves are not informed first. Therefore, I will work with the Department of Public Works to improve our efforts to make sure that activities are effectively communicated to the Council going forward. From: Kounelis,Angeline Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2020 1:36 PM To: Driscoll, Michael <mdriscoll(@watertown-ma.gov>; Magoon, Steven <smaLyoon(@watertown- ma.gov> Cc: DPW1 <DPW1(@watertown-ma.eov>;Tracy, Thomas<ttracv(@watertown-ma.gov>;Town Councilors<TownCouncilors(@watertown-ma.Lyov> Subject:Arlington St. Messrs. Driscoll and Magoon, When you have the opportunity, please refresh my memory. There are street markings on Arlington St., noting a reconfiguration. Thank you. Best, Angie Angeline B. Kounelis District A, East End, Town Councilor The City Known as the Town of Watertown 617-926-2352 All electronic mail to and from this City address should be considered subject to Massachusetts Public Records Laws. Thank you