12-16-20-Bicycle-Pedestrian-agenda-minutes
Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee meeting
7:30 AM to 8:55 AM, Wednesday December 16, 2020
This meeting is being held remotely because of Covid-19
https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/95381030026
Call in (if no internet access) 646-876-9923 (Meeting #953 8103 0026)
MEMBERS
Debin Bruce Maggie Chan (DPW) Michael DiPasquale
Wayne Feiden (Plan) Eric Boudreau James Lowenthal (7:55 PM)
Nick Horton Brett Constantine
1. Public Comment- Albert Carter spoke and suggested that the City consider a Netherlands
style wayfinding system for bicycle routes and trails.
2. October 21, 2020 minutes- Upon motion by Nick Horton and second by Eric Boudreau, the
subcommittee voted unanimously to endorse the minutes.
3. ValleyBike—Nick Horton introduced and Jessica Yu presented the findings of Amherst
College students analyzing the ValleyBike data under a National Science Foundation data
analysis grant. The story has also been shared with the ValleyBike steering committee to help
with priority setting for expanding ValleyBike.
4. Picture Main Street complete streets project- The city’s consultant is evaluating comments
from last public forum before the City can schedule the next outreach and public forum.
5. Northampton One/MassTrails current grant- The City just obtained the signed $50,000 grant
for the project and now has to identify the exact route and what how the funds will be used.
6. MassTrails proposed grants (canoe trail AND trail app)- The City is applying for grants for
both making the Connecticut River canoe trail safer and, with regional partners, developing a
regional trail app.
7. State Hospital shared use trail planning—Smith College engineer students are working on a
concept plan of the shared use trail from Village Hill to Federal Street.
8. Bridge St Safe Routes to School—The project has reached a preliminary plan level and we
expect the 25% plans late in 2021, but the dates are very preliminary.
9. Other current and planned projects—Debin Bruce stressed the need for improved sidewalks.
Maggie Chan explained the DPW assessment to ensure that sidewalk gaps and sidewalk
deficiencies are prioritized based on technical criteria to remove politics.
10. Next meeting: Wednesday, January 20, 2021
11. Adjourn at 8:50 AM.