I wonder if the Cambridge water department might be more receptive if the proposal was for an 'unpaved' path?
-Bob On Thursday, September 19, 2024, Sara Mattes <[email protected]> wrote: > Agree with all your points, but this is not simply the City of Cambridge, > it is the city Water Department, and part of the Cambridge Watershed. > So, there is no such thing as the ability to do a taking/eminent domain. > In addition, the town has repeatedly declined to do so on private property > throughout town. > > Back in the early 2000s, and the early days of the RTC, we did a town-wide > roadway plan for roadway improvements. > Then, we were in regular dialog with Cambridge. > They were helpful in that they agreed to clear out understory brush on the > corner so as to improve sightline at the stop sign on the south side of Old > County…but that was about it. > Ken Bassett was the liaison from the RTC to Cambridge. > > But that was then….. > > > > On Sep 19, 2024, at 1:29 PM, Tim Mangini <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thank you for that background, Bob. Very helpful. A couple points in > response. > > > - When was the last time Lincoln reached out to the City of Cambridge? > - My naivete I am sure, but does the town not have some sort of > eminent domain rights to put in a sidewalk? > - I think it is entirely possible that individuals from Old County > Road and Trapelo Road did not attend a meeting on this subject, however I > and other concerned neighbors in the area weighed in on the BPAC master > plan as it was being created via what I remember as being an on-line > process. > - Also, this seems to me to be much more than a neighborhood issue and > more of a safety issue. Much like a crosswalk at Route 2, which you > wouldn’t expect to be primarily a neighborhood driven issue. > - That particular stretch of Trapelo road is traversed by bike and on > foot by a huge number of residents and non-residents who do not live > immediately nearby. > - It is primarily a safety issue. > - It is heavily trafficked > - There can be no safe place to walk or ride a bike for 2-3 months > of the year due to snow banks meaning they are sharing the roadway with > fast-moving traffic. > - In the winter the morning sun comes directly into the Boston > bound driver’s eyes > > > tim > ----- > > > *From: *Bob Wolf <[email protected]> > *Date: *Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 3:06 PM > *To: *Collette Sizer <[email protected]> > *Cc: *Tim Mangini <[email protected]>, Listserv Listserv < > [email protected]> > *Subject: *Re: [LincolnTalk] Roadway plan > Tim, Collette > To clarify and confirm a few points. > > - There have been multiple efforts over the years to extend the > Trapelo roadside path to Old County Road. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory > Committee recognized the points you have made early, and an extension of > the path was included in its master plan. Any extension, however, would > cross land owned by Cambridge as reservoir buffer and require their > agreement and easement, things they’ve been unwilling to grant. The 5 year > plan is a statement of what the town believes *we are able to address*, > and the roadside path extension is not possible at this time. The plan will > be reviewed and extended annually, however. We can hope circumstances > change and the extension can be added in the future. > - BPAC did not hear from the Old County Road neighborhood during our > work on the master plan, but we intend it to be a “living document” and to > be edited in light of new findings. We would be happy to hear from Old > County Road neighbors during the public comment period at one of our > meetings. Our next one is scheduled for the evening of Thursday 9/26. > Agenda will likely be out Tuesday. Future meetings will be posted in the > town calendar. > > > I wish the news on the Trapelo roadside path extension were better. > > Take care, > > Bob Wolf > BPAC member > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/ > mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > > >
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