BikeBedford.org > Minutes & Archives > Minutes > BBACSpecialMtg20030618.html
A special meeting of the Bedford Bicycle Advisory Committee was held 18th June 2003 at 4 pm in the cafeteria of the Town Center building. Notice was posted in advance as required.
Six committee members attended: Ray Ruetenik, Bob Sawyer, Don Blake, Holly Webster, Jean Hammond, and Joel Parks. Bob Evans and Mark Siegenthaler were unable to attend. Charlie Schwerin and Charlie Webster also attended. The purpose of the special meeting was to discuss the committee's advice to the Bedford Selectment concerning the proposed construction of narrow-gauge railroad track adjacent to the section of path known as the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail running along the railbed from Loomis St to Great Road, or along any other section of that railbed. Ray distributed a straw-man list he had developed identifying the assumed parameters of the project and then the safety hazards he attributed to the project. There was some discussion about consolidating the list and clarifying terms. Joel asked those present whether they agreed or disagreed with the basic premise of Ray's document. All present agreed that the presence of rails close to the path was a significant safety hazard. More discussion ensued about what advice the BBAC should provide the Selectmen. It was decided that the advice would be in the form of a letter, with our position in the body of the letter and a modified version of Ray's list provided as an attachment to the letter. Joel moved that: the letter to the Selectmen should state that unless a necessary separation as defined by AASHTO standards can be established between the path and the rails, the project should not go forward. The motion was seconded and passed 6-0. Further discussion resulted in the decision that Joel would transcribe and edit and distribute the minutes taken by Holly, and Joel would write the letter to the Selectmen, including the motion that was passed and describing the events of the meeting.Meeting adjourned at 5 pm.