Safe Routes to Schools

Safe Routes to Schools Core Group Meeting

Thursday, January 8, 2015 at the London Council Chambers

Dave Brand opened the meeting at 10:10 a.m. In attendance were Tom Ben, Julia Cumming, Jake Froning, Steve Hume, Wayne Roberts, and Brand. Chief David Wiseman was absent.

Dave Brand presented the results of his preliminary engineering. He recommended that the centerline of the path stays approximately 35 feet from the property line in order to avoid some trees, the small dip along the property line and the appearance of crowding. Once the path approaches the basin along the road, it could either curve to join the existing path next to the school lane, or go straight to the road. Dave Brand said it did not appear that there were any plans for the use of the fields that would conflict with the path as proposed. Tom said that he would like to show the plan to the board and ask them to walk it. He said that the next meeting was Tuesday, January 13th.

Steve Hume said that he did not send the letter to the landowners in December. The committee decided to reschedule the meeting for January 26th from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The committee discussed the format of the open house. Copies of the plan will be available on one of the tables. Maps of the proposed trail and London’s development plan will also be displayed. Depending on the audience, a 15 minute question and answer period may be incorporated at the end of the meeting. Otherwise, committee members will be available for one on one discussion. It will be noted that the travel plan has been approved by ODOT already, so this plan is only going to be tweaked – we are not starting over. The public will be informed which projects have been completed, which are in progress, and what are the proposed priority projects for the next grant application. The public will have an opportunity to give comments at the meeting or mail them to Steve Hume within two weeks of the meeting.

The committee reviewed the assignments that were listed on SharePoint. Steve Hume said that he will send out the letters and public notice today. Julia volunteered to create a fact sheet that the committee members and the Press can use for outreach. Dave said that Kristy Zurbrick is interested in writing an article on behalf of the Safe Routes to School committee to explain to the public what Safe Routes to School is and how it benefits the community. Rob and Val will be asked to help with the posters, such as the proposed path along the school property and a blow up of Park Avenue so that we can see the sidewalks (or lack thereof).

The safety and speed signs are still not functioning properly. Dave Brand has tried contacting ODOT, but he is not getting a response from them. Steve Hume said that the lights are part of the contract and they will get fixed

The next Safe Routes Committee meeting is Thursday, January 26th after the open house. Meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.