 This program is brought to you by Cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you Good evening, and welcome back to byline. This is our public affairs show here at Amherst media and We pulled the show together with the help of the Amherst League of Women Voters who helps us with our programming they of course were the Generators of this show along with Amherst media last year, and it's part of our effort to help our friends and neighbors here in town Understand and follow the transition we're going through from our old form of town government to our new form of town government as a result of the charter that was approved not so many months ago and We bring in guests from town government and others Sometimes who are working on things that intersect with town government and today we have the chair of our transportation advisory committee TAC for short TAC for short and Aaron you're no stranger to town politics and an engagement You've been around the track a few times. Yeah, well, it's it started with an invitation to provide technical support to the planning board many many many years ago and that of course lasted for seven years and little stint in town meeting and the select board and The course of being well in all of course of all of that I'd maintained an interest and I was working with what when those days started out as a pedestrian and bicycle committee And became the pedestrian a bicycle and some other things committee So alternatives to our cars alternatives cars specifically it was an advocacy group. We were we were interested in assuring that the the needs of the for bicyclers and walkers were also being recognized in You know the workings of was a part of the government or people outside of the government tried to influence it It was a part of the government was it was a it was a committee. We had open meeting law and all the rest of it We had appointments from The town manager at the time and the select board. I can't remember exactly what the makeup was. It's been a while But yeah, so we were and we were working in parallel with the public works committee Whose focus was pretty much on things public works the roads the bridges and everything else and As time went on this is now. This is all before pre charter, of course. Yeah, and at some point it was understood that the work of the two committees might be more effectively handled sort of in one place and and and the idea that That new committee that newly constituted with expanded scope committee could advise The the owners of the public way at that time. It would have been the select board and today It's the town council to it give advice and try to figure out how to solve all the problems regarding The transportation along the public way specifically it's of course so this one group is now trying to integrate all the thinking and the policy making around Transportation in general whether you're talking about motorized vehicles of various sorts or bicycles Yeah, and but you won't your only advisory you don't have decision-making power Well, we we'll make decisions, of course But no decisions about the advice that we would give to and so you do decide things and when you decide them Somebody else has to say we'll go along with that or we're going to do it. Yeah, exactly. We're changing got it so the so backing a little bit up is that there are In forming this committee and doing all the work. There's a transportation study Which is more or less our guidebook. It's it's on the web. You can see it underneath the transportation advisory committee Did you do it or did somebody else do it? I can't remember the name of the consultant, but they worked very closely with a Group that was formed out of the pedestrian and bicycle committee and public works was a working was supported by the town was supported by the town and ultimately presented to town meeting and so it is it is a report that kind of identifies issues with transportation in town and I always refer back to page 44. There's a very nice matrix there that shows all of the issues and suggested timelines for fixing them How old is that document? Many years or four or five years now. Okay, so it's still it's still vibrant. It is still vibrant and it's certainly something that we think about Since then subsequent to that there was an add-on a realization that while we were had a good understanding or a sense of a good understanding of transportation issues in town there was no good mechanism for Moving off of the the ideas Into you know real plans and we're planning sort of action to what are you going to do? Yeah, how are you going to budget for how are you going to take decisions about what goes next? And that's that is where the the transportation advisory committee was formed the That's so to take those ideas in that study those planning elements and turn them into Things that could be actionable and you act things that would be acted upon by somebody in town who had the authority to act on them Exactly, and there are there were several different models that we looked at Our problems in Amherst are not unique You know all of the other towns in the country in the world are dealing with these things the question Really is how to do it here, you know given You know Given the government given the values the values of the town and the people in the town Yeah, what are the goals for the town each town has a different way they're going So the Eventually there was a little advisory committee that said this is the model Transportation advisory committee is the model that seems to fit Amherst the best and so and so here we are and Since then You know as we've been doing our work and you're gonna ask me about that in a second We have realized my mind. It's funny how that happens. Yes We realized that we really weren't talking about the two networks that everybody thinks of everybody thinks about cars and not cars yeah, and in fact in trying to untangle the issues and solve the problems of How to deal with the roadways? There are five networks that we are that we're thinking about and have to be accommodated There's the you know cars of course and that's most of us interact with our transportation network in our car going from here to there Related to the cars are and just basic transportation is mass transit So a bus stop is a significant thing a bus You know accommodating a bus a bus a bus route Stop these are all important things that you really do need to plan for and think about when you're changing a road There's also commerce The trucks that are delivering, you know our groceries or our you know laundry or whatever it is Downtown they need to be accommodated as well and their requirements are different than People parking for to go in and visit a store their parking is you know any event And then there is the bicyclers and bicycle lanes and you know, that's how they're accommodated and last but not least are the pedestrians and So in developing thinking about all of those networks You know we Understand and I'm hoping that we're forming our advice In understanding the relationship between them so One of the the projects that we've completed and presented to the the town council last year was a complete streets policy and so our work Now explain what a complete streets Policy is about well, where did that term come from the the complete streets? concept is Actually, there's a federal there's a national understanding of complete streets the state Massachusetts has a complete streets program that offers assistance to towns who want to adhere to that Complete streets concept a complete street is one that accommodates now. They really integrate the transportation needs of all five all five of them They really consider four but in creating which one do they leave out they leave out commerce They leave out the trucks just just people you know sort of mix that in with but So The state says if you're going to be a complete street Town and you are eligible for the the support to do these kinds of projects. You need a policy. Well Okay, you know we can we know to put that draft together and so we We spent a number of months Understanding what the state required because we really do want to make sure that whatever we came up with Satisfied the state of course But as importantly and really where most of our work was It was in interpreting those requirements to Amherst Amherst is not It is unique in many ways I mean we have some very special challenges here as far as transportation is involved out Something about a large school down the street that doubles our population during the school year Being a significant part of that which is unusual and unique to us But every community has their unique aspects and and elements. So yeah, yeah, and and maybe it's a little bit We have yeah, you've highlighted at least one of our Situations and there are other communities in the state that have large college populations So they might have some of the same and you know while I I do so it's not a pejorative It's not yeah, yeah, it's not a pejorative It's it's it's the reality of our community and how it's it's comprised And and who's here and when they're here and how they and then the values that undergird the community Well exactly and that's that's reading my mind now Okay, the the others about the other part of the complete streets policy and and this these ideas Really get into everything that we do at some point our complete streets policy includes recognition for Conserving open space and you know natural resources, which is not a requirement, but something that we certainly value about that It's something we're value Handicapped access trees. I mean, you know, we really do want to you know We understand we appreciate the support that the Public Shade Tree Committee gets and Want to be part of that so that's that was one project that that we've done that kind of folded all of those things in another thing that we're working on Is a Tool trying to create a tool that will help us guide Our advice our advising We one of our the functions that we're trying to encourage trying to you know grow is Our engagement with the public so, you know ideas concerns observations that You know our neighbors would have about Transportation, you know, we're really anxious to get them and and you know To develop our advice based on that So in receiving those You know letters comments if people are invited to the meeting, of course do come on Wednesdays once the evening We've been working on Don't want to be too use so many buzzwords, but we're gonna matrix so that if we have a Project we have an idea we want this We wanted to be able to understand How valuable that is compared to all of the other things that might be in the queue and so we could rank it and say Prioritize you know Guilford. This is next you know do this one next town council. This is a big one do this one So this one Is that let's focus on Sidewalks all across town or let's focus on crosswalks or is it focusing on one particular sidewalk or one particular Crosswalk for some reason that you should prioritize this one at this time This tool is for this piece of sidewalk for that crosswalk. Okay There are other projects that we're trying to that we're working on Like understanding what all of the side what what? Sidewalks do we need and where in the existing sidewalk network other deficiencies? Where is it missing? Where is it poorly maintained? where Do people really use it and would use it if it was repaired or existed? So we try that's a different sort of long, but there's the short term. You know, hey, I need and so those Individual short-term projects can inform the broader policy in that particular category because you start to see patterns of Where people are looking for sidewalks or crosswalks or the types of problems that have been consistently communicated with regard to the Viability of how our site our crosswalks are constructed Etc. Etc. So those small pieces you can fix one thing at a time But while you're doing that you're also aggregating the information that helps you figure out what the town's well Overall vision or policy should be for that area. Is that a fair way to that's a fair way or summarizing it and and the idea is that This little piece Becomes a priority if it's really moving us in the direction that we want to go Okay, I mean some things might be valuable in and of themselves, but it helps if they're part of a bigger piece like, you know like a fund request or you know grant request Or hey, you know this this little piece in the sidewalk will make it easier for students to walk to this school I mean, this is a you know It becomes a priority in the long range of things So and so people bring you these ideas all the time and you're trying to create a portal for them to Know exactly where to go to bring you these ideas. Is that part of what's going on there exactly the idea So one of the exciting things about committee work And I'm not sure how many people can get excited about committee work because it is hard work But it's very it can be exciting and very engaging is that when these things come to us We are we're in a very good place and and every committee in their own way has the same place We're in a very good place to understand Well trends sort of sort of assemble community values and and really begin to make our give our advice Sort of you know that will move us in a good direction and one of the things that we've noticed is that And it's this is you know seems very simple to say it but it's I think it's not said enough is that where Things are changing The transportation network has to change Okay, duh The and and what has been recurring in our meetings is that where there are Where there is new development where there are new houses there now there are Students who are going to school from a new place that there where there hadn't been houses before and so now we need to begin to think about Is this the right place for the bus stop should there be a crosswalk there or a light or a roundabout or something else? so that's all that's exciting that's kind of it's it's interesting to watch that and To engage my colleagues on the on the committee in Figuring it out and then and then again with anybody who said anybody who comes to our meeting of course We try to engage you guys spend a lot of time with maps We spend a lot of drawing things and we spend a lot of time with with with graphs and matrixes and And we spend some time with the engineering manuals for Roadways AASHTO AASHTO and all of sign regulation and all of that kind of stuff and trying to pull it together ultimately to prioritize You know so again those ideas that I come to us how what what's one goes first and why and that's the why is very important because You know really you know fact-based sort of fundamental understanding of what we need is And so in in in most towns when you see a pothole and you're really ticked off about it you either call The town administrator that you call the mayor or you call your town council or So like people are calling you saying can you fix my pothole? Not quite not quite now. So I Just want to say to everybody if you have a question for the transportation committee Just to you know to send a note to the public works group I think I don't know our email address. I have to apologize for that. They could find it online. They can find it online Yeah, and our website Basically, you know, we're happy to address any note that we get the vast majority of them really don't need us They're not appropriate for us. Yeah potholes. No, we don't know potholes. Not our department not not our department But a stop sign might be a stop sign might be and it turns out stop signs are much more complicated than One could imagine it really is a safety device and and But if somebody calls you about a stop sign What what you're doing is looking at it thinking about blah blah blah blah blah blah And then you go and you talk with with the DPW Because ultimately it's not your decision whether they should be at stop sign But you might have some valuable input for the DPW As they consider the competing requests for stop signs and and I'm relying on the DPW to You know help this note and say this is a pothole. We're not going to bring that to the meeting. Yeah Oh, this is a stop sign. We need to think about this. Here's a report of speed. Is your committee staffed? You know, I am very appreciative to the town manager for the staff that we get we have Guilford mooring sits with us and Chris Bestrup sits with us and I think that's a recognition to good people to great people and also You know, I'm right. You know appreciate the recognition that Transportation does affect sort of the daily operations what public works is doing not the potholes specifically but where the curb is going to be installed and repave this piece of road and As the town grows and changes it really is there are planning aspects And so both of them bring us, you know, very valuable resources to help us understand and to Prioritize projects and to create these guidelines. So yes, if you have a crosswalk, this is how you do it Where does the tack fit into with regard to the discussion on parking and parking garages? Not easily so parking. Are you in that picture in that debate? We're not really There's while our charge includes parking Our sense is that does not include parking downtown because that's very separate. That's not a transportation issue so much as a logistics commercial issue sort of beyond the boundary of The downtown and and maybe out of outside of the town centers We imagine that there would be a role for us to talk about parking and in fact I hope to engage in that a little bit Where especially we're parking interferes with bicycle routes or or a pedestrian. There's some some tension there But so yeah, we're we're that sets a little bit beyond us So you're on the edge of that conversation But you're not you're not like avoiding it completely you realize there's some connection Yeah, we're looking we're watching not it's not your it's not at the heart of your work You have something just you can have something to say about it along the way and we may and you may because it does affect our ability to integrate our transportation Networks as you call them at the beginning the five so in the few minutes we have left can you I know this is probably gonna Be hard, but can you pick? One or two things that you think are the most critical things that We need as a community to think about in relation to our transportation because you know a lot of people are saying you know Climate change we got to get rid of those cars. We got to get rid of those Things that are polluting our atmosphere and there are choices to be made, you know Electric buses are a great idea, but not all buses are electric All right, well the so the transportation side. It's a little bit difficult To engage with the environment side really it's about getting from point A to point B and yes But there are values inherent in that conversation Very much and and in any way that we can support for instance keeping a tree alive In with a design change. That's that's good or you know improve the amount of time it takes to cross an intersection That's you know, we're all for that and I certainly support the idea of converting to electric vehicles or even making a way for shared devices bicycles for instance Excuse me have some water. Oh, that was a good idea but I Know our viewers think it's vodka, but it really is water You were not supposed to give The our number one our number one concern is Safety is the safety of of the networks not only for The individual for that the car or the bus or the trucker the bicycle pedestrian, but also where they cross and so That's that's paramount and then then comes Very close There's also the utility of it, you know, it really does need to do What we need it to do it needs to make it easy for us to get from here to there Whether we're walking our dog doing something recreational whether we're walking downtown Because we'd really rather leave our car at home Whether, you know, we're gonna hop on a bicycle and and you know ride this stretch on the bicycle instead that that's all very important and we a Big part of our at our work is advocacy for improving and making more attractive the Non-automobile transportation bikes and walking really if we can do that We solve a lot of transportation problems, you know bikes take up much less room than cars You know now we have room for other things in that that way So and that would be an environmental thing. It's also it turns out a huge health benefit You know in this day and age when we're worried about our health and obesity and all to have a Place that encourages walking to go for about your daily, you know chores That's very valuable. So that's not a lot of bicycling both of which are good for your health and Sort of as a side benefit to that if if it's a good place to walk or ride your bike It's probably going to be handicapped accessible. So people who have limited mobility Should be able to use those as well and if they're well-designed, you know the handles can be done everybody. Yeah Great, we really are interested in getting everybody out. So we got a little over a minute left Do you have a final point that you would really like to drive home that? We haven't Emphasized enough for you. Oh, yes hundreds of them. No really in short, you know keep your cards and letters coming Do be in touch with us come to our meetings Join committees now it's it's committee work can be exciting and Are there any openings on your committee if anybody wants to do that not at the moment There are plenty of other committees any rotation coming up. Yes, it will be in June Like I don't remember exactly if it's okay to start three slots. Okay, so if you're interested You could a lot of application and and who knows you might find that one of the existing committee members is That they're ready to move on to something else and and so they may be a vacancy or two There you go. Well, that'd be great. Well, thank you so much for coming on and and sharing your enthusiasm for transportation thinking and planning here in town and You know who thought it could be so exciting and so engaging well Thank you for making it so well keep up the good work. Well, thanks for joining us