Canton, Massachusetts · Saved source text
CantonMPSC_Minutes_04-11-19 final
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Canton Master Plan Update Steering Committee Meeting April 11, 2019, 7-9 pm Canton Public Library – Aldrich Meeting Room 786 Washington St MINUTES Present: Horsley Witten Group: Nate Kelly, Krista Moravec; McMahon Associates: Christi Apicella, Gary McNaughton Master Plan Steering Committee: David McCarthy, Gerald Carmichael, Michael McMahon, John McSweeney, Sonja Grauds, Emilio Mauro, Tom Theodore, and Tonja Mettlach Staff: Laura Smead, Town Planner Citizen: Steve Bonica Not present: Meredith McLoughlin Discussion/Homework 1. Welcome/Late Arrivals 7:00-7:05 • Meeting minutes from March unanimously accepted, 8-0 • Next meeting dates: o May 23rd meeting date cancelled since Horsley Witten Group will begin writing the plan o June 11th 2019, 7-9pm o July 17th, 2019, 7-9pm o August 27th, 2019, 7-9pm 2. Acceptance of Meeting Minutes Next meeting date 7:05-7:10 3. Public Outreach & Communication: Open House Follow Up Survey 7:10-7:20 • Online survey had 105 participants • Survey captured a younger audience, and one that has lived in Canton for less time on average than the in- person workshops • Survey responses the same in almost all areas as the in-person workshops with the following exceptions: o Less favorable for flexible parking requirements (no parking/shared parking) – some thought that people didn’t understand what this was… at the workshop an in person staff is able to explain o Less positive about new on-street parking time limits and enforcement, maybe people misinterpreted this to mean meters o Less positive about some of the images overall on the Route 138 visual preference survey; harder to do these online with no explanations o For Route 138 survey respondents were most positive about mixed use destination shopping, and indoor/outdoor recreation (same as in-person workshop) o Online survey much more positive about increasing housing around Canton Junction station than the in-person workshop group, with 56 supporting, 16 unsure, and 30 disagreeing o Survey group a little bit more favoring of
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mixed use/top of shop and townhouses than the in-person group for Town Center, Route 138, and Canton Junction o Confirmation that people really want more “third-spaces”/ gathering spaces like restaurants, indoor/outdoor recreation, bookstores, food stores, entertainment, etc. in Canton o Same top funding priorities as in-person workshop, with desire for more pedestrian infrastructure and amenities, investing in downtown streetscape, and improving recreation facilities (not necessarily in that order) 4. Transportation Focus Areas 7:20-8:15 • Detailed discussion by Christi and Gary about the in- depth traffic studies of the Pleasant Street/Washington Street intersection and the Washington/Church/Neponset Street triangle • Pleasant/Washington Street could be improved with signal timing optimization – especially after the Washington Street/Randolph Street signal is installed, a don’t block the box painting and signage, changing from an exclusive pedestrian phase to a leading pedestrian interval, and the addition of an exclusive left-turn lane on Pleasant Street; however, it was thought that the rights-of-way and utility pole issues means that the work/expense of actually doing a turn lane is probably not worth it. The situation would already be greatly improved with the first two (much less expensive measures). • Washington, Church and Neponset Street intersection could be improved in the following ways: o Signal timing optimization o Use of on-street parking lane on Washington Street for additional northbound travel lane during PM peak o Relocating the Church Street stop bar o Signal optimization and one-way Plymouth Street at Church Street, Plymouth, Street, and Neponset Street 5. Proposed Master Plan Annotated Outline 8:15-8:45 ‒ How do you feel about the structure? Does it flow well? o Committee liked the structure; there was a suggestion to title one main section “Quality Living” rather than “Healthy Living” ‒ Are there issues not addressed or wouldn’t have a home in this structure? o Laura Smead had several comments she will type up and send to Krista for discussion 6. Public Outreach & Communication 8:45-9:00 ‒ Op eds o April (David) o May (Mike)