CENTER CITY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
November 1, 2005

Present: Colleen Cox, Larry Field, Marshall Field, Sara Khun, Ken Lavallee, Janet Leggat, Bill Lipchitz, LZ Nunn, Jeanne Osborn, Molly Sheehy, Russ Smith, and Terry Williams.
Special Guest: Mario Madrid, City Traffic Engineer.

The meeting opened at 8:35 AM.

City Traffic Engineer Mario Madrid went over some of the issues regarding traffic flow and parking. In response to a question about the last traffic study, done by Pinoni of New Hampshire during the development of the Downtown Master Plan, Mario said that the consultant’s recommendations were limited to adjusting the timing of the lights, rather than dealing with direction changes or new routes around the downtown. The City is using software that controls the lights, and that can be adjusted by Mario in terms of light cycles and length of time the light is on. He is looking at rush hour backups on Prescott Street, Central Street and Merrimack Street. The timing could be automatically adjusted for walk lights at some intersections (like Dutton and Merrimack) or could be used in “free” mode.

He said jaywalkers can affect traffic flow, since they often don’t wait for the right light to cross and usually don’t use the corner walk lanes. Larry Field asked if it were possible to mark the crosswalks better, and Marshall Field suggested that putting up signs prohibiting taking a left turn on red at the intersections of Central and Merrimack and Palmer and Merrimack could help pedestrians use the proper crosswalks.

A subsequent discussion of crosswalks in general resulted in a suggestion that the Traffic Engineer do a study of how all the crosswalks in the downtown are used or not used, to see if downtown can be more pedestrian friendly while smoothing traffic flow. For example, at Central and Merrimack, the street is paved with cobblestones, which are hard to paint, but the crosswalk could possibly be marked in some other way. He said that crosswalks are actually painted by the Police Department Sign Shop personnel, not his office.

Jeanne Osborn asked about the parking ordinance that prohibits on-street parking on Middle and Market Streets from 2AM to 6AM between December 1st and March 31st. As a resident of Middle Street, she asked why, if there is no snow in the forecast, should cars be ticketed overnight. Ken Lavallee said that it is a safety and a expediency issue, because if it does snow in spite of the forecast, cars have to be towed before plowing can begin. Mario said perhaps certain steeets can be removed from the ordinance, since the living patterns in the downtown have changed so much lately, and that he would refer it to Asst. City Manager T.J. McCarthy to take a look at it. Jeanne said a main reason for residents to park on the street rather than the garages, is that people don’t want to walk to and from the garage very late at night or in very cold weather. Some members said they remembered Parking Director Chuck Carney saying there was an escort service from the garage available to residents, and asked if he could come to the next meeting and talk about it.

LZ said that Destination World – India will be held Thursday, November 3rd from 5PM to 9PM, starting at the Visitors Center. Her staff has been in touch with a lot of groups in th suburbs who will be participating in the celebration. At 5:15 PM there will be a play about India at the Lowell Five Stage, and stories about India at the Visitors Center. At 7PM there will be dancing and Yoga demonstrations, and a film by Nick Day of New York called “Shortcut to Nirvanna” followed by a discussion with the filmmaker. The Revolving Museum will also have an Indian Boutique, and the Bombay Mahal Restaurant will have authentic food (as they always do).

She said the Holiday Parade on November 26th will have a float featuring Destination World and the various countries involved. She also has a standard radio time on WUML every Thursday at 7:23 AM where she will be showcasing artists of Lowell.

LZ also reminded folks that the Lowell Five is hosting an official viewing party for the airing of the TV Diner Show on November 12th from 6 to 8 PM at the Bank.

Bill said that he was unaware last week at the monthly meeting of stakeholder organizations that meeting on the last Tuesday in November will conflict with the Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. It was agreed to change the CCC Monthly meeting to Tuesday, November 22nd at a place to be determined (The MCC Federal Building may not be available).

The meeting adjourned at 9:30 AM.