HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-03-09 Mineral Street Bridge Task Force MinutesMineral Street Bridge Task Force Meeting
The meeting was convened on March 9, 1994, in the Conference Room
at the Reading Public Library. All members were present. Mr.
MacDonald participated, but did not vote because he has not been
sworn in. Present as spectators were Gretchen Latowsky, Mimi
Durham, Tom Stohlman and Tom Baillie.
Mr. Goodrich announced that Jonathan Edwards could not make the
meeting. Fire Chief Woods would be present later. We need to
spend time on the McDonough & Scully proposal.
Mr. Doughty said that the Town Appraiser needs the date the
bridge was closed in order to give us the information we re-
quested.
Mr. Stohlman has newspaper articles stating the bridge was closed
July 28, 1981.
Mrs. Wood moved, Mr. Hines seconded approval of the minutes of
March 2, 1994. The vote was 7-0 in favor.
The McDonough and Scully proposal was discussed extensively.
Mrs. Wood is concerned about how we will use such a report.
Should we make the bridge decision up front and use the report as
a back up? With the bridge closed how realistic can the data be?
Mrs. Murphy feels a traffic count is essential.
Mr. Goodrich stressed that any analysis and recommendations would
be unbiased. He also pointed out that one of the charges to the
committee is to evaluate existing and projected vehicular and
pedestrian traffic.
Mr. Guarciarello questioned the consultant's track record. How
accurate have they been in the past?
Mr. Hines felt their conclusions would be like reading a crystal
ball.
Fire Chief Donald Wood entered the meeting at that time to dis-
cuss public safety needs and concerns.
He stated that on November 1, 1993, the Fire Department using the
rescue truck made a trial run from the Central Fire Station to
Tannerville via Woburn Street. There are five traffic lights.
The distance is 1.6 miles and the time was 3.50 minutes. Via
Middlesex Ave. there is one traffic light, one stop sign, and
proximity to the Public Library: The distance is .8 miles, the
time 1.55 minutes.
Mrs. Herrick asked about EMT's at West Side Station. The Chief
said that it is not always possible to have EMT's at the West
Side. When questioned about the accuracy of his response times
and mileage, the chief stated that he would not tie up apparatus
making numerous tests and that he is satisfied with his figures.
There were several statements regarding time of response to a
North Main Street resthome. Chief said that he was aware of the
problem, but there is nothing he can do about it. However, there
is something that can be done to improve the Tannerville response
time.
Mrs. Herrick asked why former Chief Redfern's statement that the
Mineral Street Bridge was not necessary in his operation does not
still hold true? Chief Wood said he cannot speak for the former
Chief but apparatus location has changed since that statement.
Before the new station was opened, the ladder truck and a pump
were stationed on the west side. Now there is only one pump and
its running card takes it to all out of town fires. Absence from
the station could run from a few minutes to several hours.
Mr. Baillie asked
adequate. Answer
minutes. There are
900 runs result in
Rescue is busy, ou
mington, or Woburn.
if current response time to Tannerville is
is no. A good response time is under 4
over 1100 ambulance runs each year and 800 to
transportation to a hospital. When Reading
t of town help comes from No. Reading, Wil-
The Chief reiterated that speaking as a public safety officer he
feels that the Mineral Street Bridge should be opened. The fire
apparatus weighs up to 15 tons and is 10 feet wide. The Mineral
Street Bridge would be used as much as possible because of pos-
sible delays at the Woburn Street railroad crossing.
Chief Wood will research the 1993 records for the number of calls
to Tannerville and the area bounded by King Street, Summer Ave.,
and Woodbine.
Back to McDonough and Scully. Mr. Slezak would like to see more
projections instead of turning counts.
Concerns were expressed as to the impact of the Inwood Park
development on cut-through traffic. What is the purpose of
manual turns? What is "no build"' condition? With the amount of
money suggested ($4000) can the consultants accurately estimate
the amount of cut-through traffic? It was decided to get answers
to these questions before we make a decision on the consultants
proposal.
Mr. Hines warned that even if we decided in favor of the study,
there is no guarantee that the money will be made available. The
meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for
March 16 at which time we expect to have Mr. Edwards and Mr.
Robertson in attendance.
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