Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee
Regular MeetingSalem, MA · December 4, 2024
Minutes
Meeting Minutes
Salem Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 | 6:30 p.m.
City Hall Annex 1st Floor Meeting Room & Via Remote Participation
Members Present: John Wathne (Chair), Matt Caruso, Emmylou Manwill, Walter
Morrell, Cat Seiferth, Connor Ryan, Annie Wolf, Josh Nagle,
Charlie Heaps
Members Absent: Kevin Jordan, Paul Carson
Also Present: Tom Devine, Senior Planner
Call Meeting to Order
Wathne calls the meeting to order.
Public Comment
Wathne opens the meeting to public comment and there is none.
Staff Update
Devine announces that Kevin Jordan was recently appointed to the Committee.
Although he is not present tonight, he introduced himself at a previous meeting prior to
joining the Committee. He is new to Salem and lives on Gardner Street. He commutes
by train and bike. He is interested in transportation policy, such as the proposed
prohibition of right turn on red.
MassDOT Bridge Street Project
Documents reviewed:
• Bridge Street (Route 107) Reconstruction, Salem, MA, slide deck, presented by
MassDOT on 11/7/2024.
• Notes from 11/7/2024 MassDOT Bridge Street, prepared by Cat Seiferth.
Devine presents the plans included in MassDOT’s slides from its November 7 public
meeting and Seiferth summarizes the meeting and questions and answers. The group
discusses their concerns about the limited geographic scope and how the project does
not adequately connect to surrounding roads, paths, and destinations. The group
considers issuing a comment letter.
Safe Streets for All Action Plan
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Nagle and Seiferth attended the recent Safe Street for All Action Plan Task Force
meeting and provide an update.
Bike Share Data and Program Updates
Document referenced: Salem Bluebikes Data through 11/30/2024, slide deck.
Devine presents the November Bluebikes ridership data, showing the expected drop in
ridership following the October peak. He also reports that the stations at the Ferry
Terminal and Salem Willows will soon be taken offline for their annual winter
hibernation.
Event Planning
The group discusses how to plan events when only meeting monthly. Devine reiterates
that the City’s legal staff have advised that the Bike Committee can meet to discuss
event planning outside of the posted meetings.
Bike Passes for Commuter Rail
Manwill has heard about a program for allowing bikes on the Commuter Rail, but wishes
to discuss at the next meeting when she obtains more information.
Bike Parking Ordinance
Devine met to discuss the Bike Parking Ordinance with Councilor Cohen. Cohen is
interested in working with volunteers from the Bike Committee to continue the work to
develop the ordinance. Wolf, Seiferth, and Manwill volunteer. Devine will let Cohen
know so that the group can coordinate.
Review of 2025 Meeting Schedule
Devine presents the proposed monthly meeting schedule for 2025. It includes 6:30 p.m.
meetings every first Wednesday of the month except when avoiding holidays. The
group has no objections to the schedule.
Meeting Minutes
Caruso motions and Ryan seconds to approve the 7/3/2024 meeting minutes and all
vote in favor.
Adjourn
Manwill motions and Wolf seconds to adjourn at 7:42 pm and all vote in favor.
2
***
Approved by the Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory Committee on 4/2/2025.
3
Agenda
City of Salem
BICYCLING & SHARED PATH ADVISORY COMMITTEE
NOTICE OF MEETING
Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Bicycling & Shared Path Advisory
Committee will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in person at
the City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street, First Floor Medium Conference Room
and via remote participation in accordance with a Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023.
In-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted and the public may also
participate, listen and/or view this meeting while in progress via the remote participation
platform Zoom, through any one of the following ways:
Watching the Public Meeting Remotely:
• Follow this direct link or go to: https://zoom.us/ and enter meeting ID 823 6544
8291 prompted.
• Participants can dial toll-free 877-853-5257 and enter meeting ID 823 6544
8291 when prompted.
Providing Public Comment Remotely During the Meeting
Members of the public attending this meeting virtually will be allowed to make comments
during the portion of the hearing designated for each agenda item. Members of the public will
be asked to use the virtual “Raise Hand” function in Zoom to indicate that they would like to
provide comment.
• Dial *9 on your phone’s dial pad to raise your hand if you are using the toll-free phone
number.
• Click the “raise hand” button if you are using the Zoom application on your computer
or phone.
For each agenda item, the moderator will identify attendees with raised hands by their
screenname or the last 3 digits of their telephone number and will then unmute them. The
moderator will then request that the attendee unmute their device to provide their full name,
address, and comment for the record.
The moderator will go down the list of attendees in the order presented by the Zoom
application.
Providing Public Comment Before the Meeting
Members of the public can alternatively email their comment no later than three hours before
the start of the meeting to: tdevine@salem.com
Familiarizing Yourself with Zoom
We encourage members of the public to install and familiarize themselves with Zoom in
advance of the meeting.
If you plan on providing public comment and are logging into this meeting via the Zoom
application, please test your speakers and microphone ahead of time. If we have trouble
98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 978-619-5685 salem.com
hearing you when you speak, we will move on to the next person and try to return to you
later in the list. If this happens, we recommend that you call the toll-free number to access the
meeting and provide your comment.
The Zoom meeting will open 15 minutes before the start of the meeting to allow participants
to connect and practice with the audio and raise hand functions.
MEETING AGENDA
1. Call Meeting to Order
2. Public Comment
3. Staff Update
4. Discussion of Bicycling Infrastructure & Initiatives
a. MassDOT Bridge Street Project
b. Safe Routes for All Action Plan
c. Bikeshare Data and Program Updates
d. Event Planning
e. Bike Passes for Commuter Rail
f. Bike Parking Ordinance
5. Other Business
a. Review of 2024 Meeting Schedule
b. Meeting Minutes
6. Adjourn
Know your rights under the Open Meeting Law, Massachusetts General Law Chapter 30A Sections
18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033
98 Washington Street Salem, Massachusetts 01970 978-619-5685 salem.com
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