Hello everyone, I just wanted to let you know that Leo Keightley (a Waltham resident) submitted the petition for separated bike infrastructure on Lexington/Waltham street to the Clerk of the Waltham Traffic Commission (Frank Lombardo), a Waltham Traffic Engineer (J. Michael Garvin), and the director of the Waltham Planning Department (Catherine Cagle) on April 27. I am a Lexington resident, and I submitted the petition to the Lexington Board of Selectmen and copied the director of the Lexington DPW (David Pinsonneault), a Town Engineer (John Livsey), and the Assistant Planning Director (David Kucharsky), on May 1. So far, we have received the following response from the Chair of the Lexington board of selectmen (Joe Pato): "Thank you for your message. The Board has been supportive of improving bicycle accommodations across town and has endorsed complete streets design principles. I have forwarded your petition to the town's bicycle advisory committee for their consideration. This coming year Town Meeting has approved investments to improve signage on the Minuteman Bikeway with safety and way-finding signs and add a transportation node which will include bicycle racks and a bike repair station in the Edison Way parking lot adjacent to Grain Mill Alley. These are a part of the needed improvements to bicycle accommodations and are part of what I expect to be a continuing process of making all modes of transportation more accessible throughout town." I am preparing a response thanking him for replying and briefly reaffirming the importance of adding safe bicycle infrastructure along new routes in Lexington as well as improving the Minuteman's amenities. If you have a specific comment about how bike infrastructure on Waltham street would improve your feelings of physical safety or wellbeing that you would like me to include in this response, please send it to my email: jmelot@alum.mit.edu . (I also welcome advice if anyone has it on what to do at this point. :-) ) I have not formally brought this petition to the Lexington Bicycle Advisory Committee, although many members are aware of it, and they have not formally endorsed it as an entity. If you would like to urge them to endorse this petition, the chair is Peggy Enders and her email is peggy@mit.edu . The committee meets on the second Thursday of each month. Our bicycle advisory committee has many projects and priorities and it is possible they will feel they cannot express support at this time, but it wouldn't hurt to let them know that bike infrastructure on this route is important to you. I will keep you updated if we have any other major updates. Thank you for your support! Jennifer Melot