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KEY SUMMARY POINTS:
The only opportunity to remove CIP 40 will be if I make a motion to remove it during the budget adoption meeting in June. My motion will need to be seconded and supported by the majority of City Councilors for it to pass. This is where I will need your help. We will need to convince other Councilors well before the June budget adoption to remove CIP 40.
Next steps:
April 28th - 12:00pm Letter with petition signatures (requesting CIP 40 removal) submitted to City Council.
May 11 6:30-9:30pm Public Meeting at Bishop Brady High School Library (RSVP on website to get an idea of head count)
4/21 Meeting with City Manager
I want to thank everyone who has submitted an email to me, attended the April 10th, or April 20th trail meetings. I have included your emails in the public record (with permission) on this topic and shared your stories when I talked with the City Manager. I am honored to represent you all and fight to preserve this trail.
When I met with the City Manager Thursday morning, 4/21/22, my goal was to learn how to remove CIP 40 from the budget and let him know what folks were thinking, feeling and saying.
I shared the frustration of property owners who want to know definitively what the City is going to do; the concern over the impact on the environment, wildlife and neighborhoods, the effect of road salt leaching into Bow Brook; the outrage over the unnecessary expense.
I also shared how many people were on the trail Wednesday night to talk about this. I showed him how many different ways and how many different people use this trail based on current data from Metro Strava. I showed him the NY Times article about municipalities removing highways built in the 50s (the same time the Langley plan was created) because they recognized how destructive they were to communities and the environment.
I told him that the most recent feasibility study done was from 2015, based on data from 2011. He confirmed that there hadn’t been any additional studies done or additional costs sunk in learning more. I described Andy J.’s professional background and his findings regarding current traffic data that tell a different story.
The City Manager asked what we wanted and I said that we wanted CIP 40 off the books, we don’t want it pushed out 30 years, we want it removed completely. Property owners and trail users are tired of wondering when the ax will fall. We should commit wholly to protecting the environment, creating a network of pedestrian & bike-friendly trails and establish Concord as a Recreation Destination with Langley Extension as Concord’s Wellness Trail. He appeared to like the idea and said that we would need to coordinate with Concord Hospital to address public use liability and draft access agreements.
The City Manager described the process for removing CIP 40. He recommended submitting a letter with signatures for the May City Council agenda so Councilors could be thinking about it. He emphasized that removing CIP 40 was up to the City Council. Because there are no funds proposed for CIP 40 in the 2023 budget, Council wouldn’t be discussing it. However, the Council will discuss items in the following years and where they should go during Finance Committee meetings. Construction of Langley Parkway 3 from Pleasant St to Auburn Street is projected for 2024 (the 2024 Fiscal Year begins July 1, 2023).
The only opportunity to remove CIP 40 will be if I make a motion to remove it during the budget adoption meeting in June. My motion will need to be seconded and supported by the majority of City Councilors for it to pass. This is where I will need your help. We will need to convince other Councilors well before the June budget adoption to remove CIP 40.
Next steps:
April 28th - 12:00pm Letter with petition signatures (requesting CIP 40 removal) submitted to City Council.
May 11 6:30-9:30pm Public Meeting at Bishop Brady High School Library
