March 20th Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee meeting notes

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The Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee met on Monday, March 20, 2017 in the Honan Library.  A core group of neighborhood residents attended, as did Warren O'Reilly, A/B's Neighborhood Services representative, and Stephen Borne of Boston Police District 14.  Ed LeFlore represented Harvard University.

 

Harvard Updates:

 

Ed LeFlore reported the following Harvard updates:

 

• Above-ground steel is currently being erected at Klarman Hall on the Harvard Business School campus.  A large crane is on-site, but should not impact the neighborhood;
• The planned Western Avenue realignment will begin next week to accommodate the utility corridor that will bury utilities under Western Avenue.  There will be some sidewalk closures as the work goes on, and Harvard is contacting businesses/residents who may be affected.  The final switch to the realigned road will be in May;
• In related news, Harvard is beginning work on the old Charlesview site to become a construction staging area and to provide free parking for Turner Construction employees/contractors working on the Science site;
• The parking at the Charlesview site is particularly timely because a mock-up of the new Science building will be erected in the 114 Western Avenue (old WGBH building) parking lot.  The Science building will receive above-ground steel in late April or May;
• The District Energy Facility, also planned for late Spring, is currently under pre-construction, with earth being moved .  The final building will be 63 feet tall (plus mechanicals on the roof) and will supply energy to the new Science building;
• A Turner Construction representative will attend the next mitigation meeting to educate and inspire Allston/Brighton residents in employment in the growing construction industry in this community.    Both Harvard and Turner are committed to employing as many local workers as possible.

City Updates:

 

Warren O'Reilly of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services reported that Bill Conroy of Boston Transportation Department is looking into temporary resident parking changes on the streets that will be most affected by the Boston Calling Festival over Memorial Day weekend.  O'Reilly said he thought that not all the streets currently covered by resident parking (from Rena Street south on North Harvard Street to Hopedale Street, including Travis, Kingsley, Seattle, Amboy and Windom Streets) would be considered for temporary changes.

 

The subcommittee asked that O'Reilly and Conroy attend the next subcommittee meeting if all requested streets could not be accommodated.

 

Boston Police Department District 14 Update:

 

Steve Bourne reported that the neighborhood has been very quiet, with only 10 breaking-and-entering complaints in February.

 

D-14 has also received the six new video boards to update the neighborhood on current issues.  The six new boards will be added to the three already in use in A/B.  D-14 has yet to decide the final positioning of those boards.

 

Upcoming Meetings:

 

The Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee will meet:

 

• Wednesday, April 14, 2017
• Monday, April 24, 2017
• Wednesday, May 10, 2017
• Monday, May 22, 2017

 

All meetings are held in the Honan Library at 6 p.m.  All are welcome

 

Ed Kotomori

Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee Co-Chairman