Newton Centre Plaza pilot at City Council tonight (Monday), send email now
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Michael Halle
Mar 2, 2026, 5:07:58 PMMar 2
to TAG
City Council will take up the question of the Newton Centre Plaza tonight. Please write NOW and express your opinion.
Traffic Council voted in November to extend the pilot through October 2026.
PS&T overrode that decision and voted to end the trial in May, asking the city to move the plaza to the green next door.
To my knowledge, no study has been done whether that's possible from an accessibility point of view, or if the approval of the Parks and Recreation Commission or the Conservation Commission is required, or how much a move would cost.
There seems to always be concern about parking. The Planning Department noted that spaces were always available during their observations, and that parking way finding would help people find even more spots. There is a new market opening, but they have their own free parking lot. Perhaps it makes sense to see what the actual impact is.
The city spent $300K on the plaza. Lots of people use it, to the point that even some of the original skeptics are now supporters. The city won't get that money back. In fact, we'll be spending more if we try to move it.
Seems like May through October would be the best possible time to enjoy the plaza. There are shade structures to keep things cool. We've got an experiment. In my opinion, we should see it through, get as much data as we can, and plan something permanent.
Please express yourselves!
--Mike
Traffic Council voted in November to extend the pilot through October 2026.
PS&T overrode that decision and voted to end the trial in May, asking the city to move the plaza to the green next door.
To my knowledge, no study has been done whether that's possible from an accessibility point of view, or if the approval of the Parks and Recreation Commission or the Conservation Commission is required, or how much a move would cost.
There seems to always be concern about parking. The Planning Department noted that spaces were always available during their observations, and that parking way finding would help people find even more spots. There is a new market opening, but they have their own free parking lot. Perhaps it makes sense to see what the actual impact is.
The city spent $300K on the plaza. Lots of people use it, to the point that even some of the original skeptics are now supporters. The city won't get that money back. In fact, we'll be spending more if we try to move it.
Seems like May through October would be the best possible time to enjoy the plaza. There are shade structures to keep things cool. We've got an experiment. In my opinion, we should see it through, get as much data as we can, and plan something permanent.
Please express yourselves!
--Mike
Andreae Downs
Mar 2, 2026, 5:21:14 PMMar 2
to Michael Halle, TAG
Parks and rec will definitely have to approve, and it’s no slam dunk.
Moving the plaza would cost $$ and snow removal has taken much of the available free cash
I think the CoD is not happy with the plaza move.
Since i already wrote in, I won’t again
A
Typed with two thumbs
> On Mar 2, 2026, at 5:07 PM, Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
>
> City Council will take up the question of the Newton Centre Plaza tonight. Please write NOW and express your opinion.
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TAG" group.
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Moving the plaza would cost $$ and snow removal has taken much of the available free cash
I think the CoD is not happy with the plaza move.
Since i already wrote in, I won’t again
A
Typed with two thumbs
> On Mar 2, 2026, at 5:07 PM, Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
>
> City Council will take up the question of the Newton Centre Plaza tonight. Please write NOW and express your opinion.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TAG" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to NewtonTAG+...@googlegroups.com.
> To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/NewtonTAG/5D501C51-F5A9-4144-99C7-B1A7DB703951%40halle.us.
Nedeljkovic, Srdjan S.,MD
Mar 2, 2026, 6:22:24 PMMar 2
to Andreae Downs, Michael Halle, TAG
Hi all,
Moving it defeats the original purpose, which is to have a new pedestrian friendly and accessible gathering place.
Rather than move it, the city should remove the asphalt in the pilot Plaza and replace it with a more suitable surface, with as much green space as possible.
Srdj
From: newt...@googlegroups.com <newt...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Andreae Downs <andrea...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, March 2, 2026 5:21 PM
To: Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>
Cc: TAG <Newt...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Newton Centre Plaza pilot at City Council tonight (Monday), send email now
Sent: Monday, March 2, 2026 5:21 PM
To: Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>
Cc: TAG <Newt...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Newton Centre Plaza pilot at City Council tonight (Monday), send email now
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