Fwd: Fw: Washington St Road Diet
Janet Sterman
mobile 617.329.1360
Did you know that our city is planning a significant change to Washington St? There is going to be a "road diet" - reducing it from 4 lanes to 2 lanes (with middle lane for left turns) from Lowell Ave to Chestnut St in West Newton. This will be a pilot study to last over 10 years.
In their initial outreach to the public via a survey, the city marketed this project as "improvements" for Washington St (see below), but failed to mention any intention for a road diet. Would more residents have paid attention to this survey if early communication included this fact? This project was kicked off by the transportation & planning department who hired consultants to create a survey and produce a report to justify this road diet under the concern for safety. Report details are in the URL below. There is data on crashes/accidents, so you can review and judge for yourself how "unsafe" or "dangerous" this stretch of Washington St is:
https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/115096/638382340778770000
This project is being fast tracked by the mayor due to the fact that 2 million in ARPA funds which are intended to be used for this project, will expire in Dec 2024. That means it will likely fly through Public Facilities Committee and then the full City Council unless there is strong opposition from the public. It has just been docketed on the Public Facilities Committee at the request of the mayor. Their first hybrid meeting to discuss this is TOMORROW- Wed, 1/17 at 7pm. Below is the link for the meeting and the agenda packet.
https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/115721
If you do not agree with the plans for a road diet of Washington St, it is imperative that you write to the Public Facilities Committee (clerk Evan Cudmore, ecud...@newtonma.gov), the mayor (rfu...@newtonma.gov ), and city council (cityc...@newtonma.gov)
Question/Issues:
- Does it make fiscal sense to spend 2 million of ARPA funds on a road diet? Would funds be better spent elsewhere ie, our schools?
- Do the crash statistics justify a road diet?
- Given that Washington St is used as an east-west corridor during rush hour, will slow moving traffic and congestion divert drivers to nearby neighbor streets?
- Will this cause road rage and head-on collisions as a result of impatient drivers wanting to pass a slow moving or stopped MBTA bus or other large vehicles?
- There has been no consideration for the residential development happening over our borders in Waltham and Watertown. Also, a bio science lab with 277 parking places on Galen St near completion as well as one of equal size planned for Pleasant St (formerly Russo’s) – both will bring commuters on Washington St.
- How will reducing bandwidth of street affect emergency vehicles or even worse, mass evacuation (if one were needed)?
- Will residents coming from Brooks, Walker, Brookside (or elsewhere) be able to pull out onto Washington St when you have two lanes merging into one from Lowell Ave intersection?
City seeks input for Washington Street improvements: Two surveys open until June 12
BY FCN ON MAY 16, 2023
Newton is embarking on the Washington Street Pilot — a project to redesign Washington Street from Chestnut Street in West Newton to Lowell Avenue in Newtonville to create a safer, more welcoming corridor for residents, commuters, students, customers, and everyone who uses this street. As an early part of this project, the City invites public input via two surveys, which open until June 12:
· Resident survey for all who travel, visit, or work in the project area
· Business survey for business owners and managers in the project area
So far, the City has compiled Existing Conditions data on numbers of people driving, walking, and biking along Washington Street. After the surveys, conceptual designs are planned by the fall. For more information, please email Washingt...@NewtonMA.gov.
