Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

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Shari G

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Sep 26, 2022, 1:40:22 PM9/26/22
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Dear West Newton Community, 

I think everyone has noticed the traffic increase lately, and we're finally seeing how the re-structuring of lights, lanes, and removal of islands is or isn't working.  Some have said that the lights just need re-tweaking. Others have said that the slower movement of vehicles through the square is safer.  As someone who lives close to the square and walks and drives there regularly, there are some very alarming things happening.  I'm frightened that someone is going to get in a very bad accident, and possibly killed.  The intersection I'm referring to here is where Waltham Street meets Washington St./Washington Street meets Waltham Street.  There are other intersections that are also a concern. 

The situation: There are drivers going East on Washington St that are turning left onto Waltham Street, blatantly ignoring or not seeing the "No Left Turn" sign on Washington Street.  I've watched car after car take this turn, sometimes making a very sharp turn.  I've seen cars just barely miss pedestrians standing next to CVS (they jumped back from the curb).  I've seen drivers take this illegal so fast as hard that they've almost lost control, nearly hitting several cars on Waltham Street that were waiting to turn right onto Washington Street.   I've seen cars go through the red light on Washington Street and turn left - barely escaping a head on collision with the cars going West on Washington Street.  And many times the cars speed up as they turn and then race down Waltham Street, which leads to a series of other problems.  This is very scary stuff. Either drivers do not see the "NO LEFT TURN" sign or they are blatantly ignoring it, or a combination or both. People want to go where they want to go. But, it's dangerous.  I do not believe it's an intersection that could be corrected with police presence.  It needs structural change. 

Yellow road blocks (small poles) were put up on the small triangular traffic island (between CVS and The Bluebird Bar) to alert people to stay in their lanes as well as to the presence of the concrete island. Hopefully, they've mitigated some potential for accidents but they haven't solved the problems. More so, these yellow poles have been a very good *indicator* of the issues and problems in this intersection (and others). These poles have gone from yellow to streaked with black, to bent and torn, to being completely ripped off. The yellow poles have been replaced a couple of times, and then have gotten knocked down, and people continue to drive over the concrete barrier.  While the previous larger island in the center of Washington Square (pre-new traffic flow arrangement) wasn't a favorite object, at least it worked and it controlled traffic.  People couldn't turn with the barrier, although occasionally you would see people do an almost comical series of u-turns around the barrier as people tried to find their way. 

The intersection is not working. It's also not large enough to open it up (to allow for left turns), for then there would be speeding. The square is too congested and there are too many turns already.  A sign and a camera with a high enough fine ($5000?) might deter someone from turning - though I'm not loving the idea of cameras and I just think people should drive responsibly and follow signage. 

The traffic on Washington Street is increasing and will continue to increase. There are a lack of sign lines in several places, such as turning right from Waltham Street to Washington Street. There are lane switches and turns - 3 or 4 times if one drives from Washington Street from the intersection of Chestnut Street to the Mass Pike. 

I've been corresponding with the Ward 3 Councilor at Large about this issue.  My other half  just went to the police station to talk with them about what could be done about this problem because he witnessed a very scary incident last Friday.   The police all agreed there's a serious problem and said they don't like the revised traffic plan either.  In addition to the Waltham St./Washington Street fiasco, they noted the problems at the intersection of Washington Street and Highland Street.  People don't know which lanes they need to be in and cars are almost getting sideswiped. (The police said their own police cars had almost been sideswiped.)

Ironically all of this is happening within blocks of or in front of the police station. (Again, I don't think police presence can work.). What's going to work?  According to the police, they said a paper trail or notes or letters to the mayor. Please write. Please participate. (Ruthanne's email is rfu...@newtonma.gov)   

Also, we do not have an area council for West Newton and there is much to discuss. Other villages have these.  For now, I'm just focusing on one intersection - an intersection with a problem and one where people are going to get hurt.  Please, let's not let this happen. 

Sincerely, 
Shari Goldin




Emily Honig

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Sep 26, 2022, 1:58:43 PM9/26/22
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Hi Shari, thank you for writing this -- I live nearby and drive through multiple times a day, and I have witnessed all of the same things (the constant, scary, illegal left turns onto Waltham, the speeding on Waltham in front of a nursery school, the sideswipe/lane confusion along the entire stretch of Washington Street). Although I also have complaints about light timing, I fully agree that the dangerous conditions you describe won't be fixed by light timing, police presence, or "people getting used to" the patterns, and further, I would say that I don't think the West Newton village center has experienced the type of traffic calming or safer pedestrian/bike conditions that some people, myself included, were hoping for. The Waltham Street intersection, in particular, seems much more dangerous than pre-project.

I feel like whenever this comes up in this listserve, a few apologists come and outline the various ways the concerned citizens are wrong, or not patient enough, or misunderstanding the goals, or uneducated about how streets and intersections work. I was hopeful that these issues would get better with time and I do think that many of the changes have helped West Newton square in other ways. But to my view, it's been over a year and the traffic hazards (and for that matter, the light timing issues) persist with zero improvements. 

I'll be emailing Mayor Fuller and I encourage others to do the same. 

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Joan Schulz

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Sep 26, 2022, 6:18:44 PM9/26/22
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Emily/Shari,

Thank you both for commenting on the unsafe conditions in West Newton Center.  I too have seen near misses in both locations as both a driver and a walker. I am very concerned about how the concentrated development planned for West Newton Center will worsen an already un-safe area.  I have encouraged my friends to attend the October 6th meeting RE: Santander.  I think that emailing helps but so does showing up in person to meetings in which developers are asking to change zoning etc. happen...the increase in density planned will ultimately impact the driving in West Newton Center.  I too rarely share my thoughts on line for the same reasons you stated. I often wonder how many West Newton residents are fully informed about all that is planned for our village. It is hard to keep up with it all...

Joan


m...@halle.us

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Sep 26, 2022, 10:33:32 PM9/26/22
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Shari, thanks for your observations.

We can and should talk more about infrastructure. However, I would like to quote some important points from this email:
* drivers are 'blatantly ignoring or not seeing the "No Left Turn" sign on Washington Street’
* 'cars just barely miss pedestrians standing next to CVS (they jumped back from the curb)'
* 'drivers take this illegal so fast as hard that they've almost lost control, nearly hitting several cars on Waltham Street that were waiting to turn right onto Washington Street’

I would add ‘illegal U turns on Washington St. in blatant violation of traffic laws and safety’.

These items are, I agree, “blatant”, “illegal”, and “dangerous” actions by drivers.

So, this statement puzzles me:
"I do not believe it's an intersection that could be corrected with police presence.”

I agree that, in general, police enforcement is not a substitute for engineering solutions. However, and it’s a big however, police enforcement is part of discouraging dangerous or illegal behavior. Driver behavior locally and nationally has become worse through the pandemic. More crashes are occurring. More pedestrians are being hurt or worse. Other people are at risk here. Why isn’t police enforcement action part of the solution?

This isn’t simply a West Newton Square issue. Drivers making illegal turns, popping over the traffic island or traveling at high speed through an intersection don’t become angels when they leave the square. They are a threat to others along their entire trip. It is, in my opinion, way past time for the government through its police to say that unsafe driver behavior matters. Intensive enforcement and some message signs in the area stating as much would go a long way to encouraging drivers to "make better choices”.

As I said, I believe and agree that engineering goes hand in hand with enforcement and other tools we have to maintain safe streets and intersections. The signal timing in West Newton Square continues to cause bottlenecks and blocked intersections far too frequently, while at other times leaving many users waiting for traffic signals seemingly unnecessarily. I believe that the West Newton Square signals can be upgraded to adaptive signal control, which allows the signal timing to change dynamically based on the presence or absence of traffic traveling in different directions. I hope this change can be added to the signals, perhaps as a developer mitigation.

Finally, on the larger issue of traffic safety, the Mayor has allocated $2M of ARPA money to the City’s traffic calming budget to improve intersections and add new flashing beacons to at least 15 crosswalks throughout the city. Many residents have been asking for this kind of investment for years. However, City Council has to approve of these changes. Just recently, safety redesign the Lowell & Austin and Lowell & Hull intersections –locations that have seen motor vehicle and pedestrian crashes and have received many complaints – were held up in committee.

As a result, design changes on Lowell that would benefit all road users, including NNHS students walking to school, will likely be held up past this year’s construction season. The plans are ready and have been reviewed and re-reviewed. We need City Council to grasp the urgency of fixing problem intersections and designing streets that encourage legal driver behavior. Please talk to your Councilors about this issue as well! For once we have the resources to move forward quickly, like within the next year.

Thanks.
—Mike

Susan Albright

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Sep 27, 2022, 6:46:41 AM9/27/22
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I have forwarded your email to the traffic division.

Susan 

On Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 1:40 PM Shari G <sh...@sharigoldin.com> wrote:
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Tricia Amend Bombara

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Sep 27, 2022, 6:46:44 AM9/27/22
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One possibility is that driving through the area can be so confusing - and frustrating - that it’s contributing to the unsafe and illegal practices. The fact that it causes frustration does not by any means excuse the behavior. But the fact that we’ve created this incredibly confusing and frustrating situation cannot be ignored. 

 I’ve also lived here for 20+ years - the constant illegal left turns from Washington onto Waltham Street is a new thing. Is it because people coming from the west are getting confused and not getting into the correct  lane for the left turn onto Cherry St? So having missed Cherry, turning left illegally at Waltham? Was a left turn impossible there before because of an island or curbing, and now it’s not? (I think so but I honestly can’t remember.)

Tricia 


Michael Halle

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Sep 27, 2022, 6:55:29 AM9/27/22
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While confusion may potentially be an issue in some cases in West Newton Square, I do not believe that missing Cherry St. is one of them. 

With one eastbound lane crossing the bridge now, getting into the Cherry St lane is easier, not harder, than before. When the new configuration went in, some drivers were using the Cherry St turn as a straight through lane. That's confusion, but not "missed Cherry St" confusion. 

-Mike

Subject: Re: [WNewton] Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

didi_614

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Sep 27, 2022, 7:03:39 AM9/27/22
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This redo of West Newton was a mess from the beginning.  I have lived here my whole life and  NOW avoid that area other than to take the Pike although in many cases it is easier to go to Newton Corner to get on the pike.  The City had been told from the beginning that this was a mess - Similar to the mess they created in Auburndale.  Which the Ward 4 councilors were able to get adjusted so it is a bit better.

And obviously based on what was posted by Shari that even the police have an issue with this and their station is right there!  And does anyone think that this will get better once the Korff Project is done?  No it will just get worse.

And unfortunately it is an accident waiting to happen.  Hopefully not but unfortunately it seems that is what it will take for the Mayor and our Ward 3 Councilor to do something.

Joanne 

Julia Anne Malakie

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Sep 27, 2022, 10:03:28 AM9/27/22
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I think I can fairly say that all your Ward 3 councilors are also disappointed and frustrated with the traffic situation. We are working on getting space, and the right people in the room, for a community meeting to discuss traffic, hear from residents directly, and let residents hear from each other and city officials. There were three such meetings that people may recall, at one or the other church in WN Square (FUSN or Second Church, I think both were used), before the project started, that included many exhibits and a giant map of WN Square as it then was, spread out on a long table. WN Sq Enhancements was also one component of a separate meeting in the Franklin School cafeteria.

I think we are due for a comparable follow-up. With summer over, traffic back to normal or worse, and a recognition that 'tweaking' of the signals will probably never end, October seems an appropriate time for a post-project update/post mortem and discussion on possible next steps. In person for those who can make it, plus Zoom hybrid for those cannot or prefer not to be in person yet.

Regards
Julia Malakie
Ward 3 Councilor

pamw...@rcn.com

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Sep 27, 2022, 11:53:50 AM9/27/22
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And Thank you everyone for bringing up your concerns!

Jim Cote

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Sep 27, 2022, 4:15:50 PM9/27/22
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Shari lays out some great points and then Michael explains some of these points in his usual detailed and informative manner.  As a former City Councilor that has been involved in advising and watching the project from the beginning to now, I can first state that the original goal, in 2015  was to repair the underground infrastructure,fix the street lights (weren't working at all), replace the traffic signals and pave the road. (then the add-ons)
Before I say anything else please note Lincoln's famous line:  "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time."  Your local Councilors can only rightfully pass this on to the traffic professionals as this is way too much for a person trying to please everyone.
On a daily basis I travel through West Newton Square, Newtonville (Washington/at Walnut), and Auburndale, all of which had their intersections rebuilt in the past 10 years.  None of them operate at all like they did in the past.  That's a fact given all of the goals for the streets that we ended up putting a lot into small places.  In most cases your driving world has been upended and it's not comfortable, but then you have to note that this intersection has a lot of moving pieces and if we use the Square then it's a fact of daily life.
I really believe that the computer scenarios have a major flaw, which is the programs do not account for bad drivers, and drivers that simply don't care that they are circumventing the laws.
My observation many times a day in West Newton Sq is that there are way too many people breaking traffic laws, and clearly doing so on purpose (illegal lane use in front of Tody's, left onto Waltham from Washington, left on to Washington from Waltham, etc.).  Yesterday, our little Max was crossing Washington on one of those delayed Green walk lights and just missed getting run over by a person (We have the plate number) that careened through the square out of control, and not caring about traffic laws.  Maybe cameras can change some of these habits.  
There is a capability built into the system to use active cameras to control the traffic flow and avoid the obvious long unnecessary delays, and this has to be prioritized.  Then everyone has to realize that the goal was to add bike lanes, increase pedestrian ease of travel, and improve site lines all without taking private property (eminent domain) for increased space in the streets.  
The reality though is that about 90% of the time I'm satisfied with my travel through the square, and the other 10% is manageable if I breathe deep and realize that things just take a little longer now.
Thank you.
Jim



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Laurie Palepu

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Sep 27, 2022, 4:40:51 PM9/27/22
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The city is hiring a new transportation director. I hope this person can find a way to create much-needed, safe bike lanes on side streets rather than on arterial streets like Washington Street. Putting bike lanes on narrow streets with a lot of car traffic is not safe, and few bikers use our current ones because of that.

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Noa Rensing

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Sep 27, 2022, 5:11:18 PM9/27/22
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Hi all, 

Maybe Michael or Jim know the answer to a few things I'm curious about. 

In one of the presentations leading up to the redesign of the square, there was a lot of emphasis put on traffic sensors activated lights and traffic lights that communicate with a central control center, and that was going to play a substantial role in reducing the  "average" travel time through the square. My experience, however, is that the lights still seem to operate on fixed timing. Is this something that was abandoned along the way? Yet to come? 

Regarding that "average" trip time, did anyone ever go back and compare predictions with actual measured times and calculate the difference, and then re-examine the models and see where the assumptions failed? 

And also regarding the models, I was and continue to be an advocate of just opening up the intersection and allowing left turns to/from Waltham street, partially because people take them anyway but mostly because I live on a cut-through street. I was told that the reason it couldn't be done is because the models show that it would make traffic through the square worse. Given what we've observed actually happening, is that still true? Or would opening up that left actually make things better? Cars are spending time driving around the block instead of just taking the left and getting out of the way.

Noa

On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 4:15 PM Jim Cote <jim...@gmail.com> wrote:
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Tricia Amend Bombara

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Sep 27, 2022, 5:11:19 PM9/27/22
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This is what you used to see (September 2018) heading east on Washington Street. Visually, it's much more apparent that you can't turn left onto Waltham St - you could do it, but you'd have to mow down the divider sticks or drive over the island:   

2018_Sept_WNS.png

Here's what you saw as of July 2022 - I know that there are No Left Turn signs, but I think that wide-open vista encourages people to bang a left, especially if they're "stuck in traffic" (not excusing it, of course.)

2022_July_WNS.png

m...@halle.us

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Sep 27, 2022, 5:21:58 PM9/27/22
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As Laurie said, the city is hiring a new Director of Transportation Planning (which is parallel to the Director of Transportation Operations, who is in DPW).

The city has also recently contracted for Newton’s first Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. It should have several of the items that Laurie mentions.

However, I disagree about not putting lanes on streets like Washington Street. Most arterials in Newton don’t have parallel streets that are quieter. Even if those streets existed, the destinations that many people would like to bike (and walk) to are in village centers and other busier places. The goal of Newton’s bicycle facilities is to provide an alternative method to get around for those people who can use them. That means providing ways to get safely to destinations. Increasingly, housing is returning to our village centers, and we want people who live in those places to have ways to travel without putting another car on our streets. We want bike lanes in village centers for the same reason we want continuous sidewalks in village centers: that’s where people use them and need them.

We don’t have to talk “build it and they will come” to justify bike lanes on arterials. There’s an important Newton population that’s already biking on arterials such as Washington St: Newton school students. Right now, lots of them ride on the sidewalks of streets such as Washington St. The bike racks at NNHS and Day are packed with literally hundreds of bikes. Because these students ride, it’s easier for those people who have to, or choose to, drive to get where they need to go. If those students were driven instead of biking, our streets would be crazy congested, far beyond what they are today. On the positive side, a small as a 5% reduction of motor vehicle use produces a noticeable improvement in traffic congestion in urban areas. That’s why we’re building a bike infrastructure.

It would be great to be able to, all at once, design and build a parallel bike and pedestrian network. But that’s not possible. We have to build it bit by bit, in conjunction with our existing road network, because of the built-up nature of our city. Washington Street is far over capacity as a four lane road. Converting to safer turn lanes allows protected bike lanes and proper sidewalks to be added. Then the lanes in West Newton Square will connect to lanes all the way to at least Lowell St. Improvements on Lowell (though no bike lanes yet) will get students from West Newton to the high school. The bike and ped network plan will help identify the locations where we need more capacity for current and future needs. That includes contiguous sidewalks in locations where they are an impediment to people walking to their destinations, whether that be every day or just occasionally. 

Yes, disconnected bike lanes don’t get that much use and may look to some like a waste. But in cities like Newton often have to do incremental build-outs, piece by piece and project by project. Cambridge has lots of bike and pedestrian facilities now, but a lonely 100 ft stretch of bike lanes existed on Brattle Street for five or six years before projects around it connected to it. Had that lane not been built when the road was being reconstructed, the network would have cost much more.

I certainly agree that neighborhood streets and local connectors also need to be safer, for pedestrians and residents as well as bicyclists and drivers. Slower speed routes and additional changes to improve safety and visibility are needed across the city. I believe that even residents who don’t bike or walk much, and don’t have kids who do, also appreciate living in neighborhoods that are so safe that kids can bike and walk without much concern. The city simple doesn’t have the money or space to provide separated bike lanes into all of these locations, and the political battle over any loss of parking is always intense. Arterials and larger streets tend to be the places where extra safety is need and there’s space to reallocate. 

—Mike


Jim Cote

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Sep 27, 2022, 5:23:48 PM9/27/22
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Good points Tricia and Noa.  
The sticks on Washington St were put in years ago for a reason, which is to prevent turns that disrupt the square and they need to find their way back to the street again.
The sensors and cameras are an available asset that was promised to us during the design phase.  Using this system would prevent a vehicle from having to sit for a light with no one else in the square, and also adjust to the flow of traffic.    
On turning left onto Waltham St:  Washington St down to Watertown is State highway 16 and sees a heavy traffic flow;  and if we allow turns onto Waltham then traffic will mostly likely back up traffic down to Albemarle.
One thing I forgot to mention is that myself and others have pushed for years to have the CVS curb cut on to Watertown St closed off.  It's a weird angled curb cut that was shortened a number of years back to try and prevent traffic interruption but hasn't really worked.  Drivers exiting CVS during busy times of day set the intersection timing back into several light cycles.  If you've driven in that area you probably have been stuck there yourself..CVS has 3 curb cuts on Waltham St and that should suffice for their parking flow.


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m...@halle.us

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Sep 27, 2022, 5:35:18 PM9/27/22
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The timings on the WNSq lights are fixed but have different cycles during the day. At night, I believe DPW has implemented a much shorter cycle time, for instance.

The problem is that during and post-COVID, traditional traffic patterns are disrupted and different. The controllers can modify the cycle a little, but not much. Adaptive Signal Control fixes that, and I believe it should be implemented in WNSq. 

As Jim Cote said, you can’t open up Waltham St to left turns, since those turning cars would take time aways from the vehicles proceeding westbound from Watertown St to Washington St. Also, the demand for a left turn onto both Waltham and Watertown St, would overwhelm the shared left turn lane, likely backing up traffic through the Highland intersection. Another “nice to have” would be opening up Waltham southbound to left hand turns, but that would similarly starve some of the other traffic moves and also bring more traffic to Waltham St.

I had hoped that development on Washington St would somehow allow a new connector street between Washington and Watertown St, perhaps slightly west of Dunstan. That could become the new RT-16 and allow the irregular Watertown/Washington insection to be closed and perhaps converted to a park. If that happened, left turns onto Waltham would be possible and fewer cars would potentially be queued inside WNSq itself. It’s not a real proposal, just an idea.

—Mike



Emily Honig

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Sep 27, 2022, 6:45:34 PM9/27/22
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Getting back to reality land, and the original complaint about dangerous left turns, I saw a Facebook post today describing how Apple Maps (and maybe other apps) tell drivers to make the illegal left turn on Waltham. Does anyone have the ability to give the map people feedback about this?  

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Best,

Emily

Michael Halle

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Sep 27, 2022, 7:02:21 PM9/27/22
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I am not sure what the comment about "reality land" means. However, a Google maps route through the square and down Watertown St says to "turn left on Watertown" and shows a 90° left. It should say "slightly left". 

I have alerted our traffic engineers about the situation. I am also asking around Google land to see if a fast path for municipalities to log map errors exists or is possible to create.

GPS confusion is a possible hypothesis for these illegal turns. However, it would be possible to test it if the police were doing enforcement and could ask the driver what happened.

-Mike

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Emily Honig <emily...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 6:45 PM

To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

Emily Honig

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Sep 27, 2022, 7:36:04 PM9/27/22
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I wasn’t able to replicate the issue I saw described on FB in Google Maps, but Apple Maps directs an illegal left turn on Waltham if you ask for directions from Temple Shalom to the Scandinavian Living Center (for example). Not sure if Waze does the same thing. 



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Best,

Emily

Michael Halle

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Sep 28, 2022, 8:27:25 AM9/28/22
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I just heard from Newton Transportation that Newton Police did selective enforcement at the Washington/Waltham intersection yesterday, looking for people who made an illegal left turn onto Waltham.

They all indicated that their routing app had directed them to make the turn.

Newton Police will be reaching out to the navigation companies with a request to fix this error.

Thanks for everyone's help and interest in this matter, both inside and outside of the city departments. Yes, it is not the only problem in the square, but it is one of the weirdest ones.

And it goes without saying that outsourcing all of one's decisionmaking to an app is never a good idea. 

Dreading the day we have TikTok Maps and our sidewalks are clogged with teens wandering around chaotically, colliding at random :)

-Mike

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Michael Halle <m...@halle.us>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 7:02 PM

To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

I am not sure what the comment about "reality land" means. However, a Google maps route through the square and down Watertown St says to "turn left on Watertown" and shows a 90° left. It should say "slightly left". 

I have alerted our traffic engineers about the situation. I am also asking around Google land to see if a fast path for municipalities to log map errors exists or is possible to create.

GPS confusion is a possible hypothesis for these illegal turns. However, it would be possible to test it if the police were doing enforcement and could ask the driver what happened.

-Mike

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Emily Honig <emily...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022, 6:45 PM
To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

Getting back to reality land, and the original complaint about dangerous left turns, I saw a Facebook post today describing how Apple Maps (and maybe other apps) tell drivers to make the illegal left turn on Waltham Does anyone have the ability to give the map people feedback about this?  

I've been corresponding with the Ward 3 Councilor at Large about this issue.  My other half  just went to the police station to talk with them about what could be done about this problem because he witnessed a very scary incident last Friday.   The police all agreed there's a serious problem and said they don't like the revised traffic plan either.  In addition to the Waltham St./Washington Street fiasco, they noted the problems at the intersection of Washington Street and Highland Street  People don't know which lanes they need to be in and cars are almost getting sideswiped. (The police said their own police cars had almost been sideswiped.)

Laurie Palepu

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Sep 28, 2022, 9:11:28 AM9/28/22
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That's great that we're able to collectively think about solutions to some of these problems. Thanks for taking the lead with the Waze problem, Michael!

As for bike lanes, what I would love to see is a web of bike lanes on side streets that can take bike traffic to common destinations, minimizing or eliminating the amount of time one has to spend on shared car/bike lanes. I would gladly take a less direct route that is safer over a more direct route that cannot be made safe due to inherent space or other issues. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/0CE08950-3926-E14A-98B9-9EF772E35694%40hxcore.ol.

Mary Lewis

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Sep 28, 2022, 9:15:47 AM9/28/22
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LOL Mike,
do you remember the summer kids were crashing bikes chasing Poke Mon Go?
Mary Reardon Lewis, Realtor
The Reardon Team
William Raveis R.E. & Home Services
18 Arlington Street, Boston MA 02116





On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 8:27 AM Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/0CE08950-3926-E14A-98B9-9EF772E35694%40hxcore.ol.

Michael Halle

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Sep 28, 2022, 10:01:51 AM9/28/22
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I long for the more innocent times when kids actually got out of the house to go places, independently, even if it was to chase Bulbasaur. :)

And that's why it actually makes me so happy to see the hundreds of families walking to Franklin, and the hundreds of students walking and biking independently to and from Day. Good weather, bad weather, it's just the thing they do. Part of life, like it has been for generations.

-Mike

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mary Lewis <maryrear...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2022, 9:15 AM
To: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [WNewton] Washington/Waltham illegal left turn update

Shari G

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Sep 28, 2022, 7:59:03 PM9/28/22
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Thank you, everyone, who has participated and contributed so far.  I’m been hearing “chirps” from police cars who may be stopping drivers who have turned left. 

Aside from convenience and inconvenience, there are some serious safety issues. I also hope that left turns aren’t introduced at the Waltham/Washington intersection - I don’t want the extra traffic (as well as speeding) on Waltham St.   I suspect we’re getting more speeding on some of these roads off of Washington St. if only out of the frustration of being on Washington St.   Who knows what will happen when there are more rental apartments built in the area as well as moving trucks, delivery trucks,  narrower side streets (due to added parking), etc.  Well, I can imagine, but we shall see. 

Hopefully that navigation glitch will be fixed. I have a feeling some people just go for it, too - whether it’s the left onto Waltham St or the left onto Washington St. I’ve see police cars do this too, but have rationalized that it’s because of timeliness.  Still there’s also that sharp right turn that people keep making (including police cars) from Washington Street going west and turning right onto Watertown Street (in front of the CVS). 

Shari

On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 8:27 AM Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:

Michael Halle

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Sep 28, 2022, 8:46:54 PM9/28/22
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Left turns will not be introduced to Waltham St at Washington under any plan anyone is currently envisoning. It simply won't work with the current road configuration.  

That does mean that traffic that wants to go "east to north" or "south to east" will continue to use side streets in the neighborhoods between Waltham, Watertown, and Washington Streets. We have to take care of those streets too to prevent negative safety impacts of this traffic.

-Mike

Subject: Re: [WNewton] Washington/Waltham illegal left turn update
The problem is that during and post-COVID, traditional traffic patterns are disrupted and different The controllers can modify the cycle a little, but not much. Adaptive Signal Control fixes that, and I believe it should be implemented in WNSq. 

As Jim Cote said, you can’t open up Waltham St to left turns, since those turning cars would take time aways from the vehicles proceeding westbound from Watertown St to Washington St. Also, the demand for a left turn onto both Waltham and Watertown St, would overwhelm the shared left turn lane, likely backing up traffic through the Highland intersection. Another “nice to have” would be opening up Waltham southbound to left hand turns, but that would similarly starve some of the other traffic moves and also bring more traffic to Waltham St.

I had hoped that development on Washington St would somehow allow a new connector street between Washington and Watertown St, perhaps slightly west of Dunstan. That could become the new RT-16 and allow the irregular Watertown/Washington insection to be closed and perhaps converted to a park. If that happened, left turns onto Waltham would be possible and fewer cars would potentially be queued inside WNSq itself. It’s not a real proposal, just an idea.

—Mike
On Sep 27, 2022, at 4:57 PM, Noa Rensing <noa.r...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all, 

Maybe Michael or Jim know the answer to a few things I'm curious about. 

In one of the presentations leading up to the redesign of the square, there was a lot of emphasis put on traffic sensors activated lights and traffic lights that communicate with a central control center, and that was going to play a substantial role in reducing the  "average" travel time through the square. My experience, however, is that the lights still seem to operate on fixed timing. Is this something that was abandoned along the way? Yet to come? 

Regarding that "average" trip time, did anyone ever go back and compare predictions with actual measured times and calculate the difference, and then re-examine the models and see where the assumptions failed? 

And also regarding the models, I was and continue to be an advocate of just opening up the intersection and allowing left turns to/from Waltham street, partially because people take them anyway but mostly because I live on a cut-through street. I was told that the reason it couldn't be done is because the models show that it would make traffic through the square worse. Given what we've observed actually happening, is that still true? Or would opening up that left actually make things better? Cars are spending time driving around the block instead of just taking the left and getting out of the way.

Noa

On Tue, Sep 27, 2022 at 4:15 PM Jim Cote <jim...@gmail.com> wrote:
Shari lays out some great points and then Michael explains some of these points in his usual detailed and informative manner.  As a former City Councilor that has been involved in advising and watching the project from the beginning to now, I can first state that the original goal, in 2015  was to repair the underground infrastructure,fix the street lights (weren't working at all), replace the traffic signals and pave the road. (then the add-ons)
Before I say anything else please note Lincoln's famous line:  "You can please some of the people some of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time."  Your local Councilors can only rightfully pass this on to the traffic professionals as this is way too much for a person trying to please everyone.
On a daily basis I travel through West Newton Square, Newtonville (Washington/at Walnut), and Auburndale, all of which had their intersections rebuilt in the past 10 years.  None of them operate at all like they did in the past.  That's a fact given all of the goals for the streets that we ended up putting a lot into small places.  In most cases your driving world has been upended and it's not comfortable, but then you have to note that this intersection has a lot of moving pieces and if we use the Square then it's a fact of daily life
I really believe that the computer scenarios have a major flaw, which is the programs do not account for bad drivers, and drivers that simply don't care that they are circumventing the laws.
My observation many times a day in West Newton Sq is that there are way too many people breaking traffic laws, and clearly doing so on purpose (illegal lane use in front of Tody's, left onto Waltham from Washington, left on to Washington from Waltham, etc.).  Yesterday, our little Max was crossing Washington on one of those delayed Green walk lights and just missed getting run over by a person (We have the plate number) that careened through the square out of control, and not caring about traffic laws.  Maybe cameras can change some of these habits.  
There is a capability built into the system to use active cameras to control the traffic flow and avoid the obvious long unnecessary delays, and this has to be prioritized.  Then everyone has to realize that the goal was to add bike lanes, increase pedestrian ease of travel, and improve site lines all without taking private property (eminent domain) for increased space in the streets.  
The reality though is that about 90% of the time I'm satisfied with my travel through the square, and the other 10% is manageable if I breathe deep and realize that things just take a little longer now.
Thank you.
Jim


On Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 1:40 PM Shari G <sh...@sharigoldin.com> wrote:

Dear West Newton Community, 

I think everyone has noticed the traffic increase lately, and we're finally seeing how the re-structuring of lights, lanes, and removal of islands is or isn't working.  Some have said that the lights just need re-tweaking. Others have said that the slower movement of vehicles through the square is safer.  As someone who lives close to the square and walks and drives there regularly, there are some very alarming things happening.  I'm frightened that someone is going to get in a very bad accident, and possibly killed.  The intersection I'm referring to here is where Waltham Street meets Washington St./Washington Street meets Waltham Street.  There are other intersections that are also a concern. 

The situation: There are drivers going East on Washington St that are turning left onto Waltham Street, blatantly ignoring or not seeing the "No Left Turn" sign on Washington Street.  I've watched car after car take this turn, sometimes making a very sharp turn.  I've seen cars just barely miss pedestrians standing next to CVS (they jumped back from the curb).  I've seen drivers take this illegal so fast as hard that they've almost lost control, nearly hitting several cars on Waltham Street that were waiting to turn right onto Washington Street.   I've seen cars go through the red light on Washington Street and turn left - barely escaping a head on collision with the cars going West on Washington Street.  And many times the cars speed up as they turn and then race down Waltham Street, which leads to a series of other problems.  This is very scary stuff. Either drivers do not see the "NO LEFT TURN" sign or they are blatantly ignoring it, or a combination or both. People want to go where they want to go. But, it's dangerous.  I do not believe it's an intersection that could be corrected with police presence.  It needs structural change. 

Yellow road blocks (small poles) were put up on the small triangular traffic island (between CVS and The Bluebird Bar) to alert people to stay in their lanes as well as to the presence of the concrete island. Hopefully, they've mitigated some potential for accidents but they haven't solved the problems. More so, these yellow poles have been a very good *indicator* of the issues and problems in this intersection (and others). These poles have gone from yellow to streaked with black, to bent and torn, to being completely ripped off. The yellow poles have been replaced a couple of times, and then have gotten knocked down, and people continue to drive over the concrete barrier.  While the previous larger island in the center of Washington Square (pre-new traffic flow arrangement) wasn't a favorite object, at least it worked and it controlled traffic.  People couldn't turn with the barrier, although occasionally you would see people do an almost comical series of u-turns around the barrier as people tried to find their way. 

The intersection is not working. It's also not large enough to open it up (to allow for left turns), for then there would be speeding. The square is too congested and there are too many turns already.  A sign and a camera with a high enough fine ($5000?) might deter someone from turning - though I'm not loving the idea of cameras and I just think people should drive responsibly and follow signage. 

The traffic on Washington Street is increasing and will continue to increase. There are a lack of sign lines in several places, such as turning right from Waltham Street to Washington Street. There are lane switches and turns - 3 or 4 times if one drives from Washington Street from the intersection of Chestnut Street to the Mass Pike. 

I've been corresponding with the Ward 3 Councilor at Large about this issue.  My other half  just went to the police station to talk with them about what could be done about this problem because he witnessed a very scary incident last Friday.   The police all agreed there's a serious problem and said they don't like the revised traffic plan either.  In addition to the Waltham St./Washington Street fiasco, they noted the problems at the intersection of Washington Street and Highland Street  People don't know which lanes they need to be in and cars are almost getting sideswiped. (The police said their own police cars had almost been sideswiped.)

Ironically all of this is happening within blocks of or in front of the police station. (Again, I don't think police presence can work.) What's going to work?  According to the police, they said a paper trail or notes or letters to the mayor. Please write. Please participate. (Ruthanne's email is rfu...@newtonma.gov)   

Howard Rosenof

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Sep 29, 2022, 5:50:32 PM9/29/22
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Good questions, Noa - which I can't answer but nevertheless would like to comment on:

I don't know much about traffic modeling but I've modeled a variety of industrial processes and I believe that modeling traffic is generally similar to modeling factories - in one case we have vehicles moving along streets and roads, and in the other we have parts and assemblies moving around the factory floor. One major difference is that unless something breaks down, movements around the factory are controlled by predefined rules and known process characteristics, whereas traffic behaviors depend on decisions made by individual drivers, who can be tired, confused, distracted, or simply take an improper shortcut to try to save some time. It shouldn't be difficult to tell the model, for example, that one driver out of 200 will decide to take an illegal left turn, but how does the modeler know that this is the right number? To the extent possible all models should be validated by comparison to post-model observations, but this would seem to be particularly important when one is making assumptions about human decision-making. Like you, I'd be interested in seeing the comparison.

Also like you, I've seen no evidence that that traffic light timing is adapting to vehicle flows. I've also waited at a red light when it would have been safe to proceed. However this situation may become less frequent as development continues and more traffic goes through the square.

I'll bring up one more concern I have with the design of West Newton Square - the apparent misalignment of painted lane markings and overhead traffic signals. There are several places where, for example, there are three individual overhead signal clusters over two painted traffic lanes.

Tim Caputo

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Sep 30, 2022, 7:10:04 AM9/30/22
to Howard Rosenof, westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com
Thank you Howard for bringing up the extra lights. I have largely retrained myself to the new traffic patters, but I simply can’t understand how having two overhead lights for one travel lane and a single one for the other can add anything other than confusion. 

While I have assumed that the layout of the streets, locked in place over 100 years ago, would always have some derfinciecies.  From Day 1, I’ve thought simplifying the lights would be addition by subtraction. 

Tim



Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2022, at 5:50 PM, Howard Rosenof <howard...@comcast.net> wrote:



Good questions, Noa - which I can't answer but nevertheless would like to comment on:

I don't know much about traffic modeling but I've modeled a variety of industrial processes and I believe that modeling traffic is generally similar to modeling factories - in one case we have vehicles moving along streets and roads, and in the other we have parts and assemblies moving around the factory floor. One major difference is that unless something breaks down, movements around the factory are controlled by predefined rules and known process characteristics, whereas traffic behaviors depend on decisions made by individual drivers, who can be tired, confused, distracted, or simply take an improper shortcut to try to save some time. It shouldn't be difficult to tell the model, for example, that one driver out of 200 will decide to take an illegal left turn, but how does the modeler know that this is the right number? To the extent possible all models should be validated by comparison to post-model observations, but this would seem to be particularly important when one is making assumptions about human decision-making. Like you, I'd be interested in seeing the comparison.

Also like you, I've seen no evidence that that traffic light timing is adapting to vehicle flows. I've also waited at a red light when it would have been safe to proceed. However this situation may become less frequent as development continues and more traffic goes through the square.

I'll bring up one more concern I have with the design of West Newton Square - the apparent misalignment of painted lane markings and overhead traffic signals. There are several places where, for example, there are three individual overhead signal clusters over two painted traffic lanes.

h038Bf8VFQ0oTKF0.png

Michael Halle

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Sep 30, 2022, 7:18:14 AM9/30/22
to westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com, Howard Rosenof, westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com
I believe the number of the signal heads is the result of federal requirements for redundancy, though I agree that having two angled arrows suggests per-lane signals and possibly two turn lanes. 

Signal heads are sufficiently expensive that they certainly aren't being added superfluously to any plan.

-Mike

From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Tim Caputo <timothy...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022, 7:10 AM
To: Howard Rosenof <howard...@comcast.net>
Cc: westnewtonneighborhood@googlegroupscom <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [WNewton] Accidents waiting to happen. Several Intersections in West Newton Square

Thank you Howard for bringing up the extra lights. I have largely retrained myself to the new traffic patters, but I simply can’t understand how having two overhead lights for one travel lane and a single one for the other can add anything other than confusion 

Tim

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john

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Sep 30, 2022, 8:29:13 AM9/30/22
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This pre-dates my time on city council, but I recall that these intersections (the whole area?) were designed to state guidelines, yes?

Michael Halle

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Sep 30, 2022, 9:54:55 AM9/30/22
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All roadways in Newton fall under state law and  guidance, but state law incorporates the federal MUTCD (manual of uniform traffic control devices), with a handful of changes, exceptions, and clarifications. In effect and in practice, Newton and all other municipalities follows MUTCD, even down to municipal parking lots.

These rules are in general followed because uniformity is important and the established guidance is well-researched. That's also their weakness, when they don't keep up with the latest needs or findings. MUTCD has traditionally been auto-centric, while many communities are also prioritizing pedestrian and bicyclist safety and convenience. Things are changing, though.

Non-compliance with MUTCD without justification has the potential to open up a municipality to lawsuit in case of harm.

One example of changing federal guidance that seems relevant: traffic signals are getting more expensive, in part because they must be designed to survive extreme weather. The horizontal crossbar of most signals is now as thick as the vertical posts of older signals. Research has found that these signal posts pose a real risk to the public in the event of hurricanes or storms like Sandy or now Ian.

-Mike
From: westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of john <jo...@jayareo.com>
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022, 8:29 AM
To: West Newton Community <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com>

Jim Cote

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Sep 30, 2022, 12:35:38 PM9/30/22
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Excellent.  Thank you for the feedback Mike and also what shows to be a great process of getting residential feedback that solves a problem.
Jim



On Wed, Sep 28, 2022 at 8:27 AM Michael Halle <m...@halle.us> wrote:
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/westnewtonneighborhood/0CE08950-3926-E14A-98B9-9EF772E35694%40hxcore.ol.

Shari G

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Sep 30, 2022, 2:34:30 PM9/30/22
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That's great to know.  Thanks, Mike.  I agree, it's going to mean taking extra care of all of the other side street - those directly off Washington, like Chestnut, Waltham, Highland, Cherry, Elm, Watertown, and others, as well as street that are close to but not actually on square, such as Webster, River, Davis (Davis St. and David Ave.), Eden, and others. 

I can tell you that turning right from Waltham St onto Washington Street and getting into the far lane in order to take a left (go south) onto Highland is very difficult right. There's a blind spot and you can't see what's coming at you on Washington St., you just have to trust. The intersection gets full with cars that haven't made it through the intersection.  There are definitely concerns about adding parking spaces along Highland St. (proposed) or areas for loading/unloading on Washington Street - if/when the Santander building is developed.  

Any updates from the WN police dept re: addressing Google or other navigation programs about that left turn? I haven't been able to get out in the last several days ....the dreaded plague.  Stay safe everyone. Covid is still around and numbers are going up. 

Leslie Wissing

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Sep 30, 2022, 3:24:08 PM9/30/22
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I would like to add that those of us that live in the area know that “you can’t get there from here”- that to maneuver from Washington St. eastbound to Waltham St. northbound have to use CVS Lane through the parking lot off of Watertown St. OR Cherry St. to Webster to Waltham OR take a left down Watertown St. and hope that one of the side streets brings you back to Waltham St.  I can’t imagine what someone passing through can possibly intuit how to find passage through West Newton square.
This whole intersection was so poorly revamped for smooth commuting and reasonable navigating it boggles the mind.  
I’ve said it before, it can take 4-5 minutes just to get from the Northside of the center to any other direction, longer than it can take to get almost over to Newton Center.  
And coming down Highland Ave. during peak hours can take 3 lights to get through.  The lights aren’t synced up for there to fluid movement of cars feeding into west bound Washington St. and driving through to the Pike interchange.
It’s a mess and it hasn’t improved.  I don’t see that it’s any safer for bike riders either.
Leslie Wissing

m...@halle.us

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Sep 30, 2022, 3:41:49 PM9/30/22
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The desirable but illegal left and turn from Washington to Waltham was illegal before and illegal now, as is the left from Waltham to Washington. Nothing’s changed on that front. If people aren’t familiar with the area, it’s 2022 so most likely they route (which is the biggest reason why the app being wrong is a big deal). 

I would disagree about the lights syncing north-south. The lights actually are synced for, say, Cherry to Highland. This is my most common route when I drive, and in my experience it works better than before because the Cherry and Highland lights are synced. Previously they were not, and even more cars got stuck in the middle of the intersection, which when it happens blocks all cars in all directions. The backup on Highland can take several lights to clear at peak. Adaptable signal control will help if there’s extra capacity on any of the other legs of West Newton Square, so I hope the city installs it. 

However, if all the routes into the square are busy, the best the signal system can do it keep cars out of the core of the square so that cars don’t back up and gridlock the whole thing. I think that’s actually the biggest problem going east to west on Washington St: both Chestnut St and Washington St entering the square should be red to hold traffic until cars can get past the Highland light. That would allow drivers to get into the correct land (Washington straight through and Highland left turn), and for Waltham St drivers to get over to the Highland Ave turn. Better for traffic to be held outside the square than clog it.

—Mike


Shari G

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Sep 30, 2022, 7:12:12 PM9/30/22
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Mike, it’s very logical, yes, but there continues to be traffic building up, creating gridlock on Washington St. where Chestnut St turns (left) on Washington (West) and at the Waltham St intersection.  It makes sense to keep cars out of the square before allowing more cars to enter.  Yet keep in mind that sometimes you can’t turn onto Washington St (ie., Waltham to Washington AND Chestnut to Washington) even though there is a green light because the road is full.  And because there’s a lane shift on the Washington St going West at Chestnut St because there is a turning lane, thru cars are directed to go into the right lane. This makes  it very hard for drivers to come down Chestnut and then turn left and then get into the right lane so that they can turn north on Washington St.  Sometimes it’s not possible so you see cars cutting across lanes to go to Waltham St or they’re forced to go to Cherry St and loop around.   (Granted, the timing of lights has been better at this spot when there is low to moderate traffic. During heavy traffic it’s not as effective.)

Similar difficulties happen if you try to bypass Chestnut St and take Highland St going North and you try to get to the North of Washington St.  It’s delayed, and it can take a series of lights, but at least there isn’t the chaos with the lane changes. 
It is crazy making though.  

Mike thanks for reiterating that any left turns to and from Waltham Street at Washington St were and are illegal, and they should remain illegal. Mike, However, I don’t know how that’s going to be enforced without some kind of barrier, like there was previously.  By the way, I’ve heard that some of that concrete portion, the triangle portion that had yellow poles on it, is now chipped away.   It’s not safe. 

Thank you all for a lively conversation. 

Sachiko Isihara

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Oct 3, 2022, 12:43:29 PM10/3/22
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Hello all,

Just a reminder that the next Land Use Committee hearing which includes time for public comment on the 1314 Washington St project (Santander Bank) will be this Thursday, October 6th, at 7 pm (The date is incorrectly reported on Fig News)

To attend this meeting via Zoom use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82167198552, or call 1-646-558-8656 and use the following Meeting ID: 821 6719 8552.  
https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/91474/638001262462466308
I agree with Mike that this is an opportunity to use ARPA funding towards traffic calming measures in West Newton Square and to use mitigation funds from the 1314 Washington St project towards community benefit.

Even if you attended and participated in the September 8th community meeting, this Thursday's hearing is a City held event and your comments will be recorded for the City Councilors to consider as stipulations that Mark Development will be required to provide unlike the September meeting.

Thank you for attending and providing your input in this project. It would be great to see a better West Newton Square at the completion of this project.

Sachiko

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Amy Sangiolo

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Oct 3, 2022, 2:15:50 PM10/3/22
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The date was incorrectly reported on the what’s up in newton section but correctly reported in the calendar and upcoming meetings section. The post will be corrected and all other links are accurate.

Thank you.

Shari G

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Oct 3, 2022, 2:35:40 PM10/3/22
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Amy, 
Is the Thursday, Oct. 6th, at 7pm date and time that Sachiko just posted correct for the LandUse meeting? 

I agree that it is a very important meeting.  It probably deserves its own thread. 

Shari

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Amy Sangiolo

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Oct 3, 2022, 2:46:06 PM10/3/22
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Yes.
The link, date and time are on the agenda and we have corrected the post on our website. I apologize for the inconvenience. It was listed correctly in the upcoming city council meetings post and on the government calendar post.

The Planning board will be discussing a recommendation letter for the rezoning  request for 1314 Washington street that they plan on sending to the city council at their meeting tonight at 7pm.

Shari G

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Oct 3, 2022, 3:03:21 PM10/3/22
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Wait, let's clarify something. There's a meeting on Thursday where the planning board will be discussing their recommendation, but they plan on sending that letter to the City Council at their meetinging tonight?   So that letter is being sent tonight?  Is there a meeting this evening and can people voice their opinions about such a rezoning request? 

Perhaps 'tonight' was a typo.  

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Amy Sangiolo

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Oct 3, 2022, 3:11:07 PM10/3/22
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No.

There’s a planning board meeting tonight where they will be discussing their recommendation on 1314 Washington street.

There’s a land use committee meeting on Thursday to discuss 1314 Washington street petition. 

I believe the planning board already had their public hearing on this previously do I do not know if they will entertain public comment.

Two separate bodies opining on this petition. Planning board makes recommendation to land use and city council.  Land use makes recommendation to full city council. Full city council votes to approve or deny.

Sachiko Isihara

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Oct 3, 2022, 3:59:41 PM10/3/22
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Yes, there is a Planning and Development board meeting tonight at which they are supposed to vote on the request for a change in zoning from business to Mixed-Use development.  Unfortunately, I recall that public comment was closed at the last meeting. However, if we show up and show interest maybe they would see that what they have to say matters to us.  I will try to be there if I can at 7:30 because of a previous commitment.

They are going to submit a letter with recommendations with their vote (of approval) as they know that traffic and parking have been concerns of the neighborhood.  I searched for an email of the Planning Board chair and could not find one, so I had no way of sending comments. I sent an email to the Director of Planning, Barney Heath who is also a member of this Board.

Thursday is Land Use and it is still open for public comment.
Sachiko

Sachiko Isihara

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Oct 4, 2022, 10:10:35 AM10/4/22
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Hello West Newton,
 
In the Charles River Chamber newsletter it was mentioned that the Land Use Committee will be reviewing traffic, parking, transportation demand management and sustainability.  

Now is the time for us to comment on the existing issues in West Newton Square and post-construction transportation (and parking) demand.
Sustainability should include comments about "solar ready roofing material" and Electric Vehicle stations.  These were all mentioned in his community hearings, but we hope that Mark Development will go on record for promising these features. Also providing for employee parking for the tenant/restaurant would seem essential.  --Sachiko

The city council's Land Use Committee will hold a hybrid public hearing Thursday at 7 p.m. exploring Mark Developments proposal for the former Santander Building, in West Newton.

The five story project includes a 160 seat restaurant with an outdoor seating area for al fresco dining and 50 residential rental units.

The hearing will focus on traffic, parking, transportation demand management and sustainability.

On Mon, Oct 3, 2022 at 12:43 PM Sachiko Isihara <sachiko...@gmail.com> wrote:

Andreae Downs

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Oct 5, 2022, 12:23:22 PM10/5/22
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Hi folks:

The Public Safety & Transportation Committee will take up a post-construction review of West Newton Square on Oct. 19th at 7 pm (we have an appeal first).

I would welcome your thoughts and questions ahead of time to ddel...@newtonma.gov or directly to me, to share with the rest of the committee.

On Oct 4, 2022, at 10:10 AM, Sachiko Isihara <sachiko...@gmail.com> wrote:



Andreae Downs

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Oct 5, 2022, 8:12:15 PM10/5/22
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Correction--Public Safety & Transportation will take up this item (post-construction review of West Newton Square) at its Nov. 9th meeting, if possible (given that we don't have a second meeting  in November), to make time for a community meeting Oct. 20th with the DPW to hear from you about safety issues and more. We will take that input to our meeting.

As always, however, I welcome your thoughts and questions at ddel...@newtonma.gov or directly to me.

Andreae
--

Nancy Mazzapica

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Nov 8, 2022, 1:15:50 PM11/8/22
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Hi Sachiko, is there a Santander Bank / Marc development mtg tonight in front of Land Use? Shari Golden just emailed me because she thought there was one but I couldn’t find anything . 
Thank you, Nancy 

Sachiko Isihara

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Nov 8, 2022, 1:27:55 PM11/8/22
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Hello, 

There is an Economic Development Commission hearing where Mark Development will present their 1314 Washington St, (Santander Bank)
project.  

Economic Development Commission will meet virtually (Zoom link) on Tuesday, November 8 at 6:30PM. The agenda includes the following:

  • Attendance
  • Approval of the minutes for October 11, 2022.
  • Working Group Updates
    • Zoning
    • DEI
    • Sustainability
  • Update on 1314 Washington Street (Mark Development)
  • City Staff Updates
    • Outdoor Dining 2023
    • Economic Development Website
    • California Street Study
    • West Newton Parking
  • Date of next scheduled meeting: Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
  • Adjournment


Of primary concern for me is the importance of a carefully thought out construction management plan so that our already stressed local businesses continue to have access to streets and parking for their employees.  The projected two year construction timeline could seriously affect the viability of current local businesses, and there has been no mention of accommodating local businesses for the potential disruption to their access to their properties. Will there be shuttles to other parking areas and will there be a more comprehensive plan for 
West Newton's parking issues?  As clearly stated at the last Land Use committee hearing the "perceived issues of the difficulty of finding parking in West Newton" is not created from thin air.  As pointed out, the traffic study needs to be redone with a smaller radius.

Sachiko
15 Davis St

Nancy Mazzapica

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Nov 8, 2022, 1:42:02 PM11/8/22
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Thank you for this. I too am concerned about the impact of construction and lack of parking on our already fragile WNCenter. The other concern is that nothing is moving forward with Dunstan East construction and a huge hole is sitting there. 
It was mentioned at our last meeting by Marc Development that the shovel hasn’t hit the dirt yet because of the increased cost of construction. So what are the implications for Santander, knock it down , cause huge traffic and parking issues 
and wait for the economy to improve?  Also the attempt to put 5 metered parking spots on Highland in that already cramped area leading to intersection is unacceptable. I still don’t know where they are getting the parking spots which they claim are available. If you drive past Cherry St lot it s always full after 3pm . 
Maybe he can put some parking in his WN neighborhood up the hill.

CHRISTOPHER J

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Nov 8, 2022, 1:56:19 PM11/8/22
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Nancy et al,

No Land Use Committee  mtg this week.  We’ve been meeting 3 times a month lately but today is Election Day and the other committees fill up the rest of the evenings this week 

Look at the Friday packet link under City Council on the city website every Friday evening to see the agendas for all committee work the following week. The agenda shows which petitions will be heard that Tuesday including the next time the Santander petition is to be heard.

Chris Markiewicz 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 8, 2022, at 1:42 PM, Nancy Mazzapica <nsm...@gmail.com> wrote:



Nancy Mazzapica

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Nov 8, 2022, 1:58:24 PM11/8/22
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Thank you Chris 

Amy Sangiolo

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Nov 8, 2022, 3:12:35 PM11/8/22
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Or subscribe to Figcitynews.com. We publish 2 weekly newsletters - one on mondays that provides info on all upcoming meetings for the week and one in Wednesday’s that publishes news articles and community announcements. Sachikio’s excerpt is from figcitynews and we farm out all the information from the city’s website to make it easier for the public to find.

On Tue, Nov 8, 2022 at 1:56 PM 'CHRISTOPHER J' via West Newton Community <westnewtonn...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Sachiko Isihara

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Nov 8, 2022, 3:16:27 PM11/8/22
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Amy,
My apologies that in my haste to write the email I did not credit Fig City news for the info.  

To everyone: I also recommend that people can subscribe to the Friday Planning Department newsletter that covers these kinds of hearings for the following week.  Between Amy Sangiolo's Fig City News and the Friday newsletter, I am able to find meetings, links and agendas.

Sachiko

CHRISTOPHER J

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Nov 8, 2022, 3:38:32 PM11/8/22
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Yes. I should have referenced the FGN.  It is pretty complete and is in your mailbox first thing in the morning 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 8, 2022, at 3:16 PM, Sachiko Isihara <sachiko...@gmail.com> wrote:



Shari G

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Nov 8, 2022, 4:05:39 PM11/8/22
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Chris, Sachiko, Nancy, and Amy (Nancy, thanks for reaching out to Sachiko!) 

My Fig City site was not working correctly last night or this morning, but it seems to be working now. That's why I wasn't able to find the information. 

Based on the website now, It appears there "is" a link for a meeting this evening at 6:30, and this does include an update on 1314 Washington Street (Mark Development) and some additional updates, including West Newton Parking.  

DATE: Tuesday, November 8, 2022 TIME: 6:30 p.m.
PLACE: Remote access only via ZOOM:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87025273478 or
call +13126266799 and use meeting ID 870 2527 3478#

I'm presuming this meeting is happening this evening because it does not appear to be cancelled. 


A totally different topic - Anyone else notice the trees that were planted on Waltham Street? The section between River Street and Davis Ave.  They're pretty scrawny now but I'm hoping they will grow and in time not only make the street look better but curb the traffic as people tend to race up that part of the street as they're leaving WN square. 


Shari




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