Land Use fail on Chestnut Hill Square
On the substance, there's lots to say about tonight's 6-2 Land Use vote to recommend a board order granting a special permit to New England Development, but here are three little bits of atmosphere...
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Sidewalks on Boylston St.
At the Land Use meeting on Tuesday, city attorney Ouida Young got into a heated exchange with Alderman Deb Crossley about a draft board order finding related to pedestrian accommodations. At one point,...
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Drive-thru open space
Though the rezoning that New England Development requested for the Chestnut Hill Square site will not obligate them to provide open space, there is universal recognition that open space is important...
View ArticleAlderman Baker is good at what he does
Watching Lisle Baker at work last night, I couldn't help but wish that he and I shared the same values. More so than any of his colleagues, he's willing to say I'm not happy with what I see and I want...
View ArticleThe bridge is out of the bag
Shots of the Lower Falls bridge now that it is fully stripped and painted and no longer in a baggie.In the last shot, the wood under the tarp appears to be the new surface for the bridge.
View ArticleHow the aldermen helped kill the Atrium
The Atrium has a bunch of flaws*, but when you ask people why they don't like to shop there, the number one complaint is parking. Not "they don't have any stores I like." Parking. It was parking when...
View ArticleRiverside lot not for Newton residents
Natick man got a ticket from Wellesley the day he parked in Newton, in the Riverside lot. Funny story. Wellesley town staff used a hand-held ticketing scanner, supposedly coded not to issue tickets, to...
View ArticleWhat's the real conflict between bikes and parking?
It is an article of faith that, in Newton, there are two major impediments to bike accommodations: too narrow streets and legal parking. Combine them and they eliminate the possibility of bike lanes....
View ArticlePaying for paving
We're wrapping up a winter with unusually high snow removal costs. And, we've got an epidemic of potholes that are going to have to be fixed.This might be a good time to reflect on the fact that...
View ArticleHow bikes and legal parking can co-exist
Alex: Priority bike lanes.Watson: What is the solution to the conflict between parking regulations and traditional bike lane rules?As I discussed below, there are long stretches of Newton streets on...
View ArticleBike lanes and priority bike lanes, what's the difference?
In light of the regulatory hurdles to "real" bike lanes in Newton, given the actual amount of on-street parking for long stretches of key roads (Beacon, Comm. Ave., Walnut, Parker, Langley, &c.),...
View ArticleMagical things happening in Newton Centre
Dear Mayor Warren,Just wanted to let you know that, sometime today, a squad of bike-rack fairies seemed to have hit Newton Centre, sprinkling magic post-and-ring bike racks all over the center.Just...
View ArticleHigh-speed rail and walking to a village
One of the key arguments in favor of inter-city rail is that it will improve opportunities for air travelers.Last year, nearly a million people flew between Logan and JFK or LaGuardia (and presumably...
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A sign that opening day is upon us
What's in the bag? A parking meter that has been installed on Beacon Street near Audubon Circle/St. Mary's Place in Brookline. Perhaps more importantly, it's just a few blocks from Fenway....
View ArticleMaryland hand-me-downs
What a stunning denunciation of the state of our transit system that we are leasing trains from Maryland, just to keep things afloat. Maryland's investment in its system is so much better than ours...
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Newton Centre Racks
Here are the new racks in Newton Centre (that I've found so far). Send pictures of other new racks anywhere in Newton and I'll post them.Next to Bigelow's on Sumner, near the corner of Langley.In front...
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B Street B Racks
Updated: According to Aldercritter Hess-Mahan in the comments, Beacon Street only reimbursed the city for installation and that the cost was covered by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Makes the...
View ArticleHess-Mahan: Bike racks were not extorted!
I have tweaked the Board of Aldermen for extracting bike racks from Beacon Street as a special permit condition. Aldercritter Hess-Mahan weighs in with a defense:Oy! "Extorted"? Really? Please!The...
View ArticleDing, dong, the Atrium is dead
Wondering about the future of the Atrium, Tiffany's has been the piece that didn't fit. Given the overwhelming decline of the Atrium, why had Tiffany's stayed? With Tiffany's, could mall-owner Simon...
View ArticleThe right orientation on Boylston Street
Encouraging news on the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center front: the developer intends to re-orient the buildings to engage Boylston Street.It’s a project that in certain respects has its back to Boylston...
View Article128 to become permanent parking lot
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council warns that 128 is going to see 77% more traffic between Route 3 and the Turnpike ... and then proposes band-aids: shuttle buses.The projected increase in traffic...
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Parking Glut at Riverside
Here was the scene at Riverside today (Thursday) at 10:15AM - when we expect maximum weekday commuter parking. And here is empty parking in the parking garage at Riverside Center, at 10:10AM on a...
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1065 Empty Parking Spaces at Riverside during Peak Business Hours
I counted them by eye, Friday AM, 10:15-10:45.Here's the breakdown:MBTA Lot: 490 Empty spacesRiverside Center: 441 Empty spacesIndigo Hotel: 134 Empty spaces (and only 72 occupied, for a dismal 35%...
View ArticleA Solar Sound Barrier at the Auburndale Commuter Rail Station
Plans are afoot to move the Auburndale Commuter Rail Station to the north side of the MBTA tracks, abandoning the existing south-side platform. This would create a long strip of unused land, south of...
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high weekday occupancy at auburndale commuter rail parking lot
85% occupancy, thursday, july 11, 915am.28 of 33 non-handicapped spaces occupied. A big improvement in usage from previous observations a year ago!This may bode well for the future parking at the new...
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