September 10 2020
Thursday, September 10th, 7:30 – 9:00 pm meeting (Zoom details below)
- Administrative business – Treasurer’s Report. (Isabelle)
- Approval of WAC August minutes. (CBP)
- Burning Issue from the community
- Suzuki School - PreK and music school COVID precautions and enrollment (Sachiko)
- FOTQ update (John M, Maureen, CBP) Minutes and notes from 8-12-2020
- Bike lanes on Beacon Street - see below (Andreae, Bob)
- Historic plaques subcommittee (Rena, Chris, Barbara B, Sachiko, TBD)
- Short Zoning Update (Rena)
- Announcements:
Public Facilities Committee 7 PM Wednesday SEPTEMBER 9
Proposed Allen / Beethoven safety upgrades funded with Zervas project funds
Click here for the full agenda
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82569854808
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Meeting ID: 825 6985 4808
Allen Ave @ Pine Ridge Rd
- Reconstruct accessible curb ramps
- Allows safe pedestrian crossing of Allen, with new crosswalk
- Enhances pedestrian visibility for crossing Allen
- Slows vehicular traffic in narrowing roadway width through area of proposed crossing across Allen Ave
Beethoven Ave @ Puritan Rd
- Reconstruct intersection as a "raised table" intersection
- Allows safe pedestrian crossing of Beethoven
- Slows vehicular traffic entering the intersection by way of vertical deflection
Allen Ave @ Plainfield St
- Reconstruct accessible curb ramps
- Allows safe pedestrian crossing of Allen w/ new crosswalk
- Enhances pedestrian visibility for crossing Allen
- Slows vehicular traffic in narrowing roadway width through area of proposed crossing across Allen
The City Of Newton and the Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee will be holding a live-streamed September 11 Commemoration this Friday at 6 PM. Please do not come to the memorial for the event but instead watch it live through one of these three options:
- Direct link: https://vimeo.com450142400
- NewTV’s Government Vimeo Channel: https:/vimeo.com/newtvgov
- Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee Facebook Page
TRAFFIC COUNCIL AGENDA THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 7pm
| Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89798120618 or Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 Meeting ID: 897 9812 0618. Passcode: 000693 |
TC147-20 COUNCILORS BOWMAN, CROSSLEY, DANBERG, DOWNS, HUMPHREY, LEARY AND NOEL, requesting to discuss and possibly vote to change the parking regulations along the portion of Beacon Street between Newton Centre and Washington Street to allow for the installation of striped bicycle lanes in both directions. Parking must be removed in many areas along Beacon Street in order to allow for the striped bicycle lane. Parking within a striped bicycle lane is not permitted, but parking will be allowed in certain areas, as shown in the final design. (Wards 4, 5, 6 & 7) [08/25/20 @ 1:41 PM]
TC146-20 COUNCILORS BOWMAN, CROSSLEY, DANBERG, DOWNS, HUMPHREY, LEARY AND NOEL, requesting to change the Waban Village Parking District to allow for the installation of striped bicycle lanes along a portion of Beacon Street between Metacomet Road and Dorset Road (eastern end) where parking would no longer be allowed. These changes may include removing sections of Beacon Street from the Waban Village Parking District, rescinding resident permits for homes abutting these sections of Beacon Street and modifying the distribution of non-resident permits in the area for Angier staff and others. (Ward 5) [08/25/20 @ 1:41 PM]
Lower Falls Shared-Use Trail Feasibility Study
VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 – 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Register Here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uCSTgGfTSAu2ex3R8ZAm8A
The Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is conducting a feasibility study for a shared-use trail connection between the Route I-95 rail bridge (“Two Bridges”) at the southeast corner of Leo J. Martin Golf Course, Wellesley, and the south side of the I-95 Overpass on Quinobequin Road, Newton, MA. The project has analyzed DCR-owned parklands, other open space and roadway right of ways to evaluate alternative layouts toward safe and accessible bicycle and pedestrian accommodations through the Lower Falls area.
At this public virtual meeting, DCR will present and obtain public input on a proposed shared-use trail layout.
To register for the meeting, please click on the link above or enter it into your browser, and you will be prompted to submit your name and email. Please register in advance so that we can start the meeting promptly. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. This information can’t be shared, the participation link is unique to you. If you need assistance when registering, please contact Jennifer Norwood at jennifer.norwood@mass.gov. After the presentation, the public will be invited to ask questions and provide feedback on the proposed alternatives, using Q&A functionality that will be available through the virtual participation platform.
After the public meeting, the presentation will be available for viewing at https://www.mass.gov/dcr/past-public-meetings. DCR encourages the public to share additional feedback, with a deadline for receipt of comments by DCR of October 6, 2020. Comments may be submitted online at www.mass.gov/dcr/public-comment or via email at jennifer.norwood@mass.gov. Please note that the content of comments you submit to DCR, along with your name, town, and zip code, will be posted on DCR's website. Providing additional contact information when commenting, notably email address, is optional, and will only be used for outreach on future updates on the subject project or property.
If you have agency-related questions or concerns or would like to be added to an email list to receive DCR general or project-specific announcements, please email Mass.Parks@mass.gov or call 617-626-4973. Please follow us on Twitter @ MassDCR!
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Waban Area Council
Meeting Minutes
September 10, 2020
Held via Zoom
WAC Members Present: Chris Pitts, Ronald Marcus, Rena Getz, Bob Jampol, Tom Elkind, Isabelle Ahlbeck, Megan Meirav, Sallee Lipshutz, Dinah Bodkin
City Councilor: Bill Humphrey
Community: Maureen O”Reilly Meagher, Sachiko Isihara, Tim deChant, John Mordes, Barbara Brustowicz
Burning Issues from the Community
Suzuki School of Newton is open and operating fully. All lessons are virtual. The school was able to host outdoor events over the summer. The school is currently at 65% enrollment, which is low. Sachiko requested that WAC members and others let it be known that the SSN is accepting new student. Chris proposed including that information in next email blast. Isabelle expressed concern that all Waban businesses be treated equally.
Tim deChant NWH still holding off on power generation using new Turbines. He was told by Justin Ferbert that noise mitigation procedures had been completed. Tim and neighbor Jake Flynn were still experiencing noise problems and a lot of vibrations. NWH has a community group and deChant and Flynn were planning to appeal to this group in order to discuss the noise pollution problem. NWH not terribly responsive to complaints from the community.
Friends of The Quinobequin
John Mordes, President of The Friends of Hemlock Gorge (FOHG), explained that there is no safe way to walk from Quinobequin Trail to Hemlock Gorge Reservation. Friends of Hemlock Gorge proposes painted zebra stripe crosswalks with ADA compliant curb rampings. Zebra stripe cross walks would be similar to those already in place at intersection of Rte 9 and Chestnut st. The Zebra stripes and ADA compliant curb cuts The zebra stripes would allow safer crossing of Rte 9 off and on ramps and Quinobequin Rd. There would be no crosswalks under the Rte 9 bridge where there are already sidewalks. At entrance to Quinobequin Trail, FOHG proposes cutting guard rail and finishing it off the allow opening for pedestrians to walk through. FOHG approved the proposal at recent meeting. John Mordes asked for approval from WAC/FOTQ. Bob Jampol moved to endorse FOHG proposal. Motion passed unanimously. Some discussion ensued about the extent to which Wellesley Office Park had pledged to fund some of the local improvement. RG emailed WOP permit to John Mordes and WAC members with the intention of holding them to their promise. Other discussion included whether traffic lights would be better than painted crosswalks and how they would be funded. BH reiterated that the properties in question are under state control and all matters have to be handled through Ruth Balser’s office.
Bike Lanes
At traffic council meeting of September 17, discussion re changing parking regulations along Beacon St between Newton Centre and Washington St. to allow for painted bike lanes in both directions. Parking within painted bike lane will be prohibited, resulting in fairly long sections of Beacon St being without parking on either side. According to BH most residents along Beacon St had no objections to losing parking along Beacon St. Neighborhood immediately around Angier School, on both sides of Dorset Rd, WILL allow parking. Diagonal parking in Waban Square will also be unaffected. According to BH, painted bike lane(s) is all that the city can afford right now.
Historic Plaques
Presented by Laura Foote, who also leads the effort. “Vision-a series of engaging interpretative sign in Newton Village Centers.” Effort is grassroots and all interpretive signs will have same basic design so they can be easily recognized as part of the series. The series was conceived when the building housing the Railroad Hotel (now Sweet Tomatoes) became a local landmark last year. Many residents knew nothing of the history of the building. Horace Mann was associated with the hotel, as were other important Newton educators. The “Vision” effort coincided with West Newton Square enhancement, and will be placed in the small park where Washington St joins Watertown St. The effort is reminiscent of many wayside interpretive signs seen throughout the country, which recall the history of particular locations and aim to have visitors stop and learn about the places they are traveling through. Signs will focus on buildings that are still in existence, not buildings that have been demolished. Some signs are already present in Newton, but are not part of a series. Pannier Graphics in Pennsylvania is making the sign(s) using an outdoor-appropriate embedded laminate technology. Their signs are seen throughout the national park system. Laura displayed West Newton historic sign. Photographs from the Allen School in the 1870’s showed black and white students studying together. The group is considering a sign for the Myrtle Baptist Church, the center of Newton’s (now mostly gone) African-American community. The sign references a website for those with further interest.
The response of the meeting attendees was very positive. Much discussion ensued about doing the same for Waban Square and how WAC and WIS would coordinate the effort.
Zoning Update
RG presented ZAP fall calendar for redesigned building code. ZAP is currently working on the second draft of the residential component of the new zoning code. A public hearing will be held December 3.
Respectfully submitted by
Dinah Bodkin
September 23, 2020
